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☆ Amazon is gutting its voice-assistant Alexa. Once founder Jeff Bezos's pet project it's now the primary target of historic layoffs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Amazon's Alexa and the devices team at large is now the prime target of the biggest layoffs in the company's history, according to press reports and an internal email seen by Insider. Instead, Amazon wanted shoppers to buy more things through Echo devices by placing orders through the voice-assistant. Reports of Alexa mistakenly sending voice recordings to the wrong person or Amazon employees secretly listening to private conversations stoked fear of privacy concerns. But even so, its financial contribution often fell short of expectations, more than half a dozen employees told Insider. Employees told Insider the product is Bezos's latest pet project.

☆ See Volkswagen's office chair that would make even a 'Star Trek' Captain jealous
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

Volkswagen Norway's Commercial Vehicles department unveiled an office chair prototype that resembles their EV cars. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich reports the chair has a horn, seatbelt and a top speed of 12 miles per hour. Source: CNN Business

☆ Amazon laid off some devices unit staff as it targets 10,000 cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon executive Dave Limp in a blog post said the company had decided to consolidate teams in its devices unit, which popularized speakers that consumers command through speech. At the time, Amazon touted sales of more than 100 million Alexa devices, a figure it has not since refreshed publicly. Founder Jeff Bezos later said the company often sold Alexa devices at a discount and sometimes below cost. For Amazon, the cuts sharply contrast with efforts months ago to double its base pay ceiling to compete more aggressively for talent. Under his tenure Amazon announced the end of its virtual healthcare service for employers and pruning of its much-hyped autonomous sidewalk delivery program.

☆ Amazon starts cost cuts with layoffs at devices, services units
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is laying off employees in its devices and services units, America's second largest private employer informed its staff on Wednesday following recent reports that it would cut around 10,000 jobs. The e-commerce giant did not share details on the number of jobs it will cut or a time period. Some individuals working on Alexa took to networking site LinkedIn on Tuesday saying they have lost their jobs. At the time, Amazon touted sales of more than 100 million Alexa devices, a figure it has not since refreshed publicly. Founder Jeff Bezos later said the company often sold Alexa devices at a discount and sometimes below cost.

☆ Kevin Spacey charged with 7 new sexual assault allegations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is facing seven new sexual assault charges in the U.K., British authorities said Wednesday. The CPS said it had also authorized one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. Spacey, 63, has already pleaded not guilty to allegations in the U.K. dating back 17 years, including four charges of sexual assault and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. Those allegations were related to incidents alleged to have taken place in London and Gloucestershire, a county around 100 miles west of the British capital. In October, Spacey was found not liable for battery against "Star Trek: Discovery" star Anthony Rapp when Rapp was 14 in the 1980s.

☆ A man disparaging Jews and someone pretending to be H.R. McMaster just created federal campaign committees. It may be weeks before regulators do anything about it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Two recently established political committees appear to violate FEC regulations. McMaster at the Richmond Forum in Virginia, a man says he found himself so inspired that he formed a political committee to support McMaster for president in 2024. Federal regulations generally prohibit committees from using the name of a prospective candidate in their committee's name. Then, two days after the McMaster filing, another man filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a committee with completely different — and hostile — intentions. As for Liu's antisemitic committee name, the FEC has a process for dealing with that — but it's a protracted one.

☆ Jeff Cook, co-founder of country band Alabama, dies at 73
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

1 songs on the country charts between spring 1980 and summer 1982, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. “They showed a kid in a T-shirt that country music could be rock, could be real, could be someone who looked like me. He entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005 as a member of Alabama. “After I got the Parkinson’s diagnosis, people would quote the song to me and say, ‘No bad days,’” Cook told The Tennessean in 2019. “They write me letters, notes and emails and they sign ‘No Bad Days.’ I know the support is there.”Survivors include his wife, Lisa.

☆ 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

"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."

☆ Dolly Chugh Q&A: How to love a country with a complicated history
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Angela Duckworth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This tradition of loving one’s country, but not always liking what is done in its name, is not new. In this conversation, she offers seven tools grounded in psychological research that can help you learn — and unlearn — American history. The newly released book "A More Just Future: Psychological Tools for Reckoning With Our Past and Driving Social Change" is written by social psychologist Dolly Chugh. Dolly Chugh: The interview opened with him spontaneously singing “Hello, Dolly!” to me, so he definitely had me at hello! Dolly Chugh of the NYU Stern School of Business offers seven tools that can help you learn — and unlearn — American history.

☆ William Shatner was right, say 2 Blue Origin astronauts: space flights do trigger emotions of grief and sadness
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Blue Origin astronauts agreed with William Shatner's feelings of grief after flying into space. The Star Trek actor said his Blue Origin spaceflight felt like a funeral and all he saw was sadness. Sharon and Marc Hagle at Blue Origin facility in Texas. Everybody has their own takeaway and emotional experiences based on their lives on Earth, Marc added: "Even now, we're tearing up." Three days after launching with Blue Origin, the couple went to watch a rocket launch together.

☆ The Happy Meal inventor says McDonald’s didn’t want it at first
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But four decades ago, when the first Happy Meal debuted, the company didn’t quite get it. They didn’t immediately embrace it,” Bob Bernstein, an advertising executive who created the Happy Meal in the late 1970s, said in a video interview from his Kansas City office, which is decked out with Happy Meal memorabilia and original art. The meal’s name was an offshoot of a 1960s McDonald’s jingle, in which it called itself the “happy place.” “It’s such a happy place / Hap, hap, hap, happy place,” it went. For some reason, the company’s corporate offices outside Chicago were reluctant to roll out the Happy Meal nationally. Mario Anzuoni/ReutersIn the 1990s, Beanie Babies, Transformers and Power Rangers Happy Meal toys were massive hits for McDonald’s.

☆ AI tech like Dall-E 2 will eventually kill smartphone apps, A16z VC Peter Levine says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The A16z venture capitalist Peter Levine told Insider that apps were heading for obsolescence. Tech like Dall-E 2 and Stable Diffusion that generates AI artwork will have more uses, he said. Peter Levine is best known as a general partner at the venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. This, instead, would be a series of AI agents that generate what you ask for when you ask for it. The Andreessen Horowitz general partner Peter Levine.

"Don't Worry Darling" is now available to buy ($25) or rent ($20) from Amazon, Vudu, and more. Check out the trailer for 'Don't Worry Darling'Florence Pugh ("Midsommar") plays the lead role of Alice opposite Harry Styles ("Dunkirk") as Jack. As of October 25, "Don't Worry Darling" has a low "38%" score on Rotten Tomatoes. How to watch 'Don't Worry Darling'"Don't Worry Darling" is now available to watch at home through digital retailers like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and YouTube. "Don't Worry Darling" is not based on a book, but rather a spec script originally written by Shane and Carey Van Dyke.

☆ Leslie Jordan, 'Will & Grace' actor, dies at 67
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Diana Dasrath | Corky Siemaszko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In this image released on April 18, Leslie Jordan speaks onstage at the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry on April 18, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. LOS ANGELES — Leslie Jordan, who won an Emmy playing the conniving Beverly Leslie on "Will & Grace" and became a social media sensation during the pandemic, died Monday after crashing his car into a wall while driving in Hollywood, his spokesman said. "The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan," the spokesperson said. Jordan, who was 67, was pronounced dead at the scene around 9:30 a.m. (PT) after officers responded to reports of a collision at Cahuenga Blvd. But he was best known to television audiences as Beverly Leslie, the Karen character's rival who comes out as Gay on the show in one of the most memorable episodes.

The jury in Kevin Spacey's sexual abuse trial found that the Oscar-winning actor is not liable for battery against “Star Trek: Discovery star” Anthony Rapp. Rapp alleged that Spacey climbed on top of him at a party in New York City in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. “I didn’t ask for him to do that,” he told jurors, referring to Spacey’s alleged sexual advance. Rapp alleged that sometime after that evening, Spacey invited him to a party at his apartment. Rapp testified that he did not recognize anyone at the party, so he went into a bedroom to watch television.

☆ Kevin Spacey civil trial: Closing arguments underway
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Lauren Del Valle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Closing arguments are underway in the civil sexual misconduct trial against Kevin Spacey, stemming from allegations made by actor Anthony Rapp. Attorney Richard Steigman began by presenting a closing argument for Rapp in the New York courtroom on Thursday morning. Spacey, who finished testifying earlier this week, told the jury Rapp’s allegations were not true. “I was being encouraged to apologize and I’ve learned a lesson which is never apologize for something you didn’t do,” Spacey testified on Monday. Before ending his time on the stand last week, Rapp’s attorney Peter Saghir asked the actor if he had been lying about his allegations against Spacey.

☆ Kevin Spacey finishes testifying in civil sexual misconduct trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Sonia Moghe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —After about five hours on the witness stand, Kevin Spacey finished testifying in his defense in a sexual misconduct trial, stemming from allegations made by actor Anthony Rapp. Spacey grew emotional multiple times during his testimony, including when he discussed a statement he put out shortly after Rapp went public with his allegations in 2017 to BuzzFeed. Spacey has said in his testimony that his publicity team at the time advised him that he’d be labeled a victim blamer if he pushed back. “I was being encouraged to apologize and I’ve learned a lesson which is never apologize for something you didn’t do,” Spacey testified on Monday. The next witness called by Spacey’s attorneys will be Alexander Bardey, a psychiatrist.

☆ Jeff Bezos responds to criticism over investing in space travel instead of solving problems on Earth: 'We go to space not to abandon our home, but to protect it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a speech at the Vatican, Jeff Bezos addressed people who ask why he invests "so much into space." The former Amazon CEO said investing in going to space will benefit the Earth and "protect it." The goal for Blue Origin, Bezos has previously said, is to make traveling to space cheaper, more frequent, and more accessible. In 2018, Bezos said Blue Origin was "the most important work I'm doing," in an interview with Axel Springer's CEO Mathias Döpfner. Bezos founded the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, which will disburse $10 billion, committed by Bezos, in the current decade to fight climate change and protect nature.

☆ Kevin Spacey denies Anthony Rapp's allegation and testifies about 'terrifying' upbringing as the son of a 'neo-Nazi'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Daniel Arkin | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

In a significant development Monday, the judge overseeing the trial tossed out Rapp's claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said that claim "repeats and re-alleges" Rapp's allegation of battery. The actor testified that he "certainly had a degree of shame" about being gay because he grew up with his father's hateful views. Spacey is expected to rebut Rapp's allegation of sexual misconduct on Monday afternoon following a roughly hour-long lunch break. Rapp testified that Spacey invited him to a party at his apartment.

CNN —Actor Kevin Spacey will testify in the sexual misconduct trial against him, his attorney said in court Monday. Earlier Monday, attorneys for actor Anthony Rapp finished presenting their case against Spacey. He is suing Spacey for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Spacey’s attorneys have attempted to poke holes in Rapp’s claims by pointing to discrepancies, including dates Rapp alleged to have run into Spacey at industry events. Before ending his time on the stand, Rapp’s attorney Peter Saghir asked the actor if he had been lying about his allegations against Spacey.

Rapp, watching Spacey accept his prize, threw a pencil at the screen, he testified this week. Spacey’s lawyers have tried to convince the jury of six men and six women that Rapp fabricated his claim in large part because he was bitterly envious of their client's success. Rapp, they contend, desperately wanted Spacey’s career: the hit films, the plum roles, the two Oscars. But through the first five days of the trial in downtown Manhattan, Rapp’s alleged jealousy has been a recurring and striking theme. “I wanted my career.”Warrington Parker, a San Francisco trial attorney, and Danny Cevallos, an NBC News legal analyst, both described the jealousy argument as a high-risk bet for Spacey’s lawyers.

Rocchio testified that Rapp "did suffer emotional distress, assuming this occurred." She told jurors that Rapp experienced feelings of "shame, guilt and self-blame" as an adolescent. Rapp testified on Wednesday that the alleged encounter with Spacey was "the most traumatic single event of my life" and caused "lingering impacts." Rocchio recalled that Rapp told her he was having trouble remembering his lines of dialogue at some point in 2019. "One of the ways he tried to avoid thinking about things was to throw himself into his work," Rocchio testified.

"Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp testified Wednesday that the moment Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey allegedly climbed on top of him at a New York City party in 1986 was "the most traumatic single event of my life" and caused "lingering impacts." Rapp was 14 at the time of the alleged encounter and Spacey was 26. Rapp testified that at some point, an apparently drunk Spacey entered the room, lifted him up, placed him on a bed and rested his body on top of him. "I never wanted Kevin Spacey's career," Rapp told jurors. Rapp testified that he has shared his Spacey allegation with friends over the years, but he does not know "the number" of people he has told.

Spacey then came in and invited Rapp and Barrowman to dinner at a casual restaurant nearby, Rapp testified. Rapp testified Tuesday that he has no recollection of that visit. Rapp testified that he went on to see six other Spacey movies, including "The Usual Suspects," "L.A. Rapp testified that he shared his allegations privately with at least five friends over the years, including Barrowman. Rapp testified that he was not involved in the publication process and did not see a draft of the article before it was published.

☆ Anthony Rapp testifies he ‘could not escape’ his memory of incident with Kevin Spacey
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Sonia Moghe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Anthony Rapp testified Tuesday in a civil trial against Kevin Spacey about the emotional distress he says the actor has caused him. “Every time I saw him on the screen I was reminded, I could not escape that memory,” Rapp testified. “I wanted to tell someone what had happened,” Rapp testified. His first time seeing Spacey after the incident was during his brief appearance in the 1988 film “Working Girl.”“It was as if somebody had poked me with a cattle prod,” Rapp testified of seeing Spacey on screen. Rapp testified that he did not see a draft of the article and that he was concerned about public backlash for speaking out.

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