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☆ Pope Francis to visit two fragile African nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] Pope Francis attends the Vespers prayer service to celebrate the conversion of St. Paul at St. Paul's Basilica in Rome, Italy. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Pope Francis starts a trip on Tuesday to two fragile African nations often forgotten by the world, where protracted conflicts have left millions of refugees and displaced people grappling with hunger. Both countries are rich in natural resources - DRC in minerals and South Sudan in oil - but beset with poverty and strife. DRC is getting its first visit by a pope since John Paul II travelled there in 1985, when it still was known as Zaire. Trott, a former ambassador in South Sudan, said he hoped the three Churchmen can convince political leaders to "fulfil the promise of the independence movement".

☆ Tyler Posey is going to keep playing Scott McCall as long as 'Teen Wolf' fans will let him
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Tyler Posey as Scott McCall on season one of "Teen Wolf." Tyler Posey as Scott, Vince Mattis as Eli, and Crystal Reed as Allison in "Teen Wolf: The Movie." "I hope there's more 'Teen Wolf,'" Posey reiterates. Tyler Posey as Scott McCall in "Teen Wolf: The Movie." "But also, 'Teen Wolf' has been known to bring every single person back from the dead, so it's never finite."

☆ I didn't really understand the healthcare disparities for Black women. Then my cousin died while delivering her daughter.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mykesha Mack's cousin April Valentine died on January 10. April had chosen Centinela Hospital in part because she could be under the care of a Black doctor. My cousin just died." When I got up to the maternity floor, April's fiancé walked toward me, but I brushed him aside. April's fiancé, mom, and sister are all looking after the baby, spreading the load as they navigate their grief.

☆ Amazon is paying influencers to test its new TikTok competitor, Inspire. Creators with access break down how it works.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Three influencers and one talent manager told Insider that Amazon offered the creators payments to post short vertical videos. The Amazon Influencer Program will occasionally run limited time incentives like this around new projects, the company told Insider. Content posted to the Amazon Influencer storefront of creators in the Amazon Influencer Program are eligible to appear in Inspire. The content on Amazon Inspire won't look exactly like traditional UGC, since it will live on the influencer's account. But, like with UGC, creators with smaller followers will have a chance to make money, since Inspire's main feed doesn't rely on creators having a large following.

☆ We sold our belongings and bought a $2.5 million cabin on a luxury residential cruise ship that will sail the world. Here's what we're excited about and how we're preparing to live at sea.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

We got the whole ship, and we're going to be going ashore as much as we like. They sold their house and went all-in on living at seaAngela: We opted for the leasehold period of 24 years. That's really what we're gonna live off of. So everyone that's living on this ship, you're not going to be having the carnival nights and the crazy college party ambiance. Well, the Narrative is not going to spend just one day at port, they're going to spend three days, four days, five days depending on where you're going.

☆ Moderna, Pfizer's new race: The RSV vaccine FDA approval process
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Both companies have released results from RSV vaccine trials with efficacy results strong enough to expect expedited approval from the FDA. The companies — which have been involved in litigation brought by Moderna alleging mRNA patent infringement, a claim Pfizer disputes — are both expected the FDA approval process for the RSV vaccine to occur soon. We can use the same, the same equipment and raw materials as the Covid vaccine." The RSV approval process is just one part of a widening vaccine industry for these two companies. "Every strain is treated as suspicious and we start working on it to see if it can overcome the vaccine," Bourla said.

☆ Netflix to live-stream Screen Actors Guild Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Bing GuanJan 11 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) will live-stream the annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards beginning in 2024, as it explores bringing live programming to its service. The streaming giant stepped in to carry the SAG Awards, which had lost its broadcast home on cable networks TNT and TBS. Netflix will stream this year's ceremony on its YouTube Channel and, next year, stream the awards show to subscribers via Netflix's service. Nominees will be announced at 7 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday and the 29th Annual SAG awards take place on Feb. 26. Netflix is in the early days of testing live broadcasts, as it contemplates bringing live sports to the platform.

☆ Donald Trump's longtime money man, Allen Weisselberg, quickly gets coveted cot in 'safest place' at Rikers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg breezed through intake at NYC's infamous Rikers jail. The West Facility houses only Rikers inmates serving sentences of under one year, Mualimmak-Ak said. A dorm in the West Facility of Rikers, where the ex-CFO of Donald Trump's real-estate company is serving 5 months for masterminding a decade-long payroll tax-fraud scheme. The West Facility is constructed of high-tech plastic fabric stretched over aluminum frames, according to the DOC website. An exterior shot of the West Facility, new home at Rikers jail for Allen Weisselberg, longtime CFO for former President Donald Trump.

☆ 'Don't Say Gay' feud advances with new proposed legislation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The notice serves as a procedural step in what has become a closely watched process between Disney and Florida. DeSantis and statehouse Republicans slammed Disney, saying the entertainment giant had become a purveyor of so-called woke ideologies that are inappropriate for children. The squabble marked a rare moment of discord between the state and Disney, one of Florida’s largest employers and a major political donor. It also provided another front in an ongoing culture war that has made DeSantis one of the nation’s most popular Republicans. Having a separate government allows the company to provide zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure services on its sprawling property.

Ron DeSantis will seek to bring Disney's special governing district under direct state control in a bid to end the entertainment giant's multi-decade arrangement with the Sunshine State. In a document posted to the website of Osceola County, which also borders Orange County and Reedy Creek, notice was given that the proposed legislation would leave no current aspect of Reedy Creek untouched. Florida legislators already voted in a special session last year to dissolve all special districts like Reedy Creek in Florida by June 2023. In response, DeSantis and his allies in the Florida legislature announced they would seek to end the privileges Disney had enjoyed through the special district. “The state of Florida has been very important to us for a long time, and we have been very important to the state of Florida,” Iger said last month.

☆ Italian soccer great Gianluca Vialli dies at 58
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Gianluca Vialli, the former Italian soccer forward who helped Sampdoria and Juventus win Serie A and European trophies before becoming player-coach at Chelsea, has died. Vialli and Mancini also helped Sampdoria reach the 1992 European Cup final, which it lost to Barcelona at Wembley Stadium. Mihajlović also played with Mancini at Sampdoria after Vialli left the club for Juventus. Vialli won another Serie A title at Juventus and also raised the Champions League and UEFA Cup trophies with the Bianconeri. He ended his playing career while also managing Chelsea, leading the London club to FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup titles.

☆ Pro rally driver and YouTube sensation Ken Block dies in snowmobile accident
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Ken Block, a professional rally driver and YouTube star, died Monday in a snowmobile accident in Utah, officials said. Block was riding a snowmobile on a steep slope in the Mill Hollow area of Wasatch County Monday afternoon when “the snowmobile upended, landing on top of him,” the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said. He was riding with a group, but the sheriff’s office said Block was alone when the accident occurred. “We are saddened to hear of the loss of Kenneth and our hearts are with his family and friends so deeply affected,” the sheriff’s office said. He kicked off his professional rally racing career in 2005, and was named Rookie of the Year that season in the Rally America Championship, according to a biography on his racing team's website.

☆ Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters dies at 74
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | Alex Lo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Anita Pointer of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters, who rose to fame with hits in the 1970's and 80's including "I'm So Excited," died of cancer on Saturday, her publicist announced. She is survived by her sister Ruth, brothers Aaron and Fritz and granddaughter Roxie. The Pointer Sisters started as a trio in 1969 when Anita quit her secretary job to join her sisters Bonnie and June, according to the statement. Anita Pointer. The Pointer Sisters released their debut album in 1973, with their single “Yes We Can Can” becoming an instant hit, ranking #11 on the Billboard charts.

☆ Trailblazing pop and country singer Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters has died at 74
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Anita Pointer, who penned many of the Pointer Sisters' hits, died at the age of 74. Pointer and her sisters broke ground for Black women in country and pop with their hits in the '70s and '80s. Pointer was a founding member of the Pointer Sisters, a vocal group from Oakland that achieved critical and commercial success in the '70s and '80s, blending genres such as blues, pop, and R&B. On the original recording, Pointer was also the lead vocalist, as she was for many of the group's hits. In addition to being the first female African-American act to appear at the Grand Ole Opry, the Pointer Sisters were also the first contemporary artists to perform at the San Francisco Opera House.

☆ Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters dead at 74
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Anita Pointer, one of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters whose string of pop, country and R&B hits in the 1970s and '80s included "I'm So Excited," "Jump (For My Love)" and "Fire," died of cancer on Saturday at age 74, her publicist said. Pointer was surrounded by family at her Beverly Hills home when she died, publicist Roger Neal said. The Pointer Sisters later became a quartet for a while with Ruth, the only one of the original singing sisters still alive, though Bonnie left the group in the late 1970s and they became a trio once again. The Pointer sisters also have two surviving brothers, Fritz and Aaron. Anita was preceded in death by her daughter Jada, who died in 2003, when Anita took over raising her granddaughter, Roxie McKain Pointer.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250 million bail, will live with his parents
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSam Bankman-Fried released on $250 million bail, will live with his parentsFTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on $250 million bail. CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos joins 'Squawk Box' with the details.

☆ Arkansas boy buried under floorboards allegedly died after mother's boyfriend drowned him in toilet bowl
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Blu's paternal grandmother, Karen Rolland, 57, told NBC News the boy would have been turning six last week. The body of Blu Rolland was discovered on what would have been his fifth birthday in his house in Moro, Ark. Karen told NBC News that the girl "could barely even walk" and that her clothes were soiled in urine. Ashley initially told Karen that Blu “was not at the residence,” according to Karen and the affidavit. Ashley appeared to give conflicting accounts of who buried the boy's body, according to the affidavit.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted out of the Magistrate's Court on December 21, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250 million bond while awaiting trial for fraud and other criminal charges, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday. Judge Gabriel Gorenstein said Bankman-Fried would require "strict" supervision following his release to his parents' home in California. Bernie Madoff posted a $10 million bond while awaiting trial on his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Jeff Skilling, former Enron CEO, posted a $5 million bond, while Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos founder, posted a scant $500,000.

☆ Caroline Ellison is cooperating with prosecutors after the collapse of FTX. New legal docs reveal how she acted on behalf of Sam Bankman-Fried.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison pinned FTX's downfall on disgraced cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried, SEC documents show. "Ellison, at Bankman-Fried's direction, caused Alameda to manipulate the price of FTT," the SEC complaint reads. Prosecutors are accusing Bankman-Fried of using his Alameda trading firm as "his personal piggy bank." 'At Bankman-Fried's direction'The phrase "at Bankman-Fried's direction" is listed 10 times in the 38-page document, most often linked to Ellison. Despite being co-CEO of Alameda, Ellison usually consulted Bankman-Fried prior to making any big decisions regarding the firm as well.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Zelenskyy's visit to Washington hailed a historic success; Kyiv's energy situation remains dire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington has been hailed as a historic, diplomatic success and it's sure to be one that Kyiv hopes will boost the chances of ongoing financial and military support for Ukraine as the war continues. The Ukrainian leader then gave a rousing and historic 32-minute address to U.S. lawmakers at the Capitol building in Washington on Wednesday night. Ukraine is alive and kicking," Zelenskyy said to a loud round of applause and several standing ovations. Zelenskyy assured Americans that their money isn't being wasted in Ukraine, saying its soldiers know perfectly well how to operate complex U.S. weapons systems and planes. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said on Telegram that the meeting between the two presidents is "historic."

☆ 19 Unique Valentine’s Gifts for Women Who Have Everything
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Maybe she’s the type who tuts, “Oh, I don’t need anything” as Valentine’s Day or her birthday approaches. “There’s something a little decadent about wearing a matching cashmere set when you’re traveling by plane, for example,” Deyette notes. Note: The earrings can also be purchased as singles if you or your recipient like to mix and match. Constructed of 100% Australian sheepskin upper and footbed, they feel incredibly luxe and confer the benefit of breathable, moisture-wicking materials. It comes with a 72-ounce pitcher and an ice-crushing blade, as well as two single-serve blender cups for beverages on the go.

☆ Sonya Eddy, 'General Hospital' actor, dies at 55
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Liz Calvario | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

“General Hospital” star Sonya Eddy has died. Alongside the statement, the “Spirited” actor shared a photo of her dear friend, along with a heartfelt message dedicated to the soap star’s loved ones. “Her legions of @generalhospitalabc fans will miss her 💔🕊️ My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones, friends, and fans!” has died. “General Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini also expressed his condolences on Twitter. Eddy was best known for her role as Epiphany Johnson on “General Hospital.” She was on the soap opera from March 2006 until November 2020.

Stephen "tWitch" Boss was a thoroughly modern dancer. He lit up the stage of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" for nearly a decade. He was so classy," Boss told The Associated Press in 2014, the year he joined the "Ellen" show. Stephen "tWitch" Boss on "Ellen's Game of Games." Stephen "tWitch" Boss and Ellen DeGeneres on "Ellen's Game of Games".

Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, the longtime DJ on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, has died, according to his wife. Boss was pronounced dead just before 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday in Encino, the medical examiner said. Stephen 'tWitch' Boss in 2018. Holker Boss said her husband valued family, friends and community, adding that "leading with love and light was everything to him." Ellen DeGeneres said she was left “heartbroken” by news of Boss’ death, calling him "pure love and light."

CNN —New Zealand passed a historic anti-smoking bill in Parliament on Tuesday, banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. The new law will also slash the number of retailers licensed to sell tobacco, from 6,000 to 600 by the end of 2023. Smoking rates in New Zealand – already among the world’s lowest – are falling, having decreased from 9.4% to 8% in the past 12 months, according to Verrall. The legislation – the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill – will also reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco products, aiming to make them less addictive. Official data shows 8.3% of adults are now vaping daily, up from 6.2% in the past year.

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