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☆ Venture capitalists swap Paris Hilton for Al Gore
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LOS ANGELES, March 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Venture capitalists are trading reality stars for policy wonks. Hundreds of top venture capitalists flocked to Los Angeles this week to congregate at a two-day, invite-only soirée for tech’s elite. For 2022, venture-backed companies collected nearly $240 billion for their coffers, 31% lower than the record $345 billion in 2021, according to Reuters. Crowds piled into the theater at the Museum of Motion Pictures to hear a reality check on climate change from former Vice President Al Gore. CONTEXT NEWSThe 10th annual Upfront Summit took place in Los Angeles on March 1 and 2.

☆ GenZers who own an Android have lost track of how many times they've been bullied for not having an iPhone but they still refuse to switch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gen Z accounts for 34 percent of iPhone users and just 10 percent of Samsung users, according to data reported by Financial Times. Two Android phone users in their twenties told Insider that because of the wide disparity, they face challenges as minorities in the digital world. However, issues with being the only one with an Android phone still affect Carrier's friendships. According to Avila, Android users were seen as "poor or a loser," and the mentality gained popularity online. "Even if Androids are the better phone, that stigma would never make me get one," Avila told Insider.

Democrats voted this past weekend to say goodbye to Iowa as the first state on their presidential nominating calendar, a move likely to end the state's almost 50-year history leading off the Democratic race for president. Iowa has had a strong history of picking Democratic candidates that ultimately win the party's nomination — Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all won Iowa caucuses the year their party tapped them as its presidential nominee. But that wasn't the case in 2020, when Democrat Pete Buttigieg ultimately won a caucus mired by technological mishaps that delayed the reporting of the results for days. It was that mishap, along with concerns from many Democrats about the lack of diversity among the electorate picking winners in each of the first two nominating states (Iowa and New Hampshire) that helped pave the way for this weekend's vote. For more on the Democrats' history with the Iowa caucus, and how it's mattered in key presidential races over the years, check out this deep dive from ahead of the 2020 caucus written by NBC News and MSNBC National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki.

☆ Al Gore and the End of Climate Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Al Gore was right about one thing in his rant at the World Economic Forum in Davos: CO2 emissions have continued to climb and show no sign of being affected by “climate policy.”He didn’t mention his own contributions to this outcome, intervening in the early Obama years to turn climate policy into an excuse for protectionist pork barrel, with no real effect on climate. Nor that he was the seminal author of a brand of green hyperventilation that almost guaranteed real climate action would become a polarizing dead letter.

☆ ABB won't rush float of $2.9 billion electric vehicle charging business - CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, Feb 2 (Reuters) - ABB (ABBN.S) won't be rushed into the flotation of it 2.6 billion Swiss franc ($2.86 billion) E-Mobility electric vehicle charging business, Bjorn Rosengren said on Thursday after the company reported fourth quarter earnings. "At the moment we don't feel pushed to do an IPO very quickly," Rosengren told reporters. ABB announced on Wednesday a four new investors in the business, including a fund linked to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. "We have $525 million to invest in the company and we will continue to do all the activities to grow that business," Rosengren said. ($1 = 0.9091 Swiss francs)Reporting by John RevillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

“If it’s a room of five people, Anita and Bob are two of them,” said a former White House aide, who asked to remain anonymous because the person was not authorized to speak on the record about White House business. The White House declined to comment for this piece. The group of White House aides that were looped in on the discovery immediately was slightly larger and included Dunn, this person said. “Whatever strategy they had has not served him well — the lack of transparency from November to January,” said a second former White House official. Bauer, who didn’t join the administration, has acted as a sounding board for White House lawyers on potential hires.

☆ The National Archives wants former presidents and vice presidents to see if they have any classified documents stashed anywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The NARA has reportedly reached out to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents. NARA wants them to check their records for classified information, according to a letter seen by CNN. Reps for Obama, George W. Bush, and Clinton have told Insider they don't have classified documents. The request comes after classified documents were found in recent months at the homes and offices of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence. Bush and Ronald Reagan, and former Vice Presidents Mike Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, CNN reported.

☆ A Florida Democratic state lawmaker says the party must 'go back to the basics' in order to reverse recent statewide losses: 'We're very much at the bottom of the bottom'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Florida Democratic legislator told The Washington Post of the party's struggles in the state. A party operative told the paper that the GOP continues to organize in the state, while Democrats have "regressed." Bush carried Florida for the GOP, but in 1996 then-President Bill Clinton flipped the state into the Democratic column in his successful reelection bid. The GOP governor, last fall, won reelection in a 19-point landslide over his Democratic rival, former Gov. In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Democratic state Rep. Anna AskMen said that the party had to "go back to basics" and overhaul its door-knocking and get-out-the-vote operations.

[1/2] Ron Klain attends a meeting at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington October 22, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoREHOBOTH BEACH, De., Jan 21 (Reuters) - Ron Klain, President Joe Biden's White House chief of staff, plans to leave his post in the coming weeks, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday, a major changing of the guard. Klain, 61, has a long history at the White House, having served as chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore and to Biden when he was vice president under President Barack Obama. The chief of staff position is one of the most important at the White House, the senior political appointee responsible for driving the president's policy agenda and ensuring appropriate staff members are hired. Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, burned through four chiefs of staff in four years including his first, Reince Priebus, who lasted 192 days.

☆ Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain set to step down in coming weeks: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

White House chief of staff Ron Klain is expected to depart his role in the coming weeks, per The New York Times. Klain worked as President Barack Obama's White House Ebola response coordinator and also previously served as chief of staff to former vice president Al Gore. He also was chief of staff to then-Vice President Joe Biden during the first two years of the Obama administration. Anita Dunn — who rejoined the White House last year after having previously served in the White House as a senior advisor from January 2021 to August 2021 — has been a name long rumored to be a contender upon a Klain departure. Other individuals thought to be under consideration include former Delaware governor Jack Markell, White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, and White House domestic policy director Susan Rice.

☆ 4 ways to pay for the climate crisis, according to Al Gore and other leaders at Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Panel speakers said philanthropy is often overlooked when thinking about the climate finance gap and that it could act as vital leverage. Michael Wilkins, executive director and professor of practice at the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment at Imperial College Business School, welcomed the comments made by panelists at Davos. "Philanthropy has been crucial in research and development for climate finance and its development," Wilkins told Insider. "The private sector has to join the public sector," Gore said. The solution is not just about scaling up climate investment, though, according to Gore.

☆ Climate leaders say 3 conversations need to happen at the World Economic Forum this week to lock in a sustainable future
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The climate crisis is set to dominate the agenda at this year's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. Climate experts say they'll be looking out for 3 conversations, including how to pay for the climate crisis. More climate finance dealsSome solutions to the climate crisis already exist, according to Sweta Chakraborty, behavioral scientist and CEO of climate solutions organization We Don't Have Time. A sovereign debt conversion deal enables governments to convert a portion of this debt into sustainability financing. "Developing countries want to join the fight against the climate crisis and need financial support to be successful," she said.

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook requests and receives a 40% pay cut after shareholder vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook will receive a pay cut in 2023 to $49 million in total compensation, the company said in a filing with the SEC. Cook requested the change, Apple said in the filing, following a shareholder vote on his pay package. Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Apple shareholders vote against Cook's pay package at last year's annual meeting. The number of actual shares of Apple stock that Cook vests depends on Apple's performance versus the S&P 500. Since Cook took over as CEO in 2011, Apple stock has returned 1,212% versus 290% for the S&P 500, Apple said.

☆ Six battleground states will hold the key to the White House in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

AP Photo/Andrew HarnikGeorgia2012 margin: Romney +7.8%2016 margin: Trump +5.1%2020 margin: Biden +0.2%For decades, Republicans could easily depend on the Peach State's electoral votes falling into their column. Two years later, Biden won the state by roughly 12,000 votes over Trump, followed by the dual 2021 runoff victories of Sens. AP Photo/Matt RourkePennsylvania2012 margin: Obama +5.4%2016 margin: Trump +0.7%2020 margin: Biden +1.2%Biden's hometown of Scranton is dear to his heart so Pennsylvania was always going to be a key state for the party in 2024. AP Photo/Andy Manis, FileWisconsin2012 margin: Obama +6.9%2016 margin: Trump +0.8%2020 margin: Biden +0.6%Wisconsin is one of the most politically-divided states in the country. But Trump flipped Wisconsin to the GOP in 2016, the first time it had supported a Republican presidential nominee since 1984.

☆ Bulb bailout exposes UK’s pseudo power market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Bulb is the biggest of dozens of flaky British power suppliers which opted not to hedge their future costs when energy prices were cheap. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects the saga to cost taxpayers 6.5 billion pounds. Octopus itself thinks the loan could be more like 2.4 billion pounds, as wholesale prices have recently fallen. If that’s correct, regular payments by Bulb customers will cover the cost. With retail power prices fixed and the government on the hook for higher wholesale costs, Britain’s privatised power industry is operating in anything but a free market.

☆ Boies law firm makes odd moves in FTX case against Tom Brady, celebs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

That was apparently not what the Boies and Moskowitz firms were hoping. In mid-November, the firms filed the first of their three FTX lawsuits in federal court. On Nov. 21, the Boies and Moskowitz firms filed a second FTX class action, this time on behalf of non-U.S. FTX customers. The day after Bloom’s assignment to the case, the Moskowitz and Boies firms voluntarily dismissed the two previously-filed FTX class actions before Moore and Gayles. “As we got more cases, we filed more cases,” Moskowitz said.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema's Democratic defection without a difference
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Specter’s switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party briefly gave Democrats a filibuster-proof majority and allowed them to pass the Affordable Care Act. Joe Lieberman, the moderate Democrat and former longtime senator, lost a Democratic primary in Connecticut in 2006, largely over his support for the Iraq war. A defection without a differenceArizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema appears to be different as she becomes the 22nd senator to change party affiliation while in office. A Senate independence trioSinema will be the first independent senator who isn’t from New England in more than a generation. The most complete political evolution may be that of Lincoln Chafee, the Rhode Island politician who was a Republican senator, independent governor and failed Democratic and Libertarian presidential candidate.

☆ Vanguard's decision to leave the world's biggest climate-finance group could impede Biden's plan to protect Americans' savings from the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vanguard announced on Wednesday it's pulling out of an initiative to fight climate change. Biden previously proposed a plan to involve the financial sector in reaching net zero carbon emissions. As Insider previously reported, Biden last year released a report that focused on mitigating the financial risks climate change puts on people's retirements, pensions, savings, and more. However, Republicans have plans to increase oversight over Wall Street firms that are assessing climate change and prioritizing environmental, social and governance causes, known as ESG. Still, the world is making some progress toward fighting the financial risks of climate crisis.

☆ Idealab founder Bill Gross started selling solar energy kits in 1973 at 15 years old. Now he's leading solar tech company Heliogen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Idealab and Heliogen Founder Bill Gross speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2022 Code Conference on September 08, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. "Because I was reading Popular Science magazine, I saw people used to take out little ads in the back," Gross told CNBC. One limiting factor for solar energy is its intermittency, which means it only delivers power when the sun is shining. But we're delivering the energy continuously because the energy is coming out of the rock bed," Gross told CNBC. The price of fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine is a game changer," Gross told CNBC.

☆ Florida no longer looks like a swing state after DeSantis, Rubio lead big Republican wins
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Once considered the nation's biggest swing state, Florida is looking more and more like a Republican stronghold. The state's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and Sen. Marco Rubio both glided to victory against their respective Democratic opponents. The number of active registered Republican voters, meanwhile, rose to 5,259,406 in the same period — a gain of more than 150,000. In this month's midterms, older Florida voters came out in droves, while young voters stayed home, NBC's exit polls show. And the GOP extended its gains in the Florida state Legislature, clinching supermajorities in both chambers.

☆ Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen named in lawsuit against FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Genesis said it was working with advisers “to explore all possible options,” adding that it would release a plan for the lending business next week. “We’re working tirelessly to identify the best solutions for the lending business, including among other things, sourcing new liquidity,” the company said. The suspension comes as the entire crypto industry is on edge following the unraveling of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange and Alameda Research hedge fund, both of which filed for bankruptcy late last week. On Wednesday an FTX investor sued Bankman-Fried as well as several celebrities who have endorsed the platform, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Steph Curry. “The deceptive FTX platform maintained by the FTX entities was truly a house of cards,” the proposed class-action lawsuit states.

☆ Mehmet Oz, Tim Michels, Don Bolduc offer quick concessions as some pro-Trump election deniers avoid stoking new fears about results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"This morning I called John Fetterman and congratulated him," Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a Wednesday statement announcing his concession. Oz was just one of the hundreds of pro-Trump candidates that raised doubts about the 2020 election. Legally speaking, concessions hold no weight, as elections are not over until results have been canvassed and certified which can take weeks. Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 presidential election reminded Americans that admitting defeat is not just a sign of basic grace and decency. It is worth noting that before Trump candidates from both parties readily conceded races.

☆ Live Results: Democratic state Sen. Wiley Nickel defeats Bo Hines, a Trump-endorsed Republican, in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Hanna Kang | Jake Epstein | Nov | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Democrat Wiley Nickel defeated Republican Bo Hines in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District. Raleigh MayorDemocrat Wiley Nickel, who is a member of the North Carolina State Senate, has defeated the Trump-endorsed Republican Bo Hines in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District. 2022 General EmbedsNorth Carolina's 13th Congressional District candidatesHines, 27, a political newcomer with virtually no experience, raised eyebrows even within the GOP when former President Donald Trump offered him his endorsement. If elected, he will replace Rep. Ted Budd — a staunch Trump ally and Republican nominee in North Carolina's US Senate race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Voting history for North Carolina's 13th Congressional DistrictNorth Carolina's 13th Congressional District encompasses Johnston County and parts of Wake, Wayne, and Harnett counties.

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire is running for reelection to a second term. 2022 General EmbedsNew Hampshire's Senate race candidatesHassan, a former state lawmaker and two-term governor, is aiming to secure a second term in the Senate. Bolduc — who served in Afghanistan and received two Purple Hearts and five Bronze Stars — is the Republican standard-bearer in this year's Senate race. During the 2020 US Senate election that Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen won, more than 18,400 voters — about 2.3% — cast ballots for Libertarian candidate Justin O'Donnell. What experts sayThe New Hampshire race was rated as "tilt Democratic" by Inside Elections, "lean Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "leans Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

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