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☆ American Express is being investigated over sales practices. Salespeople say they have been made scapegoats.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

In late May last year, some 250 salespeople at American Express learned they weren't going to get paid. In addition to earning commissions, the Premium Wire volumes helped them reach higher compensation tiers, known as kickers. For the first time, the Premium Wire product made economic sense. The presentation discussed shifting the sales focus toward Premium Wire and another product to "accelerate revenue growth and meet client's needs." Isserlis said Williams was fired because of misconduct unrelated to Premium Wire.

Persons: Amex, salespeople, Salespeople, Adam Isserlis, Isserlis, Stephen Squeri, John Moore, Amex salespeople, Pablo Ribas, Ribas, Anna Marrs, Marrs, Charles Schwab, Schwab, Mike Peterson, Charlene Luke, they'd, Nick Williams, Williams, Nick, Mr, —, Thomas Zoerner, Zoerner, Amex's, she's, weren't, Carter Johnson Organizations: American Express, Commercial Services, Securities and Exchange Commission, Justice Department, Internal Revenue Service, Street, IRS, Getty, Credit, Employees, Business, SME, Global Commercial Services, Marriott, Express, University of Florida's Levin College of Law, Amex, California Labor, Court, whistleblowing Locations: Brooklyn, California, Manhattan, Canadian, —, Orange County , California, New York, Webex

☆ Russia's electronic warriors are intercepting Ukrainian troops' communications and jamming their GPS-guided bombs, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russian jamming seems to be affecting Ukraine's communications and US-provided weapons, experts say. "The problem may well be the sheer power of the jamming signal that can be brought to bear," Withington said. "Moreover, the closer the GPS receiver is to the R-330Zh's jamming antenna, the stronger the jamming signal becomes." Russia's counter-GPS efforts are part of a massive electronic-warfare campaign that has also disrupted Ukrainian radio communications and drone operations. John Moore/Getty ImagesAccording to the RUSI report, Russian EW troops are also "highly capable" at intercepting and decrypting Ukrainian radio communications.

Persons: —, Thomas Withington, Withington, Serhii, HIMARS, Worthington, Denis Abramov, Mil.ru Worthington, Russia's, John Moore, hasn't, countermove, Michael Peck Organizations: Ukrainian, Service, Ukraine —, NATO, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Pentagon, Getty, U.S, GPS, Russian Defense Ministry, Mil.ru, Russian, Russian GPS, Russian Army, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Soviet, Ukrainian, Kharkiv Oblast, Withington, Forbes

The vaccine, the company said, may not have gone through advanced enough testing to qualify for the new pot of U.S. funding. Federal officials, some of whom have become concerned about the leadership of the next-generation vaccine program, acknowledged that key questions remain about how the program will operate and how quickly it can deliver. Although some Biden administration officials hope to roll out new vaccine technology by fall 2024, many scientists believe doses are at least several years away. “There’s not the money, there’s not the infrastructure, there’s not the support,” John Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, said of the push for improved vaccines. “So I’m not expecting any next-generation major things in the near future.”

Persons: “ There’s, there’s, ” John Moore, I’m, ” Organizations: Biden, Weill Cornell Medicine Locations: Pennsylvania, India

☆ US-made MaxxPro mine-resistant armored fighting vehicles 'are almost indestructible,' Ukrainians say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US-made MaxxPro vehicles "are almost indestructible," a Ukrainian fighter told The Times. While some were killed as they attempted to flee, others escaped in a MaxxPro armored fighting vehicle, despite being under heavy fire. Last year, the US announced that it would send 200 vehicles to Ukraine as part of a military aid package. But it is facing formidable obstacles, including Russia's complex defense systems in southeastern Ukraine, comprised of razor wire, anti-tank obstacles, and deadly minefields, Insider recently reported. Ukrainian forces have fired the Remote Anti-Armor Mine System, a US-made artillery round that lays anti-tank mines in flight, Insider recently reported.

Persons: Ukraine's, —, Stepan, John Moore Organizations: Times, Jaeger Brigade, Service, Russian, The Times, Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade, Navistar Defense, US, Reuters Locations: Ukrainian, Blahodatne, Iraq, Ukraine, Donetsk, US

☆ A supernova that exploded in a nearby galaxy is one of the brightest in a decade. Here's how to see it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A supernova has exploded in the Pinwheel Galaxy 21 million light-years away. Named SN 2023ixf, it sets itself apart by being one of the brightest seen in a decade. The supernova, which appeared in the Pinwheel Galaxy 21 million light-years away, is one of the biggest and brightest in our skies in a decade, Space.com reported. But this supernova, named SN 2023ixf, sets itself apart by its proximity to Earth: it's located in the Pinwheel Galaxy, which is only about 21 million light-years away. The Pinwheel Galaxy is located close to two of the stars in the handle of the Big Dipper.

Persons: —, Space.com, Dan Perley, Kuntz, Mould, Chu, Jacoby, Hanna, Miller, Rodriguez, de Martin, Koichi Itagaki, Webb, Perley, It's Organizations: Galaxy, Service, Liverpool John Moores Observatory, Hubble, Gemini, NASA, ESA, K, JHU, Bresolin, University of Hawaii, Jet Propulsion, University of Illinois, CSA Locations: Urbana, Canada, France, Hawaii, T.A

☆ Disney vs. DeSantis: What to Know About Their Power Struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Title 42: What Its End Means for Immigration and the Southern Border Title 42, which allowed U.S. authorities to quickly expel migrants on public health grounds, expired on May 11. WSJ’s Alicia A. Caldwell explains what the policy is, its effect on the border and what comes next. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

☆ The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh Ehsan Popalzai Antonio Jarne Lou Robinson | Eliza Mackintosh | Ehsan Popalzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

“Currently we don’t have security in Afghanistan at all, whenever we go out we don’t know if we will come home alive or not,” he added. Taliban security forces guard a checkpoint near the foreign ministry in Kabul on March 27, after an ISIS-K suicide bomber struck the site. The data, which is available in a live map, includes 367 pieces of open-source evidence — largely videos and images shared on social media — about 70 ISIS-K attacks since August 2021. As the Taliban try to minimize the threat ISIS-K poses, attacks on civilians continue. Taliban security forces have been waging ongoing operations and night raids against ISIS-K.

☆ These are the top 10 holdings of Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio as of March 31. With various portfolio changes in the first quarter of the year, Berkshire Hathaway's top 10 holdings of US stocks has shifted, though Apple still represents a near 50% of the portfolio. In fact, the top 10 positions in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio make up a massive 90.2% of its entire portfolio. These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion US stock portfolio as of March 31. American ExpressCredit cards fill a display at American Express headquarters John Moore/Getty ImagesTicker: AXPPosition: $25.0 billionPercent of portfolio: 7.7%2.

☆ Elon Musk Picks NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino to Lead Twitter. Here’s Why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ End of Title 42 immigration policy has brought fewer migrants than expected, but overcrowding concerns remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

David Peinado Romero/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Migrants carry a baby in a suitcase across the Rio Grande on May 10. Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Migrants wait to get paid after washing cars at a gas station in Brownsville on May 10. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Migrants surrender to US Border Patrol agents after crossing the border in Yuma on May 10. Paul Ratje/Reuters Migrants wait to be processed by US Border Patrol agents in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on April 26. Hudak warned in the filing that without measures to conditionally release some migrants, Border Patrol could have over 45,000 migrants in custody by the end of the month.

☆ Pandemic-related asylum restrictions known as Title 42 expire, straining U.S. immigration system
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The expired rule, known as Title 42, was in place since March 2020. While Title 42 prevented many from seeking asylum, it carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts. Migrants cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents before Title 42 ends, in Matamoros, Mexico May 10, 2023. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had already warned of more crowded Border Patrol facilities to come. They were quickly apprehended by Border Patrol agents.

☆ The Next Big Bull Market Could Be Copper
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The copper wave is coming. Photo: John Moore/Getty ImagesGlencore ’s aggressive pursuit of Canada’s Teck Resources has put a spotlight on the race to secure access to copper. Traditionally seen as a cyclical economic indicator, the metal is also poised to play a key role in the world’s green transition—which is being supercharged by recent legislation, including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed last year. Green technologies including electric vehicles and solar panels use more copper than equivalent fossil-fuel-based technologies, and supply growth looks likely to fall far well short of demand over the coming decade.

☆ US should supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine now to end the stalemate with Russia and win the war, former US Air Force colonel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

F-16s are "critical" to rapidly defeat Russia, retired Air Force Col. Jeff Fischer told the Kviv Post. It would only take two to six months to train Ukrainian pilots to use the jets, Fischer argued. The Biden administration previously said it would not send the US-made fighter jets to Ukraine. There are 4,500 fighter jets already manufactured, he said, and the US is still producing them. While some have argued the single-seat fighter jets would be a "game changer" for the country, other experts believe it might prove more complicated.

☆ Russia having difficulty building new weapons, but might have enough older ones, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“The quality of the Russian military in terms of advanced equipment will likely decline, at least over the near term,” the CSIS report says. Western officials, speaking during a briefing Tuesday, also noted the pressure on the Russian tank fleet. The CSIS report highlights the problem Russia faces in new tank construction, citing Russian media reports. ‘Less reliable suppliers’Sanctions have cut Russian access to optical systems – needed for tank gunners to pick out targets – ball bearings and machine tools, the CSIS report said. Russia still retains numerical advantages over Ukraine, the report said, because it has large inventories in reserve.

☆ Western countries are speeding up tank deliveries to Ukraine, but tanks aren't what Ukrainian troops need to get around Russian forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Western countries are hustling to deliver main battle tanks to Ukraine's military. Tanks will be useful in taking on Russian tanks and fortifications in a counterattack this spring. But Ukraine needs other armored vehicles to counterattack Russia effectively, one expert says. "There is a lot of mechanized infantry and tank brigades in each" corps that Ukraine is forming, Kofman said. Without the ability to build bridges strong enough to bear the weight of armored vehicles, a Ukrainian offensive would stall.

☆ The killing of Americans in a Mexican border city highlights a sinister trend that US policies are making worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Luis Chaparro | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Initial reports indicated that authorities suspected that the four kidnapped Americans had been confused for Haitian migrants, whose numbers in Matamoros have increased in recent weeks. It also revealed an overlooked trend: the extreme vulnerability of the thousands of migrants who have been stuck in Mexican border towns for the past three years. "We feel like we are being kidnapped inside this city," Fedler Dominic, an Haitian migrant in Matamoros, told Insider in a phone interview. In April 2022, three migrants, including a man from Peru, were kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo, another border city. "You can't basically move from the camp," Manuel Velázquez, a Cuban migrant in Matamoros, told Insider.

☆ 'Magical' nails found in a 2,000-year-old Roman tomb were meant to stop the restless dead from haunting the living, archaeologists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Archaeologists have found bent nails, lime, and brick near a Roman burial site. These may have been charms to stop the restless dead from interfering with the living, they said. There are signs in burial site that the deceased person was respected at the time of their death. iStock / Getty Images PlusThe nails suggest ancient Romans feared the restless dead and would use various occult practices to protect themselves, archaeologists said in the study. But they were dead nails, and the way they were distributed around the perimeter of the tomb suggests that the placement was purposeful," he said.

☆ A convicted kidnapper who fought for Wagner in Ukraine said it was 'utter hell' and he saw fellow fighters 'cry' and 'vomit' as fear took over in the trenches
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An ex-convict who fought for Wagner in Ukraine said the front line was "utter hell," Reuters reported. Wagner recruited thousands of convicts to help address Russia's manpower issues in the war. In the face of these personnel problems, Russia turned to the infamous Wagner mercenary group for help. Wagner recruited thousands of prisoners for the fight, promising them pardons in exchange for their service. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, argued in a statement to Reuters that Wagner was "probably the most experienced army that exists in the world today."

☆ Ukraine is vowing to defend 'fortress' Bakhmut as Russian forces surround it: Here are 3 reasons why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Ukrainian infantrymen with the 28th Brigade view damaged buildings while driving to a frontline position facing Russian troops on March 05, 2023 outside of Bakhmut, Ukraine. Russian forces appear to be tightening the noose around the city in Donetsk. "The fall of Bakhmut won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight," he added, noting that he would not predict when Bakhmut might fall to Russian forces. Ukrainian military vehicles drive along a road outside of the strategic city of Bakhmut on January 18, 2023 in Bakhmut, Ukraine. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy warned that Russian troops will have "open road" to key cities in eastern Ukraine if they seize Bakhmut.

☆ Russia and Ukraine's deadliest battle is starting to look like Stalingrad 'without the importance,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine both say Bakhmut, a city in Ukraine, is the site of their deadliest fighting. An expert on Russia's military likened it to Stalingrad, but without the same level of significance. But at least Stalingrad was an industrial city, a major inland port on the Volga River that was a vital transportation artery for Soviet war production and home to a half-million people. Western experts are struggling to understand why both sides are pouring enormous resources — and prestige — into the Battle of Bakhmut. "It's like becoming like a Stalingrad except for without the importance of Stalingrad."

☆ Warren Buffett praised the practice of long-term investing in his annual shareholder letter. These are the 10 longest-held stocks in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett has long praised the practice of long-term investing when it comes to stocks. "The world is full of foolish gamblers, and they will not do as well as the patient investor," Buffett said in Berkshire Hathaway's 2022 shareholder letter. These are the 10 longest-held stocks in Berkshire Hathaway's $299 billion stock portfolio. These are the 10 longest-held companies in Berkshire Hathaway's $299 billion individual stock portfolio. UPSJustin Sullivan/Getty ImagesTicker: UPSTime Held: 17 yearsPortfolio Value: $10.3 million7.

☆ Carnival has unveiled one of its longest cruises yet — a 31-day journey in 2024 starting at $3,450
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

From Alaska, the ship will then spend its last day at sea before finally docking in Seattle on day 31, concluding the month-long journey across three continents. Seattle skyline on March 13, 2022. The city is currently experiencing "very unhealthy" air quality levels. John Moore/Getty Images

☆ Costcutter owner Bestway buys Sainsbury's stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sainsbury's shares were up 4.5% on Friday, hitting their highest since April and leading gainers on the FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index. The 3.45% stake makes Bestway Sainsbury's sixth largest investor, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Asda was purchased by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity company TDR Capital for an enterprise value of 6.8 billion pounds, while Morrisons was bought by U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for 7 billion pounds. Sainsbury's proposed 7.3 billion pounds takeover of Asda was blocked by Britain's competition regulator in 2019. Shares in Sainsbury's closed on Thursday at 239.4 pence, valuing the business at 5.6 billion pounds.

Although many public health experts are expressing concern about the rising COVID cases in China, infectious disease experts have been increasingly worried about the XBB.1.5 variant. Recombinants of the BA.2 variant, XBB and XBB.1.5, together accounted for 44.1% of the total cases in the country for the week ended Dec. 31. For the week ended Dec.24, XBB.1.5 had made up 21.7% of the total cases. The XBB variant has been driving up cases in parts of Asia, including Singapore. It accounted for 3.6% of the total cases in the U.S. this week compared with 4.2% in the previous week.

☆ Supreme Court keeps in place Trump-era immigration policy allowing asylum-seekers to be quickly turned away
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Lawrencehurley_Pic.Jpg | Lawrence Hurley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The court voted 5-4 to grant an emergency request by 19 Republican state attorneys general who sought to intervene in defense of the policy. The brief court order said that while the administration cannot set aside the Title 42 policy, the decision "does not prevent the federal government from taking any action with respect to that policy." Gavin Newsom, has warned that the system for handling migrants seeking asylum would “break” if Title 42 is ended. Chief Justice John Roberts on Dec. 19 placed a temporary hold on Sullivan’s ruling while the Supreme Court weighed its next steps. Title 42, named after a section of U.S. law, gives the federal government power to take emergency action to keep diseases out of the country.

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