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☆ TikTokers are touting beef tallow treatments for clearer skin, but ‘you don’t know what you’re getting,' dermatologist warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Users on the app are using beef tallow as a moisturizer for clearer skin and sharing their results. Beef tallow is beef fat that is rendered, which means melted to reduce impurities and achieve a shelf-stable state. Several users on TikTok are praising its benefits including smoother skin and a more even skin tone. Typically, beef tallow is used in cooking oil, high-heat cooking like french fries, candles and more, says Dr. Peter C. Young, a board-certified dermatologist and medical director for Nurx Dermatology. Now, "several online vendors are marketing beef tallow as a cure-all for dermatologic conditions, and it's got a lot of hype on social media," Young says.

☆ A Tesla owner says a man set his electric car on fire, and the EV's Sentry Mode captured it on video, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Tesla with Sentry Mode reportedly captured footage of a man setting the EV on fire. The video, posted by a news outlet, appears to show a man pouring liquid on the car and setting it ablaze. The Tesla owner told local news he was visiting a friend when the incident occurred overnight. A Tesla customer's Model S cameras appeared to capture footage of a man setting the car on fire last week. "I can't fathom myself wanting to set fire to anything for any political reason, whatever," Harriston told local news.

☆ Chinese hackers outnumber FBI cyber staff 50 to 1, bureau director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. cyber intelligence staff is vastly outnumbered by Chinese hackers, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told Congress as he pleaded for more money for the agency. The disclosure highlights the massive scale of cyber threats the U.S. is facing, particularly from China. The agency is requesting about $63 million to help it beef up its cyber staff with 192 new positions. Wray said this would also help the FBI put more cyber staff in field offices to be closer to where victims of cyber crimes actually are. WATCH: Crowdstrike CEO on government spending on cyber, vulnerabilities and geopolitical threats

"It's not as if we're heading into a major crisis now," Suzuki said. Suzuki said he plans to attend the ASEAN+3 meeting on Tuesday, to be held on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) annual meeting in Incheon in South Korea next week. The Bank of Japan also said its Governor Kazuo Ueda will travel to Incheon on May 1-4 to attend the meetings. The International Monetary Fund has urged Asian central banks to keep monetary policy "tighter for longer" to combat still substantial inflation risks. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The ruling Colorado Party has dominated Paraguayan politics for the last three-quarters of a century, in power for all but five years. "We never talked about politics before, because a win for the Colorado Party was a done deal," 40-year-old bank worker Gustavo Vera told Reuters in the capital. "There's more corruption in Paraguay than work... All I know is we have to work much harder to make ends meet." The U.S. Treasury earlier this year imposed sanctions on party chief Horacio Cartes and Vice President Hugo Velazquez, citing "rampant corruption." Alegre, on his third presidential campaign, has pulled together a broad alliance of independent parties to challenge the powerful Colorado political machine.

☆ Consumers are wising up to 'greedflation' as food companies keep prices high
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Most consumers think food brands are using inflation "as an excuse to hike prices," a survey says. PepsiCo, Nestlé, Conagra, and other food companies say they are trying to cover their costs. While costs of raw materials, labor, and shipping have continued to be high, many food companies have reported leaps in profit at the same time. Many have noticed that food companies' profits have been increasing, too, a sign to them that some of the higher prices are about something other than covering production costs. Recent earnings from food companies suggest that many have raised prices higher than inflation.

☆ Gen Z eats fast food like no other generation. From a love for spicy food to visiting restaurants in big groups, these are 6 traits that define their dining habits.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

They eat with their phones first and are pulled in by influencer marketingd3sign/Getty ImagesGen Z diners like their food to be "Instagrammable," the execs said. But as well as organic content, restaurants are paying influencers to advertise their products. Rebhun said that El Pollo Loco's work with influencers "without a doubt" drove customers to the brand. Dickey said that Dickey's work with influencers – in particular those involved with food and sport – was "directly in response to millennial and Gen Z." "We noticed massive fanfare around the viral hack and partnered with the creators to officially add the Fajita Quesadilla to our menus for our Gen Z superfans," Perdue said.

☆ Pinterest's ad woes hurt revenue growth, shares slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Vansh Agarwal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

While Pinterest said that the ad market was stabilizing, it warned the market was still uncertain. Shares of peer Snap Inc (SNAP.N) fell about 18% aftermarket on weak first-quarter revenue and the company warned it could miss estimates for the second as well. Analysts on average had expected $592.99 million, according to Refinitiv data. Pinterest said it expected revenue growth in the current quarter to be in line with revenue growth in the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2022. Fourth quarter revenue grew 4%.

☆ Argentina hikes interest rate 1,000 bps after peso slide -sources, traders
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jorge Otaola | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With Argentina's inflation rate running at more than 100%, the country's central bank had already hiked the rate last week by 300 basis points to 81% in an effort to get it under control. "A rise of 1,000 basis points is expected and the Leliq (rate) will go up to 91%," one bank source told Reuters, adding: "Today the BCRA (central bank) shakes up the rate." A second source, an adviser at the central bank who asked not to be named, said its board had agreed to hike the rate to 91%. A higher interest rate offers more incentives to savers to keep their funds in pesos, strengthening the local currency, but weighs on borrowing and economic growth. The peso currency is also quickly losing value against the dollar.

CNN —President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden capped South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official state visit with a glamorous state dinner at the White House Wednesday night to celebrate the two nations’ 70-year alliance. May we do it together for another 170 years.”But Biden wasn’t the only leader who took the mic. Following a round of musical performances, his South Korean counterpart joined him on stage to give his own – a karaoke rendition of Don McClean’s “American Pie” – which received a standing ovation from the crowd. The elaborate dinner is the result of weeks of careful diplomatic preparations, with each detail meticulously planned by a team of White House chefs, social staff, and protocol experts. U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pose with South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee in front of the Grand Staircase of the White House before an official State Dinner, in Washington, U.S. April 26, 2023.

☆ Microsoft made a big bet with ChatGPT. Months later, it’s already paying off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft bet billions on OpenAI — its gamble is already paying off. Some analysts said Microsoft's successful integration of AI signals that it has already pulled ahead of Google. They even projected that Microsoft's cloud service Azure could be on track to surpass long-dominant Amazon Web Services. My teammate Paayal Zaveri highlights how Microsoft's AI wager has made it a surprising leader in tech's hottest field. He hit $2 million by the end of 2020, and in 2022 alone, he sold $4 million worth of products.

☆ Seared Sea Bass and Kobe Beef Burgers: Retirement Community Food Goes High-End
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Alina Dizik | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This week, The Wall Street Journal’s Mansion section is rolling out stories from our special retirement issue. Be sure to check out stories like this one on how one couple planned for retirement in North Carolina, but somehow ended up in South Carolina. Retirement communities aren’t generally known for their fine dining. But since Elaine Davenport, 76, moved into the Hacienda at Georgetown senior-living community earlier this year, she has grown accustomed to sampling fresh seafood, wine lists and perfectly executed steaks with her girlfriends at the facility’s three residents-only restaurants.

“We need to have tabletop exercises that go through a variety of scenarios, including possibly nuclear weapons,” a senior official told CNN earlier this month. Leaks loomRecent online leaks of Pentagon documents involving South Korea also loom over the visit. One of the leaked documents describes, in remarkable detail, a conversation between two senior South Korean national security officials about concerns by the country’s National Security Council over a US request for ammunition. Plans and pompWednesday’s events mark just the second state visit of the Biden presidency (Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte in December 2022). President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, Tuesday.

☆ Crabcakes, ribs, banana splits for South Korea state dinner at the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The first course of Maryland crab cake, main course of braised beef short ribs, and dessert of banana split are displayed at a media preview of the state dinner during Wednesday's visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee at the White House on April 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. Crabcakes, beef short ribs and a deconstructed banana split have made the cut for this week's White House state dinner honoring South Korea's seven decades of relations with the United States. First lady Jill Biden and her team previewed the menu and decor on Monday. Some 200 guests are expected at Wednesday's glamorous black-tie dinner, which will be held in the East Room, the largest room in the executive mansion. Guests will move down the hallway to the State Dining Room to be entertained after dinner by a trio of Broadway stars: Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga and Jessica Vosk.

But Pena, who has powerful party backing, is able to keep a cool head amid the tumult, his supporters say. "I think what characterizes him is that he has infinite tranquility," said Lea Gimenez, who served as Pena's deputy when he was finance minister and was later finance minister herself. Opinion polls suggest either Pena or center-left opposition leader Efrain Alegre could triumph and most analysts predict a close race. "He matured very quickly, being a young father... he became an adult very quickly," a former colleague told Reuters. He became finance minister in 2015.

The timeline shows the challenges of quickly finding and implementing replacements for Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI), which provides cleaning services at slaughterhouses. "We made the decision to terminate the agreements with PSSI," Hans Kabat, who leads Cargill's protein business in North America, told Reuters. Cargill said it notified PSSI in March that it was terminating services at a beef plant in Dodge City, Kansas, and then followed with all PSSI's sanitation contracts. One of the largest penalties stemmed from PSSI's contracts at Cargill's plant in Dodge City. Cargill, the world's largest ground beef producer, is reviewing options for cleaning plants, Kabat said.

☆ Crab cakes, beef and banana splits: Biden's South Korea state dinner menu unveiled
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Jeff Mason | Thomson Reuters | Jeff Mason Is A White House Correspondent For Reuters. He Has Covered The Presidencies Of Barack Obama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Guests at President Joe Biden's and first lady Jill Biden's state dinner with their South Korean counterparts will feast on Maryland crab cakes and braised beef short ribs followed by banana splits for dessert, the White House said on Monday. The meal itself will kick off with crab cakes along with cabbage, kohlrabi, fennel and cucumber slaw. "We hope to showcase the harmony of our cultures and our people intertwined," at the dinner, she said. The first lady worked with Chef Edward Lee, author of "Smoke & Pickles" and "Buttermilk Graffiti," along with the White House chefs to design the menu. "The first person I called was my mother," Lee said, noting she had immigrated to the United States from Korea.

☆ Taiwan or China? Paraguay's dilemma puts election race in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lucindaalice Elliott | Daniela Desantis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Paraguayan presidential candidate Santiago Pena from ruling Colorado Party, attends his campaign rally, in Asuncion, Paraguay April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Cesar OlmedoASUNCION, April 24 (Reuters) - From Paraguayan capital Asuncion to Taipei and Washington, diplomats, officials - and farmers - are closely watching a tight election race that could determine Paraguay's future ties with Taiwan. "How can I deny a relationship that is beneficial for all Paraguayans, a people that need development, need investment, need industry?" China has long argued that democratically-ruled Taiwan is part of its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. 'WHEN, NOT IF'Among diplomatic circles in Asuncion there is a sense a switch is inevitable - regardless of the election outcome.

☆ Brazil’s Lula pitches ‘peace coalition’ for Ukraine, but he treads a thin line
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Julia Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He says he aims to form a coalition of countries willing to intervene and lead efforts for peace in Ukraine, though in the process is finding himself treading a thin line with the world’s biggest powers. When he launched his political comeback in 2022, Lula told Time magazine that he thought both Russia and Ukraine were responsible for the conflict. Lula condemned Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor, but controversially claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have done more to avoid the conflict. Lula could not contemplate sending weapons – a step that would go far beyond Brazil’s traditional foreign policy, suggested the analyst. But he couldn’t do nothing, either – after all, Lula had promised to bring Brazil “back” to the world stage.

☆ Opinion: What happens when you knock on a door
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. In Kansas City, Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old White homeowner shot Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who rang his doorbell. And, “with Trump as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, Fox has resumed coverage of him which often veers into the free-advertisement category. Neither Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who announced his candidacy last week, nor Marianne Williamson represents a serious threat, Axelrod noted. “The calendar reads 2023,” wrote the Republican former lieutenant governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, “but it feels like 2016 all over again.

☆ Saadiyat: The 'island of happiness' just off Abu Dhabi
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Jon Arnold Images Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoWhile Abu Dhabi itself is home to bombastic contemporary architecture, Saadiyat – an easy 20-minute drive from downtown and Abu Dhabi International Airport – is a natural wonderland, edged by small sand dunes. Elevated boardwalks protect them from beachgoers – part of a conservation project led by Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort and its inhouse marine biologist. Department of Culture and Tourism Abu DhabiOpen year-round, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is home to a Gary Player signature 18-hole golf course. Luc Castel/Getty ImagesInaugurated in 2017, The Louvre Abu Dhabi is France’s largest cultural project abroad. Louvre Abu Dhabi isn’t the only highbrow place on Saadiyat – behind the dunes there are two world-class educational institutions, too.

☆ ‘South Park’ showdown animates streaming dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Paramount Global (PARA.O) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) bosses are fighting over “South Park” like the foul-mouthed cartoon fourth graders featured in the hit adult-oriented series. Paramount has countersued its rival to stream the program whose library Warner Bros Discovery bought for $500 million, along with the rights to new episodes, for its newly rebranded Max service. Not long ago, producers were keeping movies and shows to beef up their own streaming audiences. Paramount boss Bob Bakish and Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav both champion the idea of letting others carry the content for which their companies are paying so dearly to develop. These sorts of complicated dealings will only get tougher as the streaming wars get more cutthroat.

☆ Opinion | Let’s Protect Children at Least as Well as We Protect Ducks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Dan Ashe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

President Biden could borrow from the nation’s success in protecting ducks. The executive branch has plenty of discretionary authority to regulate federal lands, including the ability to restrict firearms possession in many areas (a power it now uses to restrict guns in courthouses, post offices and many national parks and on other federal lands). It can and should prohibit shooting assault weapons or any firearms capable of shooting more than five or 10 rounds, without reloading, on federal land, or at any public shooting range that receives federal funding or is under federal license. The challenge for the president will be to overcome a gun culture that permeates federal land-managing agencies and their state counterparts. He can also ask the major hunting, fishing and conservation organizations, like the Boone and Crockett Club, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Federation, to urge state wildlife agencies to ban assault weapons for any hunting.

☆ ‘Beef’ Stars Call Actor’s Story About Sexual Assault ‘Undeniably Hurtful’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Marc Tracy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The creator and two stars of the new Netflix series “Beef” addressed a brewing controversy on Friday about another actor on the show who said on a podcast in 2014 that he had sexually assaulted a masseuse, comments now recirculating on social media. David Choe, an actor and artist, has long said that he made up the incident he recounted on his podcast, an assertion that the show’s creator, Lee Sung Jin, and its lead actors, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, backed up in a statement. “The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing,” said Lee, Yeun and Wong, who are also executive producers on “Beef.” “We do not condone this story in any way, and we understand why this has been so upsetting and triggering.”They added, “We’re aware David has apologized in the past for making up this horrific story, and we’ve seen him put in the work to get the mental health support he needed over the last decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes.”

☆ DHS task force will examine how to use A.I. to protect homeland security
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, speaks during a new conference in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security will establish a new task force to examine how the government can use artificial intelligence technology to protect the country. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the task force Friday during a speech at a Council on Foreign Relations event. Mayorkas gave two examples of how the task force will help determine how AI could be used to fine-tune the agency's work. Mayorkas asked Homeland Security Advisory Council Co-Chair Jamie Gorelick to study "the intersection of AI and homeland security and deliver findings that will help guide our use of it and defense against it."

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