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☆ Uganda: Leading scientists urge President Museveni to veto anti-LGBT bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A group of leading global scientists and academics have signed an open letter urging Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to veto a hardline bill criminalizing homosexuality in the country. The Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023, which was passed by Ugandan lawmakers in March, is set to be either signed into law or vetoed by the president on Thursday. Before the bill was passed almost unanimously last month, President Museveni called on scientists to establish whether homosexuality was natural or learned. The letter has been signed by 15 leading scientists around the world, from countries including South Africa, the United States, Canada, the UK, Kenya, and Australia. Under the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023, it would be a crime to even identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.

☆ Wrong-place, wrong-time shootings: What's going on?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

► Outside Austin, Texas, on April 18, two cheerleaders were shot in a grocery store parking lot just after midnight. Yarl and Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old homeowner accused of opening fire, both told police that Lester almost immediately shot Yarl upon opening his front door. What we know about why Lester shot Yarl is what he has told police. ‘Everything to do with race’Lucas doesn’t buy that, noting that Lester said Yarl was six feet tall, when he’s actually 5’8”. That’s another thing that appears to tie these recent shootings together – loaded guns at the ready.

☆ Kansas City homeowner charged in shooting of Black teenager surrenders to police
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 18 (Reuters) - An 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting and wounding of a Black teenager who mistakenly walked up to the suspect's house in Kansas City has surrendered to police, the Clay County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday. Lester was also charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. "Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has surrendered at our Detention Center. Prosecutors have not filed hate crime charges, which carry lesser penalties in Missouri than the two counts which Lester faces, Thompson added. "In this country, from decades - hundreds of years - of conditioning, we've decided that Black and criminal is almost synonymous."

☆ Ralph Yarl shooting: The White homeowner accused of shooting a Black teen who rang his doorbell turns himself in to face criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Nouran Salahieh Taylor Romine Holly Yan | Nouran Salahieh | Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Andrew Lester faces two felony charges – assault in the first degree and armed criminal action – in the April 13 shooting of Ralph Yarl. While he was hospitalized, Ralph told police he did not pull on the door, according to the document. Charlie Riedel/APLester opened the interior door and “saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle,” Lester told police. While the teenager was still on the ground, the man then fired again, shooting him in the arm, Ralph told police. Crump likened Ralph’s shooting to the shootings of 17-year-old Martin in Florida and 25-year-old Arbery in Georgia.

☆ Kaylin Gillis: A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed in upstate New York after her friend turned into the wrong driveway, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Laura Ly Brynn Gingras | Laura Ly | Brynn Gingras | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed Saturday after she and three others accidentally turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend’s house in rural upstate New York, authorities said. A bail hearing is pending for Tuesday or Wednesday, the district attorney and defense attorney both said. He said witness accounts from inside the cars and forensics prove the shots were fired as the group exited the driveway. Murphy, the sheriff, said he was a friend of the victim’s family and lamented the killing. Over $50,000 has been raised for Gillis’ family in a GoFundMe raising money for the “Gillis family for use toward Kaylin’s funeral expenses and any immediate financial needs,” according to the page.

☆ White Kansas City man, 84, charged for shooting Black teen who went to wrong house
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Jasper Ward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 17 (Reuters) - Prosecutors charged an 84-year-old white Kansas City man with two felonies on Monday in the shooting of a Black teenager who was wounded after walking up to the wrong house when going to pick up his younger twin brothers. "I can tell you there was a racial component to the case," Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson told a news conference, without providing further details. But Yarl told police in an interview at the hospital where he was treated that the man told him, "Don't come around here," local media reported, citing court documents. "No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell," Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted in response to the shooting. Reporting By Brendan O'Brien and Andrew Hay; Editing by Donna Bryson and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'The Phantom of the Opera' ends Broadway run after 35 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Alicia Powell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Musical "The Phantom of the Opera" ended a record-breaking 35-year Broadway run on Sunday when, amid predictions that the show would one day return, teary-eyed cast members took a final bow alongside its original stars. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber dedicated the final Broadway performance to his son Nicholas, who died of gastric cancer last month. And so maybe it may come back, you never know...," Lloyd Webber told a packed audience from the stage after the show. [1/7] Cast and crew members take a moment to applause after their final performance of the Phantom of the Opera, which closes after 35 years on Broadway, in New York City, U.S., April 16, 2023. Brightman, who joined cast members on stage on Sunday, described the production as "a very special piece".

☆ Vast military procession to mark King Charles' coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Around 5,000 members of the British armed forces will participate in the coronation of King Charles next month, joined by soldiers from more than 30 Commonwealth countries to form one of the largest ceremonial military operations in decades. Charles will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey on May 6 in a ceremony resplendent with pomp and pageantry, with traditions dating back 1,000 years. Gun salutes will sound out across the country to mark the moment the king is crowned, before military personnel later conduct a flypast of more than 60 aircraft. Buckingham Palace said Charles had also been involved in the commissioning process and details of the music programme, with film composer Patrick Doyle writing a coronation march and Andrew Lloyd Webber a coronation anthem. Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BARONE The book could not be staged as-is now, just as much of opera makes you cringe the closer you look. VINCENTELLI The “Phantom” legacy is most visible in business terms, with a generation of blockbusters that run for years, decades even. The current “Sweeney Todd” revival has luscious orchestrations but the staging and most of the performances are so timid. A couple of years ago I saw “Phantom” at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. “Phantom” is similar to Puccini not only in its music, but also in its specificity; you can’t really stretch Puccini, conceptually, and with “Phantom,” you have to either go big or go home.

☆ Amazon Union President Chris Smalls Seen Fighting Worker in Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

On the night of December 5, the president of the Amazon Labor Union pummeled another union member. Some longtime Amazon Labor Union organizers decided to begin organizing on their own, without Smalls. All three said they believe in Smalls' mission and support the goals of the Amazon Labor Union, but worry about Smalls' ability to lead. Amazon Labor Union members consoled each other after the union lost the vote at its second warehouse, LDJ5, last April. One purpose of the organization appears to be to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation.

☆ US crude stockpiles fall sharply on strong export, refinery demand -EIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub (USOICC=ECI) fell by 970,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. U.S. crude exports climbed to 5.2 million bpd, their second highest level on record. On a net basis, crude imports (USOICI=ECI) rose by 1.16 million bpd, the EIA said. Refinery crude runs (USOICR=ECI) fell by 198,000 bpd last week, edging down slightly from the highest level this year of 15.8 million bpd the week before, the EIA said. Distillate stockpiles (USOILD=ECI), which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.6 million barrels to 113.1 million barrels, far exceeding expectations for a 400,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

☆ Base10 Partners is offering its limited partners direct access to investing in unicorn startups in order to compete against VC firms with much bigger funds. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Limited partners, the investors that back VC firms, are seeking out more direct deals in startups. But often LPs don't get in until long after the VC firms have invested, so they get smaller returns. VC firm Base10 Partners has launched a program to give LPs earlier access and more upside. As the exuberance in venture capital has crashed to a halt, the institutions that back VC firms, known as limited partners, have had plenty to grouse about. The VC firm Base10 Partners seeks to offer its own limited partners a remedy to this dilemma.

☆ New Zealand defence minister says military needs more resources amid growing challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - New Zealand's military will require big investment as it faces new challenges and greater expectations from regional allies, the country’s new defence minister, Andrew Little, said Thursday. The United States is "certainly keen to have New Zealand engaged but it’s not a decision I get to take alone,” he said. Little said that whatever New Zealand decided in terms of engaging with AUKUS, it was important that the defence force was equipped to work with its Australian counterparts. New Zealand, which spends roughly 1.5% its of GDP on its military, is undertaking a defence policy review as the country grapples with regional geopolitics and climate change. The Defence Force has been struggling with record attrition in part because of low pay, which has forced the navy to idle three of its ships and to retire its P-3 Orion fleet early.

☆ Starbucks shareholders want more information about the company’s anti-union efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Starbucks’ investors have voted in favor of an independent review of the company’s aggressive anti-union efforts. The assessment would include remedies if it finds that Starbucks has broken its own stated commitment to workers rights. Starbucks workers rally in celebration of the first anniversary of the union's founding on December 9, 2022 in New York City. Over the past year and a half, Starbucks has been waging a bitter fight against unionization efforts. During a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee about the company’s labor practices on Wednesday, one former employee said he was wrongfully fired after organizing.

☆ Fact Check-Andrew Lloyd Webber’s son, Nicholas, died after gastric cancer battle; no evidence death was linked to COVID-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s eldest son, Nicholas, died following a battle with gastric cancer that has been widely documented and reported. There is no evidence his death was related to a COVID-19 vaccine, as some people are insinuating online. However, it has widely been reported that Nicholas died after an 18-month battle with gastric cancer (here, here and here). Lord Lloyd Webber then confirmed his son’s death two days later in a post on Twitter (here). There is no evidence Nicholas Lloyd Webber’s death was linked to the COVID-19 vaccines.

☆ Starbucks shareholders to vote on proposals for labor probe, succession planning
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shareholder votes aren't binding, so the board can reject proposals even if a majority of investors vote in favor. More than 190 company-owned Starbucks locations have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to National Labor Relations Board data as of Friday. Members of a recently formed union of Starbucks workers hold a rally to celebrate the first anniversary of their founding, December 9, 2022 in New York City. Apple, unlike Starbucks, agreed to perform the assessment without waiting for a shareholder vote. But Trillium has more than two decades of experience putting shareholder proposals before Starbucks' board.

It's something that the Treasury and regulators did in the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis, but regulatory reforms in 2010 required a streamlined approval from Congress. Meanwhile, hardline Republicans oppose any increase in the current $250,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp insurance limit. Yellen explained to the U.S. Senate on March 16 that there would be no guarantee for deposits in banks not deemed a systemic threat, spooking community banks. A temporary systemwide deposit guarantee is needed to stop the bleeding," Ackman said on Twitter after Yellen's testimony to a Senate committee on Wednesday. Yellen is due to testify later on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

☆ Gap has quietly dissolved its advertising business. It shows the challenges companies have competing for the $45 billion retail media industry.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gap was hoping to tap into a lucrative new revenue stream called retail media, projected to be worth $45 billion in 2023, according to Insider Intelligence, Insider's sister company. Instead of GPS Media, Gap is devoting resources to support GPS Platform, which handles logistics and fulfillment services for other retailers including next-day and two-day shipping. Gap has also started GPS Apparel, which customizes apparel for companies. Lipsman said that Gap also had a disadvantage in retail media because it only sold its own brands. Are you a Gap employee or do you have insight about retail media to share?

☆ US Sen. Scott pushes for new Fed inspector general, slams Fed over bank regulation,
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Senator Rick Scott said on Monday he will introduce legislation to create an independent inspector general to oversee the Federal Reserve, as he called the U.S. central bank "unable or unwilling to properly regulate" banks in a letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell. "I am proposing legislation to establish a presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed inspector general for the Federal Reserve," Scott told Powell in the letter. The Federal Reserve is responsible for supervising - monitoring, inspecting and examining - certain financial institutions to ensure that they comply with rules and regulations, and that they operate in a safe and sound manner. Scott's legislation stems from concern in Congress that the Federal Reserve's current inspector general is not independent enough to serve as a check on the central bank. Scott also urged the Fed chief to use the central bank's policy meeting this week to examine the bank failures and identify accountable Fed personnel.

☆ This could be Big Oil's last surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The era of Big Oil could end sooner than its massive profits suggest, analysts told Insider. But the worst-case scenario for the environment — that oil and gas companies reinvest all their extra money to keep growing — isn't happening, Logan said. The role of oil and gas companies in the energy transition is an ongoing debate, analysts told Insider. The UK company cited the need for an "orderly" energy transition. And while Big Oil's finances may begin to show some cracks over the next decade, he doesn't expect them to "suffer financially" for another 25 to 35 years.

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☆ Campbell Soup lifts sales outlook as Americans keep snacking
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Though stretched thin amid increasing prices, Americans are still snacking on Campbell's cookies and salty snacks while a continued preference for cooking at home has further bolstered demand. While U.S. soup sales rose 7% in the second quarter, Campbell is facing growing competition from cheaper private-label counterparts for soups and broth. New Jersey-based Campbell expects fiscal 2023 net sales to rise between 8.5% and 10%, up from its previous forecast of 7% to 9%. It also projected annual adjusted earnings of $2.95 to $3.00 per share, compared with a prior target of $2.90 to $3.00. Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Milla NissiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Real estate prices in Singapore will take some time to 'level out': CapitaLand Investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailReal estate prices in Singapore will take some time to 'level out': CapitaLand InvestmentAndrew Lim of the real estate investment management company says Singapore's policy responses are meant to "tame an engine that is showing signs of overheating."

☆ King Charles's coronation to feature 12 new pieces of music
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Twelve newly commissioned pieces of music will play at the coronation of Britain's King Charles at Westminster Abbey this May, including Greek Orthodox music, Buckingham Palace said, with the 18th century "Zadok the Priest" also to be featured. Six orchestral commissions, five choral commissions and one organ commission have been composed for the occasion, the palace said on Saturday, including a new Coronation Anthem by musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber. Music by Elgar, Parry, and Williams were also performed at the crowning of Charles's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953. Handel's coronation anthem "Zadok the Priest," which was composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727, will be played at the ceremony, the palace said. I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion," composer Lloyd Webber said of his coronation anthem in the statement.

☆ Etsy shares fall after Citron Research calls out platform for counterfeit goods
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Citron Research said on Thursday Etsy Inc (ETSY.O) has become one of the largest platforms in the world for counterfeit goods, sending the e-commerce firm's shares down about 6%. Citron Research, which cemented its reputation in the research industry by calling out poor performers and betting against their stock, said the percentage of counterfeit goods on the platform had become too large and Etsy could no longer defend it as a small percentage of revenue. The research firm alleged that Etsy has allowed sellers on the platform to buy "ad words" of the brands and then labeled many of them as trusted websites. In November, the e-commerce platform posted a third-quarter loss for the first time in eight quarters, hurt by higher shipping costs and a strong dollar. Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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