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☆ George Santos said he's become the 'Mary Magdalene of United States Congress' and dared the House to expel him
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Speaking on an X Space on Friday, Santos said he had become the "Mary Magdalene" of Congress. AdvertisementRep. George Santos of New York on Friday compared himself to the biblical figure Mary Magdalene as he railed against colleagues in the House who want to expel him. "Within the ranks of the United States Congress there's felons galore," Santos told media personality Monica Matthews, who hosted the X Space. "There's people with all sorts of sheisty backgrounds and all of a sudden George Santos is the Mary Magdalene of United States Congress." AdvertisementDuring the X Space on Friday, Santos sought to channel anger and defiance, saying he welcomed the idea of being expelled.

Persons: George Santos, Santos, Mary Magdalene, —, Monica Matthews, Jesus Christ, Michael Guest Organizations: Service, Hill, United States Congress, Republican, House, CNN Locations: George Santos of New York

☆ George Santos says he'll treat expulsion as a 'badge of honor' as he claims his colleagues are drunkenly having sex with lobbyists 'every night'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. George Santos went on an extended tirade against his colleagues on Friday evening. Santos says he expects to be expelled this week and will wear it "like a badge of honor." AdvertisementDays before his likely expulsion from the House of Representatives, Rep. George Santos of New York went on his most unhinged tirade yet. "It ain't gonna be the dude from Mississippi that's gonna kick me, a New Yorker, out of Congress," Santos said. According to the House Ethics Committee's report on Santos's conduct, the congressman was largely uncooperative during the investigation.

Persons: George Santos, Santos, —, Monica Matthews, George Santos's, jnjPt9jph8 — bryan metzger, @metzgov, Michael Guest, Madison Cawthorn, — Santos, they're Organizations: Service, Representatives, George Santos of New York, Republican, —, Republican Rep, Madison Locations: George Santos of New, Mississippi, New

☆ OpenAI's chaos has both hastened the arms race to AI dominance and opened the door to competitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI chaos has calmed as CEO Sam Altman is reinstated and an investigation begins. AdvertisementThe drama of Sam Altman unexpectedly being fired on Friday and then reinstated to OpenAI Tuesday night has reached a close. AI ethics experts have expressed concern about the power of AI technology being controlled by the hands of a few. "The increasing concentration of capital, compute, and data are a problem," Emily M. Bender, a University of Washington linguistics professor, told BI. The seemingly earth-shattering news from OpenAI may have instead opened a door for resourcefulness and for other players to emerge.

Persons: Sam Altman, —, OpenAI, Émile Torres, Altman, Emily M, Bender, nilly, Ali Alkhatib, Pistilli Organizations: Service, University of Washington, Microsoft Locations: AGI

☆ Peloton hit with issues during world-record ride attempt on Thanksgiving Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Monica Melton | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Peloton's annual 45-minute Turkey Burn Ride appeared to have crashed during the session. The fitness company's Turkey Burn Ride, a 45-minute live bike ride hosted by fitness instructor Robin Arzón, attempted to hit the Guinness World Record for the largest live cycling class. Other Peloton users said they were unable to join the Turkey Burn Ride for an extended period of time. Advertisement"This is garbage," a Peloton user who claims he was set to do the Turkey Burn ride wrote on X. !," a Peloton user commented on the company's Instagram post regarding the Turkey Burn ride.

Persons: Peloton's, —, Robin Arzón, Robin, I've, Barry McCarthy Organizations: Service, couldn't, YouTube Locations: Turkey, @RobinNYC

☆ 'Black Twitter' asks 'What if Sam Altman were a Black woman?' in the wake of ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Monica Melton | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sam Altman's high-profile firing has drawn comparisons to Timnit Gebru's exit from Google. Some tech observers and "Black Twitter" asked: "What if Sam Altman were a Black woman?" Sam Altman's shocking ouster— and reinstatement — to OpenAI drew comparisons to Steve Jobs's exit and eventual return to Apple . But a less obvious comparison has been drawn that asks the question: "What if Sam Altman was a Black Woman?" Advertisement"What If Sam Altman Were A Black Woman?

Persons: Sam Altman's, Sam Altman, —, OpenAI, Steve Jobs's, Timnit, Altman, wasn't, Gebru's, Googlers, Jeff Dean, WVBvXJZwh0 — Daniel, @growing_daniel, Eric Schmidt —, Kimberly Bryant, Bryant, TechCrunch's Dominic, Madori Davis, Greg Brockman, z5Dc1BbhbQ — Taylor Poindexter, @engineering_bae, aren't, Émile Torres, Black, Gebru, Torres Organizations: Google, Service, Apple, Microsoft, Tech, Black Locations: America, OpenAI

As Open AI employees celebrated the return of CEO Sam Altman with a five-alarm office party , OpenAI software engineer Steven Heidel was busy publicly rebuffing overtures from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Heidel was one of more than 700 OpenAI employees who's threatened exodus halted a would-be mutiny at one of Silicon Valley's most important AI companies. He was previously a scientist at Facebook AI Research and worked as a member of Google Brain under supervision of Prof. Geoffrey Hinton and Ilya Sutskever. Alec Radford: Radford was hired in 2016 from a small AI company he founded in his dorm room. Tao Xu : technical staff, worked on GPT4 and WhisperChristine McLeavey : technical staff, with contributions to music-related productsChristina Kim : technical staffChristopher Hesse : technical staffHeewoo Jun : technical staff, researchAlex Nichol : technical staff, researchWilliam Fedus: technical staff, researchIlge Akkaya: technical staff, researchVineet Kosaraju : technical staff, researchHenrique Ponde de Oliveira Pinto : technical staffAditya Ramesh : technical staff, developed DALL-E and DALL-E 2Prafulla Dhariwal : research scientistHunter Lightman : technical staffHarrison Edwards : research scientistYura Burda : machine language researcherTyna Eloundou : technical staff, researchPamela Mishkin : researcherCasey Chu : researcherDavid Dohan : technical staff, researchAidan Clark : researcherRaul Puri : research scientistLeo Gao : technical staff, researchYang Song : technical staff, researchGiambattista ParascandoloTodor Markov : Machine learning researcherNick Ryder : technical staff

Persons: Sam Altman, Steven Heidel, Marc Benioff, Heidel, Altman, Mira Murati, Murati, Brad Lightcap, Lightcap, Jason Kwon, Kwon, Wojciech Zaremba, Geoffrey Hinton, Ilya Sutskever, Alec Radford, Radford, OpenAI, Peter Welinder, He's, Github Copilot, Anna Makanju, Andrej Karpathy, OpenAI's, Michael Petrov, Petrov, Greg [ Brockman, Miles Brundage, Brundage, John Schulman OpenAI, Srinivas Narayanan, Scott Grey, Grey, Bob McGrew, Research Che Chang, Lillian Weng, Safety Systems Mark Chen, Frontiers Research Barret Zoph, Peter Deng, Jan Leike Evan Morikawa Steven Heidel Jong Wook Kim, Tao Xu, Christine McLeavey, Christina Kim, Christopher Hesse, Heewoo, Alex Nichol, William Fedus, Henrique Ponde de Oliveira Pinto, Aditya Ramesh, Hunter Lightman, Harrison Edwards, Yura, Tyna, Pamela Mishkin, Casey Chu, David Dohan, Aidan Clark, Raul Puri, Leo Gao, Yang, Giambattista Parascandolo Todor Markov, Nick Ryder Organizations: Business, BI, OpenAI, Khosla Ventures, Facebook, Research, Google, Tesla, U.S . Department of Energy, Oxford University, Safety Systems, Frontiers Research Locations: Albania, Canada, OpenAI

The Gaza war on the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula comes after the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic exposed long-standing frailties in the Egyptian economy. "Foreign sentiment on Egypt is so weak, and now with this coming along it's last thing that Egypt needed. A foreign currency shortage has led to a $5 billion backlog of imports stuck at ports, and problems for foreign companies repatriating dividends, bankers say. So far, the Gaza war has affected the popular Sinai destinations of Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh but left the rest of the country relatively unscathed. Egypt's tourism minister told Reuters this week that the impact of the war was contained to under 10% of bookings.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Monica Malik, Moataz, Sharm, Karim ElMinabawy, Siamak Adibi, Egypt's, Olumide Ajayi, Malik, Patrick Werr, Sarah El Safty, Aidan Lewis, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Abu, Tourism, Countrywide, Emeco, Middle East Gas, FGE, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Giza, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Gaza, Ukraine, Dhabi, Taba, Dahab, Luxor, Aswan, Israel, Europe, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Gulf . Saudi

Scientists say such extreme weather is becoming increasingly common globally because of climate change, which also intensifies the effects of El Nino. Never before has Lake Titicaca dried up like it is now. Experts say many of the factors contributing to the shrinking of Lake Titicaca could be linked to climate change. In global terms we have climate change, and phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina, which cause floods and droughts." Back at Lake Titicaca, Fredy Aruquipa, the person in charge of monitoring the lake's water level, watches it decline daily.

Persons: Alex Flores, Claudia Morales, Manuel Flores, El, Flores, Xavier Lazzaro, Rodney Camargo, La Nina, Fredy Aruquipa, Monica Machicao, Sergio Limachi, Isabel Woodford, Adam Jourdan, Andrea Ricci Organizations: REUTERS, El, Friends, Nature Foundation, El Nino, La, Thomson Locations: Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, South, El Alto, El Nino, Titicaca, United States, Asia

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ Senate Confirms Biden’s Pick for N.I.H. Director Over Sanders’s Objections
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Sheryl Gay Stolberg | More About Sheryl Gay Stolberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli, a cancer surgeon who currently leads the National Cancer Institute, as the next director of the National Institutes of Health, overriding the objections of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the chairman of the Senate health committee. The vote was 62 to 36, with Mr. Sanders voting no. on a permanent basis, after Dr. Bernadine P. Healy, who served under President George H.W. She will take over an agency that has been the target of political attacks by Republicans, who have accused its scientists of intentionally downplaying the possibility that Covid-19 was the result of a laboratory leak. “I think no one wants to know what the true origin of the last Covid pandemic was more than the biomedical research community,” Dr. Bertagnolli told Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the top Republican on the health committee, during her confirmation hearing last month.

Persons: Monica M, Bernie Sanders of, Sanders, Bertagnolli, “, Dr, Bernadine, Healy, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, ”, Bill Cassidy of Organizations: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Republican Locations: Bernie Sanders of Vermont, George H.W ., Bill Cassidy of Louisiana

☆ At this year's AfroTech conference, Black tech workers sang, pitched, and worried about being laid off
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The biggest tech companies had less of a presence at this year's AfroTech Conference , a large gathering of Black tech professionals. Black joy and celebration were on display while the reality of a tougher tech job market lurked in the background. Not technical enoughSeveral tech employees lamented that the programming wasn't technical enough to be useful to them. They were comfortable speaking to an audience that looked like them, but also felt an urgency to share knowledge that Black tech professionals don't always get access to. While many of the Black tech workers at Afrotech were waiting for the other shoe to drop, they also scouted for startup ideas and funding.

Persons: hasn't, Morgan Stanley, Austin, Issa Rae, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Wes Eugene, IDEO, goer, Jason Lee, Lee Organizations: Microsoft, Engineering, Labs Locations: Afrotech

☆ 3 Plead Guilty in $600 Million Catalytic Converter Theft Ring
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Johnny Diaz | More About Johnny Diaz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three members of a California family pleaded guilty for their roles in a “national network of thieves, dealers and processors” that shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, federal prosecutors said. All three pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, prosecutors said. Tou Sue Vang also pleaded guilty to an additional 39 charges related to money laundering. Todd Leras, a lawyer for Andrew Vang, declined to comment, saying he preferred to do so in court filings. Lawyers for Ms. Moua and Tou Sue Vang did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Persons: Tou Sue Vang, Andrew Vang, Monica Moua, Todd Leras Organizations: Eastern, Eastern District of Locations: California, New Jersey, Sacramento, U.S, Eastern District, Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Three members of a California family pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy for their role in a ring that shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, federal prosecutors said. The three Sacramento family members pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport the devices in return for more than $38 million. Tou Sue Vang also pleaded guilty to 39 charges related to money laundering, prosecutors said. Catalytic converters are easily stolen and contain precious metals including platinum. “The black-market price for catalytic converters can be above $1,000 each.”California accounts for 37% of catalytic converter theft claims nationwide, with about 1,600 reported stolen each month, federal prosecutors said.

Persons: Tou Sue Vang, Andrew Vang, Monica Moua Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, California, New Jersey, “, Sacramento

☆ OpenAI's 'unreasonable claims' exhaust AI-ethics researchers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ali Alkhatib, an AI-ethics researcher, says large AI systems should not work for everything. Companies make grand claims about what their models can do, but this can cause significant harm. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Researchers are spending more time critiquing artificial-intelligence systems for their grandiose claims and unacknowledged harms. Because inherently, what OpenAI is doing is sort of unreasonable, which is a challenging thing for them to acknowledge or face."

Persons: Ali Alkhatib, —, Alkhatib, They're, OpenAI, ethicists Organizations: Companies, Service, Google, University of San Francisco's Data

☆ I quit my sales job to live in my Toyota Camry. The simpler life has helped me find happiness.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Alyshia Hull | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Monica Maragos had a good paying job and was making good money when she quit her job to travel. AdvertisementAdvertisementShe downsized her clothes, her shoes and she began to live out of her Toyota Camry. When I was 18 and living in Florida, I got a good job and started making really good money in sales. I also wondered what would happen if I didn't like van life. If you quit your corporate job, significantly downsized your life, or relocated somewhere and would like to share your story, email Alyshia Hull at ahull@insider.com.

Persons: Monica Maragos, —, backpacked, I'm, I've, Maragos, it's, Alyshia Organizations: Service, Toyota Camry, Craigslist, Alyshia Hull Locations: Florida, North Carolina, ahull@insider.com

☆ Bolivia faces water shortage as winter heat wave drives drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bertha Apaza, a local resident, said the extreme heat was a clear sign of shifting climates that had now forced the city to ration water use. Bolivia has experienced some of the most extreme temperatures in August and September, which are usually temperate months. Many of those living in El Alto, a city of around one million people, come from farming communities raising livestock and planting vegetables to survive. Members of the scientific community warn the situation could become critical with the El Nino weather pattern set to arrive in December, potentially altering the forecast and turning up the temperature. El Nino can prompt extreme weather events from wildfires to cyclones and droughts in some areas and more rainfall in others.

Persons: Isabel Apaza, Gabriel Flores, Claudia Morales, LA, Bertha Apaza, Mancilla, Oscar Paz, El Nino, Monica Machicao, Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi, Daniel Ramos, Lucinda Elliott, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, American, Southern, Authorities, El, Universidad Mayor de, Thomson Locations: Lake Titicaca, Huarina, Bolivia, LA PAZ, El Alto, Bolivian, La Paz, Neighboring Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Australia, Universidad Mayor de San Andres

☆ Zimbabwe: Outrage as Mnangagwa appoints son second-in-command over treasury after disputed polls
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Zimbabwe’s recently re-elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa is facing outrage after appointing his son as deputy minister to the country’s finance ministry. Mnangagwa’s 34-year-old son, David, was among 26 officials sworn in as cabinet ministers Tuesday despite public anger when the list of the nominees was made public on Monday. In his expanded cabinet, Mnangagwa’s son is to deputize finance minister Mthuli Ncube while his nephew, Tongai, would serve as deputy minister in the country’s tourism ministry. Some Zimbabweans have accused Mnangagwa of running the impoverished southern African country as “a family business.”“Slowly Zimbabwe is becoming a family business. The opposition CCC party, which placed second in last month’s disputed polls, also criticized the ministerial list which included a couple, Christopher and Monica Mutsvangwa, both associates of President Mnangagwa, as ministers.

Persons: CNN — Zimbabwe’s, Emmerson Mnangagwa, David, Mnangagwa’s, Mthuli Ncube, Tongai, ”, Mugano, “ It’s, Ncube, ” Mugano, David Mnangagwa, Nick Mangwana, “, ” Mangwana, Christopher, Monica Mutsvangwa, Mnangagwa Organizations: CNN, University of Zimbabwe, Business Administration, Drake University, CCC Locations: Zimbabwe, Harare, doldrums, United States

FILE PHOTO: An Aramco employee walks near an oil tank at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. Riyadh says it aims to stabilise the oil market by extending a voluntary oil output cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of 2023. Declining oil production and revenue this year could see Saudi Arabia's economy shrink for the first time since 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, although a hefty dividend from state oil producer Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) should provide a cushion for public finances. Last year the Saudi economy grew 8.7% and generated a fiscal surplus of 2.5% of GDP, its first surplus in nine years as oil soared to highs near $124. "Certainly, we see no signs that the Public Investment Fund's acquisition streak is cooling," RBC Capital Markets said in a note.

Persons: Ahmed Jadallah, Justin Alexander, Monica Malik, Alexander, James Swanston, PIF, Neil Quilliam, Quilliam, Rachna Uppal, Yousef Saba, Ahmad Ghaddar, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, Saudi Aramco, OPEC's, Khalij Economics, Abu, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, PMI, GlobalSource Partners, Capital Economics, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Public Investment Fund, Saudi, Public Investment, RBC Capital Markets, Reuters, Chatham House, Aramco, Riyadh bourse, Thomson Locations: Aramco, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, DUBAI, Riyadh, Ukraine, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Aramco, London, PIF

☆ AI has a big, dirty problem that is tarnishing Big Tech's environmental image
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Monica Melton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AI computing has a sustainability problem. Google data centers consumed 5.2 billion gallons of water in 2022, up 20% from a year earlier. A recent Cowen research report estimated that AI data centers could require more than five times the power of traditional facilities. While a regular cloud server uses 300 to 500 watts, according to Shaolei Ren , a researcher at UC Riverside who has studied how modern AI models use resources. Communities are setting up data privacy controls and internet connectivity on their own terms and in ways that don't rely as much on big tech companies.

Persons: Adrienne Russell, Jensen Huang, Cowen, Shaolei Ren, Russell Organizations: Tech, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Center for Journalism, Media, University of Washington, UC Riverside Locations: Virginia, Seattle, Arizona

☆ Bolivia hardens tone on cocaine 'mega labs', signaling crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Along with Colombia and Peru, Bolivia is widely recognized as a leading world producer of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, but the government has long maintained production of consumption-ready cocaine was limited. "They are trying to turn our nation from being a drug transit country to a drug-producing country," he added and presented a drug trafficking map of some 1,804 drug factory busts since 2020, the "vast majority" in Chapare, he said. "At the same time Bolivia has managed to transition from basic paste to hydrochloride." "In Bolivia we are experiencing a dispute between two factions of the MAS, each one pointing the finger at the other suggesting that they are protecting drug traffickers." Reporting by Monica Machicao; Writing by Daniel Ramos; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: LA, Evo Morales, Eduardo del Castillo, MAS President Luis Arce, Morales, Carlos Toranzo, Arce, Toranzo, Monica Machicao, Daniel Ramos, Adam Jourdan, Howard Goller Organizations: Departmental Association of Coca Producers, MAS President, MAS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: La Paz, Bolivia, LA PAZ, Colombia, Peru, Chapare, Bolivian, MAS

☆ Egypt hopes BRICS entry will lure foreign cash, but analysts counsel patience
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on Thursday invited Egypt and five other countries to join, and Egypt immediately welcomed the offer. "The group's aim of reducing dollar transactions will lower the foreign currency pressure in Egypt," the cabinet said in s statement on Thursday. Monica Malik of ADCB said BRICS membership may eventually help Egypt attract more investment. "Egypt has two deep needs - FDI and a cheaper debt burden - and BRICS membership can help with both," Robertson said. The BRICS group on Thursday also invited Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates to join.

Persons: Egypt Mostafa Madbouly, MARCO LONGARI, Abdel, Fattah, Sisi, Monica Malik, ADCB, Charles Robertson, " Robertson, Robertson, James Swanston, Patrick Werr, Nafisa Eltaher, Sarah El Safty, Giles Elgood Organizations: Rights, New Development Bank, FIM Partners, United, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights CAIRO, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Saudi, UAE

☆ Look inside the $44.5 million Tuscan-style mega villa perched 2,000 feet above Malibu
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Ray Parisi | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

watch nowThe Tuscan-style mega villa that sits high atop Malibu has just been put back on the market with a $44.5 million price tag. Studio 910The French limestone-clad villa's more recent history includes being featured on reality TV and film. Studio 910The primary suite includes vaulted ceilings and two balconies, plus a wraparound terrace. Studio 910The primary suite's third interior balcony overlooks the great room where 35-foot ceilings are clad in walnut wood. Studio 910The kitchen.

Persons: Shawn Elliott, Elliott, Howard Leight, Bob Easton, Leight, Kardashians, Leight's, Howard Leight Jr Organizations: Malibu Rocky, Nest Seekers International, CNBC Locations: Malibu, Santa Monica, Malibu's

☆ $1.2 Million Homes in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Angela Serratore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Calabasas | $1.2 MillionA three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house built in 1968, on a 0.1-acre lotThis house, which was recently updated with new stucco, insulation, drywall and HVAC systems, is in Calabasas Highlands, a quiet section of the city just off Mulholland Drive. It is less than a 10-minute drive from Bay Laurel Elementary School and Calabasas High School, well-ranked public schools, and about the same distance from the Commons at Calabasas, an outdoor shopping and dining center. Driving to Topanga Canyon, Thousand Oaks or the beaches in Malibu, on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains, takes about 20 minutes. Beyond is an open family-and-dining room with a fireplace, a beamed ceiling and a door to the rear deck. The adjacent kitchen has refinished oak cabinetry, quartz counters and a breakfast bar.

Organizations: Bay Laurel Elementary School, Calabasas High School Locations: Calabasas, Calabasas Highlands, Bay Laurel, Topanga, Malibu, Santa Monica

☆ Lake Titicaca drying up as heat wave turns winter upside down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/9] Isabel Apaza and Gabriel Flores sail in their boat through a narrow water path near the shore of Lake Titicaca in Huarina, Bolivia, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia MoralesHUARINA, Bolivia, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The parched shoreline and shrinking depths of Lake Titicaca are prompting growing alarm that an ago-old way of life around South America's largest lake is slipping away as a brutal heat wave wreaks havoc on the southern hemisphere's winter. Like many places suffering deadly consequences of climate change, the sprawling freshwater lake nestled in the Andes mountains on Bolivia's border with Peru now features a water level approaching an all-time low. Globally, July was the hottest month on record, as prolonged dry spells take an especially heavy toll on humans and animals alike. "I don't know what we're going to do any more since we don't have food for our cows or lambs."

Persons: Isabel Apaza, Gabriel Flores, Claudia Morales HUARINA, Lucia Walper, Monica Machicao, Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi, Valentine Hilaire, David Alire Garcia, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Farmers, Bolivia's Oruro Technical University, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Lake Titicaca, Huarina, Bolivia, Titicaca, South America's, Peru, Gabriel Flores ., South America, Uruguay, Montevideo, shriveled

☆ The world's youngest referee? A 10-year-old rules the pitch in Bolivia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

EL ALTO, Bolivia, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Erick Callejas may be just 10 years old - and a lot shorter than the other participants on the soccer pitch - but he has no qualms enforcing the rules as one of the few referees his age. "On Saturdays and Sundays I go out to referee with my little colleague, my son, Erick," Ramiro said. Callejas refereed his first match in a women's league after his dad signed him up for the job. "My dream is to referee the Bolivian Derby, to be a FIFA referee so I can go to the World Cup, America Cup, Liberators Cup and the Champions League," Callejas said. Reporting by Monica Machicao, Sergio Limachi, Santiago Limachi; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Erick Callejas, Callejas, Ramiro, Erick, Beimar Tancara, Tancara, Monica Machicao, Sergio Limachi, Santiago Limachi, Isabel Woodford, Lincoln Organizations: ALTO, La Paz, Bolivian Derby, FIFA, America Cup, Liberators, Champions League, Thomson Locations: Bolivia, El Alto, La

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