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☆ Some Democrats dip a toe in TikTok as most Republicans stay away
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

NBC News found that nine Democratic candidates in this year’s 35 Senate races are posting to TikTok, while three Republican Senate candidates are using it. In the most competitive Senate races, four of the Democrats are using TikTok: Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia, former state Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, Lt. Gov. The only Republican in a competitive Senate race using TikTok is Oz, who began posting there in 2019 before he left his television show for politics. “TikTok does have such widespread use,” Madison Horn, the Democratic nominee for one of two Senate races in Oklahoma, said in a phone interview. Bob Ellsworth, a Republican advertising consultant, said TikTok has certainly changed how Republicans campaign even if they’re not on the app itself.

☆ U.S. hedge fund Third Point opens Tel Aviv office to scout investments
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Loeb's $14 billion New York-headquartered hedge fund Third Point LLC is opening an office in Tel Aviv on Monday, creating an outpost in a city known for its booming technology sector. For Third Point, one of the hedge fund industry's most successful firms, the Tel Aviv office will become its first international location. Sapir Harosh, who worked in military intelligence and joined TPV from Israeli firm Pitango earlier this year, will head the Tel Aviv office. In April, New York-based General Atlantic, opened its Tel Aviv office. Third Point finished raising its first dedicated venture fund in 2021 and is currently taking in cash for its second venture fund, a person familiar with the fundraising said.

☆ China's YMTC asks core U.S. employees to leave due to chip export restrictions, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Chinese chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) Ltd has asked its U.S. employees in core tech positions to leave, as the company rushes to comply with the new U.S export restrictions, Financial Times reported on Monday. It was unclear how many U.S. citizens and green card holders would be forced to leave YMTC, Financial Times reported, quoting four people close to the company. The paper said several employees in China had already left the company. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vermont town employee who quietly lowered fluoride in water for years resigns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A town employee who quietly lowered the fluoride in a Vermont community’s drinking water for years has resigned — and is asserting that the levels had actually been low for much longer than believed. While fluoridating municipal water is voluntary, Vermont towns that do “shall control the level of fluoride” within the state’s specified ranges, according to the state’s water supply rule. The Vermont Health Department said it does not regulate municipal water systems. Town Manager Josh Arneson said Thursday that he will review fluoride levels monthly and that the town’s Water and Sewer Commission will also look at the report. The addition of fluoride to public drinking water systems has been routine in communities across the United States since the 1940s and 1950s.

☆ Insurer Travelers profit falls on hurricane costs, lower investment returns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A U.S. flag is seen in a flooded rural area after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Arcadia, Florida, U.S., October 4, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloOct 19 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer Travelers Companies Inc (TRV.N) reported a 20% fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by hurricane-related claims and lower returns on its investments. Insurers are bracing for a hit of up to $57 billion from Hurricane Ian in Florida and South Carolina, risk modeling firm Verisk said earlier this month. The insurance industry also faces hefty claims from the Ukraine crisis and greater uncertainty brought on by higher claims costs from inflation. Pretax net investment income dropped 23% to $593 million, Travelers said.

☆ Families Still Struggle to Find Baby Formula Nearly One Year After Shortages Began
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jesse Newman | Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Many U.S. households are still struggling to find baby formula, almost a year since supplies thinned on store shelves and eight months after a nationwide recall. Adults in roughly one-third of households with infant children who typically use formula had trouble obtaining it last month, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly one in five of affected households has less than a week of formula on hand, the survey showed.

☆ Trump administration blocked CDC transit mask mandate, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the report stated that CDC had heard from the transit industry that it wanted the federal government to issue a mandate. Cetron, who heads the CDC's division of global migration and quarantine, said the agency was told by Trump administration officials that a mask requirement on mass transportation "would not happen," according to the report. Days after President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the CDC issued a sweeping order requiring face masks on nearly all forms of public transportation. Reuters reported in July 2020 that the Trump administration had held extensive talks about whether the CDC should issue an order requiring transportation masking. Many U.S. conservatives opposed government mandates requiring masks during the pandemic.

The annual U.S. inflation rate was little changed in September, hitting 8.2% year-over-year compared with August's 8.3% reading as the pace of price increases remains at multidecade highs, causing pain for many U.S. households. Inflation remains at the top of Americans' minds going into the last quarter of a year that has seen across-the-board volatility in food, gasoline and energy prices. So the burden of bridling a stubborn inflation rate sits on the doorstep of the Federal Reserve. "There's definitely still a Russia-Ukraine effect keeping food prices elevated," he said. "Food price inflation is going to stay a problem in US for next couple of months," Adams said.

☆ Fed officials worried about ending inflation battle prematurely, minutes show
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The minutes of the Sept. 20-21 meeting showed many U.S. central bank officials "emphasized the cost of taking too little action to bring down inflation likely outweighed the cost of taking too much action." At the meeting, many officials said they had raised their assessments of the path of interest rate increases that would likely be needed to achieve the policy-setting committee's goals. At last month's meeting, Fed officials raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point for the third straight time in an effort to drive inflation down from 40-year highs, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell vowed afterward that they would "keep at it until we're confident the job is done." A few of those, the minutes said, noted that risk was heightened by the potential headwinds from tighter monetary policy and weaker growth globally. Fed officials have openly pushed back on that expectation, saying they expect to leave rates elevated for some time after they have finished lifting them.

☆ Many U.S. drivers treat partially automated cars as self-driving, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Drivers using advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla Autopilot or General Motors Super Cruise often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite warnings, a new study has found. Since 2016, the NHTSA has opened 37 special investigations involving 18 deaths in crashes involving Tesla vehicles and where systems like Autopilot were suspected of use. Tesla says Autopilot does not make vehicles autonomous and is intended for use with a fully attentive driver who is prepared to take over. GM, which in August said owners could use Super Cruise on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads and plans to offer Super Cruise on 22 models by the end of 2023, did not immediately comment. Nissan said its name “is clearly communicating ProPILOT Assist as a system to aid the driver, and it requires hands-on operation.

☆ Many U.S. drivers treat partially automated cars as self-driving - study
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mike BlakeWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Drivers using advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla (TSLA.O) Autopilot or General Motors (GM.N) Super Cruise often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite warnings, a new study has found. The IIHS study of 600 active users found 53% of Super Cruise, 42% of Autopilot and 12% of ProPILOT Assist owners "said that they were comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving." GM, which in August said owners could use Super Cruise on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads and plans to offer Super Cruise on 22 models by the end of 2023, did not immediately comment. IIHS in contrast noted ProPILOT Assist "suggests that it’s an assistance feature, rather than a replacement for the driver." Nissan said its name "is clearly communicating ProPILOT Assist as a system to aid the driver, and it requires hands-on operation.

☆ Many U.S. drivers treat partially automated cars as self-driving -study
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mike BlakeWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Drivers using advanced driver assistance systems like Tesla (TSLA.O) Autopilot or General Motors (GM.N) Super Cruise often treat their vehicles as fully self-driving despite warnings, a new study has found. The IIHS study of 600 active users found 53% of Super Cruise, 42% of Autopilot and 12% of ProPILOT Assist owners "said that they were comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving." In August, GM said owners could use Super Cruise on 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of North American roads and plans to offer Super Cruise on 22 models by the end of 2023. In contrast, IIHS noted ProPILOT Assist "suggests that it’s an assistance feature, rather than a replacement for the driver." Nissan said its name "is clearly communicating ProPILOT Assist as a system to aid the driver, and it requires hands-on operation.

☆ White House Issues ‘Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The White House on Tuesday issued guidelines aimed at safeguarding personal data from misuse in artificial-intelligence algorithms that drive hiring, lending and other business decisions. The guidelines, which the Biden administration described as a “blueprint for an AI bill of rights,” are nonbinding and don’t include enforcement measures. They also fall short of the European Union’s landmark privacy regulation that has forced global technology companies to change how they collect data, among other things. Still, some technology leaders said the White House blueprint could lead to heavy-handed regulation that might risk putting U.S. businesses at a disadvantage. “If implemented properly, the bill could reduce AI misuse and yet support beneficial uses of AI in medicine, driving, enterprise productivity, and more,” Mr. Etzioni said.

☆ Summer's over, but the European travel season isn't
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This photograph taken on August 7, 2018, shows an American Airlines Airbus A330-243 aircraft on the tarmac at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris. It's a welcome shift for airlines as they seek to drum up revenue after travel restrictions and concerns about Covid-19 sapped demand for many European trips in 2020 and 2021. Lucrative business travel segments have been slower to return than leisure, making these trips all the more crucial. "I think there's no question that people's appetite for going to Europe has gotten longer," said Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, a travel and flight deal website. Plus, a strong U.S. dollar is making fall trips to Europe more attractive, driving down costs of everything from shopping in Milan to high-end dining in Paris or London for many U.S. travelers.

The British pound plunged to a record low against the U.S. dollar Monday. The pound, historically one of the strongest currencies in the world, fell to as low as $1.04 before bouncing back to approximately $1.07. For most of the past few decades, the pound averaged a price of about $1.50 against the dollar. The decline in the British pound in itself won't have a direct impact on the U.S. economy, experts say. But as the value of the pound has dropped, the value of the U.S. dollar has reached all-time highs.

In lieu of being incarcerated, he agreed to complete a court-supervised treatment program at Hennepin County Veterans Court. Minnesota’s new law establishes a consistent set of standards for every criminal court in the state, depending on the offender’s criminal history and the severity of the crime. But the Hennepin County Veterans Court has started to see some of its early impacts. At least 22 veterans have graduated its treatment program since the law went into effect on Aug. 1, 2021. The lack of data on the issue led the Council on Criminal Justice to launch a national commission to examine over the next two years why so many veterans land behind bars.

☆ U.S. welcomes Modi telling Putin now is 'not an era of war'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a bilateral meeting alongside the Quad Summit at Kantei Palace in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoNEW DELHI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The United States has welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comment to Russian President Vladimir Putin that now was not the time for war, New Delhi's sharpest public response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Modi had spoken regularly to Putin since the war began in February, seeking dialogue and peace talks, but without publicly condemning the war. On the sidelines of a conference in Uzbekistan on Friday, Modi had told Putin, "Today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this," and added that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue kept the world together. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ If you file taxes in these 17 states, you could be getting an inflation-relief check from the government—here's who qualifies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Single tax filers qualify for funds up to $250, heads of household up to $375 and couples filing jointly up to $500. While most of the rebate checks from earlier this year have been mailed out already, the newer bonus checks are currently being processed. To receive the rebates, residents must file their 2020 and 2021 tax returns by Dec. 31, 2022. Charlie Baker announced that tax rebate checks will be sent to full-year residents who file a 2021 tax return on or before Oct. 17, 2022. No action is needed, as residents receive these payments automatically by direct deposit or check.

☆ Former senior Obama advisor guides lobbying and policy strategy of London cryptocurrency firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The crypto industry has been ramping up lobbying around the world with potentially strict regulations on the horizon. The Biden administration released its framework on potential U.S. crypto regulations earlier this month, including ways that could help fight fraud. Kasselman described Messina as a critical guide to the company's lobbying and overall policy efforts. He noted that Messina is not a registered lobbyist, yet often advises their team on lobbying strategy. Kasselman credits Messina with the company hiring Ian Mair as Blockchain.com's head of U.S. policy and Giles Swan to run its European policy.

☆ Military families find money matters complex
▼ + stars: | 2019-05-23 | by ( Dick Powers | Power Plans | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Almost half of service members are under the age of 25, and a high percentage are married with children. So, what do they need to do to stay financially ready, for both the military life and after they leave? SGLI is a group life insurance policy purchased by the Department of Veterans Affairs from a commercial life insurance company. Perhaps the most important thing service members and their families, or any young couple, can do is to have a budget. Of course, service members need to be willing to ask for some assistance with their money matters.

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