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☆ California's fire season under way weeks after heavy rain and snow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, April 28 (Reuters) - Barely five weeks after the last bout of heavy rain and snow in California's historically wet winter, firefighters on Friday battled the state's first large wildfire of the year in rugged foothills east of Los Angeles. The blaze posed no immediate threat to populated areas as it burned steep terrain deep in the forest, agency spokesperson Lyn Sieliet said. Still, it marked the first blaze of the 2023 season measuring 100 acres or more, signaling the potential for extreme wildfire activity this summer and fall. Forecasters said a warming trend hastened a spring thaw following a spate of Pacific storms that pummeled California with torrential rains and mountain snow from late December until late March. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Marilyn Minter's 'Elder Sex' depicts radical images of intimacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“There’s so much contempt for elder sex. Marilyn Minter/Courtesy Marilyn Minter & LGDRA handful of the ensuing images were originally published in the New York Times Magazine, accompanying a candid editorial feature about seniors’ sex lives. Minter is now publishing the series in full in the forthcoming book “Elder Sex,” and exhibiting them at New York gallery LGDR. Marilyn Minter/Courtesy of JBE Books & LGDR“We wanted to (include) all races, all types of sex,” Minter explained. What?”Minter hopes "Elder Sex" will serve as a radical body of work and will help normalize sex at older ages.

☆ Explainer: After COVID and drug shortages, EU revamps drug laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Commission aims to publish a draft - the biggest overhaul of existing medical laws in two decades - on April 26. A Commission spokesperson said: "The Commission will put forward a balanced and patient-centred proposal, whilst fully supporting an innovative and competitive industry." If the EU health regulator approves a new use for the medicine, they get another year, bringing the total to 11. Fourteen member states have written to the Commission, criticising the idea as costly and harmful for consumers as it could disrupt the generic drugs market. Once the Commission publishes the draft, the European Parliament, Commission and member states will thrash out final details.

Big gas producers including Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.O) and Comstock Resources Inc (CRK.N) are reducing their drilling. "About a third of U.S. gas production is associated gas - produced from oil wells," said Jacques Rousseau, a managing director at research firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC. Gas from the Permian also has climbed to record highs every month this year. PRODUCTION REMAINS STICKYU.S. gas production remains on track to hit 100.67 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) this year, up from last year's record 98.09 bcfd, according to the U.S. government. Despite low gas prices, U.S. drillers have 160 rigs seeking gas up 16% from a year ago, according to data from Baker Hughes Co (BKR.O).

☆ Huawei posts slump in annual profit but ekes out revenue growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHENZHEN, China, March 31 (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) said net profit slumped last year, as the tech conglomerate boosted research and development spending and grappled with increases in materials costs. It posted net profit of 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), down roughly two-thirds from 2021 when profit was helped by the sale of its Honor mid-range smartphone business. Revenue for 2022 came in at 642.3 billion yuan. R&D spending rose 13.2% to 161.5 billion yuan, equivalent to a quarter of the company's revenue, said Meng. Huawei's asset-to-liability ratio was 58.9% and it had a net cash balance of 176.3 billion yuan.

The vernal or spring equinox of 2023 happens Monday, March 20. Technically, two things: Earth's tilted axis and the planet's orbit around the sun. How the spring equinox worksThe Earth orbits the sun once every 365 days and six hours. The spring equinox occurs when the sun's warming rays line up perpendicular to Earth's axial tilt:An illustration of the spring equinox. About 92 days and 19 hours after the spring equinox, the Earth will reach its summer solstice.

LOS ANGELES, March 11 (Reuters) - In the 2022 "Elvis" film, Tom Hanks' depiction of Elvis Presley's real-life former manager, Colonel Tom Parker, is cruel, corrupt, and according to the 2023 Razzie award results, deserving of worst supporting actor and worst screen combo awards. loadingBefore celebrating the best films of the season during the Oscar ceremony on Sunday, the Razzie Awards called out the worst on Saturday. The Razzies named Hanks worst supporting actor and worst screen combo for the actor and his "latex face" in the film. Joining Hanks, biographical drama "Blonde," starring Ana de Armas as Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe "won" Razzies for both worst picture and screenplay. Both win for worst actor and worst supporting actress.

☆ New York City, New England hit with first big snowstorm of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNew York City, New England hit with first big snowstorm of 2023A big winter storm caused a number of travel disruptions across the country. The storm moved steadily across the U.S., dropping snow in 35 states. Overnight, the storm hit New York City and New England, and delivered this winter's first significant snowfall in the Northeast.

☆ World's largest ice rink stays shut for first time due to mild Canada winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jenna Zucker | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People skate on the Rideau Canal Skateway, the world's largest skating rink, during a period of subzero Arctic weather in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada January 14, 2022. REUTERS/Patrick DoyleFeb 24 (Reuters) - Canada's renowned Rideau Canal Skateway, the world's largest natural ice skating rink, will not open this season for the first time due to a lack of ice, its operator said on Friday, blaming the closure on climate change. "This year taught us a great deal about the effects of milder winters on the Skateway," the commission said in a statement on Friday. The NCC and the Standards Council of Canada have commissioned a climate change risk assessment to understand the impact of climate change on the Skateway. The average season has been 50 days - and went up to 95 days in the early 1970s, according to the NCC website.

☆ Spanish police nab art thieves, recover 100-year old Dali drawings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Mosso d'Esquadra police officer handles a recovered charcoal drawing by Spanish artist Salvador Dali that had been stolen in Barcelona, Spain, in this handout photo released on February 17, 2023. Mossos d'Esquadra/Handout via REUTERSBARCELONA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Spanish police have recovered two 100-year-old drawings by surrealist painter Salvador Dali that were stolen last year in a burglary in Barcelona. They also seized other art works including graphic works by fellow Spanish artist Joan Miro, luxury watches and valuable coins and banknotes. The art works - two dark rural sceneries drawn on brown paper - were authenticated by the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, which holds the rights on the late painter's works, police said. The three brothers are alleged by Catalan police to have specifically targeted homes in the Barcelona region with art works and collections of coins and other antiques.

☆ I find peoples' lost jewelry on beaches for a living. I have a 90% success rate, and most searches take me under 2 hours.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gary Nunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Oliver would hunt for lost metal as a hobby while working as a forklift driver. I called my business Lost Jewelry Recovery rather than naming it as a metal-detecting service, because jewelry is the main thing clients call me to recover. The equipment tells me exactly where to dig and how far downSometimes I find lost jewelry in five minutes or less. There are heaps of lost rings: engagement rings, wedding rings, family heirlooms, 21 st-birthday rings, grandma's ring — the lot. Reunions are often emotionalSometimes curious beachgoers who've watched the nail-biting search burst into spontaneous applause when I find the lost item.

☆ U.S. farmers plan to go 'heavy on corn' in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Mark Weinraub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Plans for the upcoming season were made even as doubts mounted about demand and price gains for soybeans outstripped corn late last year. 2 U.S. cash crop, soybeans. Hunnicutt cited the reliability of corn yields as a key reason to go big on corn in 2023. DEMAND WANESU.S. farmers alternate between soybeans and corn in a bid to maintain soil health. Last year's harvest shortfall left corn supplies at their lowest since 2013 and made farmers hopeful that prices would rally in the coming months.

☆ January job growth is forecast to slow slightly, but the impact from big corporate layoffs is uncertain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Economists expect slightly slower, but still strong job growth in January, while the impact of corporate layoff announcements is unclear. According to Dow Jones, the consensus forecast calls for 187,000 new nonfarm jobs in January, down from 223,000 that were created in December. "The number is not really the number of jobs created, but how many fewer workers were let go," he said. The jobs report is of key importance for the Federal Reserve, which has been trying to slow the economy —and inflation — by cooling the hot labor market. Goldman Sachs economists forecast a payrolls increase of 300,000 for last month and said their above consensus forecast was based on the fact that companies do not yet seem to be implementing layoffs, despite the announcements.

☆ Afghan women prosecutors once seen as symbols of democracy find asylum in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Afghan prosecutor S.M., who left her 4 years old daughter with her grandmother in Afghanistan while escaping to Peshawar, looks down in Islamabad, Pakistan, September 22, 2022. "Most Afghan women and girls that remain in Afghanistan don't have the right to study, to have a social life or even go to a beauty salon," Sharar said. due to fears over her safety and who specialised in gender violence and violence against children said, "I was the only female prosecutor in the province... The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was not in a position to comment on specific cases. "The Government of Pakistan has not agreed to recognise newly arriving Afghans as refugees," UNHCR said in a statement.

☆ Grand Central's sparkling new terminal could use a spellcheck — it misspelled artist Georgia O'Keeffe's name in an engraved quote about New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new terminal for the Long Island Rail Road in New York's Grand Central Station opened Wednesday. The terminal's walls are engraved with homages to New York from famous artists. In a new terminal in New York's Grand Central Station that opened last Wednesday, called the Grand Central Madison station, O'Keeffe's name is spelled with one "f" instead of two, Bloomberg reported. That's the quote that made it into the Grand Central Madison station. Bloomberg reported that the Grand Central Madison terminal is part of an $11.1 billion project called East Side Access that will bring passengers on the Long Island Railroad to Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal instead of Penn Station.

☆ Davos 2023: Europe must seize catch-up chance - EU's Gentiloni
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 is seen at Davos Congress Centre, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 (Reuters) - An improved economic outlook gives Europe the chance to double-down on efforts to boost its industrial competitiveness in key sectors from clean energy to semiconductors, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Gentiloni said the bloc could avoid an all-out recession this year and get away with what he called a "limited contraction" of the economy in the first quarter. Gentiloni said that was leading to a new readiness to envisage industrial cooperation at EU level to make the bloc less dependent on others. Reporting by Mark John in Davos; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank of America downgrades Levi Strauss, says upside is hard to see with discounts and sliding denim demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sliding demand for denim and a continued reliance on markdowns make it hard to expect outperformance from Levi Strauss , Bank of America said Wednesday. Peers such as American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch have said denim demand is down as consumers moved to other styles. Nardone said Levi Strauss will outperform the broader industry in denim sales, but will still struggle in the first half of the year to meet sales from the same period a year before. Nardone said elevated third-quarter inventory and a planned software transition in the first half of this year could elongate Levi Strauss' timeline for finding better footing. Ultimately, he said Levi Strauss is "a strong retailer with an attractive store growth plan" and doesn't foresee any disruptions once Michelle Gass takes over as CEO .

☆ Chevron CEO: Europe will make it through this winter in reasonably good shape
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChevron CEO: Europe will make it through this winter in reasonably good shapeChevron CEO Mike Worth joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the rest of the winter's global energy picture, oil prices, and more.

A key adviser to the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine panel is questioning whether more Covid booster shots are necessary for healthy, younger people. The FDA later backed the vaccine panel, authorizing a new formulation of the booster shots. “The people who are talking about why young people need it are missing the point,” he said, referring to the booster. Levy, the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, continues to encourage Covid boosters for everyone who is eligible. Relatively few people in the U.S. have had updated boosters.

☆ Trailblazing pop and country singer Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters has died at 74
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Anita Pointer, who penned many of the Pointer Sisters' hits, died at the age of 74. Pointer and her sisters broke ground for Black women in country and pop with their hits in the '70s and '80s. Pointer was a founding member of the Pointer Sisters, a vocal group from Oakland that achieved critical and commercial success in the '70s and '80s, blending genres such as blues, pop, and R&B. On the original recording, Pointer was also the lead vocalist, as she was for many of the group's hits. In addition to being the first female African-American act to appear at the Grand Ole Opry, the Pointer Sisters were also the first contemporary artists to perform at the San Francisco Opera House.

☆ 11 ancient sites that are mysteriously aligned with the sun on the winter solstice, in photos.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Archaeologists have found many ancient sites that line up with the winter solstice sun. Here are 11 sites that line up with the winter solstice, and what experts think about them. Newgrange, County Meath, IrelandPeople celebrating the sunrise at Newgrange on the morning of the winter solstice in 2018. ShutterstockOne of the most famous examples of ancient architecture lining up with the winter solstice is in Machu Picchu, Peru. "From the winter solstice the days are longer, which was a metaphor of the rebirth of the deceased," he said.

☆ China's stunning reversal on lockdowns showed that mass protests can influence policy change in the country — but experts say it still doesn't threaten Xi's regime
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But experts on China say it's unlikely the protests will embolden future political movements. The changes come after protests against COVID measures erupted all across China — rare for a country where dissent is snuffed out quickly. Baogang He, the chair of international relations at Deakin University in Australia, agreed that the protests show how mass anger can influence government policy, but not regime change. "No one is strong enough to exploit or dare to use these protests to mount a challenge to Xi Jinping," Xi, the professor, told Insider. Chong said that although Xi holds extensive power in China, the protests and subsequent rollback both underscore how he can make major mistakes, too.

☆ White House to ask oil and gas execs to support Ukraine energy infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Roman Baluk/File PhotoDec 5 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is convening a virtual meeting on Thursday with oil and gas executives to discuss how the United States can support Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The meeting comes as Russia seeks to cut off Ukraine’s energy supplies and destroy infrastructure as winter approaches with missile attacks. "As you know Ukrainian energy assets are being aggressively targeted in an effort to take advantage of the winter's coldest temperatures and harshest weather conditions. Together, we can help to boost Ukrainian resilience," wrote David Turk, U.S. deputy secretary of energy, in a letter to oil and gas executives. It involves members of the Oil and Natural Gas Sector Coordinating Council, which includes 26 trade associations.

☆ Biden administration looks to oil and gas execs to help bolster Ukraine energy assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People sit in a pub lit with candles during a power outage after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Russian missile attacks, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Lviv, Ukraine November 24, 2022. REUTERS/Roman Baluk/File PhotoDec 5 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is convening a virtual meeting on Thursday with oil and gas executives to discuss how the United States can support Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The meeting comes as Russia seeks to cut off Ukraine’s energy supplies and infrastructure as winter approaches with missile attacks. "As you know Ukrainian energy assets are being aggressively targeted in an effort to take advantage of the winter's coldest temperatures and harshest weather conditions. Together, we can help to boost Ukrainian resilience," wrote David Turk, U.S. deputy secretary of energy, in a letter to oil and gas executives.

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