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☆ Vivek Ramaswamy's firm courts GOP officials as he pushes businesses to stay out of politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Scott Olson | Getty ImagesRepublican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy built his White House bid around urging companies to stay out of politics. The messages show Ramaswamy's firm actively engaged with GOP state leaders who have defended the fossil fuel industry and criticized environmentally conscious investment standards. Ramaswamy on Thursday defended the firm's engagement with GOP officials, saying bigger firms BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have conducted similar practices with state officials across the country. Strive has become one of the more vocal opponents of ESG investing and has gained enough notoriety to challenge the likes of fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil . Ron DeSantis, have often attacked ESG investing standards and corporations that support social causes — an increasingly common refrain within the GOP.

☆ North America’s best bar for 2023 serves pizza cocktails
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —This week in travel news: Crowns are handed out to pizza joints, bars and an English king. And we reveal why going on a hiking trip might be one of the best ways to find love. Award-winning bars and restaurantsDouble Chicken Please, a cocktail bar-slash-chicken joint on New York’s Lower East Side, took the No.1 spot in North America’s 50 Best Bars 2023. A newly published Italian list names the Best Pizza in Europe 2023, all outside the home country. King Charles gets his crownThis is what you can expect to see at King Charles III's coronation 04:04 - Source: CNNLondon airports were expected to greet more than 2 million arrivals this week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, as the country prepares for the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.

☆ I drove the $62,000 Kia EV6 GT — a genius electric SUV with supercar speed. Here are 8 things it taught me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Alanis King | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

I heard a lot of great things about the Kia EV6 GT before driving one myself. The Kia EV6 GT is geniusThe EV6 is Kia's new electric crossover, and it starts at $48,700. The 2023 Kia EV6 GT. The 2023 Kia EV6 GT. The 2023 Kia EV6 GT.

☆ 'PayPal Mafia' member says Google and Meta intentionally overhired engineers to prevent them from working at other companies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"PayPal Mafia" member says Google and Meta "do fake work." The companies over-hired thousands of employees to fulfill a "vanity metric," said investor Keith Rabois. He's part of the infamous PayPal cohort (pictured above — he's number nine) that went on to play influential roles at other major tech companies. Rabois estimates that Facebook parent company Meta and Google each have thousands of employees who don't do much. He even suspects that Google intentionally overhired engineers to prevent them from working at other companies.

☆ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Cortana were 'dumb as a rock'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella said voice assistants like Siri and Alexa were "dumb as a rock." Nadella who raved about the voice assistants in 2016 saying "bots are the new apps," has changed his tune since then, the FT reported. "Whether it's Cortana or Alexa or Google Assistant or Siri, all these just don't work. According to Insider Intelligence analysis in 2018, just 2% of global consumers said they used Cortana as their primary voice assistant. Siri's co-creator Adam Cheyer told the FT that ChatGPT's ability to understand complex information makes existing voice assistants look stupid, saying "the previous capabilities have just been too awkward."

☆ 5 non-fiction books everyone should be reading about work in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

If you're looking for inspiration or feel stuck in your job, these 5 career books, recommended by Goodreads, can help put you in the right mindset. These books, all published in 2022, have at least a 4-star rating on Goodreads and at least 1,000 members added the book to their "want-to-read" shelf on the site. Chance walks readers through how to cultivate charisma, become a stronger negotiator and deal with manipulative people. Pfeffer introduces seven rules for building a fulfilling, successful career, including "break the rules" and "network relentlessly," as well as how to follow them in your own life. As one review noted: "This book felt like the wakeup call I had been seeking for years now."

☆ Inside Tracy Anderson's cutthroat fitness empire: Legal threats, paranoia, and trainers who say their bodies were 'breaking apart'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

One day around 2015, a dozen or so gift boxes showed up at the Brentwood, California, studio of the celebrity fitness trainer Tracy Anderson. "It was an exclusive boutique fitness studio," the former New York trainer said. Darren Gerrish/WireImageThe method demanded that TA trainers, most of whom were also professional dancers, perform the strenuous workouts full out, every time. Let's help you do it correctly so you don't get injured,'" the former New York trainer said. "This is at a time where everyone is already overworked," one of the former New York trainers said.

☆ From writing malicious code to creating deepfakes, generative-AI tools like ChatGPT are being used for harmful purposes. Here's how founders and VCs are thinking about policing them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In the past few months, some have raved about the capabilities of generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Startups policing themselvesSome startups have taken it upon themselves to ensure their products aren't being used for the wrong purposes. In 2020, Resemble AI, a company that can generate voices using AI, released Resemblyzer, an open-source package that can verify speakers and detect fake speech. Despite their bad rap, the majority of deepfakes are used for marketing or entertainment, rather than malicious purposes, Riparbelli told Insider. But already, US government officials are collaborating with AI startups to form partnerships and fund research around these concerns, Ahmed told Insider.

☆ Ron and Casey DeSantis danced to the governor's campaign song 'Sweet Florida' at the state's inaugural ball, in final event of 2-day 'DeSantis-Palooza'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Casey DeSantis wore a gold embellished gown. Songs included "My Girl" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," two guests leaving the event told Insider. Bill Diamond of Palm Beach told Insider the food was "very good and very inventive" and raved about the lamb. "I have had clients coming back and saying that was very Kennedy-ish," one source who attended multiple inauguration events told Insider. Casey DeSantis and the couple's son, Mason, were also present, he said, as were Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez and her husband Adrian Nuñez.

☆ Solana's slide accelerates — $50 billion in value wiped from the cryptocurrency in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The token's market cap collapsed from over $55 billion in January to barely above $3 billion at year-end. Bankman-Fried's companies held nearly $1.2 billion worth of the token and associated assets in June, according to documents reviewed by CoinDesk. But the recent slides came after that news had already broken, making Solana's recent slide something of a mystery. During the crypto market's heyday in 2021, Bankman-Fried was hardly alone in his bullishness. Solana's token fell from $141 to a low of a little over $94.

Several Latinos whose lives and work left a profound imprint on American institutions — from arts and entertainment to legal and civil rights — passed away in 2022. Cavazos began his education in a two-room schoolhouse on the King Ranch in Texas, where his father was a foreman. President Reagan named Cavazos Secretary of Education in 1988, making him the first Hispanic ever to serve in the U.S. Together, “Luis” and Maria” showed young audiences that Latinos were people who worked, fell in love and were part of their community. Her goals were to give Latinos a presence in the dance world, and to instill pride in Hispanic culture.

That journey hit a milestone Monday, when Congress passed a law named after Salas' son, Daniel Anderl. "We can't forget that Judge Salas was not just targeted for being a judge. "Judge Salas and her family were victims of a horrific hate crime." Congress ultimately passed the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act on Thursday as part of the annual defense authorization bill. Marshals Service to hire additional analysts, security specialists and other personnel to help prevent threats to federal judges.

☆ Black Friday and Cyber Monday editors' picks: What our staff bought
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Gabriella Depinho | Gabriella Depinho Is A Production Coordinator For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the busiest shopping events of the year. Some of our staff purchased tried and true favorites that needed replacing, like beloved Lululemon running sneakers or perfume. I bought the Kalorik MAXX 10-in-1 because I have a large household and its 26-quart capacity can cook an entire rotisserie chicken. They’re lightweight yet supportive, and great for running outdoors or on the treadmill.” — Zoe Malin, associate updates editor“My brother and I bought this iPad for my mother's Christmas present. It also comes with a dishwasher-safe scraping tool for easy clean-up, says Cuisinart” — Mili Godio, associate reporter“I bought this cute toiletry bag that looks roomy.

☆ HBO is No. 1 as 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: Apple's a big spender and 'there's a sheen when you're a Hulu show,' but there's 'fear in the air' at Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

"It's definitely been not the most exciting and robust year," said one TV agent at a major agency. Around 70 people at HBO and HBO Max have been let go this year, and their comedy development teams have merged. While WBD doesn't break out streamer-specific figures, it said on Thursday's earnings call that HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ have a combined 94.9 million subscribers, ensuring that any show on HBO Max has the chance to get a lot of eyeballs. They'll also take smaller swings in the genre department, do things at a lower budget," said the second TV agent. Echoed the first TV agent: "You pitch and sell to them if no one else wants it."

☆ 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows now as Apple TV+ closes in on HBO Max amid turmoil at Warner Bros. Discovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

☆ Singapore food vendors launch first hawker center in New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Roselle Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A dish is pictured as Urban Hawker, a Singapore-style hawker market, opens in Midtown Manhattan in New York, NY, U.S., September 28, 2022. Urban Hawker, in midtown Manhattan, features 17 vendors handpicked by the food hall's curator, KF Seetoh, with 11 coming directly from hawker centers in Singapore. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"Street food in Singapore is not something you burn or deep fry. Bourdain was enthusiastic about the idea of a New York hawker market. "The amazing thing about him saying yes was that he's never been to Singapore," Seetoh said.

☆ ‘The Woman King’ poised for big box-office run after surprisingly strong opening weekend
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

During a lull in the movie calendar, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King” is generating the kind of buzz — and ticket sales — that the box office desperately needs. ″‘The Woman King’ opened on the high end of our expectations and looks poised for a very healthy theatrical run thanks to strong word of mouth,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. Overall ticket sales were driven predominantly by older female viewers, a demographic that has been slower to return to cinemas coming out of the Covid pandemic. Additionally, Black audiences accounted for 56% of all opening weekend ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. “Much like ‘Black Panther,’ ‘The Woman King’ demonstrates that positive, culturally based stories can resonate strongly among all audiences,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

☆ 'The Woman King' poised for big box-office run after surprisingly strong opening weekend
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

During a lull in the movie calendar, Gina Prince-Bythewood's "The Woman King" is generating the kind of buzz — and ticket sales — that the box office desperately needs. "'The Woman King' opened on the high end of our expectations and looks poised for a very healthy theatrical run thanks to strong word of mouth," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. Overall ticket sales were driven predominantly by older female viewers, a demographic that has been slower to return to cinemas coming out of the Covid pandemic. Additionally, Black audiences accounted for 56% of all opening weekend ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. "Much like 'Black Panther,' 'The Woman King' demonstrates that positive, culturally based stories can resonate strongly among all audiences," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

☆ Here's how we furnished and priced our Airbnb as superhosts and made up to $51,000 a year from it
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-31 | by ( Hilary Hattenbach | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hilary Hattenbach and her husband, Jared, became Airbnb superhosts after guests gave good reviews. To make it a success, they priced it low, furnished it enthusiastically, and learned on the fly. Airbnb charges guests a 14% service fee and hosts a 4% fee. Originally, we'd low-balled the cleaning fee because we'd resolved to do the cleaning to save money. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, we took in former Airbnb guests for what was initially a six-month lease that was ultimately extended.

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