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☆ One year since Mahsa Amini’s death, a protester shot in the eye during Iran’s crackdown continues her struggle from exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Adam Pourahmadi Sarah El Sirgany Jomana Karadsheh | Adam Pourahmadi | Sarah El Sirgany | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Milan, Italy CNN —Elahe Tavakolian’s shooter was so close, she could see him pointing his gun at her. Flares of dissent were slowly lighting up cities and small towns like Esfarayen in the northeast of the country, where Tavakolian was shot. Help!’” she tells CNN in an interview in Milan, Italy, where she has sought asylum. Tavakolian felt like her fight wasn’t over. Now fitted with a prosthetic eye in Italy, Tavakolian is coming to terms with her new reality.

Persons: Italy CNN — Elahe, ”, “, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tavakolian, ” Tavakolian, can’t, ‘, didn’t, ’, I’m, Mahsa, IranWire, ophthalmologists, Mark Esplin, Roberta Rei, she’s Organizations: Italy CNN, Iran’s, CNN, Taxi, Amnesty, UN, Rights, News Agency, Human Rights, San Locations: Milan, Italy, Iran

☆ Brands pouring money into film and TV content are the latest to demand more data sharing from streamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They're pouring more money into Hollywood-style entertainment but want streamers to share more data. An industry effort is underway to standardize measurement of brand films. Brands are joining the chorus of content producers and creators demanding more audience data from Hollywood entertainment giants. Without transparency from the streamers, brands and their agencies rely on other measurements, some quantitative, some qualitative — typically a mix of things like critical reviews, social chatter, earned media, and sentiment. Most streamers don't show viewership data, so "you never really know how many people saw it," said Marc Gilbar, who leads Imagine's brands division.

Persons: Saint Laurent, who've, Gamble —, Brian Newman, REI, Hulu doesn't, Kyra Sedgwick, Paolo Mottola, Mottola, Megan Wells, who's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Marc Gilbar, Kimberly Doebereiner, Doebereiner Organizations: Hollywood, Brands, Pepsi, Companies, Procter, HBO, Unilever, Netflix, Hulu, Sundance Film, Brand Storytelling, G Studios Locations: Hollywood

☆ 13 brands, from Coca-Cola to REI, that are pouring money into movies and TV to reach consumers with Hollywood-style storytelling
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mattel's Barbie is just one of many big brands getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Brands are also getting more systematic about tracking the projects' outcome so they can justify the cost. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. Showtime/PepsiPepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: Barbie, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, It's, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mottola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, Showtime, Pepsi PepsiCo, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ A diplomat who was pressed into leading the Afghanistan withdrawal was so flummoxed by his last-minute assignment that he had to run to REI for gear: book
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Afghanistan ambassador John Bass was pressed to return to Kabul in August 2021. Bass was called by a top State Department official to return to the nation to help lead the US' withdrawal. Bass was so unprepared for the assignment that he had to run to an outdoor store to get gear. I've just been asked to go back to Kabul and support the evacuations," the book quotes him as saying. According to the book, Biden himself would "pepper" Bass with ideas on how to get more evacuees through the airport's gates.

Persons: John Bass, Bass, Afghanistan John Bass, REI, Franklin Foer, Joe Biden's, Ross Wilson, Wendy Sherman, I'm, I've, Hamid Karzai, Biden, Foer, Ross, Sherman Organizations: State Department, Service, Airport, Atlantic Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Wall, Silicon, Foggy, Virginia

☆ The word 'ESG' is vanishing from earnings calls. Here's what companies are pitching instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But Mahaffy's research found that it is not necessarily because companies have leaned away from socially conscious strategies. Instead, she pointed a growing use of the term "sustainability," as well as other words like "climate" or "decarbonization" that fall under the ESG umbrella. It comes at a time when ESG has become increasingly fraught in the political sphere. Mahaffry noted that areas like the U.S. where ESG has received the most scrutiny have seen the biggest drops in use of the term on earnings calls. On WestRock's earnings call earlier this month, Sewell told listeners: "This is just one example of many of how WestRock's unique capabilities position us for growth."

Persons: —, Sara Mahaffy, ESG, it's, Williams, Alan Armstrong, Peter Vanacker, David Gitlin, Marvin Ellison, Joseph Dominguez, Dominguez, Robert Venkat Pragada, Whitney, REI, Satya Nadella, David Sewell, Sewell, Michael Bloom Organizations: RBC Capital, LyondellBasell Industries, Carrier, Constellation Energy, Engineering, Jacobs Solutions, Pratt, Microsoft, Sustainability, Costco Locations: U.S, ESG

☆ The Perfect Camping Pack List
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Cassandra Brooklyn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Handy HobFor those that want to boil water and cook on trail, try the Jetboil Mighty Mo camp stove. You’ll need to bring a fuel canister (and maybe a pan) to use it, but the stove itself weighs less than a quarter pound. If you want to eat anything other than peanut-butter sandwiches, you’ll make room. $60, REI.comJetboil

Persons: Handy, REI.com

☆ 13 Hollywood production companies making brand films that streamers like Netflix and Apple want to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

said Marc Gilbar, who runs the brand division at Imagine Entertainment. Some are also looking to brand films to offset some of the revenue they're losing in the dual Hollywood strikes. (Brand films are often unscripted and thus aren't governed by the Hollywood unions.) They also see brand work being a positive for below-the-line workers who are idled by the work stoppage. Led by EVP Kate Oppenheim, Tribeca Studios' projects have included "We Could be King" (ESPN2) for Dick's Sporting Goods and P&G's Queen Collective series (BET).

Persons: Ben Silverman, Issa Rae's Hoorae, Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, Julian Jacobs, we've, Marc Gilbar, Samuel L, Jackson, Emma Stone, Zac Ryder, Olivia Wilde, Laurene Powell Jobs, Caitlin McGinty, It's, James Gay, Rees, Paul Martin, Kevin Hart's, Hart, Hartbeat, Brian Price, Chase Sapphire, Procter, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Fairbourn, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Ron Howard's, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gilbar, Rocco DiSpirito, General Mills, Rupert Maconik's Saville, Werner Herzog, Barry Levinson, Sugar23, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Trevor Noah's, he's, Kennedy, Matt Rotondo helms, Sugar, Mike Beck, Alexa Conway, Trevor Noah, Kate Oppenheim, HBO Max, Paul McCartney, Mary McCartney Ventureland, Kerstin Emhoff, Paul Hunter, John Battsek, Stacy's Pita Chips, Will, Jada Pinkett, REI, Gargi Organizations: Hollywood, Brands, Mattel, Netflix, Apple, UTA, Imagine Entertainment, Producers, Adobe, IBM, Anonymous, HP, Afghan Girls National Soccer Team, Showtime, Pepsi Boardwalk Pictures, Relativity Media, Super, Pepsi, REI, Unilever, Marriott, Surf League, Major League Soccer, Sam's, Gamble, Weinstein Co, Hulu, Imagine, Paramount, Saville Productions, Disney, Time Studios, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser, Busch, InBev, CAA, Studios, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Tribeca Studios, Dick's Sporting Goods, HBO, CNN, Mobile, Stacy's, Everest, Vice Studios, Westbrook Media, Meta, Logitech, Samsung Locations: Hollywood, Subway, Magnolia

☆ Camping 101: Things to know before you set out on the road
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Joe Yogerst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The downside of car camping is the fact that these campgrounds are often packed to the rafters with other campers. While RV camping may seem like a recent phenomenon, it’s actually been around for more than 100 years. Among the websites that list RV campgrounds and post very useful user ratings are RVshare/Hipcamp, RV Life and Good Sam. Other than maybe car camping, it requires the least expense and equipment. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management has set aside areas for free camping in national forests, national grasslands and BLM-managed lands.

Persons: Millennials, It’s, Pierce, Arrow, Marchi, that’s, Sam, Hemingway, glamping, Joe Yogerst, ” Organizations: CNN, Kampgrounds, Financial, Great Britain Tourism Survey, Goods, Marchi Mobile, Trail, Hollywood, Autocamp, California redwoods, Getty, U.S . Forest Service, Land Management Locations: U.S, Canada, American, Great Britain, Cavan, Germany, Patagonia, Himalayas, South Africa, New Zealand, Europe, Cape Cod, Desert, Glamping, Northumberland, England, Elena, Rio, Big Bend, McCarty, Kenai, Parks

☆ Brands are pouring money into film and TV — meet 13 marketers making the biggest moves as Hollywood's new financiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not just Barbie — lots of big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Insider identified 13 new and established players making the biggest moves in the space. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. PepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: It's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Ken, Jaap Buitendijk, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mattola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Companies, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Showtime, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ It's not just 'Barbie' — as Hollywood goes through upheaval, brands from Nike to John Deere are becoming the new financiers of film and TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As studios cut spending and strikes shut down production, Hollywood can take some solace — brands are coming to the rescue. Brand Storytelling is an organization that's held a festival for brand content alongside the Sundance Film Festival for the past seven years. Brand film submissions have almost tripled to 160 in the past three years, according to Rick Parkhill, director and co-founder of Brand Storytelling. "Film directors need the work," said Marcus Peterzell, who left ad giant Omnicom to found Passion Point Collective, a brand film studio, in 2019. He's since made some 36 film projects for brands.

Persons: Greta Gerwig, Kyra Sedgwick, John Deere, Kimberly Doebereiner, Chris Paul, Mattel's Robbie Brenner, There's, Jill Lubochinski, Holly Fraser, WePresent, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Reese Witherspoon's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, we've, Marc Gilbar, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Gilbar, that's, Rick Parkhill, Riz Ahmed, WeTransfer, Vicky Grout, Parkill, Saint Laurent, Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, They're, Marcus Peterzell, Peterzell Organizations: Hollywood, Mattel, Nike, HBO, Procter & Gamble, Tide, Gillette, G Studios, Warner Bros, Discovery, PepsiCo, REI, Dallas Buyers, Sundance, Brand, Brands Locations: —, HBO's, Hollywood

☆ US slaps sanctions on Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl network
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, July 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 10 Mexican nationals and one company in the country for their alleged involvement in the Sinaloa Cartel's vast illicit fentanyl trafficking network. The sons, known as "Los Chapitos," are accused of leading a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel after their father's 2016 capture and extradition to the U.S. a year later. The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned an import-export company, REI Compania Internacional, and its majority shareholder for allegedly receiving chemical shipments from China. Lopez Obrador added that his Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez would meet this month with U.S. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has been seeking increased cooperation from Mexico and China in stemming the flow of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals.

Persons: Noel Lopez Perez, Joaquin, El, Ricardo Paez Lopez, El Chapo's, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Elizabeth Sherwood, Randall, Joe Biden's, Kylie Madry, Stefanie Eschenbacher, Raul Cortes, Sarah Morland, Mark Heinrich, Josie Kao Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Treasury Department, Treasury, Foreign Assets, U.S . Treasury, REI Compania Internacional, U.S . Homeland Security, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Sinaloa, U.S, United States, Mexico, China, Mexican

☆ I spent over $5,000 to race an Ironman. I have no regrets whatsoever — and experts suggest it was a good way to spend my money.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Between race entry fees, equipment, and travel, I spent well over $5,000 getting to the start line. It was money spent in alignment with my values, which experts say is the way to spend. Between July 19, 2022 (when I registered) and June 18, 2023 (race day), I spent well over $5,000 getting to the start line. It was money spent in alignment with my values and priorities, which experts say is the way to spendHow you choose to spend your money matters. In other words, don't spend money on things that aren't important to you.

Persons: I'm, it's, It's, Kathleen Elkins It's, Ramit, Sethi, we'll Organizations: Williams College, Psychological Science, Harvard Business Locations: Kärnten, Klagenfurt, Austria, Galveston , Texas, Galveston, Riding, Los Angeles, Texas

☆ Shop REI’s Fourth of July Sale for Big Summer Savings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

By Buy Side from WSJ StaffQuality gear can make every outdoor activity more enjoyable—and now is your opportunity to pick up that gear while it’s on sale during REI Co-op’s Fourth of July sale. The jacket is great as a single layer for warmer weather rain showers or as a top layer over a fleece in colder weather. Backpacking tentREI members can get the REI Co-op Half Dome SL 2+ Tent for more than $130 off during this sale. Classic lawn chairThis lawn chair may give you happy flashbacks to backyard gatherings and for REI members, it’s 30% off. Lightweight sleeping bagsBoth these sleeping bags are 40% for REI members and feature water-repellent 600-fill-power duck down insulation and recycled nylon shells.

Persons: REI, you’re, Gucci, Birkenstock, ”, Helly Hansen, HH Max, Blue Organizations: Staff, REI, Independence, North Face, HH, Navy Locations: Norway

☆ Shanghai’s ‘voguing’ dancers step lightly to avoid official gaze
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Aly Song | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

"I think the biggest difference in voguing is that you need to dance your own self, the deepest you want to express," said Sui Kawakubo, a member of the Kiki House of Kawakubo, one of the city's key voguing "families", as they describe themselves. Voguing is a dance style characterised by staccato hand motions and angular arm and body postures punctuated by brief pauses, much in the manner of a model posing for photographs. "I wouldn't say voguing has made me an extrovert, but it allows a new me to emerge," added Kawakubo, a self-proclaimed introvert who uses a stage name chosen as a tribute to Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo to protect his privacy.

Persons: Sui Kawakubo, Kiki, voguing, introvert, Rei Kawakubo

☆ Westfield Gives Up San Francisco Mall, Signaling More Pain Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jordyn Holman | Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In San Francisco, Nordstrom said it would close its longtime store at San Francisco Centre in August, which will leave the mall 45 percent empty. Westfield isn’t the first mall owner to decide to leave a longtime downtown shopping center. Last year, Brookfield Property Partners relinquished Chicago’s Water Tower Place, the mall that anchors the Magnificent Mile, an upscale commercial district. More than half of the space in Water Tower Place is vacant, including an anchor store location that was a Macy until 2021, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Indeed, Westfield’s decision in San Francisco is part of a broader strategy by its parent company, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, to greatly reduce the number of malls it operates in the country.

Persons: Yasukochi, ” Banks, ” Mr, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, REI, Macerich Organizations: San Francisco Centre, Hudson, Nike, Brookfield Property Partners, Macy, Cushman & Locations: San Francisco, New York, Manhattan —, Seattle, Portland, downtowns, Westfield, Cushman & Wakefield, United States

CNN —Mourners gathered in Milan on Wednesday for the state funeral of Silvio Berlusconi, the divisive and domineering former premier who remained omnipresent in Italian public life for decades until his death this week. Berlusconi’s coffin left Villa San Martino in Arcore, outside Milan, and was transported through the city center to Milan’s gothic Duomo cathedral for Wednesday’s service. Berlusconi, who had a lengthy, scandal-ridden career, died at a Milan hospital on Monday aged 86. But Lana opposed the award of a state funeral to Berlusconi, citing the many trials against him. Widely regarded as Italy’s most colorful public figure, Berlusconi was elected prime minister three times and served for a total of nine years, longer than anyone since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Persons: Silvio Berlusconi, Villa, Berlusconi, –, Sergio Mattarella, Giorgia Meloni, Viktor Orbán, Paolo Gentiloni, Monsignor Mario Delpini, ” “ Silvio Berlusconi, ”, “, Italy …, Jessica Lana, Lana, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Tomaso Montanari, Monatanari, Milan’s, Marina, Benito Mussolini, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Organizations: CNN, Villa San, SkyTG24, Forza Italia, AC Milan football team, EU, Reuters, University for Foreigners of, Milan’s San Raffaele, Milan, Bloomberg Locations: Milan, Arcore, Italian, Rei, Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy, Milan’s, University for Foreigners of Siena

☆ LIVE Memorial Day sales 2023: 100+ deal and store highlights
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Brendan Griffiths | Senior Commerce Director | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Memorial Day sales have entered their final day, so don't miss out on your chance to grab an early summer bargain on a range of items. As highlighted in our dedicated Memorial Day TV sales guide, you'll see what might be the best selection of TV deals this side of Black Friday. Memorial Day outdoor sales Backcountry : Get up to 50% off camping gear. Huckberry: Get up to 35% off on select outdoor gear. Get up to 35% off on select outdoor gear.

☆ Opinion | If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably ‘WEIRD’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +83 min

You’re probably very weird, and not just for all the obvious reasons you’re thinking of. Because, obviously, there’s going to be some overlap in the curve here. How you’re going to behave with your professor is quite different than how you’re going to behave with your friends. But it’s really kind of faceless, and you’re not really helping anybody you know. I think things are dynamic, and directions are changing, and that sort of thing.

☆ Companies Are Taking a Harder Line on Union Organizers, Workers Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Noam Scheiber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In some cases, the apparent escalation of company pushback has coincided with a slowing down of the union campaigns. At Starbucks, filings for union elections fell below 10 in August, from about 70 five months earlier, and no Apple store has filed for a union election since November. And in advance of a recent union election at an REI near Cleveland, management sought to exclude certain categories of workers from voting, according to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It said the chain, a co-op that sells recreational gear, had made no such challenge in two previous elections, in which workers voted to unionize. (The union said the company backed down after workers at the Cleveland-area store walked out, and the store voted to unionize in March.)

☆ Bats carry killer viruses. Scientists suggest ways to cope.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

“I have to think on a landscape scale.”Research in Australia also is deepening scientists’ understanding of bats. Flying foxes travel long distances in search of food, dispensing seeds and pollinating trees along the way. As deforestation destroyed habitats and further disrupted the food supply, the bats have increasingly formed year-round roosts near people, they noticed. Native gums flowering around Gympie lured the flying foxes away from horse paddocks and more urban areas. In fact, the most dangerous areas for spillover aren’t rare, pristine habitats absent of humans, scientists say.

☆ Ben and Jerry's is latest progressive company to be brought into the union debate as scoopers at its flagship store in Vermont move to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Employees at a Ben & Jerry's shop in Vermont are seeking to form a union. A Ben & Jerry's spokeswoman told Insider that "we recognize and support the rights of all workers to unionize and collectively bargain." Ben & Jerry's workers told the Washington Post that they decided to pursue a union after management took away the store's tip jar for the company's annual Free Cone Day. All 37 scoopers at the Burlington store have pledged support for the union, according to Scoopers United. The union effort is the latest test for Ben & Jerry's, which has cast itself as a socially conscious brand for decades.

☆ How age-old retailers like Foot Locker are boosting sales for new brands like Hoka and On
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Foot Locker and other sneaker retailers have learned their lesson about depending too much on Nike. Foot Locker has allocated more wall space to emerging performance running brands like On and Hoka. Foot Locker and other sneaker retailers have learned their lesson from Nike's shifting strategy. Although Nike still sells at some retailers like Foot Locker, Nike is committed to putting its own direct-to-consumer sales first. "Acquiring a 21-year-old in New Jersey is more expensive for us to do than Foot Locker because Foot Locker has kept that relationship with that consumer," On co-CEO Marc Maurer told Insider in an interview.

☆ The top 4 sports and sports tech VCs are ready to open their checkbooks. Here's what they're looking for.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Courtside Ventures in January closed a $100 million fund, its biggest yet. KB Partners late last year closed a $127 million fund, also its biggest yet. If you're not in one of those lanes, don't bother reaching out, even though the firm has the new $100 million fund to dole out. Parikh expects fewer investments in media companies out of the new fund, but more investments in gaming. It's doling out the money through two accelerator programs and an investment fund.

☆ Do Couples Get Better Sleep in Double Sleeping Bags?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Justin Pot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

THE TWO-BODY PROBLEM Proponents of double sleeping bags like this one from REI ($329) say they let them snuggle up with their beloveds. THE EXPRESSION “hitting the sack” gets slightly more literal in the great outdoors. If you’re a couple, though, you’re likely hitting separate sleeping sacks—unless you buy a double sleeping bag, wide enough to fit two people inside its nylon sheets. Double sleeping bags should in theory work well for outdoorsy couples who want to make sleeping in the woods feel more like sleeping at home. That said, such intimate designs aren’t ideal for duos who disagree on ideal sleep temperature and position.

☆ Nordstrom will cut about 2,500 jobs as layoffs creep into the retail world. Here's the full list of major retailers that have laid off workers in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Layoffs have started trickling into the retail sector, primarily impacting corporate employees. Still, few retailers are laying off store employees as the "labor hoarding" trend continues in 2023. Since the start of 2023, major retailers ranging from department stores to direct-to-consumer brands have cut staff, the latest swing in a sector that's been hit hard by labor challenges and inflation. Brian Ach/Invision for The RealReal/AP ImagesThe RealReal: The luxury consignment company cut 230 employees, about 7% of its workforce. Lidl: Around 200 US-based corporate employees were let go from the German grocery chain.

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