Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2023 Fundraising Target: $77,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $48,344
62%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 62%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Business/Economy (General/Chat)

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Delta flight from Paris forced to make emergency landing in remote Canadian airport after an unruly passenger broke free of his restraints

    06/04/2023 3:34:33 AM PDT · by Libloather · 5 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/04/23 | Kamal Sultan
    A Delta flight heading to Detroit, Michigan was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote Canadian island after an unruly passenger broke free of his restraints. The 34-year-old traveler was allegedly being 'violent' on the flight and 'wouldn't calm down' on the trip from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again. The captain took an emergency diversion six hours into the flight and landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland at around...
  • Obama's ex-doctor claims Biden is 'not fit mentally or physically' to be president - and argues it's 'malpractice' to let him run in 2024

    06/04/2023 3:17:39 AM PDT · by Libloather · 4 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/04/23 | Kamal Sultan
    A former White House doctor for presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama has raised concerns over Joe Biden's health and said it is 'malpractice' to allow him to seek re-election. Texas congressman Ronny Jackson has claimed he is 'not fit mentally or physically' to lead the country and 'it's a bad situation for us'. The now-Republican politician slammed White House officials for allowing Biden, 80, to run for a second term and said those close to him like his wife Jill should be stopping him. His comments come after Biden fell on stage during a graduation ceremony at the United...
  • Environmental compliance specialist tried to hire hitman to kill wife of man she met on Match.com using a website called Online Killers Market

    06/04/2023 2:56:24 AM PDT · by Libloather · 7 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/04/23 | Joe Hutchison
    An environmental compliance specialist allegedly tried to hire a hitman to murder the wife of a man she had met on Match.com. Melody Sasser is said to have placed an order using a website called Online Killers Market to hire a hitman to kill Jennifer Wallace, the wife of a man she had met online. In an affidavit seen by DailyMail.com prosecutors shared details of a transaction made in January of this year concerning the alleged murder for hire scheme. Authorities were first made aware of Sasser's alleged scheme in April, when a foreign law enforcement agency notified the Department...
  • The Illusion of China’s AI Prowess; Regulating AI will not set America back in the technology race. (downplaying China in order to regulate US industry)

    06/03/2023 6:24:45 PM PDT · by DoodleBob · 7 replies
    Foreign Affairs ^ | June 2, 2023 | Helen Toner, Jenny Xiao, and Jeffrey Ding
    The artificial intelligence revolution has reached Congress. The staggering potential of powerful AI systems, such as OpenAI’s text-based ChatGPT, has alarmed legislators, who worry about how advances in this fast-moving technology might remake economic and social life. Recent months have seen a flurry of hearings and behind-the-scenes negotiations on Capitol Hill as lawmakers and regulators try to determine how best to impose limits on the technology. But some fear that any regulation of the AI industry will incur a geopolitical cost. In a May hearing at the U.S. Senate, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, warned that “a peril” of...
  • 'Thrown in their faces': Bud Light salespeople say boycott is hurting commission. Thousands of salespeople have suffered financial pain.

    06/03/2023 5:10:07 PM PDT · by Morgana · 94 replies
    ABC NEWS ^ | June 3, 2023 | Max Zahn
    Salespeople promoting Bud Light for a Florida–based distributor have grown accustomed to car horns, middle fingers and jokes amid a weekslong boycott, but say they have struggled to ignore thousands of dollars in lost commission pay, two sales supervisors at the distributor told ABC News. A typical salesperson at the distributor made roughly $2,000 less in May than he or she would have over each of the previous two years, suffering primarily from a decline in Bud Light sales that reached as much as 60% over the week ending on Memorial Day, the sales supervisors said. "This has really, really...
  • AI expert doubtful DC prepared for new tech: 'Well, they put Kamala Harris in charge'

    06/03/2023 5:04:36 PM PDT · by Libloather · 11 replies
    Fox News ^ | 6/03/23 | Aaron Kliegman
    An expert and entrepreneur in the field of artificial intelligence warned that while the new technology has the potential for massive benefits, it could also prove "too powerful and too disruptive" for humanity, expressing doubt about the federal government's ability to address such a challenge. Kevin Baragona worked as a software engineer but recognized the potential impact of AI, which led him to start DeepAI in 2016 to help bring the new technology to fruition. The free online service is growing rapidly, with users increasing tenfold over the past year. DeepAI was the first company to offer an online AI...
  • Former Target exec says Pride collection's 'tuck-friendly' swimwear was the 'biggest mistake' after company lost $12 billion in market value since mid May

    06/03/2023 5:00:47 PM PDT · by Morgana · 52 replies
    Daily Mail UK ^ | June 3, 2023 | Alyssa Guzman
    Former Target executive said the retailer's biggest mistake was selling 'tuck-friendly' swimwear for Pride, which has led to a $12billion loss since mid-May. Former Target Vice Chairman Gerald Storch believes the company's controversial 'tuck-friendly' swimwear set Target's Pride collection apart from others for the worst. 'I've never seen a case where one item, that tuck swimsuit, that's really what made the difference versus the competitors. That's where the big mistake [was] made,' he told Fox and Friends. He said other companies carried colored plates and gingerbread houses and that's 'fine' because 'who cares? Everybody carries that stuff.' Target suffered another...
  • PowerPoint Makes You Stupid. Here Are 3 Smarter AlternativesAs Steve Jobs once said, 'People who know what they are talking about don't need PowerPoint.'

    06/03/2023 4:51:50 PM PDT · by DoodleBob · 51 replies
    Inc. ^ | February 20, 2020 | Geoffrey James
    Former Defense Secretary General James Mattis famously said, "PowerPoint makes us stupid." Like many among today's top military brass, he sees our culture's addiction to PowerPoint as a threat to the efficiency and effectiveness of our armed forces. Similarly, many CEOs have banned PowerPoint from their meetings, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Twitter's Jack Dorsey, LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and the late Steve Jobs. Smart leaders hate PowerPoint because business presentations straitjacket meetings into a slow-moving linear direction. This discourages conversation and discussion, turning the other attendees into passive chair potatoes. PowerPoint--when used as designed--reduces attention, understanding,...
  • The great unretirement! How droves of employees are now being forced BACK to the workplace as inflation hammers their savings - here's what to know before you quit work

    06/03/2023 3:21:14 PM PDT · by Libloather · 37 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/03/23 | Tilly Armstrong
    When Sam Dogen retired at age 34 with a net worth of $3million he vowed never to return to his grueling job in investment banking. As a pioneer of the FIRE - financial independence, retire early - movement, he had meticulously planned for 13 years to ensure he had a passive income of $80,000 a year in retirement. But a decade later, Dogen, now 45, is being forced to join the ranks of the unretired. Amid soaring inflation and rising costs, he needs to go back to work to be able to afford his kids' college tuition, which he has...
  • Bud Light is running out of time and could lose market share FOREVER: Brand will lose retail shelf space to Miller and Coors if they cannot reverse plunging sales, warns ex Anheuser-Bush exec

    06/03/2023 3:07:19 PM PDT · by Libloather · 68 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/03/23 | Keith Griffith
    If Bud Light sales continue to lag, the brand risks losing shelf space at major retailers to competitors and 'locking in' lower market share, a former Anheuser-Busch executive has claimed. In recent weeks, Bud Light sales have been down roughly a quarter from a year ago, as the brand faces conservative backlash over an April marketing deal with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Anson Frericks, the former US president of sales and distribution for St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, said that retailers such as Walmart and Kroger typically 'reset' their shelf space allocations in the spring and fall, based on sales data. For...
  • Why tech giants want to strangle AI with red tape; They want to hold back open-source competitors

    06/03/2023 2:19:01 PM PDT · by DoodleBob · 7 replies
    The Economist ^ | May 25, 2023 | N/A
    One of the joys of writing about business is that rare moment when you realise conventions are shifting in front of you. It brings a shiver down the spine. Vaingloriously, you start scribbling down every detail of your surroundings, as if you are drafting the opening lines of a bestseller. It happened to your columnist recently in San Francisco, sitting in the pristine offices of Anthropic, a darling of the artificial-intelligence (ai) scene. When Jack Clark, one of Anthropic’s co-founders, drew an analogy between the Baruch Plan, a (failed) effort in 1946 to put the world’s atomic weapons under un...
  • Your Amazon Prime plan might soon cut your cellphone bill down to around $10 — or even make it free

    06/03/2023 1:57:24 PM PDT · by devane617 · 35 replies
    businessinsider ^ | 06/03/2023
    Amazon could be gearing up to offer "Prime Wireless." The low-cost cellphone plan could help Amazon boost its Prime subscribers, Bloomberg reports. Amazon is reportedly talking to T-Mobile, Verizon, and Dish about the idea. Amazon may soon be dangling yet another perk in front of prospective Prime members: the chance to save big on your monthly cellphone bill. The company is in talks with wireless carriers about potentially offering a Prime Wireless plan that could range from $0 to $10 per month for Amazon Prime members, Bloomberg reported on Friday. T-Mobile, Verizon, and Dish have all been involved in the...
  • California Moves Toward the Next College Sports Disruption: Sharing Revenue With Athletes

    06/03/2023 7:52:06 AM PDT · by DUMBGRUNT · 27 replies
    WSJ ^ | 2 June 2023 | Louise Radnofsky
    California lawmakers have moved onto the next big battleground in the convulsive world of college sports: sharing the industry’s wealth with athletes. ...That could include a windfall for University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles, football players after their schools move in 2024 to the Big Ten, as they would benefit from the conference’s $7.5 billion seven-year media rights deal. Payments to players would be based on a formula in which half of the money is set aside for male athletes and half for female athletes every year, and then apportioned equally among players in programs that...
  • Saturday War Room, 10-noon & 5-7pmET

    06/03/2023 6:40:35 AM PDT · by 4Liberty · 9 replies
    America’s Voice News ^ | 06/03/2023 | Steve Bannon
    PM 4Liberty, if you want On/Off this listhttps://pluto.tv/live-tv/americas-voicehttps://americasvoice.news/Tune in via Roku/AppleTV/AmazonFire with the America’s Voice App https://americasvoice.appLIVE STREAM all Bannon shows & find past episodes here: https://rumble.com/c/BannonsWarRoom | https://americasvoice.news/playlists/the-war-room/
  • What do you do when the LGBT coercion gets personal?

    06/03/2023 4:51:13 AM PDT · by MtnClimber · 62 replies
    American Thinker ^ | 3 Jun, 2023 | Mary Sholl
    Every time I go to London, I visit the Tower of London and sit in the little room below grade level, where Thomas More spent his last months. I am reminded often these days of Thomas More and King Henry VIII and the kerfuffle over Anne Boleyn. More, you see, would not sign the oath and proclaim the legitimacy of the marriage of the king to Boleyn because of the inconvenient matter of Henry’s divorce from Catherine. More, good lawyer that he was, determined that his safety resided in him saying nothing — keeping his mouth shut. For a time,...
  • The death of the bank branch! PNC announces it will shut nearly 30 branches after First Republic said it is closing a quarter of its locations - is YOUR state affected?

    06/03/2023 3:21:59 AM PDT · by Libloather · 25 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/02/23 | Helena Kelly
    PNC Bank is set to shut almost 30 branches, further accelerating America's transition to automated banking. The financial giant follows in the footsteps of JPMorgan which yesterday announced it was closing a quarter of First Republic locations after it took over the failed firm earlier this year. It comes as America faces an access to cash crisis as firms axe branches and ATMs at lightning speed. The number of cash machines fell from 470,000 in 2019 to 451,500 at the end of 2022, according to figures from research body Euromonitor International. The 29 closures are targeted in Maryland and the...
  • Is there a serial killer on the loose in Portland? SIX women under 40 have been found dead in 'suspicious circumstances' in secluded areas in a 100 mile radius in the last three months

    06/02/2023 8:23:33 PM PDT · by Libloather · 12 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/02/23 | Jen Smith
    Six women in Portland have been found dead in secluded, wooded areas in the last three months within 100 miles of each other, triggering fears that a serial killer may be in the area. The victims were all found in suspicious circumstances in discarded barns, on the side of the road, or hidden among bushes. The first victim was found on February 19, and the most recent was discovered on May 7. Police have only released the cause of one woman's death - she died as the result of blunt force trauma to the head and neck. The other women's...
  • Your Backup Gmail Account Could Disappear Soon: Google plans to wipe Gmail accounts and other Google service logins that have gone unused for too long.

    06/02/2023 8:20:32 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 6 replies
    Kiplingers ^ | 06/02/2023 | Ben Demers
    Remember that old Gmail account you set up to collect spam a long time ago? It could get caught in a Google security purge of epic proportions. Learn why and when it's happening – and how to protect your Google emails, files, videos and more from disappearing into the digital ether.Gmail accounts and more on the chopping blockLast week, Google quietly posted a hugely consequential safety and security update to its company blog The Keyword. In the update, Google noted that their users crave safety and security, and that accounts unused for long periods of time are more likely to...
  • Billionaire vows to make Chicago 'the safest city in America' by pumping millions into the poor neighborhoods to reduce annual homicides to under 400 - down from last year's staggering 700 murders

    06/02/2023 8:09:25 PM PDT · by Libloather · 46 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/02/23 | Noa Halff
    Chicago's wealthiest citizens are investing millions in its poorest neighborhoods in an attempt to help solve the city's spiraling crime crisis. Billionaire businessman James Crown, who leads the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, has made it his goal to make Chicago 'the Safest Big City in America.' The tycoon, whose family was ranked the 34th richest in America by Forbes in 2020 with an estimated worth of $10.2 billion, plans to leverage his national influence and work with other businessmen to combat crime in the murder capitol of the U.S. Crown introduced his crime-fighting plan Thursday, announcing...
  • Eight people injured, two critically, after building owned by Yale University collapses while construction crew was pouring concrete on second floor

    06/02/2023 7:44:03 PM PDT · by Libloather · 30 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | 6/02/23 | Kamal Sultan
    A Yale University building under construction in New Haven, Connecticut partially collapsed on Friday and left eight people injured with two of them in critical condition. The collapse happened at an apartment block on Lafayette Street at around 12.30pm when crews were pouring concrete. Part of the second floor fell into the first floor and into the basement at the building site where 36 people were working. It left eight construction workers injured with six of them pulled out of the building by first responders and the other two were able to escape on their own. New Haven Fire Department...