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More Americans are buying heat pumps, an environmentally friendly alternative to furnaces and air-conditioners that can significantly lower monthly energy bills. But the pace of installations has slowed in the past year, posing an obstacle to the Biden administration’s climate plans. Rising interest rates and inflation combined with a slow and confusing rollout of federal government incentives for the purchase of heat pumps are largely responsible for the recent drop in sales, energy analysts said. These headwinds, if they persist, could jeopardize President Biden’s goals of effectively eliminating U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. Those incentives defray only a small portion of the $16,000 an average heat pump installation costs, according to Rewiring America, a nonprofit group that is working to increase the use of cleaner forms of energy.

Persons: Biden’s Organizations: Biden Locations: America

But there was one topic Mr. Gilani was always wary of raising: The treatment of Palestinians. Instead it was attributed to “Muslim, Palestinian and Arab Google employees joined by anti-Zionist Jewish colleagues.” The New York Times discussed the matter with seven Google employees and reviewed messages posted in employee channels for this article. Google said the acrimony described to The Times by both Muslim and Jewish employees was limited to a small group of its many thousands of workers. “The overwhelming majority of those employees are not engaged in internal discussions or debate.”Google isn’t unique in facing this turmoil. Even compared with its Silicon Valley peers, Google has become a hub for employee activism, a legacy of the company’s open and informal founding culture.

Persons: Sarmad Gilani, Gilani, ”, Mr, Israel, —, ” Courtenay Mencini, Donald J, Rachel Westrick, Westrick, Israel’s, Sundar Pichai, Thomas Kurian, Kurian, he’s Organizations: Google, Hamas, New York Times, Times, Hollywood, Democratic Party, Microsoft, Pentagon, Asian, Meta, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, “, United States, Meta, Palestine

☆ Six Flags Merges With Cedar Fair, a Rival Amusement Park
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Six Flags, an amusement park corporation, is merging with its rival Cedar Fair in an $8 billion deal, the two companies announced on Thursday. Together, they will operate 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in North America. Combining the companies would generate more than $3 billion in revenue, the companies projected in a statement. “The combination of Six Flags and Cedar Fair will redefine our guests’ amusement park experience as we combine the best of both companies,” said Selim Bassoul, the president and chief executive of Six Flags. Cedar Fair operates popular parks such as Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C.; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va.; and Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario.

Persons: ”, Selim Bassoul Organizations: Fair, Six, Dominion, Six Flags Locations: North America, Charlotte, N.C, Doswell, Va, Ontario, China

☆ Is a $500 Marathon Shoe You Can Race In Only Once Worth It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Ashley Mateo went through a recent track workout, something felt different. She hit her intervals faster than usual, her heart rate was lower, and her feet felt lighter. Ms. Mateo, a journalist and 15-time marathoner who reviews running shoes, believes she may have improved her performance thanks to the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 by Adidas, a new marathon race shoe with an eye-popping $500 price tag. “I don’t think the shoe is going to work for everyone,” she said. Only 521 pairs have been released to the public so far, targeted at runners who can run a marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes or faster.

Persons: Ashley Mateo, Mateo, Mateo isn’t, “, ” Organizations: Adidas

☆ U.S. Job Openings Were Steady in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Federal Reserve closely monitors job openings to understand whether the economy is running too hot. The overall trend of slowing job openings is a sign that rate increases have cooled the economy, according to experts. Job openings, which reached a record of more than 12 million in March 2022, have trended down, as has the job-quitting rate, while separations have been flat. As openings rose slightly in September, the number of openings per unemployed worker was flat, at 1.5, the same as August. Job openings remain much higher than they were before the pandemic, and the number of unemployed workers per job opening is much lower.

Persons: Julia Pollak, ”, Sarah House, Stephen Juneau, What’s Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, ” Fed, Bank of America, Treasury, Labor Department Locations: Wells Fargo, September’s

☆ What to Know About the Automakers’ Deals With the U.A.W.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The tiered wage system, which allows the companies to pay newer workers much less than seasoned workers, was eliminated at two plants. and Stellantis, but the benefits are expected to mirror those in the Ford agreement. Then the agreements must be ratified by a majority of union members at each of the automakers. Shawn Fain, the president of the U.A.W., announced this month that G.M.’s battery plants, which it owns through a joint venture, would be covered by the national labor contract reached by the two sides. The union also said its agreement with Ford would make it relatively easy for workers at the company’s battery plants to join the U.A.W.

Persons: Shawn Fain Organizations: Ford, G.M Locations: Stellantis

☆ Media Companies Eye Cricket-Loving Diaspora in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He noted the affluence of Indian Americans, who make up a majority of the South Asian population in the United States. According to the latest census estimates, Indian Americans have the highest median household income of any group in the country. “This is what should be a powerful and lucrative and well-served audience,” he said. Before it started streaming cricket, ESPN bought Cricinfo (now known as ESPNcricinfo), a website dedicated to cricket coverage, in 2007. It’s also the media partner of the new domestic professional league, Major League Cricket, which played its inaugural season in July.

Persons: Satyan Gajwani, ”, Willow, —, John Lasker, It’s Organizations: of India Group, DirecTV, Dish, Comcast, South Asian, ESPN, Major League Cricket Locations: United States, India, Indian, ”, American

☆ Why Olive Oil Is So Expensive Right Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Santul Nerkar | More About Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is something different lately about the olive oil Michelle Spangler buys, bottles and infuses with flavors like basil and blood orange for her store in Dallas. It’s not the taste but the cost: Global olive oil prices have soared to record levels, more than doubling over the past year. “It’s not a cheap product,” Ms. Spangler said, “and so that will probably price some of my customers out of that product line in my store.”Like the oil that comes from the ground, olive oil is a globally traded commodity, with events in one part of the world reverberating far away. Drought in Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer, has devastated recent harvests, and bad weather has hit olive crops in other major growers like Italy, Greece and Portugal. The United States imports almost all of the olive oil it consumes, primarily from Spain and Italy.

Persons: Michelle Spangler, It’s, Spangler, “ It’s, Ms Organizations: United Locations: Dallas, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, United States

The companies and the union remain far apart in negotiations, and the U.A.W. could expand its strikes to more locations as soon as Friday. Depending on how long the strikes last, it could exact a heavy toll on autoworkers and the three companies — General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis, the parent of Chrysler and Jeep. But the work stoppages could also be painful to drivers, car dealers and auto-parts suppliers. has struck only a small number of plants and warehouses, but the pain could worsen if work stoppages grow to include many more locations and last weeks or months.

Organizations: United Automobile Workers, Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Jeep

After a five-month hiatus, most late night shows will return with new episodes next week now that the 148-day screenwriter strike has been resolved, the hosts announced on social media on Wednesday morning. Late night shows hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers will return to the air on Monday, the hosts said. Late night shows were the first casualty of the writers’ strike, and they have been dark since early May. Board members of the Writers Guild approved of the deal on Tuesday, and announced that the strike would end early Wednesday morning. Over the past few weeks, the five late night hosts began a podcast, “Strike Force Five,” donating all proceeds to out-of-work staff members on their shows.

Persons: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver Organizations: HBO, Guild of America, Writers Guild, “, Force

☆ Gas Prices Have Crept Higher This Summer, a Challenge for the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Your eyes are not deceiving you: Gas prices are rising yet again. On Wednesday, the national average for unleaded gasoline was $3.88 per gallon, according to AAA, the highest level since October. But it’s still much higher than historical averages, even for summer, when prices tend to rise. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, by comparison, gas prices soared more than 40 percent in less than four months. High gas prices are a headache for elected officials and consumers, particularly less affluent Americans, and they present a challenge for policymakers at the Federal Reserve, who have sought to rein in rapid inflation over the past 18 months.

Persons: it’s Organizations: AAA, Federal Reserve Locations: That’s, Ukraine

☆ Bill Maher Reverses Decision to Restart Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Maher said on Monday that he would delay the return of his show, just days after he had said it would resume despite the ongoing screenwriters’ strike against Hollywood studios. Mr. Maher said he reversed his decision to restart his weekly HBO show, “Real Time With Bill Maher,” because contract negotiations between Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters were set to resume this week. Mr. Maher said in a post on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that his earlier decision to restart the show — which he announced last week — came when “there was no end in sight” to the strike. His change of heart followed similar reversals from talk show hosts like Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Hudson over the weekend. Ms. Barrymore said on Sunday that she was pausing the restart of her talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” after facing a barrage of criticism, including being dropped as the host of the National Book Awards.

Persons: Bill Maher, ’, Maher, ”, —, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Hudson, Ms, Barrymore Organizations: Hollywood, HBO

☆ Some Businesses Make ‘Woke Free’ a Selling Point
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Isaac, who is Black, turned that singular moment in July 2020 — when he decided not to join many other N.B.A. players in kneeling during the national anthem as the league restarted in a Covid “bubble” setting in Orlando, Fla. — into a platform as a conservative political activist. In 2022, he spoke at a rally of Christian nationalists and anti-vaccine Americans and wrote a book about why he did not join the protest. Most companies used to do everything they could to avoid political controversies and, by extension, risk alienating potential customers. Seemingly everything in the United States is political now, including where you shop for socks and leggings.

Persons: Jonathan Isaac, Orlando, Isaac, —, ” “, Mr Organizations: National Basketball, Black Americans Locations: Orlando, Fla, —, United States

At a rally in downtown Detroit on Friday, just a couple of hundred yards from the headquarters of General Motors, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont addressed a cheering crowd of United Auto Workers members, capping a day of walkouts by the union with an effort to rally support for the strike. “The fight you are waging here is not just about decent wages and working conditions and pensions in the auto industry,” Mr. Sanders said. “It’s a fight to take on corporate greed and tell the people on top the country belongs to all of us, not just the few.”The rally took place along Detroit’s riverfront, near the city’s iconic Renaissance Center towers, home to G.M. headquarters. Also nearby is the Huntington Place convention center, where auto executives were gathering for a black-tie charity ball to kick off the 2023 Detroit auto show.

Persons: Bernie Sanders, Sanders, —, ” Mr, “ Organizations: General Motors, United Auto Workers, Big Three, Ford Locations: Detroit, Vermont, walkouts, United States, G.M

☆ Union Push by Dartmouth Athletes Is Distinct From Previous Failed Efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team filed a petition to unionize this week, it was a reminder of how much the movement for player empowerment has grown in college sports. The petition, filed to the National Labor Relations Board by the Service Employees International Union, was unanimously signed by all 15 players on the team, the union said. It was immediately backed by supporters of more rights for college athletes, and Dartmouth itself said it was considering how to respond. In a statement, the Ivy League school said it had “the utmost respect for our students and for unions generally” and that it was “carefully considering this petition with the aim of responding promptly yet thoughtfully in accordance with Dartmouth’s educational mission and priorities.”The petition was filed on Wednesday, according to the N.L.R.B. Players from Dartmouth’s team did not respond to messages seeking comment, and it was unclear in filings obtained through an open records request how the athletes were framing arguments for forming a union.

Organizations: Dartmouth College men’s, National Labor Relations, Service Employees International Union, Ivy League Locations: Dartmouth

☆ Restaurants and Unions Agree to Raise Pay to $20 an Hour in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Labor groups and fast-food companies in California reached an agreement over the weekend that will pave the way for workers in the industry to receive a minimum wage of $20 per hour. The deal, which will result in changes to Assembly Bill 1228, was announced by the Service Employees International Union on Monday, and will mean an increase to the minimum wage for California fast-food workers by April. The agreement is contingent on the withdrawal of a referendum proposal by restaurant companies in California that would have challenged the proposed legislation in the 2024 ballot. Businesses, labor groups and others have often used ballot measures in California to block legislation or advance their causes. The proposed legislation would also create a council for overseeing future increases to the minimum wage and enact workplace regulations.

Persons: Bill, ” Ingrid Vilorio Organizations: Labor, Service Employees International Union Locations: California

Bigger insurers might not feel squeezed immediately in Hawaii, as the state has been historically lucrative for them. Insurers are primarily concerned with two factors when deciding how much coverage to offer and where: the frequency of claims and the severity of those claims. The Maui fires are another data point of losses for insurers. Since the start of the year, insurers have paid out more than $40 billion in damage claims, on a pace for a record in yearly losses. The insurers for insurance companies, also known as reinsurers, are an important part of the equation.

Persons: Ge, they’ve Organizations: New York University, underwriters, Farm, Allstate Locations: Hawaii

☆ The Unusual Legal Agreement Behind ‘The Blind Side’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In August 2004, Michael Oher was living with Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and their two children in Memphis. Oher, who had bounced around several foster homes, was a top prospect to play major college football and seemed headed to the N.F.L. Because the Tuohys were not Oher’s parents, providing support to him could have been seen as breaking N.C.A.A. As significant donors to the University of Mississippi, one of the colleges recruiting Oher, the Tuohys might subject themselves and the school to penalties in case of a violation. Everyone who has seen the 2009 film “The Blind Side” knows what happened next: Oher attended Mississippi, the Tuohys’ alma mater, and went on to the N.F.L.

Persons: Michael Oher, Sean, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Oher, Tuohys, Sandra Bullock Organizations: University of Mississippi Locations: Memphis, Mississippi, alma

☆ Arm, the Chip Designer, Files for an I.P.O. Expected to Be Among the Largest
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Santul Nerkar | Don Clark | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It MattersThe move will provide Arm’s parent company, SoftBank, with more capital to further invest in start-ups. In the filing, Arm said more than 30 billion Arm-manufactured chips were shipped last fiscal year. But Arm technology is also found in myriad other products, including home appliances, cars and industrial equipment. Arm was a public company until 2016, when SoftBank bought it for $32 billion. SoftBank has taken huge losses since that failed acquisition, posting a $3.3 billion loss in this year’s first quarter.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, Rene Haas Organizations: Apple, Nvidia, Vision

☆ ‘Blind Side’ Lawsuit Shows Strains in Depiction of Black Athletes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There’s a scene in the film “The Blind Side” that intends to be an uplifting moment of triumph. Michael Oher, a talented offensive lineman who is Black, is struggling in a high school football practice, and in steps Leigh Anne Tuohy, a white woman who pulls him aside for a pep talk. Oher takes the advice and the practice turns into a montage of his extraordinary physical capabilities. He earns raucous approval from his teammates and the bewildered happiness of his coach, thanks to Tuohy’s familial advice. And his lawsuit filed this week accused the Tuohys of exaggerating the specifics of their relationship and of misleading him into signing away his life story for their benefit.

Persons: Michael Oher, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sean Jr, Michael, ” Tuohy, Sandra Bullock, Oher, Leigh Anne, Sean Tuohy, — Organizations: Memphis Locations: Memphis

☆ ‘Blind Side’ Player Says He Was Conned With Adoption Promise
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The former N.F.L. The petition, filed in Shelby County in Tennessee, claims that when he thought he was being adopted, the Tuohys urged him to sign a conservatorship in which he relinquished his ability to enter into contracts. The lawsuit also claims that Oher, who started living with the Tuohys at age 16, unknowingly signed away the rights to his life story to 20th Century Fox in 2007. Oher’s lawyer, J. Gerard Stranch IV, declined to comment beyond what was stated in the lawsuit. For “The Blind Side,” the hit film that starred Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy and Quinton Aaron as Oher, the Tuohys negotiated a contract of $225,000 plus 2.5 percent of future “defined net proceeds” for themselves and their biological children, the lawsuit said.

Persons: Michael Oher, ”, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sean Tuohy, Oher, J, Gerard Stranch IV, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron Organizations: Century Fox Locations: Tennessee, Shelby County

☆ Maui Fires Come at a Moment of Turmoil for the Insurance Industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The devastating wildfires in Hawaii have come at a time of upheaval for the insurance industry, in a place that had not been considered very risky by underwriters. In recent years, both states have been more prone to extreme weather events than Hawaii. But the deadly fires in Maui this week, which destroyed thousands of homes and will take what the state’s governor said would be billions of dollars to rebuild from, may make insurance companies reconsider policy rates and coverage, as they have in more disaster-prone areas. Insurance rates are set on a state level, with varying degrees of government regulation and intervention. Typically, states like Hawaii that have strong private insurance markets have not needed forceful state involvement on rates.

Organizations: underwriters Locations: Hawaii, Florida, California, Maui

☆ WeWork Has Sent a Distress Signal. Here’s What to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WeWork, which promised to revolutionize the way people work alongside one another, announced in a financial filing on Tuesday that it had “substantial doubt” it would stay in business. That declaration raises questions about not only the company’s viability but also the future of commercial real estate. Here’s what you need to know about WeWork’s past and prospects. WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, tech entrepreneurs who used the funds from the sale of their previous co-working start-up, Green Desk. WeWork’s vision was to create a “physical social network” that would appeal to a new class of workers who were freelancing or working from home.

Persons: WeWork, Adam Neumann, Miguel McKelvey Organizations: Green

☆ July Jobs Report U.S. Job Growth Expected to Remain Sturdy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Lydia Depillis | Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedIt’s been a slow, bumpy road, but the labor market appears to be rounding itself into a more familiar shape. “Right now a good characterization of the labor market would be ‘normalizing’ rather than ‘slowing,’” said Agron Nicaj, an economist with the Japanese bank MUFG. Most of that is a reversion to historical averages — a “normalization,” as Mr. Nicaj prefers to call it. “Strong profit margins have allowed companies to maintain employment,” Mr. Nicaj said. “When you do see that shrinking, that’s a pretty strong signal that at some point you’re going to see job losses.”

Persons: It’s, ’ ”, Agron Nicaj, Nicaj, “, ” Mr, ” Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ Job Turnover Eased in June as the Labor Market Cooled
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Santul Nerkar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And the quits rate, a measure of workers’ confidence in the job market and bargaining power, decreased to 2.4 percent, from 2.6 percent in May and down from a record of 3 percent in April 2022. Quotable: ‘The labor market is unbalanced.’“We’re still in an economy where the labor market is unbalanced,” said Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, “with the demand for workers substantially outpacing the supply of workers.” There are roughly 1.6 job openings for each unemployed worker. The June JOLTS report provides more optimism that the Fed is approaching that soft landing, as demand for workers remains robust while tapering gradually. Inflation remains high by historical standards — at 3 percent, according to the latest data — but has eased substantially. “This is a really strong labor market that is staying strong but slowing down,” said Preston Mui, a senior economist at Employ America, a research and advocacy group focused on the job market.

Persons: “ We’re, ”, Michael Strain, Preston Mui Organizations: American Enterprise Institute, “, Reserve Locations: America

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