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The ex-Florida tax collector whose arrest led to a federal investigation into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a former friend, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses. Prosecutors said Greenberg paid at least one minor to have sex with him and other men. Joel Greenberg, then the Seminole County tax collector, during an interview at his office in Lake Mary, Fla., in 2019. His cooperation with federal officials could play a role in an investigation into whether Gaetz allegedly sex-trafficked a 17-year-old girl. Greenberg’s scandal-plagued term as Seminole County tax collector started in 2017, around the time he and Gaetz became friends.

☆ Former Florida tax official and ex-Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg sentenced to 11 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A federal judge sentenced former Florida tax official Joel Greenberg to 11 years in prison. Greenberg was a longtime associate of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz before he struck a plea deal last year. Before striking a plea deal, Greenberg was a close associate of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Greenberg's plea deal said he conducted 150 financial transactions totaling $70,000 between December 2016 and December 2018 to pay women for "commercial sex acts." "Those who told lies about Congressman Matt Gaetz are going to prison, and Congressman Matt Gaetz is going back to Congress to continue fighting for America," a spokesperson for Gaetz's office previously told Insider.

☆ Noom sells psychology-driven weight loss — but former employees say they were unprepared for and overwhelmed by users' eating disorders, depression, and trauma
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Before joining Noom, users fill out a questionnaire asking about what diet programs or mental health apps they've used in the past. Very overly optimistic and happy, doesn't acknowledge what I'm really saying," one Noom user wrote on Reddit. Some of the coaches Insider interviewed said they were interacting with Noom users within two weeks of starting. Emotional bandwidthRachel Clair was hired as a Noom coach in 2018, at a time when the coaching staff grew from 60 to about 200. Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty ImagesIn October, 500 more Noom coaches were abruptly called into a virtual meeting and laid off.

☆ Kanye West owes millions all over town for unpaid contract work and music samples, lawsuits allege
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

He tried that earlier with his music and has been hit with copyright lawsuits related to sampling. And what followed was a thicket of lawsuits from people who alleged West failed to properly credit their songs when using samples for the album. Worse still, according to the lawsuit, West and his pals used "Life of the Party" to market the Stem Player. The company squandered months on the work, even relocating its headquarters to better closely work with West. In the end, the lawsuit alleged, West used a rip-off of MyChannel's e-commerce technology to sell his clothing at a concert.

☆ Walmart, Best Buy, Trader Joe's and other retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving this year — see the list
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Stores like Walmart and Best Buy will be closing their doors on Thanksgiving again this year. Here's a list of retailers that have decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. AppleREUTERS/Alyssa PointerApple stores located in the US will be closed this Thanksgiving, according to a company spokesperson. NordstromJeff Greenberg/Contributor/Universal Images Group Editorial via GettyNordstrom will not be opening its doors for business this Thanksgiving, according to Forbes. PetcoEducation Images/Contributor/Universal Images Group Editorial via GettyA company spokesperson confirmed to Insider that Petco will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day.

☆ Fewer states than ever could pick the next president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Five states decided the last presidential race by flipping from Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have each carried 20 states in every election since at least 2008. Democrats did not demonstrate the capacity to threaten any of the GOP’s core 20 states, as Republicans did in Nevada. A race with just Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona as true battlegrounds would begin with Democrats favored in states holding 260 Electoral College votes (including Washington, DC) and Republicans in states with 235. After 2022, the list of genuinely competitive presidential states may be shrinking, but, if anything, that could increase the tension as the nation remains poised on the knife’s edge between two deeply entrenched, but increasingly antithetical, political coalitions.

☆ China Turns to Back-Channel Diplomacy to Shore Up U.S. Ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Lingling Wei | Charles Hutzler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Insurance executive Maurice ‘Hank’ Greenberg, pictured in 2016, hosted a meeting this month of a group of U.S. and Chinese executives and policy advisers. China is turning to an old friend in corporate America to bolster communications with the U.S., as President Xi Jinping tries to stabilize the bilateral relationship while gearing up for greater competition between the two powers. A few days before Mr. Xi’s summit last week with President Biden, according to people with knowledge of the matter, Beijing dispatched a delegation of senior policy advisers and business executives to New York to meet with a U.S. counterpart group set up by insurance executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, one of the most successful American businessmen in China.

☆ 'Jeopardy!' champ Amy Schneider testifies against Ohio transgender care ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

champion Amy Schneider testified before an Ohio House of Representatives committee meeting Wednesday against a bill that would restrict gender-affirming medical care for minors. After receiving gender-affirming care, "for the first time in my life, that alarm went silent, and I knew peace and quiet for the first time." Rep. Latyna Humphrey, a Democrat, asked Schneider if she has ever regretted receiving gender-affirming care or experienced suicidal thoughts after her transition. “We’ve made quite a few concessions, and that’s to bring this to a middle ground,” Click said of the substitute bill. Four states — Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee — passed laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors.

Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday. Punchbowl Inc sued Punchbowl News' parent company, AJ Press LLC, for trademark infringement last year in Los Angeles federal court. The appeals court also agreed with the lower court that AJ Press' name was not misleading. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. For Punchbowl Inc: Peter Willsey of Brown RudnickFor Punchbowl News: Ian Ballon of Greenberg TraurigOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ After a Young Woman Dies, Her Mother Takes Over Her Business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Julie Halpert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Zoe Friedlander holds a Rose Greenberg pillow made by the company which her late daughter started and which Ms. Friedlander now runs. The suicide of Rose Greenberg in December 2020 at the age of 27 left her family devastated. “It was paralyzing,” says her mother, 60-year-old Zoe Friedlander of Los Angeles. “In the beginning, I couldn’t do anything.”

☆ Donald Trump may have had a bad week with US voters, but Republicans in Israel still love the former president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Insider met with Republicans Overseas in Israel to discuss Donald Trump's popularity in the country. It's named in honor of former President Donald Trump, a figure who is generally beloved in the country. Trump Square's modest sign reads: "The USA's 45th president and the first to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel." Joshua Zitser/Insider"Israel never had a president who is as supportive and helpful as US President Donald Trump," Rami Greenberg, the mayor of Petah Tikva, at the unveiling of Trump Square in 2019. A 2018 University of Maryland poll of 650 Israeli Jewish people found that 73% of those surveyed supported moving the embassy.

☆ Before his epic fall, Sam Bankman-Fried was hailed as a crypto genius. Some clients saw smoke and mirrors.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +14 min

Until a few days ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was the king of crypto. “I’m sorry I didn’t do better,” Bankman-Fried said Tuesday in a message to investors reviewed by NBC News. The contentions of the people who spoke with NBC News are echoed in a 2019 lawsuit brought in federal court against FTX Alameda, Bankman-Fried and other executives. But the crypto market does not have the protections or price transparency found in listed stock markets, for example. FTX and Alameda, as a major crypto exchange and market maker, attracted crypto developers to list their projects for trading.

Democrat Craig Greenberg is running against Republican Bill Dieruf in Louisville, Kentucky's mayoral race. On abortion, Greenberg — who clinched Planned Parenthood's endorsement — has said he wouldn't use the Louisville police "to be the enforcement arm of Kentucky's extreme abortion ban." Dieruf, who defeated three opponents in the Republican primary with 78% of the vote, is currently serving as Jeffersontown mayor. If elected, he would be the first Republican mayor Louisville has elected in nearly six decades. On the campaign finance front, Greenberg and Dieruf combined spent nearly $550,000 from mid-September to mid-October, according to the Kentucky Registry of Finance.

☆ Democrat Craig Greenberg faces off against Republican Bill Dieruf in Louisville, Kentucky's mayoral election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Here are the best ways to convince your boss to let you work from home forever
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

For the past two years, remote work has been in a state of will they or won't they. We asked Greenberg and other career experts about the best ways to convince your boss to let you work remotely. Make a strong business caseConvincing your boss to let you work remotely is like convincing them of anything else. "Oftentimes you're more productive and effective when you're working remotely because you're better able to focus," Reynolds said. Pitch remote work as an experimentLet your boss know you're willing to reevaluate and adjust your work circumstances as necessary.

☆ VIEW Bank of Canada surprises with smaller-than-expected interest rate increase
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank, in a regular decision, increased its policy rate to 3.75% from 3.25% and has now lifted rates by 350-bp since March. JIMMY JEAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, DESJARDINS GROUP"It's surprising to see the Bank of Canada going against market and consensus expectations on the dovish side. But I think it says that they're now moving to that place where they're going to acknowledge the impact that they're already seeing. I think it was a close call between 50 and 75 (bps rate hike). Clearly, the Bank of Canada believes it's getting close to the so called terminal rate and I think they wanted to leave a few more options open."

Ed Fischbach, on his farm in Spink County, S.D., said no to the carbon pipeline on his land. But some energy experts say safety is an issue with carbon capture pipelines — carbon dioxide doesn’t like to stay put, and the fear is that a pipeline could rupture and leak. Asked about the Mississippi leak, Hill of Summit Carbon Solutions characterized the event as tragic but anomalous. Braun says she is afraid the Summit pipeline will disturb sacred land around Whitestone Hill. Both Braun and Locke say they are happy to be forging new ties with farmers and ranchers in opposition to the Summit project.

The Musk video by reAlpha included “robust disclaimers” establishing it as satire, said Christie Currie, chief marketing officer. The first Musk video went live days after reAlpha launched a public offering under regulation A+ in 2021. But the ease of creating deepfakes means some celebrities could soon be deluged by ads featuring their unauthorized, but very convincing likenesses, Mr. Moss said. At the same time, the language in contracts written years before the technology existed may be vague enough to allow marketers to use existing footage to create new deepfake videos. Companies most often request celebrity deepfake videos to use internally for training, communications, parties or other purposes—but not for ads, said Daynen Biggs, owner of Slack Shack Films, which produced the Elon Musk videos.

☆ Should you apply early to college? Here’s what the experts say about this 'strategic game'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

What to know about early action versus early decisionWhether it's nonbinding early action or early decision, which is binding, the deadlines for these types of applications are typically Nov. 1 or Nov.15 for a December decision, or even earlier for rolling admission. "A lot of people view early action or early decision as interchangeable," said Eric Greenberg, president of Greenberg Educational Group, a New York-based consulting firm. However, "early action, in certain cases, makes no difference in admission." Early decision, on the other hand, can "help leverage someone's admissions chances." watch now"If someone is applying early decision or early action and gets in, at that point in the calendar there's more money available," Greenberg said.

☆ Ulta, Bath & Body Works, CeraVe, E.l.f. Cosmetics, and SheaMoisture among beauty favorites for female teens, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Sarah Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ulta is still the most popular beauty store for all female teens, according to a semiannual survey. Out of the 6,670 female teens surveyed, 29% of upper-income female teens and 40% of average-income female teens chose Bath & Body Works as their favorite source for fragrances. Upper-income female teens are spending slightly less for perfumes at $62 every year compared with $67 a year spent on perfumes by average-income female teens. While female teens with wealthier incomes spent $93 last fall on hair care products, female teens with average income spent $91 a year. However, Olaplex was the most popular hair care brand for 14% of upper-income female teens, and the second most popular for female teens with average incomes.

☆ Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and at least 15 other retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving this year — see the list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Retailers like Walmart and Target are closing their stores on Thanksgiving Day again this year. The following year, Target followed suit, announcing it would be closed on Thanksgiving for good. Here's a list of retailers that have decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. While a small number of employees still work on Thanksgiving Day to keep things operating smoothly, they all receive holiday pay, according to Target. PetcoEducation Images/Contributor/Universal Images Group Editorial via GettyA company spokesperson confirmed to Insider that Petco will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day.

☆ Low-cost airline Breeze is launching 19 new routes next year from $29 one-way as it beefs up its leisure network — see the full list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Fares start at $99 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Charleston or Richmond, depending on the day. Fares start at $99 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Las Vegas. Fares start at $69 one-way and will be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via Orlando. Fares start at $29 one-way. Fares start at $89 one-way and be a one-stop, no-plane change BreezeThru via White Plains.

☆ Sunflowers, war and drought: Why the price of margarine and butter spiked 32%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Margarine prices swelled by about 4% in the month from August to September, meaning they've continued to trend upward in the short term. 1 producer and exporter of sunflower oil, which accounts for 9% of all vegetable oil produced globally. "Supplies of these alternatives are expected to be tight in the 2021/22 marketing year, contributing to elevated vegetable oil prices." Palm oil accounts for 35% of all vegetable oil made globally, the largest share relative to the aforementioned oil commodities. Annual oil prices — and those of its byproducts, like gasoline and diesel — skyrocketed as a result.

☆ Whole Foods is quietly raising prices on small brands and industry insiders worry the grocer could be returning to its 'whole paycheck' image
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Whole Foods is raising prices on some emerging brands, according to food-industry insiders. Whole Foods' recent price increases are larger than many expected, even with inflation. Brokers act as advocates for food brands, especially when it comes to working with retailers to increase brands' distribution. But Whole Foods' recent price increases are larger than many expected, even with inflation, according to the consultants Insider spoke to. "I am concerned that the price increases at the retail level have been significantly higher than that," she said.

☆ The Justice Department's sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz seems stalled, attorneys say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +21 min

Those included a stalking charge for falsely smearing a political rival as a pedophile, identity theft and sex trafficking the same 17-year-old who is the alleged victim in the Gaetz case. The alleged victim, who turned 18 in December 2017, did not answer requests for comment from NBC News. Also according to that plea agreement, the alleged victim falsely claimed she was of age on her SeekingArrangement profile. The Gaetz investigation became public in March 2021, after The New York Times reported the general contours of the investigation. The potential witnesses in the federal government’s inquiry into Gaetz is not limited to Greenberg, the alleged victim and Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend.

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