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☆ Welcome to Ed Park’s Many-Layered World
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Hamilton Cain | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

SAME BED DIFFERENT DREAMS, by Ed ParkJust after I’d registered for my first semester of college courses, I was meandering among a concourse of clubs and teams, fending off their grinning ambassadors, when a newspaper headline caught my eye: “U.S. Late in his lush, labyrinthine “Same Bed Different Dreams,” Ed Park recreates that moment, twisting the doomed flight’s number into a James Bond motif that resonates throughout the novel. Soon Sheen is an erstwhile Korean American writer turned lackey for GLOAT, a technology conglomerate. “Same Bed, Different Dreams” maps the arc of the mysterious Korean Provisional Government (or K.P.G. (Park’s novel and Echo’s nonfiction novel share a title, based on a Korean proverb and helpfully demarcated by Echo’s comma, the punctuation a possible allusion to the 38th parallel.)

Persons: Ed Park, Ronald Reagan’s, sabers, Ed, James Bond, Sheen, lackey, ’, ”, Drudge, swipes Organizations: Says Soviet, Korean, Jet, Korean Provisional Government Locations: Korean, GLOAT, NCD, Manhattan, Dogskill

☆ How Matthew Perry got cast on ‘Friends’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Lisa France | Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

NBC/Getty Images Perry, pictured circa 1985, developed an interest in acting after moving to Los Angeles when he was a teen. Michael Ochs Archives/Moviepix/Getty Images Perry and Christina Applegate were cast in the 1988 made for TV teen movie "Dance 'til Dawn." NBC/Getty Images Perry is seen in the 1995 "Friends" episode "The One with the Evil Orthodontist." NBC/Getty Images Perry co-stars with Salma Hayek in the 1997 romantic comedy film "Fools Rush In." NBC/Getty Images Perry and Cox are seen in the 2000 "Friends" episode "The One With Rachel's Assistant."

Persons: Matthew Perry, Perry, Chandler Bing, ”, Charlie Sheen, “, Sheen, —, ” Perry, Michael Ochs, Christina Applegate, Martha Plimpton, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Cox, Jay Leno, Salma Hayek, Michael Clarke Duncan, Warner, Monica, Danny Feld, Joe Quincy, Amy Stewart, Richard Schiff, Milo O'Shea, Kelly Reilly, Toby Melville, Reuters Perry, Merv Griffin, Jean, Paul Aussenard, LeBlanc, Mark J, Terrill, John Inwood, Zach Braff, John C, McGinley, Mitch Haddad, Amanda Peet, Bruce Willis, Everett, Chris Pizzello, Phil McCarten, Tom Williams, Lindsay Sloane, Michael Yarish, Ted Kennedy, James Corden, Terence Patrick, Julia Weeks, Matt Brennan, Dania Maxwell, Matthew, didn’t, Chandler, ‘ You’ve, Seth Meyers, ’, costars Jennifer Aniston, HBO Max, ” Cox Organizations: CNN, NBC, Getty, Michael Ochs Archives, Limelight, ABC, Disney Entertainment, Columbia, Warner Brothers, Bank, Comedy Theatre, Reuters, Merv Griffin Beverly Hills Country, Actors Guild, Guild of America, Los Angeles Dodgers, Capitol, National Association of Drug, Inc, CBS, Los Angeles Times Festival of, Los Angeles Times, L.A, LAX, HBO Locations: Los Angeles, Williamstown , Massachusetts, New York City, British, Chicago, London, Canada

☆ Opinion | Where Hamas Is Winning
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

That universal enmity made it hard to imagine how this state of many names — the Islamic State, ISIS, Daesh — could long survive. The atrocities perpetrated by Hamas against innocent Israelis, the snuff films, mutilations and delight in simple cruelty, inspired immediate analogies to the Islamic State’s depredations. Yes, a movement deliberately going to extremes risks the Islamic State scenario, where you isolate yourself so completely that you end up first morally delegitimized and then cornered and destroyed. Suppose you turn southern Israel into an abattoir and you don’t end up like the Islamic State thereafter? Well, then, as Damir Marusic writes in a troubling essay this week, you have achieved a “revolutionary legitimacy” that you didn’t have before.

Persons: opprobrium, Yair Rosenberg, Damir Marusic Organizations: ISIS, Bolsheviks, Islamic State, Islamic Locations: Jordan, Israel, Islamic State, Russia, American, statelessness, Palestine, Saudi, Gaza

☆ Apple TV+ is raising prices and expanding its content ambitions — here are the shows and movies it wants now, per leaked Hollywood agency documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple TV+ is a small but influential player in the streaming wars. And Apple has signaled it wants to grow its streaming content slate at a time when other media companies are contracting. Apple is "always looking" for films that "highlight humanity," according to one of the agency documents. As a side hustle of a massive retail business, Apple TV+ can fly under the radar, insulated from economic pressures that have roiled the entertainment business. (Apple TV+ was the first streamer to win the best picture Oscar, in 2022, for "CODA," which it acquired at the Sundance Film Festival).

Persons: Martin Scorcese's, Reese Witherspoon, Apple, execs, Apple hasn't, Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso, Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen, Jon Stewart's, Isaac Asimov's, John Krasinski, Stephen Curry, Ridley Scott's, Napoleon, They're Organizations: Apple, Netflix, Disney, New York Times, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, New England Patriots, Sundance Locations: China

☆ Hanging Drapery Is Harder Than You’d Think. But You Can Do It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Tim Mckeough | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the other hand, he said, “If the room doesn’t feel layered or there’s nothing particularly inspiring about it, adding a new pair of drapes with a particular color or print could dramatically change the space.”When you’re reviewing swatches, study the color, pattern and texture, but also think about the weight of the fabric. “Drapes are almost like a gown,” Mr. Arnold said. Finally, consider the light-blocking qualities of your favorite fabrics. Mr. Arnold almost always lines his drapery with a second fabric, which can be sheer enough to simply filter the light or dense enough to provide full blackout. Sometimes, he adds a pair of sheers behind the main curtains for better light control.

Persons: ” Mr, Arnold, “, It’s

☆ EPA orders Norfolk Southern to perform additional cleanup following Ohio derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The EPA said it also ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct additional investigations into oily sheen, or film, on water and sediments in two creeks in East Palestine. "Through this order, Norfolk Southern will take a thorough look at the waterways to ensure there are no lasting impacts from the derailment," EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore said. Norfolk Southern said the order "formalizes the continuation of work that has been ongoing since the derailment under a different regulatory scheme. Norfolk Southern remains cooperative, working with EPA and Ohio EPA at the site, and will continue to address derailment-related impacts in the waterways of Sulphur and Leslie Runs." In February, EPA issued a Superfund unilateral administrative order, compelling Norfolk Southern to eliminate spilled materials and contaminated soil from the location of train derailment.

Persons: Alan Freed, Leslie, Debra Shore, Leslie Runs, Sherin Elizabeth Varghese, Rahul Paswan, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Environmental Protection Agency, Norfolk Southern Corp, EPA, Norfolk, Norfolk Southern, Ohio EPA, Thomson Locations: East Palestine , Ohio, U.S, Norfolk Southern, East Palestine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Sulphur, Norfolk, Bengaluru

☆ No college, no problem. Tiffany's wants Gen Zers to make luxury jewelry.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company's owner, luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is expanding a program that trains people to become artisans who can make Tiffany's high-end jewelry. The company said Thursday it's begun a two-year bench jewelry apprenticeship program involving Tiffany and the Rhode Island School of Design. The move comes as Gen Zers rethink the idea of college as costs skyrocket and US student-loan payments are resuming following a pandemic hiatus. The programs work with colleges and universities to help conduct the training. LVMH has used apprenticeship programs to help develop the skilled artisans it needs for its brands.

Persons: Tiffany, —, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Gena Smith, it's, Smith, LVMH, Johnny Vacar, It's, they'd Organizations: Service, Tiffany, Rhode Island School of Design, Data Initiative, Tiffany's, Louis Vuitton Locations: Europe, North America, Island, York, LVMH's, Japan, San Francisco

☆ Meet the families who are ditching America to travel abroad as digital nomads
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Simone Stolzoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

At just shy of 400,000 inhabitants, Sintra is also big enough to absorb the 25 Boundless families without the expats dominating all the local haunts. At school, kids are fed organic meals made by a local chef. After school, kids from different families entertained themselves in the cobblestone streets and parks under light adult supervision. But despite some early success, Boundless Education, like the organization itself, is still very much a startup. On my last night in Sintra, the Boundless families gathered together at Praia de Maçãs, a beach 20 minutes from downtown.

Persons: Shirly, Erez Weinstein, Shirly Weinstein, Ella, Mauro Repacci, Simone Stolzoff, Edward, Jessica, —, Rekha Magon, I've, Repacci, Marcos Carvalho, Rolf E, Carvalho, Lona Alia, Alia, Elina Zois, it's, Andreas Wil Gerdes, Penguin Random Organizations: Khan Academy, Green School, Nordic Baccalaureate, North America, Penguin Locations: United States, Israel, Atlanta, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Portugal, Indonesia, Italy, Greece, Bali, Dominican Republic, Sintra , Portugal, Lisbon, Sintra, Ohio, Seattle, Italy's Tuscany, Montreal, Costa Rica, Europe, Southeast Asia, North, Praia, Maçãs, America, San Francisco

☆ European castles, private chefs, and a startup school: These families are ditching the US to live the American dream abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Simone Stolzoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." McCallum died Monday of natural causes surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital, CBS said in a statement. His parents were musicians; his father, also named David, played violin, his mother played cello. When David was 3, the family moved to London, where David Sr. played with the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. In 2007, when he was working on “NCIS,” McCallum told a reporter: “I’ve always felt the harder I work, the luckier I get.

Persons: David McCallum, McCallum, “ David, ”, James Bond, Ian Fleming, Jon Heitland's “, Robert Vaughn, Napoleon Solo, Illya, “ I’d, ’, Vaughn, Donald “ Ducky, Mark Harmon, Ducky, “, Lauren Holly, Steven D, Binder, David North, Sapphire, “ Amadeus ”, Michael Sheen, David Suchet, ” David Keith McCallum, David, David Sr, Young David, Jill Ireland, Charles Bronson, Bronson, ” McCallum, Katherine, Carpenter, we’ve, Paul, Jason, Valentine, Peter, Sophie, ” Peter McCallum, “ I’ve, ” ___ Bob Thomas Organizations: ANGELES, New York Presbyterian Hospital, CBS, Scottish, United Network Command, Law, Naval Criminal Investigation Service, Navy, Hallmark, of Fame, City, Associated Press, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Academy of Dramatic, Los Angeles Times Locations: New, Russian, Los Angeles, New York, Santa Monica, U.S, American, Glasgow, London, Australia, Ireland, “

☆ Opinion: The 2,000-year-old advice for coping in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. A surprising number claimed to think about the ancient empire as often as ‘every day’ or least every week or two. It became a meme (are you even in a relationship if she hasn’t asked you about the Roman Empire? They marvel at their absolute dominion, their mastery of every strand of civilisation — and then how that power suddenly slipped away. Biden on Wednesday took steps to speed up the ability of Venezuelans in the US to obtain work permits.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Seneca, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Bobby McFerrin’s musing, David M, Perry, hasn’t, Jo Ellison, —, Marcus Aurelius, that’s, David Perry, “ There’s, ” Perry, Paula M, Krebs, “, Donald Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, Trump, …, ’, ” Cupp, Roe, Wade, Cupp, he’s, Dean Obeidallah, Trump’s, Patrick T, Brown, Bill Bramhall, Content Agency Rupert Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, David Zurawik, Rupert, Murdoch, Roger Ailes, Richard Nixon, ” Murdoch “, Walt Handelsman, Kevin McCarthy, Max Burns, Donald Trump, today’s MAGA, ” Clay Jones, Chuck Schumer, Elena Sheppard, Sen, John Fetterman, baring, Fetterman, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Kim Yo Jong, Sung, Yoon Lee, “ Kim Yo Jong, Kim, Kim Jong, ” “, Hunter Biden isn’t, Alexis Coe, George Washington’s, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Hunter, … Hunter, Joe Biden, Biden, Peter Bergen, Mike Pence, … Biden, Bergen, ” Lisa Benson, Martin Sheen, Melissa Fitzgerald, Gurney, John F, Melissa, Andy, Michael Bociurkiw, ” Bociurkiw, Volodymyr Zelensky “, Zelensky, Lanhee J, Chen, ” Chen, Keir Giles, It’ll, Jennifer Wexton, Barbara Comstock, Alex Brandon, Jill Filipovic, Democrat “, ” Wexteon “, Eric Adams, Julian Zelizer . Biden, ” Don’t, David Horsey, Agency Frida Ghitis, Agatha Christie, China Adam H, Sobel, Holly Thomas, Russell Brand, Akanksha, Dan Perry, Gilead, Netanyahu government’s, Gene Seymour, Jann, Reggie B, Maren Morris, Matt Winkelmeyer, ” Maren Morris, Nicole Hemmer, Morris ’, Morris, Jason Aldean’s “, Oliver Anthony’s “ Rich, Richmond ”, “ Rich, ” Hemmer, Anthony himself, ‘, Hemmer Organizations: CNN, Financial Times, West Virginia University, Modern Language Association, WVU, West Virginia, Republican, Press, Florida Gov, White, Content Agency, Content Agency Rupert Murdoch Media, Fox News, Capitol, Agency, Democratic, fied Republican Party, Republican Party, Justice Department, Qatari, Amnesty International, Kennedy Center, UN, Assembly, CBS, Ukraine’s, Republicans, Democrat, Progressive Supra, GOP, Walton, Mobile, North, Richmond Locations: Rome, Ukraine, TikTok, Roman, Roman Republic, Washington, ”, Korean, North Korea, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Dulles , Virginia, Virginia, New York City, United States, China, Las Vegas , Nevada

☆ The Apple-Disney deal that could actually happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

And Apple has long been seen by some analysts as the most obvious acquirer of all or part of Disney. Iger said he considers the studio, streaming, and parks businesses (where the company recently set plans to invest $60 billion over the next decade) to have the most value. It would be hard to imagine operating the parks or streaming businesses without owning the popular franchises that fuel them. Ives envisions a deal where Apple pays for exclusive access to ESPN content and game broadcasts, with an acquisition following down the road. I believe it's a matter of not if, but when Apple buys ESPN."

Persons: Bob Iger, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Biden, that's, Gregg Abella, Iger, David Rogers, Apple, it's, Dan Ives, Cook, Ives Organizations: Disney, ABC, FX, Geographic, ESPN, Apple, Pixar, Jobs, Apple's, Investment Partners, Management, Star, Marvel, Columbia University, Verizon, MLS, Messi, Insider, Wedbush Securities, Google

☆ Martin Sheen and Melissa Fitzgerald: ‘We are all dancing on the edge of the abyss’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Opinion Martin Sheen | Melissa Fitzgerald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Melissa Fitzgerald is an actress and director of strategic engagement for All Rise, founded as the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, a training, membership, and advocacy organization for justice system innovation and reform. These public health and public safety crises are among the paramount social challenges of our time. And of course, we need to develop an ever-growing workforce of licensed addiction treatment providers to deliver services. Treatment courts are a shining example of how the justice system can, and should, provide a public health-oriented response to addiction. This year alone, 4,000 treatment courts will refer 150,000 people to treatment and recovery support.

Persons: Martin Sheen, Melissa Fitzgerald, Melissa —, —, Andy, “, ” Melissa Fitzgerald Leah Puttkammer, Martin Sheen Michael Kovac, we’ll Organizations: Golden Globe, National Association of Drug Court, Public, CNN, AFI, US Centers for Disease Control, National Center, Substance, Welfare, Mental Health Administration, Research, Kennedy Center Locations: telehealth, Chicago, Washington , DC

BEIJING, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. and European firms are shifting investment away from China to other developing markets, a report from Rhodium Group showed, with India receiving the vast majority of this redirected foreign capital, followed by Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia. "Diversification is well underway," the research organisation said, but acknowledging: "it will take years for advanced economies to achieve the objectives behind their 'de-risking' policies," as China is so central to global supply chains. Low production costs and the prospect of a massive middle class drew the first foreign firms to China in the late 1980s, as the country abandoned its Maoist economic model. The shift comes as Chinese local authorities struggle to revive foreign investment after an economically bruising pandemic and property crisis depleted their coffers. But the authors cautioned that diversification is unlikely to result in a rapid decline in exposure to China because the markets foreign firms are investing in are heavily reliant on trade and investment with the Asian giant themselves.

Persons: Wednesday's, Joe Cash Organizations: Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, India, Mexico, Vietnam, Malaysia

☆ VCs don't care as much about Y Combinator's Demo Day anymore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Y Combinator's Demo Day used to be the hottest in-person early-stage event in Silicon Valley. For early-stage venture capitalists, few days on the calendar used to compare to Y Combinator's biannual Demo Day. "All of the funds try to go meet the best YC companies before Demo Day," the same investor told Insider. When asked about startups raising before Demo Day, Y Combinator president and CEO Garry Tan told Insider in an emailed statement that "lots of the best companies raise at Demo Day and after." "Coinbase, Instacart, Whatnot, Rappi, Airbyte, Retool — you could have gotten into their rounds at Demo Day.

Persons: It's, Erik Bruckner, Y, Garry Tan, it's, Bruckner, They're, Y Combinator, Jeff Weinstein, Combinator, Tan, haven't Organizations: YC, Bruckner Ventures, FJ Labs Locations: Silicon Valley, Columbus , Ohio

☆ Ali Bongo: who is Gabon leader ousted in military coup?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A still image from video shows Gabon President Ali Bongo being interviewed in Libreville, Gabon, September 24, 2016. Following a stroke, his fitness to rule was questioned, sparking a failed coup in 2019 as he convalesced in Morocco. Before sitting down for a televised interview with Reuters after his 2016 election win, Bongo removed a large silver watch and several gold rings. When Bongo won a 2016 election, accusations of vote meddling stoked public anger amid a period of low crude prices and belt-tightening. In 2019, a military coup was foiled, with the coup plotters citing a lack of information following Bongo's stroke in 2018.

Persons: Ali Bongo, Bongo, Michael Jackson, Omar, Junior, Alain Bernard Bongo, Ali, Keen, Britain's Prince Charles, Alessandra Prentice, Edward McAllister, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Omar's, WikiLeaks, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, autocrats, Morocco, French, Congo Republic, France, U.S

☆ 8 New Songs You Should Hear Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

“A Vivir en Desacuerdo.” (translation: “To Live in Disagreement.”) is a welcoming introduction to her alluringly off-kilter sound. (Listen on YouTube)4. (Actually, I listened to it as an audiobook, which I would recommend because there are times when Tweedy actually sings to explain a point he’s making.) “Evicted” is stomping, twangy and rife with bruised emotions, as Tweedy sings, “I’d laugh until I died if it wasn’t my life, if it wasn’t me in the mirror.” (Listen on YouTube)7. (Listen on YouTube)

Persons: maJa, Jon Pareles, she’s, Billie Eilish, —, Lou, Ama, ”, Margaret Glaspy, Margaret Glaspy’s, “, Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, Tweedy, John Darnielle, Thebes Organizations: YouTube, Hail, Panasonic Locations: Dominican, Hail West Texas

☆ Gold off 3-week lows as investors brace for U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices dipped on Monday as the U.S. dollar climbed ahead of U.S. inflation data this week. Still, bullion was off three-week lows after slowing U.S. job growth knocked bond yields from their recent highs. Markets also took stock of labor department data showing solid wage gains and a decline in the unemployment rate that suggested continued tightness in labor market conditions. Data on U.S. consumer prices, due on Thursday, will be in focus to assess whether more rate hikes are needed to tame inflation. Non-yielding gold is often sought as a safe investment against inflation but tends to lose its sheen when rates rise.

Persons: Yeap Jun Rong, Edward Meir Organizations: U.S, Treasury, IG, Fed, U.S . Locations: Moscow, U.S

☆ Gold near 3-week lows as U.S. data points to more Fed tightening
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold bars and gold coins of different sizes lie in a safe on a table at the precious metal dealer Pro Aurum. Gold prices held near three-week lows on Thursday after a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. private payrolls in July fueled bets on more monetary policy tightening and boosted the dollar and bond yields. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,937.39 by 0400 GMT, trading near its lowest level since July 12 hit in the previous session. The U.S. dollar index rose to a four-week peak on Wednesday and benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were at their highest since November after data showed U.S. private payrolls rose by 324,000 jobs last month. Non-yielding gold is often sought as a safe investment during times of economic uncertainty but tends to lose its sheen when rates rise.

Persons: Clifford Bennett Organizations: Aurum, ACY Securities, U.S, Reuters, U.S ., Federal, Bank of England Locations: U.S

☆ Etsy forecasts downbeat third quarter as demand softens
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A sign advertising the online seller Etsy Inc. is seen outside the Nasdaq market site in Times Square following Etsy's initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in New York April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoAug 2 (Reuters) - Etsy Inc (ETSY.O) on Wednesday forecast third-quarter revenue below market expectations, signalling softening in demand for handcrafted goods at its online market place, sending its shares down 6% after the bell. This has taken the sheen off of Etsy's COVID-era gains when consumers with disposable income splurged on decor and other discretionary products. The company's consolidated gross merchandise sales (GMS) fell 0.6% to $3.01 billion in the second quarter ended June 30. The company expects revenue for the third quarter at between $610 million and $645 million, while analysts were expecting $632.4 million, as per Refinitiv data.

Persons: Mike Segar, Etsy's, Juveria, Maju Samuel Organizations: Etsy, Nasdaq, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: New York, Bengaluru

☆ HSBC raises outlook as profits nearly double
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —HSBC’s profits have soared as it continues to cut costs and cash in on high interest rates around the world. The strong performance led the London-based lender to raise its outlook for the rest of the year, citing the current consensus for global interest rates. HSBC (HSBC) now projects a return on tangible equity — a key measure of profitability — “in the mid-teens for 2023 and 2024, which excludes the impact of material acquisitions and disposals,” it said. On Monday, a UK regulator said banks needed to do more to share the benefits of high interest rates with their customers as critics point out that many savings rates haven’t kept up with interest rates. “The pace and scale at which firms pass through higher interest rates to savers needs to improve … especially at a time of higher cost of living,” said the agency.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Noel Quinn, haven’t, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Revenue, HSBC, Silicon, Bank, Financial, Authority, Barclays, NatWest Locations: Hong Kong, London, London’s, Canary

☆ How ‘Soul Train’ immortalized an exuberant era of Black style, movement and culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Brooklyn White-Grier | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This was “Soul Train,” the music television series that served as Blackness’ binoculars. In the middle of the Black Power era and feeding from the civil rights movement, “Soul Train” provided a fresh opportunity for Black people to see and celebrate themselves. “We wouldn’t have a house party or at a club where we weren’t doing the ‘Soul Train’ line,” she said. “Those were the fits and the looks and the moves where I think ‘Soul Train’ probably had its biggest influence.”Still, Cochrane, a Gen X-er, says that her era of the “Soul Train” — and the “Soul Train” line — moved with the times. “But it was on ‘Soul Train’ that we got to see our favorite artist, hear our beloved songs, get our style trends and language.

Persons: — You’ve, you’d, ”, Chicago’s, Jackson, Dyana Williams, “, Williams, ” Williams, George E, Johnson, Ultra Sheen, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Sly Stone, Sly, Nelson George’s, Todd Oldham, ” Oldham, It’s, Don Cornelius, Kenneth Gamble, Gamble, Huff, Naima Cochrane, Cochrane, Michael Ochs, Rosie Perez, Patrice Rushen, Fred Berry, Vivica, Cheryl Song, Nobody, ” Cochrane, ” “, ’ ” Williams, Black Television ” Organizations: CNN, TRL, Ultra, Black Power, Michael Ochs Archives, Fox, Black Television Locations: Afro Sheen, America, Washington ,, Philadelphia, Shalamar, American

☆ Ron DeSantis Wants to Tell the Future by Controlling the Past - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It’s an important point that you can also find in the College Board’s Advanced Placement class in African American Studies. “In addition to agricultural work, enslaved people learned specialized trades and worked as painters, carpenters, tailors, musicians and healers in the North and South,” the A.P. “Once free, African Americans used these skills to provide for themselves and others.”Similar points, yes, but the language isn’t quite the same. To say that any more than a fortunate few could “parlay” their skills into anything that might improve their lives is to spin a fiction. For them, there was no point after slavery where they could use their skills.

Persons: It’s, ”, Donald Yacovone Organizations: African American Studies, British Crown Locations: North, North America, British, United States

☆ The Night Sinead O’Connor Took on the Pope on ‘S.N.L.’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

She was something grander than a simple pop star — she became a stand-in for a sociopolitical discomfort that was beginning to take hold in the early 1990s, a rejection of the enthusiastic sheen and power-at-all-costs culture of the 1980s. And so, in an era where late-night television performances could still prompt monocultural mood shifts, her gesture was a volcanic eruption. And she was a savvy radical — reportedly she had done something slightly different in rehearsal, and saved the pope photo for the actual show. (The photo itself had hung on the bedroom wall of O’Connor’s mother, who O’Connor later said had physically and sexually abused her as a child.) Also, she was on live television, holding court for three minutes on the miseries of discrimination and abuses of power, under the guise of being a pop star performing a song.

Persons: Sinead O’Connor’s, Bob Marley’s, O’Connor intoned, Pope John Paul II, “, O’Connor —, —, O’Connor

☆ The AI behind ChatGPT really does seem to be getting dumber — but no one can quite figure out why
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's not just you: new research suggests ChatGPT's AI model really is getting dumber. There's been a growing feeling for a while now that the AI model behind ChatGPT is, frankly, getting dumber. No one can quite figure out why GPT-4 is changingWhat the research doesn't seem to identify is why this performance drop has happened. As the AI model underlying a more advanced version of ChatGPT, one that paying subscribers get access to, that's a bit of a problem for OpenAI. That said, it's hard to ignore the questions of quality surrounding GPT-4 when a whole community of AI devotees is asking them.

Persons: It's, There's, OpenAI, Ethan Mollick, Wharton, OpenAI hasn't, Peter Yang, Alistair Barr, Peter Welinder, tweeting, Matei Zaharia, —, Arvind Narayanan Organizations: Stanford, UC Berkeley, Morning, Stanford University, UC Berkeley — Locations: Princeton, GPT

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