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☆ After gaining control of our reporter's phone, a hacker ripped her off for $10,000. She set out to find them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

You can see pictures of the massive meatball here — but I warn you, it looks exactly how you would expect. Now, before the scientists start serving up Dinosaur DNA, let's take a look at the top tech stories this week. Once the hacker had control of Hartmans' phone, they didn't waste any time. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk plans to build a town named "Snailbrook" — but he isn't the only billionaire creating their own utopia. Some of Lee's friends and colleagues, including Elon Musk, have lambasted the "violent crime in SF."

☆ Clarence Thomas secretly went on lavish vacations in luxury jets and superyachts paid for by a GOP megadonor, report reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A ProPublica report found Clarence Thomas has been taking vacations paid for by a GOP megadonor. A Supreme Court spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Thursday. "Justice Thomas and Ginni never asked for any of this hospitality," Crow said. "We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue," he added. And unlike the rest of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court is not bound by a code of conduct.

☆ Work-Life Balance Is Harder to Find Thanks to Pandemic and Office Mandates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The insidious creep of job burnout was inescapable when I spoke with more than a dozen ambitious midcareer women for an article last winter. While work friendships can stifle loneliness, the centrality of a job in American social life does not bode particularly well for Americans' work-life balance. For those who've put all their eggs in the proverbial basket of their job, Koretz said, these times of transition can trigger a kind of identity crisis. The idea is that you just work and work and work and work and work. Workers can also take small steps toward improving their work-life balance by setting aside time each day and each week for nonwork priorities.

☆ U.S. and China relations look extremely delicate and fragile now, says Asia Society's Rorry Daniels
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | 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 EmailU.S. and China relations look extremely delicate and fragile now, says Asia Society's Rorry DanielsRorry Daniels, Asia Society Policy Institute, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss Speaker McCarthy's visit to Taiwan, the warning Beijing gave the U.S. regarding McCarthy's visit and if China is satisfied with our characterization of strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan.

I'll never get over his death as long as I live," his father, Umer Zada, told Reuters. Zada said the distribution of aid should have been better organised, with police supervision of the hungry and desperate seeking help. "There has been a 50% reduction in donations this year, while there has been a 50% increase in people seeking help." The group's ambulances took away the injured and the bodies of Saad and the others killed in the Karachi crush. Like everyone, Zada is struggling with inflation but he also has to contend with grief and questions that torment him.

☆ BoE might need to cut rates sooner than thought, Tenreyro says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England will probably need to start cutting interest rates sooner than previously thought after raising them sharply in recent months despite signs of weaker inflation pressures, monetary policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said on Tuesday. Investors currently put a 75% chance on a further quarter-point rate hike by the BoE in May and more than a 50% probability on another such increase by August. "With Bank Rate moving further into restrictive territory, I think a looser stance is needed to meet the inflation target in the medium term," she said. Tenreyro used her speech mostly to explain the BoE's bond-buying and bond-selling programmes. Reporting by David Milliken Writing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk is right: AI needs to slow down for the good of society
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and over 1,000 others signed a letter calling for a pause on new AI models. Wozniak, Musk, and more than 1,000 other business leaders signed a letter seeking guardrails and a pause on training AI models as the technology grows more powerful. The letter argues powerful AI models like OpenAI's GPT-4 "should only be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable." It's hard to develop responsibly when the free market demands moving quicklyTo be clear, AI, particularly generative AI like ChatGPT, is incredibly transformative technology. Releasing powerful AI models for the public to play with before it's ready isn't making the technology better.

☆ The solar system was hit with a gamma-ray burst so bright, it blinded scientists' equipment in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Our solar system was hit by a gamma-ray burst so bright, it blinded space equipment and telescopes. A gamma-ray burst that recently hit our solar system was so bright, it temporarily blinded gamma-ray instruments in space, according to a NASA release. Scientists say the gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful type of explosion in the universe, was 70 times brighter than any previously recorded event. What is a gamma-ray burst? Because it blinded space instruments, they couldn't accurately record it, so scientists weren't sure how bright the burst was when it first reached our planet.

☆ Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros are not as close as Republicans claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg moves to bring an expected indictment against Donald Trump, Republicans lawmakers leaping to the former president's defense have fixated on what they call Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros. There is also no indication the Open Society Policy Center's donation was directed toward an eventual Color of Change campaign to influence Bragg. The funding from Soros' nonprofit was not targeted toward the campaign to support McCarter, the Color of Change official told CNBC. Open Society's website says the group's donation was intended "to support [Color of Change]'s social welfare activities" over the course of five years. Months before Bragg won a 2021 Democratic primary on his way to becoming Manhattan DA, George Soros' son, Jonathan, and his wife, combined to donate $20,000 to Bragg's campaign, state records show.

[1/3] Visitors pass a logo of Teck Resources Ltd mining company during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Chris HelgrenTORONTO, March 21 (Reuters) - Investors have yet to embrace Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd's (TECKb.TO) proposal to spin off its highly polluting coal business and focus on production of copper to help supply society's move toward electric vehicles. Last month, Teck announced a split into copper-focused Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources (EVR), which will focus on high-margin coal for steel making. In 2021, South African miner Anglo American demerged and listed its thermal coal business. "The coal business is profitable for now, and using its proceeds to fund its copper business is a pragmatic way towards transition," said Dustyn Lanz, Senior Advisor ESG Global Advisors.

☆ To escape the rat race, this pair cycled 15,000 km along the route from Finland to Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Valtteri Heinila was working in a startup when he realized he needed a break. With his friend Alvari Poikola, Heinila cycled through 21 countries in eight months, he told CNBC. The men chose Singapore as their goal because it was the farthest point they could cycle to, Heinila said. Valtteri Heinila (left) and Alvari Poikola at the Imperial City of Hue in Vietnam. Valtteri Heinila

☆ Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey, who is worth $75 million, says that business is 'judged and attacked' by society. 'We are the real value creators in the world.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey thinks business is "judged and attacked" by society. Mackey spoke at a conference, in one of his first appearances since stepping down as Whole Foods CEO. "I always felt that business is misunderstood by society," Mackey said during the presentation, according to industry publication Baking Business. "Entrepreneurs are the true heroes in a free-enterprise economy, driving progress in business, society, and the world," he wrote. Now, he plans to start a chain of health restaurants in Southern California called Love.Life!, according to Baking Business.

☆ AI Tech Like ChaptGPT, Bing, Bard Is a Bigger Threat Than Social Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Nowadays, the promise of social media as a unifying force for good has all but collapsed, and Zuckerberg is slashing thousands of jobs after his company's rocky pivot to the metaverse. Much like social media in 2012, the AI industry is standing on the precipice of immense change. And as Altman and his cohort charge ahead, AI could fundamentally reshape our economy and lives even more than social media. If social media helped expose the worst impulses of humanity on a mass scale, generative AI could be a turbocharger that accelerates the spread of our faults. Social media amplified society's issues, as Wooldridge puts it.

☆ The next world power will be the first to harness the power of AI, former defense official argues in new book
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Paul Scharre, a former defense official, argues AI dominance will determine the next global power. The battle for AI power will revolutionize world militaries and economies. His book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," was released on February 28. In his latest book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," Scharre explores how the international battle for the most powerful AI technology is changing global power dynamics. Over time, regulation in some fashion of AI technology; probably much of which will be sector-specific.

☆ Climate change is making plane turbulence worse, and it could make flights bumpier and more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Crystal Raypole | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Experts believe severe turbulence may increase in years to come as patterns of severe weather continue around the globe. But pilots also have to contend with clear-air turbulence, which is turbulence that has no visible cause. Weather researchers further predict clear-air turbulence will double by 2050, with severe turbulence increasing the most. "The highest altitude flights over the North Atlantic will encounter the most significant increase in severe turbulence," Bennett said. Only 1% of the atmosphere has moderately severe turbulence, and a few tenths of a percent have severe turbulence," she said.

☆ Analysis: Nuclear submarine plan aims to give Australia strategic edge to deter China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Sooner than that, around 2027, U.S. nuclear submarines are expected to be deployed in Western Australia. It is vital that Australia has the same capability to deter - or, if necessary, fight - China as it expands its nuclear submarine fleet and ranges deeper into Australia's northern waters, he said. A U.S. Defense Department report last year said the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had a fighting force of 340 ships and submarines, including 12 nuclear submarines - six equipped with ballistic missiles - and 44 conventionally powered submarines. The report added that China would build a guided missile submarine by the middle of this decade. The U.S. has long wanted to base its nuclear submarines in Australia, and if that is the near-term solution under AUKUS, it is a significant shift, Gill said.

☆ The more attractive a person thinks they are, the less likely they are to mask, new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The study quoted one person as saying: "I can't wait to stop wearing a mask … I can't wait to show my full face in places again." People who felt less attractive noted the stark opposite and were much more likely to still wear masks. Those who considered themselves really attractive were a lot more likely to unmask for a job interview, than people who didn't. This difference is likely linked to the concept of "pretty privilege," the notion that people who are considered attractive, based on society's definition of beauty, will have better, and more, opportunities than people who aren't considered attractive. Though, people who found themselves more attractive were still more likely to leave their mask at home while walking their dog.

☆ Investors pour the most into cash since COVID in latest week - BofA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cash funds saw inflows of $68.1 billion, BofA said citing EPFR data. Investors ditched equities and gold, which tends to suffer in an environment of rising real interest rates. Such a credit event could originate from the "Anglo-Saxon real estate" sector which has been hit by higher rates, the BofA analysts wrote. Bonds saw inflows of $8.4 billion, while global stocks recorded outflows of $7.4 billion and investors pulled $900 million out of gold funds. Investors meanwhile shed $1.8 billion in emerging market debt and bought $2.4 billion in emerging market equities.

☆ A proptech startup used this pitch deck to raise $5.1 million to build a LinkedIn for construction workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Contractors are challenged in hiring skilled workers. Skillit, founded in 2021, offers a platform specifically for recruiting skilled labor. The company's CEO walked Insider through a pitch deck used to raise $5.1 million in seed funding. What's more, many skilled workers are getting ready to retire. The company's first product focuses on recruiting craft workers, or construction workers who hone their skills in trade schools and apprenticeships.

☆ The era of health insurance disruptors is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Today, they're mostly the poster children of just how challenging it is to break into the insurance industry. Clover Health; Bright Health; Oscar Health; Olivia Reaney/Business InsiderOscar, founded in 2012, and Bright, in 2015, set out to sell health plans to people buying coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Elevance Health, the parent company of Anthem health plans, is No. Health insurance remains overly complex and mind-numbingly frustrating. Established health insurers haven't been able to stem the rise in health costs, which are mostly determined by the prices for medical care.

☆ VCs have swapped out tennis rackets and golf clubs for pickleball paddles. Here's why the sport has become one of the hottest hobbies in Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming America's fastest-growing sport. From building relationships to escaping stress, here's why VCs are obsessed with the sport. In the background, pop music floated through the air as the group prepared for a trying battle of wits and athletic prowess — pickleball. Once reserved for the quiet neighborhoods of suburbs and 55-plus retirement communities, pickleball has exploded onto the tech and VC scene in recent years, investors say. A networking toolAnd other aspects of the sport make it an ideal pick for a hobby or networking tool, VCs added.

[1/9] Czech presidential candidate Petr Pavel and his wife Eva Pavlova react at his headquarters, after results are announced for the country's presidential election, in Prague, Czech Republic January 28, 2023. Pavel, a 61-year-old retired general running for office for the first time, won 58.3% of the vote with all voting districts reporting final results, defeating billionaire ex-premier Andrej Babis, a dominant but polarising force in Czech politics for a decade. Pavel has also fully backed continued support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion. Babis, 68, a combative business magnate who heads the biggest opposition party in parliament, had attacked Pavel as the government's candidate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulated Pavel on his election on Twitter and said he looked forward to close cooperation.

☆ Climate and social impact startup OnHand just raised $4 million for its gamified employee app. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck used to secure the cash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OnHand, a B2B environmental and social impact platform, has just landed $4 million. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck OnHand used to convince investors to back it. A platform that encourages employees cut their environmental footprint and volunteer in the community has just raised $4 million from London venture capital firm 24Haymarket. The Newcastle, UK, company started in the charity space as a location-based, on-demand and consumer-focused volunteering app before pivoting to employee sustainability. As well as calculating emissions reductions for employees, OnHand still offers on-demand charity work.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaCARACAS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group said on Saturday they will resume peace talks in Mexico next month, overcoming a recent impasse after the government recently declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire. There was a first cycle of talks last year in Caracas to end the guerrillas' part in nearly six decades of war. The about-face on the ceasefire came after ELN said it had not agreed to it. "In said cycle, the issue of society's participation in peace building will be addressed. Colombia and the ELN said they would jointly examine progress in implementing agreements reached during the first cycle of talks and agreed to keep communication channels open even when not at the negotiating table.

☆ Salary Transparency Is Coming — so I Decided to Tell Everyone What I Make
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +37 min

But there's a glaring catch to my support for pay transparency: I haven't actually practiced it in my own life. To find out why, I decided to commemorate the dawning age of salary transparency by telling pretty much everyone in my life what I earn. Norway responded to pay transparency with yet another level of transparency, and that brought down the level of snooping.. Thanks to its nationwide experiment, Norway has been fertile ground for scholars trying to measure the consequences of extreme pay transparency. But I do believe that as more states implement pay-disclosure laws — and as Gen Z increasingly comes to dominate the workforce — salary transparency is going to become the new norm.

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