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☆ Disney's Florida surprise: an end run around DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People gather at the Magic Kingdom theme park before the "Festival of Fantasy" parade at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, U.S. July 30, 2022. Florida lawmakers passed a bill in February giving Governor Ron DeSantis effective control over a board that oversees municipal services and development in a special district that encompasses Walt Disney World resort. "It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern," board member Brian Aungst Jr. was quoted as saying. Disney's then-chief executive officer, Bob Chapek, publicly voiced disappointment with the measure, saying he called DeSantis to express concern about it becoming law. In a move political observers viewed as retaliation for Disney's criticism of the Parental Rights in Education Act, Florida lawmakers passed legislation that ended Disney's virtual autonomy in developing 25,000 acres in central Florida where its theme parks are located.

☆ Microsoft introduces an A.I. chatbot for cybersecurity experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a chatbot designed to help cybersecurity professionals understand critical issues and find ways to fix them. The Microsoft Security Copilot draws on GPT-4, the latest large language model from OpenAI — in which Microsoft has invested billions — and a security-specific model Microsoft built using daily activity data it gathers. Microsoft isn't talking about how much Security Copilot will cost when it becomes more widely available. The service will work with Microsoft security products such as Sentinel for tracking threats. Security Copilot will be available to a small set of Microsoft clients in a private preview before wider release at a later date.

☆ How Girl Scouts found itself in a cookie debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —For decades, Girl Scouts has used cookie sales to raise funds and teach scouts about entrepreneurship. “Right now we are focused on ensuring all Girl Scouts have a successful Cookie Season,” Girl Scouts USA told CNN in a statement, adding that it is also focused on optimizing its operations “in real-time, and [capturing] learnings that will inform our strategy going into future seasons.”But for the scouts, those learnings have been hard-won. That meant shoppers could order it themselves, though Girl Scouts encouraged them to ask scouts to place the orders. Plus, Girl Scouts built a lot of hype with the limited-time offer, creating a sense of urgency, Esper noted. Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesYet as customers clamored for the cookie, scouts and their parents learned there was no chance of increasing supply by the end of the cookie season in April.

☆ Adidas event shut down by protestors as factory wages become hot-button issue for the sneaker and garment industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Protestors on Thursday disrupted an event featuring Rupert Campbell, Adidas' top US executiveThe protestors allege Adidas has not paid Asian contract factory workers and demanded payment. A speaker rose roughly 40 minutes into the one-hour event and demanded Adidas pay wages he alleged are owed to contract factory workers in countries including Cambodia and Indonesia. The $11.7 million allegedly owed to Adidas workers comes from a report produced by trade unions and other industry groups. Before protestors disrupted the event, Adidas North American President Rupert spoke about his childhood and his career path. Ballinger noted several recent instances of factory workers getting restitution for unpaid wages, including at a Nike contract factory in Cambodia.

☆ DeSantis-picked education board considers expanding so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law to 12th grade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Florida's board of education is considering an expansion to a Parental Rights law critics call "Don't Say Gay." It would limit instructions about gender identity and sexual orientation for up to 12th grade. It wasn't immediately clear whether the proposal was aimed at supplanting or clarifying the 2022 law, formally known as the Parental Rights in Education Act. Some Florida school boards have shown they're confused about how to abide by the Parental Rights Act. Some have removed books exploring sexual orientation and gender identity from their libraries, though it's unclear for what grades.

☆ Trump is 'going about business as usual' and enjoying higher polling on the day he claimed he'd be arrested, his lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Donald Trump said he would be arrested on Tuesday. Trump is "going about business as usual" and enjoying rising poll numbers, his lawyer said. A Secret Service officer stands in front of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Palm Beach, Florida. Alina Habba, an attorney for Donald Trump, arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. AP Photo/Bryan WoolstonOn Truth Social, Trump spent Monday and Tuesday bragging about his poll numbers and criticizing Bragg.

An Insider review found that his company has sold to foreign governments, including a $228 million dollar contract. What Mills didn't advertise was Pacem's munitions contracts with foreign governments. The company's chief legal officer Joseph Schmitz said all of Pacem's foreign munitions sales are approved by the Department of State. Mills's influence over American military spending while having ties to a munitions company poses the potential for conflicts of interest, an ethics watchdog said. In Congress, Mills sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, which oversee military spending and foreign weapons sales.

☆ SVB's tech failings were a problem long before the bank run that led to its demise, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But long-time clients and others with intimate knowledge of how SVB operated say the bank did itself no favors. In April 2020, Tech Crunch reported on other SVB customers complaining that the bank mishandled the PPP process. The central bank said it's creating a new Bank Term Funding Program aimed at safeguarding institutions impacted by the SVB failure. In addition, regulators said depositors at both SVB and Signature Bank in New York will have full access to their deposits. Roughly 95% of SVB's deposits are uninsured, which makes the bank particularly unique in that it serves primarily businesses.

☆ Pablo Escobar and the real story behind 'Cocaine Bear'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Chris Dalby | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Cocaine Bear" depicts an ursine rampage through Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The film is a fictionalization of a real event involving a bear finding cocaine thrown from a drug-laden airplane. Plenty has been written on the film's fictionalization of a real event involving a bear finding cocaine thrown from a drug-laden airplane. The real bear, which found packets of cocaine in the forest in 1985, never got a chance to go on a murder spree. The companyFor all its insanity, Cocaine Bear screenwriter Jimmy Warden does include elements of the real story.

☆ Girl Scouts’ sold-out cookie is available on eBay. The Scouts are not pleased
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The Raspberry Rally Girl Scouts cookie, a raspberry-flavored version of the beloved Thin Mint, was always supposed to be a limited edition item. The new Girl Scouts cookie sold out in hours. But profits from the resale market don’t go to Girl Scouts, which said it was “disappointed” that the products are now available through other vendors. “Girl Scouts of the USA, your local Girl Scout council, and our licensed cookie bakers cannot guarantee the freshness or integrity of cookies bought through unauthorized sites.” To buy cookies from Girl Scouts directly, customers should use the Cooke Finder on the Scouts’ website, Girl Scouts said. “We strongly support the entrepreneurial spirit of hardworking local Girl Scout troops and encourage cookie-seekers to also support their local Girl Scouts,” eBay said in a statement to CNN.

☆ A Florida lawmaker thinks the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill doesn't go far enough — and is pitching a major expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Chris Panella | Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Florida GOP state representative filed a proposal expanding the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill. The bill, HB 1223, would prohibit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity up to eighth grade. The bill's creator, GOP Rep. Adam Anderson, said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel that the bill "promotes parental rights, transparency, and state standards in Florida schools." LGBTQ advocacy groups, such as Equality Florida, condemned the bill. DeSantis and Florida Republicans responded by stripping Disney of its special tax district and taking control of the area around Disney World.

☆ A Bad Start for the GOP in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Being the opposition party can have its political advantages, but if Republicans are hoping for victory next year, they might want to look around. Montana Sen. Jon Tester said this week that he’ll run for re-election in 2024, meaning no open race there to boost the GOP’s chances of taking the state and the Senate majority. Wisconsin’s primary Tuesday, with state Supreme Court candidates on the ballot, brought record turnout of nearly 21% of the voting-age population, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Compare that with 16% for a similar primary in 2020 and 12% for one in 2018. This could signal that abortion is still spurring Democrats to the polls, and the effect from the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year hasn’t entirely faded.

☆ Wall Street expects these 2 fairly valued Club stocks to keep up their strong starts to 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Here's what we looked for, using data compiled by FactSet: Year-to-date gains of 10% or more, based on Thursday's close. Have 10% upside or more to analyst community's average price target, based on Thursday's close. Have a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio at, or below, the S & P 500's PEG ratio. The PEG ratio is a way analyze a stock's value, offering another layer of considerations compared with the traditional price-to-earnings ratio. That's why we wanted to find Club stocks with a PEG ratio below the S & P 500's PEG ratio of 1.64.

☆ DeSantis echoes Trump in latest offense against the media after taunting the former president during live TV roundtable
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Ron DeSantis won't be the Republican to give the party's response to President Joe Biden's forthcoming State of the Union Address. The broadcast echoed the media ire former President Donald Trump frequently has on display. "To assassinate someone's character with anonymous sources would have been a total no-no," DeSantis said of past media practice. Like Trump, DeSantis often bemoans his media coverage and excoriates what he calls the "corporate press." Despite raising his tussles with the press, DeSantis insisted non-politicians would be the focus of new libel laws.

☆ A Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate and her husband want to open an indoor gun range to host weddings, 'high-end meetings' and 'easter egg hunts'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow is running for the state's Supreme Court in November. Dorow and her husband, Brian, have also applied to open an indoor gun range, Jezebel reported. The gun range would host weddings and holiday events and serve alcohol, city documents show. Dorow announced her candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in late November 2022. He also defended the proposal request for a liquor license in the same space as the gun range.

☆ A Florida GOP congressman sent his colleagues inert grenades as a welcome gift to the House
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Florida congressman Cory Mills gifted his colleagues inert grenades. The grenades, Mills said, were made for an MK19 grenade launcher. The letter to his colleagues assured them in a postscript that "these Florida manufactured 40mm grenades are inert." Mills' letter was posted to Twitter on Thursday by Daily Mail reporter Morgan Phillips. It's unclear how many grenades Mills gifted to his colleagues.

☆ Rapper Flo Rida wins $82 million lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Alex Portée | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Florida jury ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought forth by rapper Flo Rida against Celsius energy drinks and awarded him a total of $82.6 million in damages. On Wednesday, a jury found Celsius guilty of breaching an endorsement deal with Flo Rida that ran from 2014 to 2018. In a statement, Flo Rida, whose legal name is Tramar Dillard, thanked the jury, judge and his attorneys, and said he gained a "new respect for the judicial system." Rapper Tramar Dillard, known as Flo Rida, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday. "I’m glad, in this case, the jury concluded that Flo Rida should get what he worked for."

☆ U.S. fines Virgin Atlantic $1.05 million for flying over Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said Tuesday it had fined Virgin Atlantic $1.05 million for flying in restricted airspace over Iraq on numerous occasions. Virgin Atlantic said Tuesday that "as soon as we were made aware of this compliance issue by the DOT, our code share flight routings were immediately corrected." At the time, other foreign governments permitted flying over Iraqi airspace at high altitudes, with numerous flights over Iraq daily. Virgin Atlantic must pay $525,000 in three installments while the remaining $525,000 is payable only if Virgin Atlantic violates the order’s cease and desist or payment provisions. USDOT said Virgin Atlantic had told the agency the "prohibited overflights were inadvertent, caused by operational disruptions and loss of personnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

☆ A battle between Disney and activist Peltz brews. Here’s how the situation may unfold
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Disney offered Peltz, founding partner of Trian Fund Management, a role as a board observer and asked him to sign a standstill agreement, which Peltz declined. Offer of a board observer positionSometimes a board observer position can be beneficial, particularly for investors who do not have a lot of board experience and are less likely to be a regular contributor to board discussions. But offering Peltz a position as a board observer is like saying to Whitney Houston, "You can join the band, but you are not allowed to sing." It is curious as to why Peltz started this proxy fight in the first place and why Disney is resisting it. Peltz acquired his position when Bob Chapek was CEO and likely had a plan to replace him with someone Peltz had already identified.

☆ Packers' Walker apologises for shoving Lions' medical staffer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Jan 8, 2023; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) heads to the sideline after being disqualified for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORKJan 9 (Reuters) - Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker Quay Walker apologised on Monday after shoving a member of the Detroit Lions' medical staff, which led to his second ejection from an NFL game this season for unsportsmanlike conduct. Since then I've questioned myself on why did I do what I did when the trainer was doing his job!! "To the Detroit lions and to the entire training staff including the person I did that too. Walker was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and led the team in tackles this season.

☆ Twitter alternatives like Mastadon see downloads plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Long before Elon Musk came along, Twitter users bemoaned the service yet remained addicted to it. It is a text-based social platform, or "microblogging" site, home to independent servers, or "instances." In early November, the hashtag TwitterMigration was trending on Mastodon for several days as Twitter users set up accounts amid Musk's chaotic takeover. Daily users have held steady though, at 1.4 million, a major increase from its usage prior to Musk's takeover of Twitter, which typically hovered around 20,000 daily users. Downloads of the iOS app have grown 290,000% to 1.5 million since Oct. 24, with daily users up 660,000% to 321,000, according to Apptopia data.

☆ Celebrity Cruise captain explains how her crew maneuvered their massive ship in rough conditions to rescue a boat of migrants in distress
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two cruise ships rescued over 20 migrants in distress off the coast of Florida earlier this week. "Because of the rough sea conditions, I needed to maneuver the ship in order to provide a lead so that we could bring the boat safely alongside the ship." A post shared by Captain Kate McCue (@captainkatemccue)Maritime law requires all vessel — including cruise ships — to provide assistance to passengers in distress regardless of circumstance. On Monday, a Carnival cruise ship similarly rescued a boat of five migrants 25 nautical miles northwest of Cuba. Steve Glassman, a Fort Lauderdale city commissioner, was one of the thousands of passengers onboard the Celebrity Cruise ship during Tuesday's rescue mission, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

☆ Justice Jackson working on a memoir, titled ‘Lovely One’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is working on a memoir. Jackson, the first Black woman appointed to the court, is calling the book “Lovely One.”“Mine has been an unlikely journey,” Jackson said in a statement released Thursday by Random House. This memoir marries the public record of my life with what is less known. Jackson joined the court last year after President Joe Biden named her to succeed the retiring Stephen Breyer. Justice Amy Coney Barrett has a deal with the Penguin Random House imprint Sentinel.

☆ Twitter alternatives that got traction after Elon Musk takeover are suddenly seeing downloads plunge. Which has staying power and who is the next Clubhouse?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Long before Elon Musk came along, Twitter users bemoaned the service yet remained addicted to it. It is a text-based social platform, or "microblogging" site, home to independent servers, or "instances." In early November, the hashtag TwitterMigration was trending on Mastodon for several days as Twitter users set up accounts amid Musk's chaotic takeover. Daily users have held steady though, at 1.4 million, a major increase from its usage prior to Musk's takeover of Twitter, which typically hovered around 20,000 daily users. Yet, it has maintained more than 500,000 daily users.

Exports, which constitute about 22% of the industry, have fallen for five months in a row - declining over 15% year-on-year in November to $3.1 billion. Domestic sales are sluggish despite strong growth in the overall economy because of high costs and cheap imported garments, manufacturers say. Reuters GraphicsIn the textile industry, manufacturers say higher domestic cotton prices and other costs have hit profit margins, while overseas orders for next summer are down by about one-third and domestic demand remains weak. "The government needs to scrap the 11% import duty on cotton so local textile mills can have a level playing field," Ganatra said. Reuters GraphicsFEAR OF JOB CUTSMany textile manufacturers, who have frozen hiring of workers, have warned of jobs cuts if the government fails to provide relief soon.

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