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May 28 (Reuters) - Good news of a tentative deal for the U.S. debt ceiling impasse may quickly turn out to be bad news for financial markets. "That's where the debt ceiling matters." In that case, "the impact on broader financial markets would likely be relatively muted," Daniel Krieter, director of fixed income strategy, BMO Capital Markets, said in a report. Some bankers said they fear financial markets may not have accounted for the risk of a liquidity drain from banks' reserves. Bankers put it to hope that the debt ceiling impasse would be resolved without significant dislocation to markets, but warn that's a risky strategy.

☆ Apple's nascent ad business faces more competition than ever, and it's set to launch a major charm offensive to get big advertisers to buy in
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple usually plays it so low-key at big industry events, you wouldn't even know the company had attended. It has rented a space at the top of the iconic Carlton hotel, situated on the busy Croisette promenade, according to multiple advertising industry sources. It's also planning a week of programming, with panel topics expected to include sports on Apple TV+, Apple News, apps, and the broadening Apple advertising offering, those sources said. All of which were "not necessarily a strong-point with Apple advertising in the past," Auzins said. Today, Apple's ad business largely consists of search ads sold within the App Store, which Insider Intelligence forecasts will generate $8.7 billion this year.

☆ Solar telescope’s images reveal the sun’s surface like never before
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —New images of the sun’s surface captured by a powerful ground-based solar telescope have revealed sunspots and other features in unprecedented detail. The eight images, released on May 19, were taken using the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, a 4-meter (13.1-foot) telescope located on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Although the sun is becoming increasingly active as the July 2025 solar maximum — the peak of the sun’s 11-year cycle — draws closer, the photos showcase the quieter aspects of the solar surface. Bright hot plasma flows upward on the sun’s surface, while darker, cooler plasma flows down. NSF/AURA/NSOThe Inouye Solar Telescope also glimpsed “light bridges,” bright solar features that span the darkest region of a sunspot.

☆ Creepy close-up images of the sun reveal yarn-like strands, dark pores, and a 'light bridge' crossing a decaying sunspot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The sun looks spooky and mysterious in new images from the world's most powerful solar telescope. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has been observing the sun from the Hawaiian island of Maui since it first opened in 2020. Its first video, below, showed roiling solar plasma, each cell the size of Texas. Dark "pores" on the solar surface indicate powerful magnetic fields, which are likely driving the dark threads visible in the atmosphere above. The bright yellow surface plasma cools until its density is so low that it drops below the surface, through the dark lanes between cells.

☆ All the ways cars suck, according to the guy who wrote the book about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Knowles told Insider why Americans, and the world, love cars so much, despite the downsides. One person even wrote to The New York Times, suggesting that pedestrians crossing their street should point their guns at anyone driving in self-defense, Knowles wrote. Now, thanks to lobbying efforts by the automotive industry to move pedestrians off the roads and into cars, Americans view cars much differently, he said. Cars suck because they blow — chemicals and particulate matter, that is, Knowles wrote. Despite this, Knowles wrote, cars persist.

☆ Katie Taylor faces Chantelle Cameron in 'huge boxing event for Ireland'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The undisputed lightweight world champion, Taylor holds 18 gold medals – including an Olympic gold – and sits second in the Ring’s women’s pound-for-pound rankings. On May 20, national hero Taylor will face Chantelle Cameron – the undisputed super-lightweight world champion – at the 3Arena in Dublin in front of a partisan home crowd as she attempts to become a two-weight undisputed world champion. Cameron, the 32-year-old from Northampton, United Kingdom, was previously signed to MTK Global but is now signed to Matchroom Boxing alongside Taylor. Four international boxing promotions have been held across Ireland over the last six months, according to Mel Christle, chairman of the Boxing Union of Ireland. The presence of Katie Taylor headlining the bill, in her hometown, is making it a huge sporting event for Ireland,” added Christie.

☆ American car culture is changing thanks to younger generations. But Gen Z and Millennials see vehicle ownership much differently.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The forward-thinking youths are at it again: This time, they're changing the car culture embedded in American society. Statistics from the Federal Highway Administration show that in 2021, 68% of 19-year-olds had a driver's license. "The turn away from cars is a little like the turn away from marriage and having children," Knowles writes. Throughout his book, Knowles writes that suburban sprawl, and the prevalence of cars, go hand in hand. Getting people, including younger generations, to envision a world with fewer cars is key, Knowles told Insider.

☆ US opens embassy in Tonga in new pushback against China in Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States has opened a new embassy in Tonga, the State Department said on Tuesday, part of efforts to step up the U.S. diplomatic presence in the Pacific region to counter China. The United States "officially opened the U.S. Embassy in Nuku'alofa on May 9, 2023," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Miller said the embassy would allow Washington to deploy additional diplomatic personnel and resources, including the potential appointment of a resident ambassador to Tonga, with which the United States has had diplomatic relations since 1972. Despite the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands announced in March it had awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara. The United States and regional allies Australia and New Zealand have had concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year.

☆ Elon Musk's Tesla tunnels are a 'fake alternative' to solve traffic but if he made them for subways we'd all be better off, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A journalist argues that Musk could use The Boring Company to make public transportation cheaper. This includes solving traffic by moving transportation underground through car tunnels or building a successful hyperloop. And Musk has often been explicit that traditional public transportation options, like subways, would not be a part of his vision. The Boring Company has also put its controversial hyperloop plans to the side. The Boring Company did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Polo and Ponies: ‘My Money Pit of Choice’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Holly Peterson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Another world existed in Wellington, where the crowd was as boisterous as the South Beach tent but more patrician. On the other, the members of the private Polo Club at the National Polo Center drank rosé and Kentucky whiskey and sampled from a buffet with a caviar and blini station. The tables were filled with players, families and patrons who own enormous polo enterprises. “We are highly competitive,” said Daniel K. Walker, the chief executive of F&M Bank in California, and a respected polo patron who owns about 50 ponies that he and his sons use. (He referred to the cost of running a polo enterprise as his “money pit of choice.”)Mr. Walker was visiting a table with a raucous Argentine group.

Production also was halted in Los Angeles for the rest of the week. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciThe writers are seeking changes in pay and the formulas used to compensate writers when their work is streamed, among other proposals. The last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days. Writers say changes from the streaming TV boom have made it difficult for many to earn a living in expensive cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Half of TV series writers now work at minimum salary levels, compared with a third in the 2013-14 season, according to WGA statistics.

☆ Bud Light wanted to market to all. Now, it's alienating everyone
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York CNN —For years, Bud Light leaned on jokey ad campaigns and its designation as a light beer to push sales. Now, Bud Light finds itself seeking younger drinkers, and stumbling through America’s polarized landscape in the process. There have been calls for a Bud Light boycott. And the stock of Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch (BUD) has fallen only about 3% in the last month, suggesting Wall Street isn’t too worried. Bud Light, he thinks, could be missing out on that type of support.

☆ Exclusive: Vivendi set to win EU green light for Lagardere deal, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of French media giant Vivendi is seen in Paris, France, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraBRUSSELS, April 19 (Reuters) - French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) is set to win EU antitrust approval to buy Lagardere (LAGA.PA) after its offer to sell Editis and celebrity magazine Gala managed to address competition concerns, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by June 14, declined to comment. Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, announced the deal last year which would give it control of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Vivendi is now in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky after EU competition enforcers voiced concerns about Lagardere unit Hachette, the world's third-biggest publishing group.

☆ Fact Check-Mammograms do not expose women to Hiroshima-level radiation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Breast cancer screenings reduce deaths from breast cancer and have considerably lower radiation levels than nuclear or atomic bombs, contrary to claims circulating in a video on social media. Dr Veronique Desaulniers, a bio-energetic chiropractor according to her LinkedIn profile, warns about the purported dangers of breast cancer screening in the clip posted on Instagram (here). “A decade of annual mammography would yield a total radiation dose 10 times that: 3.6 mSv,” he adds. A reduction in breast cancer deaths has been primarily attributed to mammography screening and early breast cancer detection (here). There is a radiation risk to the breasts of teenagers and women in their early 20s due to development, however, the risk drops rapidly as women age, according to Kopans.

☆ Vivendi to sell celebrity magazine Gala to win EU approval for Lagardere bid -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - French media giant Vivendi (VIV.PA) is set to commit to selling celebrity magazine Gala in a bid to win the European Commission's approval for the acquisition of Lagardere (LAGA.PA), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The commitment to the European Commission's antitrust services will be made on Wednesday, the source added. The pledged sale of Gala would be the latest remedy offered by Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, as it seeks to secure the takeover of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Last month Vivendi said it was in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to allay EU antitrust worries, as Lagardere is home to Hachette, the world's third-biggest publishing group. Reporting by Kate Entringer; writing by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Access to mifepristone is in legal limbo, but the abortion drug has wide support in recent polling. The issue could haunt the GOP in 2024.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dueling court rulings on the abortion pill mifepristone have further ignited passions on the issue. Ipsos polling reveals that Americans don't want to see an end to the legality of medication abortion. And the level of support for the continued legalization of medication abortion in the United States remains high. The Ipsos survey revealed that 65% of respondents wanted to see medication abortion remain available as an option, with 84% support among Democrats and 67% support among Independents. DeSantis, who has thrown his support behind a six-week abortion ban also embraced by the Republican-controlled Florida legislature, may have the most at stake, though.

April 4 (Reuters) - Wisconsin voters on Tuesday elected liberal Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court, flipping control to a liberal majority ahead of rulings on an abortion ban and other matters that could play a role in the 2024 presidential election. But it was abortion that dominated the campaign, with the court expected in the coming months to decide whether to uphold the state's 1849 abortion ban. Protasiewicz put abortion at the center of her campaign, saying in one advertisement that she supports "a woman's freedom to make her own decision on abortion." [1/9] Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz celebrates after the race was called for her during her election night watch party in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., April 4, 2023. In addition, the court may revisit the state's congressional and legislative maps, which Republicans have drawn to maximize their political advantage.

April 4 (Reuters) - Wisconsin voters on Tuesday elected liberal Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court, flipping control to a liberal majority ahead of rulings on an abortion ban and other matters that could play a role in the 2024 presidential election. But it was abortion that dominated the campaign, with the court expected in the coming months to decide whether to uphold the state's 1849 abortion ban. That law took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year to eliminate a nationwide right to abortion. [1/7] Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz celebrates after the race was called for her during her election night watch party in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., April 4, 2023. Republicans portrayed Protasiewicz as soft on crime and said she would use the court to advance a liberal agenda, regardless of the law.

☆ Wisconsin Voters to Decide on State Supreme Court Swing Seat Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ben Kesling | Laura Kusisto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Elections for the seven-member Wisconsin Supreme Court, located in the State Capitol in Madison, have attracted an unusual amount of attention from national groups. Wisconsin voters head to the polls Tuesday in a high-stakes election for a swing seat on the state’s supreme court that has become the most expensive such judicial contest in U.S. history, demonstrating how state courts have become the focus of increasingly partisan politics. The candidates in the technically-nonpartisan race, which will affect control of the legislature and abortion law in Wisconsin, are Judge Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly . Judge Protasiewicz currently serves on a lower court and is heavily backed by the Democratic Party. Mr. Kelly was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2016 but lost an election in 2020 to retain his seat and has worked as a lawyer for the Republican Party in the time since he left the bench.

☆ Janet Protasiewicz, Backed by Democrats, Wins Crucial Swing Seat on Wisconsin Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ben Kesling | Laura Kusisto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wisconsin voters elected Judge Janet Protasiewicz as the new state Supreme Court justice after a contentious election for the critical swing seat, setting the stage for challenges to the state’s 1849 law banning most abortions and a potential redrawing of its current electoral maps. The race was the most expensive such judicial contest in U.S. history, demonstrating how state courts have become the focus of increasingly partisan politics. Judge Protasiewicz currently serves on a lower court and was heavily backed by the Democratic Party. Her opponent, Daniel Kelly, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2016 but lost an election in 2020 to retain his seat and has worked as a lawyer for the Republican Party in the time since he left the bench.

☆ With abortion in the balance, Wisconsin voters to choose new high court judge
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/9] Supporters of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly cheer during a campaign event the night before Wisconsin's Supreme Court election, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S., April 3, 2023. Abortion has dominated the campaign, with the court expected in the coming months to decide whether to uphold the state's 1849 abortion ban. The state's Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, has challenged the statute's validity in a lawsuit backed by Democratic Governor Tony Evers. "Judges are supposed to wear a black robe, but she's made clear she'll be wearing a blue robe," said Mark Jefferson, the state Republican chair. "What we are seeing in this race is an indication that this is a new era for state Supreme Court elections," he said.

☆ Would a $100,000 salary make you happy? Here's when more money doesn't mean more joy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

While money certainly helps bring joy and satisfaction to your life, it won't have the same impact on everyone. The researchers first set out to determine why one study showed a happiness plateau while the other did not. For the new study, the researchers decided to look at incomes above or below $100,000 as a starting point. Since Killingsworth's study categorized that salary in the $90,000 to $100,000 range, they decided to simply look at incomes above or below $100,000. An "unhappy minority" revealed itself, however, as the researchers found the most explicit happiness plateau among the least happy 15 to 20% of people.

After nearly two decades of Western-led intervention and engagement with the world, 18% of the population had internet access, according to the World Bank. "For girls in Afghanistan, we have a bad, awful internet problem," Sofia said. "It's too hard to access internet in Afghanistan and sometimes we have half an hour of power in 24 hours." Seattle-based Ookla, which compiles global internet speeds, put Afghanistan's mobile internet as the slowest of 137 countries and its fixed internet as the second slowest of 180 countries. She was working with international companies to find solutions to poor internet access but said she could not elaborate.

☆ Democrats Seek the House via Wisconsin’s Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Collin Levy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Political campaigns are often expensive and tawdry, but judicial races used to be different. They tended to be low-profile and genteel, decided primarily by the small portion of the population familiar with the candidates. That model has been blown up in Wisconsin, where a state Supreme Court race has become a splashy national affair. The technically nonpartisan contest between liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative former Justice Daniel Kelly will determine the balance of the Badger State’s highest court. The race has dragged in about $30 million so far, smashing records and permanently altering the way judicial campaigns are run.

"This is not a good moment for American diplomacy," said William Kirby, a professor of Chinese studies at Harvard University. A source familiar with that conversation called it the most antagonistic U.S.-China engagement since contentious talks in Alaska early in the Biden administration. Name me one," Biden said in his speech, evidently referring to a host of domestic and foreign policy challenges facing China. However, Biden is likely to find Xi emboldened in any call after a Chinese-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran and his meetings with Putin. Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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