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☆ Wayne LaPierre: Dapper as Charged
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Guy Trebay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

You’d think Wayne LaPierre would have read the playbook. After decades in the spotlight, the former chief executive of the National Rifle Association could have been expected to know that, for public figures, conspicuous consumption is always a bad look. This is seldom truer than when sartorial choices come into play. Haven’t we been here before? Wasn’t Sarah Palin rudely schooled on the matter back in 2008, when, even as she campaigned alongside Senator John McCain as a champion of blue-collar workers, it was revealed by Politico that staffers shopping for Ms. Palin spent more than $150,000 on clothes and accessories from high-end retailers like Neiman Marcus — in a single month.

Persons: You’d, Wayne LaPierre, Wasn’t Sarah Palin, John McCain, Palin, Neiman Marcus —, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s Organizations: National Rifle Association, Politico Locations: Beverly Hills

Though one of the most potent and long-running (or at least long-stomping) forces in movies, Godzilla has never before rubbed elbows at the Academy Awards. At the Oscar luncheon, Steven Spielberg warmly greeted Yamazaki and told him he had seen “Godzilla Minus One” three times. But “Godzilla Minus One” returns to the essential nature of Godzilla as a sober symbol of nuclear holocaust and atomic trauma. My intent was to put a spotlight on what Godzilla represented.”In “Godzilla Minus One,” just as WWII is ending, Godzilla is growing. But unlike more broadly blockbuster-styled Godzilla films, “Godzilla Minus One” is rigorously rooted in a Japanese perspective.

Persons: he’s, “, ”, Takashi Yamazaki, —, Yamazaki, Ishirō Honda, Steven Spielberg, ” Yamazaki, ‘, ’, ’ They’ve, “ Oppenheimer, “ Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Raymond Burr, Koichi, Ryunosuke, Robert Oppenheimer’s, Nolan, we’re, Hayao Miyazaki’s, Miyazaki, ‘ Oppenheimer, Jake Coyle Organizations: Academy, Toho, “, Galaxy, U.S ., Pictures, Warner Bros, American Locations: Tokyo , Hong Kong, Paris, San Francisco, Boston, Moscow, London, Hawaii, U.S, Canada, Canadian, Tokyo, Japan, Bikini, Kong, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

China's refiners processed 63.93 million metric tons of crude in October, equivalent to 15.05 million bpd, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released on Nov. 15. Crude imports were 48.97 million metric tons and domestic output was 17.33 million, giving a total of 66.3 million, equivalent to 15.61 million bpd. Subtracting the refinery throughput from the total crude available leaves a surplus of 560,000 bpd to be put into commercial or strategic reserves. China total crude available vs refinery processingFORECASTS TOO BULLISH? China's imports for the first 10 months of the year are 11.36 million bpd, which is 1.19 million bpd higher than for the whole of 2022.

Persons: refiners, China doesn't, Stephen Coates Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics, OPEC, International Energy Agency, BP, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Qingdao, Shandong province, LAUNCESTON, Australia, China, Asia, Saudi Arabia

☆ Argentina election: Will Milei’s plan to ditch peso for the dollar be a vote-winner against Massa?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Analysis Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

To fix the problem, Argentina should abandon the peso and adopt the dollar, whose value is set by the US Federal Reserve and cannot be printed at will. Massa has criticized the plan for dollarization as a surrender of national sovereignty and attempted to show that the government’s current actions are already paying dividends. Other mainstream politicians, including former the President Mauricio Macri and another former election candidate, Patricia Bullrich, have endorsed Milei despite sharing some reservations on dollarization. ET) and the vote count is expected to be quick – barring any unforeseen problems or objections, that is. Milei appeared to question the results of the first round of voting in October, although his party did not formally appeal.

Persons: Argentina’s, Sergio Massa, Javier Milei, Milei, Massa, dollarization, Pope Francis, “, Satan ”, Francis, Tucker Carlson, Milton Friedman, Argentinians, Mauricio Macri, Patricia Bullrich, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, Spain’s José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Jair Bolsonaro, Mario Vargas Llosa, Mariano Rajoy, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, Massa, Union por la Patria, Union, La Libertad, US Federal Reserve, Cato Institute Locations: Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America, Latin America, Ecuador, El Salvador, US, Argentina’s, Peruvian, Spanish

CNN —The body of “Friends” star Matthew Perry is now with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office and an autopsy is pending, according to online records from that agency. No foul play is suspected, a law enforcement source told CNN, however, the incident remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide Division. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey told CNN a 911 call came in Saturday at 4:07 p.m. for a water rescue emergency. Perry, 54, was found unresponsive in his hot tub, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing law enforcement sources. Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc co-starred alongside Perry on “Friends,” which ran from 1994 to 2004.

Persons: Matthew Perry, Brian Humphrey, Perry, John Bennett Perry, Suzanne Morrison, Keith Morrison, Perry’s, ” “ Matthew, “, ‘, ”, Tom Power, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Marta Kauffman, David Crane, Kevin Bright, Matthew’s, Chandler Bing Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Medical, Office, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, LAPD, Los Angeles Times, Dateline Locations: Los Angeles County

☆ From Tuesday's Dow drop to Friday's rally, here's why it was a whipsaw week for the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

When the government released September's job report Friday morning, the market's first take was that it was too good to be … good. And odds of another rate hike, which had edged up early in the day, had retreated again. "I don't think the week's data indicates the labor market needs higher interest rates," said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at career platform Glassdoor.com. But average hourly income rose just 0.2%, doing a lot to mute fears that a tight labor market would keep propelling inflation. The gap between economists and bond investorsEconomists and bond investors have been seeing two different pictures in the labor data all week, Crofoot said.

Persons: Daniel Zhao, Elizabeth Crofoot, Zhao, Crofoot, Goldman Sachs, Jan Hatzius, Hatzius Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Treasury, Dow, Federal Reserve, Labor Department, CNBC Locations: New York City, Washington

☆ Poland will vote in a pivotal election next week. Its outcome will reverberate in Europe, Ukraine and the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Nonetheless, Poland remains in a powerful position in Europe, and this month’s vote could dramatically flip those dynamics. “Poland is a major player in Europe; it borders Ukraine, it has a major land army, substantial military spending, and is the key hub for supporting Ukraine,” Stola said. Poland pushed European partners to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine earlier this year. “One likely outcome is a coalition between PiS and Confederation, and that would be very bad news for Polish-Ukrainian relations,” Kucharczyk said. “Poland has very deep interests in supporting Ukraine,” Kucharczyk added.

Persons: White, Donald Tusk, Poland’s, –, ”, Tusk, ” Jacek Kucharczyk, ” Kucharczyk, Mateusz Morawiecki, Kacper Pempel, Piotr Buras, PiS, ” Buras, ” Dariusz Stola, Poland's, Omar Marques, ” Stola, “, Wojtek Radwanski Organizations: CNN, Justice, European, Tusk’s Civic Coalition, stoke, Public, Warsaw’s Institute of Public Affairs, European Council, Foreign Relations, Communist, EU, Warsaw, Institute of Political, Polish Academy of Sciences, Getty, ”, NATO, PiS, “ Locations: Poland, Ukraine, Brussels, Berlin, Polish, Warsaw, Hungary, Europe, Germany, Russia, ” Kyiv, Washington, Kyiv, AFP, “, Ukrainian, “ Poland

☆ Opera Philadelphia Cuts Its Budget, but Not Its Ambition
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Joshua Barone | More About Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

And opera needs works like “10 Days,” which treats the medium with affection and respect while also chafing at its tropes throughout history. For this is an opera that jerks between beauty and terror — seamlessly under the baton of Daniela Candillari, leading an ensemble of about a dozen instrumentalists. The patients (members of Opera Philadelphia Chorus, led by Elizabeth Braden) can sing the same hymn with serenity in one scene and chaotic dissonance in the next, with few indications of which is the truer rendition. The most tragic of the patients is Lizzie (the mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis, who sings with a lush and moving elegance that would make her ideal for mid-20th century American opera). Her repetitive ramblings come into logical focus with a long, crushing aria about the death of her daughter.

Persons: Nellie Bly’s, —, Bly, Daniela Candillari, Elizabeth Braden, Josiah Blackwell, Will Liverman, Joanna Settle’s, Andrew Lieberman, Kiera Duffy, Lauren Pearl, Raehann Bryce, Davis, Lizzie doesn’t, She’s Organizations: Opera Philadelphia, Academy of Music Locations: Roosevelt

☆ Why trust is critical to business applications of generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Ibm With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The criticality of trust is even clearer today as generative AI is changing the landscape of what's possible with AI. For example, generative AI models can produce highly believable, well-structured responses so it can be hard to identify an incorrect response without the right subject matter expertise. Generative AI does not have test-retest reliability, meaning you can ask the same question many times to an LLM and get different answers each time. Many business leaders are feeling pressure from investors, clients, employees, and others to accelerate their adoption of AI, including generative AI, but they're weighing the urgency to act against the potential risks. AI governance is how you define policies and establish accountability throughout the AI lifecycle.

Persons: That's Organizations: IBM Institute for Business, IBM, Trust, Transparency, IBM Consulting

There are signs that the country has now slipped into another era of brutal oppression, even as newly reelected President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks publicly of “peace, love, harmony and tolerance." “It is the beginning of a new term and we are seeing people being abducted and tortured, people’s homes being burnt down, and lawyers arrested for simply doing their job,” said Doug Coltart, one of Nhende’s lawyers, who was himself arrested. The sight of an elected representative showing injuries from a beating isn't uncommon in Zimbabwe. The CCC and analysts say there is a clear post-election clampdown now that the international observers have left. “It was a sham election, a disputed election, a flawed election.

Persons: Womberaiishe, truncheons, Emmerson Mnangagwa, —, ”, Doug Coltart, Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa, Tapiwa Muchineripi, Coltart, bode, “, ” Mnangagwa's, Nhende, ” Nhende, Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe, Mkwananzi, Siziba, clampdown, Rashweat Mukundu, Nelson Chamisa, Chamisa Organizations: Citizens Coalition, ZANU, CCC, Coltart, Amnesty, Human Rights, PF, Police, AP Locations: HARARE, Zimbabwe, Harare, Africa, Zimbabwean, africa

☆ Employee Discrimination: Women of All Ages Face Sexism at Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But she was taken aback by the extent to which middle-aged women like O'Neill reported experiencing age-related discrimination at work. "When men get to their 40s or 50s, they're considered to be in the prime of their careers," Diehl told me. In one 2019 poll of 400 US workers ages 40 and older, more men than women reported experiencing or witnessing age discrimination on the job. Research has also found that older job seekers face age discrimination regardless of gender, despite a 56-year-old federal law that purportedly protects against older-age discrimination in employment. It's undeniable that workplace age discrimination occurs across gender lines, but the qualitative experiences surfaced by Diehl, Stephenson, and Dzubinski help paint a picture of how an open culture around age discrimination can ultimately end up fueling good, old-fashioned sexism.

Persons: Julie O'Neill, O'Neill, Julie, WCPO, —, ageism, pats, Amy Diehl, wasn't, they're, Diehl, It's, Amber L, Stephenson, Leanne, dory, she'd, Kelli María Korducki Organizations: Cincinnati Bengals, Harvard Business, Companies, Research Locations: COVID, midlife, Cincinnati, WCPO, New York City

☆ Women Face Age Discrimination at Every Age, According to a New Study
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Eight candidates will appear onstage for the first Republican debate on Wednesday. Many far more politically experienced contenders have met their end under the bright lights of the debate stage. How Republican voters respond will offer some early clues into the ideological future of the party, particularly in a post-Trump era. He participated in eight face-offs during the 2016 campaign and helped coach Mr. Trump for his presidential debates in 2020. The debate offers Mr. Christie an opportunity to take aim at those aligned with Trumpism, even if they are opposed to Mr. Trump.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Mitt Romney, gantlet, ”, Newt Gingrich, “ Donald Trump, —, Tucker Carlson, Ron DeSantis, Jordan Gale, Donald Trump, ” Mr, DeSantis, Trump’s, parry, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Pence, Mike Pence’s, AJ Mast, Mike Pence, Ramaswamy, Vivek Ramaswamy’s, MAGA, Victoria Coates, Roe, Wade, Tim Scott of, Christie, Scott, Nikki Haley, Will Christie, David Degner, Coke, New Coke, “ Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Haley, Doug Burgum, Maddie McGarvey, Burgum, Asa Hutchinson, “ We’re Organizations: Republican, Trump, Fox News, Fair, The New York Times, Wednesday, Fox News Radio, PAC, Ukraine, Harvard, Russia, Democratic, Republicans, United Nations, Mr, Credit, The New York, Gov Locations: Atlanta, Florida, Ukraine, Tim Scott of South Carolina, New Jersey, New Hampshire, South Carolina, U.N, Iowa, North Dakota, Arkansas

☆ Opinion | What Trump’s Debate Stunt Says to Republican Voters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Michelle Cottle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Trump may well be correct to assume he has more to lose than gain from these matchups. They are meant to provide voters with a meaty opportunity to judge their options side-by-side, to listen to them field tough questions, to compare their policies and priorities and visions of leadership. It is all the truer for Mr. Trump, who is dominating the Republican herd. Even with Mr. Trump missing, there will be much awkward talk of him. I’m sorry, but we already watched Mr. Carlson give Mr. Trump a thorough bootlicking back in April, not long before Fox News gave Mr. Carlson the boot, in fact, and it was sad.

Persons: Trump, MAGA, Fox, Chris Christie, Christie, coy, Tucker Carlson, Carlson, Don Jr Organizations: Mr, Republican, The Times, Fox News

☆ How Trump turned the ‘law and order party’ into an enemy of the FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Trump has pleaded not guilty in the classified documents case and in another prosecution in New York related to a hush money payment to an adult film star. “President Trump endured an unprecedented raid at his home in Mar-a-Lago. (A special counsel is still investigating classified documents found in Biden’s possession, while the Justice Department closed a case on the possible mishandling of documents found at Pence’s Indiana home.) Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have promised a comprehensive gutting of the FBI, Justice Department and other government agencies in response to what they claim is a wholesale effort to stop Trump winning the 2024 election. Some independent investigations looking at the Trump era have found wrongdoing or mistakes in the FBI.

Persons: Donald Trump pulsated, Christopher Wray, –, Wray, Biden, that’s, Wray’s, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, ”, George W, Harriet Hageman, Liz Cheney, Cheney, Jerrold Nadler, Justice Department –, Trump, Hunter Biden, Wesley Hunt, Biden didn’t, Biden’s, ” Hunt, Mike Pence, “, ” Wray, Jim Jordan –, Trump –, ” Jordan, Ron DeSantis, Richard Nixon, Comey, Matt Gaetz, DeSantis, Chris Wray, There’ll, ” DeSantis, Trey Gowdy, J, Edgar Hoover –, John Durham, William Barr, ’, Barr, David Weiss –, “ Weiss, COWARD, Bill Barr, ” Trump, didn’t Organizations: CNN, Republican, Trump, Democrats, FBI, Judiciary, Bush’s, Department, Wyoming Rep, Rep, Justice Department, GOP, Biden, Texas Republican, Pence’s Indiana, The Biden, Florida Gov, Justice, White, NBC, Fox News, DOJ, Committee, Foreign Intelligence, Delaware US Locations: Wyoming, York, New York, Moscow, Florida, Mar, Pence’s, Delaware, Ohio, Rehoboth , Delaware, Trump, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Durham

☆ Why Chinese students are taking graduation photos looking ‘more dead than alive’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

These are graduation photos, and their theme is “being more dead than alive,” according to the accompanying caption. Urban youth unemployment is at record levels, reaching 20.8% in May, and an influx of new job seekers will only increase the competition. Li Nian, a PhD student who graduated this past week, is among those to have posted “more dead than alive” style photos. After being inspired by examples online, Li took her own graduation photos, which are funny despite the tiredness depicted. “I thought I would remember such graduation photos for the rest of my life,” she told CNN.

Persons: sprawled facedown, banister, –, Ren Yong, …, commiserate, ”, Li Nian, Li, Goldman Sachs, ” Young, lockdowns, “, can’t Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Urban, Students, Wuhan University, China’s Ministry of Education, CNN, Communist Party, Twitter, Weibo, ” Locations: Hong Kong, China, Nanjing, Spain, Italy

☆ Average 401(k) account balance tops $112,000, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The average balance in employer-sponsored savings plans last year was $112,572, well below the $141,542 recorded in 2021. “Vanguard participants’ average account balances decreased by 20% since year-end 2021, driven primarily by the decrease in equity and bond markets over the year,” according to the report. “Among plans with a nonmatching employer contribution, the average contribution was equivalent to 5.1% of pay; the median contribution, 4.1% of pay,” Vanguard noted. The auto enrollment feature has helped boost overall participation in the plans Vanguard oversees. Including what employees kick in, the average total contribution rate was 11.3%.

Persons: ’, nonparticipants Organizations: New, New York CNN, Vanguard Locations: New York, nonparticipants

☆ Coco Gauff Has a Chance to Play the Wise Veteran at the French Open
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Matthew Futterman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The veteran tennis star Rafael Nadal recently made that observation, discussing how quickly a new generation of players assumes the role of the one before. That rival was Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year-old Russian who has exploded onto the women’s tennis tour over the past five weeks. She plays with an easy, smooth power, unruffled by the size of the stage and the fuss suddenly being made about her. She trades text messages with Andy Murray, the three-time Grand Slam champion. These days, she continues to hunt for her first Grand Slam and top-level tour title.

Persons: Rafael Nadal, Suzanne Lenglen, Roland Garros, Coco Gauff, Gauff, Mirra, Andy Murray, Venus Williams, Serena Organizations: Tennis, Wimbledon, All England Club, Centre Court

☆ Why Do American Diners Have Such a Limited Palate for Textures?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ligaya Mishan | Esther Choi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

What of the worlds that lie between slime and velvet, collapse and refusal, succulence and desiccation? Not only does English lack a robust vocabulary for food textures but, whether as corollary or coincidence, English speakers also tend to value a narrower range of textures. In a survey by the American sensory scientist Jeannine F. Delwiche conducted at Ohio State University in 2002, respondents considered texture significantly less important than taste and scent in its impact on flavor. It is often defined as a confluence of taste, scent and memory, yet other senses intrude. Studies have shown that diners have difficulty identifying flavors when foods are dyed different colors, for example.

And so whenever I get one of those notifications, I know I’m going to have a good time there. kevin roose[LAUGHS]: I actually don’t think I could’ve told you what IBM stood for. kevin rooseSo I’ve thought a lot and written a lot about how and when AI actually is a threat to jobs. The third category is just the jobs that I think are going to be protected, the jobs that we won’t let AI do. But I don’t actually think the speed of it matters at all.

☆ The bad loan term that's back for banks trying to spot a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

If there wasn't enough banking jargon to blind you, it's time to learn a new piece of it: Welcome to the industry's era of the "criticized loan." "Criticized loans could be paying or performing but a loan could be singled out because of its collateral." At Bank of America, criticized loans to office building projects rose to $3.7 billion out of $19 billion in office loans. But office buildings represent only a quarter of the bank's commercial real estate loans, and all CRE is just 7% of the bank's total loans and leases. "It's almost impossible for us to see office [losses] more than 4 or 5 percent of office loans.

☆ Starbucks pours weak tea on virtual union talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - After more than a decade of infusing its coffee with technology, Starbucks (SBUX.O) is putting a lid on one aspect of the digital transition. The $113 billion Frappuccino maker wants to negotiate with unions in person rather than allowing members to join talks by videoconference. Mobile orders accounted for about a quarter of transactions at U.S. stores in the latest quarter. Starbucks also became one of the first big companies to hold a virtual shareholder meeting after the pandemic struck and it hosted the annual event online again last week. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Those who experience a "gray divorce" can still retire comfortably by making vital life decisions. Spousal support plays a key roleAfter you do your budgeting, you might realize that you have to live with a lot less. Whether you're the one giving spousal support or receiving it, that number will make a huge difference in your financial future. Depending on your state, spousal support may not continue past the retirement age for Social Security, Harounian added. So if you get divorced at 60, you may only receive or give spousal support for five more years.

☆ Converting empty office buildings into apartments sounds like a no-brainer, but big landlords are resisting for one big reason
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Three experts tell Insider office prices need to fall before conversions are commonplace. But for these plans to be successful, the world of real estate must address the elephant in the room: Office buildings are simply too expensive. Moody's laid out some basic math: In 2021, the average New York apartment building traded at $434 a square foot. Now in the US, he's up to the same business but not yet with the vacant office buildings that dot the downtowns of large metropolises. Among them is an older, 130,000-square-foot St. Louis office building, which represents some of the city's most outdated stock, Rubin told Insider.

☆ ChatGPT is for suckers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Chatbots are bullshit engines built to say things with incontrovertible certainty and a complete lack of expertise. What is it that makes human beings trust a machine we know is untrustworthy? After millennia of debate, the world's leading philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists haven't even agreed on a mechanism for why people come to believe things, or what beliefs even are. We want Google results to be true, because we think of Google as a trusted arbiter, if not an authority. The power of storyAnother possible explanation of why we're suckers for chatbots is that we're suckers for explanation.

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