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☆ Billionaire Frank McCourt's TikTok bid wins key backer as he looks past app's prized algorithm
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Emily Wilkins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Frank McCourt, civic entrepreneur, executive chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. "I don't want to be the CEO of a social media platform. His pitch has drawn a key group: Parents whose children died after being influenced by social media or bullied on various platforms. He founded the non-profit Project Liberty to build a healthier version of social media. Project Liberty is working with Guggenheim Securities and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to buy the viral video platform.

Persons: Frank McCourt, McCourt, Frank's, Sam Chapman, Sammy, Chapman, Kirkland, Ellis Organizations: McCourt Global, Project Liberty, Everything, Liberty, Guggenheim Securities Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ Former OpenAI board member explains why CEO Sam Altman was fired
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner, who helped oust CEO Sam Altman in November, broke her silence this week when she spoke on a podcast about events inside the company leading up to Altman's firing. Toner also said Altman did not tell the board he owned the OpenAI startup fund. Within a week, Altman was back and board members Toner and Tasha McCauley, who had voted to oust Altman, were out. In March, OpenAI announced its new board, which includes Altman, and the conclusion of an internal investigation by law firm WilmerHale into the events leading up to Altman's ouster. "The review concluded there was a significant breakdown of trust between the prior board and Sam and Greg," OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor said at the time, referring to president and co-founder Greg Brockman.

Persons: Helen Toner, CSET, Vox, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Toner, Altman, Sam, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, Anthropic, OpenAI's, Sutskever, Tasha McCauley, Adam D'Angelo, WilmerHale, Greg, Bret Taylor, Greg Brockman, Taylor Organizations: The Ritz, Carlton, Twitter, OpenAI, Microsoft, Street Locations: Laguna Niguel, Dana Point , California

☆ Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough is fighting to keep Graceland. Meet the King of Rock 'n' Roll's extended family.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Gabbi Shaw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Keough did all her own singing for the show, proving that musical talent runs in the family. Riley Keough as Daisy and Sam Claflin as Billy in "Daisy Jones & The Six." However, her vocals were so strong that the music supervisor, Frankie Pine, was able to use her live singing during a pivotal scene in the series' eighth episode. "We ended up using so much of her live vocal in that moment," Pine told Business Insider. "Because it was the only way that I could get across the fact that she was out of her mind."

Persons: Keough, Riley Keough, Daisy, Sam Claflin, Billy, Daisy Jones, Lacey Terrell, Callie Ahlgrim, Frankie Pine, Pine Organizations: Business

☆ How the Israeli Air Force once destroyed over 60 enemy jets and dozens of Soviet missile systems in battle without losing a single fighter
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Israeli Air Force achieved an unmatched air combat victory in the 1982 Lebanon War. The battle, known as Operation Mole Cricket 19, saw over 60 enemy aircraft eliminated without a single Israeli loss. The fourth-generation Israeli jets were also made much more lethal by the AIM-9L Sidewinder missile that could be fired from any angle. This allowed Israeli jets, with targeting assistance from UAVs, to destroy the SAMs using anti-radiation missiles. A picture taken on June 28, 2016 shows an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet preparing to take off at the Ramat David Air Force Base located in the Jezreel Valley, southeast of the Israeli port city of Haifa JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty ImagesAdditionally, Israel had superior Command, Control, and Communications (C3) capabilities.

Persons: —, SAMs, Haifa JACK GUEZ, hadn't, Israel, Organizations: Israeli Air Force, Mole, Service, Palestinian Liberation Organization, Soviet Union, Soviet, Syrian Air Force, IAF, AIM, 9L, Ramat David Air Force Base, Getty, Syrian SAM, Kippur, Command, Communications, Grumman, RAND Corporation Locations: Lebanon, Beqaa, Israel, Syria, Soviet, Vietnam, Jezreel, Haifa, AFP, Syrian

☆ A Russian helicopter fought an unusual Ukrainian drone armed with heat-seeking missiles, war watchers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine used exploding drone boats to attack Russian naval assets on Monday. AdvertisementUkraine appears to be arming its naval drones with heat-seeking missiles to defend against air attacks, an unusual innovation for Kyiv's growing arsenal of explosive unmanned systems. Equipping the Ukrainian drones with this kind of air-combat munition could help them defend against aerial attacks, war watchers suspect. In the Black Sea, Russian forces spotted a Ukrainian USV armed with a twin rail launcher for R-73 all-aspect IR homing air-to-air missiles. Monday's naval drone attack marked the latest strike on a Russian naval asset.

Persons: —, 🐈🇺 Organizations: Service, br Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Crimean, Moscow, Ukrainian, Crimea, Kherson

☆ I'm a researcher who has interviewed over 100 people about loneliness: Here's my best advice
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Most people do their best to avoid feeling lonely. His most recent research, the Loneliness Project, involved speaking to 80 older people from different countries to get a better understanding of what loneliness means for them. "I think it's only recently that I've realized that loneliness is a big part of all human suffering. It's sort of like the common denominator," says Carr, who recently published a book called "All the Lonely People". "I actually see it as an inevitable part of life," he says, adding that "to be alive is to be lonely."

Persons: Sam Carr, I've, Carr Organizations: University of Bath, CNBC

☆ A complete timeline of Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's relationship
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and director Sam Taylor-Johnson have been married since 2012. AdvertisementActor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 33, and director Sam Taylor-Johnson, 57, have been together for more than a decade. 2009: Aaron proposes to Sam after wrapping the filmSam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in September 2009. February 2017: Aaron says that the public's fixation on their relationship is 'intrusive'Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in April 2014. March 2021: It's reported that Sam and Aaron will team up for another film togetherSam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in February 2019.

Persons: Aaron Taylor, Johnson, Sam Taylor, Aaron, Sam, —, Here's, John Lennon, Dave M, née Taylor, Wood, Jay Jopling, Anjelica, Jessie Phoenix, Anjelica Jopling, John Lennon's, Julia, Harper's, Sam I'd, –, Mike Marsland, IndieWire, Pascal Le Segretain, I'm, We've, Aaron didn't, Simon Hattenstone, Hattenstone, Jonathan Ross, Sam's, Wylda Rae, Peter Kramer, Wylda, R.E.M, Romy Hero, Sang Tan, Taylor, Johnson Sam Taylor, Stewart Wilson, London's, Jordan Strauss, We're, Charles Sykes, Anna Karenina, Aaron Johnson, Angus, Thongs, Tom Ford's, Eric Charbonneau, Jesus, Romy, Joel Ryan, Aaron gushes, Mr Porter, Benjamin Button, she's, HBD, Zoë Kravitz, Karl Glusman's, aron, ohnson, aron T aylor-, aid., ames, ieces', ike, elationship, aron d anced, ong, rowe, eing, ove ✍ 🏼 f, m., Jo, " Sony, ted the of, tarr, Aaron T aylor, ady, roper, I w, hie Turner, elebr, 0s, I, cott, Adve, , ', hou Organizations: Service, Nowhere, Hollywood Reporter, The Telegraph UK, Sunday Times UK, Telegraph UK, The Telegraph, Guardian, Globe, New York Magazine, Hollywood, Artist &, ust, ici, ntr Locations: Jopling, Liverpool, London, Somerset, England, Phoenix, Paris, ife, gan

☆ Penthouse to prison: Sam Bankman-Fried's journey from crypto king to convicted conman
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX, will head on Thursday to a federal court in downtown Manhattan, where U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will deliver his sentencing. After a month of personally dabbling in the market, Bankman-Fried launched Alameda Research, named after the California county that housed his first office. The so-called crypto winter of 2022 wiped out hedge funds and lenders across the crypto universe. May of 2022 brought the crash of stablecoin Luna, creating a domino effect that sent crypto prices plunging, devastating other lenders. On Nov. 2, 2022, crypto trade site CoinDesk publicized details of Alameda's balance sheet, which showed $14.6 billion in assets.

Persons: Samuel Bankman, MacKenzie Sigalos, Sam Bankman, Fried, Damian Williams, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, they'd, FTX, Amr Alfiky, Jane Street, Goldman Sachs, stablecoin Luna, Solana, Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Zhao, Jane Rosenberg, he'd, Cromwell, John J, Ray, confidants, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: CNBC, Metropolitan Detention, U.S, District, Prosecutors, Reuters, Jane, Alameda Research, Formula, Democratic, Voyager, Alameda, FTX, Industry, Investors, Enron, Securities and Exchange Commission, Stanford University Locations: San Francisco, he's, Brooklyn, Manhattan, U.S, New York City, South Korea, Alameda, California, Miami, Washington, Solana, FTX, New York, Palo Alto , California

☆ Bitcoin jumps 7%, retakes $70,000 to start the week
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

MicroStrategy , which trades as a proxy for the price of bitcoin, surged 20%, while Coinbase advanced 9%. The mining sector got a lift from bitcoin, too, with Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms up 4% and 9%, respectively. Bitcoin had been in correction mode for the past week, after it hit an all-time high of $73,797.68 on March 14. Sam Callahan, lead analyst at bitcoin services firm Swan Bitcoin, said it's likely tied to the messaging coming from the Federal Reserve last week. Despite its pullbacks, bitcoin is on pace to finish March on a winning note.

Persons: CleanSpark, cryptocurrency, cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Alex Thorn, Thorn, Genesis, Sam Callahan, Swan Bitcoin, it's Organizations: Marathon, Mining, Metrics, Galaxy Digital, Federal Reserve, Fed

☆ Here's how the cast of 'Shirley' compares to the real-life people they're playing
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Academy Award winner Regina King stars as Shirley Chisholm. Regina King, left, as Shirley Chisholm in the Netflix film "Shirley." Glen Wilson/Netflix; OHalloran/Library of Congress/Interim Archives/Getty ImagesChisholm, born in Brooklyn, was the first Black woman elected to the US Congress. King has been acting professionally since the '80s, beginning with the TV show "227." King also won a Primetime Emmy for her performance as Angela Abar/Sister Night on HBO's limited series adaptation of the graphic novel "Watchmen."

Persons: Regina King, Shirley Chisholm, Shirley, Chisholm, Glen Wilson, King, Jerry Maguire, Stella, Oscar, Angela Abar, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke Organizations: Netflix, of Congress, Interim, Getty Locations: Washington , DC, Brooklyn, Miami .

☆ Lily Allen says having children 'totally ruined' her career and parents can't 'have it all.' Career coaches say she's right.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

C-Suite career coach Elizabeth Pearson said juggling family and a career can feel "impossible." AdvertisementAccording to Lily Allen, having children and a career just don't mix. "I never really have a strategy when it comes to my career, but yes, my children ruined my career. ANGELA WEISS/Getty ImagesWhile Allen's comments prompted criticism from some, career coaches Elizabeth Pearson and Sara Madera told Business Insider she's not entirely wrong. Both Madera and Pearson urged parents to make themselves a priority, even when it's hardBoth career coaches agreed that parents should check in with themselves.

Persons: Lily Allen, Allen, Elizabeth Pearson, —, Ethel, Marnie, Sam Cooper, I'm, David, ANGELA WEISS, Sara Madera, she's, Pearson, MoMo, Michelle Obama, we've, we're, Madera, who've, Jordi Mora igual Organizations: Service, British, Radio, Getty Locations: Madera

☆ No Jenna Ortega. Melissa Barrera fired. Now Neve Campbell is back. What's going on with 'Scream 7?'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Melissa Barrera was fired from "Scream 7" after making comments about the Israel-Gaza conflict. Then Jenna Ortega dropped out over scheduling conflicts with "Wednesday." Last year, Spyglass Media fired one of the franchise's lead actors, Melissa Barrera, from the sequel, before costar Jenna Ortega dropped out. Barrera played Sam Carpenter, the daughter of the original Ghostface, Billy Loomis, in 2022's "Scream" (technically, "Scream 5") and its sequel, "Scream 6." Ortega played her sister, Tara.

Persons: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Neve Campbell, —, Ghostface hasn't, Barrera, Sam Carpenter, Billy Loomis, Ortega, Tara Organizations: Service, Spyglass Media, Business Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Lily Allen says having children ‘ruined’ her career
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Emily Blumenthal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —British pop singer Lily Allen has said that her children “complete” her, but having them “totally ruined” her career. When asked on the Radio Times podcast if she had to rethink her career strategy after having children, Allen replied: “I never really have a strategy when it comes to career, but yes, my children ruined my career.”“I mean I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom, totally ruined it,” Allen said jokingly during the interview, which was released Tuesday. “It really annoys me when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t,” the singer added. “Some people choose their career over their children and that’s their prerogative.”Allen has seen most of her career success in the UK, with three number one hits and 15 in the Top 40. “I feel like that really left some nasty scars that I’m not willing to repeat [on my children],” Allen said.

Persons: Lily Allen, “, Allen, ”, ” Allen, Sam Cooper, Allen’s, Keith Allen, Alison Owen, Alfie Allen, I’m, David Harbour Organizations: CNN, Radio Times Locations: British, New York City

☆ Extended-reality workouts usher in an immersive era of virtual fitness on VR headsets
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Diana Umana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Business Insider spoke with leaders at the fitness brands Puma, Les Mills, FitXR, and Supernatural about leveraging extended reality to provide tech-driven workouts. Shifting perceptions of fitness technologyPuma this year partnered with Meta Quest 3 to launch immersive mixed-reality workouts in the metaverse. He recalled seeing people's perceptions of VR workouts change at a launch event for Puma and Meta Quest's partnership earlier this year. Lisa Edwards, Les Mills' digital innovation director, said the game's development required the company to adapt to connect "a global community of fitness enthusiasts." Three years ago, when Les Mills met with developers, the technology was more rudimentary; putting time and resources into extended-reality services was a risk.

Persons: —, Rachel Z, Les Mills, Ivan Dashkov, I've, Dashkov, Kathryn Przybyla Dashkov, there's, Lisa Edwards, Lisa Edwards , , Les Mills Edwards, Sam Cole, Cole, Achilles, FitXR Cole, Leanne Pedante, Lindsey Byrnes, Pedante Organizations: Service, Puma, Meta, aha, Les Mills, VR Locations: FitXR, Les

☆ The breathtaking scope of Sam Altman's future AI empire
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

If Sam Altman is to achieve his dream of artificial general intelligence in his lifetime, that number will need to double or triple every year for the foreseeable future. These wide-ranging plans for global transformation go far beyond Altman's role as the CEO of generative AI behemoth OpenAI, developer of ChatGPT. EnergyThe first pillar of Altman's grand unified theory of the future rests on energy. Headlining the event was company chairman and investor Sam Altman, who appeared via video call projected on a towered cineplex. And Altman's AGI empire extends beyond just the energy and raw material required to build AGI.

Persons: Sam Altman, he's, Altman, it's, Max, Jack, Sam himself, Sam, David Kirtley, Helion, He's, Joe Betts Lacroix, Lacroix, where's, Joe Biden, Tade Oyerinde, Oyerinde, Ali Ghodsi, Ghodsi Organizations: Nvidia, Business, Elon, Altman, OpenAI, Energy, Bloomberg, Concorde, Wall Street, Retro Biosciences, Capitol, PAC Locations: Silicon Valley, OpenAI, Davos, New York, Redmond , Washington, Washington

☆ What’s a ‘Girl Dinner’ Got to Do to Get Into the Dictionary These Days?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Sam Corbin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If you feel like you’re drowning in neologisms lately, you’re not delulu. The uptick in coinages has been noted by culture writers and TikTok users alike. There’s even a meme for slang overload, though it has been around since 2020. Girl dinner, an informal phrase credited to the TikTok user Olivia Maher that describes a light, charcuterie board-like meal, was inducted as an entry on Dictionary.com this month. It joins other newly inducted informal nouns and slang terms — including bussin’, the ick and pretty privilege — whose rise has been driven at least in part by social media.

Persons: you’re, —, Olivia Maher, bussin ’, Grant Barrett, Dictionary.com Locations: coinages

☆ British divers retrieved an 80-pound brass bell from the only American destroyer sunk in World War I more than 100 years after the ship was torpedoed
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewMore than a century after a German U-boat torpedoed the USS Jacob Jones off the coast of Britain during World War I, a team of divers retrieved the American destroyer's massive brass bell. On December 6, 1917 — eight months after the US joined the fight — the Jacob Jones was attacked by a submarine off the southwest coast of Britain. But the effort to retrieve the Jacob Jones' bell was pursued because of plundering concerns, retired Rear Adm. Sam Cox said in a statement about the mission. AdvertisementMost wreck sites from both World War I and World War II have been stripped of their valuable items; anything brass or bronze is gone, Cox told The Post. The Jacob Jones was the first and only US destroyer lost in the war, according to the US Naval Institute.

Persons: —, Jacob Jones, Dom Robinson, 9qzRwhGnG4, Sam Cox, Cox Organizations: Service, US, US Naval Institute, Business, Heritage Command, Navy, British Defense Ministry's, Marine Operations, Washington Post, US Naval Institute . Archaeologists, Washington Navy Yard Locations: Britain, Washington , DC, New York, Scilly, Queenstown, Ireland, England

☆ As Sam Bankman-Fried awaits prison sentence, FTX customers await a surprise: full repayment
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Lawyers representing the bankruptcy estate of FTX told a judge in Delaware last week that they expect to fully repay customers and creditors with legitimate claims. After the dust settled from FTX's bankruptcy, Solana saw a huge run-up in its price, and it continued to rally after the September report. The bankruptcy estate of FTX has been looking to sell its Anthropic stake, according to a court filing this month. For FTX customers, being made whole, according to a judge's ruling, means getting the cash equivalent of what their crypto was worth in November 2022.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, FTX, Andrew Dietderich, —, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Brendan Mcdermid, John Ray III, Michael Kives, Braden Perry, FTX's, Ray, we're, It's, Solana, Lewis Kaplan, Elizabeth Williams, Michael Lewis, Lewis, IOUs, Perry, SBF, Renato Mariotti, Mariotti Organizations: Bankman, Federal Court, Reuters, K5 Global, SpaceX, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CNBC, Alameda Research, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, SEC Chari Locations: FTX, Delaware, Plenty, Palo Alto , California, New York City, U.S, Bankman, Solana, Alameda, FTX's, Anthropic, New York, Brooklyn

☆ Loss, pain, harm: Grieving parents set the tone at this week’s tech CEOs hearing. It could change things
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Wednesday’s online youth safety hearing with some of the world’s leading social media CEOs was unlike the many that came before it in recent years. During the hearing, Zuckerberg and Spiegel, along with the CEOs of TikTok, Discord and X, also faced calls to meet with the families affected by their platforms. And Wednesday night, after the event, some parents said the apologies did not go far enough. X CEO Linda Yaccarino thanked the “parents, families, and young people” who attended the hearing in a post on the platform. “We just saw yesterday the extent of the damage that this has done, these platforms have done,” he said.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Spiegel, Zuckerberg, Spiegel, Bridget Norring, “, Joe Benarroch, Linda Yaccarino, ”, ” Clint Smith, ” Snap’s Spiegel, Charlie, Connecticut Democrat Sen, Richard Blumenthal, ” Minnesota Democrat Sen, Amy Klobuchar, they’d, New York Democrat Sen, Chuck Schumer, …, Schumer, ” Sam Chapman, Missouri Republican Sen, Josh Hawley, Dick Durbin, Hawley, we’re, –, Brian Fung, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, ”, Meta, Connecticut Democrat, ” Minnesota Democrat, New York Democrat, Missouri Republican, Democratic Locations: New York, Snapchat, Connecticut, ” Minnesota

☆ Meta's retreat from news accelerated in 2023, leaving publishers scrambling for traffic
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

At Mother Jones, a 48-year-old nonprofit magazine specializing in politics and investigations, the implications were dramatic. "The firehose of Facebook traffic was never going to pay for our journalism, for the majority of our journalism," Bauerlein said. Last decade, many publishers saw their "social traffic decline pretty dramatically," with Facebook deprioritizing text-based articles in favor of video content, Cholke said. "If we all end up finding news in the metaverse, then you'll be finding Mother Jones in the metaverse," she said. What Mother Jones won't do, she said, is "bet everything on one platform, because that never works out."

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Sen, John Kennedy, Bill Clark, Reuters Mother Jones, Monika Bauerlein, Mother Jones, Meta, Donald Trump, Bauerlein, Jill Nicholson, Nicholson, Zuckerberg, David Carr, Carr, We've, Meta hasn't, It's, Similarweb, Sam Cholke, John S, Adams, Jonah Peretti, " Peretti, Jessica Probus, BuzzFeed's, BuzzFeed, Probus, Cholke, that's, Chartbeat's Nicholson, Mathew Ingram, Facebook, Ingram, Pew, Elisa Shearer, influencers, Jones Organizations: Facebook, Reuters, Mother, CNBC, Google, Meta, Daily, Comcast, Vice Media, Institute for Nonprofit News, Texas Tribune, Montana Free Press, The Texas Tribune, Institute for Nonprofit, Longtime, Columbia Journalism, Pew Research Center, Pew Locations: Washington, France, Germany, Australia, Helena, American

☆ The Nicest Place on the Internet
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Deb Amlen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New York Times Games — which includes the Crossword, Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections and more — has a devoted fandom. But I think the word “community” is a better way to describe them. I told my readers that Wordplay was a party, and that everyone was invited. Wordplay began talking directly to beginners, because I knew that every day new people pick up crosswords for the first time. The more experienced solvers rose to the occasion in the comments, and began helping beginners find their way.

Persons: Sam Corbin, Caitlin Lovinger — Organizations: New York Times Games, Times

☆ Funny highway signs are banned starting this week. Womp, womp.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewSome highway signs crack jokes, use puns, or riff off Taylor Swift lyrics to remind drivers to be safe. A New Jersey Department of Transportation roadside safety sign features a pun about cannabis. Use Yah Blinkah" on highway signs in Boston. States including New Jersey, Ohio, and Massachusetts have leaned into crafting quirky, funny, or holiday-themed messages. Courtesy of the Ohio Department of TransportationThe Arizona Department of Transportation even holds an annual competition for new traffic safety messages.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Michael Dwyer, “, Elise Riker, Sam Cole Organizations: Service, Business, Federal Highway Administration, New Jersey Department, Transportation, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, State, Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation, Street Journal, Colorado's Department of Transportation Locations: Boston, New Jersey , Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado

☆ Ukraine and Russia say they want the war to end. But military and political experts say they're nowhere near peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Fighting remains intense in southern and eastern Ukraine, where Russian units are deeply entrenched, preventing Ukraine's forces from making significant advances. They note that neither Russia nor Ukraine seems to be at a point where a political resolution is palatable, however. 'Red lines' firmly drawnBoth Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly said they want the war to end — but on their terms. For its part, the Kremlin said in December that it saw no current basis for peace talks, and called Kyiv's peace plan an "absurd process" as it excluded Russia. One big stumbling block in any potential peace talks now is their respective positions on territorial integrity.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, It's, Sam Greene, Pierre Crom, Stephen Twitty, Vladimir Putin, Sam Cranny, Evans, Putin, there's, Zelenskyy, Mario Bikarski, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Bill Clark Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Economic, King's College London, CNBC, U.S, Army, U.S . European Command, Economic Forum, Royal United Services Institute, Kremlin, Kherson —, Anadolu Agency, CIS, Senators, Capitol, Cq, Inc Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Switzerland, Davos, Kyiv, Malta, China, Crimea, Avdiivka, Europe, Moscow, Russian, Estonia, Belarus, Turkey, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Ky

☆ Melissa Barrera speaks out after ‘Scream VII’ departure: ‘Silence is not an option’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Lisa France | Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A spokesperson for Spyglass, the company behind the “Scream” franchise, issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter about Barrerra’s departure. CNN has reached out to representatives for both Barrera and Spyglass for additional comment. On Wednesday, Barrera posted a statement on the Instagram stories portion of her account. “I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter in both 2022’s “Scream” and this year’s “Scream VI.”

Persons: CNN — Melissa Barrera, ”, “, Barrera, Spyglass, Sam Carpenter Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Spyglass, Hollywood, Wednesday Locations: Israel, Mexicana

☆ What the Binance settlement means for crypto investors—and why it could clear the path for a bitcoin ETF
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Industry insiders are cheering the end of a "CZ"-led Binance as a necessary move for crypto going forward. Some say it was perhaps even critical for what could be the next big step for the industry: the approval of a bitcoin ETF. Having this settlement behind us could be the final big, big step needed for this ETF." The crypto industry has long sought the creation of a bitcoin ETF (efforts to launch one go back at least a decade). "Binance is globally the major liquidity pool for crypto trading despite losing market share this year," she said.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, –, Franklin Templeton, Michael Rinko, Sam Bankman, Fried, Rinko, Sam Callahan, Callahan, Yesha Yadav Organizations: Industry, Department of Justice, –, Fidelity, Delphi, Securities, Exchange Commission, Binance, CZ, DOJ, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, BlackRock, Invesco, Ark, Vanderbilt University Law School Locations: BlackRock

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