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☆ UN warns of aid cuts over Taliban crackdown on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States was the largest donor to the 2022 U.N. aid plan in Afghanistan, giving more than $1 billion. The Taliban administration, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. "They systematically deprive women and girls of their fundamental human rights," United Arab Emirates U.N. "They say their elimination from public life is no better than fearing violent death," Otunbayeva told the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, which coincided with International Women's Day. "Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women's rights," she said.

Life has become solitary confinement.” Some women went into hiding, fearing retribution after the Taliban seized power. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women were among the most profoundly affected. A Wrenching Change Afifa, 47, wishes more Afghan men would fight for women’s rights KABUL, Afghanistan — Walk around the capital, Kabul, and it often feels as if women have been airbrushed out of the city. When the Taliban seized power, girls’ schools remained open in a kind of limbo — neither officially sanctioned nor forbidden — for months. Zubaida, 20, teaches high school girls in secret “Regimes come and go all the time in Afghanistan.

☆ Netflix's expected password-sharing crackdown puts college students on edge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Sam Figiel, a sophomore at Mercer University in Georgia, said access to Netflix is required for many of his peers' classes. Yet the gradual password-sharing changes have created uncertainty for college students who might not have, or want to spend, disposable income for their own subscriptions. People in the 18-to-34 age group, which accounts for 30% of all Netflix users, are more likely to exchange passwords than older viewers. "There are a lot, lot, lot of U.S. users that are not paying for it, and so I think they're very sensitive to the backlash that they're going to get when they institute this," Nollen said. Staying or leavingEven if the cost of a subscription could rise for borrowers, some college students think Netflix is too important to give up.

☆ Morgan Stanley's guide for tech investors playing the end of this bear market — and the start of the next bull
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tech (and media and telecom) investors should start preparing their buy lists now ahead of a bear market low, Morgan Stanley said. Given this, the strategist offered an investment guide for the period before, during and after the stock market trough. Netflix was among the names Morgan Stanley recommended for the period prior to the market bottom. Meanwhile, after the bear market low, Morgan Stanley said cyclicals, lower quality and value names have the most "impressive outperformance." Meanwhile, for investors trading through the trough and into the bull market, names such as Salesforce and Microsoft are buying opportunities, Morgan Stanley said.

☆ If you want to balance the budget without raising taxes or cutting defense, Social Security, and Medicare, you'd probably have to fire nearly every park ranger and cut 70% of anti-poverty spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That is, if tax increases, defense spending, Social Security, and Medicare remain off the table. "The thing is the government has basically three gigantic programs and it's the US military, Social Security, and Medicare," Goldwein said. "The idea we're just going to eliminate all parts of government other than Social Security, Medicare, and defense — it's just not realistic, or desirable," Goldwein said. Meanwhile, Democrats await Republicans' plan to move ahead with a deal to raise the debt ceiling before the US defaults. The hard right demands spending cuts," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter.

Chart showing the percentage cut the committee would make to each area of government spending to balance the budget over 10 years. 8 8 8 Deficit 6 6 6 4 4 4 Spending Spending Spending Revenue Revenue Revenue 2 2 2 2023 2033 2023 2033 2023 2033 Current projections Deficits are projected to grow to $2.7 trillion by 2033. 8 8 8 Deficit 6 6 6 4 4 4 Spending Spending Spending Revenue Revenue Revenue 2 2 2 2023 2033 2023 2033 2023 2033 Eliminate by increasing taxes Current projections Eliminate by cutting spending Deficits are projected to grow to $2.7 trillion by 2033. plan to balance budget 50% Projections 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 Current trajectory 200% of G.D.P. plan to balance budget 50% Projections 1930 1960 1990 2020 2050 Sources: Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Congressional Budget Office; Republican Study Committee Note: Both plans were released in 2022 and are based on outdated baseline projections; their debt reduction may differ modestly.

☆ Put that out! Italy ministers fume over proposed smoking ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Electronic cigarette firms in Italy say a new levy that doubles the price of e-liquid refills unfairly helps tobacco giants and will hurt their industry. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File PhotoROME, March 6 (Reuters) - The Italian health minister's proposals to extend a smoking ban include the outdoor areas of bars and parks, according to details reported by local media, drawing the ire of right-wing cabinet colleagues who labelled him a "communist." Minister Orazio Schillaci, a technocrat with no party affiliation, said in January he would crackdown on smoking, including of e-cigarettes, which are being widely used by teenagers. The government passed a ban on smoking indoors in 2003, which came into force two years later. Health association Fondazione Umberto Veronesi estimates at least 43,000 people die in Italy every year for smoke-related reasons.

☆ Are Butterflies Wildlife? Depends Where You Live.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

The creatures are simply left out of state conservation statues, or their situation is ambiguous. “State agencies are really at the forefront of conservation for wildlife,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group that advocates for insect conservation. Sometimes, aquatic insects come under the purview of state wildlife agencies. But across the states without insect authority, officials are often reluctant to broach adding it, Mr. Winton said. Seven of the states without insect conservation authority are in the West, which has felt the effects of climate change intensely.

☆ Trump proposes 10 futuristic 'Freedom Cities,' featuring Jetsons-like flying cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald Trump on Friday shared the broad strokes of an ambitious plan to build 10 new "Freedom Cities" and beat China in the development of flying cars. Another plank of Trump's plan, detailed in a less-than-four-minute video shared by his campaign, is for the federal government to boost investment in flying personal vehicles. "I want to ensure that America, not China, leads this revolution in air mobility," Trump said in the video. Trump's video also teased a "major initiative" to lower the cost of living, with a focus on lowering the costs of buying a car building a single-family home. Days earlier, Trump unveiled a protectionist trade agenda featuring "universal" tariffs aimed to encourage domestic production.

New York CNN —Disneyland has removed the “zip-a-dee-doo-dah” lyric played during its park parades because it comes from a movie that has been criticized for racist portrayals of Black Americans. The lyric initially appeared in the “Magic Happens” parade when it debuted in March 2020. The song “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah” originated in the 1946 film “Song of the South” that has long been criticized for stereotypes of “spiritual” Black men and its seemingly nostalgic view of the antebellum South. Disneyland officials told the OC Register in 2020 that the removal of the “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” song from the theme park resort is part of a continuous process to deliver an environment that features stories that are relevant and inclusive. “Song of the South” is so controversial that Disney has locked it away for decades and even kept it off the extensive library of Disney+.

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☆ Why I Stood Up to Disney
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ron Desantis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

On Monday, I signed the law ending the Walt Disney Co.’s self-governing status over 43 square miles in central Florida, an area almost as big as Miami. Disney’s special arrangement, which dates to 1967, was an indefensible example of corporate welfare. It even allowed Disney to build a nuclear power plant and to use eminent domain to seize private property outside the district’s boundaries. While special districts are common in Florida, Disney’s deal was conspicuous in the massive benefits it conferred. Disney’s self-governing status endured because the company’s unrivaled political power in Florida made its arrangement virtually untouchable.

☆ Hong Kong Lifts Citywide Mask Mandate After Almost Three Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Selina Cheng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Masks will no longer be required whether indoors, outdoors or on public transport in Hong Kong. HONG KONG—After almost three years, Hong Kong said it will scrap its mask mandate starting March 1, removing one of the longest-running pandemic restrictions worldwide as the city tries to rebuild its image as an international financial center. The city’s Chief Executive John Lee announced the move Tuesday, lifting a ban that had been criticized by some health experts for requiring people to wear masks in public places at all times, except during exercise and in country parks, even as most other Covid-19 restrictions had been gradually dismantled in recent months.

☆ DeSantis strips Disney World of its self-governing power in Florida: 'There's a new sheriff in town'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

DeSantis has officially stripped Disney World of its self-governing status. DeSantis appointed political allies to the board, which have to be approved by the Florida Senate. Ron DeSantis abolished Walt Disney World's special authority on Monday, nearly 11 months after the company spoke out publicly against his controversial education agenda. Under the new law, board members cannot be employees, owners, or operators at Disney World. DeSantis said several times during the press conference that Disney World now had to follow the same rules as other Florida theme parks.

☆ A California man set a new world record after making 2,995 visits to Disneyland, going every single day for more than 8 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jeff Reitz, 50, made 2,995 consecutive visits to Disneyland between 2012 and 2020. He began his daily trips while he was unemployed to distract himself from job-hunting, per LA Times. Jeff Reitz, 50, from Huntington Beach, California made 2,995 consecutive visits to Disneyland in Anaheim between 2012 and 2020. His achievement was finally enshrined as a world record last week after Guinness World Records created a new category to honor Reitz's Disneyland devotion. That left him just five days shy of his initial goal of 3,000 consecutive visits, per the LA Times.

☆ The secret to faster delivery is clear: overhauling the street address as we know it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Confused delivery drivers add time, cost, and frustration to deliveries. Tech companies are looking to close the data gap between an address and a completed delivery. The English tech company throws out traditional addresses and instead divides the world into a grid of 10-foot by 10-foot squares. In a delivery scenario, the drive receives the code, which identifies the grid square containing the entrance as opposed to the traditional address. Pooling local knowledgeBeans.ai is another company that's looking to cut down on wasted time and emissions with more precise address data — but this time built with shoe leather.

☆ Here are answers to 5 key questions about the labor board’s severance agreement rule change
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Can my employer no longer ever require that I stay quiet in exchange for severance? Normally there is a six-month window akin to a statute of limitations to bring an alleged violation to the board’s attention. So can employers now never require me to stay mum about the company as a condition of receiving severance? It’s easy to forget, but there is no legal requirement for employers to offer laid off workers severance. “There’s a real risk to employees that the case will have a negative impact on the size of severance packages going forward,” he said.

☆ Meet 3 couples who bought luxury RVs after selling their homes to gain freedom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They sold their home in 2018 and have been living in a Newmar Ventana luxury RV since then. The Roberts sometimes stay at luxury RV resorts that have amenities like a swimming pool, golf course and outdoor areas to relax. Joel and Deb BrettingenJoel and Deb Brettingen, from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, have been living in a luxury RV full-time for nine months after selling their home of 20 years. Joe and Sharon CarmichaelJoe and Sharon Carmichael in front of their RV with their granddaughter who comes to visit. Joe and Sharon CarmichaelJoe and Sharon Carmichael hit the road in their new motorhome after selling their house in 2015.

☆ An alligator rescued in Brooklyn's Prospect Park has a bathtub stopper stuck in her body
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A nearly five-foot alligator was found in a lake in New York City's Prospect Park. A bathtub stopper was found stuck in her body, but she is too weak to have it removed. The nearly five-foot alligator was found "extremely emaciated" in a lake in New York City's Prospect Park on February 19, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said. An alligator was found in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake in New York City, on February 19, 2021. She is the sixth alligator to have been rescued in the city in the past five years, according to the Animal Care Centers.

☆ Dow said it was recycling our shoes. We found them in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

While the sample was small, the fact that none of these shoes made it to a Singapore recycling facility underscores weaknesses in the system. Dow said these builds will use the 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds) of recycled shoe material that have been produced through the Singapore recycling project so far. Reuters had dropped those shoes into a Dow recycling bin at a Singapore community center in September, three months earlier. Recycling flopsThis is not the first novel recycling scheme launched by Dow that hasn’t lived up to its billing. In its Jan. 18 statement, Dow said the shoe recycling partners are “energized by the common vision of sport championing a greener and more sustainable Singapore.” Dow did not comment on the Journal of Consumer Psychology study.

☆ Fact Check-"15-minute city" slogan on Ottawa construction site not evidence of any government policy where citizens will be "locked in"
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Furthermore, the 15-minute cities concept does not suggest locking residents within certain areas or using checkpoints and fines, as social media posts suggest. The 15-minute city concept is widely credited to Carlos Moreno, a city planning researcher who coined the term in 2016 (here). He said “15-minute neighbourhoods” are a part of the city’s Official Plan (here) but Brigil’s adoption of it “is a market choice and not a policy requirement”. Wise added: “The idea of 15-minute cities is not new and does not aim to limit movement across the city. The urban planning concept known as ‘15-minute cities’ does not include plans to limit freedom of movement or fine people for leaving their neighbourhood.

☆ These highly rated stocks have big economic moats and they are outpacing the market this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The so-called moat has been a popular factor to pick stocks, touted by none other than Warren Buffett, and these names with a wide moat are outperforming the market this year. CNBC Pro used Morningstar to identify wide moat stocks that are beating the market this year. We also screened stocks with a market cap bigger than $500 million and rated 4 or 5 stars by Morningstar. On the top of the list were two big tech stocks — Meta and Salesforce . Automation company Teradyne and tech name Transunion were also wide moat stocks, according to Morningstar.

☆ WTA roundup: Coco Gauff reaches Dubai semis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Tennis - WTA 1000 - Dubai Tennis Championships - Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - February 23, 2023 Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the U.S. REUTERS/Satish KumarFebruary 24 - Fifth-seeded Coco Gauff won an all-American quarterfinal on Thursday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, beating Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5 in the United Arab Emirates. Gauff saved the only break point she faced in the 81-minute match, and she converted four of her five break opportunities. The result moves Gauff into a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, the reigning French Open champion. The other semifinal will feature third-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic. In the last match of the night, fourth-seeded Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic downed Belgium's Ysaline Bonaventure 6-0, 7-5.

☆ Fact Check-Disney will not replace Mickey Mouse as its official mascot, contrary to online claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Its “about us” page partly reads as follows: “Mouse Trap News is the world’s best satire site. Mouse Trap News also posted these claims on TikTok (bit.ly/3Zerios), Instagram (bit.ly/3XNpIbW), Twitter (bit.ly/3ZgkSFp) and Facebook (bit.ly/3Sm54hT). Several media outlets (here), (here), (here) have reported that Steamboat Willie, the short film that introduced Mickey Mouse in 1928, will enter the public domain in 2024. Additionally, Disney has not made a statement about replacing Mickey Mouse (thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/). Claims that Disney will replace Mickey Mouse as its official mascot stem from a satire website.

☆ ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Videogame Tops Sales Charts Amid Debates About ‘Harry Potter’ Creator
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Luke Winkie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The new videogame ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ transports players to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry Potter and his friends mastered spellbooks. When the new, highly anticipated “Harry Potter” videogame “Hogwarts Legacy” made its debut earlier this month, it shot immediately to the top of the sales charts. Set in a 19th-century Wizarding World where wizards wear top hats and drive buggies, the game transports players to the school where Harry and his friends mastered spellbooks and learned how to fight against the dark arts. Game fans are captivated by its immersive open world: In the days following its release, “Hogwarts Legacy” had at one point had more than 879,000 concurrent players, according to distribution platform Steam. Developed by Avalanche Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, it marks the first time “Harry Potter” has been given blockbuster treatment by a videogame company.

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