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☆ A famed Silicon Valley VC who left for the UK says he wouldn't live in San Francisco with kids after men fired gunshots a few blocks from his dinner
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Y Combinator founder Paul Graham said he wouldn't live in San Francisco with kids due to crime. Graham, who lives in the UK, said he was out for dinner when masked men fired gunshots nearby. Robotaxi companies Cruise and Waymo recently got the go-ahead from the city to offer fully driverless rides 24/7 in San Francisco. Graham and the San Francisco Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the incident. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that some of this feeling may be down to the public and "brazen" nature of the crimes.

Persons: Paul Graham, Graham, Y, Waymo, Elon Musk, Nordstrom, Bob Lee Organizations: Morning, San Francisco Police Department, City, San Francisco Chronicle, Old Navy, Foods, New York Times, Times Locations: San Francisco, Francisco's, City and County

☆ Inflation may be cooling — but drivers can’t seem to catch a break
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Another hefty expense is car insurance, up 17.8% from a year ago. Car repairs and car insurance were the second- and third-largest annual price increases, respectively, tracked by the CPI. Paul Baxter, a mechanic who owns Bullet Proof Off-Road & Auto, a car repair shop in Mesa, Arizona, said he’s paying 30% more for car parts compared to before the pandemic. To keep the lights on, he marks up car parts he sells to customers by 20% to 30%, he told CNN. Paul Baxter, who opened his auto shop in 2016, has had to raise prices due to the rising cost of car parts.

Persons: there’s, Hunter Scott, Scott, ” Scott, they’re, Pam Franks, “, haven’t, ” Franks, Roszell, Kristin Brocoff, hasn’t, CarMD, Paul Baxter, Baxter hasn’t, Paul Baxter Baxter, Baxter, who’s, ”, Ted Canty, Canty, he’s, we’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, Navy, Craigslist, Metro, CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI, Farm, Toyota, state’s Department of Insurance, P Global, Auto, FedEx, Social Security, Volkswagen, Security Locations: New York, Arlington , Virginia, Washington , DC, Washington, DC, skyrocket, Louisiana, Pineville , Louisiana, United States, Mesa , Arizona, Wimauma , Florida

☆ Hegering fit for Germany's crunch South Korea clash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"It means a lot to us because as soon as Marina is in training and able to perform properly, that's fantastic value for our team," Voss-Tecklenburg told reporters. Voss-Tecklenburg said she was looking forward to pitting her tactical wits against South Korea's English coach Colin Bell, who has coached three women's club teams in Germany. "They play three completely different systems so it will be interesting to see how they approach this match. "I didn't need to be the clown for them and try and cheer them up," she said. "We want to enjoy the next World Cup match.

Persons: Marina Hegering, Hannah Mckay, Martina Voss, Tecklenburg, Hegering, Sara Doorsoun, " Voss, Colin Bell, Colin, Nick Mulvenney, Kim Coghill Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, South Korea, Marina, Central, South, Voss, Sunday, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Germany, Morocco, Melbourne, Australia, Colombia, Lang, Colombian, Sydney

☆ Banyana Banyana: How South Africa emerged from apartheid to shine on the world stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Alasdair Howorth | For Cnn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The team is now making its second appearance at the Women’s World Cup, but 30 years ago, the “Banyana Banyana” was playing its first ever match as a nation emerging from apartheid. Fans have got behind the women's team which has grown from strength to strength. Progress still neededIn 2018, with former captain Ellis now coaching, Banyana Banyana reached the final of WAFCON, only losing to serial winner Nigeria on penalties. That appearance in the final also qualified the team for its first ever World Cup appearance in 2019 in France. Banyana Banyana can now focus fully on the FIFA Women’s World Cup, knowing that their immediate concerns have been addressed.”South African players celebrate after taking the lead in their Women's World Cup Group G soccer match against Sweden, though the Banyana Bayana ultimately lost 2-1.

Persons: ”, –, “, Dara Carroll, Phill Magakoe, Fran Hilton, Smith, White, Alet Pretorius, Desiree Ellis –, Nelson Mandela, Terry Paine, Paine, Ellis, Desiree Ellis, Anesh Debiky, Ellis wasn’t, weren’t, Hilton, Carroll, we’ve, ” Carroll, Banyana Banyana, SAFPU, Culture Zizi, Bayana, Andrew Cornaga Organizations: CNN, South Africa women’s, soccer, Africa, of Nations, South Africa’s, CNN Sport, South, Getty, Springboks, Swaziland, South African Women Association, of African Football, CAF, FIFA, interprovincial, Soweto Ladies Football Club, Hilton, Southampton, Wits University, Sports , Arts, Culture, Sweden, Wellington Regional Locations: South Africa, Morocco, White, Swaziland, Johannesburg, AFP, “, South Africa’s, England, Cape Town, Nigeria, France, Botswana, SAFA, South, New Zealand, Sweden

☆ Can You Find the Hidden Titles of a Dozen 19th-Century Novels?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( J. D. Biersdorfer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This month’s Title Search highlights 19th-century fiction with a puzzle that challenges you to find the main titles of a dozen novels hidden in a block of text. As you uncover the titles, the answer section at the bottom of the screen grows to create a reading list with more information and links to the books. Many of the titles were serialized in periodicals before being released as complete novels, so the publication dates refer to the final books. And because all these 19th-century works have fallen into the public domain, the answer list links to the free e-book versions online. A new literary quiz lands on the Books page each week and you can match wits with previous puzzles in the Book Review Quiz Bowl archive.

Persons: you’ve, Queen Victoria’s Locations: Britain, Russia, America

☆ Djokovic faces Kyrgios-backed Thompson as Wimbledon organisers pray for sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Aadi Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Defending champion Djokovic faces Thompson on Wednesday, and though the odds will be heavily stacked in the Serbian's favour, his 70th-ranked opponent has an ace up his sleeve, having consulted with Kyrgios ahead of the second-round clash. "Nick's beaten him a couple of times," Thompson told reporters on Monday. It's not every day you play Novak at Wimbledon. Third seed Daniil Medvedev and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will also complete their postponed first-round matches. Women's top-10 seeds Maria Sakkari, Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova will play their opening matches of the tournament.

Persons: Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson's, Djokovic, Thompson, Nick's, Nick doesn't, It's, Novak, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Stan Wawrinka, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos, Iga Swiatek, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Garcia, Maria Sakkari, Petra Kvitova, Barbora, Aadi Nair, Toby Davis Organizations: Wimbledon, Djokovic, All England, Britain's Met, Thomson Locations: Tunisian, French, Bengaluru

☆ AI Voice Generators Are Fueling a Terrifying New Phone Scam
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Eve Upton-Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

As soon as he heard his dad's voice, Eddie, a 19-year-old TikToker, knew something was up. But with AI, the voice on the other end of the phone can now sound eerily like the real deal. Plus, more people are making their real voice available to scammers: McAfee said 53% of adults shared their voice data online weekly. McAfee also found that over one-third of victims lost more than $1,000 in AI scams, with 7% losing more than $5,000. Then, the scammer can just type out whatever they want, and the AI voice will speak what is typed in real time.

Persons: Eddie Cumberbatch, Eddie, —, Eddie's, Eddie didn't, tricksters, scammers, McAfee, aren't, Richard Mendelstein, Stella, panicking, it's, Steve Grobman, Grobman, they've, Neil Gorsuch, Kamala Harris, Ally Armeson, cybercrime, Armeson, Eve Upton, Clark Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, People, FTC, McAfee, Google, Washington Post, Supreme, Cybercrime Support Locations: Chicago, Mexico City, Canadian

☆ Colombian Children Survived on Fruit, Nuts and Wits After Crash in Amazon Jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE, Colombia—The four small children who survived 40 days in the Colombian jungle after the plane they were traveling in crashed made it on a small supply of food scavenged from the luggage as well as nuts and wild fruit found on the forest floor, relatives and the country’s army said.

Organizations: JOSE DEL GUAVIARE Locations: Colombia, Colombian

☆ ECB’s crisis tool works best if it’s never used
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

BRUSSELS, May 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the euro zone bond market, unlimited backstops are the cheapest. The European Central Bank has been trumpeting its ability to buy member states’ debt if it comes under attack from investors. The danger here is that too much divergence would lead the euro zone to fracture, creating a powder keg for crisis. The central bank has been deliberately quiet about exactly when and how it might activate the crisis tool, except to say it will be ready if necessary. They have noted that the euro zone central bank has a new instrument to combat any sharp increase in the differential between yields of euro zone government bonds.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, –, Lagarde, Fabio Panetta, hasn’t, there’s, Nils Redeker, Berlin’s Jacques Delors, Philip Lane, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, European Central Bank, ECB, Italy, Reuters Graphics Reuters, ECB won’t, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Federal, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, ”, European Union, Twitter, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Frankfurt, Italy, Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Silicon, EU, Ukraine

☆ Her Novel Became a Best Seller. The Trouble: The Manuscript Was Stolen.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Amal El-Mohtar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

If this reads as a quite on-the-nose critique of contemporary conversations about race and appropriation, that’s because it is. It is in fact so obvious that it makes one wonder why Kuang uses the device of an unreliable narrator at all. Instead, June’s methodology is consistently to tell the reader her trespasses and offer flimsy justifications for them. These moments suggest the kinds of layers and intrigue the book could have maintained if it weren’t so committed to showing its hand. “Yellowface” is a kind of Art Monster story, but one that can’t allow room for ambiguity or revelation without rushing in to fill that space.

☆ Chris Strachwitz, Who Dug Up the Roots of American Music, Dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Alex Traub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Strachwitz (pronounced STRACK-wits) specialized in music passed down over generations — cotton-field music, orange-orchard music, mountain music, bayou music, barroom music, porch music. The songs came not only from before the era of the music industry but even from before the existence of mass culture itself. Mr. Strachwitz was the founder of Arhoolie Records (the name comes from a term for field hollers). In addition to recruiting his own artists, he did his own field recordings, music editing, production, liner notes, advertising and sales. In the company’s early years, he affixed the labels to the records and mailed them himself.

[1/4] Paraguayan presidential candidate Santiago Pena from the ruling Colorado Party gestures next to his wife Leticia Ocampos at the party headquarters as he and his running mate Pedro Alliana won Paraguay's presidential race, according to the preliminary official count, in Asuncion, Paraguay April 30, 2023. Still, Pena will be able to keep a cool head amid the tumult, his supporters say. "I think what characterizes him is that he has infinite tranquility," said Lea Gimenez, who served as Pena's deputy when he was finance minister and was later finance minister herself. Throughout the campaign the Colorado Party candidate has vowed to extend Paraguay's decades-long diplomatic relations with Taiwan, despite pressures to open up to China and its huge consumer demand for soybeans and beef. He became finance minister in 2015.

☆ A tour guide recalls the terrifying moment he was swallowed by a hippo and had his arm crushed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Paul Templer barely survived a hippo attack after a pod capsized his group's canoe when he was 28. He found himself inside a hippo's mouth three times and was swallowed up to his waist twice. "It was as if I had suddenly gone blind and deaf," Templer told The Guardian in 2013. Templer survived being in the hippo's mouth three timesA hippo is shown in Botswana. A third time, Templer found himself inside the hippo's mouth, this time with arms and legs dangling either side of its mouth.

☆ Hundreds of foreign soldiers to help train Ukrainian troops in Germany, general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Marlow's Special Training Command (STC) is part of a European Union military mission set up in November to train up to 30,000 Ukrainian troops in various skills to help Kyiv fight off Russia's year-old invasion. Courses in various European countries range from basic training to the operation of modern battle tanks such as the Leopard 2, air defence systems, rocket launchers and howitzers. Poland is another major training hub while Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Italy are also running courses. Beyond the EU mission, U.S. and British troops are training Ukrainian troops in Europe as well. Marlow said he was impressed by the quick wits, skills and commitment of the Ukrainian troops.

☆ Reasons Plane Travel, Airline Customer Service, Airports Are so Terrible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Bartie Scott | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It's almost impossible to imagine a time when air travel was pleasant, much less enjoyable. Lost baggage, overbooked flights, outdated equipment, hidden fees, and disorganized staffing have fliers at their wits' end; consumer complaints about airline service have risen by 300% from pre-pandemic levels. Many of these measures had been put in place to improve safety following some rattling accidents in the early days of commercial air travel. So in 1978, at the urging of the economist and "inflation czar" Alfred Kahn, President Jimmy Carter enacted the Airline Deregulation Act. He added that "airline service, by any standard, has become unacceptable."

☆ VCs have swapped out tennis rackets and golf clubs for pickleball paddles. Here's why the sport has become one of the hottest hobbies in Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming America's fastest-growing sport. From building relationships to escaping stress, here's why VCs are obsessed with the sport. In the background, pop music floated through the air as the group prepared for a trying battle of wits and athletic prowess — pickleball. Once reserved for the quiet neighborhoods of suburbs and 55-plus retirement communities, pickleball has exploded onto the tech and VC scene in recent years, investors say. A networking toolAnd other aspects of the sport make it an ideal pick for a hobby or networking tool, VCs added.

☆ Sister Patricia Daly Stood Up to CEOs at Shareholder Meetings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At shareholder meetings, she was the stinging nun. For more than four decades, Sister Patricia Daly pursued her chosen vocation: shareholder activist and scourge of corporate CEOs. A member of the Roman Catholic Sisters of St. Dominic congregation of Caldwell, N.J., she worked with religious shareholder groups to prod companies to take action on issues including environmental protection and human trafficking. She matched wits with General Electric Co. then-Chief Executive Jack Welch at a shareholder meeting in 1998, when she urged GE to issue warnings about the risks of eating fish contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from its plants.

☆ I quit my IT job to install lights year-round. It's not easy but making people's days is worth it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Melanie Carden | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Doran Dal Pra first installed holiday lights in 2018 after a friend proposed the business idea. The holiday lights have to go up — snow or no snow. We're not building rockets; we're hanging holiday lights, which is something almost any homeowner can do. The New England Holiday Lighting CompanyThere's this home for older adults that goes bananas with its holiday lights each year. The New England Holiday Lighting CompanyI was on a ladder and pulling an extension cord through some branches when it got caught.

☆ 'A symbol of holiday dread': Stores pick beloved holiday classic songs to put shoppers in a jolly mood - but retail workers so are over it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In the final months of the year, some retail workers start dreading the holiday playlists they hear on the job. In a Change.org petition, one person compares Mariah Carey's 'All I want For Christmas Is You' to torture. Music playlists are carefully created by musicologists to put shoppers in the 'perfect mood,' Bloomberg reports. But it's not just Carey's catchy classic that has retail workers at their wits' end. Streaming companies like SiriusXM and Pandora have teams dedicated to creating store playlists, and brands use musicologists to choose songs that strike "a perfect mood for customers," Bloomberg reported.

Buying out the Turquoise Hill minority shareholders is Stausholm’s other initiative. Imagine minority shareholders vote down the offer, but Rio then has Turquoise Hill issue fresh equity. With minimal net debt, the miner had enough cash to buy more Turquoise Hill equity. Rio shareholders soon will see just how well Stausholm plays. Pentwater Capital Management and SailingStone Capital Partners, which own respective 15.2% and 2.2% stakes in Canada-based Turquoise Hill, have resisted the offers.

☆ Exercise may increase the effectiveness of your Covid-19 vaccine, a new study found: Here's how to get the most benefit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Having the most protection from severe outcomes following Covid-19 infection is largely attributed to vaccination. But, the shot's effectiveness may be enhanced by physical activity, a new study found. They completed at least 150 minutes, or two and a half hours, of physical activity each week. Intensity: Their physical activity was moderate intensity, which means their heart rate was between 70% or 79% of their maximum heart rate while exercising. Participants within this group were 2.8 times less likely to develop severe outcomes from Covid-19 than people who rarely exercise.

☆ The Tactical Battle of Wits That Will Decide U.S.-Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Joshua Robinson | Jonathan Clegg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DOHA, Qatar—The most consequential U.S. men’s national team game in two decades is one coach Gregg Berhalter has been preparing for his entire career. He had no idea when he moved to Holland as a 21-year-old that he would one day face the Netherlands for a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals. But on Saturday, in a win-or-go-home match at Khalifa International Stadium, the soccer philosophy he most admires will be turned against him. It represents the biggest test so far of Berhalter’s skills as an in-game manager, pitting him against one of the great tacticians of the modern game, a wily 71-year-old named Louis van Gaal.

☆ Advertisers crack jokes about the end times and turnip lattes as inflation bites
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN Business —A woman maneuvers her car onto a street called “Wits’ End.” The sky is an ominous red, and strange things are happening. “Every advertiser is aware the customers they’re talking to are feeling cost of living pressures,” said Matt Bourn, director of communications for the Advertising Association, a UK industry group. In a recent Dunelm ad, a woman aims to cozy up her home after navigating a topsy-turvy drive up a street called Wits' End. “We are seeing brands who want to make sure they’re keeping consumers during this time,” said Jeanine Poggi, editor of Ad Age. Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesBut companies will be expected to display an awareness about the pervading economic anxiety that’s affecting their customers.

But this focus obscures what is happening on the ground, every day: Local and national public health workers and epidemiologists, or “disease detectives,” around the world are stopping outbreaks in their tracks and preventing epidemics. The case studies show what is possible when local, state and national communities mobilize a whole-of-society effort to prevent epidemics. When local efforts are supported by national and local government, we can stop and prevent epidemics. Another lesson is the substantial return on investment we can realize by prioritizing and funding preparedness efforts. Finally, there is a crucial role that coordination among local, state and federal agencies plays in epidemic prevention.

☆ 'Enola Holmes 2' review: Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill return in a new adventure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The game is afoot (again) in “Enola Holmes 2,” a wonderful showcase for Millie Bobby Brown that this time manages to work the character’s famous brother, Sherlock, more organically into the mix. “Enola Holmes 2” contains a considerable amount of action – a bit too much, frankly, given the more cerebral aspects of the character. Sherlock Holmes has gone through numerous iterations through the years, evidence of the character’s durability while underscoring how difficult it is to bring much new to Baker Street. Either way, the roots of the main character’s name notwithstanding, it’s unlikely Netflix will want to leave Enola alone for long. “Enola Holmes 2” premieres November 4 on Netflix.

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