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☆ An 800-year-old Belgian city is at the forefront of tech innovation, using 5G to power a smarter city
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Chris Stokel-Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's integrating 5G into city services, such as energy management, to build a smarter city. The project also includes affordable or free 5G internet access for residents, depending on needs. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Belgian city of Wavre has had its city status since 1222. It will also enable a peer-to-peer energy-sharing model that helps businesses and organizations share energy depending on needs. The project's participants have said the CONNECTOW project may transform Wavre into a fully smart city by 2030.

Persons: Anne Masson, Masson Organizations: European Union, CONNECTOW, 5G Locations: Wavre, Belgium, Belgian

U.S. Capitol police stand outside the Capitol building as the Senate votes on debt ceiling legislation to avoid a historic default at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2023. Fitch downgraded the United States to AA+ from AAA, citing fiscal deterioration over the next three years and repeated down-the-wire debt ceiling negotiations that threaten the government’s ability to pay its bills. With the downgrade it becomes the second major rating agency after Standard & Poor’s to strip the United States of its triple-A rating. Investors use credit ratings to assess the risk profile of companies and governments when they raise financing in the debt capital markets. Other analysts had pointed to the risk that another downgrade by a major rating agency could affect investment portfolios that hold top-rated securities.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Fitch, Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, Keith Lerner, Raymond James, Ed Mills, Mohamed El, Davide Barbuscia, Jyoti Narayan, Lewis Krauskopf, Saeed Azhar, Megan Davies, Arun Koyyur, David Gregoiro, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Capitol, U.S, REUTERS, White, AAA, Standard, Democratic, Republican, Treasury, Advisory Services, ” Treasury, Fitch, AA, Queens ' College, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, States, United States, Atlanta, New York, Bengaluru

☆ A former Anheuser-Busch exec has become one of the Bud Light maker's fiercest critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Anson Frericks, a former executive at Anheuser-Busch, has criticized how the company has handled the backlash against Bud Light. Now, Anheuser-Busch has gotten involved with issues that he's been fighting against, Frericks told Insider. Anheuser-Busch US CEO Brendan Whitworth hasn't explicitly defended the Bud Light partnership with influencer Dylan Mulaney, nor has he called it a mistake. The dip in Bud Light sales persisted through the end of June, USA Today reported. In a TikTok video posted at the end of June, Mulvaney alleged that Bud Light never reached out to her following the onslaught of hate she received.

Persons: Anson Frericks, Bud Light, Bud, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Brendan Whitworth, Mulvaney, Whitworth, Frericks, he's, Busch, He's, Vivek Ramaswamy, Marc Benoiff, Brendan Whitworth hasn't, influencer Dylan Mulaney, Getty, LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ, Dylan Mulvaney Organizations: Anheuser, Busch, Service, Whitworth, CBS, Newsweek, Street, Fox News, Daily Mail, Fox, Bud, MAG, AFP, Pride Month, Human, USA Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Opinion | Why This Economist Wants to Give Every Poor Child $50,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +51 min

What you’ve got to do to get more money from wealth is just let your money go out there and make money on its own. darrick hamiltonYeah, the extent to which our tax code incentivizes wealth and capital growth, it centers on existing wealth and capital growth. $50,000 to the most wealth-poor person seems like a big number, but we need to put that number in context. In other words, wealth begets more wealth, and wealth builds upon itself. ezra kleinI think that’s a great place to end, so I’ll ask our final question.

Persons: ezra klein, we’ve, We’ve, Darrick Hamilton, Biden Sanders, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Ayanna Pressley, darrick hamilton, hamilton, you’re, ezra klein There’s, you’ve, that’s, Thomas Piketty’s, it’s, there’s, ezra klein I’m, —, ezra klein We’ve, Bill Gates, Elon, Ezra, Ira Katznelson, Crow, Bill, hasn’t, who’s, I’ve, they’re, ezra klein Let’s, darrick hamilton Naomi Zewde, wouldn’t, Let’s, darrick hamilton Ezra, darrick hamilton I’m, Arthur Lewis, Natalie Diaz, ” Natalie, ezra klein Darrick Hamilton Organizations: The New School, Biden, Task Force, Marshall, Black, Washington D.C, Federal Government, SEED, Oklahoma, Social, Social Security Locations: Hamilton, United States, Prosperity, America, Europe, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Connecticut, Washington, —, hamilton

☆ New York Mayor Eric Adams to bus asylum seekers upstate, much like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussed asylum seekers to New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Eric Adams is sending asylum seekers in New York City to upstate New York, drawing criticism from local officials. Greg Abbott for sending migrants from Texas to New York City. In doing so, Adams appears to be passing asylum seekers off – just as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did when he had migrants bussed from his state to New York, the Associated Press reported. In the last year, some 60,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City, the mayor's office said in Friday's press release.

New York CNN —The jury in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement case — about whether Sheeran’s smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” — deliberated for about five minutes Wednesday evening before the judge sent jury members home. If the jury decides Sheeran is liable for copyright infringement, the trial will move on to the second phase to determine damages. The family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye, has accused Sheeran of copying the 1973 hit. Earlier, an attorney representing the family suing Sheeran asked the jury Wednesday not to be “blinded by the defendant’s celebrity.”“Mr. Sheeran is counting on you to be very, very overwhelmed by his commercial success,” attorney Keisha Rice said in her closing argument Wednesday.

New York CNN —A copyright infringement case against British pop artist Ed Sheeran is set to kick off this week, with the potential to further complicate the legal landscape for songwriters. The jury was selected Monday in the case against Sheeran, who is accused of copying the 1973 soul hit “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song with Marvin Gaye. The trial concerns Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud,” which won the 2016 Grammy award for song of the year. Sheeran, meanwhile, has faced previous legal battles over his music and won. After his successful 2022 legal battle, Sheeran posted a video to his Instagram voicing his concern over the recent wave of music copyright cases.

☆ The incredible, Earth-saving electric bike is having a moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

And while electric cars get all the hype, a game-changing solution to getting around without warming the planet has flourished right under our noses. Electric cars are important, too, but they're expensive and far off for a lot of drivers, MacArthur said. The most popular electric vehicles in the US don't have a Tesla logoWhile electric cars get all the attention, e-bikes have for years been the best-selling electric vehicles in the US. Last year, Americans bought just over 800,000 electric cars, according to Kelley Blue Book, a record. Since e-bikes are much cheaper than electric cars, "you can get them into the hands of consumers faster," she said.

☆ China's growing influence threatens to undermine global human rights, new research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Campaigners stand opposite the Chinese embassy in London to protest human rights violations by the Chinese government against its Uyghur community. Mark Kerrison | In Pictures | Getty ImagesChina's growing global influence poses a serious threat to international human rights, according to a new report, which suggests that the United Nations Human Rights Council — the body established to safeguard such international protections — is failing to counter the risks. Beijing's increasingly active role in the international human rights system comes at a precarious period of global democratic deterioration. Sofia Nazalya senior human rights analyst at Verisk MaplecroftThe research, part of the firm's wider annual Human Rights Outlook, is based on quantitative data from sources including the U.N., the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch, as well as Verisk Maplecroft's internal qualitative analysis. More than half of members also ranked similarly poorly across the three other metrics the research deemed essential for upholding humanitarian protections: labor rights, human security and human development.

☆ Instant view: Incoming BOJ chief Ueda says current low rates appropriate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Incoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday it was appropriate to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy as inflation has yet to sustainably and steadily meet the central bank's 2% target. "I think he's intentionally doing that, so that the market will calm down a little bit about policy change expectations." "I don't think Ueda has the same stance as (Haruhiko) Kuroda but it is not clear whether Ueda would tweak the BOJ policy as the market expected." CHARU CHANANA, MARKET STRATEGIST, SAXO MARKETS, SINGAPORE"No surprises there, we expected Ueda to take it slow and he's starting off echoing Kuroda's views. He has been out of touch with the BOJ policy making since 2005 and will take time even if he was to consider policy normalisation at some stage."

☆ Biggest security benefits, risks with new Meta, Twitter verified identity subscriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

As Twitter and Meta Platforms move to paid subscriptions for social media identity verification and security, the battle to stay safe online continues. With social engineering and phishing the primary sources of social media account compromise, it's unlikely verified accounts will actually be more secure. "Twitter is only eliminating the SMS-based two-factor authentication capability, and does offer two additional methods for two-factor authentication that are stronger and more reliable than SMS-based authentication," Ramzan said. When signing on for a social media account, try to give away as little personal information as possible, Buzzard said. Aura recommends social media users disable third-party apps that are connected to their social media accounts.

☆ I helped create a 'cyber army' to help Ukraine defeat Russia. We can't fight with guns, but we can fight with our laptops.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Yegor Aushev appealed for volunteers for a "cyber army" to help Ukraine defeat Russia. Within the first few days of the war, we separated the cyber army into groups of between 7 to 10 people. Our call for decentralized cyber army volunteers is probably what inspired others to create their own groups, such as Ukraine's IT army, formed a few days later by the minister of digitization, Mykhailo Fedorov. Another project involved using tech to recognize who was in photos left by Russian soldiers in Bucha near Kyiv. If it was a couple hundred Russian SIMs, of course it's Russian soldiers and not tourists.

☆ John Fetterman's picture-taking, buddy-making, convention-breaking first month on Capitol Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Delegation-mate Sen. Bob Casey told Insider that Fetterman is “off to a great start.”Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Insider spoke to Fetterman's colleagues, his staff, and congressional reporters about the newcomer's first month in Washington, and what to expect from him as Congress gets rolling. "I know Sen. Fetterman is interested in nutrition, and I share his concerns there, so I look forward to collaborating to get things done for folks in Pennsylvania and Vermont," Welch said. Food issues definitely fall under their purview as newly minted members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. 'Off to a great start'Sen. Casey told Insider that Fetterman has already hit the ground running.

☆ ChatGPT is a mind-blowing 'game changer' that feels like magic, says Coursera CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Aaron Mok | Cadie Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said that ChatGPT is a mind-blowing "game changer," per Insider. Maggioncalda said that he uses ChatGPT daily and plans on adding it to the firm's course catalog. Maggioncalda plans on integrating ChatGPT into Coursera's course catalog that will likely roll out this year, according to a spokesperson at Coursera. Maggioncalda's endorsement comes as companies experiment with AI tools, including ChatGPT, to find ways to integrate AI capabilities into their products and services. Some people have used ChatGPT to generate Mozart-inspired piano music, write and illustrate a children's book in 72 hours, and even come up with responses to dating app matches.

☆ Piers Morgan's Twitter account was flooded with offensive posts aimed at Ed Sheeran and Queen Elizabeth II after his account was seemingly hacked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Piers Morgan's Twitter account was flooded with offensive posts after his account was seemingly hacked. In one of the posts, Morgan's account announced that Andrew Tate had been shot dead in Dubai. By 9 a.m. EST, the tweets had disappeared and Morgan's Twitter account had been cleared of its profile and banner photo. Another tweet posted from the account said: "Fuck the Queen," seemingly in reference to the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II. Morgan's Twitter hack follows another high-profile social-media hack in the UK.

☆ Companies Strengthen Collections, Aim to Get Cash in the Door as Threat of Downturn Looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Companies are stepping up efforts to collect on their bills and get cash in the door, aiming to limit future write-offs ahead of a potential downturn. The company’s days of sales outstanding during the latest quarter declined to 67.3 days from 70.4 days during the prior period, according to S&P. Early in the pandemic, some companies extended payment terms to customers that needed funds to shore up liquidity to help navigate temporary lockdown measures. Everbridge said it aims to provide customers with payment terms that are mutually beneficial. ServiceNow’s days of sales outstanding during the third quarter fell to 44 days from 47.4 days a year earlier, according to S&P.

Hacking and repressionAfter Nika went missing, her aunt and other protesters told CNN that her popular Instagram and Telegram accounts had been disabled. On October 12, two of Nika’s friends noticed her Telegram account briefly back online, they told CNN. As with Negin’s case, the reactivation of Nika’s accounts raises questions about whether Iranian authorities were responsible for accessing her social media profiles, allegedly to phish other protesters or compromise her after her death. “Usually what happens is, they do the target phone number, then they send a login request to Telegram,” Rashidi told CNN. However, references in Iranian state media indicate authorities did access Nika’s Instagram account and direct messages, stating they had permission from the judiciary to access them.

☆ Morocco rewrite Africa's World Cup history
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cameroon upset holders Argentina in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup in Italy and went on to the quarter-finals while Senegal did the same to France when they began the defence of their title in 2002. Of the 160 matches played by African sides at the World Cup, only 37 have been won for a success rate below 25%. Most of Africa was still under colonial rule when the World Cup resumed after the Second World War but as countries gained independence, so CAF membership increased and Africa began to flex some muscle. HANDBALLThat achievement held out the promise that Africa would not take long to produce a World Cup winner, but only Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 were able to make the last eight. It got even worse in Russia in 2018 when no African teams made it to the last 16, sparking serious reflection about the direction of the game on the continent.

Incoming calls on your Android phone that inexplicably go straight to voicemail without ringing is a mundane — yet frustrating — issue. How to troubleshoot your Android when incoming calls go straight to voicemailHere are six things to troubleshoot when your calls go straight to voicemail — and the one thing you should do when nothing else works. Make sure the toggles in the Incoming calls section – All incoming calls and All incoming calls when roaming – are turned off. Turn off "All incoming calls" and "All incoming calls when roaming." If your coverage is very weak, incoming calls can go straight to voicemail.

☆ Yale sued over 'systemic discrimination' against students with mental health disabilities
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Yale University is being sued over what students say is "systemic discrimination" against students with mental health disabilities. The officials never discussed alternate accommodations with her that would have allowed her to stay at Yale while she sought mental health treatment, the lawsuit says. The advocacy group, which is led by Yale alumni and current students, fights for better mental health accommodations at the school. Its policies are harshest "on students with mental health disabilities from less privileged backgrounds, including students of color, students from poor families or rural areas, and international students," it says. "The need for student mental health and wellness support continues to increase, and Yale remains committed to responding to this need," Peter Salovey said.

☆ Indonesia human rights body blames use of tear gas for soccer stampede
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Indonesian police firing tear gas was the main trigger for a deadly soccer stampede at a stadium in East Java last month, the country's human rights commission found in a report on the incident released on Wednesday. Officials from the human rights commission (Komnas HAM) said 135 people had died in the stampede, mostly from asphyxiation, after the match at Kanjuruhan stadium on Oct. 1. Indonesian authorities and the Indonesian football Association (PSSI) have faced questions and criticism in recent weeks over why police fired tear gas inside the stadium, a crowd control measure banned by world soccer governing body FIFA. Komnas HAM commissioners specified seven violations human rights in one of the world's worst stadium disasters, including the excessive use of force and violation of children's rights. Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Ananda Teresia; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BP’s profit more than doubles as calls for windfall taxes grow louder
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The UK-based energy company posted underlying profit of $8.15 billion in the July to September period, compared with $3.3 billion a year ago. BP (BP)’s earnings were boosted by “exceptional” results in its gas trading business, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Also last week, America’s largest oil company, ExxonMobil set a profit record for the second straight quarter, while Chevron (CVX) and French oil company Total (TOT)Energies posted similarly huge increases. The unprecedented set of earnings is fueling renewed calls in Britain and the United States for windfall taxes on energy companies to help households that are struggling to pay rising bills. EU governments, on the other hand, agreed a windfall tax in September that they hope will raise $140 billion.

☆ Cryptoverse: British pound fiasco boosts bitcoin's hedge appeal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Oct 25 (Reuters) - As a developed nation, you know your currency's in a spot of bother when investors start to hedge with bitcoin. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"It was the first time we've seen such a huge increase in (bitcoin) volumes for the currency of a developed country," said Ed Hindi, chief investment officer at Tyr Capital. In fact, over the past month of market ructions, U.S. Treasuries have been equally or more volatile than bitcoin, according to Refinitiv data. The pound volumes echoed similar instances of investors jumping into bitcoin when fiat money came under pressure, including in Russia and Ukraine this year. Some crypto watchers say the September surge was nonetheless a reflection of bitcoin's enduring appeal as an asset outside mainstream finance.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence Stacey Abrams lobbied for MLB All-Star Game to be moved out of Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Georgia Republicans, including Kemp, have tied Abrams to the MLB’s decision, but there is no evidence that Abrams advocated for the All-Star Game to be moved out of the state. Abrams publicly expressed her disagreement with pulling the game from Georgia before and after the MLB’s decision. Following the passage of the bill, the MLB decided to relocate the All-Star Game out of Cobb County in Atlanta on April 2, 2021 (here). Kemp said in a July 2021 campaign ad titled “Not Backing Down” that “Abrams and the liberal mob forced the All-Star Game to move” (here). There is no evidence that Stacey Abrams lobbied for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game to be relocated or that she supported the boycott in Atlanta.

Share this -Link copiedFloridians are livestreaming Hurricane Ian on TikTok Floridians are giving TikTok users a front-row seat to Hurricane Ian. Storm surge map, they didn’t have a color for 12 to 15 feet," he said about the historic levels of storm surge expected near where Ian is expected to make landfall. Share this -Link copiedA view of Hurricane Ian from the International Space Station A view of Hurricane Ian from the International Space Station, on Monday. Share this -Link copiedSatellite images show Hurricane Ian approaching Florida Hurricane Ian over the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday. Share this -Link copiedIan expected to strengthen until making landfall, officials say Hurricane Ian is still forecast to strengthen until the hurricane makes landfall in Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.

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