DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Arnold Schwarzenegger says his father was among millions ‘sucked into a hate system’ by lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Chandelis Duster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday spoke out against antisemitism and hate, pointing to his family history in the hope it would stand as an example for others. “My father was, and so many other millions of men were, sucked into a hate system through lies and deceit. How many millions of people had to die and then they ended up losers … in the Confederacy, losers, as they all have, this just doesn’t work. A report released by the Anti-Defamation League last month found that antisemitic incidents in the US at their highest level since the organization began recording them in 1979. Data released by the FBI in March shows that the number of hate crimes reported in the US also increased in 2021.

☆ Gen Zers are taking over college cities — after they graduate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Gen Z is moving in droves to college towns after they get their degree. Alex Akmal and her partner, Alex, along Memorial Union Terrace on Lake Mendota. Gen Z bonds have been cemented even more because many young people are delaying marriage and having children, the center found. After her studies, she said she might move to Washington, D.C., an even larger Gen Z hangout with those offerings and more. For whatever reason they are coming to these cities, these Gen Zers are here to stay.

☆ Inside the Wild World of Celebrity Keynote Speakers: Drugs, Alcohol
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

"I never saw myself as a speaker, let alone a motivational speaker," Leonard tells me while his assistant irons his jeans. 'When I ramble," Hunter told me, "hit me in the leg!" Every plane had been grounded, including the one stuck on the tarmac with an increasingly inebriated Hunter Thompson trapped inside. But by far the most all-consuming task was booking gigs for Hunter Thompson. Just before a debate with G. Gordon Liddy at Brown University, Hunter demanded that Betsy Berg, whom I now worked alongside at GTN, score him some crystal meth.

[1/2] A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives on autopilot along the 405 highway in Westminster, California, U.S., March 16, 2022. It said in a court filing that Hsu used Autopilot on city streets, despite Tesla's user manual warning against doing so. The main question in Autopilot cases is who is responsible for an accident while a car was in driver-assistant Autopilot mode - a human driver, the machine, or both? That executive, Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software at Tesla, testified during the Hsu trial last week about the videotape. Also at issue in the Hsu trial is the airbag.

☆ US bank run victims were bailed out in 3 days. In China, many have been waiting a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Selina Wang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN is not revealing the identities of the bank victims in order to protect their safety. Bank victims protest in Henan in July 2022. Experts say small banks in other parts of China could face the same crisis, as the world’s second largest economy faces a longer term structural slowdown. Some Chinese bank victims even say they’re living in fear of violent reprisals. CNN interviews bank victims in China.

REUTERS/Joe SkipperLOS ANGELES, April 20 (Reuters) - The spectacular explosion of SpaceX's new Starship rocket minutes after it soared off its launch pad on a first flight test is the latest vivid illustration of a "successful failure" business formula that serves Elon Musk's company well, experts said on Thursday. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTAt least two experts in aerospace engineering and planetary science who spoke with Reuters agreed that the test flight delivered benefits. "This is a classical SpaceX successful failure," said Garrett Reisman, an astronautical engineering professor at the University of Southern California who is a former NASA astronaut and is also a senior adviser to SpaceX. Reisman called the Starship test flight a hallmark of a SpaceX strategy that sets Musk's company apart from traditional aerospace companies and even NASA by "this embracing of failure when the consequences of failure are low." She said the risks of a single flight test were small in comparison to the ambitious gains at stake.

"The Tesla bull case has centered around the company's growth goals, which it is failing to meet." Tesla's stock is trading at about 43 times expected earnings, down from astronomical levels above 200 times in 2021, according to Refinitiv data. Tesla on Wednesday doubled down on the price war it started at the end of last year, as Musk said the company would prioritize sales growth ahead of profit. In the first quarter, Tesla posted its lowest quarterly gross profit margin in two years. You're investing in Elon Musk," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer of Bokeh Capital Partners.

☆ Japan nuclear disaster: Fukushima's fishing industry fears Tokyo's next move may finish it off
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emiko Jozuka Krystina Shveda Junko Ogura Marc Stewart Daniel Campisi | Emiko Jozuka | Krystina Shveda | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Ocean currents have since dispersed the contaminated water enough that radioactive Cesium is nearly undetectable in fish from Fukushima prefecture. A year before the 2011 disaster, government data shows Fukushima’s coastal fishing industry landed catches worth around $69 million. At the same time, ground and rainwater have leaked in, creating more radioactive wastewater that now needs to be stored and treated. This isotope is radioactive tritium, and the scientific community is divided on the risk its dissemination carries. He argues TEPCO should build more storage tanks to allow for the decay of the radioactive tritium, which has a half-life of 12.3 years.

☆ Those Seaweed Blobs Headed for Florida? See How Big They Are.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Scientists say they spotted more than 13 million tons of Sargassum, a yellowish-brown seaweed, drifting in the Atlantic Ocean last month — a record for the month of March. NORTH AMERICA March 2023 Atlantic Ocean The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt grew to an estimated 13.5 million metric tons of seaweed this spring. Tangles of the goopy, leafy seaweed have already begun to wash ashore beaches in southern Florida and Mexico. Floating mats of seaweed accumulate in the central Atlantic Ocean for much of the year. But during the spring and summer, patches of it are carried by ocean currents toward the Caribbean, eastern Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast.

☆ Want to Make a Change? Conjure Your ‘Possible Selves.’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Joanne Lipman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

These possible selves, both positive and negative, are closely related to motivation. A person whose feared possible self is an alcoholic may become a teetotaler. And researchers have found that conjuring positive possible selves can improve well-being and alleviate symptoms of depression by holding out the potential for a better future. A possible self can take you beyond daydreams, which are often fleeting and not necessarily grounded in reality. It can come to fruition “if you build a bridge from your ‘now’ self to the possible self,” Dr. Markus said.

☆ The 10 best states to retire in—and Florida isn't No. 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Move over, Florida, a new locale ranks as the best state to retire in. 1 state to retire in, Virginia has taken the top spot this year, according to personal finance website WalletHub's "2023's Best States to Retire" study. WalletHub evaluated all 50 U.S. states in three key categories: affordability, quality of life and access to health care. A state's overall retirement friendliness was based on its total score across all three categories. CHECK OUT: The 10 most expensive U.S. states to retire in — California didn’t make the list

☆ How Much Power Should the Courts Have?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emily Bazelon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Many of the new constitutions gave the high courts clear authority to safeguard the rights of minorities and the democratic system. Some of the courts vigorously wielded this power to set aside majoritarian decisions that appeared to undermine democracy over the longer run. “If courts abdicate their responsibility to protect democracy, they’re not doing their job,” says Dixon, a law professor at the University of South Wales in Australia. In the 1980s, as Israel’s Jewish population became more religious and traditional, secular Israeli law professors drafted provisions for a constitution, consulting with their American peers and Aharon Barak, an Israeli Supreme Court justice. “Over the last 20 years, the Israeli Supreme Court, while issuing valuable rulings on the rights of women, L.G.B.T.Q.

☆ Blocking FDA approval of abortion pill could stifle innovation in the biopharma industry, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A messy legal fight over the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone poses risks to the biopharma industry that go beyond the single drug. If a subsequent decision tosses out the pill's approval, it could potentially stifle innovation in the sector and deter investments in the development of life-changing drugs, biopharma companies and experts in law and economics say. More than 200 biopharma companies made a similar claim Monday in an open letter calling for the reversal of Kacsmaryk's decision. But Hastings said biopharma companies still respect the FDA when the agency turns down their drugs. Suliman offered a more hopeful take on how the legal fight could affect biopharma innovation.

☆ ChatGPT reportedly made up sexual harassment allegations against a prominent lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI's ChatGPT made up sexual harassment accusations against lawyer Jonathan Turley, WaPo reported. In its response, ChatGPT apparently cited a Washington Post article published in 2018 — but the publication said that article doesn't exist. In the post, Turley added that he initially thought the accusation was "comical," but that "after some reflection," it "took on a more menacing meaning." He said the false sexual harassment accusations could damage his reputation as a legal scholar. "As part of that reality in our age of rage, there is a continual stream of false claims about my history or statements."

☆ For LSU and South Carolina, It’s the Final Four of Sideline Style
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Rory Satran | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

When Louisiana State University women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey strode from the court after yet another win last month, she peeled off her pink butterfly-bedazzled blazer. The move was more rock star than 60-year-old college coach, but it was in keeping with Ms. Mulkey’s razzle-dazzle. Ms. Mulkey, along with the University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, is leading the charge for a new wave of women’s college basketball coaches using fashion as a crucial part of their public image. Friday night, in the hotly anticipated Women’s Final Four, millions worldwide will be tuning in to watch the formidable face-offs of South Carolina vs. Iowa, and LSU vs. Virginia Tech. Many of them will also be paying close attention to what Ms. Staley and Ms. Mulkey, superstar, title-winning coaches who earn seven-figure salaries, are wearing.

☆ Cash-strapped Chinese cities are cutting medical benefits for seniors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Censors removed hashtags for “Wuhan health insurance” from Weibo’s hot topics section after the demonstrations began in January. State media reported at the time that some other regions had already spent public money on mass testing. CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty ImagesCovering the shortfallChina’s health insurance scheme is a key part of its limited social safety net. To protesters, however, it looked like local governments were dipping into their individual accounts to cover the shortfalls of the collective pool. “There has to be some resolution of the financial capacity of local governments to meet current, and prospective, age-related costs,” Magnus said.

☆ Genetic study details complex ancestry of East Africa's Swahili people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Radu Sigheti/File PhotoMarch 29 (Reuters) - A study of centuries-old DNA has deciphered the complex ancestry of coastal East Africa's Swahili people, revealing how a cosmopolitan and prosperous medieval civilization arose thanks in large part to women from Africa and men arriving from Persia. After around 1500 AD, the bulk of the Asian genetic contribution shifted to Arabian sources, the study showed. "However, in this case, because Bantu populations in East Africa often have more matrilineal tendencies, African women likely had more autonomy in choosing their partners for building a family. It may be, the researchers said, that the African women and their communities chose to form families with Persian princes or traders, reinforcing trade networks of African and Persian merchants. The evidence of Indian ancestry adds a surprising new layer to the history of the East African coast, Brielle added.

☆ Inside Ukraine’s scramble for “game-changer” drone fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

It is hoping that domestic drone makers like AeroDrone will help it meet its ambitious goals. The government is now working with more than 80 Ukraine-based drone manufacturers, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Reuters. RUSSIAN TERRITORYThe range and potency of Ukraine's drones is a sensitive issue. Danilov, the national security council head, acknowledged Ukraine’s reliance on other countries for more high-tech drone components. "We are trying to fulfil our needs in this sector with domestic production, but we realise that it's unlikely we will be able to fulfil everything," he said.

☆ Deel Speed: The inside story of a $12 billion HR startup's breakneck growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Insider spoke with more than 30 current or former Deel workers about the HR company's extraordinary rise, and the unconventional tactics that made it possible. "I think if you talk to anyone, they would say that Alex is the face but all decisions run through Phillipe," one former Deel worker told Insider. "They lose every employment and labor protection," Valerio De Stefano, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said of independent contractors. Alex Bouaziz, Deel on Centre Stage during day two of Collision 2022 at Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada. The company didn't have an internal human-resources team until sometime in 2021, by which point it had grown to hundreds of people.

☆ Is Putin using a body double? Listen here: Skeptics say spotting a decoy is all in the ears.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The trip to the besieged region renewed claims that Putin uses body doubles for public appearances. The original Washington Post article has been updated to remove references to Putin using a body double. However, the Post isn't the first publication to reference the possibility of a Putin body double. It cannot be repeated," though he has not offered concrete evidence to back up the claim that Putin uses a body double. Ears as evidenceWhile Budanov's claims about Putin's health or use of body doubles cannot be verified, the use of ears as forensic evidence has been documented for decades.

☆ Why SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket looks unlike anything the company has ever built before
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Rupendra Brahambhatt | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Not only is Starship the world's largest, most powerful rocket, it also looks unlike anything SpaceX has ever built. Veronica G. Cardenas/ReutersThis silver-black color scheme is a vast change from SpaceX's white Falcon 9 rockets or NASA's orange and white Space Launch System. SpaceX's silver rocket made of steelSpaceX's Starship rocket is made of stainless steel. SpaceX's black-studded Starship spacecraftStarship is covered on one side with black tiles to help protect it upon atmospheric re-entry. SPACEXSpaceX wouldn't comment on whether, or not, that's the reasoning for their silver Starship rocket.

☆ FDA advisors recommend full approval of Pfizer Covid treatment Paxlovid for adults 50 and over and other high-risk people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Food and Drug Administration's independent panel of advisors recommended full approval of Pfizer's Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for high-risk adults 16-1 on Thursday, but flagged potentially harmful drug interactions. The FDA first made Paxlovid available in December 2021 for emergency use in high-risk individuals ages 12 and up. More than half of Paxlovid-eligible Medicare and Veterans Affairs patients are on medications that have drug interactions with Paxlovid, according to an FDA review of safety surveillance data. Roughly 74% of Paxlovid prescriptions were from adult primary care practitioners who may not be experienced with managing the possible adverse drug interactions, the FDA review added. To complete a full course of the drug, patients must take three Paxlovid pills twice a day for five days.

☆ A 5,000-mile blanket of seaweed that can be seen from space threatens the beaches of Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This year's seaweed bloom of 'Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt' is one of the largest on record. It is the largest seaweed bloom in the world — weighing approximately 20 million tons — and is visible from outer space. "It's incredible," Brian LaPointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, told NBC News. Workers who were hired by residents remove sargassum seaweed from the Bay of Soliman, north of Tulum, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. "I think I've replaced my climate change anxiety with sargassum anxiety," Patricia Estridge, CEO of Seaweed Generation, told The Guardian.

☆ Marian Croak, who has 200 patents to her name including the technology behind Zoom, became one of the first Black women to be inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Yoonji Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marian Croak became one of the first two Black women to be inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. Her innovations in internet technology have enabled remote work, text donations, and voting for American Idol. Last year, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame — among the highest honors for inventors, including Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright brothers. Croak became one of first two Black women to receive that honor, alongside the late Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist who created a device used during surgery to easily remove cataracts. As one of the first-ever Black women to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Croak recognizes the importance of diversity in a historically homogenous industry.

☆ A 5,000-mile blanket of seaweed that can be seen from space is threatens the beaches of Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Search resuls for: "University of South"

25 mentions found