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☆ Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party last year, says she's 'absolutely' done with parties and won't join the GOP: 'You don't go from one broken party to another'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kyrsten Sinema told CBS News she's "absolutely" done with political parties and won't join the GOP. She left the Democratic Party last year and became an Independent before a potential reelection bid. "It's okay not to agree a hundred percent with another," the Arizona senator told Margaret Brennan. There was less willingness for individuals to have their own opinions to make their own decisions," Sinema told Brennan. I mean, I just, I'm laughing because I literally just spent time explaining how broken the two parties are," Sinema replied.

☆ Charles Is Crowned King in Ancient Ceremony With Modern Twists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Anointed with holy oil and enthroned on St. Edward’s chair, King Charles III was crowned on Saturday in a solemn ritual that stretches back more than a millennium but unfolded with multiple concessions to the modern age. The coronation, the first since Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953, was a royal spectacle of the kind that only Britain still stages: four hours of pageantry that began with the clip-clop of horses’ hooves on Pall Mall and ended with the vaporous trails of acrobatic jets streaking above Buckingham Palace, as Charles watched from the balcony with Queen Camilla, who had been crowned shortly after him. Yet this was a coronation for a radically different country than when Elizabeth first wore the crown. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh leaders greeted Charles as he left Westminster Abbey, and there were various attempts — not always successful — to make a medieval ritual more inclusive and democratic. Female bishops from the Church of England took part in the liturgy; hymns were sung in Welsh, Scottish and Irish Gaelic; and when Charles, 74, took a sacred oath to defend the Protestant faith, he also offered a personal prayer, in which he promised to be a pluralistic monarch for a diverse society.

Prince Albert of Monaco said in an interview with People magazine that he and his wife, Charlene, would be attending. King Felipe VI of Spain, who ascended to the throne in 2014 after his father’s abdication, will attend, according to the Spanish news media. Crown Prince Fumihito of Japan and Crown Princess Kiko, on behalf of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, will attend, according to the Japanese news media. Credit... Clodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersSeveral members of Britain’s government will attend, as will about 100 heads of state from around the world, according to Buckingham Palace. British RoyalsImage Prince Harry, center, will be present at the coronation, though his wife, Meghan, and their children, will remain in California.

☆ It’s Coronation Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Melissa Kirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But as with a sports playoff game or Hollywood awards ceremony, the coronation of Charles III has made me into an instant, if temporary, royals superfan. In a recent poll of 3,070 adults in Britain, 64 percent of respondents said they had little to no interest in today’s coronation. The ceremony has been modified to be more inclusive, but still “the hoary rituals of the coronation are a reminder of how — in a secular, multiethnic, digital-age society — the crown is fundamentally an anachronism,” wrote The Times’s London bureau chief, Mark Landler. An over-the-top coronation for a new king does make for an incongruous viewing experience while Commonwealth nations call for Britain to redress its colonialist legacy and the country reckons with a cost-of-living crisis. It’s possible to be fascinated by the pageantry while remaining skeptical of it, to gawk at the fairy-tale elements of the coronation while still questioning the system that supports them.

☆ Conservative Party Suffers Stinging Losses in England’s Local Elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Stephen Castle | Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain’s Conservative Party suffered sweeping losses on Friday in local elections, a stinging rejection of the status quo that raises doubts about its ability to hold onto power after 14 years. The vote for control over hundreds of municipalities, which took place on Thursday across England, was the biggest test of the governing party’s popularity before a general election that is likely to take place in the fall of 2024. It left Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wounded, fracturing the pro-Brexit coalition assembled by one of his predecessors, Boris Johnson, in 2019 and opening a plausible path to power for the main opposition Labour Party. With most of the results declared, the Conservatives lost more than 1,000 seats, while Labour gained roughly 500 and the centrist Liberal Democrats, which surprised oddsmakers as perhaps the best performer, picked up around 400. Another smaller party, the Greens, also made more than 200 gains.

Federal worker safety inspections have alleged poor maintenance or a lack of safety training at some Tyson plants where ammonia leaks injured workers. CNN interviewed eleven current or former Tyson workers across three different plants who experienced ammonia leaks. !”A safety sign hangs on a fence at a Tyson plant in Hope, Arkansas, in March 2023. Still, some Tyson workers who lived through ammonia leaks said they wished more had been done to protect them. That means that the data doesn’t necessarily cover Tyson plants or other meat facilities that hold smaller amounts of ammonia.

☆ Yum Brands Was Finger Lickin’ Good Enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Spencer Jakab | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

KFC recently turned a viral TikTok video with false information to its advantage. Photo: Mark Lennihan/Associated PressColonel Sanders probably would have shown the youngsters the door, but KFC met them halfway. In March a viral TikTok video falsely said the chain was offering free refills on a bucket of chicken to anyone who could finish it in 60 minutes, inviting many to try and be denied more food. The chain turned lemons into lemonade, though, offering a $10 bucket promotion on its app and coupons to disappointed carnivores. KFC parent Yum Brands ’ shareholders should probably view the bucket as half full even as the stock fell in early trading Wednesday.

☆ For King Charles, Coronation Day Is a Step on a Tightrope Walk
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But it’s not without its traps, as King Charles III learned last weekend when the organizers of his coronation invited millions of Britons to pledge an oath of homage to the monarch during the ceremony on Saturday. “More like the stuff of a Stalinist people’s republic,” wrote the columnist Mick Hume. Such are the problems vexing Charles as he prepares for his coronation, Britain’s first in 70 years. In the seven months since he ascended the throne, royal watchers say, the new king has worked to make the monarchy more accessible, forward looking and inclusive. Yet the hoary rituals of the coronation are a reminder of how — in a secular, multiethnic, digital-age society — the crown is fundamentally an anachronism.

☆ Twitter is hiding who paid for a blue check mark while users keep dunking on Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter is hiding who paid for a blue check mark, now noting that the account is simply "verified." The old blue check mark message said the user had "subscribed to Twitter Blue." Elon Musk's social media app is now hiding who paid for its derided Twitter Blue service. Twitter also applied blue check marks to accounts of famous dead people, saying they were Twitter Blue subscribers even though they were very much deceased. As the blue check mark lost its luster, verified power users quickly tried to distance themselves from Musk's push for Blue subscriptions.

☆ Phillips 66 joins rivals to beat profit estimates as refining margins soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Arunima Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view of the Phillips 66 refinery, as seen from the corner of Fifth Street and California Street in Rodeo, California, the oldest oil refining town in the American West, U.S. December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File PhotoMay 3 (Reuters) - U.S. refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N) beat Wall Street estimate for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, joining rivals in gaining from elevated margins on sustained fuel demand amid tight crude supplies. Realized margins soared 91% to $20.72 per barrel in the first quarter from a year earlier, Phillips 66 said. "We ran above industry-average crude utilization, successfully executed major turnarounds and increased market capture to 93%," Phillips 66's CEO Mark Lashier said in a statement. The Houston-based refiner reported adjusted earnings of $4.21 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with average analyst estimate of $3.56, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Wall Street wants to see if AMD can rebound in 2 key businesses. But analysts disagree on how to play the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street is focused on the potential for a bounce back within Advanced Micro Devices ' struggling personal computer and data center businesses. Arya's price target of $95 reflects the potential for an upside of 5.7% over Tuesday's close. Meanwhile, Citi's Christopher Danely said data center growth estimates for the second half seem aggressive. "We believe there could be more downside to AMD's data center business as AMD's data center revenue has only corrected 22% from its peak in 3Q22 while Intel's data center business has corrected 42%." Moore said the data center business was down 22% quarter over quarter, while PCs dropped 18% quarter over quarter and 65% year over year.

☆ MLB roundup: Guardians rally in 9th to stun Yankees
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] May 1, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) hits a two run single in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. After Peralta struck out Andres Gimenez, Zunino fouled off three straight pitches before drawing a walk on a low pitch. It was his third career multi-home run game. Atlanta starter Spencer Strider (4-0) pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits, three walks and eight strikeouts. Lane Thomas homered with two outs in the second inning for Washington's run.

☆ CNN CEO Chris Licht marks one year on the job with a network rebrand, upcoming ad campaign, and a Trump town hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The network is hoping its May 10 Trump town hall, to be anchored by Kaitlan Collins, delivers ratings. One year into his new role, CNN CEO Chris Licht is quietly working on a major brand refresh of the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned global news network. CNN is planning a new ad campaign, according to this person and a separate person familiar with conversations, once the changes are finalized and approved by Warners CEO David Zaslav. The town hall will mark the first time Trump has appeared on CNN in years. At least on the business side," they added, referencing the audiences and ad dollars a Trump campaign would bring.

☆ Inside NBCUniversal, female execs are eyeing leadership's next moves after CEO Jeff Shell's ouster over 'inappropriate relationship': 'We're watching'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NBCUniversal insiders are reeling after chief Jeff Shell's stunning departure and asking questions about what's next for the Comcast division. News of Shell's hasty exit dropped April 23 after an investigation into what he called an "inappropriate relationship" with a company employee. "It's shocking," said one employee, wondering how an executive at Shell's level would take such a risk with his career. Two staffers also grumbled that the company hasn't widely addressed the matter internally since its terse statement announcing Shell's exit. Keeping Cavanagh atop NBCU could serve another purpose — to help bring about a merger of Comcast with Warner Bros.

☆ Tech group urges Biden administration to keep child care requirement for chips funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Standing against conservative critiques of the Biden administration's conditions on computer chip-manufacturing funding, the tech industry group Chamber of Progress urged the government to maintain its requirements, which include providing child care for workers. MacKenzie said the group aimed to push back on GOP attacks on so-called wokeness in business. But the Commerce Department has maintained that the rules are necessary to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure a stable workforce. "We simply will not be successful in achieving the national security goals of the CHIPS initiative unless we invest in our workforce, period. WATCH: Commerce Department sees more than 200 companies interested in CHIPS Act funds

☆ Many in U.K. Greet King Charles’s Coronation With a ‘Take It or Leave It’ Shrug
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When King Charles III is crowned on Saturday, he will undergo a ritual so rare in modern British history that it last occurred 70 years ago, roughly the wait between sightings of Halley’s comet. And yet the coronation has yet to capture the imagination of a Britain preoccupied by other concerns. Images of the new king — in chocolate, in Legos and in wax — are popping up in bakeries, toy stores and at Madame Tussauds wax museum. Ancient relics of coronation, like the Scottish stone of destiny, are being delivered to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony. They love the royal family.

☆ The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Simone Pathe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

The GOP needs a net gain of one or two seats to flip the chamber, depending on which party wins the White House in 2024, and it’s Democrats who are defending the tougher seats. Jim Justice announcing his Senate bid in West Virginia – the seat most likely to flip party control in 2024. In a presidential year, the national environment is likely to loom large, especially with battleground states hosting key Senate races. Two businessmen with the ability to tap into or raise significant resources could be in the mix – Eric Hovde, who lost the GOP Senate nomination in 2012, and Scott Mayer. Still, unseating Cruz in a state Trump won by nearly 6 points in 2020 will be a tall order.

☆ Big Tech is pursuing 'the year of efficiency.' It could get supercharged by AI.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On the agenda today:But first: Why Big tech's new focus on efficiency could have far-reaching impacts. Tech jobs aren't coming backTech giants have been slashing jobs. Companies from Meta to Salesforce have cut jobs in the recent months in the pursuit of efficiency and profit margins. Also read:Whistleblower docs: Jane RobertsSupreme Court Justice Chief Justice John Roberts and his wife Jane Roberts arrive for a 2018 State Dinner at the White House. At least one of those firms argued a case before the chief justice after paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars.

☆ Opinion | Requiem for the Newsroom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Maureen Dowd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — I don’t want this to be one of those pieces that bangs on about how things used to be better, and they’ll never be as good again. But, when it comes to newsrooms, it happens to be true. “What would a newspaper movie look like today?” wondered my New York Times colleague Jim Rutenberg. Now we sit at home alone staring at our computers. There’s a reason they made all those newspaper movies, ‘All the President’s Men,’ ‘Spotlight,’ ‘The Paper.’

☆ BBC Chairman Resigns, Deepening Turmoil at Britain’s Broadcaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The BBC settled the dispute with Mr. Lineker by vowing to review its policies governing the use of social media by its on-air personalities. The episode prompted calls by the opposition Labour Party for Mr. Sharp’s resignation. The current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, appeared to distance himself from Mr. Sharp, even though the two had once worked together at Goldman Sachs, where Mr. Sunak and Mr. Sharp had both been bankers. Mr. Sharp, a major donor to the Conservative Party, said he regretted not raising the issue of the loan with an appointments panel before he took the post of chairman. “I would like once again to apologize for that oversight — inadvertent though it was — and for the distraction these events have caused the BBC.”

☆ Opinion | In Defense of Nostalgia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Columbia University professor Mark Lilla, a perspicacious liberal critic of the contemporary right and left, has an essay in the latest issue of Liberties Journal analyzing the appeal and perils of nostalgia. Lilla illustrates this peril with a long discussion of the role that nostalgia and imagined pasts played in the rise and shape and savagery of National Socialism in Germany. The fascists were heirs to Augustan Rome not because of an affinity between their worldviews, but because Augustan Rome had a lot of would-be heirs. And it had all those heirs and imitators because the phenomenon Lilla describes, the redirection of nostalgia for past greatness toward a vision of the future, is an essential part of human civilization-building. Or alternatively, nostalgic rediscoveries are often necessary to humanize and tame the excesses of progress, to maintain continuities that might otherwise be shattered by social or technological shifts.

☆ Comstock Act: The 150-year-old chastity law that may be the next big fight over abortion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

“Comstock is really the backdoor way to remove access to abortion across the whole country,” said Greer Donley, a University of Pittsburgh Law School professor who specializes in abortion law. Severino argued that, at least when it comes to the Comstock Act’s prohibitions on mailing abortion pills, Congress is well within its powers to regulate those shipments. Several towns, some in New Mexico and elsewhere, have passed local ordinances that cite the Comstock Act and prohibit business within those jurisdictions from shipping or receiving items used for abortions in the mail, as covered by the Comstock Act. The lawsuits in New Mexico state court that those ordinances have prompted may provide for another opportunity for courts to elaborate on what the Comstock Act means. The Supreme Court, in the emergency order it issued last week, did not say anything about the Comstock Act.

☆ 'Oh Amazon, why are you making this issue so difficult?' Employees who can't commute to their assigned offices fear the consequences.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Change in remote statusSome Amazon employees hired during the pandemic said they were promised permanent remote work, through what they saw as a "handshake agreement." One employee shared their vice president's email in the Slack channel, saying this manager was willing to be more flexible. People walk into the lobby of Amazon offices in New York. Over 30,000 Amazon employees joined an internal Slack channel shortly after the RTO announcement and signed a petition to demand a reversal of the mandate. "Amazon, oh Amazon, why are you making this issue so difficult?"

☆ These are the top Senate races to watch in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

They have reason to be hopeful: Democrats face a daunting 2024 Senate map that puts them on defense in 23 of the cycle's 34 races, including multiple seats considered ripe for GOP challenges. The grim outlook has some Senate Democrats considering retirement, even after the caucus expanded to a 51-49 majority following a better-than-expected showing in the midterms. Jim Justice, reportedly the state's richest man and one of its favored contenders for the Senate race. But the 2024 Senate race in Ohio is currently considered a toss-up, as Republicans have made significant gains in the state in the last two election cycles. Sabato's Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report both say the Michigan Senate race leans Democratic.

☆ NBCUniversal insiders are asking what's next after CEO Jeff Shell's 'shocking' exit, and female execs are watching leadership closely after a string of high-profile sexual allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They're asking what Comcast exec Mike Cavanagh's elevation to handle Shell's remit means for NBCU's future. NBCUniversal insiders are reeling after chief Jeff Shell's stunning departure and asking questions about what's next for the Comcast division. News of Shell's hasty exit dropped Sunday after an investigation into what he called an "inappropriate relationship" with a company employee. "It's shocking," said one employee, wondering how an executive at Shell's level would take such a risk with his career. Keeping Cavanagh atop NBCU could serve another purpose — to help bring about a merger of Comcast with Warner Bros.

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