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☆ Elon Musk once mocked China’s BYD. Now it’s running circles around Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The most important carmaker in the world right now is the Chinese-owned, Warren Buffett-backed company that has Elon Musk in a pickle. That’s 1,300 miles in one go — hundreds of miles beyond the standard ranges for other hybrids on the market. One: Tesla is America’s best-selling EV, but it’s losing market share overseas to foreign competitors that can make their cars cheaper. China is the world’s biggest auto market, and BYD is its top seller, surpassing Volkswagen last year. In that exchange, Musk responds to an honest question about BYD rivaling Tesla with a smug laugh.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Warren Buffett, Tesla, Musk, BYD Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Elon, Toyota, Wall Street, Volkswagen, Toyota Prius, Bloomberg Locations: New York, Miami, BYD’s Hong Kong, China, United States

☆ This global fund’s stock could rally by 35% if buyback limits are removed, fund manager says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Caledonia Investments could see its stock price soar by more than 35% if restrictions on share buybacks are lifted, according to fund manager Brian McCormick. McCormick, who runs the Jupiter Global Value fund at Jupiter Asset Management, said Caledonia's share buybacks are limited due to restrictions in share ownership as set out in the U.K.'s Takeover Code. In addition, when the fund performs a share buyback while its stock trades below its NAV, it is buying its own assets at a 37% discount. Caledonia's buyback limits When a company buys back shares, those shares are canceled, which can increase the percentage ownership of remaining shareholders. Analysts also agree that Caledonia's limits on share buybacks right now are holding back the share price.

Persons: Brian McCormick, Philip Morris, McCormick, Robert Memmott, Iain Scouller Organizations: Microsoft, Oracle, British American Tobacco, London Stock Exchange, Jupiter Asset, CNBC Pro, London Value Investor Conference Locations: Caledonia, United States

☆ Live Updates: Scripps National Spelling Bee Will Crown a New Champion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Emmett Lindner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Tarini Nandakumar of Austin, Texas, competing Tuesday in a preliminary round of this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. The Scripps National Spelling Bee brings together more than 200 of the top elementary school spellers in the United States in a rigorous, three-day competition. Credit... Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersIn a recent regional spelling bee where he secured a place at Scripps, he was asked to spell brume. Bee week is quite the bash. Tarini, who also studies classical Indian dance and singing, advised Scripps newcomers not to stress.

Persons: Tarini, Logan Edwards, Logan, Pranav Nandakumar, Vanathi Senthurkani, ” Logan, Evelyn Hockstein, brume, “, ”, Sasha Kenlon, Scripps Organizations: Scripps, Spelling, Merriam, Webster, Texas, M University, ., Reuters, Washington, 173rd, 192nd Locations: Austin , Texas, United States, Rock , Texas, Greer, S.C, South Carolina, North Africa, Park City , Utah

☆ Why Are People So Down About the Economy? Theories Abound.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. economy has been an enigma over the past few years. The job market is booming, and consumers are still spending, which is usually a sign of optimism. But if you ask Americans, many will tell you that they feel bad about the economy and are unhappy about President Biden’s economic record. And while a measure of sentiment produced by the Conference Board improved in May, the survey showed that expectations remained shaky. More than half of registered voters in six battleground states rated the economy as “poor” in a recent poll by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College.

Persons: Biden’s Organizations: University of Michigan, Conference Board, The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Siena College, Federal Reserve Locations: U.S

☆ How to make money from medical research and donations
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sell your blood plasmaBags of blood plasma being examined in a laboratory. During plasma donation, blood is drawn and an automated machine separates the plasma from other blood components, which are returned to the donor. Plasma donation pay varies from site to site, but the average payout is typically around $50 per donation. During the egg donation cycle, patients are injected with fertility drugs so that the ovaries make more mature eggs than normal. For example, here's a list of the most recent paid research studies offered by New York University.

Persons: —, Weill, You'll, what's, Carolina Reid, Stacy Thacker Organizations: Service, Business, Weill Cornell, of California, NASA, US Air Force Reserve, Institutes of Health, US Food and Drug Administration, New York University, NYU, Associated Press, Science Locations: United States, Houston , Texas

☆ Bird Flu Has Infected a Third U.S. Farmworker
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A third farmworker in the United States has been found to be infected with bird flu, heightening concerns about an outbreak among dairy cattle first identified in March. The worker is the first in this outbreak to have respiratory symptoms, including a cough, sore throat and watery eyes, which generally increase the likelihood of transmission to other people, federal officials said on Thursday. The other two people had only severe eye infections, possibly because of exposure to contaminated milk. All three individuals had direct exposure to dairy cows, and so far none has spread the virus to other people, Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news briefing.

Persons: Nirav Shah Organizations: Centers for Disease Control Locations: United States

☆ IRS plans to make its free tax filing program permanent
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Katie Lobosco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that it will continue and expand its free tax filing program in 2025. It provides step-by-step guidance to taxpayers filing their federal tax returns. Direct File was available to people with certain simple tax returns in 12 states during the 2024 tax filing season. More than 140,000 people successfully filed their federal tax returns using Direct File, exceeding the agency’s expectations. During the 2024 tax filing season, eligibility was limited to people with simple tax returns.

Persons: Biden, they’re, Janet Yellen, “, Danny Werfel, haven’t, Werfel Organizations: Washington CNN, Internal Revenue Service, Democrat, “, IRS Locations: Washington, ”

☆ A 12-Year-Old Wins Astonishing Spell-Off at Scripps National Spelling Bee
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Aimee Ortiz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

PinnedTing Shen for The New York TimesTing Shen for The New York TimesCredit... Ting Shen for The New York TimesBruhat Soma held his trophy high after winning the second-ever spell-off at the Scripps Bee. The Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday came down to its second-ever spell-off, a fast-and-furious tiebreaking round that rewards speed as much as accuracy. Image Credit... Ting Shen for The New York TimesThe next competitor, Aditi Muthukumar, was asked to spell Lillooet, a Salishan people of the Fraser River valley in British Columbia. Immediately after Aditi came Bruhat, the night’s eventual champion, who correctly spelled “Okvik,” from an Alaskan geographical name. Image Credit... Ting Shen for The New York TimesFaizan, who is from the Dallas area, came in second place after spelling 20 words correctly in the spell-off.

Persons: Ting Shen, The New York Times Ting Shen, Soma, Faizan Zaki, Bruhat, Rishabh Saha, “, Rishabh, The New York Times Shrey Parikh, ”, Ananya Prassanna, YY Liang, Kirsten Santos, “ Jumano, Aditi Muthukumar, Aditi, “ Okvik, The New York Times Faizan Organizations: The New York Times, The New York Times Credit, Scripps Bee, Scripps, Spelling, Texas, Bee, Lone Star State, Texans Locations: Tampa, Fla, —, Philippines, Southwest, South Plains, Lillooet, Fraser, British Columbia, Texas, Dallas, United States, spellers, California, New York

☆ Biden gives Ukraine permission to carry out limited strikes within Russia using US weapons
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Alex Marquardt | Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The loosening of the restrictions marks a break from long-standing policy and comes amid growing international pressure from close US allies. But it is limited to the area around Kharkiv, and Ukraine has not requested permission beyond that, the official said, adding that they do not anticipate the US widening the area allowed. Russian forces, ammunitions depots and logistical hubs can now be targeted with US-provided artillery and rockets across the border from Kharkiv in western Russia. But the prohibition has blocked Ukraine from targeting Russian aircraft that are on the ground inside Russia. “Ukrainian soil is being attacked from bases in Russia,” Macron said during a visit to Schloss Meseberg in Brandenburg, Germany.

Persons: Joe Biden, “, Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, ” Macron, Germany’s Scholz, Macron’s Organizations: CNN, Politico, Kyiv, US Locations: Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Russian, Washington, Moldova, “, Meseberg, Brandenburg, Germany, United States

☆ The Very Slow Restart of G.M.’s Cruise Driverless Car Business
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Yiwen Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At a sprawling complex in Warren, Mich., General Motors’ hopes for its driverless car future play out in a virtual reality headset offered to visitors. Wirelessly connected to traffic lights and the surrounding streets, the car avoids collisions and reduces congestion, part of what G.M. calls its “0-0-0” vision — “zero crashes, zero emission, zero congestion.”At least, that’s the plan. G.M.’s driverless future looks a lot further away today than it did a year ago, when Cruise, G.M.’s driverless car subsidiary, was deep into an aggressive expansion of its robot taxi services, testing in 15 cities across 10 states. On Oct. 2, a Cruise driverless car hit and dragged a pedestrian for 20 feet on a San Francisco street, causing severe injuries.

Persons: General Motors ’, Cruise, Weeks Organizations: General, California Department of Motor Vehicles Locations: Warren, Mich, San Francisco

☆ How Republicans in Key Senate Races Are Flip-Flopping on Abortion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jess Bidgood | Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Republican candidates in all eight of the country’s most competitive Senate races have changed their approach on the issue of abortion, softening their rhetoric, shifting their positions and, in at least one case, embracing policies championed by Democrats. From Michigan to Maryland, Republicans are trying to repackage their views to defang an issue that has hurt their party at the ballot box since the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights. While the pivot is endemic across races in swing states, the most striking shifts have come from candidates who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate just two years ago in their home states, with abortion views that sounded very different. When Bernie Moreno, a Republican businessman, ran for a Senate seat in Ohio in 2022, he described his views as “absolute pro-life, no exceptions.”“Life begins at conception” and “abortion is the murder of an innocent baby,” he said on social media.

Persons: Bernie Moreno, ” Organizations: Republican Locations: Michigan, Maryland, Ohio

☆ What happens now that Trump has been convicted in his hush money criminal case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Merchan could sentence Trump to probation or up to 4 years on each count in state prison, with a maximum of 20 years. The New York case is no different. Shortly after Trump was convicted, his attorney Todd Blanche asked Merchan for an acquittal of the charges notwithstanding the guilty verdict. Trump’s conviction means little for his three other criminal cases, which will continue to proceed as they were prior to him being found guilty in the New York case. Trump’s federal election subversion criminal case has been on hold while the US Supreme Court considers his claims of presidential immunity.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, –, Juan Merchan, Todd Blanche, Merchan, Richard L, Hasen, ” Hasen, Elie Honig, ” Will, CNN’s Tierney Sneed Organizations: CNN, Trump, University of California, Florida’s GOP, US Locations: York, Los Angeles, U.S, Florida, New York, Manhattan, Georgia, Atlanta

☆ Trump has been convicted — but that may not weigh down his White House bid. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Recent polls suggest that the guilty verdict could affect how key voting blocs view Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Nearly three-fourths of registered independents said that a guilty verdict against Trump would make no difference to their vote, according to the survey from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist released Thursday morning. However, 23% of independent registered voters in that poll said a Trump conviction would make them less likely to back him. Most people on either side of the political spectrum have already made up their minds about Trump, the professor explained. Quinnipiac polled 1,374 registered U.S. voters from May 16 to May 20, with a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Erik Gordon, Biden Organizations: Democratic, Trump, NPR, PBS, Marist, Quinnipiac University, University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, Politico, House, Quinnipiac Locations: American, New York, —

☆ If Trump’s Conviction Lands Him in Prison, the Secret Service Goes, Too
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

With Donald J. Trump’s unprecedented felony conviction on Thursday, what has long been a remote and abstract concept could move closer to a stunning reality: a former president of the United States behind bars. A jury in Manhattan convicted Mr. Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a crime that under New York State law carries a possible sentence that ranges from probation to four years in prison. But Mr. Trump is no ordinary defendant. And while most experts think a prison sentence is unlikely, the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, has made it known that he takes white-collar crime seriously. If Justice Merchan hands down a punishment that lands the former president behind bars — what is known as a custodial sentence — Mr. Trump would be no ordinary prisoner.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, Merchan Organizations: New York Locations: United States, Manhattan, New York State

☆ IRS free tax filing program to be available nationwide starting in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel testifies before the House Appropriations Committee on May 07, 2024 in Washington, DC. The IRS will expand Direct File, its free tax filing program, nationwide starting in 2025, the agency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday. "The Treasury Department and IRS look forward to working with states to expand Direct File to Americans across the country." Direct File was available to limited taxpayers in 12 states during the 2024 filing season. More than 140,000 users successfully filed returns using Direct File and the pilot saved an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees, the agencies announced in April.

Persons: Danny Werfel, Janet Yellen Organizations: IRS, U.S . Department of, Treasury, Treasury Department Locations: Washington ,

☆ I had nightmares and started drinking heavily because I was so burned out at work. Quitting was the only way out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jamie Killin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Harley Davidson was my first opportunity to work on the client side of marketing, not the agency side. AdvertisementThis pattern became more unhealthy at Harley Davidson. He was telling me, "You're going to be the president of Harley Davidson. Shortly after, I started drinking heavily to cope with the stress and help myself fall asleep. AdvertisementI quit Harley Davidson in September 2016, and I stopped having nightmares.

Persons: —, Shelley Paxton, Hagen Dazs, I'd, Harley Davidson, wouldn't, You've, Harley, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Boston College, AOL, Visa, Global Integrated Marketing, Omnicom Media Locations: Minneapolis, East, Boston, Chicago, Europe, Istanbul, United States, Shanghai, France, New Zealand, Canada, Italy

☆ How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jamie Raskin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many people have gloomily accepted the conventional wisdom that because there is no binding Supreme Court ethics code, there is no way to force Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas to recuse themselves from the Jan. 6 cases that are before the court. Justices Alito and Thomas are probably making the same assumption. Justice Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, was deeply involved in the Jan. 6 “stop the steal” movement. Above the Virginia home of Justice Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, flew an upside-down American flag — a strong political statement among the people who stormed the Capitol. (Justice Alito said on Wednesday that he would not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases.)

Persons: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Alito, Thomas, Donald, Justice Thomas’s, Ginni Thomas, Martha, Ann Alito, Biden, Trump, Fischer, — Organizations: Trump v . Locations: New Jersey, Trump v, Trump v . United States, United States

☆ White House to support new nuclear power plants in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The White House on Wednesday plans to announce new measures to support the development of new U.S. nuclear power plants, a large potential source of carbon-free electricity the government says is needed to combat climate change. And a new tool will help developers figure out how to cut capital costs for new nuclear reactors. No new U.S. nuclear plants are currently being built. Vogtle is now the largest U.S. source of clean energy, the White House said. Nuclear energy accounts for about 19% of U.S. power generation, compared with 4% for solar and 10% for wind.

Persons: weren't, Joe Biden's, Ali Zaidi, Critics, Biden Organizations: Westinghouse, Toshiba, White House, Department of Energy, Army, The Department of Energy, U.S Locations: Waynesboro , Georgia, U.S, Biden's, Russia, United States, Georgia

☆ China lifts ban on five Australian beef exporters
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Sydney —China has lifted bans on imports from five major Australian beef processing facilities, the Australian government said on Thursday, in the latest sign of improving relations between the two nations. The bans applied to certain abattoirs but did not affect others, which meant Australia was still able to ship beef to China. China was Australia’s second-biggest beef export market last year, receiving 240,000 tons worth around $1.6 billion, Australian trade data shows. They said China’s trade impediments at their height impacted Australian exports worth 20.6 billion Australian dollars ($13.6 billion). The reasons China gave for suspending the Australian beef processors were issues over labeling or contamination or cases of COVID-19 among their workers.

Persons: ”, Matt Dalgleish, Dalgleish, “, Penny Wong, Don Farrell, Murray Watt Locations: Sydney — China, Beijing, China, Australia, Canberra, United States

☆ Americans Raced to Get Their Families Out of Gaza. Then the Border Slammed Shut.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Hamed Aleaziz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ghada Redwan, a 48-year-old pharmacist in Houston, has been trying to get her parents out of Gaza for months. Their bags, packed and ready to go, have been sitting by their door in Rafah, the city where Israel is now conducting a military offensive. But Ms. Redwan has hit roadblocks at every turn. “You feel like there’s nothing you can do,” Ms. Redwan said in an interview. “You live comfortably, you have money, you’re a U.S. citizen and your parents are suffering and there’s nothing you can do for them.

Persons: Ghada, Redwan, —, Ms, “, you’re, ” Organizations: State Department Locations: Houston, Gaza, Rafah, Israel, Egypt, United States

☆ Global debt has grown to $315 trillion this year — here's how we got here
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Nessa Anwar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The world is mired in $315 trillion of debt, according to a report from the Institute of International Finance. This global debt wave has been the biggest, fastest and most wide-ranging rise in debt since World War II, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic. Around two-thirds of the $315 trillion owed originates from mature economies, with Japan and the United States contributing the most to that debt pile. Of the $315 trillion debt stock, household debt, which includes mortgages, credit cards and student debt, among others, amounted to $59.1 trillion. Business debt, which corporations use to finance their operations and growth, stood at $164.5 trillion, with the financial sector alone making up $70.4 trillion of that amount.

Persons: — Organizations: Institute of International Finance, United Locations: Japan, United States, China, India, Mexico

☆ Democrats Who Are Winning
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Recent polls contain a surprising combination of results: Democrats appear to be leading in six tough Senate races even as President Biden trails Donald Trump in the same states. What are these Democratic Senate candidates doing right? In today’s newsletter, I’ll highlight the single biggest theme that emerged: The six Democrats are basing their campaigns around a populism that harshly criticizes both big business and China. (In a follow-up newsletter, I’ll look at several other campaign themes.) Still, most of the Democrats in these races aren’t merely ahead in the polls; they also have a track record of winning tough races by appealing to voters who are skeptical of the Democratic Party.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, It’s Organizations: Democratic, Democratic Party Locations: China

☆ AST SpaceMobile partners with Verizon, adding to AT&T coverage deal for satellite internet to phones
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Satellite-to-phones service provider AST SpaceMobile announced a partnership with Verizon on Wednesday, adding to the company's recent deal with AT&T to provide remote coverage across the United States. AST SpaceMobile is building satellites to provide broadband service to unmodified smartphones, in the nascent "direct-to-device" communications market. The company's chairman and CEO, Abel Avellan, touted AST's agreements with Verizon and AT&T as "essentially eliminating dead zones and empowering remote areas of the country with space-based connectivity." Verizon's deal effectively includes a $100 million raise for AST, as well, in the form of $65 million in commercial service prepayments and $35 million in debt via convertible notes. The companies said that $45 million of the prepayments "are subject to certain conditions" such as needed regulatory approvals and signing of a definitive commercial agreement.

Persons: Abel Avellan, Kalapala Organizations: AST, Verizon, AT Locations: United States

☆ There’s a Reason Most People Aren’t Following the New York Trump Trial - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Matthew Walther | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Christopher Hitchens once described participation in the absurd debate over who actually wrote Shakespeare’s plays as “an unfailing sign of advanced intellectual and mental prostration.” It would be unsporting to apply this characterization of literary conspiracy theorists to the enthusiastic followers of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, but only, I think, because the verdict in the latter case is still an open question. For the uninitiated (a category to which a great majority of voters belong), the most immediately striking feature of both Shakespeare denialism and the Trump trial is impenetrability: endless rolls of decontextualized names and dates; speculative chronologies; inconsequential or irrelevant details invested with a lurid significance; complex, novel theories of evidence that are somehow applicable only to one individual. How many people, even those who purport to be following the case against Mr. Trump, can summarize the premise on which the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, has based his claim that various alleged low-level bookkeeping offenses somehow congeal into a felony, much less explain why Mr. Trump is the only person of note whose ostensible accounting errors are treated like this? People recognize, at least implicitly, that the trial is in effect an attempt to settle an issue that courts are poorly suited to decide: namely, whether Mr. Trump should again be elected president of the United States. That, as they say, is a question for another day, specifically Nov. 5.

Persons: Christopher Hitchens, Donald Trump’s, Shakespeare denialism, Trump, Alvin Bragg, Shakespeare, Francis Bacon Locations: New York, Manhattan, United States

☆ In This English Countryside Race, the Winner Takes the … Cheese
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jenny Gross | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cheese!” hundreds of people chanted at the top of their lungs. An eight-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese flew down a hill. The cheese-chasing contest, one of the most peculiar traditions in England, if not the world, dates to at least the early 1800s, according to local lore. Thousands showed up to Cooper’s Hill in southwestern England to watch on Monday, undeterred after the local authorities deemed the event unsafe for competitors and spectators alike. The winners hailed from as close as Gloucestershire and as far away as Germany, the United States and Australia.

Locations: Gloucester, England, Gloucestershire, Germany, United States, Australia

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