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☆ TurboTax has lobbied against a free tax filing system for decades. Its head says the US' path toward one is 'unquestionably a conflict of interest.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer allots funds to explore a free federal tax filing service. The head of TurboTax's parent company says that a government-run tax filing service would be unethical. Intuit, a global financial technology platform, owns TurboTax, one of the leading paid tax filing services. In the US, tax filing services like TurboTax and H&R Block spend millions of dollars lobbying against free tax filing services. Commercial providers such as TurboTax and Tax Act offer their own free services for those earning under a certain amount.

☆ Time to set yearly work goals? Here’s how to pick them and stick to them
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Many companies ask employees to set goals as part of their appraisals at this time of year, but coming up with achievable ones can be tricky. Considering how your professional goals can help you develop skills you can use outside of work, such as public speaking, can also help, Salton added. This could include setting goals that have different difficulty levels, she suggests. And when it finally comes to actually formulating your goals, the so-called SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bounded) approach can help, Stapleton says. She suggests setting shorter-term goals that will help you work toward longer-term ones — and making sure you keep visual reminders of them.

☆ An Iowa Farmer Tried to Dodge Stock-Market Turmoil. It Cost Him $900,000.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Jason Zweig | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Over the past two years, bonds have lost almost 15% and stocks have barely gained 5%, whipsawing investors along the way. That’s what markets do. As a result, financial firms are pile-driving their clients into assets that have no market. Over the past two years, investors bought an astonishing $878.9 billion in so-called Regulation D private offerings of debt and equity that don’t trade, according to SLCG Economic Consulting, a research firm in McLean, Va.

☆ Stephanie McMahon resigns as WWE’s chairwoman and co-CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Four days after her disgraced father returned to WWE’s board, the wrestling company’s co-CEO and chairwoman Stephanie McMahon resigned from the company. The move comes as WWE’s board of directors elected her father, Vince McMahon, as executive chairman of the board. “I’ll forever be grateful that she offered to step in during my absence and I’m truly proud of the job she did co-leading WWE.”WWE said Nick Khan, who was co-CEO with Stephanie McMahon, will serve as CEO. Vince McMahon retired as CEO in July 2022, but remains the company’s majority shareholder. Following his departure, WWE disclosed multiple expenses that Vince McMahon hadn’t previously reported, totaling $19.6 million.

☆ Fisher-Price reminds consumers of 2019 recall of Rock ‘n Play Sleepers after more deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Fisher-Price has reannounced its 2019 recall of the Rock ‘n Play Sleepers on Monday after at least eight infant deaths occurred after the initial recall, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Fisher-Price notes that in some of the reports, it has been unable to confirm the circumstances of the incidents or that the product was a Rock ‘n Play Sleeper.”The CPSC indicated that “consumers should stop using the Rock ‘n Play immediately and contact Fisher-Price for a refund or voucher. It is illegal to sell or distribute the recalled sleepers.”The initial 2019 recall affected about 4.7 million sleepers. The sleepers were sold at stores such as Walmart, Target and Amazon from September 2009 to April 2019. At the time of the initial recall, Chuck Scothon, general manager at Fisher-Price, said the company considered the recall the “best course of action” and would continue to stand by the safety of all its products.

☆ British Airways flights from the US delayed due to technical difficulties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Vint Cerf Helped Create the Internet on the Back of an Envelope
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Emily Bobrow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This is largely thanks to a design that Vint Cerf sketched on the back of an envelope while holed up with fellow computer scientist Robert Kahn in a Palo Alto cabana nearly 50 years ago. “Bob and I were like two hands on one pencil,” Dr. Cerf, 79, says over video from his home in McLean, Va., dressed in his usual three-piece suit. “We had a Stanford secretary type it up, and what did we do with the handwritten original? We threw it away! Historians have never forgiven me,” he adds with a laugh.

But when she finally spoke to Omogun-Broadnax a couple days later about being the face of her sports agency centered on Black female college athletes, McLean said she felt an immediate connection. “It’s really important for Black athletes to have that kind of representation because it provides another sense of protection. The pair of 33-year-old attorneys, who served as clerks in the same circuit court in Maryland, talked for years about creating an agency that could advance the careers of Black female athletes. “Black female athletes are some of the most talented human beings on this planet,” Omogun-Broadnax said. Solace’s focus on Black female athletes gives the agency a rare niche.

While no dating app has taken up the suggestion yet, TikTok users started making and sharing their own “Dating Wrapped” slideshows this year. However, Dating Wrapped videos blew up this year, and the hashtag #DatingWrapped has amassed more than 10.3 million views on the platform. McLean said she initially made her video because she is a fan of Spotify Wrapped and enjoys sharing her dating stories with friends. Dupone added a slide for “multi-night sleepovers” in their Dating Wrapped, which they felt was more common in queer relationships. In addition to being a source of entertainment for viewers, McLean said preparing her Dating Wrapped video allowed her to reflect on what she wants and needs romantically.

☆ Juul Labs settles litigation in the United States
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —E-cigarette maker Juul Labs said Tuesday that it has settled litigation it faced in the United States, resolving a substantial amount of legal issues for the company. “The global resolution covers more than 5,000 cases brought by approximately 10,000 plaintiffs against Juul Labs and its officers and directors,” the company said in a news release. The investigation found that Juul deliberately marketed its products to young people, even though e-cigarette sales to children are illegal. In the past, Juul Labs has sold some of the most popular vaping products in the United States, especially its flavored products. A court temporarily blocked the FDA ban, so the products are still for sale in the United States.

☆ Kanye West’s Twitter account has been suspended after Elon Musk says it violated rule against incitement to violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN business —Kanye West’s Twitter account was suspended early Friday morning after Elon Musk said it violated the platform’s rules on inciting violence. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended,” Musk tweeted in a reply. This is not the first time West has run afoul of Twitter. In October, before Musk completed the deal to buy the social media platform, Twitter locked West’s account over an antisemitic tweet.

☆ Twitter loses another top exec who says workers 'had it good at Twitter 1.0,' in an apparent jab at Elon Musk's plans for the company
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter's head of US content partnerships announced she had left Elon Musk's platform. Sarah Rosen tweeted about her departure, writing "we had it good at Twitter 1.0." Per reports, Twitter also recently lost its head of ad sales, as well as its VP of partnerships. Her departure follows those of other executives who have left Twitter within the past few days. Maggie McLean Suniewick, vice president of partnerships, tweeted on Sunday about her departure from Twitter after having joined four months ago.

☆ How airlines plan to create a new generation of pilots amid fears of decade-long cockpit crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Bob Woods | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Focusing more long-term, though, airlines are boosting training programs to unprecedented levels and trying to attract a younger and more diverse next generation of aviators. That formula has been adopted by regional airlines, too, such as Mesa Air Group , Republic, Envoy, Cape Air and SkyWest . The regionals have always been an entry point for the mainline airlines' pilots, providing them the requisite number of hours of flight time needed before advancing. "The pilot shortage has abated to some extent," Murray said, "but at the expense of lower frequencies and fewer connection opportunities for travelers." Regional airline Republic has its own flight school, the Leadership in Flight Training Academy, in Indianapolis.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoCompanies Mars Inc FollowNov 8 (Reuters) - A California man who claimed Skittles are "unfit for human consumption" because they contained a known toxin has dismissed his federal lawsuit against Mars Inc, the candy maker. Jenile Thames voluntarily dismissed his case on Monday, according to a filing by his lawyers in Oakland, California. read moreThough many foods contain titanium dioxide to add color, various studies have over the years questioned its safety. Mars, based in McLean, Virginia, on Sept. 30 sought to dismiss Thames' lawsuit. It said its use of "small amounts" of titanium dioxide did not harm the plaintiff, and complied with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.

☆ Backstreet Boys honor Aaron Carter midconcert with emotional tribute
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Drew Weisholtz | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Backstreet Boys paused their concert in London on Sunday to honor Nick Carter’s younger brother Aaron, who died over the weekend. The moment began with a picture of Aaron on the jumbotron, with a caption reading, “Aaron Carter 1987-2022.”The band then appeared onstage to thunderous cheering from the crowd as the camera honed in on Nick Carter. And that song is very special to us because that song is about family. We thank you for all the love for all the years.”At that moment, AJ McLean went over to hug Nick Carter before Brian Littrell joined in. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth….I love you baby brother.”

Language allowed me to make some meaning of the situation and take control of my own mental health narratives. “I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t wanna go to the mental health hospital,” she says in the documentary. She wants to be transparent about her mental health condition in order to inspire others and help them feel less alone. Moments like this highlight how risky it still is for a celebrity to be candid about mental health. For a celebrity who once had the most followed Instagram account, the performance of an identity versus the reality of it is crucial to understanding Gomez’s mental health advocacy.

☆ Can Men’s Anti-Aging Serums Actually Get Rid of Wrinkles?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Garrett Munce | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

ONE MORNING LAST MONTH, I awoke to a text from a friend that said, “Man, I look old. I noticed exactly five forehead wrinkles emerging, some creases making themselves at home around my eyes, and—surely not—a hint of a jowl? Michael Gilman, founder of Grooming Lounge, a men’s grooming retailer in McLean, Va., has encountered many guys fretting about crow’s feet. In the past two years, he’s fielded so many wrinkle-related inquiries from men in their 30s and 40s that he developed an in-store, anti-aging facial treatment and launched an anti-aging skin-care section on his site. Both have been hits, he said, adding that, in his experience, men are getting more comfortable expressing their desire to look youthful.

☆ Women athletes now have their own sports network
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The first-ever network to focus on female athletes, the Women's Sports Network, launched Wednesday, offering 24/7 streaming of original programming, competitions, documentaries and a daily studio show "Game On." The Women's Sports Network is a free, ad-supported network featured on streaming services including Amazon.com 's Freevee, Fox Corp .'s FuboTV and Tubi, along with smart TVs. The Women's Sports Network has partnerships with the Women's National Basketball Association, Women's Football Alliance, Ladies Professional Golf Association, U.S. Female athletes at the collegiate level are also proving to be winners in the NIL era, garnering deals with brands including Nike now that college athletes can be paid for their name, image and likeness. "The Women's Sports Network is exactly what athletes, fans and sponsors have been asking for," Mollie Marcoux Samaan, commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, said in a release announcing the network launch.

☆ Skechers executives escort Kanye West out of building, company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown leave Kanye West’s Donda Sports agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Rob Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Two high profile athletes are leaving Kanye West’s sports agency, Donda Sports, in the wake of the artist and businessman’s repeated antisemitic statements. Aaron Donald, a star football player on the Los Angeles Rams, announced Tuesday that he is leaving the agency. On Monday, Brown told the Boston Globe that he planned to stick with the agency. “A lot of people that I work with, work with their families, build love and respect for, spending time in the summer. Recently, West said “I can say antisemitic s*** and Adidas cannot drop me,” during a tirade against Jews on the Drink Champs Podcast.

☆ MacKenzie Scott files for divorce from second husband
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNNBusiness —Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has filed for divorce from her second husband after less than two years of marriage. Scott, one of the world’s richest people, married Seattle-based science teacher Dan Jewett last year after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019. Scott filed a petition for divorce in the King County Superior Court in Washington State on Monday, according to the Court clerk’s office. The news was first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday. Scott has given away billions of dollars as part of a plan to donate a majority of her fortune.

☆ Students stage walkouts across Virginia over governor's transgender school policies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Students across Virginia protested Tuesday in response to new guidelines putting restrictions on transgender students in the state’s public schools. “Trans students are students just like everybody else. "While students exercise their free speech today, we’d note that these policies state that students should be treated with compassion and schools should be free from bullying and harassment." Students have begun to walk out of Northern Virginia schools in protest of Gov. "When Barbara Johns walked out, people told her she should have stayed put too," Virginia state Del.

Insider asked 12 top VCs what ad and marketing tech companies excited them the most this year. Check out the 19 most promising adtech startups, and what they do that makes them unique. It hopes to raise a Series A funding round in the coming months. Emperia is currently raising its next funding round. Why it's on the list: Tech companies are being scrutinized for their wasting energy consumption, and the digital advertising industry is no exception.

☆ Don McLean's 'Vincent' lyrics expected to fetch $1 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Omar Younis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Singer Don McLean poses for a portrait in New York, U.S., March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidSept 21 (Reuters) - The original handwritten lyrics of Don McLean’s song “Vincent,” a tribute to painter Vincent van Gogh, are going up for auction in November with an estimated value of $1 million. I'll just look at the 'Starry Night' painting and see if it speaks to me. “Vincent” is perhaps McLean’s most famous song after “American Pie,” the lyrics of which sold for $1.2 million at auction in 2015. A portion of the proceeds of auction will go to the Don McLean Foundation.

☆ From Jay-Z to Elon Musk: Inside the rise of Quinn Emanuel partner Alex Spiro, one of the lawyers helping the billionaire break out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Elon Musk has fired many lawyers but hired Alex Spiro for at least five cases, with a mixed record. But there's at least one lawyer who Musk seems to get along with: Alex Spiro. Spiro had been working behind the scenes for the billionaire when he was trying to buy Twitter. But they are hardly the "hardcore street fighters" Musk wants in a lawyer, according to a recent tweet of his. It's not clear how Spiro and Musk connected in the first place, but they seem to operate on the same wavelength.

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