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☆ I drove a $42,000 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid. It's one of the best small SUVs I've ever tested.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Benjamin Zhang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

AdvertisementThe Mazda CX-50 Hybrid is the latest entrant to the hyper-competitive compact SUV market. With one out of every five cars sold in the US this year being a compact SUV, an automaker's ability to compete in the segment is crucial to its success. Related VideoUnlike most brands, Mazda is taking on the competition with a two-headed monster consisting of its long-serving CX-5 and the recently introduced CX-50. For 2025, the Japanese automaker is adding a weapon to its arsenal with the introduction of the new CX-50 Hybrid. This will finally allow the brand to compete with established hybrid offerings like the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Honda CR-V Hybrid, and Hyundai Tucson Hybrid.

Persons: smartly Organizations: Mazda, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai Tucson

☆ I drove BMW's new $53,000 X2. These 16 features make it a fun entry-level luxury SUV.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Benjamin Zhang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AdvertisementThe BMW X2 is a subcompact luxury SUV that competes against the Mercedes-Benz GLA and the Audi Q3. I recently drove a 2024 BMW X2 xDrive28i that was loaded with optional extras. The subcompact premium SUV segment has become increasingly competitive in recent years. I recently reviewed a 2024 BMW X2 xDrive28i with an as-tested price of $52,745. Here's a closer look at some of the BMW X2's coolest features, which help make it a standout entry-level luxury SUV.

Organizations: Mercedes, Benz GLA, Audi, BMW, Luxury, Benz, Lexus

☆ I drove 2 popular hybrid SUVs from Honda and Hyundai. Here's how they stack up and which I'd buy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Benjamin Zhang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I recently drove the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and Honda CR-V Hybrid compact SUVs. The Tucson Hybrid wins for its stylish looks, great tech, and solid performance and efficiency. The Honda CR-V offers a refined hybrid powertrain, build quality, and excellent cabin ergonomics. AdvertisementI recently had the chance to drive the top-spec hybrid versions of two of the US' most popular compact SUVsThe 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport Touring is one of the finest compact SUVs money can buy, with a refined hybrid system, great build quality, and excellent cabin ergonomics. But the 2024 Hyundai Tucson Limited Hybrid is my pick.

Persons: —, Here's Organizations: Hyundai Tucson, Honda, Tucson, Service

☆ Japan for Kids: Pikachu Is Just the Start
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( David Lahuta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Japanese cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, are traditionally known for shrines, temples and historic cultural sites. But as the birthplace of anime, manga and, of course, Pokémon, Japan is also a pop culture powerhouse and a hotbed of kid-friendly activities, from practicing ninja skills to spending time with Snorlax. For a family trip, “the beauty of Japan is you can walk five steps and easily attract the attention of a child,” said Ramesh Krishan, who goes by the name RamKy and whose company, Japan Unfiltered, specializes in candid tours of Tokyo, Mount Fuji and other destinations. “It could be a capsule toy-dispensing machine, a karaoke bar with interesting desserts on display, or even the peppy music heard playing inside train stations.”Here are six stops on a family-oriented tour of the country’s most-visited cities.

Persons: ”, Ramesh Krishan Organizations: Mount Fuji Locations: Tokyo, Kyoto, Pokémon, Japan

☆ Dr. Ruth, Longtime Manhattanite, Is Remembered as a Neighborhood ‘Anchor’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Anusha Bayya | David Waldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Ruth Westheimer that fellow residents of her Manhattan apartment building knew was much the same person known to America as Dr. Ruth: gregarious, funny, peppy and apt to throw out a provocative question in the elevator. “She was the most well-loved person who lived here,” said Geoffrey Katin, 81, a longtime resident of the building, in Washington Heights. Dr. Westheimer, who died on Friday at 96, was America’s best-known sex therapist. But her explicit and direct advice, delivered in a casual and jovial manner, was not just for the cameras. Neighbors enjoyed bumping into her in the building, never certain how she might strike up a conversation.

Persons: Ruth Westheimer, Ruth, ”, Geoffrey Katin, Westheimer, Peter Sparrow Locations: Manhattan, America, Washington Heights

☆ What Miracle Whip and Onboarding Can Teach Us About the English Language - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( John Mcwhorter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a Zoom call recently, someone mentioned the “onboarding” of a new workplace policy. She pronounced it with the accent on the first syllable — “ON-boarding” — even though we pronounce the original expression “on BOARD.” Believe it or not, this got me thinking about mayonnaise. More specifically, it reminded me of an old radio commercial that has always stuck in my mind for the way, in the last line, the announcer pronounces the name of the product with a subtle emphasis on the last word: “Miracle WHIP.” (He made it sound rather exquisite: “Miracle Whip has such a wonderful flavor — lively and teasing, peppy and yet not a bit too sharp. It’s a flavor that’s just exactly right!”) Today we put the weight on the first word, “MIRACLE Whip.”If you listen for it, you can hear a similar shift in many different places. It happens gradually, but the result can be unmistakable, leaving the original pronunciation to sound odd and dated.

Set to a peppy electronic soundtrack, a recent video clip showed what the Hezbollah militia said was a missile-firing drone, a new weapon in its arsenal as it ratchets up its strikes on Israel. Flaunting a new weapon is the type of muscle flexing that Hassan Nasrallah, the organization’s elusive leader, crows about. Israel, too, is hitting targets farther into Lebanon. The latest surge by Hezbollah came this week, with a series of daily drone strikes by the militia hitting some civilian targets well into Israel. Senior officials starting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stoked their rhetorical threats against Hezbollah, suggesting that a day of reckoning was close at hand.

Persons: Flaunting, Hassan Nasrallah, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu stoked Organizations: Senior, Israeli Locations: Israel, Gaza, Lebanon

☆ A 16-year-old took home $75,000 for her award-winning discovery that could help revolutionize biomedical implants
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The high schooler from Lexington, Kentucky, developed a new technique to improve organic electronic devices. The technology could someday make medical implants significantly more compatible with human bodies and far less invasive. Long days in a university labGrace Sun holds an OECT device that helped her win the ISEF science fair. It took long hours, and much of it needed to be done in a lab at the University of Kentucky. AdvertisementSun engineered a new technique to improve the devices' performance and take them closer to commercial use.

Persons: —, Sun, hasn't, she's, Grace, haven't, They're, they're, Christopher Gould, George D, Ian Jandrell, it's, ISEF, Jandrell, Grace Sun, Chris Ayers, Society for Science Sun, OECTs Organizations: Service, Business, Regeneron, Science, Engineering, Society for Science, Research, Nature, University of Kentucky, Sun Locations: Lexington , Kentucky, Los Angeles

☆ I drove Subaru's priciest SUV. It's perfect for families who outgrow the Outback or Forester — but the safety tech is vexing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Benjamin Zhang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The 2024 Subaru Ascent Touring from the driver's seat. Benjamin Zhang/Business InsiderThe Subaru Ascent delivers a pleasant and reassuring driving experience. The continuously variable transmission is the weakest point in Ascent's driving experience and its drive train. The noise, reminiscent of a dying torque converter on a traditional automatic, disappears once the vehicle reaches normal operating temperature. With that said, Subaru's Lineartronic unit is one of the most capable CVTs on the market and is able to provide a serviceable approximation of a traditional automatic transmission.

Persons: Benjamin Zhang, Subaru's Organizations: Toyota, Chevrolet Traverse Locations: peppy

☆ The Long, Strange Decline of One of America's Most Influential Brands
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Amanda Chicago Lewis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

What followed was hundreds of sequels and spinoffs, everything from "Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul" to "Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul" to the bestseller I read cover to cover, several times, in sixth grade: "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul." By 2003, research found that more young readers seeking solace turned to the Chicken Soup series than to the Bible. What began as Chicken Soup for the Soul board games and calendars turned into Chicken Soup for the Soul chocolates and Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food. He pointed out that the cover of the original Chicken Soup book "ripped off" Campbell's Soup, to trigger "nourishing and comforting and warming" feelings. He started suggesting outrageous directions Chicken Soup could go in next: "The Chicken Soup pistol!

Persons: I'd, I've, who'd, John Wayne, Jack Canfield, Canfield, Oprah Winfrey, Tony Soprano's, Russ Kamalski, Laurel, Hardy, Tyler Le, Americus Reed, hadn't, he'd, Johnny Nunez, Getty, Clement Stone, Stone, Napoleon Hill's, Norman Vincent Peale's, Mark Victor Hansen, Hansen, Bennett Raglin, let's, Mark Twain, They're, they'd, Kamalski, Preteen's, Christian Woman's, Mother's, —, Wayne Booth, Booth, Barbara Ehrenreich, David Gray, Amy Poehler, Kenan Thompson's, Patty Aubery, I'm, I, blurbing, Bill Rouhana, Amy Newmark, Newmark, Rouhana, Winstar, Ashton Kutcher, Isaac Brekken, Kevin, Reddit, Chicken, Redbox, You've, We're, Kevin fumed, hicken, orth, ince, eason, rance, ike, osses, ives, ake Organizations: John, Hyatt Regency, Soul Entertainment, Nasdaq, Americus, Wharton, Hyatt, Harvard, Triple, Beverly, Hotel, Canfield, University of Chicago, Oklahoma State, Washington Post, Wall, Company, Connecticut —, NASCAR, Hollywood, Consumer Federation of America, CSSE, Hindenburg Research, Sony Pictures Television, GameStop, YouTube, Soup, ust, anfield Locations: Newport Beach , California, Indonesian, Crackle, Canfield, Nigeria, Japan, France, Ohio, West Virginia, Mali, New York, Anaheim, Florida, ,, Teacher's, Baltimore, China, Australian, Darfur, Southern California, Greenwich , Connecticut, Connecticut, Zillow, Canadian, Wells Fargo's, Redbox, ife

☆ The Long, Strange Decline of Iconic Chicken Soup for the Soul Brand
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Amanda Chicago Lewis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

What followed was hundreds of sequels and spinoffs, everything from "Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul" to "Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul" to the bestseller I read cover to cover, several times, in sixth grade: "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul." What began as Chicken Soup for the Soul board games and calendars turned into Chicken Soup for the Soul chocolates and Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food. What began as Chicken Soup for the Soul board games and calendars turned into pet food, barbecue sauce, and — yes — soup. He pointed out that the cover of the original Chicken Soup book "ripped off" Campbell's Soup, to trigger "nourishing and comforting and warming" feelings. He started suggesting outrageous directions Chicken Soup could go in next: "The Chicken Soup pistol!

☆ I've been using the viral 'bird test' for years. It's helped me find deeper relationships and cut out one-sided ones.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Julia Pugachevsky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The "bird test" is popular on TikTok as a way to assess the reciprocity of a relationship. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Now known on TikTok as the "bird test," this tip is being used to subtly check on the reciprocity of all kinds of relationships, from romantic partnerships to friendships. As someone who's relied on it for a decade, I give the bird test an A++, because it finally helped me sort out the worthwhile relationships in my life.

Persons: John, Julie Gottman, I've, —, Emily Esfahani Smith, who's, aren't, It's Organizations: Service

☆ My grandma does squats and stretching exercises daily and feels younger than her age of 91. Here are her longevity tips.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Nicole Findlay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewMy grandmother, Kathleen, was born in England in 1932. Kathleen believes in the health benefits of daily movement and strong female friendships, and she's also the ultimate romantic. She says that being social and having strong friendships is important. These strong female friendships benefit Kathleen in more ways than one. Nicole Findlay when she was a baby with her grandmother, Kathleen.

Persons: —, Kathleen, she's, I've, aren't, they're, it's, Nicole Findlay, She's, He's, doesn't, Maeve Binchy, Rosamunde Pilcher Organizations: Service, Royal Marine Commando, Business, BritBox, John's Ambulance Brigade, St Locations: England, United States, San Francisco, Windsor, California, Florida, Idaho, sweatpants

☆ Boston Dynamics' talking robot dogs have different personalities now, from '1920's Archaeologist' to 'Shakespearean Time Traveler'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Boston Dynamics made its robot dogs speak using ChatGPT, and they all have different personalities. Thanks to the integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Boston Dynamics' robot dogs can now speak in full sentences, Fast Company reported back in May. And then there's the sarcastic, nihilistic personality that questions the "unfathomable void" of its existence, which Boston Dynamics has simply named "Josh." The New York Police Department announced earlier this year that it would begin using the Boston Dynamics robot dogs again. Boston Dynamics did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Persons: —, Matt Klingensmith, Matt, Butler, Klingensmith, Josh, Levatas, Chris Nielsen, Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams Organizations: Boston Dynamics, Service, YouTube, Company, Fast Company, Dynamics, New York Police Department Locations: ChatGPT, Boston, New Zealand

☆ Stocks enter October in a 2-month correction as traders question the economy's resilience
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

.SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 in 2023 The median stock in the index, though, is nearly 16% off its 52-week high and is flat year to date. The S & P also went nine straight sessions through Wednesday recording a lower low than the day before, something that had only happened a dozen times over the prior century, says SentimenTrader.com. But the raw numbers say the S & P 500 has dropped from 19.7-times the next 12 months' projection to 17.9-times in two months. The equal-weight S & P 500 is at 14.3-times forward earnings; it bottomed last October just under 13. The S & P 500's annualized total returns for the last three, five and ten years are all between 10-12%, slightly above the long-term average.

Persons: Bonds, Friday's, Johnson, handicapping, shutdowns Organizations: Federal Reserve, Treasury, Deutsche Bank, Target, American Express, Investment, CNN Locations: lockstep

☆ Americans continue to feel better about inflation and the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —US consumers have been feeling a whole lot better this summer as inflation has continued to slow. That’s a huge improvement from June 2022, when consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level on record and inflation reached a four-decade high of 9.1%. “However, sentiment for lower-income consumers fell.”Indeed, recent data continue to reflect inflation slowing. Consumer spending is the main engine of the economy, accounting for about two-thirds of output, and much of it hinges on the state of the labor market. The Fed certainly wants to see core inflation continue to decelerate, but Powell routinely points to the labor market not being balanced.

Persons: ”, Joanne Hsu, Lydia Boussour, Jerome Powell, ” Powell, Powell Organizations: DC CNN, University of Michigan, University of Michigan’s, Federal, National Association for Business Economics, Fed, “, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: Washington, EY

☆ Opinion | Democrats, It’s OK to Talk About Hunter Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Frank Bruni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many of your liberal acquaintances will shush and shame you: Speak no ill of Joe Biden! Never mind that you’re examining his behavior, not the year on his birth certificate. You’ll be asked: What do Hunter Biden and diminished vim matter next to the menace of Donald Trump and a Republican Party in his lawless, nihilistic thrall? That’s a fair question — to a point. But past that point, it’s dishonest and dangerous.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden, MAGA, ’, You’ll, Hunter Biden, Donald Trump, thrall Organizations: Democratic, White, Fox News, Republican Party

☆ Dancing the blues away: Nigerian salsa teacher fights mental health stigma
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, July 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Emeka Adindu says salsa saved his life. Growing up in a country with deep-rooted stigma against mental health issues, Adindu, 35, found solace in the popular Latin dance as he battled abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts. "Salsa was the only thing that could make me smile all those days that I was battling, fighting with my demon," he says. A 2021 UNICEF report shows one in six Nigerians aged between 15 and 24 are depressed, anxious or have other mental health issues. Medical professionals say the stigma associated with mental health in Nigeria's culturally conservative society makes matters worse.

Persons: Adindu, Princess Solomon unwound, Abraham Achirga, Vining Ogu, Angela Ukomadu, Bhargav Acharya, Devika Organizations: UNICEF, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Abuja

☆ Consumers feel better/worse about inflation, economy's direction
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC CNN —Americans are feeling upbeat about inflation and the economy, according to the University of Michigan’s latest consumer survey released Friday. Consumers’ inflation expectations for the year ahead retreated for the second straight month, declining to 3.3% early this month from 4.2% in May. That’s good news for the Federal Reserve, which closely watches sentiment surveys to gauge the expectations consumers and businesses have for price hikes. “The sharp drop of short-term consumer inflation expectations points to another slowdown in the June CPI report, which will be out before the Fed’s next decision,” wrote Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, in an analyst note. However, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in his news conference this week that inflation expectations remain in check.

Persons: ”, Bill Adams, Jerome Powell, That’s, Christopher Waller Organizations: DC CNN, University of Michigan’s, Federal Reserve, Comerica Bank, Federal Reserve Bank of New, National Federation of Independent Business, Federal Locations: Washington, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Norway

☆ Hedge funds unimpressed by Chinese internet giants' peppy earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A set of bumper earnings reports from the likes of Baidu Inc and other Chinese internet giants isn't impressing hedge funds and other investors who have cut exposure to the stocks and seem to be waiting for more good news. Despite easily beating expectations for their earnings and giving optimistic forecasts for the recovery in demand, shares in both companies fell. Mark Dong, co-founder of Minority Asset Management, who is based in Hong Kong, says expectations for Chinese growth are clouded by doubts over how Beijing plans to stimulate the economy and deal with external risks. The internet sector index (.H11137) nearly doubled between late-October and January but has since fallen 20%. Global hedge funds such as Bridgewater Associates, Tiger Asset Management and Coatue Management are big holders of China internet stocks, which makes the sector more vulnerable to the global economic cycle and geopolitical tensions.

☆ Ex-Bon Appétit editor Marissa Ross says the wine world ruined her. Now she's back and ready to give it hell.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

Her rise was tied to a period of reinvention for the wine world during which natural wine conquered millennial taste buds and became ubiquitous on menus across the US. Marissa Ross, Bon Appétit's wine editor from 2016 to 2020, often posted pictures of herself chugging straight from the bottle — a technique she called "The Ross test." "Natural wine," a nebulous term that generally refers to wine made with minimal intervention and without additives like sulfites, was tentatively entering the American wine world. Many in the wine world took the idea that you didn't have to be educated to know about wine as a personal insult. When she first told BA that she planned to cover only natural wines, Ross said, Rapoport called to try to change her mind.

☆ Here are 15 mental health startups set to defy the funding slowdown and excel in 2023, according to venture capitalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Europe's mental health startups raised a record $1.4 billion in 2021 but investment slumped last year. We asked 9 of Europe's top mental health VCs to name the startups to watch in 2023. Startups tackling issues around mental health have been far from immune to the global slowdown in tech funding. Insider asked nine European venture capitalists to pick out mental health startups that will excel throughout 2023 despite the overarching slowdown in funding. Here are 15 European mental health startups to watch in 2023, according to some of the region's top investors.

☆ Ginny Redington Dawes Starred as a Writer of Advertising Jingles
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As a singer and songwriter in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ginny Redington struggled to win attention in an extremely crowded field. When she began writing advertising jingles in the mid-1970s, she rapidly became a star in that smaller arena by writing a peppy tune for McDonald’s Corp.’s “You, You’re the One” campaign. Her greatest hits also included ditties for dozens of other products, including Colgate toothpaste and Holiday Inn .

☆ Peppy provides employees with personalized care for gender-based health conditions. Check out the 9-slide deck used to raise $45 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup offers personalized consultations for gender-based health issues as an employee benefit. London-based Peppy has raised a $45 million Series B from AlbionVC to bring its employee benefits platform to the US. Peppy's app provides live chats and one-to-one consultations with specialists, so users can get personalized advice in real time. Peppy's app offers employees live consultations with specialists. Peppy has now partnered with some of the biggest health insurers in the UK, such as Axa Health and Vitality.

☆ A dozen Republicans file for Kentucky governor's race
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Bridget Bowman | Bridget Bowman Is A Deputy Editor For Nbc'S Political Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A dozen Republicans filed to run against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office, following Friday's filing deadline. Bevin had called reporters to the state Capitol on Friday but did not ultimately file, per the Louisville Courier Journal. Bevin lost a close race to Beshear in 2019, falling short by roughly 5,000 votes. Kentucky is a top pickup opportunity for Republicans, given the state's partisan lean.

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