DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ How to take care of suede
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Bethany Heitman | Bethany Heitman Is A Contributing Editor At Nbc Select. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Experts say that taking care of suede is easier than you might think — as long as you know what to do. SKIP AHEAD How to protect suede | How to clean suede | When to take your suede to a professional cleanerHow to protect suedeThe first step to caring for suede is to learn how to protect it. Suede protector sprays can easily be found at retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target and must be reapplied regularly to maintain effectiveness. Brushing suede is good for maintenance, but if you spot a stain on your suede, you’ll need to go a step further. Best suede brushesBest suede erasersWhen to take your suede to a professionalOops — you got caught in a rainstorm with your suede boots on or spilled a cup of coffee on your favorite suede armchair.

Persons: suede, it’s, Eric Neuner, Suede, ”, Simon Elliott, They’re, Elliott, Salvador Villarreal, “, Salvador, Bethany Heitman, TikTok Organizations: suede, Walmart, Target, NBC, Clifton, Salvador Villarreal, Facebook, Twitter Locations: San Diego , California

☆ I paid for my engagement ring, and my husband picked out my wedding dress. We've always gone against gender norms.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Wendi Gordon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

From the beginning, nothing about my relationship with my husband, Steve, was "normal." My husband didn't propose to me, and I didn't propose to him; there was just a mutual assumption that we would get married and spend the rest of our lives together. Our wedding was uniqueWe first went to a local jewelry store to buy my engagement ring and our wedding bands. We didn't worship together and rarely met the members of each other's churches. We're ignoring social norms like we always have because it always worked for us.

Persons: Steve, didn't, we've Organizations: Service, Business, Lutheran Theological Seminary Locations: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, New Orleans, Mississippi, I've

☆ Walmart is taking dollar stores’ customers
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-04 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Dollar Tree also owns the long-struggling Family Dollar chain. While dollar stores once expanded to reach a growing number of financially strapped Americans, they underestimated just how financially strapped many Americans would become. “They missed the fact in tough times the consumer would be looking for consumables.”Meanwhile, Dollar Tree has been weighed down by its purchase of Family Dollar. Earlier this year, Dollar Tree announced that Family Dollar will close more than 900 stores, and it subsequently said it will explore a sale or spinoff of Family Dollar. In previous times of financial stress, Dollar General has seen middle-income and slightly more affluent households trade down into Dollar General to save money.

Persons: Michael Lasser, —, Todd Vasos, Vasos, Mike Creedon, aren’t, “ They’re, ” David D’Arezzo, “, ” Neil Saunders, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Walmart, UBS, Dollar General, Dollar, CNN, Target Locations: New York

☆ Airplane engines are in short supply. The business of fixing older ones is booming
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-04 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

It's all piling up, and aircraft engine shops around the world are overflowing. American Airlines ' solution is to do more of the work itself. "We just have one customer and that's American Airlines doing our work," American's chief operating officer, David Seymour, said. GE Aerospace brought in $11.7 billion from engine maintenance, repairs and overhaul in the first half of 2024, making up 65% of its revenue. An airplane engine at American Airlines' test cell in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Persons: David Seymour, Tulsa , Oklahoma Erin Black, It's, France's Safran, Seymour, Leslie Josephs, Thomas Toepfer, Kevin Michaels, Martin Gauss, Pratt, that's, Advisory's, Erin Black, Michaels Organizations: Boeing, Airbus, Alton Aviation Consultancy, GE Aerospace, GE, Pratt & Whitney, Royce, American Airlines, Airlines, CFM, CNBC, Tulsa International Airport, American, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines Locations: TULSA, Okla, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Tulsa, American's, Riga, Latvia

☆ 5 people diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease in New Hampshire after possible exposure from cooling tower
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Five people have developed Legionnaires' disease following possible exposure to contaminated water droplets from a cooling tower in downtown Lincoln, New Hampshire, state health officials say. Testing by the DHHS and the state Department of Environmental Services confirmed the presence of Legionella bacteria contaminating the cooling tower. Four of the five people diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease were initially hospitalized and later discharged. “RiverWalk is partnering with DHHS to address the contamination, with additional test results for the cooling tower expected next week,” the release said. However, it can cause a more serious pneumonia called Legionnaires' disease, “which can be fatal if left untreated,” the release said.

Persons: DHHS, Renee Blood, don’t, Benjamin Chan, “, ” Organizations: New Hampshire’s Department of Health, Human Services, of Environmental Services, NBC, RiverWalk Resort, NBC Boston, Centers for Disease Control, CDC Locations: Lincoln , New Hampshire, Lincoln, New

☆ How this US couple scored rare Italy self-employment visas
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

For those who want to move but need to work the options are extremely limited – working visas to Italy are like gold dust. “We wanted a fresh start, a place where we could enjoy more pleasure in life and quality time,” says Walker. Abandoning the American dreamBowers and Walker wanted to make a change before they got older. Back to the countryTopped by the Orsini castle, Soriano nel Cimino is in the Tuscia area of Italy, north of Rome. The couple have also started a new business, organizing itineraries for visitors craving to discover bucolic Italy.

Persons: we’ll, Stanley Tucci, Vita, Zeneba Bowers, Matt Walker, Soriano nel Cimino, Bowers, “, ”, Walker, –, Orsini, Davide Seddio, it’s Organizations: CNN, intel, Nashville Symphony, Getty Locations: Italy, Tennessee, Rome, Ireland, mull, Italian, Detroit, Tuscia, Viterbo, Walker, Nashville

☆ Customers didn’t stop spending. Companies stopped serving
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It’s called a sector rotation, and it happens all the time as part of the natural course of a business cycle. The US economy is still pretty strong, growing at an annualized rate close to 3% in the most recent quarter. But it’s not as if Americans have stopped going to restaurants — they’re just being a bit more discerning when they do. Instead, they’re going to Texas Roadhouse, where they can sit down and have some service with their meal. Or they’re swinging through Chipotle, which saw sales shoot up 11% last quarter at stores open at least a year.

Persons: CNN Business ’, they’ve, that’s, it’s, they’re, ”, Mark Hoplamazian, Marriott’s, Disney, Hugh Johnston, — they’ve, Pete Werner, wouldn’t Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Wall, Texas, Disney, CNN, Bloomberg Locations: New York, —, Texas

☆ The AI world's most valuable resource is running out, and it's scrambling to find an alternative: 'fake' data
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has argued that AI models should eventually produce synthetic data good enough to train themselves effectively. As the well of usable human-generated data dries up, more companies look into using synthetic data. Rather than being pulled from the real world, synthetic data is generated by AI systems that have been trained on real-world data. Synthetic data may help offer some effective "countertuning" to the biases produced by real-world data, too. 'Habsburg AI'While the AI industry found some advantages in synthetic data, it faces serious issues it can't afford to ignore, such as fears synthetic data can wreck AI models.

Persons: —, that's, Sam Altman, Gary Marcus, It's, Nathan Lambert, Gretel, SynthLabs, Meta, Timnit Gebru, Margaret Mitchell, LLMs, Sadowski, Alexandr Wang, AlphaGeometry, Marcus Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Oxford, Gartner, New York University, Allen Institute, AI, Nvidia, Meta's, Anadolu, Getty, Rush, Microsoft, Monash University Locations: Cambridge, Habsburg

☆ The Nonsense Over Secondhand Fentanyl Overdoses Must End - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( John Woller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

On a crisp December morning in my small Southern hometown, my mother found my brother unresponsive in his bed. When law enforcement officers arrived, they performed testing to confirm fentanyl overdose was the cause of death. When the test turned positive, they informed my parents that it was unsafe to enter my brother’s room. It was unsafe for us to breathe the air in the room of someone who died “that way,” we were told. And as a physician who cares for patients who use fentanyl, I knew these claims were incorrect.

Persons: overdosed Locations: Southern

☆ Blue-collar entrepreneurs say it's getting harder to turn a profit as competition for 'sweaty startups' heats up
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Sweaty startups are blue-collar businesses, often in unglamorous or laborious fields like septic services, car washes, or lawn care. It's what your grandparents would've just called a small business, but it was a tongue-in-cheek answer to the Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurship being glorified in culture at that time. Still, some small businesses look to private equity to scale their businesses in different markets, even if that means overhauling operations in some cases. "Small businesses partner with private-equity firms because they provide access to capital and organizational support to help companies grow," Drew Maloney, the council's president and CEO, told BI. Alejandro FlorezBoth of his parents were janitors, and when he was a senior in high school he started a small cleaning company that he grew by knocking on doors and cold-calling.

Persons: —, Patrick Hocker, Hocker, he'd, Nick Huber, would've, Huber, he's, Drew Maloney, Stan Chen, Chen, Alejandro Florez, Florez, Chris Salisbury, BuzzFeed — Salisbury, Salisbury Organizations: Service, Business, Bluebird Pest Solutions, Pest, Alpine Investors, American Investment Council, BlackRock, America Locations: Virginia, Pest, Boston, San Francisco, America, Bradenton , Florida, Jacksonville, Orlando, nuDoors, Brooklyn , New York

☆ An ex-'Below Deck Med' cast member now crews a private luxury yacht in the Bahamas with her boyfriend. They work 16-hour days, but say it's the best hospitality job they've ever had.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementLong days for the two-men crewAn interior view of the Sailing Location yacht. Lily Davison and Nik Dorward wear multiple hats on their trips, doing everything from cooking to acting as tour guides. Tops other hospitality jobsA coconut drink served on board Sailing Location. AdvertisementAnd they haven't had any nightmare guests, Davison said, unlike when she was on "Below Deck Med." Nik Dorward and Lily Davison aboard the Sailing Location yacht.

Persons: —, Lily Davison, Nik Dorward, Davison, It's, Dorward, Pablo Escobar's, James Bond's, they've Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Bahamas, Nassau , New Providence, Norman's, Staniel Cay, Florida

☆ I'm a professional declutterer. Cleaning out your garage is a big project — here are 5 tips to finally tackle it for good.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Julia Williamson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Summer is here, and it's time to take on those big projects you've been avoiding all year. If one of those is cleaning out the garage, here are some tips to keep it from taking all summer and ruining your familial relationships. If most of the things in your garage are being banished from the premises, will you need help hauling them? AdvertisementYou'll likely find things that need repairing, things you want to donate to specific people or organizations, and things that need to be returned to their original owners. Meaning that you get all the big stuff moved out, the majority of the little stuff organized and put away, but then leave the last bit for… never?

Persons: —, you've, revel Organizations: Service

☆ Burger King temporarily closed a restaurant in New York after a woman said her 4-year-old's meal was smeared with blood
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A woman said that her four-year-old's meal from a Burger King in New York was smeared with blood. At first, her daughter had thought it was ketchup on the burger, she said in a viral TikTok. Burger King said it temporarily closed the restaurant in New York for deep cleaning and staff retraining. AdvertisementBurger King temporarily closed a restaurant in New York for deep cleaning after a TikTok video seemingly showing a meal smeared with blood went viral. The video shows blood splattered on the burger wrapper, while photos included in the Post's article show blood on the burger itself.

Persons: Burger King, —, Burger, Tiffany Floyd, Floyd Organizations: Burger, Service, The New York, Business Locations: New York, Burger, Getzville, Buffalo

☆ We rented our house on Airbnb for 15 years. It was so much work that we had to stop.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Dana Mcmahan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Renting your home to strangers for money wasn't even on the horizon when my husband and I bought our first house almost 20 years ago. I thought renting our house to race-goers would be an easy way to make a quick paycheck. We were early Airbnb adoptersIt didn't go well at first, though, with our first guests writing us a bad check. Courtesy of the auhorAlthough it's commonplace now, in those early days, friends thought we'd lost it when we let strangers stay in our house. A beautiful house that just needed some work, with a third floor guest suite and a carriage house, it had tons of potential as a short-term rental rental.

Persons: wasn't, Airbnb, we'd, Vertigo, COVID didn't, we're, aren't, it's, Diane Deaton, who's, It's, I've Organizations: Service, Kentucky Derby, Business, Realtors, House Locations: Louisville , Kentucky, Vertigo Louisville, Detroit, Louisville

Benefits of passive income strategiesWhat makes passive income strategies so appealing are the benefits, such as:Requires less ongoing effort: Compared to working full-time, passive income requires significantly less time and effort. Drawbacks of passive income strategiesWhile the concept of earning passive income sounds attractive, it's crucial that you understand all the risks involved and that you manage your expectations accordingly. Some of the major drawbacks of passive income strategies are:Unpredictability: The success of passive income strategies can be unpredictable and are generally out of your hands. Passive income — Frequently asked questions (FAQs)How much money do I need to start generating passive income? While some passive income streams require consistent minimal effort after the initial setup, other passive income strategies may require more extensive hands-on maintenance or monitoring.

Persons: Tiffany Grant, there's, wouldn't, Bonds, Melissa Jean, Baptiste, Grant, You'll, you'll Organizations: Coca, US Treasury, Federal Reserve, IRS

The best Prime Day deals are the ones that let you fill a need in your life while saving a few bucks. Read on for our editor's personal picks from this year's sale, and catch the remaining sales in our main Prime Day deals hub. Amazon Prime Day deals our experts bought themselvesI'm moving from a huge home in Kansas to a tiny apartment in New York City. I used Prime Day as an opportunity to downsize to a smaller model that was recommended by our air fryer expert. Check out our roundup of all of the best Prime Day deals, or browse Amazon's website for more.

Persons: you've, Read, fryer, — Lauren Savoie, I've, It's, Samantha Crozier, Gabrielle Chase, Sam, Sally Kaplan, TCL, Brendan Griffiths, Anker, — James Brains, — Sally Kaplan, Dot, — Christopher Meinck, They're, it's, — Jaclyn Turner, Lauren Savoie, I'm, I'd, — John Lynch, They've, Mandolines, NoCry, Les Shu Organizations: Business, Amazon Prime, Sony, Microsoft, Taco Bell, Lenovo, Echo, Commerce, JW, JW PEI, Love Locations: Kansas, New York City, Taco, Crystal City, Hawaii, Brooklyn, Europe

View at Amazon What we like Check mark icon A check mark. Ability to review identified obstacles after cleaningCheck mark icon A check mark. View at Amazon What we like Check mark icon A check mark. View at AmazonThe best Amazon Prime Day robot vacuum dealsAutomate your floor cleaning with one of the best robot vacuums. They're lightweight, and many of today's best cordless vacuum cleaners can rival even the most powerful uprights.

Persons: Dyson, Bissell, Miele, vacuums we've, We've, you've, vacuums, they've, iRobot, Roomba, we've, Decker, Smart, OmniForce Organizations: Business, Amazon, Samsung, Hoover, Prime, Kenmore, Dyson, Upright, Shark, Amazon LG, LG, Amazon Prime, nab, BISSELL Locations: iRobot, Eureka

CNN —Nearly 2 million people have been displaced in Gaza – almost the entire population – after the Israeli military last week ordered a further 80,000 people to evacuate parts of Gaza City amid a renewed ground operation, latest UN figures show. The number of displaced people rose from 1.7 million since Israel launched its offensive on the southern city of Rafah in May. Smoke rises after Israeli bombardment of Gaza City, July 4, 2024. One man displaced in Khan Younis told CNN about the hours needed to get hold of small amounts of clean water. Dining utensils need to be cleaned,” Zakaria Bakr, from the Al-Shati camp, told CNN Saturday.

Persons: Omar Al, ”, Khan Younis, ” Zakaria Bakr Organizations: CNN, UN, Israel Defense Forces, UNRWA, Israel, Humanitarian Affairs, Getty, Hamas, Civil Defense, IDF, Al, Gaza’s, Health Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Israel, Hamas, Gaza City, AFP, Shujaya, Nuseirat, COGAT

☆ Carpenter ants are the only other animals known to amputate besides humans, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But over time, some species — including Camponotus floridanus, also known as carpenter ants — have evolutionarily lost them. “I wanted to see how an ant species that cannot use antimicrobial compounds to treat wounds would care for their injured,” Frank said. “In tibia injuries, the flow of the hemolymph was less impeded, meaning bacteria could enter the body faster. The researchers observed that ant-assisted amputations took about 40 minutes to complete, which is why the insects appeared to opt for femur amputations, but not tibia amputations. “We will keep studying wound care behavior in other ant species and try to understand its evolutionary origins,” Frank said.

Persons: Camponotus floridanus, Erik Frank, ” Frank, Frank, “, weren’t, Dany Buffat, Bart Zijlstra, Dr, Laurent Keller, Frank said, amputations, ” Keller, Keller Organizations: CNN, University of Würzburg, Switzerland’s University of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, “ Workers Locations: Florida, Germany’s, Bavaria, Ivory Coast, United States

☆ I'm a decluttering expert. Here's how to know when to replace your pillows, mattress, and sheets.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Julia Williamson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pillows should be washed oftenYou're used to washing your sheets and pillowcases weekly, but you may be forgetting about the pillows themselves. Pillowcases will protect them to some extent, but you should really be laundering your pillows every six months or so. If you're springing for high-quality feather pillows you can keep them for decades, provided you're cleaning and fluffing them regularly. Here's the real deal: once any aspect of your bedding starts to feel less than dreamily comfortable, it's probably time to replace it. Once you've decided to replace your sheets or pillows, get the old ones out of the house.

Persons: I'm, Pillowcases, —, it's, you've, they're, we're, they've Organizations: Service, Business, Gallup

☆ This 30-year-old made $66,000 selling trash last year. His finds include Fendi bags and hundreds in cash
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Leonardo Urbano, 30, sits on a couch that was set out for disposal in Sydney. Leonardo Urbano said he sometimes finds luxury goods in piles of discarded clothes, such as this purported Fendi bag. When he finds luxury items, Urbano said he tries to verify their authenticity by checking the serial numbers on sites like Entropy. Leonardo Urbano found a painting by two-time Archibald Prize finalist Dapeng Liu with an estimated value of $3,000. Leonardo Urbano

Persons: Leonardo Urbano, Urbano, He's, Dapeng Liu Organizations: Facebook, CNBC Locations: Sydney, Leonardo Urbano In Australia, Australia

☆ In California, Hotels and Rentals Must Reveal Fees Upfront. What Does That Mean for You?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Derek M. Norman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last May, Samir Bhavnani, a 47-year-old tech executive from San Diego, was planning a trip to Palm Springs, Calif., where he planned to propose to his girlfriend. “And $595 plus $595 doesn’t equal $2,300,” Mr. Bhavnani said. “Taxes, host fees and service fees basically doubled the price. I asked the owner what the fee breakout was, and they said it was $300 for cleaning and $300 for ‘air-conditioning.’ This is Palm Springs. On July 1, a sweeping new state law will ban hidden fees on purchases — including event tickets, hotel rooms and food delivery services — by requiring businesses to include all mandatory fees or last-minute charges in their advertised and displayed price.

Persons: Samir Bhavnani, Mr, Bhavnani Locations: San Diego, Palm Springs, Calif, Springs, California

☆ 17 popular trends interior designers wish would disappear
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Sophia Mitrokostas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

All-white interiors are impractical and hard to maintain. It's hard to keep an all-white room looking clean. Tom Merton/Getty ImagesArchitect and interior designer Kobi Karp of Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design told Business Insider that the all-white, minimalist trend isn't practical for most homes. This style is popular in magazines, so designers are frequently asked to do it, but people are often left with potentially exorbitant cleaning and maintenance costs," he said. Instead of going all white, try a rich blue or sage green that imparts a cool and clean vibe without the laborious upkeep.

Persons: Tom Merton, Kobi Karp Organizations: Getty, Design

☆ Shark Detect Pro Self-Empty Robot Vacuum review: Detects dirt, avoids obstacles, and won't get stuck
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Bethaney Phillips | Jaclyn Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It was an upgrade from my previous robot vacuum, the Shark EZ Robot Vacuum, which was constantly getting stuck and pulling up small toys, requiring my intervention. Shark Detect Pro Self-Empty Robot Vacuum The Shark Detect Pro Self-Empty Robot vacuum has an auto-empty dust bin that holds up to 60 days of debris. AdvertisementOur review of the Shark vacuumThe Shark Detect Pro easily traverses carpet, and uses a combination of scanning lasers and 3D to navigate. The Shark Detect Pro in Dirt Detect mode (purple/blue light vs. green) to pick up flour. Bethaney PhillipsThe Shark Detect Pro is a huge upgrade to previous Shark robot models.

Persons: doesn't, Bethaney Phillips, crumb, I've Organizations: Business, Technology, FloorDetect, EdgeDetect Technology, NeverStuck, Shark, NeverStuck Technology

☆ Here’s the ‘bad news’ in the ‘good’ jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —At a time when Americans and the Federal Reserve are clamoring for clear-cut data about the state of the economy, Friday’s jobs report was much more opaque than everyone had hoped. Unemployment roseThe unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.9%. The rise in unemployment can be traced to the findings of the household survey (one of two surveys that feed into the monthly jobs report). Compared to the establishment survey that showed the robust 272,000 net gain in jobs, the household survey faltered. That’s in the service sector, everything from personal care services, dry cleaning, cleaning and home maintenance and vehicle maintenance, she said.

Persons: Dean Baker, ” Diane Swonk, Gus Faucher, “ Jobs, ”, ” Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter, ” Pollak, ” Swonk, That’s, ” Andrew Challenger, hirings, Wells, Sarah House, Mike Pugliese, it’s Organizations: CNN, Federal Reserve, KPMG, PNC, “ Employers, Challenger

Search resuls for: "cleaning and"

25 mentions found