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☆ Saudi Arabia looking to China for a lifeline for its futuristic city could mean trouble for the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at how Saudi Arabia is courting Chinese investors for help with its massive, futuristic city facing financial issues. NeomSaudi Arabia's dreams of a futuristic city are turning into a financial nightmare, and one of its solutions could spell trouble for the US. Since 2017, the Kingdom has touted big plans for the desert megacity Neom . AdvertisementThe city plans to heavily use renewable energy, a key area of focus for China as it digs itself out of its economic hole . But a soft real estate market and a trail of angry business partners and customers are threatening to thwart his big plans .

Persons: —, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, Neom's, hasn't, Tom Porter, Prince, Aaron Weiner's, Weiner, Justin Sullivan, it's, they'd, Tyler Le, Giovanna Ventola, Michael Shvo, Shvo, Tesla, Jose Uribe, Sen, Bob Menendez, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover, Annie Smith, Amanda Yen Organizations: Service, UEFA, Business, Neom, US, International Monetary Fund, Bank of America, Apple, Apple Intelligence, OpenAI, Amazon, Bonnaroo Music, Arts Festival, Post Malone Locations: Saudi Arabia, Neom, Saudi, Kingdom, China, Gaza, New York, London

☆ The largest yachts owned by tech billionaires, from Mark Zuckerberg to Jeff Bezos
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Madeline Berg | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. A few years after he and his wife divorced, Jeff Bezos shelled out on a megayacht. Earlier this year, just before his 40th birthday, Mark Zuckerberg became the rumored owner of a yacht originally built for a Russian oligarch. While many tech billionaires have bought yachts, the richest of the rich, like Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, have gone bigger. AdvertisementHere are the largest yachts owned by tech billionaires, listed in order of length.

Persons: —, Joe, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Lauren Sanchez, Mark Zuckerberg, Superyachts, Giovanna Vitelli, superyachts, Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Evan Spiegel Organizations: Service, Business, Oracle Locations: Russian

☆ TikTok doubles ad buy to fight potential U.S. ban as Congress moves to fast-track legislation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

TikTok more than doubled its ad spend to over $4.5 million in a campaign to combat a potential U.S. ban as Congress looks to fast-track legislation to push parent company ByteDance to divest the social media app. TikTok has spent over $2.5 million on television ads alone since March, according to data from AdImpact. The popular social media company has spent almost $900,000 on digital advertisements, according to the data. The data from AdImpact in late March showed TikTok initially purchased $2.1 million in advertising. TikTok's boosted ad spend could act as a last stand as the new bill appears to have key support in the Senate.

Persons: Giovanna Gonzalez, TikTok, Joe Biden Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Foreign Locations: Chicago, Washington , U.S, AdImpact, Ukraine, Israel, TikTok

☆ A woman with a severe allergy died after eating 2 spoons of 'vegan' tiramisu — prosecutors say it contained cream cheese
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman with a severe dairy allergy died in Italy after consuming a tiramisu marketed as vegan. Prosecutors allege the tiramisu wasn't vegan, and contained the Italian cream cheese mascarpone. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementA 20-year-old woman with a severe dairy allergy died last February in Italy after eating a small amount of tiramisu advertised as vegan. AdvertisementThe widow of a doctor with a nut and dairy allergy sued the resort and Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant after the woman died from eating a meal containing both.

Persons: GLG srl, —, Il Giorno, Giovanna Anoia, Giuseppe Loiero, Anna Bellisario, Bellisario, Il Messaggero, mascarpone, GLG Organizations: Prosecutors, Service, Business, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Locations: Italy, Milan, Anoia, Raglan

☆ Billionaires' superyachts are bigger, better, and have more on board than ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

And if you don't have someone on board who can whip up a Michelin-star-worthy meal, you might as well stay on land. AdvertisementThe massage room aboard the Talisman C, a $60 million superyacht for sale at the Palm Beach show. The total value of the 203 superyachts over 30 meters delivered last year was $6.4 billion, according to data from SuperYacht Times. Pampering options, be it a massage room, manicure station, or a professional-grade facial machine, are a dime a dozen. Courtesy of Breed MediaAnd what good is a massage room if no one on board can give one?

Persons: —, Ralph Dazert, Burgess, Anders Kurtén, Kurtén, Nero superyacht, Giovanna Vitelli, Champagne, Benetti's, Donald Trump, Trump, Vitelli, they're, It's, Jeff Bezos, Dazert, everything's, Nero, Jeffrey Beneville, Lana, Bill Gates Organizations: Service, Michelin, SuperYacht Times, Palm, Yachts, —, Monaco Yacht Locations: Russian, superyachting

☆ TikTok Turns to Creators to Fight Possible Ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Sapna Maheshwari | Yiwen Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Facing a possible ban in the United States, TikTok has scrambled to deploy perhaps its most powerful weapon: its creators. The hugely popular video service began recruiting dozens of creators at the end of last week, asking them to travel to Washington to fight a bill being debated in Congress. Under the proposal, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, would need to sell the app or it would be blocked in the United States. Many of the creators have met with lawmakers and posted videos about their opposition to the bill with the hashtag #KeepTikTok, often with the irreverent humor the app is known for. “So old white people boomers we call Congress-people are trying to ban TikTok, and I’m not having it,” Giovanna González, a TikTok creator better known as @TheFirstGenMentor, posted in a video on Tuesday, with the U.S. Capitol visible in the distance behind her.

Persons: TikTok, I’m, ” Giovanna González Organizations: U.S, Capitol Locations: United States, Washington

☆ Loud budgeting is in, quiet luxury is out. Meet the TikToker who started the financial trend
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Loud budgeting is a new concept I am announcing for 2024, it’s the opposite of quiet luxury,” he said in the TikTok post, posted on December 29. In this screen grab taken from a viral video by Lukas Battle, the comedian talks about the 'loud budgeting,' trend, versus 'quiet luxury.' In an online world where luxury and opulence are constantly on display — and unattainable for most people — “loud budgeting” makes being on a budget cool and acceptable. It’s the inverse of “quiet luxury,” which flourished on social media last year and promoted not flaunting your wealth or being understated about it. But loud budgeting could be a reckoning for brands who have found success in social media marketing.

Persons: Lukas Battle, Lukas, It’s, ”, they’re, Vivian Tu, Rich, ” Tu, Giovanna Gonzalez, “, Gonzalez, “ I’m, Michael Hershfield, Tu, it’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, TIAA Institute, Wall, P Global Market Intelligence, “ Locations: New York, Cabo, “

☆ The Verdict on John Grisham’s Sequel to ‘The Firm’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sarah Lyall | More About Sarah Lyall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Whatever happened to Mitch McDeere, the brash young associate who brought down the corrupt law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke in John Grisham’s game-changing 1991 legal thriller, “The Firm”? Three decades later, Grisham has resurrected Mitch — or Tom, as I like to think of him, because Tom Cruise played him with such seductive charm in the movie — for another outing. The new book, THE EXCHANGE (Doubleday, 338 pp., $29.95), should be a delicious gift to Grisham fans. But once you’ve read it, you might find yourself wishing that Mitch, last seen slipping out of sight while Bendini, Lambert & Locke imploded, had simply decided to while away his days in moneyed obscurity. It is 2005, and despite his earlier experience in corporate law, Mitch — still married to Abby, and now the father of twin boys — has joined the gargantuan international law firm of Scully & Pershing.

Persons: Mitch McDeere, Lambert, Locke, John Grisham’s, Grisham, Mitch —, Tom Cruise, Mitch, Bendini, Abby, —, Pershing, Giovanna Organizations: Doubleday Locations: Bendini, Libyan

Jews in communities far from Israel gathered at synagogues this weekend for their first Shabbat services since Hamas militants attacked Israel, igniting an ongoing war. PITTSBURGH RABBI SAYS HAMAS ATTACK RESURFACES GENERATIONS OF TRAUMA FOR JEWISH PEOPLEThe deadly Hamas attack is not just another geopolitical event for Jewish people, explained one U.S. rabbi. It is drudging up generations of visceral trauma, especially in Pittsburgh – the city scarred by the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. “More Jews were killed last Shabbat … than on any other day since the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Temple Sinai, during the first service following the violence in Israel. “It isn’t that Hamas wants the destruction of Israel.

Persons: PITTSBURGH RABBI, ”, Daniel Fellman, It’s, –, “, ” Fellman, Abel, Cain –, Cain, Seth Adelson, Beth Shalom, ” Adelson, Adelson, — Peter Smith, Jessie Wardarski, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, ” Teichtal, — they’ve, Berliners, — Kirsten Grieshaber, ” Modechai Ben Avraham, Shaar, ” Shaar Hashamayim, hunkered, Juval Porat, I’m, Beth Sholom, Michael Conway, Gayle Pomerantz, Robert Davis, —, ” Davis, ” — Giovanna Dell'Orto Organizations: PITTSBURGH, Hamas, Beth, Pittsburgh IN, Police, Associated Press, MIAMI BEACH, Miami, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Israel, Pittsburgh, Temple Sinai, Pittsburgh IN BERLIN, Germany's, Berlin, Gaza, Germany, Berlin’s Wilmersdorf, Indonesian, Shaar Hashamayim, Tondano, Indonesia, North Sulawesi, MIAMI, Miami Beach, Fla, Miami Beach , Florida

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The first two leopard cubs born in captivity in Peru began climbing trees inside their cages at a Lima zoo Wednesday in their first appearance before the public. The cubs’ parents, Leo and Mali, are 3 years old and were brought to Peru in 2021 from a municipal zoo in Leon, Mexico. The zoo plans to hold a contest for the public to decide what to call them. Panthera pardus leopards — the newborns' species — are classified as a vulnerable species on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The four are the only leopards known to be living in Peru.

Persons: Leo, ”, Giovanna Yépez, — Organizations: Parque, International Union for Conservation of Nature Locations: LIMA, Peru, Lima, Mali, Leon , Mexico, las Leyendas

☆ Vlad the Impaler, the terrifying ruler and inspiration behind Dracula, may have cried actual tears of blood, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists have analyzed letters written by Vlad the Impaler in the 15th century. Traces of protein on the letters suggest he suffered from hemolacria, which causes blood to be present in tears. There are a wide variety of disorders that can cause blood tears, ranging from blood clotting issues to unusual menstruation. Analysis of the proteins found traces of a bacteria that causes plague, but this disease is not linked to blood tears. "To our reckoning, this is the first time such research has been carried out and has helped to bring to the limelight the health status of Vlad Dracula the Impaler," the authors said in the study.

Persons: Vlad, Dracula, Vlad III, Vlad Drăculea, Pittalá, Maria Gaetana Giovanna Pittalà, Vincenzo Cunsolo, —, Vlad the, Alexandreea Alexandru, Bram Stoker, Stoker, Vlad Dracula Organizations: Service, University of Catania Locations: hemolacria, Wall, Silicon, Italy

☆ Robert Mondavi Changed Wine. His Grandson Aims to Change Farming.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Eric Asimov | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The primary objections, he said, were that organic farming cost more and required far more tractor use, which caused a different set of environmental problems. He wondered whether an electric tractor could overcome the objections. Mr. Mondavi’s role in the development was to offer the farmer’s point of view, assessing each design idea for its practical appeal. “This is the hardest work I’ve ever done — seven days a week, day and night,” he said. He described the frequent air travel as both “one of my greatest pleasures and greatest guilts.”

Persons: ”, “, Foxconn, Robert Mondavi, Monarch, Mondavi, Giovanna Bagnasco Organizations: Constellation Brands, Monarch, Sorì Locations: Livermore , Calif, Lordstown , Ohio, RAEN, Italy

☆ Texas aquarium saves endangered sea turtles stunned by cold water events
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Evan Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Evan GarciaCORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, June 8 (Reuters) - Endangered sea turtles and other marine wildlife have found refuge in a new coastal rescue center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Like other reptiles, sea turtles are limited in how much they can regulate and control their core body temperatures. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is the smallest species of sea turtle and most critically endangered in the world, according to the National Park Service. Ullmer explained how cold-stunning events cause sea turtles' heart and respiratory rates to drop dangerously low, along with a dramatic slowdown of their metabolisms. Ullmer readied one of the rescue turtles to check for recurrence of abnormalities on the CT scan.

Persons: Carrie Ullmer, Evan Garcia CORPUS, ridley, Ullmer, they're, Ulmer, Giovanna Pena, Evan Garcia, Diane Craft, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Texas State, Corpus Christi Center, Wildlife, REUTERS, Evan Garcia CORPUS CHRISTI, Corpus Christi, National Park Service, Thomson Locations: Texas State Aquarium’s, Corpus Christi , Texas, Evan Garcia CORPUS CHRISTI , Texas, Texas State Aquarium's, United States, New England, South Texas, Gulf, Mexico, Laguna Madre

☆ EssilorLuxottica signs 10-year licensing agreement with Swarovski
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A logo of EssilorLuxottica exhibition space is displayed at SILMO in Villepinte, near Paris, France September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoDec 6 (Reuters) - EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA) signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Swarovski Eyewear, the Franco-Italian eyewear maker said on Tuesday. "We have always seen each pair of frames as a piece of art to be worn, which makes Swarovski and its story such a wonderful fit," Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO of EssilorLuxottica said in a statement, expressing his excitement for the "journey with Swarovski". The agreement, which Swarovski's CEO Alexis Nasard said is in line with the jewels maker's LUXignite strategy, will be effective until the end of 2028, with an automatic renewal option for additional five years. Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdansk, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ LGBTQ students wrestle with tensions at Christian colleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

“It’s kind of a tightrope,” said John Scarano, campus ministry director at John Carroll University, a Jesuit school near Cleveland with “safe zone trainings” as part of its ministry to LGBTQ students. Last year, 33 LGBTQ students or former students at federally funded Christian schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, claiming the department’s religious exemption allows schools that receive federal dollars to unconstitutionally discriminate against LGBTQ students. In May, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched a separate investigation for alleged violations of the rights of LGBTQ students at six Christian universities — including Liberty University. A high-stakes clash between students, faculty and the school’s board of trustees over hiring LGBTQ faculty is unfolding at Seattle Pacific University, a 131-year-old school affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. “I find that tragic.”To students like Fisher in Minnesota, concrete actions will show if LGBTQ people can truly be welcomed on Christian campuses.

☆ Side-by-side photographic glass plates and James Webb images show how telescope technology has evolved since the 1800s
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-10 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, astronomers catalogued the universe on glass photographic plates. Compared to faint objects stamped on plates, the James Webb Space Telescope's images show dramatic improvements in telescope technology. The exposures were made on glass plates coated with photosensitive emulsions, with astronomers later developing the plates like film in a darkroom. Compared with Webb's infrared images, photographic plates of the same parts of the night sky show how developments in technology led to clearer and deeper views of the cosmos. Webb's clear views of interacting galaxies offer sharper detail than faint glass plate imagesA glass plate image of Stephan's Quintet taken in 1974, left.

☆ Private flight attendant life — Apocalypse-ready SUV — Working in Bora Bora
▼ + stars: | 2021-09-03 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

We're back at it this week with an edition of Insider Life that's filled with light reads for your Labor Day weekend. Today we'll introduce you to a private flight attendant who makes $800 a day catering to VIP guests, show you an SUV designed by one of the world's richest men, and give you a glimpse into life at one of Bora Bora's five-star resorts. Courtesy of Jamie GibsonJamie Gibson, 28, spends her days catering to the rich and famous as a private freelance flight attendant. Four Seasons Bora BoraAs a villa host at the Four Seasons resort in Bora Bora, 38-year-old Giovanna Vargas is guests' go-to resource. She gave us a look into a day in her life in Bora Bora.

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