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☆ NASA chief and Democratic lawmakers urge investigation into reports of Musk-Putin conversations
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin have shared secret calls since 2022. A former DoD analyst said that a relationship like this could pose national security concerns. Because of his work with the federal government via SpaceX, Musk holds a security clearance that gives him access to some classified information. "The security clearance adjudication process looks at several factors, and undue foreign influence is just one of those factors," Stransky, now a partner at Thompson Hine law firm, said. The existence of an ongoing Musk-Putin relationship would be further complicated by the billionaire tech leader's recent foray into US politics.

Persons: Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin, —, Bill Nelson, Musk, Putin, Nelson, Semafor, Adam Smith, aren't, Sen, Jeanne Shaheen, Smith, Shaheen, Dmitry Peskov, Steven Stransky, Thompson, Stansky, Robert English, Xi, Trump, he's, Tesla Organizations: Street Journal, Washington, Service, Democratic, SpaceX, Business, NASA, Department of Defense, House Armed Services Committee, Politico, Defense Department, New, New Hampshire Democrat, Senate Foreign Relations, Senate Armed Services Committee, DoD, National Reconnaissance Office, astronautics, Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, National Security Council, Central, University of Southern, Trump Locations: New Hampshire, University of Southern California, Taiwan

☆ It’s not just you. More weird spam is popping up on Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-03 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Posts with obviously AI-generated images and confusing captions sometimes receive thousands of likes and hundreds of comments and shares. “The Facebook Feed … at times shows users AI-generated images even when they do not follow the Pages posting those images. Experts who track this kind of online behavior say there are likely several different kinds of actors behind the Facebook spam, with varying motives. Meta also automatically labels AI-generated images created with its own tools. However, there are still ways for users to strip out that metadata (or create AI images without it) to evade detection.

Persons: you’re, “, ”, Ben Decker, Erin Logan, De Marco, Lewis Hine, Hany Farid, Amy Couch ”, Kris, influencer, We’ve, Amy Couch, Renee DiResta, Josh Goldstein, David Evan Harris, Harris, ” Harris, cheeseburgers, Jair, Bolsonaro, ” Farid, Meta Organizations: New, New York CNN, Facebook, Meta, National Child Labor, Google, Library of Congress, CNN, UC Berkeley, “ Cubs, Stanford, Georgetown, Media Locations: New York, TikTok, New Jersey, Meta

☆ More Americans can buy investments earmarked for the rich. Why doing so may be risky, say experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Anyone can generally buy the stock of public companies on a stock exchange, or buy pools of stocks or bonds via publicly available mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. By comparison, private investments let people invest in companies that aren't listed on a public exchange. Julio Estela, 41, who lives in Wantagh, New York, made his largest private investment in 2021, in Green Coffee Company. Why private markets are 'two-tiered'Hxyume | E+ | Getty ImagesSome of the largest U.S. investors, such as pension funds, often have some exposure to private investments, proponents say. As with public stock, betting on one private investment instead of pooling risk in a fund of many private companies is an even riskier strategy, experts said.

Persons: Micah Hauptman, Charles Failla, Cassandra Borchers, Thompson Hine, Borchers, it's, Michael Cembalest, Mike Curtis, Shaka Tea, Julio Estela, he's, Curtis, Estela, Hauptman, Failla Organizations: SEC, Consumer Federation of America, Sovereign Financial Group, Sovereign Financial, Morgan, Wealth Management, Shaka, Green Coffee Company, rehabbing, American Investment Council, Pensions, Cambridge Associates Locations: Honolulu , Hawaii, Wantagh , New York, Hawaii

☆ Instead of Knocking Down His California Home, He Spent Two Years Making It His Own
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Laura Hine | Photography Jason Henry For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-homes/camel-by-the-sea-home-7ea2da2c

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Biden back to school as Republicans fight education culture war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden, who returned on Saturday from a week-long vacation, will mark the time of year when U.S. parents send children back to school with his own trip to Washington's Eliot-Hine Middle School. The Biden administration has pushed Congress to hike funding for public schools, including those that hire mental health professionals, through a bipartisan gun safety law last year. Public education is largely funded and run locally in the United States and typically takes a back seat in the presidential campaign to jobs and prices at the gas pump. The largest U.S. labor union, the National Education Association, a group of public school teachers numbering 3 million, endorsed him just a day after he announced his re-election bid. Republicans are closely tied to efforts to steer more public education funding to parochial institutions and independently run charter schools.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Biden, Washington's Eliot, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Trevor Hunnicutt, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Major Economies, White, REUTERS, Rights, Hine Middle School, George Washington University, Republican, of Education, National Education Association, Thomson Locations: Energy, Washington , U.S, United States, Florida

☆ How Ron DeSantis Joined the ‘Ruling Class’ — and Turned Against It
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Nicholas Confessore | More About Nicholas Confessore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In January, Pinellas school district officials yanked Toni Morrison’s classic novel “The Bluest Eye” from high schools after a parent complained about a two-page rape scene. But in counties like Pinellas, his policies and rhetoric have already had what his critics believe is their intended effect. She objected to parts of the syllabus Mr. Robinson had distributed to his class on African-American history, which her son had briefly enrolled in. “I don’t stop my class and ask my white kids, ‘Hey, how are you feeling?’ What kind of teacher would do that?” Mr. Robinson said. In January, someone reported Mr. Robinson for a TikTok mentioning that he had taught students in his Dunedin sociology class about the Black thinker W.E.B.

Persons: DeSantis, yanked Toni Morrison’s, Ruby, ”, Jeffrey Sachs, Diaz, Laura Hine, Renee Chiea —, —, Brandt Robinson, Robinson, Chiea, Nell Irvin Painter, DeSantis’s, Mr, “ It’s, Robinson’s, W.E.B, Du Bois Organizations: Republican, Liberty, Disney, Acadia University, Dunedin High School, Princeton, America, Mr, The Times, Black Locations: Pinellas County, Pinellas, ”, New Orleans, Nova Scotia, Tallahassee ’, Florida, Dunedin

☆ A $500,000 Remodel Took Their Kitchen From ‘Fine’ to Sky-High
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Laura Hine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Condos overlooking Manhattan’s Central Park in the spate of high-rise buildings nicknamed Billionaires’ Row typically come with what most homeowners would consider a more-than-adequate kitchen. When designer Mick De Giulio’s clients, who had worked with him on two previous kitchens in Chicago and the Hamptons, purchased a 2,800-square-foot, two bedroom in a newly finished supertall in 2017, the standard kitchen wasn’t cutting it. “The unit had white lacquer cabinets and white countertops,” says de Giulio, who has been creating custom kitchens for over 45 years as founder of his eponymous Chicago-based firm. “As far as serviceability it was fine, but these clients wanted something that represented their personal style and worked for their lifestyle.”

Persons: ’, Mick De, ”, de Giulio Organizations: Hamptons Locations: Chicago

☆ His Mission: Turn a Colorless Living Room Into a Space That Would ‘Wow’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Laura Hine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“When they bought the house, it was all grays and whites,” says Jeff Schlarb, the designer who recently transformed this family home in the Presidio Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco. The homeowners, who are in their 40s and often host events to support a variety of mental-health organizations, wanted their house to have personality. Mr. Schlarb, founder of Bay Area-based Jeff Schlarb Design Studio, really went for it in the living room, utilizing a wide range of patterns and textures.

☆ ‘Should I Keep Going?’ After His Wife’s Death, He Continued Building Their Dream Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Laura Hine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/should-i-keep-going-after-his-wifes-death-he-continued-building-their-dream-home-6df22305

INVESTMENT HELPSThe company based in Hove on Britain's south coast was one of 61 firms - most with 25 or fewer employees - to take part in the world's biggest four-day week trial last year. The experience of some companies in the first trial suggests that moving to a four-day week might help, if it prompts firms to spend more on equipment and training. It piloted a four-day week for its 80 New Zealand staff over 18 months, and has since extended it to 500 workers in Australia, a move it hopes will attract new talent. British recruitment agency Reed.co.uk said it had seen a rise in the number of job advertisements offering a four-day week since the start of the year. Allcap, a supplier of industrial components with 36 employees in western England, tried a four-day week after its staff had worked flat out during the pandemic to supply protective equipment and ventilator parts.

☆ An Augusta Living Room Design With the Masters in Mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Laura Hine | Laura Hin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Designer Lauren Robbins had two potentially conflicting goals for the large living room in the new construction house she was working on in a gated community that is just minutes from Augusta National Golf Club, in Augusta, Ga. Like many of his neighbors, the homeowner, who is an intelligence consultant, rents his house out for the week during the Masters Tournament, so the living area needed to be great for entertaining. However, the majority of the time, it’s just the homeowner, who’s a divorced father, and his two sons, so the living room also needed to feel approachable and warm. Ms. Robbins’s solution to both needs was to make the room very symmetrical. “As big as the room is, it feels balanced and comfortable,” she said. “It has a timeless appeal, but still has some curious and interesting pieces that are conversation starters.”

☆ The Sunroom Started as an Escape. Now the Whole Family Wants to Hang Out There.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Laura Hine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Over the course of several years, designer Sarah Vaile decorated almost every inch of a couple’s house in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Both husband and wife are doctors with busy schedules, so they asked Ms. Vaile to turn a third-floor storage space into a sunroom and lounge for relaxing and entertaining. “They have two teenagers and everyone in the house was feeling the need to spread out,” Ms. Vaile says. “It was intended to be an escape for the parents, but everybody loves it, so there’s a bit of competition for the area.”Ms. Vaile’s eponymous Chicago-based company is known for its colorful and lively designs, and in this room finished in July 2022, she went for a year-round summer palette. “In their living room, we went with a deep raspberry and mint,” she says.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried said it's 'not who I am' to shun the press. But legal experts say his recent interviews could come back to haunt him.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In new media appearances, Sam Bankman-Fried openly mused about his culpability in FTX's crash. Bankman-Fried told Sorkin at one point that "I didn't knowingly commingle funds," between FTX and his other company, the hedge fund Alameda Research. "Like, I wasn't spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX," he told the "Good Morning America" anchor. Greg Joseph and Stanford Law professor David Mills, who Semafor reported last month represent Bankman-Fried, didn't respond to Insider's email for comment Thursday evening. Representatives for FTX did not respond to a request for comment, and Bankman-Fried did not respond to a Twitter DM seeking comment.

☆ They Ditched Their Home Office and Turned It Into a Bar
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Laura Hine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Page and Sheila Nazarian found their Brentwood, Calif., house in 2010 and by 2019 they were ready to undertake some major renovations and upgrades. When Mr. Nazarian approached Ms. Marie about their home renovation project, his timing was pretty perfect. “Page and Sheila became my first clients.”With their three children in mind, the Nazarians asked Ms. Marie, whose firm is Alana Marie Interiors, to start outdoors. They looked at the former owner’s home office. “We were going to keep it as an office,” Mr. Nazarian said, “but then one of our friends came in and said it would be an awesome bar.”

☆ A Statement Chandelier Plays Centerpiece to a Contemporary Dining Room
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Laura Hine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

When Casey Howard and her client saw the Studio Bel Vetro Light Drop chandelier in a showroom, they had an “aha” moment. “We both agreed it was perfect; it’s sculptural in the day and twinkles above the lights at night,” says Ms. Howard, principal designer and owner of Danville, Calif.-based Casey Howard Interior Design. The house has large windows along a curved exposure that maximize views of the San Francisco Bay, Oakland and San Francisco. In the dining room, those windows—plus stairs that curve into the space—create a room with few right angles. “Because it’s a semicircle, the space presented some design challenges,” Ms. Howard says, noting that the unusual shape led to some innovative solutions.

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