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☆ The Week in Business: A Trial With a Twist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Marie Solis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In an unexpected twist in the courtroom on Tuesday — after jurors had been selected and opening statements delayed — Fox News agreed to a $787.5 million settlement. But even at less than half that amount, the settlement is still one of the largest ever in a defamation case. Caveats released in August said vehicles and plug-in hybrids assembled outside North America were not eligible for the $7,500 credit. The list of eligible vehicles is expected to grow as carmakers fine-tune their supply chains and catch up with demand. When the bank reports its quarterly earnings this week, analysts expect to see an enormous flight of deposits — that is, customers pulling their money from the bank — and losses.

☆ Testimony Suggests Trump Was at Meeting About Accessing Voting Software
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

ATLANTA — Former President Donald J. Trump took part in a discussion about plans to access voting system software in Michigan and Georgia as part of the effort to challenge his 2020 election loss, according to testimony from former Trump advisers. The testimony, delivered to the House Jan. 6 committee, was highlighted on Friday in a letter to federal officials from a liberal-leaning legal advocacy group. Allies of Mr. Trump ultimately succeeded in copying the elections software in those two states, and the breach of voting data in Georgia is being examined by prosecutors as part of a broader criminal investigation into whether Mr. Trump and his allies interfered in the presidential election there. The former president’s participation in the discussion of the Georgia plan could increase his risk of possible legal exposure there. Mr. Lyons recounted that during the meeting, Rudolph W. Giuliani, then Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, opposed seizing voting machines and spoke of how the Trump campaign was instead “going to be able to secure access to voting machines in Georgia through means other than seizure,” and that the access would be “voluntary.”

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show "Your World" about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right. ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDINGAdding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading after the settlement amount was disclosed. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand. [1/5] Dominion CEO John Poulos and lawyers speak to the media after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, avoiding trial, over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Delaware Superior Court, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. April 18, 2023. Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.

☆ A man who modeled for the cover of a military romance novel in which a woman lusts for her 'manwhore' Navy SEAL stepbrother was sentenced to 3 years in prison for assaulting a Capitol police officer o
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Logan Barnhart, a Michigan pipelayer and bodybuilder, was sentenced to 3 years in prison on Friday. A reader review of one of the novels said the book got her "hot and bothered." One of the books is titled "Stepbrother UnSEALed: A Bad Boy Military Romance," which is written by Nicole Snow. According to Amazon's summary, the book centers on a woman, Delia, who develops a "reckless temptation" for her stepbrother, Chris Cleveland. Barnhart pled guilty to assaulting officers with a weapon in September.

☆ Bud Light's inclusive ad campaigns are good for business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

For Bud Light in particular, reaching a new audience is crucial, Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing at Bud Light, said in a recent Make Yourself at Home podcast interview. Bud Light had “been in decline for a really long time,” she said. From dylanmulvaney/InstagramCurrently, we’re about two weeks into the Bud Light backlash. The performer and TikTok personality, who had partnered with Bud Light previously, has been open about transitioning on Instagram and TikTok. And Texas congressman Dan Crenshaw also weighed in, saying he’s in favor of a Bud Light boycott but doesn’t stock the beer.

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - A newly fired Fox News producer is seeking to recant testimony she said network lawyers coerced her into providing as Fox defends against Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit. Grossberg said Fox fired her on Friday, four days after she originally sued and was put on administrative leave. Fox, part of Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp (FOXA.O), said Grossberg "ignored" its warning that she might lose her job if she revealed privileged communications with lawyers. The cases are Grossberg v Fox Corp et al, Delaware Superior Court, No. N23C-03-180; and Grossberg v Fox Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Inside a women-only poker night at the New York Stock Exchange: 'If it's worth betting, it's worth raising'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BNY Mellon threw a women-only poker night at the NYSE to celebrate International Women's Day. Hours after the markets had closed, I was at the New York Stock Exchange learning how to play poker. This women-only poker night was thrown by Bank of New York Mellon on March 9, the day after International Women's Day. "Aggression is actually a winning strategy," said AJ Rudolph, the director of education and technology at Power Poker, as she walked us through the basics of poker. The Poker Power chips featured Frida Kahlo, Malala Yousafzai, Maya Angelou, and Rosie the Riveter.

☆ The top investigator for the House Jan. 6 committee said the Justice Department could charge these 4 Trump allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The top investigator for the House Jan. 6 committee spoke to The New York Times in a story out Sunday. Heaphy said the DOJ's decision on who to charge will depend on them going beyond what the House committee was able to get. Giuliani, Meadows, Eastman, and ClarkJohn Eastman appeared alongside Rudy Giuliani at a pro-Trump rally on January 6. He and other Trump allies spread the false claims of election fraud across the the country in the lead-up to the insurrection. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Meadows, testified that he was warned about potential violence on January 6 in advance.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Lauren Boebert tweet on M&M candy being ‘woke’ circulates online
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A screenshot purporting to show a tweet published by Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert calling M&M candy “woke” is fabricated. The image appears to show a tweet sent via Boebert’s official Twitter account (@laurenboebert) featuring a picture of a single red M&M candy that reads: “I bought a bag of M&M’s and they don’t have M’s anymore. A Twitter advanced search did not reveal any such tweet published via Boebert’s official account (archive.is/wip/Tyvmh). An archive of Boebert’s deleted tweets compiled by PolitiTweet did not reveal any such post (here). No such tweet was published via Boebert’s account.

☆ The M&Ms spokescandies are back. Here’s how the chocolate candy went from a wartime treat to playing a starring role in the culture wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

M&Ms brought back its talking candy mascots after Sunday's Super Bowl game. The “spokescandies” went on “an indefinite pause” as part of the brand’s Super Bowl ad play. But after Sunday's Super Bowl game, M&Ms ran a 15-second ad making clear that Rudolph's tenure as spokesperson was ending. "I mean, as a walking, talking candy, my options are pretty limited." M&Ms is among the oldest candy brands in the US, and its talking candies are relatively recent additions.

☆ M&Ms Super Bowl commercial: How ads have become weeks-long campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Super Bowl commercial, billed as the conclusion to weeks-long drama surrounding the status of the “spokescandies,” left some viewers scratching their heads. But if you weren’t paying attention, the final commercial might be a head scratcher -— one risk a brand takes when it uses a weeks-long campaign ahead of its Super Bowl commercial. In a change for the decades-old Super Bowl ad wars, it’s actually become a commonplace strategy to use social media to tease, preview and create buzz ahead of their Super Bowl commercials. Companies spend millions just for a Super Bowl ad slot — reportedly over $7 million for some 30-second spots — before investing into the commercials themselves. Dance contests and bettingDespite the high cost of a Super Bowl commercial, companies are eager to nab a spot.

☆ Take a Look at Some of the Best Super Bowl Ads Ahead of the Big Game
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul return as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in one of the much anticipated Super Bowl commercials. This year some advertisers have released what appear to be full-length Super Bowl commercials early, posting them to social media and YouTube. The Super Bowl has long been a kind of, well, Super Bowl for advertisers, leading companies to go bigger every year with their ads. The commercial pokes fun at corporate "rock stars" by splicing real rock and heavy metal icons into everyday office situations. Diddy does hitsA commercial released this week shows musician Diddy in a meeting with marketers from Uber who are asking him to write a song for the Uber One membership service.

☆ How M&M’s ‘Trendjacked’ the Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Let’s back up: Last month, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson joined the chorus of conservative voices criticizing Mars Wrigley for giving its chocolate-y M&M mascots what they deemed a woke makeover. The green M&M “spokescandy” (you know, the full-lipped one, in go-go boots, that even other M&M’s crave) was given comfortable sneakers to soothe its arches, a fashion choice that rankled Carlson. But Mars Wrigley has parlayed the controversy into what amounts to free advertising for its new spokeswoman, Maya Rudolph.

☆ ‘Designing Women: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors’ Review: An Exhibit of Homes in High Style
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Laura Jacobs | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New YorkFashion designers love the jump from homo sapiens to home, which liberates them from necklines, hemlines, and everything in between. One thinks of the über-modernist Halston, the floors and furniture in his Paul Rudolph townhouse sheathed in lean industrial gray, flocks of white orchids sailing in the stillness. Or of the changeless Bill Blass , the masculine classicism of his poised Sutton Place living room an escape from the WASP shmattes demanded by his East Side clientele. Or of the quixotic Karl Lagerfeld , chasing one period vision after another through serial homes decorated to the nth degree, costly statements of style that bored him once done. These postwar men were actually following in female footsteps.

☆ How M&M’s is making the most of its spokescandies controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Given the outsize attention, some think M&M’s announcement is a PR stunt to hype its upcoming Super Bowl commercial. M&M’s relatively subtle changes aimed at inclusivity didn’t seem like they were designed to spark much controversy, if any. At the Washington Post, for example, an opinion piece declared “the M&M’S changes aren’t progressive. “In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies,” M&M’s said. “The original colorful cast of M&M’s spokescandies are, at present, pursuing other personal passions,” Wesley said.

☆ M&M’s Ditches ‘Spokescandies’ for Maya Rudolph After Backlash Over New Look
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The brand said it believes Maya Rudolph will ‘champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong.’The M&M characters are taking a break a year after their new looks sparked controversy. The Mars Inc. brand said Monday that its candy characters—known as “spokescandies”—will begin an “indefinite pause” from their duties. Comedian Maya Rudolph will take their place as the brand’s spokesperson and will star in the candy’s upcoming advertisement at Super Bowl LVII in February, the brand said.

☆ Tucker Carlson does a victory lap after M&M's cancels its 'spokescandies' following conservative backlash over the green one's shoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Loading Something is loading. In the segment, Carlson recapped his show's coverage of the ongoing rebrand of the M&M's mascots and criticized coverage from other news outlets. "There is a lot of outrage over the end of frumpy, plus-sized, and lesbian M&Ms," Carlson also tweeted. M&M's announced a pause on the brand's spokescandies in a statement on Twitter Monday, writing: "In the last year, we've made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. Carlson previously criticized the brand's redesigned mascots, calling the brown M&M "less sexy" without her stilettos and slamming the rebranding of the green M&M from her go-go boots to sneakers.

After controversy following its mascot refresh last year, M&M's announced Monday it is taking an "indefinite pause" from using its candy-coated mascots, saying the "last thing M&M’s wanted" was to be "polarizing." M&M’s said in a tweet that it is instead tapping actor Maya Rudolph as its spokesperson, someone the brand said "America can agree on." He made similar complaints about the candies last January after M&M’s announced a new, inclusive look. “But now we get it — even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing," the brand wrote. Others speculated the announcement could be a publicity stunt made ahead of the Super Bowl, which takes place on Feb. 12.

☆ Analysis: This guy made $150,000 a day, because Corporate America is out of control
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

I’m seeing the words “recession,” “crypto,” “debt ceiling,” the “M&M’s spokescandy scandals…”And yet, I am bound my duty as a journalist not to shy away from the hard candy shell news. I know, I know, you’re all tired of the media’s relentless coverage of the M&M Spokescandy Saga, aka the Culture War Battle that is shaping social discourse in the Year of Our Lord 2023. The company claims it didn’t think anyone would notice when it released the changes to the characters’ appearance. “We definitely didn’t think it would break the internet,” it said in a press release that frankly reeked of champagne and high fives. Oh you didn’t think anyone would notice, M&M marketing wizards?

☆ M&Ms says it's pulling its beloved 'spokescandies' after right-wing outrage over shoes, gender
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Candy maker Mars said Monday it is replacing its M&Ms "spokescandies" with actress Maya Rudolph after facing right-wing criticism over its mascot makeover. The spokescandies are a team of cartoon M&Ms mascots that have represented the brand in commercials and other marketing materials since 1960. Early last year, the candy brand updated the cartoons and its marketing, rebranding each mascot with a new backstory, clothing and personality to be more inclusive. "Orange" became a mascot riddled with anxiety, and the company added a new purple M&M, which was designed to represent inclusivity. And we definitely didn't think it would break the internet," M&Ms said in a statement Monday on Twitter.

☆ M&M's says its killing its 'spokescandies' after conservatives were outraged that the green one didn't wear go-go boots anymore
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An M&Ms spokesperson said that Maya Rudolph's first appearance as the brand's spokesperson and "Chief of Fun" will be in the upcoming Super Bowl LVII M&M advertising campaign. "Maya will serve as the brand's new spokesperson, allowing the colorful cast of M&Ms spokescandies to step away and embrace a new path to pursue other passions," the spokesperson said. The brand began making changes to its walking, talking M&M's characters early last year, replacing the shoes of both the brown and green female M&M's. Most notably, Mars Wrigley, the maker of the popular chocolate candy, replaced the green M&M's high-heeled go-go boots with sneakers. By December 2020, the new mascot was deemed a fully grown peanut by December 2020, Esquire reported at the time.

☆ M&M’S says its taking a ‘pause’ from polarizing spokescandies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies,” the chocolate candy brand said in a statement Monday. The Green M&M, pre-makeover, is seen here in her go-go boots. Anthony Behar/Sipa USA/AP“[Rudolph] will serve as the brand’s new spokesperson, allowing the colorful cast of M&M’S spokescandies to step away and embrace a new path to pursue other passions,” An M&M’S spokesperson told CNN in an email. A petition to “keep the green M&M sexy” garnered over 20,000 signatures. Purple was recently deployed as part of a limited-edition pack of purple, brown and green M&M’S — the colors of the female spokescandies — in honor of International Women’s Day.

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The yen got a boost on Thursday on expectations the Bank of Japan will review the side effects of its monetary easing, while the dollar held near a seven-month low against the euro ahead of U.S. inflation data later in the day. "You could start to see the normalisation of monetary policy which would be a huge step for Japan (and) a very positive tailwind for the yen," Turner added. The U.S. dollar index was last down 0.06% to 103.04, not far off its seven-month low of 102.93 hit earlier in the week. "Our core views for Fed policy versus ECB policy would be for a stronger euro-dollar through the year." Data released on Thursday showed Australia's trade surplus unexpectedly widened in November and came in well above forecasts.

☆ How to Make Education an Investment After College
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Veronica Dagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Investing in learning as you age is a strategy to stay healthy and happy. To stay mentally sharp as you age, make sure to continue dedicated learning well beyond your college years. In one example of the importance of dedicated learning, more than six million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Researchers have found about 40% of Alzheimer’s is preventable. Strategies to ward off dementia include getting more sleep, exercising and eating a healthy diet to maintain brain health, said Rudolph Tanzi , a Harvard Medical School professor of neurology and co-author of “The Healing Self.”

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