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The country will also scrap all other restrictive Covid measures for travelers, including quarantines for positive patients and contact tracing. China downgraded Covid management to a less-strict “Class B disease,” in the same category as less-severe diseases, such as Dengue fever. The existing quarantine policy for international arrivals to China was first launched in 2020 and modified over the course of the past several years. Since the world’s second largest economy drastically eased its Covid restrictions, there has been no clear data on the extent of the virus’ spread on the national level. China’s current focus is to prepare sufficient medical resources, according to the NHC statement.

☆ Consumer confidence improves in December, a hopeful sign for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —American consumers’ confidence in the US economy grew in December as high inflation continued to ease, according to data released Wednesday by the Conference Board. The business think tank’s latest consumer confidence index registered 108.3 this month, a significant jump from the upwardly revised measure of 101.4 in November. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 101, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. Consumer confidence, as measured by this and other surveys like the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, has mostly been on a downward trajectory for much of 2022 as the country grappled with the highest rates of inflation seen in four decades. During 2019, the headline consumer confidence index had an average reading of 128.5.

☆ 50 states sign up for Walmart’s opioid settlement framework
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Walmart said it has reached settlement agreements with all 50 US states as part of a $3.1 billion nationwide opioid settlement announced last month. In November, the retailer announced a settlement from multiple states’ attorneys general that accused the company of failing to regulate opioid prescriptions contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis. Those two chains have tentatively agreed to pay a combined $10 billion to settle lawsuits brought by states and local governments alleging the retailers mishandled prescriptions of opioid painkillers. US states, cities and counties have filed more than 3,000 lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies, accusing them of downplaying the addiction risk and failing to stop pills from being diverted for illegal use. – CNN’s Shawn Nottingham and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report.

☆ Brooklyn hospital network reverts to paper charts for weeks after cyberattack
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A network of three hospitals in Brooklyn, New York, has had to work off paper charts for weeks following a cyberattack on its computer systems in late November, the hospital group’s chief executive told CNN Monday. The hack affected “clinical applications,” including “those used for imaging and other critical services,” but many of those applications have been restored, One Brooklyn Health CEO LaRay Brown said in an email. One Brooklyn Health operates Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. “No patients were adversely effected,” Brown told CNN in an email Monday, adding that the hospitals remain open to patients. Brookdale Hospital is located in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, one of the poorest areas in New York City.

☆ 3M will stop making hazardous ‘forever chemicals’ starting in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —3M, the conglomerate behind Post-It notes and Scotch tape, will stop making controversial per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by the end of 2025. The chemicals, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” are found in hundreds of household items and used to make coatings and products that can repel water, grease, heat and oil. Over the past decade, chemical manufacturers have voluntarily stopped producing two of the most commonly used forever chemicals, including PFOS and PFOA. At the federal level, the US Food and Drug Administration phased out the use of certain PFAS chemicals in 2016. The FDA and manufacturers agreed in 2020 to phase out some PFAS chemicals from food packaging and other items that came into contact with food.

☆ John Carmack: Virtual reality titan is leaving Meta
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Video game pioneer John Carmack is resigning from his consulting position at Meta with “mixed feelings” about the “end of his decade in VR,” he announced in a Facebook post Friday. Carmack stuck around through the company’s more than $10 billion investment into virtual reality technology. He was an early advocate for virtual reality, thought it was not uncommon for him to criticize Meta. Meta bought Oculus VR in 2014 for $2 billion, and now sells the Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets. “I think my influence at the margins has been positive, but it has never been a prime mover,” Carmack said.

☆ ‘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.

☆ Dow and S&P 500 updates: Stock market news
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The good vibes on Wall Street are fading fast: US stocks tumbled yet again Friday as investors come to grips with a souring economy. S&P 500 futures fell 1.4%, and Nasdaq Composite futures were 1.1% lower. CNN Business’ Fear and Greed Index, a measure of market sentiment, dipped perilously close to “Fear” Friday. Stocks had been riding high this month on weaker-than-expected inflation and a number of stronger-than-expected reports on the broad economy and the job market. The S&P 500 lost 2.5% and the Nasdaq tumbled 3.2%, their worst days in a month.

☆ Massive changes could be coming to the way the stock market functions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Wall Street’s top cop has voted in favor of major changes to the way millions of everyday investors buy and sell stocks. The Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday proposed a rule that it says would add competition to an unseen — but potentially costly — part of the stock trading system for retail investors. Payment for order flow has come under intense scrutiny by regulators following the fallout from the January 2021 run-up in meme stocks like GameStop. “Today’s markets are not as fair and competitive as possible for individual investors — everyday retail investors,” Gensler said. “Thus, today’s proposal is designed to bring greater competition in the marketplace for retail market orders.”– CNN’s Allison Morrow contributed to this report

☆ Why Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Jimmy Fallon and other celebrities are getting sued over crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Tom Brady, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and baseball Hall-of-Famer David Ortiz are just some of the big names facing lawsuits from investors as the crypto world crumbles in the wake of FTX’s fall from grace. The backlash started earlier this month, when a class-action suit was filed against celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber and Serena Williams for promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. None of the celebrities named in the lawsuits immediately responded to requests from CNN for comment. Investors in FTX are not expected to be able to recover their money, the company’s CEO testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday. And after the crypto market bust and a round of lawsuits, celebrities may think twice about what they endorse in the future, too.

New York CNN —FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted on eight criminal charges including wire fraud and conspiracy by misusing customer funds, according to an indictment from the US Attorney of the Southern District of New York. Separately Tuesday, US markets regulators charged Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors and customers in his failed crypto exchange FTX. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Bankman-Fried, “orchestrated a years-long fraud” to conceal from FTX investors the diversion of customer funds to Alameda Research, his crypto-trading hedge fund. Star athletes and celebrities who backed FTX also reportedly received a stake in the company, including Tom Brady and Gisele. That meant there was no meaningful distinction between FTX customer funds and Alameda’s funds that Bankman-Fried used as his “personal piggy bank,” the complaint says.

☆ The very last 747 jumbo jet is about to roll off Boeing’s assembly line
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —After 53 years and more than 1,570 planes, the last Boeing 747 is set to roll off the assembly line in Washington state Tuesday, on its way to serve as a cargo plane. The once-groundbreaking jumbo jet, with the distinctive second-floor bulge, is perhaps the most notable and popular plane Boeing has ever built. The Boeing 747 in 1969. Other than that use, the 747’s days as a passenger plane are now almost completely behind it. But there are still 314 747 freighters in use, according to Cirium, many of which were initially used as passenger jets before being renovated into freighters.

☆ TSMC ups its Arizona chipmaking investment to $40 billion ahead of Biden’s visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is upping its investment in the United States, announcing Tuesday that it’s building a second semiconductor factory in Arizona and raising its investment there from $12 billion to $40 billion. On Tuesday afternoon, Biden plans to visit the manufacturer’s site in Phoenix and speak about bringing jobs and investment to the state. TSMC previously announced that it was building a $12 billion facility in Arizona that will eventually manufacture 3-nanometer chips, TSMC’s most advanced technology. The White House is touting the new investments as a direct result of Biden’s economic plan, including the $200 billion CHIPS and Science Act. The facility Biden will visit Tuesday in Phoenix is slated to begin producing chips in 2024.

☆ More than two dozen Taylor Swift fans sue Ticketmaster
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

More than two dozen Taylor Swift fans are suing Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. for “unlawful conduct” in the pop star’s chaotic tour sale, claiming the ticketing giant violated antitrust laws, among others. The lawsuit, filed in a California court on Friday, alleges Ticketmaster and its parent company were anti-competitive, imposing higher prices on fans in the presale, sale and resale market. The lawsuit also claimed that since Ticketmaster has agreements with the large stadiums in the tour, Swift “has no choice” but to work with Ticketmaster due to the size of her fan base. It also alleges that Ticketmaster profits off the resale of tickets in the secondary market by adding a service fee to its fan-to-fan exchange. Pre-sale tickets for “The Eras Tour” frustrated Swift fans across the country in a debacle that stayed in the headlines for weeks.

☆ America may dodge a crippling rail strike. Here’s how we got here
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The House approved two pieces of legislation Wednesday, one to impose the tentative agreements that members of four of the unions have already rejected, keeping 115,000 rail workers on the job and averting a strike. More than just sick daysThe fact that this is still an issue more than two months after an 11th-hour tentative deal was reached goes beyond the issue of paid sick days. All 12 rail unions agreed to the tentative deals that generated so much opposition. But he said the issue of sick days will not be going away. Senator Bernie Sanders, a close ally of the labor movement, tweeted “At a time of record profits in the rail industry, it’s unacceptable that rail workers have ZERO guaranteed paid sick days.

New York CNN Business —From retailers and computer chip makers to the oil-and-gas industry, businesses are scrambling to find workarounds where possible for a potentially devastating freight rail strike. Retailers, which rely on rail to move cargo from ports to warehouses, are considering shifting the timing of orders and shipments. Critically, the rail strike could disrupt the supply of chlorine and other critical chemicals used to keep drinking water safe. The oil-and-gas industry, for instance, warns a rail shutdown would spark fuel supply crunches and price spikes. “Congress appears likely to intervene in the coming days to avert a rail strike,” economists at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

☆ A record $100 billion was paid out in life insurance benefits last year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

US life insurers paid out a record $100 billion in benefits in 2021, according to new data released Monday by the American Council of Life Insurers. “For the second year in a row, life insurance benefit payments increased by double-digit percentages,” said Andrew Melnyk, ACLI Vice President, Research & Chief Economist. The ACLI data doesn’t break out the causes of death of life insurance policyholders. When a breadwinner in a family dies, life insurance can go a long way toward alleviating any immediate financial stress their spouse and children might experience. Many people have some life insurance coverage that their employer provides.

☆ Lawsuit alleges investor Leon Black raped a woman inside Jeffrey Epstein's home
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Billionaire investor Leon Black has been sued by a woman alleging he “brutal[ly]” raped her at Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in spring 2002. Wigdor filed Pierson’s complaint Monday under New York’s Adult Survivors Act. The firm’s Doug Wigdor helped advocate for the new law, which was passed in May and went into effect last week. After that he called again and asked to see her, according to the complaint, but Pierson refused to see him again. In 2008, Epstein pled guilty in Florida to two felony offenses: procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution.

☆ Frontier Airlines no longer has a customer service phone line
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Customers who need flight information or want to make changes to travel plans can no longer call Frontier Airlines and speak to an agent, the company confirmed to CNN Saturday. Customers seeking help or information from the carrier must deal with an online chatbot, social media channels or WhatsApp. Customers who call the customer service phone number now are greeted with an automated message that says, “At Frontier, we offer the lowest fares in the industry by operating our airline as efficiently as possible. We also have a chat service available 24/7.”Its low-cost flight competitors, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Airlines, still use call centers staffed by live agents. It’s no wonder Frontier wants to get rid of customer service over the phone.

New York CNN Buiness —With a crippling freight rail strike looming in two weeks, leaders of four railroad unions and management of the major US freight railroads are due back at the negotiating table Tuesday afternoon. It will be the first joint negotiating session for the four unions, whose rank-and-file members rejected the five-year labor agreements similar to deals accepted by the eight other rail unions in recent months. If any one of the unions goes on strike, it would be honored by all 12 unions, which would bring US freight rail service to a halt. Union members also would receive cash bonuses of $1,000 a year. All told, the backpay and bonuses would give union members an average payment of $11,000 per worker once the deal is ratified.

☆ Bob Chapek’s tenure marked by political missteps inside and outside of Disney
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Now he’s saying “Goodbye, Disney (DIS).”Chapek’s rocky two-and-a-half year tenure at the head of the entertainment giant had a few wins. But Disney made the surprise announcement Sunday that its revered former CEO Bob Iger is making a return as the head of the company. Disney employees began staging walkouts, saying Chapek’s statements “utterly failed” to grasp the threat to LGBTQ communities. DeSantis quickly ripped Disney after Chapek’s public condemnation, calling the company a “woke corporation” with questionable business interests in China during a private event. Investors celebrated Iger’s return as CEO, sending Disney shares up nearly 7% Monday after dropping roughly 38% this year.

☆ Collapsed FTX owes nearly $3.1 billion to top 50 creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN Business —Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has filed for US bankruptcy court protection, said it owes its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion. The exchange owes about $1.45 billion to its top ten creditors, it said in a court filing on Saturday, without naming them. The crypto exchange said on Saturday it has launched a strategic review of its global assets and is preparing for the sale or reorganization of some businesses. FTX’s rapid collapse marked a stunning downfall for one of the biggest and most powerful players in the crypto industry. The Bahamian authorities have also taken control of cryptocurrency assets held by FTX Digital Markets, The Bahamas-based FTX unit that filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

☆ Ticketmaster apologizes to Taylor Swift and her fans for ticketing debacle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Frank Pallotta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Ticketmaster apologized to Taylor Swift and her fans late Friday night after a ticketing debacle this week that made it difficult for consumers to buy tickets to the pop star’s new tour. “We want to apologize to Taylor and all of her fans — especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets,” the ticketing site said in the blog post. “Once we get through that, if there are any next steps, updates will be shared accordingly,” it wrote. The mea culpa comes after Swift spoke out earlier on Friday about how the situation was “excruciating” for her to watch as it unfolded into chaos. Customers complained on social media about Ticketmaster not loading, saying the platform didn’t allow them to access tickets, even if they had a pre-sale code for verified fans.

☆ Qatar World Cup: 'Our dreams never came true.' These men helped build Qatar's tournament, now they are struggling to survive.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Aimee Lewis Pramod Acharya Sugam Pokharel | Aimee Lewis | Pramod Acharya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +31 min

It will be a historic event, the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, but one also mired in controversy. He had dreamed of watching World Cup matches from the rooftop of the hotel he had helped build. In Qatar, migrant workers can now change jobs freely without permission from their employer. However, a number of European federations have issued a joint statement saying they would campaign at the tournament on human rights and for a migrant workers center and a compensation fund for migrant workers. The motto for Qatar’s bid team in 2010 was ‘Expect Amazing.’ In many ways, this year’s World Cup has replicated that maxim.

☆ Taylor Swift meltdown caused by Ticketmaster abusing its market power, Senate antitrust chair says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Senator Amy Klobuchar criticized Ticketmaster in an open letter to its CEO, saying she has “serious concerns” about the company’s operations following a service meltdown Tuesday that left Taylor Swift fans irate. Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the country’s largest concert promoter, merged about a decade ago. Klobuchar noted that the company at the time pledged to “develop an easy-access, one-stop platform” for ticket delivery. It’s no secret that Live Nation-Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly,” Rep. David Cicilline, currently the chairman of the Antitrust Subcommittee, tweeted on Tuesday. The Justice Department and states allowed the Live Nation Ticketmaster merger to go through despite a 2010 court filing in the case raising objections to the merger.

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