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☆ Upgrades to keep the US military's oldest bombers — its B-52s — flying for a century are running into delays and rising costs, watchdog finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementThat's three years later than the Air Force planned to have the re-engined planes operating. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, arrives on the flightline August 4, 2023, as part of a Bomber Task Force mission at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The Air Force plans to keep the planes in service until 2050, almost 100 years after the first B-52 entered service. The Air Force continues to rely on the B-52s for long-range strategic bomber missions, even though they lack the speed of the B-1 Lancers and the stealth of the B-2 Spirits.

Persons: —, Joshua J, Garcia, Nia Jacobs Organizations: Service, US Air, Business, Air Force, Royce, Pilots, 2nd Bomb, RAF Fairford, U.S . Air Force, Tech, Inside Defense, Department of Defense, 20th Expeditionary Bomb, Barksdale Air Force Base, Bomber Task Force, Andersen Air Force Base, The Air Force, Lancers Locations: United Kingdom, Louisiana, Guam, U.S, Arizona

☆ Pence’s ordeal isn’t deterring Trump’s potential ticket mates
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Former Vice President Mike Pence at the US Capitol on May 16, 2024. This despite history suggesting that, at some point in their potential mandate, a possible President Trump might ask them to so something that tests their consciences, the law or the Constitution. The attractiveness of the vice presidential nomination may reflect Trump’s magnetism and the heady euphoria of being a key player in the “Make America Great Again” movement. He has also made clear to Trump that he wouldn’t have adopted Pence’s interpretation of the constitutional limits on vice presidential powers. Burgum has taken a classic route of parlaying an unsuccessful presidential campaign into a spot in the vice presidential derby.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, didn’t, Mike Pence, Ohio Sen, J.D, Doug Burgum, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio, Marco Rubio , South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Elise Stefanik, Arkansas Sen, Tom Cotton, Byron Donalds, Ben Carson, Trump, he’s, Pence, Kent Nishimura, —, there’s, MAGA, Vance, MAGA protégé, ”, Sen, Jeff Kowalsky, he’d, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, wasn’t, Joe Biden’s, “ I’m, Mike Pence’s, ” Vance, wouldn’t, Rubio, Burgum, Justin Lane, Biden, Trump’s, “, who’s, you’re, Jim Watson, can’t, Kristi Noem, Noem Organizations: CNN, GOP, Republican National Convention, Vance , North Dakota Gov, Tim Scott , New York, Florida Rep, Urban, Capitol, Republican, Trump, Republicans, West Wing, Fox News, Getty, The Ohio Republican, Electoral College, ABC News, North, North Dakota Gov, New, Press, Dakota Gov, ”, South Locations: Vance , North, Florida, Marco Rubio , South Carolina, Tim Scott ,, Arkansas, Huntington, Detroit , Michigan, AFP, Pennsylvania, Georgia, “, parlaying, Indiana, North Dakota, boardrooms, New York City, New York, Washington, West Palm Beach , Florida, “ State, Wisconsin, South Dakota

☆ Switzerland makes second interest rate cut as major economies diverge on monetary policy easing
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A view of the headquarters of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), before a press conference in Zurich, Switzerland, March 21, 2024. The Swiss National Bank on Thursday trimmed its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, continuing cuts at a time when sentiment over monetary policy easing remains mixed among major economies. The figures assumes a SNB interest rate of 1.25% over the prediction period. Switzerland already has the second-lowest interest rate of the Group of Ten democracies by a wide margin, following Japan. It became the first major economy to cut interest rates back in late March and was earlier this month followed by the European Central Bank, and questions are now mounting over whether it will proceed with a third rate cut this year.

Persons: Kyle Chapman Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Reuters, Swiss, U.S ., Nomura, European Central Bank, Ballinger Group, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of England Locations: Zurich, Switzerland, Swiss, London, Japan

☆ The cliffhanger House primary that reveals everything about Trump’s GOP
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Trump is angry at Good, the chair of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, because he initially endorsed Florida Gov. But he authored his own demise by getting crosswise with two key forces in the riotous Republican House majority — the ex-president and McCarthy, whose still potent financial machine is on a revenge tour. While he was estranged from Trump, Good campaigned as though he and the former president were on the same side. This is a time to rally behind President Trump,” Good said. We’re all behind President Trump.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump’s, Bob Good –, Trump, Sen, John McGuire, Ron DeSantis, Kevin McCarthy, McGuire, “, ”, Good, he’d, McCarthy, James Madison, James Monroe –, he’s, Bob Good, Virginia, ” Trump, that’s, Mitch McConnell, “ Trump, –, Mark Meadows, CNN’s Manu Raju, DeSantis, Joe Biden, Trump’s GOP McGuire, ” McGuire, Trump’s, “ I’m, trifecta Organizations: CNN, Republican Party, GOP, Congressional, Caucus, Florida Gov, California Republican, Republican, Capitol, Senate, Freedom Caucus, Trump’s GOP, Trump, “ CNN, Navy Locations: Virginia’s, Virginia, California, New York, Washington, Lynchburg, Iowa, Trump’s, Lago

☆ Throwing money at plunging birth rates won't solve the issue, demography experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Lancet study forecasts that by 2100, over 97% of countries will have fertility rates below the population replacement level. AdvertisementThe Japanese government has also tried to boost fertility rates by offering up to a year of parental leave and even cash incentives. In South Korea, the least fertile country in the world, Seoul is offering people money to reverse their vasectomies or untie their tubes. However, according to Trent MacNamara, a Texas A&M professor whose work has focused on fertility rates, throwing money at the problem can only do so much. Harper said that instead of throwing money at the issue, the biggest chance for success is through promoting gender equity.

Persons: —, isn't, Trent MacNamara, MacNamara, Sarah Harper, Harper, Philip N, Cohen, it's Organizations: Service, Business, gerontology, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Maryland Locations: Tokyo, South Korea, Seoul, Texas

☆ It’s Unanimous: In the Senate, Neither Party Consents to the Other’s Ideas
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the Senate, the term “U.C.” stands for “unanimous consent” — usually verbal shorthand for an agreement by all senators to quickly take up and pass a bill. But with the November elections just months away, it might as well stand for: “You see? On the Senate floor in recent days, those efforts have often taken the form of unanimous consent requests that are designed to fail, thus spotlighting one party or another’s refusal to agree to a policy proposal. Such procedural skirmishes provide a shortcut to Senate showdowns on wedge issues or subjects on which one party believes it has the upper hand. That was the case on Tuesday, when Democrats attempted to quickly bring up and pass a bill that would outlaw gun bump stocks after the Supreme Court last week struck down a ban on the devices.

Persons: ” Organizations: Senate, White

☆ The Supreme Court’s approach on ‘history and tradition’ is irking Amy Coney Barrett
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Devan Cole | John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Though Justice Clarence Thomas’ decision in a major trademark case last week was unanimous, it prompted a sharp debate led by Justice Amy Coney Barrett over the use of history to decide the case. “There definitely is the potential formation here of an alternative or several alternative approaches to history that ultimately draw a majority,” Wolf said. “What we could be seeing is a more nuanced approach to using that history,” said Elizabeth Wydra, president of the progressive Constitutional Accountability Center. But in a striking concurrence that captured support from both liberal and conservative justices, Justice Elena Kagan asserted that the court’s historic analysis need not end with the late-18th century. Barrett’s concurrence said the dispute could have been dealt with based on the court’s past precedent with trademark law and stressed that just leaning on the nation’s trademark history wasn’t good enough.

Persons: Clarence Thomas ’, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Thomas, “, ”, Tom Wolf, Brennan, ” Wolf, Trump, Thomas ’, Antonin Scalia, Elizabeth Wydra, ” Wydra, Ilya Somin, there’s, Bruen, Sonia Sotomayor, … Bruen, –, Elena Kagan, Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Sotomayor –, Wolf, Roe, Wade, Vidal, . Elster, Sotomayor, ” Thomas, Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Barrett’s Organizations: Washington CNN, Brennan Center for Justice, New York, Trump, George Mason University, “, Inc, CNN, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Locations: New, Bruen, United States

☆ Reddit's traffic is way, way up. Like, banoodles up.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Reddit's traffic is up 39% year over year this month, according to Similarweb. Reddit's big boost is likely from Google traffic. AdvertisementHave you seen more Reddit results in your Google searches lately? Way, way, not alone. Reddit's traffic has surged in the last few months, largely because of its increased prominence in Google search results.

Persons: —, Hugh Langley Organizations: Service, disney, Google, Business Locations: That's

☆ Supreme Court Ruling on Bump Stocks Could Open Door to More Lethal Weapons
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bump stocks were banned by the Trump administration after that mass shooting. But when the Supreme Court last week struck down that ban, which had been a rare victory for gun-safety advocates in recent years, it had the potential to open the door not just to bump stocks. The devices are replacement triggers known as “forced-reset triggers” or “wide-open triggers” that allow shooters to fire more than 900 rounds in a minute with one continuous squeeze, federal officials say. In March 2022, four years after the ban on bump stocks was issued, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also imposed restrictions on some of these trigger devices. The agency said in a letter at the time that the devices effectively turned semiautomatic weapons into prohibited machine guns.

Persons: Trump, Biden’s Organizations: Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Senate GOP blocks effort by Democrats to pass bump stock ban after Supreme Court ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Clare Foran | Ted | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass a bill to ban bump stocks in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling. The bill would enact a federal ban on the sale of bump stock devices. Bump stocks allow a shooter to convert a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon that can fire at a rate of hundreds of rounds a minute. The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a federal ban on bump stocks approved by former President Donald Trump, the latest opinion from the conservative court rolling back firearm regulations. While some Republicans support a ban on bump stocks, the issue has divided GOP senators in the aftermath of the high court ruling.

Persons: Donald Trump, Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich of, Republican Sen, Pete Ricketts, ”, there’s, ” Heinrich, Chuck Schumer, ” Schumer, Ricketts, “ It’s, “, Sen, Lindsey Graham of, John Cornyn of, “ I’ve, I’d, ” Sen, Shelley Moore Capito, Chris Murphy, Connecticut, Murphy Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Republican, Nebraska, GOP, Republicans Locations: Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas, West Virginia

☆ A millennial who makes 6 figures says she's looking across the US for a home but is struggling to find one in her budget that has green space and a 'metropolitan vibe'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewWhen Madelyn Driver and her husband began house-hunting, they thought they had a few advantages. The 30-year-old makes over $100,000 working in the tech industry, according to a document viewed by BI — and she said her husband also has a six-figure income. Driver is among a group of Americans with six-figure incomes who are having trouble meeting some of their financial goals. Related storiesOf course, for the majority of Americans who don't have a six-figure income — the average annual full-time salary was about $84,000 as of March — affording a home is even more of a challenge. Driver said their ideal location would have a highly educated population, diversity, plenty of green space, and milder weather than the Northeast.

Persons: —, they're, they've, Driver, hasn't, millennials Organizations: Service, BI, Business Locations: Pennsylvania, Colorado, Carolinas, Virginia

☆ Meet the Professors Whose Porn Careers Cost Them Their Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Hallie Lieberman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

The porn videos had titles like "Juicy Anniversary" and "Bedroom Shenanigans." In search of a man for Wilson, Gow sought advice from his therapist, who suggested joining a swingers club. In the background, Video Gow is moaning "Oh yeah" as IRL Gow says, "I've always had some ED issues." As the video ends with the big finale — the money shot, as it's known in the industry — Video Gow stands above kneeling Video Wilson, arms outstretched. The termination letter said he had failed to properly report his income from the porn videos and had violated "prohibitions for using one's public position for private benefit."

Persons: Joe Gow, Carmen Wilson, Gow, isn't, " Gow, Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, we've, It's, I'm, Simone Lueck, BI Gow, hadn't, Wilson's, Nina Hartley, Danny Mountain, who'd, We've, Cal Berkeley, Lauren Phillips, Phillips, mischievously, We’ll, We'll, Barack Obama, Geri, Jay Hart, IRL Gow, I've, she'd, Barack Obama's, Hartley, Raymond Cross, Cross, Hartley dustup, Stills, —, Tony Tomich, Moberg doesn't, Gow's, demurely, Starr, Socrates, Eugene Volokh, Roe, Diane, wouldn't, aren't, They've, Wilson wouldn't, Hallie Lieberman, She's Organizations: University of Wisconsin, selfies, CNN, The, BI, UW, La, Sony, Higher, MIT, USC, Cal, Dickinson State University, Food Network, IRL, Dartmouth, La Crosse Tribune, La Crosse, University of, FTI Consulting, Easton Moberg, Press, Stanford, Court, eBay, Sssh.com Locations: La Crosse, London, India, Gaza, Gow, Rock, San Francisco, Wisconsin, Chicago, Los Angeles, North Dakota, Arizona, Communist China, City, San Diego

☆ Clooney and Roberts help Biden raise $30 million-plus at a star-studded Hollywood gala
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President Barack Obama share a laugh during a star-studded campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, on June 15, 2024. The fundraiser included singing by Jack Black and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and actors Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman introduced Kimmel, who himself introduced Biden and Obama. The president was fundraising "with out-of-touch elitist Hollywood celebrities," Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. But Biden told the crowd in California that "we passed every major piece of legislation we attempted to get done." Earlier in the program, Kimmel noted Biden's campaign promise to restore the soul of America and said "lately it seems we might need an exorcism."

Persons: Joe Biden, Barack Obama, energizing, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Kimmel, Biden, Donald Trump, Kimmel, Trump, Kamala Harris, Jack Black, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kathryn Hahn, Jason Bateman, Obama, deadpanned, Bateman, Karoline Leavitt, Roe, Wade, Samuel Alito, Pope Francis, Stephen Colbert, Bill Clinton, John Paulson, Trump's Organizations: Peacock, Democratic, Republican, Batman, Biden, Trump, Supreme, Delta Force, Army, Radio City Music Hall, Biden's, Republican National Committee, Republican Party Locations: Los Angeles, Italy, Southern California, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, Gaza, Detroit, California, America, New York, York, Florida

☆ This nutrition scientist is on a mission to make ultra-processed foods healthier. Can he succeed?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewIt's been five years since nutrition scientist Kevin Hall made a startling discovery that changed the way we view ultra-processed foods. It was the first randomized controlled study of its kind, and it changed the way we view ultra-processed foods. Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty ImagesHe wants to understand precisely why ultra-processed foods do what they do and what—if anything—we can do to make them healthier. Ultra-processed foods attack our brainsPaul Bradbury/Getty ImagesWe've known for a long time that ultra-processed foods are associated with all kinds of bad health outcomes, from more early death, to extra strokes, and additional heart attacks. Related storiesBut whether the entire category — all packaged, ultra-processed foods are inherently bad for us by nature — is still an open question.

Persons: —, Kevin Hall, Hall, Stephanie Chung, Jennifer Rymaruk, Aleksandr Zubkov, he's, we'll, Paul Bradbury Organizations: Service, National Institutes of Health, Business, Getty, Washington Post, National Institutes, NIDDK, Nestle Locations: NIDDK, Bethesda , Maryland, veggies

☆ Jeff Bezos is a 'brilliant man' for what he's done at Whole Foods, says ex-CEO: 'He thinks really long term'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In the eyes of Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey, Jeff Bezos is a "brilliant man" — all because of a few price cuts at the grocery chain. Whole Foods was struggling with declining sales when Bezos' Amazon bought the grocery chain for $13.7 billion in 2017. Shoppers were already looking elsewhere after larger, less expensive rivals like Walmart started stocking more organic foods to appeal to Whole Foods' target customers. That included producing a greater number of products from Whole Foods' in-house 365 brand, which Amazon also started selling online. "I hardly ever hear the 'whole paycheck' narrative any longer—that's due to Amazon," Mackey said.

Persons: John Mackey, Jeff Bezos, Jeff, Mackey, Fortune, Bezos, IBISWorld, Bezos —, — Organizations: Foods, Amazon, Shoppers, Walmart, CNBC

☆ Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( John Fritze | Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Bump stocks allow a shooter to convert a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon that can fire at a rate of hundreds of rounds a minute. The federal rule made possession of a bump stock a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Both the Trump and Biden administrations, as well as gun control groups, said the way bump stocks work mean they qualify as machine guns. Trump described bump stocks at the time as converting “legal weapons into illegal machines.”ATF estimated that as many as 520,000 bump stocks were sold between 2010 and 2018. “Without this ongoing manual input, a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock will not fire multiple shots.

Persons: Donald Trump, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Trump, ” Thomas, Michael Cargill, Sotomayor, “, ” Sotomayor, Sandy Hook, Capone, Al Capone, John Dillinger, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, ensnare, you’re, ” Kavanaugh, Biden, “ That’s, Thomas Organizations: CNN, Supreme, Trump, Biden, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, ATF, Democratic, Republican, Court, US, Justice Department, Cargill, National Rifle Association Locations: Las Vegas, Texas, New York

☆ The Supreme Court Rejected the Ban on Bump Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Justin Porter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court today struck down a ban on bump stocks, which enable semiautomatic rifles to fire rapidly like machine guns. The ban was enacted by the Trump administration after a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. The decision, by a vote of 6 to 3, split along ideological lines. Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissent along with two other judges, saying the decision “puts machine guns back in civilian hands.” President Biden urged Congress to act to ban the device. The man who challenged the bump stock ban, a gun shop owner in Texas, said that the ruling was a broader victory for gun rights and that it would make it easier to challenge future attempts by the A.T.F.

Persons: Trump, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, ”, Biden Organizations: Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: Las Vegas, Texas

☆ The Bump Stock Ban Stemmed From a Horrific Mass Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The ban on bump stocks overturned by the Supreme Court on Friday was a rarity in an era of deep division over gun violence: a restriction that won support from Democrats, Republicans and even the National Rifle Association. Bump stocks are attachments that allow a semiautomatic rifle to fire faster. The effort to limit them, which former President Donald J. Trump put in place by executive order in 2018, gained support after a gunman killed 60 people at a concert in Las Vegas. What happened in Las Vegas? The gunman killed 58 people and himself that night.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: Republicans, National Rifle Association Locations: Las Vegas, Mandalay

☆ DI Capital's stock bets are paying off this year. Here's how Dan Sundheim's peers like Tiger Global and Coatue are doing in 2024.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewThe public markets have been kind to Dan Sundheim this year. The most even-keeled of the big-name Tiger Cubs has been Viking Global, which will lose its chief investment officer, Ning Jin, at the end of August. Many of these firms struggled in 2022 when public and private tech companies slumped thanks to a global rise in interest rates. AdvertisementRepresentatives for Tiger Global, Coatue, and Viking Global either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: —, Dan Sundheim, Philip Morris, Chase, Philippe Laffont's Coatue, Ning Jin, Julian Robertson's, Management — Organizations: Service, D1, Business, Viking, Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management, Tiger Cubs, Management, Tiger Global, Viking Global Locations: Marlboro, New York

☆ Supreme Court Rejects Trump-Era Ban on Gun Bump Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | More About Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Supreme Court struck down on Friday a ban on bump stocks enacted by the Trump administration after a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. By a vote of 6 to 3, with the court splitting along ideological lines, the justices found that the Trump administration had exceeded its power when it prohibited the device, an attachment that enables a semiautomatic rifle to fire at a speed rivaling that of a machine gun. The decision is a forceful rejection of one of the government’s few steps to address gun violence, particularly as legislative efforts have stalled in Congress.

Persons: Trump Locations: Las Vegas

☆ CEO spent $15,000 on pizza—and turned it into more than $1 million in revenue: 'The ROI is insane'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

That's how it worked out for Matthew Parkhurst, co-founder and CEO of New York-based tech startup Antimetal. The company was ready to emerge from its beta phase, and Parkhurst wanted to make potential clients aware that Antimetal even existed. Antimetal spent roughly $15,000 on pizzas, packaging and targeted delivery to potential clients, venture capital firms and even tech influencers with large social media followings. It worked: Roughly 75 of the companies that received pizza have become Antimetal clients, Parkhurst says — creating a bump of more than $1 million in annualized net revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. "Obviously, the ROI [return on investment] is insane on the revenue side, compared to what we spent," Parkhurst says.

Persons: Matthew Parkhurst, Parkhurst, Antimetal Organizations: San, CNBC Locations: New York, San Francisco

☆ Alito says he's sure Congress wanted to ban a rapid-fire gun device, but overturns the rule anyway
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Paul Squire | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThere's "little doubt," Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote, that Congress would have considered bump stocks akin to a machine gun. AdvertisementThe Supreme Court on Friday struck down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule that classified bump stocks as "machine guns." He argued it had been too broad in interpreting firearms law and that Congress never explicitly meant to ban bump stocks, challenging the law on statutory grounds, not Second Amendment protections. "A bump stock does not convert a semi-automatic rifle into a machinegun any more than a shooter with a lightning-fast trigger finger does," Thomas wrote. AdvertisementBut Alito said Congress needs to be explicit that it wants to ban bump stocks, too, by amending the law or passing a new one.

Persons: —, Samuel Alito, Alito, Trump, Michael Cargill, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, it'll Organizations: Service, Las, Business, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, ATF Locations: Austin , Texas, Las Vegas

☆ Falling birth rates are freaking countries out and spawning dubious fixes like tax breaks, cheaper cars, and free surgery
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewAs fertility rates decline across much of the world, countries are exploring innovative strategies to encourage women to have more babies. Trent MacNamara, a Texas A&M professor whose work has focused on fertility rates, told BI that the impact of financial incentives on fertility rates was uncertain and might lead to only modest gains. Subsidized fertility treatments and vasectomy reversalsCohen said that other strategies to increase fertility rates included countries like Israel offering free or heavily subsidized in vitro fertilization. However, a 2020 essay by Tan said the Japanese example showed that reproductive technologies were not a panacea for low fertility rates. Japan has the world's highest percentage of babies born through IVF, yet it has one of the lowest fertility rates, she said.

Persons: —, Sarah Harper, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán, ATTILA KISBENEDEK, Trent MacNamara, Poh Lin Tan, Philip N, Cohen, Antonio Marquez lanza, Tan, MacNamara Organizations: Service, Business, Bloomberg, Local, gerontology, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, BBC, Associated Press, National University of Singapore, University of Maryland, American Economic Association, Getty Locations: Singapore, South Korea, Soviet, Russian, Hungarian, Hungary, Texas, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Japan, Korea

☆ Opinion | The Supreme Court’s Bump Stock Decision Will Prove Fatal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( David Firestone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There was nothing abstract about the 6-to-3 decision issued Friday morning by the Supreme Court to permit bump stocks to be used on semiautomatic rifles. It is one of the most astonishingly dangerous decisions ever issued by the court, and it will almost surely result in a loss of American lives in another mass shooting. Bump stocks attach to the back of a rifle and use the gun’s recoil to enable shooting hundreds of bullets at a very rapid pace, far faster than anyone could shoot by pressing the trigger multiple times. Bump stock devices were banned the next year, just as all fully automatic machine guns are banned for public use, but the six conservative members of the court seemed entirely unbothered by their deadly potential. The opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, parses in a ridiculous level of detail whether bump stocks truly fit the precise mechanical definition of a machine gun.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, parses, Trump Organizations: Vegas, Firearms Policy Foundation

☆ Sallie Mae hikes yield on 1-year CDs as Fed stays in rate policy holding pattern
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Last week, Sallie Mae boosted the annual percentage yield for its 12-month CD by 10 basis points, or 0.10% week over week, to 5.15%. Certificate of deposit rates have come a long way since the Fed started raising interest rates in March 2022. The average online bank APY has gone up by 4.14 percentage points to 4.79% since then, Wells Fargo analyst Michael Kaye said in a note Friday. Since banks generally follow the fed funds rate, interest rates on CDs and savings accounts are expected to fall in turn. "Broadly we still expect online bank deposit rates to decline," BTIG's Caintic said.

Persons: Sallie Mae, we're, Vincent Caintic, Wells Fargo, Sallie Mae's, APY, Wells, Michael Kaye, BTIG's Caintic, Morgan Stanley, BOK Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, New York Community Bancorp, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, FDIC, Bank, Bank of America Locations: Wells, Wells Fargo, company's

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