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☆ Lucinda Williams Tells Her Secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Penelope Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

NASHVILLE — “Bless your heart!”Lucinda Williams delivered the Southern benediction in her distinctive drawl. She has a memoir coming out soon, and Ms. Williams, the celebrated singer-songwriter who has been compared to Raymond Carver for the acuity of her work, was nonetheless not too sure about this particular literary endeavor. So when a visitor complimented the book, “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You,” she beamed. “I thought, ‘I’m going to write this book and turn it in when I’m done,’” she said. Emmylou Harris once said Ms. Williams could sing the chrome off a tailpipe.

☆ French police have warned about an Irish gang posing as builders to defraud property owners, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

French police have warned about an Irish gang defrauding property owners by posing as builders. The gang offers to pave areas with tar at a far lower price than normal but the work is substandard. They actually belong to the Rathkeale Rovers, a criminal clan named after a town in Ireland. Some members of the Rathkeale Rovers were now living in France, authorities believe, acting as a "base" for the scammers, per Le Parisien. The French interior minister didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

CompaniesCompanies Law Firms Conocophillips FollowApril 3 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by environmentalists to temporarily suspend the U.S. government’s approval of ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska’s Arctic. Gleason said an injunction was inappropriate because the groups wouldn't be irreparably harmed by the construction that ConocoPhillips has scheduled for this month, which includes building roads and a gravel mine. Bridget Psarianos, an attorney challenging the approval, called the planned construction schedule "aggressive" and said the judge's decision is "heartbreaking." The approvals for the project in northern Alaska give ConocoPhillips permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8 miles of gravel roads, an air strip and hundreds of miles of ice roads. The 30-year project would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, according to the company.

☆ Robots are getting good at dribbling soccer balls, new video from MIT shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers from MIT designed "DribbleBot," a robot that dribbles a soccer ball just like humans. Researchers from MIT's Improbable Artificial Intelligence Laboratory designed the robotic system, which can dribble a soccer ball across a range of surfaces. We need the machines to go over terrains that aren't flat, and wheeled robots can't traverse those landscapes." Four-legged robots designed by other companies, including Boston Dynamics, Ghost Robotics, and Anybotics, are also putting their robot-iterations to work, such as performing equipment inspection checks at companies. But advancements like MIT's show there's still progress being made toward the dream of competitive soccer robots.

☆ Verstappen wins Australian Grand Prix after red flag chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Verstappen wins his second race of the seasonHamilton finishes runner-up ahead of AlonsoRace interrupted by red flags, crashesMELBOURNE, April 2 (Reuters) - Max Verstappen was crowned Australian Grand Prix winner on Sunday after two late red flags and a slew of crashes threw the race into chaos before the Red Bull driver was allowed a processional victory lap around Albert Park. That allowed Verstappen to claim his second win of the season ahead of Hamilton with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso third. Red Bull have now claimed all three grand prix wins in the new season, a record for the team, resuming their dominance after their runaway success in 2022. The Dutchman now has 69 points in the championship race, 15 ahead of team mate Sergio Perez. Verstappen opened up a big gap before the late red flags saw the race turn from procession to drama and back again.

☆ Team by team analysis of the Australian Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ASTON MARTIN (Fernando Alonso 3, Lance Stroll 4)Alonso's third third-place finish in three races for the team he joined this season from Renault-owned Alpine. The Spaniard started fourth, dropped to fifth but was third by the second red flag. Russell pulled up with his car flaming at the rear on lap 18, triggering a virtual safety car. He had fought back from 11th after pitting during the second safety car period, just before the first red flag. The German was fourth at the final red flag but the positions were reset to the previous grid because no sector had been completed.

☆ Piastri blames inexperience for qualifying setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, April 1 (Reuters) - McLaren's Formula One rookie Oscar Piastri blamed inexperience for a disappointing qualifying on Saturday ahead of his home Australian Grand Prix debut. The 21-year-old Melbourne-born driver will start 16th in Sunday's race, with British team mate Lando Norris set to line up 13th. Piastri had already been reprimanded, his first in Formula One, after final practice for a breach of the practice start procedures. "After he slowed down considerably, the team warned him to complete the lap before attempting a practice start and therefore he did not go through the full practice start procedure. "The driver candidly admitted his mistake and recognised that this could have resulted in a dangerous situation on the track."

☆ Verstappen takes pole for Red Bull at Australian Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MELBOURNE, April 1 (Reuters) - Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull at the Formula One Australian Grand Prix on Saturday. Mercedes driver George Russell joins Verstappen on the front row for Sunday's race at Albert Park after making the second-fastest lap, with Lewis Hamilton to start third. Red Bull's Sergio Perez will start from the back of the grid after skidding off track and beaching himself in gravel in the first session of qualifying. Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Verstappen fastest in first practice at Australian Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, March 31 (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Max Verstappen topped the timesheets for Red Bull before taking a late spin at Albert Park in an eventful first free practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday. The Dutchman lapped the lakeside circuit in one minute, 18.790 seconds, nearly half a second quicker than second fastest Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, as two red flags disrupted the session. A second red flag cut the session short by a few minutes as Williams rookie Logan Sargeant came to a halt on track-side grass with an apparent power failure. Verstappen finished his session with a bit of drama, taking a big spin at turn four to ruin his tyres. But he squeezed in a fast lap between the red flags to sandwich himself between Verstappen and Perez's times.

☆ Senate votes to roll back Biden administration clean water rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate has approved a resolution to overturn a Biden administration rule that would expand federal protections for the country's waterways, a measure Republicans have criticized as overbearing and burdensome to business. The vote comes after the Biden administration last year issued a rule that more broadly defined which types of waterways in the U.S. are eligible for federal water quality protections under the 1972 Clean Water Act. The White House said the revised rule is based on definitions that were in place before 2015, when the Obama administration sought to expand federal protections. The Biden administration argued that rolling back the rule would make federal regulations unclear for businesses and farmers and that increased uncertainty would threaten economic growth for agriculture, and local economies. However, a federal judge this month paused the Biden administration's waterway protections in Texas and Idaho, marking a victory for Republican challengers.

☆ This concrete chemist-turned-CEO wants to decarbonize concrete. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck his startup Carbonaide used to raise new funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Concrete accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions every year and Carbonaide wants to change that. The startup is headed up by a concrete chemist set on decarbonizing an industry he spent 20 years in. Tapio Vehmas' dad, uncle, and brother work in the concrete industry. So far Carbonaide has run a small pilot where it demonstrated a CO2 emissions reduction of 45% compared with traditional concrete, Vehmas said. We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck 17-slide pitch deck the startup used to secure the funds.

☆ US firm says Mexican authorities illegally seized its port terminal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sarah Morland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A sign reading "Closure" hangs on a fence at the entrance of the limestone mining by Vulcan Materials in Calica, in Quintana Roo state, Mexico May 6, 2022. Mexico's government on Friday ordered a halt to Vulcan Materials, a producer of gravel and crushed stone, citing environmental concerns and provoking the U.S.-based firm to say it will take legal action to restart operations in Playa del Carmen. REUTERS/Paola ChiomanteMEXICO CITY, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. construction materials company Vulcan Materials (VMC.N) said on Monday Mexican security forces illegally took possession last week of its port terminal in southern Mexico, amid an extended lawsuit over its nearby limestone mining activities. It follows a 5-year fight with the Mexican government over Vulcan's concessions punctuated by sharp criticism from the country's president last year. Vulcan declined to say how last week's action was illegal or who is currently in control of its terminal.

ConocoPhillips had sought to build up to five drill sites, dozens of miles of roads, seven bridges and pipelines. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month that it was concerned about the greenhouse gas impacts of Willow. Its Bureau of Land Management last month recommended a "preferred alternative" that includes three drill sites and less surface infrastructure than originally proposed. The decision comes after the Biden administration on Sunday announced new protections for Alaskan land and water. Environmental groups criticized the Biden administration, saying it was trying to have it "both way" on climate change.

☆ Mass layoffs including workers who are pregnant or on parental leave may seem unfair, but it's not illegal in the US — here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Critics have slammed some companies for laying off US workers on parental leave in recent months. But staff on protected leave aren't immune from mass layoffs, labor lawyers told Insider. Some of the stories that have caught the most attention and outrage on sites such as LinkedIn, however, are those of workers whose companies laid them off while they were pregnant or on parental leave. When they return to work after FMLA leave, the Department of Labor says that employees must return to the same job or one that is nearly identical,. What protections do pregnant workers have?

☆ Commercial real estate's biggest investors are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the grittiest land in America. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Big commercial-real-estate players from Brookfield to Fortress are snapping up industrial land. Brookfield is one of several big-name investors that are paying increasing attention to lowly industrial land. Industrial land also generally has lower operating costs and taxes compared to other real estate. It's hard to find big enough portfolios of industrial landThere are challenges, too, in breaking into the business of owning industrial land. Atkins said he has been impressed by the robustness of the IOS market, even with fears about the broader economy.

☆ The US Army has been dredging the Mississippi River 24/7 for 6 months. The drought crisis that grounded barges and unearthed fossils may finally be over.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging the Mississippi River 24/7 since July. USACE maintains a nine-foot-deep channel down the Mississippi River, so that ships and barges can travel freely. A barge tows cargo down the Mississippi River, in Vicksburg, Mississippi during a historic drought. The National Weather Service predicts the likely removal of drought in much of the Mississippi River basin in February. The National Weather Service's outlook forecasts a likelihood of no drought in most of the Mississippi River basin into spring.

☆ Polar bear emerged unseen from snowstorm to kill mom and son before it was shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

It was the first fatal polar bear attack in 30 years in Alaska, the only U.S. state that is home to the animals. The view from the front of the school in Wales, Alaska, on Sunday. However, polar bears see humans as prey, said Geoff York, the senior director of conservation at Polar Bear International. Polar bears are the largest bear species, according to the U.S. Polar bears generally feed on seals, but also walruses and beluga whales.

☆ Ancient Roman concrete was incredibly strong — scientists may have just figured out why
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ancient Roman concrete is incredibly durable, even more so than modern concrete. One team may have cracked the mystery — focusing on tiny white flecks once seen as imperfections. These scientists suggest the secret is in white flecks found in the concrete called "lime clasts." Courtesy of the researchersLime clasts — the white flecks — are quite brittle, and that's a good thing. They made up concrete blocks, one using the powdered lime and one using a more modern version of the concrete that did not.

☆ Kosovo re-opens major border crossing with Serbia, easing standoff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A view of Merdare border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia which was closed by Kosovo after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in refusing to recognise the country's independence, near Podujevo, Kosovo, December 28, 2022. REUTERS/Florion Goga/File PhotoMITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Kosovo re-opened its biggest border crossing with Serbia on Thursday, hours after protesting Serbs in its north promised to remove roadblocks, easing a surge in tensions that has alarmed world powers. Two burned-out trucks filled with gravel stood on a bridge close to the ethically divided town of Mitrovica, some 50 km from the reopened Merdare crossing. Two border other crossings with Serbia in Kosovo's north remain closed since Dec. 10. The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed accusations from Kosovo's interior minister that Russia was influencing Serbia to destabilise Kosovo, saying that Serbia was defending the rights of ethnic Serbs.

☆ Analysis: Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale boom is running out of road
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Eliana Raszewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/4] Workers stand next to a drilling rig in Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas drilling, in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina November 3, 2022. It holds the world's second-largest shale gas reserves and the fourth-largest shale oil deposits. Reuters Graphics'ABOUT TO COLLAPSE'On the ground in the key Vaca Muerta shale town of Anelo the signs of strain are clear. Local and regional demand is not enough," said Ricardo Markous, president of Tecpetrol, which operates the huge Fortin de Piedra field in Vaca Muerta. There are currently around eight active fracking crews in Vaca Muerta compared to nearly 280 in the United States, Rystad said.

☆ An iPhone 14 automatically notified emergency services when a California couple's car plunged 300 feet down a canyon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Cloe Fields and Christian Zelada's car came off the road and plunged 300 feet into a canyon. Fields' iPhone 14 automatically notified emergency services about the accident, local law enforcement said. Crash-detection is a new feature on the iPhone 14 and some Apple Watch models. Apple introduced the crash-detection feature to the iPhone 14 and some Apple Watch models. If owners don't respond to an on-screen crash alert within 20 seconds, the device automatically messages the emergency services.

☆ The 2024 Senate map just got even more difficult for Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sinema’s interests are no longer necessarily the Democrats’ best interests in the next Congress, and the 2024 Senate map became even more complicated for Democrats with Sinema’s decision. The Democrats who run against independent Sen. Angus King in Maine have not gained traction in recent elections. Having two people in the race who are going to caucus with the Democratic Party likely makes it more difficult for the Democrats to win. All that said, the Democrats already have a difficult map heading into 2024. With Sinema’s break from the Democratic party, the road is, if nothing else, curvier for Democrats.

My husband died when I was 31; we'd been diligently saving for retirement. As a widow, I'm spending on my home and mobility instead of saving for a future that's not promised. I hear some of you out there gasping at what may sound like a flippant attitude toward planning for my financial future. I'm saving for 3 things I care aboutRight now, I'm saving for home repairs and odd jobs around the house, driving lessons and a car, and a gravel bike. I've learned that life is short and I want to spend money on experiences and things I can enjoy now, but that doesn't mean I'm spending money recklessly.

☆ Faucets poised to run dry for hundreds of Arizona residents by year's end
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Deon J. Hampton | Deon J. Hampton Is A National Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Scottsdale residents also were urged to reduce their usage as a first step toward more stringent restrictions. Some Rio Verde Foothills residents said they don't know how such an important issue could have dragged on so long without a resolution. Rio Verde Foothills resident Jennifer Simpson. Rio Verde Foothills. “I’m sure that if there’s no access to water, we’d be up in arms.”Many Rio Verde Foothills residents say they feel abandoned.

☆ Porsche just turned its iconic Porsche 911 sports car into a jacked-up off-road beast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But if you want to take a 911 sports car off-road, Porsche has officially unveiled just the car for you. The Porsche 911 Dakar has a top speed of 150 miles an hour. There are two selectable drive modes specifically for off-asphalt use, Rallye Mode and Off-Road Mode. The 911 Dakar rides about two inches higher off the ground than a regular 911 sports car. To save more weight, the 911 Dakar has no backseats, unlike most 911 models, and it has special lightweight glass in the windows.

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