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However, you'll get a much better deal with the annual-fee personal Chase IHG card, the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card. How to earn points from the IHG Traveler cardThe IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card earns 5 points per dollar spent at IHG hotels. Only the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card offer this benefit for stays at IHG hotels. For most travelers who stay with IHG, the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card is a better deal than the IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card, even though it charges a $99 annual fee. However, you can have the small-business IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card and still qualify for a personal IHG card like the IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card.

☆ Analysis: Lula confronts Brazil military's pro-Bolsonaro lean with carrot and stick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But at a Friday meeting the commanders of the armed forces, Lula did not bring up the attack, according to a government official who witnessed the meeting. The armed forces' strategic plans to modernize its equipment included developing a nuclear-powered submarine contracted with France's Naval Group, a subsidiary of defense contractor Thales (TCFP.PA). GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLEWhether a splurge on military hardware will help tamp down pro-Bolsonaro sentiment in the armed forces is open to question. "Lula wants this to go away as soon as possible," he added. "Starting to punish members of the armed forces for what happened may be legally the right thing to do but politically it would open a Pandora's box."

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is the third James Cameron movie to gross $2 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Disney 's "Avatar: The Way of Water" has topped $2 billion at the global box office, making it the third James Cameron film to reach this benchmark. As of Sunday, "The Way of Water" had tallied $598 million from domestic ticket sales and $1.426 billion from foreign markets. "The film has now joined that very exclusive box office club and has made it look almost effortless," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. As the industry rebounds, films like "The Way of Water" have proven that moviegoers are eager to return for big blockbuster spectacles. Correction: This story was updated to reflect that "The Way of Water" is the third James Cameron movie to gross $2 billion at the global box office.

☆ Box office haul for 'Avatar: The Way of Water' tops $2 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. "The Way of Water" debuted in late December, 13 years after the original "Avatar" introduced the lush world of Pandora and became a worldwide phenomenon. Box office sales for "The Way of Water" totaled $2.024 billion on Sunday, according to Disney estimates. Roughly $1.4 billion of ticket sales have come from international markets outside the United States and Canada. A third "Avatar" movie, which Cameron has already filmed, is scheduled to debut in December 2024.

The no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card is the latest in Wells Fargo's refreshed credit card lineup. Wells Fargo Autograph card benefits and featuresDespite having a $0 annual fee, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card actually offers a substantial set of benefits that can save cardholders money. Emergency cash disbursement and card replacementIf you lose your Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, you can get an emergency cash advance and a card replacement within one to three days after contacting Wells Fargo. My Wells Fargo DealsMy Wells Fargo Deals are offers for cash back when you shop with certain merchants such as Starbucks and Airbnb, meet any specified requirements, and pay with your Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card. What credit score do you need to get the Wells Fargo Autograph card?

☆ Podcast listeners prefer video over audio alone, according to a new survey, giving YouTube a big edge. Here are more key takeaways.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A survey by Morning Consult found that listeners now prefer podcasts with video than those without. While platforms like YouTube and Spotify have offered audio podcasts for years, another format has been gaining steam recently: video. The poll, which surveyed 2,202 US adults in October, found that 46% of podcast listeners said they prefer consuming podcasts with video. As a result, podcast hosts might be more inclined in the future to invite star studded personalities onto their shows to improve ratings. Live events allow podcast hosts to record episodes in front of in-person audiences and connect with fans after the recording ends.

☆ Vince McMahon is back at WWE to ensure a smooth sale process. Here's who might want to buy it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

WWE has hired JPMorgan to help the company advise on a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter. But it remains unclear what type of role, if any, McMahon would want at WWE if he sold the company. WWE has a market capitalization of more than $6 billion after rising nearly 17% percent on Friday, buoyed by heightened sale speculation. McMahon's company already has an exclusive streaming deal with Comcast's streaming service, Peacock, and a cable TV deal with NBCUniversal's USA Network. Fox sold off most of its entertainment assets in its $71 billion sale to Disney in 2019, but WWE fits with the smaller company's sports and live events focus.

New York City's Department of Education announced a ban on the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT — which some have warned could inspire more student cheating — from its schools’ devices and networks. It was not immediately clear if the ban applied to the City University of New York system. In New York public schools, ChatGPT can still be made available upon request to classes studying artificial intelligence. In an email statement responding to the New York City public schools ban, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the company "doesn't want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else." We’ve always called for transparency around the use of AI-generated text," the spokesperson said.

☆ 15 leaders at TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms shaping their music strategies in a rapidly changing market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here are 15 power players who are using social to shape the music industry in 2022. 2022 was a massive year for music on social media, as short-video apps like TikTok became the dominant platforms for fans to discover new songs. "Every short-format platform's got music on it now," Ted Suh, global head of music partnerships at Snap Inc., told Insider. The marriage of short-form video and music has become so pervasive that it's become a focus for tech incumbents including YouTube, which has 80 million paying subscribers across its YouTube Music and Premium services. The process has been both democratizing and exhausting for performers who often have to maintain active accounts across social media to succeed.

☆ King Charles' III property empire includes 7 McDonald's, a Victoria's Secret, and an Apple store
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Crown Estate owns properties worth $17.6 billion, including farmland and seabeds. It also owns retail parks with stores including McDonald's, Starbucks, KFC, and Victoria's Secret. The Crown Estate, which generates profits for the UK Treasury, is owned by the reigning monarch and control was passed down from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III upon her death in September. Lingerie and sex-toy shop Ann Summers also has a store at the Westgate shopping mall in Oxford, as does Victoria's Secret. Regent Street in central London, which is owned by the Crown Estate.

☆ 'A symbol of holiday dread': Stores pick beloved holiday classic songs to put shoppers in a jolly mood - but retail workers so are over it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In the final months of the year, some retail workers start dreading the holiday playlists they hear on the job. In a Change.org petition, one person compares Mariah Carey's 'All I want For Christmas Is You' to torture. Music playlists are carefully created by musicologists to put shoppers in the 'perfect mood,' Bloomberg reports. But it's not just Carey's catchy classic that has retail workers at their wits' end. Streaming companies like SiriusXM and Pandora have teams dedicated to creating store playlists, and brands use musicologists to choose songs that strike "a perfect mood for customers," Bloomberg reported.

☆ 15 music power players at TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms who are innovating and using social to shape the industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ gives James Cameron his first $100 million domestic debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The highly anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water” took in $134 million at the US box office, giving director James Cameron his first $100 million opening weekend — despite falling short of analyst predictions. “Avatar: The Way of Water” has so far earned $435 million at the global box office. Though Cameron hasn’t revealed exactly how much it cost to make the “Avatar” sequel, one answer isn’t in doubt: a lot. In 2009, “Avatar” earned $77 million in its opening weekend and collected 80% of its gross from 3D showings. “The Way of Water” notched the second highest all-time IMAX global opening weekend and the biggest IMAX December global opening ever.

☆ 'Avatar' sequel opens shy of domestic box office projections
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Dec 18 (Reuters) - "Avatar: The Way of Water," the expensive and long-delayed sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, opened below box office forecasts with an estimated $134 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales. In overseas markets, "The Way of Water" added $301 million for a global total of roughly $435 million through Sunday, distributor Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said. "The Way of Water" was released 13 years after the first installment wowed audiences with pioneering 3D technology. The original "Avatar" remains the all-time box office champion with $2.9 billion in global ticket sales. Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mar-a-Lago guests were partying and taking dips in the pool only 60 feet away from classified docs, per new New York Times investigation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to The New York Times, Trump stored many of the documents in half-open storage rooms. Boxes of documents were stored between beach chairs and umbrellas in storage rooms near the resort's central patios and outdoor spaces used to host events. Guests were only sixty feet away from the documents at times, according to a sweeping visual investigation by The New York Times, which shed light on the nature of the storage of government documents that included some marked "classified." According to the Times, Trump hosted at least 50 political events in the first 19 months after leaving office. Less than 60 feet away from the White and Gold Ballroom, where event attendees spilled out onto an awning, multiple storage rooms were used to stash the documents.

At 190 minutes, the running time of “Avatar: The Way of Water” is longer. Jake and Neytiri have had numerous children and adopted Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the daughter of a human scientist’s avatar body. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter of two different indigenous societies. But the human colonizers —preparing to strip-mine Pandora for its minerals and its biological resources (including space whale essence) — are the aliens. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter between two different indigenous societies.

☆ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Review: A Second Plunge Into Pandora
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

With “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Mr. Cameron reaffirms himself as the blockbuster director of his generation—still the king of the world. To distinguish it from the first film, some might call the second entry in the proposed five-movie series “W.O.W.” And “Wow” is as handy a one-word review as any. With its gorgeous sea beasts, luminescent underwater fauna and pellucid diving excursions, “Way of Water” is unquestionably a great-looking movie. Mr. Cameron, the director of the first two “Terminator” films, “True Lies,” “Aliens” and “Titanic,” seems to have lost interest in character, and even the story is a bit of an afterthought. “Way of Water” is an excursion in paradise.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" premiered December 16 exclusively in theaters. Though the movie is currently exclusive to theaters, it's expected to hit Disney Plus at some point in 2023. Like the original movie, "Avatar: The Way of Water" is directed by James Cameron ("Titanic"). As of December 16, there is no official streaming date set for "Avatar: The Way of Water." The sequel repeats one of the biggest draws of the first "Avatar" movie in terms of being a groundbreaking visual spectacle.

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' review roundup: See it on the biggest screen possible, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"The Way of Water" follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who are now the parents of four Na'vi children. Read more: "Avatar: The Way of Water" could be headed for a $175 million opening weekend Critics are adamant that audiences should watch "The Way of Water" on the biggest screen possible, lauding the film for its you-won't-believe-this-is-computer-generated visuals and bombastic sound design. Here's what critics thought of "Avatar: The Way of Water" before its Friday release. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy: Disney Co.Ma did note that "The Way of Water" is "jaw-droppingly beautiful," likening it to watching a David Attenborough documentary rather than a CGI feature. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy Disney Co.Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

☆ James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' looks different from every movie you've ever seen—here's why
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

With "Avatar: The Way of Water" hitting theaters this weekend, director James Cameron is gambling that audiences are ready to not only return to Pandora after 13 years, but that they will be open to a film shot in 48 frames per second. For virtually the entire history of film, movies have been shot and displayed at the cinematic standard of 24 frames per second. This means that 24 still images are displayed on the screen every second, creating the illusion of motion. "It came to kind of define the genre of film," Richard Miller, executive vice president of technology at Pixelworks, says of the 24 frames per second look. Newscasts, live sports and even soap operas typically hit your TV screen at 30 frames per second, which gives them their distinct visual feel.

☆ 'Avatar' sequel earns film critics' praise for visual spectacle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Fans attend a premiere for the film Avatar: The Way of Water, at Dolby theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLOS ANGELES, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The long-awaited sequel to groundbreaking movie "Avatar" won praise on Tuesday from movie critics who said they were awed again by director James Cameron's visual artistry. The sequel offers more advanced 3D images, showcasing aquatic creatures on the lush moon of Pandora. "'Avatar: The Way of Water' is such a screen-popping visual feast it earns the 3-hour, 12-minute running time," said Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times. Studios split ticket sales with theaters, and Cameron told GQ magazine that "The Way of Water" will need to make $2 billion just to break even.

☆ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ rekindles the wonder in a way that demands to be seen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —“Avatar” took a very basic story and adorned it with eye-popping spectacle, in a way that made the film a must-see commodity, and a record-breaking hit in the process. Thirteen years later, braving much different theatrical tides, director James Cameron has done it again with “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a state-of-the-art exercise that rekindles that sense of wonder and demands to be seen by anyone with lingering interest in watching movies in theaters. The children, in particular, must grapple with the personalities and pettiness associated with becoming the new kids on the reef. Ultimately, though, “The Way of Water” melts away any skepticism that it might be too late or too long in its return to Pandora. “Avatar: The Way of Water” premieres December 16 in US theaters.

☆ James Cameron to skip the premiere for 'Avatar 2' due to positive Covid-19 test
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —It’s a sequel 13 years in the making, but James Cameron will have to sit the premiere out. The “Avatar: The Way of Water” director will not be in attendance at Monday’s premiere for the film in Los Angeles after testing positive for Covid-19, according to a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. He tested positive as part of a routine testing cadence. He will continue to complete his schedule virtually but will not be at the premiere,” a Disney spokesperson told the outlet. Cameron previously directed 2009’s “Avatar,” which took home three Oscars and became the world’s highest-grossing film.

[1/4] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. Hollywood's big question about "Avatar: The Way of Water" is whether the follow-up to the highest-grossing movie of all time can attract enough moviegoers to recoup its massive production and marketing costs. The 2009 movie remains the highest-grossing film in history with $2.9 billion in global ticket sales. Some disliked wearing 3D glasses, or objected to paying the 3D ticket surcharge. On opening weekend, Robbins predicts "The Way of Water" will rack up at least $150 million at domestic theaters.

☆ Send Sam Bankman-Fried to prison, Elon Musk suggests, while Binance's boss calls him a 'master manipulator'. 8 top figures weigh in on the disgraced FTX founder.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is racking up critics after the implosion of his crypto exchange. Here's what top voices like Elon Musk, Bill Ackman and Binance boss CZ have said, in 8 top quotes. Now the crypto CEO is under fire from all sides, from Elon Musk and Bill Ackman to "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban. Given that, the crypto exchange boss said he feels like the mainstream media has given Bankman-Fried softball interviews. The crypto bull believes Bankman-Fried will probably end up in jail, but doesn't think he was acting alone.

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