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☆ Elon Musk has been preaching the value of 'hardcore' work to employees for over a decade, early Tesla emails show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk is mirroring his Tesla management style at Twitter. The CEO has told Tesla employees to "go super hardcore" and "ultra hardcore" in the past. Last week, the billionaire gave Twitter employees an ultimatum: commit to working "extremely hardcore" or resign. While the note spurred a mass exodus of Twitter staffers, it was a move that is all too familiar to Tesla employees. Musk's more utilitarian leadership style style represents a sharp departure from that of Jack Dorsey and Parag Agrawal.

☆ U.S. Centcom says Iranian-made drone hit Pacific Zircon tanker off Oman
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Israeli official had blamed Iran for the strike on the Pacific Zircon tanker managed by Israeli-controlled Eastern Pacific Shipping. The company said there was minor damage to the hull but no injuries or spillage of the gas oil cargo. A White House official earlier said the United States was "confident that Iran likely conducted" the hit using an unmanned aerial vehicle. U.S. Central Command said in a statement late on Wednesday that debris "reveals that it was a Shahed-series one-way attack drone" that hit the vessel, identifying it as Iranian-made. In July 2021, a suspected drone attack off Oman's coast hit a petroleum product tanker managed by an Israeli firm.

☆ The energy transition will fail unless industry fixes wind power issues, Siemens Energy CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Paul Ellis | AFP | Getty ImagesThe CEO of Siemens Energy on Wednesday argued that the energy transition would fail unless his industry addressed a number of issues currently facing the wind power sector. On Wednesday, Siemens Energy said its "overall performance" had been "held back by the negative development at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, " a wind turbine manufacturer in which it has a majority stake. In a statement, Siemens Energy said its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization — and special items — had fallen to 379 million euros (around $393.8 million) compared to 661 million euros for the 2021 fiscal year. Siemens Energy posted a net loss of 647 million euros against a 560 million euro loss in the previous year but also reported a record order backlog of 97.4 billion euros. "And to be crystal clear, [the] energy transition without wind energy does not work."

☆ Products tanker hit by projectile off coast of Oman, says Eastern Pacific Shipping
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Maha El Dahan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A tanker was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman on Tuesday causing minor damage to the hull with no injuries or spillage of the gas oil cargo, Eastern Pacific Shipping, which manages tanker Pacific Zircon, said on Wednesday. The Singapore-based firm, which is controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer, said it was investigating the incident which took place approximately 150 miles off the coast of Oman. "Preliminary reports indicate the vessel...was hit by a projectile," Eastern Pacific Shipping said. In July 2021, a suspected drone attack hit a petroleum product tanker managed by an Israeli firm off Oman's coast. According to shipping tracking site MarineTraffic, the tanker Pacific Zircon was last seen off the coast of Liwa, Oman on Monday morning.

☆ Tanker Pacific Zircon struck by projectile off coast of Oman, shipping company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping company said on Wednesday it was investigating an incident involving its tanker Pacific Zircon, which had been struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman. The vessel was carrying gas oil and only minor damage was reported to the vessel's hull with no spillage of the cargo or injuries among the crew, the company said. Reporting by Maha El Dahan; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran blamed for a drone attack on an Israel-linked oil tanker off the coast of Oman
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A drone armed with a bomb hit an oil tanker off the coast of Oman on Tuesday evening. An Israeli government official has said that they believe Iran is responsible for the strike. The company said there had been "minor damage to the vessel's hull," but there was no "spillage of cargo," referring to the gas oil the tanker was carrying. However, no one has claimed responsibility for the Oman drone attack. Due to tensions between Iran and Israel, Tehran's possible involvement in the attack is suspected.

☆ FBI may have had up to 8 informants in Proud Boys around the time of the January 6 riot, The New York Times reported
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Five Proud Boys members, including its leader, were charged with seditious conspiracy by the DOJ. NYT reports that some of the information had to do with FBI informants planted inside Proud Boys. The Justice Department indicted former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. Their trial is set for December 12.Insider could not immediately verify the suggestions regarding FBI informants in court documents filed in the past few days by the defense lawyers. The Times previously reported that a member of the Proud Boys was working as an FBI informant and that the source was present at the Capitol during the riot.

☆ Republicans are blaming Trump after the GOP's midterm 'red wave' failed to materialise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republican analysts blamed Trump for the GOP's disappointing midterm results. The former president had endorsed hundreds of candidates in the midterm elections as he sought to cement his control over the party. In a CNN interview, former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin blamed the failures on the poor quality of the candidates Trump championed. Liam Donovan, a former aide to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also laid the blame at the feet of the former president. He is considered Trump's leading rival for the 2024 GOP nomination, and Trump had attacked him in interviews on the eve of the midterms.

☆ No more than 5 out of 50 current GOP senators want to see Trump run for president in 2024, a Republican senator told Politico
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former President Donald Trump is all but certain to cast his name for the 2024 presidency. However, few GOP senators want to see him as the party's frontrunner, Politico reported. One Republican senator told Politico's Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin that, at max, just five out of the 50 current senators would want Trump as the GOP's frontrunner. In July, two GOP senators anonymously told The Hill that the January 6 hearings investigating the Capitol riot were damaging Trump's prospects. "I think we're going to have a crowded field for president," McConnell said in July.

☆ America's next main battle tank may be a slimmed-down, high-tech version of the iconic Abrams
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US military has fielded the Abrams tank for more than 40 years. General Dynamics, which builds the Abrams, recently unveiled an updated version of the M1. The diet M1General Dynamics' AbramsX tank. US soldiers do maintenance on an Abrams tank in Germany in August 2017. "If you keep the armor protection at a very minimal level, that's how we achieve the 60 tons," Reese said.

☆ Coast Guard rescues 3 men spotted 'clinging' to hull of capsized boat off South Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. Coast guard rescued three men Thursday after their 23-foot boat capsized off the South Carolina coast, the agency said. A good Samaritan sounded the alarm to Coast Guard Sector Charleston just before 7:30 a.m. that they had spotted three men "clinging to the overturned hull" of a boat around 5 miles east of Charleston Harbor, the Coast Guard said in a news release. Search and rescue teams were dispatched and managed to pull the three men from the water to safety. The men were offered emergency medical care, but the Coast Guard said there were no reported medical concerns. The Coast Guard said the owner of the boat was coordinating with a commercial salvage company to recover the vessel.

☆ United Arab Emirates indexes track crude prices higher
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Mohammad Edrees | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Stock markets in United Arab Emirates closed higher on Friday, after oil climbed on supply concerns fuelled by Europe's upcoming embargo on Russian oil and decline in U.S. crude stockpiles. Crude prices, a key catalyst for Gulf's financial market, jumped $2.84, or 3%, to $97.51 a barrel at 1112 GMT. In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index (.FTFADGI) advanced 1.1%, hitting an all-time high of 10,455 points. Abu Dhabi index boosted by a 0.8% rise in conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC.AD), while steel Manufacturer Emirates Steel Arkan (EMSTEEL.AD) surged 5.5%. Among other stocks, maritime and shipping firm Gulf Navigation rose 2.9% after it swung to profitability with a quarterly profit of 4.2 million dirham compared to losses of 14.6 million dirham a year earlier.

A German fishing vessel that sank during World War II has been leaking pollutants that are changing the surrounding marine environment in the North Sea, according to a new study. The 80-year-old shipwreck is the V-1302 John Mahn, a fishing trawler that was used as a German patrol boat in WWII. The pollutants found in samples from the ocean floor included various heavy metals, including nickel and copper. "Although we don't see these old shipwrecks, and many of us don't know where they are, they can still be polluting our marine ecosystem," Van Landuyt said in the statement. The V-1302 John Mahn research is part of an initiative called the North Sea Wrecks project, which is studying the seabeds around shipwrecks off the Belgian coast.

☆ Here's how generative-AI startup Jasper raised $125 million in Series A funding from Insight Partners and became a unicorn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jasper uses artificial intelligence to create content from marketing copy and blog posts to images. The Texas startup has raised $125 million in Series A funding, led by Insight Partners. The startup runs on GPT-3, an AI model from its fellow generative-AI company OpenAI. For instance, in addition to online blog posts and marketing content, Jasper can feed user-generated content back into the model to refine its output over time. The startup also trains its model on content that users "favorite" or copy onto clipboards to improve quality.

☆ Couple finds rare coins worth over $800,000 while renovating their kitchen floors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Ronnie Koenig | Joyann Jeffrey | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A couple in England had the surprise of a lifetime when they discovered a stash of rare coins underneath the kitchen floorboards during a renovation project. The haul of rare coins were recently sold at auction for $852,380 against a provisional sale estimate of $231,390. According to The Yorkshire Post, the coins have been linked to a Hull merchant family, the Maisters. Spink and SonHe explained that while it’s ordinary for rare coins to be sold at auction, the unique history of these coins and their amazing discovery made the sale extraordinary. Still, he hopes that it won’t cause people to start renovating their homes in hopes of making a similar discovery.

☆ A couple laying a new kitchen floor dug up a trove of 264 rare gold coins that just sold at auction for $845,000
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A collection of 17th-18th century gold coins was found in England when a couple renovated their kitchen. The rare coins sold at auction in London for £754,000 ($842,330), including fees. The hoard of 264 coins English gold coins from 1610-1727 was discovered when the unnamed couple dug up the kitchen floor of their house in 2019. Lot 264 of the coin hoard Spink Auction HouseThe auction house Spink & Son told the BBC that the lots garnered international attention, with private collectors from America, Europe, Australia, China, and Japan flocking to the sale. It was listed as the "Unbelievable Mint Error" gold coin because it was struck in the reign of King George I with no head but two tails.

☆ After years of headaches, the US Navy's first stealth destroyer is operating farther from home than it's ever been
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Rachel Nostrant | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US Navy destroyer USS Zumwalt is on a tour of the Pacific, making visits to Guam and Japan. USS Zumwalt in Yokosuka on September 26. USS Zumwalt the Pacific Ocean on April 10. Years in the makingSailors handle line aboard USS Zumwalt during a refueling-at-sea in the Philippine Sea on September 5. Sailors stand watch on the bridge of USS Zumwalt while the ship departs Yokosuka on October 8.

☆ How a tank the Soviets tried to keep secret became an icon of Ukraine's resistance against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Sebastian Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

An Afghan soldier fighting for the Soviets sits on a Soviet-made T-64 tank near the Salang Pass on August 17, 1989. However, these systems were mostly exported, and it's unclear whether either is currently operational on Ukrainian tanks. Defending Ukraine, 2014-2015A Ukrainian tank in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk in July 2014. A burned Ukrainian tank in Uglegorsk, on the frontline near Debaltseve, in February 2015. A pro-Russian separatist stands guard near a T-64 tank in Donetsk in July 2014.

☆ China is using civilian ships to enhance navy capability and reach
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Aerial view of fishing boats setting sail to South China Sea for fishing on August 16, 2022 in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province of China. Hundreds of fishing boats anchored for months at a time among disputed islands in the South China Sea. The civilian vessels do more than just augment the raw numbers of ships, performing tasks that would be difficult for the military to carry out. "Because they are ostensibly civilian fishing vessels, navies' ships are unable to deal with them lest China accuse the Philippines of provoking an incident and using force against civilians," he said. In the event of a conflict, China's use of civilian vessels would complicate the rules of engagement, he said.

☆ This guy is using AI to make a movie — and you can help decide what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Rachel Metz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Salt” is the brainchild of Fabian Stelzer. He makes voices mostly using AI voice generation tools such as Synthesia or Murf. Many of Stelzer's "Salt" images use terms like "35mm" and "sci-fi." Just as AI image generators have already unnerved some artists, Stelzer’s experiment offers an early example of how disruptive AI systems could be to moviemaking. Released in 2016 and starring “Silicon Valley” actor Thomas Middleditch, it’s thought to be the first film that used AI to write its script.

☆ Democrats in Congress are supporting another huge defense budget while ignoring a threat they've warned about for decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Yint Hmu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In debates about defense spending and foreign policy, Democrats have failed to deliver on climate. The depth and scope of the IRA's approach to confronting climate change is unparalleled. Yet 180 House Democrats voted for the bill, which expanded our budget for conducting a polluting, militaristic foreign policy to nearly $850 billion. US foreign policy, militarism, and climate policy must go together. The national security community is acutely aware of the effects of climate change — they've been thinking, planning, and gaming out scenarios since the late 2000s.

☆ US Air Force special operators turned cargo planes into bombers. Now they're showing other militaries how it's done.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One effort involving Air Force Special Operations Command is modifying cargo planes to drop bombs. Other air forces could easily deploy those weapons from their cargo planes, the head of AFSOC said. A major part of that effort has been repurposing its largest aircraft, cargo planes and tankers, for other missions. Brandon EsauThe Air Force has been contemplating how to deploy more firepower with its existing fleet for nearly a decade. US Air Force Special Operations CommandAFSOC is looking to add other capabilities to its MC-130s as well.

☆ UK train drivers at 8 rail companies to strike on July 30, union says
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Train drivers at eight British rail companies will strike on July 30 over a pay dispute, the drivers’ union ASLEF said on Thursday in the latest industrial action sparked by demands for wages to keep pace with soaring inflation. The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) said it had announced the day of strike action after train companies failed to make a pay offer that matched the increased cost of living. "Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open to talks if the train companies, or the government, want to talk to us and make a fair and sensible offer," General Secretary Mick Whelan said in an emailed statement. ASLEF said its members at eight companies – Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains – would strike. “It’s incredibly disappointing that, just three days after their ballots closed, ASLEF bosses have already opted for destructive strike action, instead of engaging in constructive talks," Britain's transport minister Grant Shapps said.

☆ The wealthy are buying yachts and jets in record numbers, and they're doing it without having to put much cash down. Here is how it works.
▼ + stars: | 2022-01-19 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The wealthy have been buying up yachts and jets without having to put much cash down. Borrowing against yachts or jets at the point of purchase — or shortly after — means customers can put up little to no cash to close the deals. Depending on the desirability of the asset, banks extend loans from half to nearly 100% of its value. Another benefit of lending against yachts and jets is that clients can still enjoy them during the loan. At Bank of America, 80% of its yacht-backed loans are for existing private bank clients, according to Verbit.

☆ Apple agrees to "make improvements" to its NDAs after whistleblower documents showed evidence the company used the agreements to silence employees
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-23 | by ( Matt Drange | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A year later, Apple reversed course, agreeing to "not enforce" strict NDAs regarding instances of harassment, discrimination or potentially illegal conduct in the workplace. "Apple has in the past simply given a statement and let things sweep under the rug," Scarlett told Insider on Friday. Citing her own experience receiving NDAs from Apple, Scarlett filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC on October 25. In reviewing dozens of confidential NDAs shared by tech workers, the investigation revealed the broad language frequently used to silence employees, including at Apple. In reporting on nondisclosure agreements at Apple, Insider asked the company if it had ever pursued legal action against a former employee over an alleged breach of their NDA.

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