Business News - Page 2

2025-05-17

Formerly bankrupt Tex-Mex chain unveils deals diners will love

The once-popular chain is trying to win back customers with a new menu and unbeatable promotions.

2025-05-17

Did Trump Talk Marjorie Taylor Greene Out of Georgia Senate Run?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has addressed rumors that President Donald Trump discouraged her from pursuing a U.S. Senate seat.What Happened: According to a report, Trump’s team carried out a poll which indicated Greene was lagging considerably in the Senate race. The president allegedly presented these results to Greene, in an effort to dissuade her from entering the race.There has been rampant speculation about Greene’s political trajectory, with many pondering if she would challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) next year. With a strong GOP candidate, Ossoff’s re-election race is said to be a tossup.According to the report by The Wall Street Journal, the survey, executed by Trump’s long-term pollster Tony Fabrizio, reportedly indicated Greene trailing Ossoff by 18 points, despite a potential primary victory. The poll indicated that Gov. Brian Kemp (R) or Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler (R), a former Georgia senator, would be stronger contenders ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-17

Tectonic Therapeutic Presents Complete Results for Positive Phase 1b Clinical Trial of TX45 in Patients with Group 2 Pulmonary Hypertension in HFpEF in Late-Breaking Presentation at ESC Heart Failure 2025

Data confirmed TX45's tolerability profile and improvements in left ventricular function and pulmonary hemodynamics in patients with Group 2 Pulmonary Hypertension in Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction ("PH-HFpEF")In new echocardiographic analysis, TX45 treatment resulted in sustained hemodynamic effects for 29 daysTX45 improved cardiac and pulmonary hemodynamics in PH-HFpEF patients across a range of left ventricular ejection fractions ("LVEF"), including LVEF≥50% and LVEF 41-49%WATERTOWN, Mass., May 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tectonic Therapeutic, Inc. (NASDAQ:TECX) ("Tectonic") today announced the complete results from Part A of the Phase 1b clinical trial of TX45 in patients with Group 2 Pulmonary Hypertension in Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction ("PH-HFpEF"), which are being presented in a late-breaking, oral session at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Heart Failure 2025 Congress being held in Belgrade, Serbia. The results include the full cohort of 19 patients in Part A of the Phase 1b trial of TX45, Tectonic's lead asset and a long-acting relaxin therapy. Interim data for 16 patients in the Phase 1b trial was previously reported in a press release on January 30, 2025.The complete data from Part A of the Phase 1b clinical trial confirmed the tolerability and hemodynamic effects of TX45 in patients with PH-HFpEF previously reported in the interim data. Based on the complete dataset in PH-HFpEF, a single intravenous dose of TX45 was well tolerated, with no serious or severe adverse events. In the overall study population, TX45 achieved a 19.0% reduction in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ("PCWP"), an endpoint known to correlate with exercise capacity, morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure. In the subpopulation with combined pre- and post-capillary pulmonary hypertension ("CpcPH") who have an elevated Pulmonary Vascular Resistance ("PVR") and more severe disease, TX45 demonstrated >30% reduction in PVR, which along with PCWP is correlated to exercise capacity and mortality in this patient population. The Phase 1b trial enrolled a patient population and evaluated hemodynamic endpoints which are similar to the ongoing APEX Phase 2 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06616974). APEX is a 24-week clinical trial in PH-HFpEF with topline results expected in 2026.New hemodynamic data reported today from the Phase 1b clinical trial include the following:Echocardiograms were evaluated at baseline and at Days 2, 15 and 29. Following the administration of TX45, sustained improvements in echocardiogram endpoints were observed consistent with improved hemodynamics. Increased tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/systolic pulmonary artery pressure (TAPSE/SPAP), a marker of PVR, and right ventricular fractional area of change (RVFAC), a marker of right ventricular function, were observed on all days post treatment compared to baseline demonstrating a sustained effect for 29 days after single dose administration.In the clinical trial, hemodynamics were analyzed across a range of left ventricular ejection fractions ("LVEF"), including LVEF≥50% and LVEF 41-49%. Both subpopulations showed similar improvements in PCWP (19.7% and 18.4%, respectively) and cardiac output (18.3% and 18.7%, respectively), as well as improvement in pulmonary hemodynamics following administration of TX45.Cardiac output increased numerically more in response to TX45 in patients with higher baseline PVR, with 16.8% improvement in patients with baseline PVR"We are enthusiastic about the potential of TX45 as a treatment for patients with Group 2 pulmonary hypertension. In particular, we are very encouraged that the echocardiographic analysis demonstrated sustained hemodynamic effects of TX45 out to 29 days," said Alise Reicin, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Tectonic. "Additionally, the positive and consistent hemodynamic effects across a range of LVEF confirmed that TX45 is well positioned to address ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-17

Lucky Tree Café Blossoms in Downtown Raleigh's Moore Square, Adding Flavor to the City's Dining Scene

Lucky Tree Café opens in Moore Square, Raleigh, enhancing the area's dining scene with breakfast and lunch offerings, contributing to the downtown revitalization.

2025-05-17

Disney World doubles down on 'woke' move

This change probably won't make Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis too mad.

2025-05-17

Popular sneaker company raising prices

This sneaker brand beat expectations and now plans to raise US prices

2025-05-17

Why I Don’t Have An EV Right Now, & When I’ll Get One Again

I know that not everyone who writes about EVs owns one, but I’ve had one in my driveway for a long time. My first one was a 2011 Nissan LEAF, followed by a Chevy Volt, a 2018 LEAF, and then a 2022 Bolt EUV. While I’ve also usually had a ... [continued]The post Why I Don’t Have An EV Right Now, & When I’ll Get One Again appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-17

Rogan Guest Reveals Facebook's Secret Experiment That Manipulated 700,000 Users

Rogan Guest Reveals Facebook's Secret Experiment That Manipulated 700,000 Users Via VigilantFox.comJoe Rogan sat down with Harvard professor and mind control expert Rebecca Lemov, and it didn’t take long for the conversation to dive into one of his favorite topics: government interference in our digital lives.Rogan opened the conversation by saying, “There are so many different kinds of mind control.”“One of the things we’ve talked about a lot on this podcast is, that an enormous percentage of what you’re seeing on social media in terms of interactions and debate is not real. It’s not organic,” he explained.“It’s state-run and state-funded, and it’s whether it’s foreign governments or our government or even corporations, you’re getting inorganic discourse that’s designed to form a narrative and which is a form of mind control,” he added.Lemov picked up on that point and took it further. Even when people know something is fake, she explained, our brains still react as if it were real.“Yeah. I mean, I think even on a basic level, people, it’s known and studies have shown that we respond as if it were organic and real,” she said.“Even when somebody likes a post of yours, the response is the same as, like, in-person interaction,” she added.It’s not just governments pulling the strings, she warned. The platforms themselves are designed to influence how we feel.“I think at the root, there is a kind of way that, on an emotional level, it’s not just manipulation of ideas,” she said, “but there’s a kind of emotional engineering that’s built into the platforms and doesn’t even demand, you know, at first, government involvement.”Joe Rogan’s conversation with Harvard professor and mind control expert Rebecca Lemov quickly zeroed in on one of his favorite topics: government interference in digital life.Rogan opened the door with a warning that’s become all too familiar.“Well, there’s so many different... pic.twitter.com/XLqekbJL74— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) May 15, 2025Lemov peeled back the curtain on DARPA, the government’s controversial defense research agency, and its hidden role in shaping the digital world we now live in.DARPA, she revealed, wasn’t just involved in building the internet—it may have helped lay the foundation for emotional manipulation on a global scale.“DARPA was involved in the development of the internet and of things like pattern recognition,” she said. “The government has funded many, many studies.”But what concerned her most wasn’t just the technology—it was how that technology is being used.“What I got interested in, in social media and how I connect it with the episodes of brainwashing—it creates states of emotional contagion that aren’t really about convincing people of a different way to think,” she explained.She continued, “But more about how you feel about what you think.”That emotional shift, she said, mirrors the exact tactics used in cults.“It’s not that it changed my thoughts,” she said. “It’s how I felt about those thoughts.”Lemov peeled back the curtain on DARPA—the government’s controversial defense research agency—and its role in shaping the digital world we now live in.DARPA, she revealed, wasn’t just involved in building the internet. It may have laid the groundwork for emotional manipulation... pic.twitter.com/C3HvnZ6a67— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) May 15, 2025That’s when Lemov dropped one of the darkest revelations in Big Tech history—a secret Facebook experiment that quietly manipulated the emotions of nearly 700,000 users.And the users had no idea it was happening.“There’s a famous Facebook experiment I read about that took place in 2012 and was published in 2014, where they announce that they’ve achieved, mass emotional contagion at scale,” Lemov told Rogan.She explained how Facebook altered people’s newsfeeds without their knowledge or consent.“Whenever you go on the platform, you agree to be tested or AB testing. So this experiment exposed a group to a more—their newsfeed was altered in a negative direction emotionally, as measured by word counting software,” she said.The results, she added, were deeply unsettling.“And they discovered that that group that had a negative exposure also responded in a more negative way, as judged through their posts and likes and responses.”“The group that was exposed to a more positive newsfeed by altering the algorithm then had also a measurably statistically significant effect of more positive emotional response—and the control group was unaltered by this.”In other words, Facebook wasn’t just studying emotions—they were actively shaping them.And no one was ever warned.That’s when Lemov exposed one of the darkest secrets in Big Tech history—a sinister Facebook experiment that quietly tampered with the emotions of 700,000 users.And they never even knew it.“There’s a famous Facebook experiment I read about that took place in 2012 and was... pic.twitter.com/LLQVXh2IV5— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) May 15, 2025The full scope of the experiment didn’t come to light until two years later, when researchers finally admitted what they had done.Facebook’s data scientists had quietly manipulated the feeds of 689,003 users—removing either all the positive posts or all the negative ones to observe the emotional fallout.If your newsfeed felt unusually bleak or suspiciously upbeat in January 2012, there’s a chance you were part of it—and never knew.The team behind the study, led by data scientist Adam Kramer, eventually published their findings in a scientific journal and spelled out the results in cold, clinical detail:“When positive expressions were reduced, people produced fewer positive posts and more negative posts; when negative expressions were reduced, the opposite pattern occurred,” the paper said.It was undeniable proof: emotions are contagious—and social media could be weaponized to manipulate mood at scale.The experiment lasted just one week, but for those caught in the algorithm’s net, the emotional ripple effects may have lingered far longer.Things took a disturbing turn after Lemov explained that when the experiment was finally made public, the backlash was immediate—and in some cases, heartbreaking.She recalled one particularly chilling response from a user who reached out directly to the research team.“And on the Facebook page of the research group that did the experiment, at least one user wrote in saying, ‘Could I ever find out if I was in that experiment? Because I was in the emergency room at that time with, you know, threatening to commit suicide, and I want to know if my feed was altered and maybe that pushed me over into that state.”But there was no way to trace it.“Of course, they could never know, and it can’t be traced backwards. And other people had a similar response,” Lemov said.The revelations were serious enough to spark an investigation by the British government, which considered sanctions due to the international reach of the experiment.“And there was even an investigation by the British government about whether this should be sanctioned because it affected users internationally,” she added.But in the end, no one was held accountable.“Ultimately, there doesn’t seem to have been any sanctions that came out of in anyone associated with it,” she said.No punishment. No warnings. No transparency.And the question still hangs in the air: how many more experiments are happening right now, hidden in plain sight?But here’s where it gets truly disturbing.Lemov revealed that when the experiment finally came to light, the backlash was swift—and in some cases, tragic.“But, so this is why there was an ethical debate when the experiment was published in 2014,” she said.One user, Lemov... pic.twitter.com/l96zLAlOTc— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) May 15, 2025Watch the full conversation below: Tyler DurdenSat, 05/17/2025 - 10:30

2025-05-17

Realtors assemble to help revitalize Henderson home — PHOTOS

Realtors with Las Vegas Realtors volunteered to help put finishing touches on a home repair by Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada.

2025-05-17

ChangAn otevírá továrnu v Rayongu se zaměřením na udržitelnou výrobu, efektivitu, náklady a kvalitu

Otevření závodu se časově shoduje s dosažením milníku 28,59miliontého vozidla značky ChangAn, klíčového momentu v rámci mezinárodní expanze společnosti. RAYONG, Thajsko, 17. května 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Společnost ChangAn Automobile („ChangAn" nebo „společnost"), technologický lídr v...

2025-05-17

Amazon is selling a 'lightweight' $100 pickleball set for $48, and it's 'everything a beginner needs'

"The paddles are a great choice; well designed and constructed."

2025-05-17

Russian-Born Harvard Scientist Detained By US Charged With Smuggling Clawed Frog Embryos

Russian-Born Harvard Scientist Detained By US Charged With Smuggling Clawed Frog Embryos Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),A Russian-born scientist and research associate at Harvard University has been arrested and charged with allegedly attempting to smuggle clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples into the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on May 14.Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist who was a researcher at Harvard University, in April 2025. Polina Pugacheva via APKseniia Petrova, 31, was charged with one count of smuggling goods into the country.If found guilty, she faces up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.The charges were announced just hours after a federal judge in Vermont heard arguments in a lawsuit Petrova filed against the Trump administration alleging she has been unlawfully detained at an immigration detention center in Louisiana for months.She was transferred out of the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to a nearby Louisiana parish jail shortly after being charged.An initial hearing in her criminal case has been set for May 15.Petrova, a Russian national, was first taken into immigration custody on Feb. 16 after arriving at Logan International Airport in Boston following a trip to Paris.According to prosecutors, she was stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents after her checked duffle bag was flagged for inspection, revealing biological items including a foam box containing clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, as well as embryonic samples in paraffin well stages and on mounted dyed slides.Such biological products must be declared and require a permit to be brought into the country.Prosecutors said that Petrova initially denied carrying such material in her baggage but acknowledged she had biological specimens when asked again.She was then advised that she was ineligible for entry to the United States, at which point prosecutors say she agreed to willingly withdraw her application for admission, prosecutors said.The Trump administration has indicated it plans to deport her back to Russia.Lawyer Says Case Is ‘Meritless’Petrova said she fled Russia after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022 to avoid conflict or possible political repression. She added that she fears she will be imprisoned if she returns because of her political views.Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, called the case against his client “meritless” and questioned the timing of the charges being announced, noting she was transferred into criminal custody after the judge in her lawsuit set a May 28 bail hearing to consider releasing her.“The charge, filed three months after the alleged customs violation, is clearly intended to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her,” he said.During an interview under oath, Petrova allegedly claimed to be unsure that she was required to declare biological material when entering the country, prosecutors said.However, prosecutors said text messages on her phone from an individual identified as one of her colleagues informed her that she was required to declare the biological material.They alleged that in response to one text message asking how she planned to get through customs with the biological samples, Petrova said: “No plan yet. I won’t be able to swallow them.”Petrova’s case has drawn criticism from Democrats, including Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who filed an amicus brief on May 12 opposing the government’s efforts to dismiss her petition for release.The brief states that Petrova had been conducting critical research on degenerative diseases at Harvard under a valid J-1 visa prior to her detention 10 weeks ago.“Ms. Petrova’s case is not an isolated incident—this is just the latest example of the Trump Administration’s reckless and cruel misuse of power to punish and terrorize non-citizen members of the academic community,” Campbell said. “I will continue to fight to defend the rights of our international students and faculty, who meaningfully contribute to the academic and economic success of our communities.”The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Petrova was recently employed by the Institute of Genetic Biology in Moscow from 2023 to 2024 and previously served as a bioinformatician of genetic disorders at the Moscow Center for Genetics from 2016 to 2023.Harvard University said in a statement that it “continues to monitor the situation.”The Epoch Times has contacted Petrova’s attorney for further comment.The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Tyler DurdenFri, 05/16/2025 - 22:30

2025-05-17

11 California cities where workers will earn the most after state raises minimum wage

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 30 states have higher wages than the federal minimum wage.

2025-05-17

ALL4 Mining: Best Free Bitcoin Litecoin and Dogecoin Cloud Mining Platform Regulated in the UK

Los Angeles, CA, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ALL4 Mining, a UK-regulated free cloud mining platform offering mining services for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin and many other currencies, is pleased to announce the launch of its new mobile app. This timely launch enables users to access and manage their cloud mining investments anytime, anywhere, further democratizing cryptocurrency mining. Key highlights of the mobile app launch:Seamless Mobile Mining: The new mobile app provides a user-friendly interface to easily monitor mining contracts, track daily earnings, and manage investments.Enhanced Security: Built with top-tier security measures from McAfee® and Cloudflare®, the app ensures your digital assets are protected wherever you are.Instant Rewards: New users who sign up through the app receive an instant $15 sign-up bonus and can earn $0.6 per day just for logging in.Diverse Contract Options: From one-day contracts starting at $15 to long-term investments, users can choose from a variety of mining plans to suit different budgets and goals.24/7 Reliability: With 100% uptime and 24/7 technical support, the mobile app guarantees you uninterrupted access to mining operations."The cryptocurrency market is expected to grow rapidly – experts predict that by 2026, Bitcoin will reach $150,000, Litecoin will reach $500, Dogecoin will break the $1 mark, and XRP will soar to $10 – so the ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-17

House Considers Universal De Minimis Ban As Fees On China Parcels Ease

House Considers Universal De Minimis Ban As Fees On China Parcels Ease By Eric Kulisch of FreightWavesThe Trump administration this week rolled back the duty for small-dollar shipments from China and Hong Kong as part of tariff deescalation with China, while a House committee advanced legislation to permanently end the duty-free “de minimis” exemption from all countries. President Donald Trump’s executive order lowering new 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days represents a reprieve for popular Chinese shopping platforms and other e-tailers that ship parcels directly from the factory to individual shoppers. E-commerce orders and airfreight shipments plummeted after the U.S. government on May 2 rescinded duty-free treatment for low-value goods, subjecting them to the same duties imposed on all Chinese products.Before then, U.S. trade law allowed an individual each day to import goods valued at $800 or less and use an informal entry process. The rule helped fuel cross-border shipping from Chinese shopping platforms direct to consumers. About two-thirds of all packages entering the country through the de minimis channel are from China. The executive order also proactively lowered fees for low-value shipments from China sent through the international postal system. Postal shipments under $800 are now subject to a 54% tariff instead of 120%. Carriers can opt instead to pay $100 per postal item containing goods. Monday’s order canceled a June 1 increase to $200 for the flat fee.The revised fees still present a significant cost increase, but the pause provides retailers time to adjust operations.Logistics professionals say shipping rates could rise as businesses rush to order goods before the next deadline. Trade publication Modern Retail reported that fast-fashion retailer Shein on Wednesday announced price reductions for U.S. customers following the relaxation of de minimis rules on Chinese imports. Shein had raised prices and cut U.S. advertising after the change in de minimis rules sharply increased delivery costs.The publication also said that Temu had resumed selling nondomestic items to U.S. customers.Momentum builds to turn off de minimisCongress a decade ago increased the de minimis ceiling from $200 to $800 as a way of helping small businesses with an online presence take advantage of international trade. But attitudes began to change when huge Chinese sellers like Temu, Shein and Alibaba flooded the trade facilitation program to minimize costs, putting a strain on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s ability to cross-check shipments for trade, consumer safety or security compliance. Critics say the exemption creates a conduit for criminals to smuggle goods with little scrutiny, gives overseas merchants an advantage over retailers that source domestic products and results in billions of dollars in uncollected tariff revenue. CBP last year processed an average of more than 4 million de minimis imports per day but says the minimal information supplied on the informal entry makes it difficult to identify and interdict illegal drugs such as fentanyl, as well as counterfeit products and other contraband. It also has found cases of importers misclassifying and undervaluing goods, and misdelivering goods before they are officially released from CBP custody.The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in December recommended that Congress eliminate de minimis eligibility for imports sold through online marketplaces.On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a massive tax bill, which includes Trump’s tax priorities and a provision that would permanently end de minimis for commercial shipments from all countries by July 1, 2027.“As the bill makes its way through the legislative process, we strongly support a more aggressive timeline to implement a permanent ban on de minimis globally given its significant harm to manufacturers, retailers, and the fight against fentanyl and other illegal products. Express shippers have already transitioned to processing all Chinese imports through sophisticated logistics systems, demonstrating their ability to comply with the president’s executive orders and pivot quickly,” said Kim Glas, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations, in a statement. Meanwhile, other efforts are in progress to curb the use of de minimis entries.Customs and Border Protection is developing a new rule, proposed in the waning days of the Biden administration, that would require certain shippers to electronically submit additional data elements on low-value consignments prior to arrival and would remove de minimis eligibility for imports subject to certain tariffs.The White House has said it plans to use emergency powers to delete the de minimis exception once systems are in place to collect duties from millions of parcels per day, including ones sent through postal channels. Tyler DurdenFri, 05/16/2025 - 22:00

2025-05-17

Tesla Brand Image Plunges Amidst Regulatory Questions & Competitors’ Rising Approval Ratings

Electric vehicles are transformational, and the Tesla brand steered a new era in automobile manufacturing around the world. Today, though, questions about the all-electric carmaker’s current viability loom heavily. It’s starting to become clear that Tesla has lost its appeal as a relevant pioneer — now it’s an isolated anti-woke ... [continued]The post Tesla Brand Image Plunges Amidst Regulatory Questions & Competitors’ Rising Approval Ratings appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-17

Amazon is selling a $2,200 touchscreen laptop for $860, and shoppers say it's 'sleek, affordable, and reliable'

Reliable everyday computing without breaking the bank.

2025-05-17

How Legal Immigration Is Keeping Farms Afloat

How Legal Immigration Is Keeping Farms Afloat Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),LAKE VILLAGE, Ark.—On a breezy day, sun and shadow dance across Mencer farms, turning it into a patchwork of green in the fertile Arkansas Delta.It is humid here in the deep South, where the clock seems to run slower and the temperature hotter than in other places.Joe Mencer, owner of Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch TimesLake Village is a small town sitting along Lake Chicot, an abandoned channel of the Mississippi River. Over thousands of years, flooding deposited rich alluvial soil, making it ideal for crops such as rice, cotton, soybeans, and corn.As a child, William Mencer’s grandfather handed him a cowboy hat and a garden hoe to dig up the pigweeds growing between the crop rows.The 31-year-old farmer remembers spending long, sweltering days alongside the farmworkers, his hands growing rough and calloused with the effort.“So I learned, you know, what it was like for these workers,” he told The Epoch Times.He vowed to escape the sweat and toil of the fields by going to law school and working in an office. But the family farm drew him back like a love song.Now he is partnering with his father, Joe Mencer, to keep the farm afloat with temporary agriculture workers through the H-2A visa program.The fourth-generation family farm, which costs $4 million per year to operate, includes 6,000 acres that they own and lease.While some may claim agriculture needs illegal immigrants to pick crops and work the fields, Joe Mencer told The Epoch Times that they’ve never had an illegal immigrant come looking for work.They can’t get anyone local to work either, meaning that if they didn’t have the guest farm workers, they couldn’t stay in business.What Is the H-2A Visa?It costs more to bring in temporary legal workers than it would if they could find enough people locally to work. But without temporary migrant workers, William Mencer said local farms would go bust, affecting the nation’s food security.The process has become much more complex since the Mencers began using the guest worker program back in the 1980s.So much so that the younger Mencer started a small law practice helping other farmers obtain the labor they sorely needed.He also shares his knowledge with other farmers as a member of the Arkansas Farm Bureau.The process of hiring workers through the program, sometimes called a guest worker program, starts early in the year for the Mencer family.William Mencer, who works on his fourth-generation family farm, at Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025. He partners with his father to keep the farm running with the help of temporary agricultural workers through the H-2A visa program. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch TimesThe paperwork needs to be filed 60 to 75 days before their start date, which is mid- to late-February, he said.It costs as much as $5,000 to bring in several guest workers from Mexico to the United States, he said, noting that the cost doesn’t include the housing and transportation provided to the workers.Most return home in mid-December, but they are eligible to stay for up to three years in certain situations when agricultural work is available.The program requires the Mencers to advertise their farm jobs locally before they can be given to guest workers.Joe Mencer, 65, noted that the rules call for him to fire any foreign worker he’s brought over if an American shows up and wants the job.Tangled in Red TapeThe process to petition for workers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service is antiquated, with all communications taking place via mail, according to William Mencer.The government does not offer online services, email, or a phone number. If there’s a problem, then the farm’s labor source is jeopardized because of the lack of communication, he said.“Sometimes things get lost in the mail. You know, literally,” he said.One of his client’s petition paperwork didn’t arrive in the mail. So they filed a claim for the lost package and resubmitted the paperwork.This time, the paperwork made it to the Dallas office, but the postal carrier found the original package and shipped it, too.With both petitions filed with the government, it almost took an act of Congress to clear it up.The younger Mencer sent a letter explaining what happened with the evidence to the government officials, just like he would in court, but the office didn’t respond.He enlisted the help of his congressman to clear things up. By the time it was all done, his client was behind by a month in getting guest workers.It makes him wonder if the difficulty and red tape is “by design.”Joe Mencer, owner of Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025. The Mencer family began using the H-2A visa program in the 1980s to bring in foreign workers. The program, often called the guest worker program, requires employers to first advertise farm jobs locally before hiring foreign labor. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch TimesThe workers are so important that the Mencers keep them busy even when the weather is bad, although it doesn’t help their bottom line.When there’s no field work, they cut firewood for use in the winter months.Joe Mencer said he realized a few years back that his son’s law degree would be helpful on the farm, especially given the increasing complexity of the H2A visa program.Guest Worker SuccessThe Mencers said their farm couldn’t operate without H-2A visa workers, although the labor cost is higher than using local workers.Farmers’ margins are already slim because of increased production costs for fertilizer, herbicides, seed, and fuel.José Mondragon, who started as an H-2A visa worker, is now a green-card holder. He has worked for the Mencer family for nearly 30 years.Others, such as Gabino Mondragon (no relation to José Mondragon) are H-2A visa holders who have only been working at the farm for a few years.José Mondragon lives with his wife in a little house on the farm surrounded by flowers and trees. The 57-year-old has deep roots in the land, even serving as a pallbearer when Joe Mencer’s father passed away.In late April, he operated a self-driving orange Case Magnum row crop tractor, which plowed the earth between the corn rows to improve irrigation.José Mondragon said he’s seen American workers quit after two or three months, long before the crops are harvested in the fall. The lack of local workers can open the door for temporary visa workers, which is good for everyone, he said.“The people [are] asking us if we have some opportunities to come with my boss, and we say we will ask him,” he said.José Mondragon said some people come to the United States illegally because they get into trouble with the law back home or to escape the cartels. Others come to make more money to help support their families in their native countries.Workers from Mexico make $14.83 per hour on the Mencer farm as legal workers, with the wage set by the government for each state.Green card holder Jose Delores Mondragon operates a tractor at Mencer Farms in Lake Village, Ark., on April 29, 2025.José Mondragon said human smugglers, known as coyotes, charge people big money to cross the southern border illegally.Gabino Mondragon has been working at the Mencer farm on a guest visa for two years. He is experienced at running a spreader for nitrogen fertilizer for corn. One truckload of fertilizer can cost $20,000, according to William Mencer, so having a skilled operator is critical.Gabino Mondragon believes that more people in Mexico would like to apply for an H-2A visa. Still, if they are caught coming into America illegally, they won’t be eligible unless they get a waiver. It would depend on their record.The Mencers brought Gabino Mondragon’s family over on an H-4 visa so they could live close by while he worked.The H-4 nonimmigrant visa allows the spouse and unmarried children younger than 21 years of age to accompany the primary visa holder to the United States.It’s also an excellent opportunity for Gabino Mondragon’s family because his children are going to school and learning English.“If our people are happy, it just reinforces that it’s a good thing for everybody,” William Mencer said.Hanging by a ThreadThe high cost of labor, diesel, and chemicals is making it extremely difficult for family farms to stay in business, according to William Mencer.“We’ve been in four or five really bad years now,” he said.Some farmers are faced with losing their farms to foreclosure by banks over crop production loans, finding a different line of work, or selling out.Read the rest here... Tyler DurdenFri, 05/16/2025 - 21:30

2025-05-17

Electrifying Ground Vehicles: The Practical First Phase Of Port Sustainability

Ports sit at the crossroads of global trade, and increasingly, they’re also at the center of global decarbonization efforts. In the maritime sector, a careful and deliberate phased approach to electrification and zero-emission operations is critical. This article, the second in a series, focuses specifically on the initial five-year phase: ... [continued]The post Electrifying Ground Vehicles: The Practical First Phase Of Port Sustainability appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-16

B&F Fastener Supply becomes BFirst Industrial

Company that last year acquired Northern States Supply in Willmar changes name.

2025-05-16

Best Online Poker Sites For Real Money | Top Online Casino Games - Wild Casino

NEW YORK, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- If you are trying to find out what the best online poker sites for real money are, you have found it at Wild Casino. Known best for welcome bonus offers, fast payout casino, and a wide range of real money poker games, Wild Casino is one of the best poker sites for players from all over the world. Whether you prefer Texas Hold'em, Omaha, or Video Poker, this site will give you a secure and convenient gaming experience>>Click Here to Get Instant Bonus and 250 Free Spins >>With customer support available 24/7, mobile-friendly, and plenty of deposit and withdrawal options, Wild Casino gives its poker lovers everything they need. Let's see what makes this casino such a great choice for real money poker in 2025!>>Click Here to Get Instant Bonus and 250 Free Spins >>Is Wild Casino Legitimate?Definitely - Wild Casino is a reputable and legitimate online casino. Owned by the same group that publishes BetOnline, Wild Casino has a valid license from the Government of Panama that allows it to provide legitimate online gaming services to players worldwide, including players in the United States and other unregulated jurisdictions.One of many reasons why players ranked Wild Casino as one of the best online poker sites for real money is that Wild Casino focuses on player security and fair play. They use some of the industry's top SSL encryption technologies to protect user information and ensure safe transactions; when playing at Wild Casino, you can have a worry-free experience.>>Click Here to Get Instant Bonus and 250 Free Spins >>In addition, Wild Casino plays games from reputable software providers. This guarantees a fair, random, and transparent outcome in every deal. They have built up a strong reputation with online gamblers because they pay players out promptly, regularly, and offer good customer service.Pros and Cons of Wild CasinoLike any online casino, Wild Casino comes with its own set of advantages and challenges. Below, we break down the key pros and cons to help you make an informed decision about whether it's the right platform for your poker and gaming needs.ProsMassive Welcome Bonuses: Wild Casino, being the best online poker real money usa, promises one of the greatest bonus schemes in the business! New players are rewarded with a gigantic welcome package that will set them off to a great start before they start playing online.Game Selection: Wild Casino is famous for its online poker but also features a lot of other games, such as slots, blackjack, and table games, so there is something for everyone!Accepted Currencies: Wild Casino accepts a variety of payment methods, both deposits and withdrawals, with a wide variety of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are also provided. The advantages of using cryptocurrency are additional flexibility, quick processing, and increased anonymity.24/7 Customer Support: They provide 24/7 customer support via real-time chat or email with prompt responses. The support team is professional, friendly, and courteous in solving the issues of players as quickly as possible.Mobile Optimized: Wild Casino's platform is mobile optimized, whether playing slots or poker. Therefore, you can enjoy smooth play on the go using either iOS or Android devices.Licensed and Safe: Wild Casino is licensed by the Government of Panama and plays its games under tight regulations; therefore, a reliable site. The website uses SSL encryption technology to make your financial transactions and confidential details secure and free from any contamination.ConsLimited Availability Between States: While there are many people across the U.S. that can play at Wild Casino, they are not available in each state because local laws have restrictions on online gambling. No access from the restricted states.No Sports Betting: There is no sports betting at Wild Casino, which could be disappointing if you want to bet poker and live sports. While this is also the case for thousands of online casinos, it can be restrictive for some players.Withdrawal Times for Some Methods: In some cases, crypto withdrawal times will be relatively short, while in some payment methods it will take a while; some standard deposit methods will take longer too; i.e. credit card or bank transfer. This is a process that begins with chatting up those players that just want their wins.Why Wild Casino is the Best Online Casino in the US?When comparing the best online casino for real money in the US, Wild Casino is number one for all the right reasons. There are a bunch of offshore casinos that accept American players, but Wild Casino is one of the only casinos that offers all the generous bonuses, consistent payouts, and thousands of real money games that you can play!The best online poker sites for real money is built for US players, accepts many payment methods (credit cards, cryptocurrency, and wire transfer), is 100% mobile-friendly, entirely legal in the majority of US states (where offshore internet gaming is legalized), and is operated and supported by a well-known operator with a spotless, transparent history.Here's why Wild Casino, the best online casino for real money, deserves to be your go-to poker site:Big Welcome BonusNew players receive an ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-16

Why Is Chinese Lidar Sensor Maker Hesai Stock Trading Higher On Friday?

Chinese lidar sensor maker Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) has discreetly filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong.Hesai is discussing a potential offering with banks, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.Hesai stock is trading higher on this news.Also Read: Hesai Stock Rises on Mercedes-Benz Deal, First Chinese Lidar Win for Cars Sold Outside ChinaIn April, the U.S. fueled the delisting of ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-16

Best Crypto and Bitcoin Casino US 2025 | Top Bitcoin Casino Bonus – Wild Casino

NEW YORK, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Looking for the best bitcoin casino online to try your luck in 2025? You're in the right spot! The crypto gaming scene in the US is booming, with more players turning to secure, fast, and rewarding platforms that let you deposit and withdraw in popular cryptocurrencies.✅>>> Get Instant Crypto Bonus and Free Spins >>>Whether you're into Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital coins, the best crypto casino options now offer exciting games, generous bonuses, and instant payouts. From classic slots and table games to live dealers and crypto-exclusive promos, it's the perfect time to explore what the world of crypto casinos has to offer.✅>>> Get Instant Crypto Bonus and Free Spins >>>Is Wild Casino legitimate?Wondering if Wild Casino is the real deal? Absolutely — it's one of the top bitcoin casino options trusted by US players. Wild Casino operates under a recognized license and uses secure encryption to keep your transactions and data safe.✅>>> Get Instant Crypto Bonus and Free Spins >>>What makes it stand out is its reputation among seasoned players on crypto gambling sites, thanks to its fast payouts, fair games, and excellent customer support. Whether you're spinning the reels or hitting the live tables, Wild Casino offers a safe, legit environment for crypto players. It's a solid choice for anyone looking to bet with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies securely.Why is Wild Casino the best crypto and bitcoin casino in the US?When it comes to online crypto gambling in the US, Wild Casino stands out as one of the top choices for players looking to mix excitement with convenience. What makes this platform special is how effortlessly it combines a traditional casino feel with the modern world of cryptocurrency gaming. From the moment players land on the site, they're welcomed with a generous crypto casino deposit bonus, giving their bankroll a solid boost right from the start. It's the kind of perk that makes a noticeable difference when diving into your favourite games.✅>>> Get Instant Crypto Bonus and Free Spins >>>One of the biggest highlights at Wild Casino is its impressive Bitcoin live casino section. Here, players can enjoy real-time table games like blackjack, roulette, and baccarat with professional live dealers, all streamed in high quality. The experience brings the buzz of a Vegas casino right to your living room, all while using the speed and security of cryptocurrency.Adding to the excitement, Wild Casino occasionally rolls out crypto casino no deposit bonus offers, giving players the chance to try out new games or test their luck without needing to deposit any money upfront. It's a great way for both new and seasoned players to get a feel for what the casino offers.With a huge game selection, fast crypto transactions, and solid customer support, Wild Casino proves why it's a go-to name among top bitcoin casino platforms and crypto gambling sites in the US. It's trusted, user-friendly, and built for players who love both classic games and modern crypto options.Pros and cons of Wild CasinoWhen considering Wild Casino, it's important to weigh the pros and cons to ensure the platform meets your needs. As a top bitcoin casino and best crypto casino, Wild Casino offers excellent bonuses and fast payouts, but also has some limitations. Let's break down the key advantages and drawbacks.ProsAttractive crypto casino deposit bonus offers for both new sign-ups and loyal players.Immersive Bitcoin live casino games with real dealers for an authentic experience.Fast, secure payouts — a standout feature for a top bitcoin casino with speedy withdrawals.Huge selection of slots, table games, and specialty titles on a leading crypto gambling site.Supports multiple popular cryptocurrencies for smooth deposits and withdrawals.Regular promotions, cashback offers, and reload bonuses for crypto users.Safe, private, and encrypted transactions are ideal for best crypto gambling sites.24/7 customer support through live chat and email.ConsNo dedicated mobile app is available for iOS or Android yet.Certain regions are restricted from accessing this crypto gambling site.Limited crypto casino no deposit bonus deals compared to a few competitors.Some table games and live dealer titles may not contribute fully to bonus wagering requirements.No phone support option for customer service inquiries.How to sign up at Wild Casino in 2025Visit the official Wild Casino website, widely recognised as one ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-16

Macy's is selling a 'spacious' $80 travel backpack for only $40, and shoppers 'love it'

"This is one of the best backpacks I have ever owned."

2025-05-16

Look Ahead - Options Expiration May Bring A Change, Aerospace Stocks Are On Fire From Trump Deals

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.Hot StocksPlease click here for an enlarged chart of iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA).Note the following:The chart shows the recent steep upward trendline of aerospace and defense stocks.The chart shows when ITA broke out.The chart shows RSI has been overbought and flat. This indicates that the up move is very powerful and after a shallow dip, these stocks may go higher.ITA has outperformed S&P 500 by 16.68% year to date. This shows the power of picking the right sectors.As full disclosure, Aerospace and defense ETF ITA is in our ZYX Allocation Model Portfolio. The top three holdings of ITA are General Electric Co (GE), Rtx Corp (RTX), and Boeing Co (BA). RTX and BA are in our ZYX Buy Core Model Portfolio.The trigger behind the big move in aerospace stocks are the large deals that President Trump has been striking to sell U.S. planes and weapons to Arab countries.As a reader of our report, you were already in the know that the momo crowd was extremely aggressively buying call options. Today, about $3T notional value of options will expire. As the momo crowd extremely aggressively bought call options and the stock market rose, market makers were buying stocks to hedge. Stock buying by market makers has, in part, been responsible for the steep rise in the stock market.Starting Monday, a new cycle will begin for options. Expect more volatility depending upon how aggressively the momo crowd buys call options. Depending upon how the market behaves, market makers may unwind some hedges.Prudent investors should pay attention that the put call ratio is very low at this point. This indicates extreme bullishness. This is one of the indicators in our proprietary sentiment indicator. The Arora Sentiment Indicator is extremely bullish. As we have been sharing with you, extremely bullish sentiment is a contrary indicator, i.e. a sell signal. ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-16

Kroger faces devastating consumer allegations

This grocery store retail chain is accused of quietly tricking customers for years.

2025-05-16

14 US State Pension Funds Now Hold $632 Million In Strategy Stock

Fourteen U.S. state-level public retirement and treasury funds reported a combined $632 million exposure to Strategy stock (NASDAQ:MSTR) in the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant surge in institutional allocations toward Bitcoin-linked equities.What Happened: According to publicly filed Q1 holdings data compiled by Julian Fahrer, founder of Bitcoin Laws, state retirement and pension funds across 14 states added $302 million in new MicroStrategy stock positions during the quarter—an average quarter-over-quarter increase of 44%. These funds now ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-16

Coinbase Customers’ Personal Data Stolen in Hack, Stock Drops

Compromised information includes bank details, social security numbers, and government ID images.

2025-05-16

Donald Trump Calls Bruce Springsteen A “Dried Out Prune Of A Rocker” After Superstar Singer Deems POTUS “Corrupt, Incompetent And Treasonous”

To very little surprise, Donald Trump responded to Bruce Springsteen’s scathing take on his presidency earlier this week, as the president labeled him a “dried out prune of a rocker.” At the start a European tour earlier this week, Springsteen lashed out at the president, telling a concert crowd in Manchester, England that Trump was [...]

2025-05-16

G.O.P. Tax Bill Expected to Hurt the Lowest Earners and Help the Richest

Even though most Americans may see lower taxes, Republicans’ spending cuts could outweigh those benefits and leave some worse off.

2025-05-16

MarketsandMarkets' 360Quadrants Recognizes Top Startups and SMEs in the Green Technology and Sustainability Quadrant Report 2025

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 360Quadrants has released its latest Green Technology and Sustainability Startups/SMEs Companies Assessment, 2025, recognizing key players, including both global giants and emerging innovators, for their excellence in market presence, product innovation, and business strategy. The report highlights CropX Technologies, AquiPor Technologies, Trace Genomics, Treevia Forest Technologies, Pycno, Factlines, Treeni, and EcoCart among the top companies actively shaping the future of the Green Technology and Sustainability Startups/SMEs.The evaluation leverages 360Quadrants' proprietary methodology to map competitive positioning across 7,000+ micro markets within 10+ industries, enabling decision-makers to make strategic, data-backed vendor choices.Company Highlights in Green Technology and Sustainability Startups/SMEs:AquiPor is dedicated to transforming urban stormwater infrastructure and improving water quality by developing and applying permeable hardscape technology. The company is at the forefront of innovation, combining proprietary engineering solutions, utility integration technologies, and low-carbon concrete advancements to create sustainable infrastructure. As a specialized provider in engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM), AquiPor is uniquely equipped to deliver scalable, high-performance green infrastructure solutions tailored for urban environments. Its work supports the implementation of low-impact development strategies, helping cities manage stormwater more effectively while reducing environmental footprints. By advancing stormwater management technologies and promoting eco-conscious urban development, AquiPor demonstrates a strong commitment to building resilient, sustainable communities for the future.CropX Technologies is a fast-growing global leader in agricultural farm management solutions, with operations spanning over 50 countries across all arable continents. Its flagship offering, the CropX Agronomic Farm Management System, delivers advanced, soil-to-sky insights through an intuitive platform designed to support decision-making and planning across multiple farms and fields. The system combines real-time soil data, climate information, and crop modeling into a user-friendly app with a comprehensive digital agronomic tool suite. Backed by leading agribusiness partners and venture capital investors, CropX continues to set ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-16

AP Business SummaryBrief at 10:44 a.m. EDT

Student loans have been confusing lately. Here's a guide to know where you stand

2025-05-16

Japan’s economy shrinks as Trump’s trade war hits exports and shakes confidence

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter, according to government data released Friday, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war hurt exports and dented consumer confidence. Japan’s real gross domestic product, or the measure of a nation’s goods and services, shrank at a greater-than-expected 0.2% [...]

2025-05-16

How Widespread Are Food Intolerances?

How Widespread Are Food Intolerances? In a limited survey by Statista Consumer Insights, between 6 and 17 percent of respondents said they had a food intolerance confirmed by a health professional. As Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports, the figure was highest in the U.S. and lowest in France. You will find more infographics at StatistaIn four other countries surveyed - the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico and China - between 10 and 11 percent said this was the case for them.Food intolerances and allergies, like insensitivity to gluten, dairy, sugar or more specific products, have been a hot topic over the last couple of years.While more and more people cut certain foods out of their diets because of allergies or because they consider them bad nutrition, other accuse those engaging in this behavior of following a fad. While awareness around food insensitivities has certainly risen and more people were able to get diagnoses in the field, hyperconsiousness around food, health and fitness are also becoming more widespread - with both areas increasingly harder to distingush from one another.According to the UK's NHS, common food intolerances include lactose, gluten, histamines and sulphites, but also caffeine, alcohol and lesser-known salicylates. Tyler DurdenThu, 05/15/2025 - 22:35

2025-05-16

Minnesota jobs data flat in April, 1,300 net jobs lost

The state's unemployment rate compares with 4.2% nationally.

2025-05-16

CNBC Daily Open: U.S. stocks are rallying, but beware the aftereffects of a head rush

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday at a Fed conference that longer-term interest rates are likely to be higher, The S&P 500 gained 0.41%, its fourth positive session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped on data that the country’s economy shrank in the first quarter. U.S. President Donald Trump told Apple’s CEO he doesn’t want him “building in India.” China is still blocking exports of seven rare earth metals to the U.S. despite both countries’ trade deal. Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his White House counterpart Trump opted to skip Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey. One European automaker is poised to benefit from the U.K.-U.S. trade deal.There’s a lightness in the air on Wall Street. Stocks have been rising throughout the week. The S&P 500 has just ended its fourth straight session in the green, giving it a 4.54% bump so far over the past four days.Tariffs are looking less thorny, for sure, as the U.S. negotiates agreements with other countries. But that’s not to say it’ll be a perfectly smooth path ahead.For instance, despite its agreement with the U.S., China is still withholding rare earth metals, crucial for important industries such as defense and energy, from being exported to the U.S.Similarly, even as India negotiates a deal with America, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to want more than just levies on U.S. imports cut. Trump told Apple CEO Tim Cook he doesn’t want the Cupertino-based company “building in India.” It’s hard to imagine India agreeing to keep Apple’s manufacturing out — or for The Big Apple to actually start producing Apple products.U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell seemed cognizant of such complications and warned on Thursday that “supply shocks” could be “more frequent, and potentially more persistent” in the future.The sense of buoyancy in markets, then, could be a head rush — evoked by the U.S.-China trade deal over the weekend — that could dissipate once the gravity of the economic headwinds takes over again.What you need to know todayPowell warns of potential supply shocksU.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday at a Fed conference that longer-term interest rates are likely to be higher, given that “inflation could be more volatile going forward” because of the possibility of “more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks” to the economy. Powell didn’t name Trump’s tariffs, but flagged risks around them at the Fed’s May meeting.S&P clocks fourth day of winsOn Thursday, the S&P 500 gained 0.41%, its fourth positive session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.65% but the Nasdaq Composite underperformed, dropping 0.18%. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 hovered around the flatline the country reported that its economy shrank 0.2% during the first quarter, steeper than the 0.1% expected in a Reuters poll of economists — and the first time it’s contracted in a year.‘A little problem with Tim Cook’: TrumpWhile discussing on Thursday Washington’s trade relations with India, Trump said that he doesn’t want Apple CEO Tim Cook to build factories in India. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said. “I said to him, ‘my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India.’ I don’t want you building in India.”Rare earth exports from China still blockedChina has temporarily paused export restrictions targeting 28 American companies following the trade agreement reached by Beijing and the Trump administration over the weekend. But it is continuing to block exports of seven rare earth metals to the United States. Those metals are essential for the U.S.’ defense, energy and automotive industries.Putin and Trump skip peace meetingRussia leader Vladimir Putin and his White House counterpart Trump opted to skip Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey. Responding to the diplomatic slight as he arrived in Ankara on Thursday to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the delegation of lower-ranking officials that Russia had sent to Turkey showed Moscow wasn’t serious about talks.[PRO] U.K.-U.S. deal to benefit European automakerBritish businesses are still hashing out exactly what the recently-unveiled U.K.-U.S. trade deal means for them. The European Union is yet to strike its own deal. Despite this, one automaker from the bloc’s biggest economy is about to see benefits due to its U.K. presence.And finally...Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty ImagesA man walks past an electronic board showing the Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in Tokyo on April 7, 2025. Japan assets experienced record inflows in April as investors fled U.S. markets — and analysts expect the Asian country to stay attractiveOverseas investors bought 8.21 trillion yen ($56.6 billion) worth of Japanese equities and long-term bonds in April, according to government data. The net inflows were the largest for a calendar month since Japan’s finance ministry started collecting data in 1996, according to Morningstar.Japanese assets are generally considered a haven, whose appeal rose as the “sell-U.S.” narrative gained ground in April, said Rashmi Garg, senior portfolio manager at Al Dhabi Capital.Furthermore, Trump’s policy flip-flops could sustain interest in Japanese assets “even if it is not as a strong as the April level,” said Vasu Menon, OCBC’s managing director of the investment strategy team. Japan’s ongoing talks with the U.S. with regard to tariffs have also raised some optimism over cutting the 24% “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan, Menon said.

2025-05-16

TikTok turns to meditation as it battles lawsuits and criticism over the app's ill effects on children

TikTok said that the meditation feature, aimed at improving sleep quality, is triggered during “sleep hours” and will be turned on by default for users under the age of 18. The announcement comes amid public pressure and lawsuits concerning the app’s impacts on young users.Plagued with allegations and lawsuits of harming users’ mental health, especially that of children, social media sensation TikTok has decided to turn to meditation — or, rather, guide its users to the calming effects of deep breathing.TikTok said Thursday that it was launching in-app guided meditation exercises and other well-being features aimed at young users.The company, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, said it began testing the new meditation exercises with select teens earlier this year and will now make them available to users of all ages.TikTok said that the meditation feature, aimed at improving sleep quality, is triggered during “sleep hours” and will be turned on by default for users under the age of 18. If these young users are on the app after 10 p.m., their “For You” feed will be interrupted by the guided meditation exercise. If a teen continues to use TikTok after the first reminder, the company will show a second full-screen meditation prompt. The meditation app was teased earlier this week along with other features, such as new educational feeds, online safety tools and enhanced parental controls over screen time. TikTok’s recent focus on promoting healthier digital habits for young users comes amid public pressure and a slew of lawsuits concerning the platform’s impact on young users. A bipartisan group of more than a dozen state attorneys general last year filed lawsuits against TikTok related to the app’s effects on young users. One such suit from Attorney General Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia alleged that TikTok was intentionally addictive and psychologically damaging to kids, posing profound risks including depression, anxiety, sleep loss and body dysmorphia.A TikTok spokesperson previously told CNBC that the lawsuit ignored proactive measures that the platform has voluntarily implemented to support community safety and well-being.Social psychologists have also advocated banning the app, warning that TikTok and other social platforms can cause mental health issues for children, adolescents, and young adults. The social media platform briefly went offline in the U.S. in January, after the Supreme Court upheld a law to ban it unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sold its stake in the app. However, U.S. President Donald Trump used an executive order to keep the platform running, and again delayed the enforcement of that ban last month. Its long-term status remains undecided, with ByteDance’s new deadline to divest set for mid-June.While Congress’s ban of TikTok has been focused on the app’s Chinese ownership and data and privacy concerns, governments have also begun to target TikTok and other social media over their perceived ill effect on young users. In November, Australia’s parliament passed a bill banning social media platforms from allowing users under 16 to access their services, threatening fines of up to AU$ $50 million (£22.2 million).In the U.S., TikTok says that users must be at least 13 years old to create an account, though there is a separate under-13 TikTok experience that offers additional safeguards.The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission filed a civil lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance in August, accusing them of collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 and having insufficient policies and processes for identifying and deleting accounts created by children.TikTok and ByteDance didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.On Thursday, TikTok said it was also making a $2.3 million donation in ad credits to 31 mental health organizations in 22 countries around the world as part of its “Mental Health Education Fund.”

2025-05-16

Cartier owner Richemont posts sales beat as jewelry shines amid luxury malaise

Cartier owner Richemont on Friday posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter sales as wealthy spenders shrug off macroeconomic uncertainty. Revenues at the Swiss luxury group rose 7% to 5.17 billion euros, above the 4.98 billion euros. The fourth-quarter sales bump was led by growth at the group’s Jewellery Maisons division, which includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati. Cartier owner Richemont on Friday posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter sales, as the wealthiest spenders continued to shrug off global macroeconomic uncertainty.Revenues at the Swiss luxury group rose 7% year-on-year at constant exchange rates to 5.17 billion euros ($5.79 billion) in the three months to the end of March, above the 4.98 billion euros forecast by analysts in an LSEG poll.The fourth-quarter sales bump was led by double-digit growth at the group’s Jewellery Maisons division, which includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati.Sales nevertheless declined within the company’s specialist watchmakers segment, which features brands Piaget and Roger Dubuis, led by weakness in the Asia-Pacific region.Full-year sales rose 4% to 21.4 billion euros, up on the previous year and just ahead of analyst expectations of 21.34 billion euros.Sales rose annually across all regions, except Asia Pacific (ex. Japan) — the company’s largest market — where declines were led by a 23% drop in China. Japan led annual sales growth, up 25% at actual exchange rates, buoyed by “strong domestic and tourist spend” and a weak Japanese Yen.“The Group’s performance was robust overall, driven by remarkable growth at our Jewellery Maisons and retail, and improved momentum at our ‘Other’ activities,” Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert said in a statement. The company’s so-called “other” segment includes its pre-owned watch retailer Watchfinder & Co.The chairman nevertheless added that ongoing global uncertainties would continue to require “strong agility and discipline.”BofA Global Research said in a note last week that Richemont faces three key global headwinds: gold prices, U.S. tariffs and foreign exchange fluctuations, by way of the strength of the Swiss Franc and the weakness of the U.S. dollar.However, the bank’s analysts added that the company’s pricing power could provide a tailwind. “We think price will cover half the headwinds,” they wrote. “Pricing, product mix and higher capacity utilization are the most obvious offsets.”Richemont had previously reported its “highest ever” quarterly sales figure in January at 6.2 billion euros, even as China demand weighed.The earnings had, at the time, been taken as a signal of a wider turnaround in the beleaguered luxury sector. However, the specter of U.S. trade tariffs and subsequent macroeconomic uncertainty have threatened to once again hit consumer confidence and discretionary spending globally.This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

2025-05-15

Coinbase said cyber crooks stole customer information and demanded $20 million ransom payment - AP News

Coinbase said cyber crooks stole customer information and demanded $20 million ransom payment AP NewsCoinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data and are demanding $20 million ransom CNBCCoinbase's cyber attack could cost it $400 million qz.comLargest US crypto exchange says cost of recent cyber-attack could reach $400m The GuardianCoinbase stock drops after cyber criminals swipe customer data and make $20 million ransom demand Yahoo Finance

2025-05-15

OnQ GLOBAL, INC. UNVEILS REBRAND AND STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION

OnQ Global, Inc. Launches Next Era of Streamlined Innovation and Service Excellence HOUSTON, May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OnQ Global, Inc. today unveiled a major structural evolution, introducing a bold new brand identity aligned with its three specialized pillars: QHealth, QTech, and...

2025-05-15

Trump's military parade cost: Up to $45 million for D.C. march

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have charged 13 men in what court records describe as a wide-ranging conspiracy to identify victims with substantial holdings of cryptocurrency, steal those assets, and then launder the proceeds. More than $265 million in crypto was stolen from the victims, according to a superseding indictment. One of the defendants, Malone Lam, was previously charged in connection with the largest of those thefts, which netted about $245 million in crypto from a man in D.C. Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., charged 13 men in what court records describe as a wide-ranging conspiracy to identify victims with substantial holdings of cryptocurrency, steal those assets, and then launder the proceeds.More than $265 million in crypto was stolen from the victims, according to a superseding indictment obtained Thursday by CNBC.The participants, Americans and foreign nationals who allegedly became friends on online gaming platforms, are accused of spending lavishly after the thefts, including $9 million on exotic cars and $4 million on nightclubs, as well as on multiple rental properties.One of the defendants, 20-year-old Singapore native Malone Lam, was previously arrested and charged in connection with the largest of those thefts, which netted about $245 million in bitcoin from a man in D.C. in mid-August.That theft is believed to have led to the brazen kidnapping in suburban Connecticut of the parents of one of Lam’s alleged co-conspirators by a crew of thugs from Florida who prosecutors say planned to hold the parents for ransom from their newly rich son.It also allegedly enabled Lam to purchase more than 30 exotic automobiles, among them Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mercedez G Wagons, a Rolls Royce, a McClaren, and a Pagani, the superseding indictment says. He also allegedly bought a watch for $2 million.Neither Lam’s co-defendant in the original indictment related to the $245 million heist — Jeandiel Serrano — nor the son of the people kidnapped in Connecticut is named as a defendant in the new superseding indictment.Instead, both men appear to be identified only as “co-conspirator” in that charging document.But the new indictment accuses 12 other men and Lam of charges that include RICO Conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and obstruction of justice.Two of the men, Hamza Doost and Kunal Mehta, were arrested this week in California, according to court filings, which alleged they were involved in money laundering for the ring.Most of the other defendants are believed to have been arrested around the United States in the past several days.Mehta, a 45-year-old who lives in Irvine, California, is the oldest defendant identified by name. The other named defendants range in age from 18 to 22 years old. Two defendants are identified only by nicknames.Michael Siluk | Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesSquishmallow’s on sale at a Fred Meyer grocery store, a sub of Kroger. The second biggest theft attributed to the ring was of $14 million in cryptocurrency from a victim.“Members and associates of the enterprise used the stolen virtual currency to purchase, among other things, nightclub services ranging up to $500,000 per evening, luxury handbags valued in the tens of thousands of dollars that were given away at nightclub parties, luxury watches valued between $100,000 and $500,000,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington said in a statement.The participants also bought “luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami, private jet rentals, a team of private security guards, and a fleet of at least 28 exotic cars ranging in value from $100,000 to $3.8 million,” prosecutors said.The indictment says that one of the defendants, 21-year-old Joel Cortes of Laguna Niguel, California, last year helped members of the ring “in changing stolen virtual currency into fiat currency and shipping the currency across the United States, hidden in squishmallow stuffed animals, each containing approximately $25,000 apiece.”“Members of the enterprise laundered stolen cryptocurrency proceeds by moving the funds through various mixers and exchanges using ‘peel chains,’ pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks to mask their true identities,” prosecutors said.The new indictment alleges that an off-duty law enforcement officer informed one of Lam’s alleged money exchangers in September that the ring was being investigated by federal law enforcement, and that the money exchanger then advised that Serrano stay in the Maldives instead of returning to the United States. Serrano later flew to Los Angeles, where he was arrested in September.The indictment says an off-duty law enforcement officer tipped Lam on Sept. 18 that authorities were on their way to arrest Lam at his Miami rental home.Lam soon after “walked to the rear of his Miami rental home and dropped his mobile telephone off the boat dock and into Biscayne Bay to destroy incriminating evidence,” the indictment alleges.Prosecutors said that after his arrest in September, and continuing while he was being held without bail, “Lam is alleged to have continued working with members of the enterprise to pass and receive directions, collect stolen cryptocurrency, and to have enterprise members buy luxury Hermes Birkin bags and hand deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami, Florida.”Lam and another defendant, Conor Flasburg, 20, of Newport Beach, California, were identified as organizers of the alleged scheme,e Lam’s defense attorney, Scott Armstrong, told CNBC, “Mr. Lam is 20 years old and has no criminal history.”“He is unfortunately caught up in a very complicated case. We will vigorously defend him,” Armstrong said.CNBC has requested comment from Serrano’s attorney.

2025-05-15

Wall Street drifts as S&P 500 flirts with its first loss of the week

U.S. stocks are drifting following a jumble of mixed reports that shed little clarity on how the U.S. economy is managing through President Donald Trump’s trade war. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Thursday and was on track for its first...

2025-05-15

'Prepare a will': State Dept. updates threatening travel warning

The advisory was reissued to 'emphasize the extreme danger.'

2025-05-15

Is It Time to Invest in Europe?

Europe is being shaken out of its lethargy, militarily and otherwise, by Donald Trump's changes in U.S. policy. Should investors start buying?

2025-05-15

New Jersey rail strike could cause nightmare for commuters ... and Shakira and Beyoncé fans - CNN

New Jersey rail strike could cause nightmare for commuters ... and Shakira and Beyoncé fans CNNNJ Transit strike 2025 update: Talks continue as rail engineer walkout nears ABC7 New YorkNJ Transit engineers strike looms Friday, here’s what commuters need to know New York Daily NewsNew Jersey on the brink of its biggest railroad strike in more than 40 years GothamistNJ Transit strike appears ever more likely ahead of midnight deadline: ‘It’s going to be ugly’ New York Post

2025-05-15

US Homebuilder Sentiment Slumps To Lowest Since 2023

US Homebuilder Sentiment Slumps To Lowest Since 2023 Confidence among US homebuilders slumped in May to the lowest level since late 2023 as the NAHB sentiment index tumbled 6 points to 34 (well below the 40 expected)...Source: BloombergAll three components that make up the index fell, with a measure of expected sales in the next six months sliding to an 18-month low. A gauge of present sales dropped to the lowest since late 2022, while traffic of prospective buyers was the weakest in 1 1/2 years.“The spring home buying season has gotten off to a slow start as persistent elevated interest rates, policy uncertainty and building material cost factors hurt builder sentiment in May,” NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, a builder and developer from Lexington, North Carolina, said in a statement.Of course, we all know who is to blame for this...“Policy uncertainty stemming in large part from the stop-and-start tariff issues has hurt builder confidence but the initial trade arrangements with the United Kingdom and China are a welcome development,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Still, the overall actions on tariffs in recent weeks have had a negative impact on builders, as 78% reported difficulties pricing their homes recently due to uncertainty around material prices.”Let's not forget that new mortgage rates are still sky-high relative to 'average' existing mortgage rates and homebuilders can't afford to subsidize that difference forever...In May, 34% of builders reported cutting prices, the largest share since December 2023, NAHB said. The share of builders reporting using sales incentives was unchanged at 61%.The only thing is, homeBUYER sentiment has been in the shitter for months because of high rates and lack of affordability...Maybe, homeBUILDERS are finally waking up to reality as Upton Sinclair said: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Tyler DurdenThu, 05/15/2025 - 10:45

2025-05-15

Karolinska Development’s Annual General Meeting 2025

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – May 15, 2025. Karolinska Development AB (publ) (“Karolinska Development” or the “Company”) held the Annual General Meeting on May 15, 2025. The shareholders have had the right to exercise their voting rights in advance through postal voting pursuant to item 13 in the articles of association. Therefore, shareholders have had the choice to exercise their voting rights at the AGM by attending in person, by postal voting or through a proxy. The following resolutions were passed by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting:

2025-05-15

CRTC kicks off Canadian content hearing as big streamers cancel appearances - CityNews Vancouver

CRTC kicks off Canadian content hearing as big streamers cancel appearances CityNews VancouverView Full Coverage on Google News

2025-05-15

XCMG Machinery publica el Informe ESG 2024

- XCMG Machinery publica el Informe ESG 2024: pioneros en innovación sostenible en el desarrollo de la industria global de maquinaria de construcción Nuevo liderazgo energético, transformación digital y alianzas globales hacia la neutralidad de carbono XUZHOU, China, 15 de mayo de 2025...

2025-05-15

The Pandemic Agreement: Surveillance, 'One Health', & A New Industry Of Government Grift

The Pandemic Agreement: Surveillance, 'One Health', & A New Industry Of Government Grift Authored by REPPARE (REevaluating the Pandemic Preparedness And REsponse agenda) via The Brownstone Institute,After three years of negotiation, the delegates of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) agreed on the text of the Pandemic Agreement, which now goes for vote at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) at the end of May 2025. This text comes after the negotiations were extended for an additional year due to ongoing disagreements about intellectual property and technology transfers (Article 11), access to ‘pandemic-related health products’ (Article 12), and One Health.After extending the negotiations into a series of last-minute 24-hour sessions in April 2025, a draft was ‘greenlined’ with many countries suggesting that they had gone as far as they could via negotiation, and it was now time to bring it to vote. There are several interesting elements within the new draft of the Pandemic Agreement. For example, the Pandemic Agreement foresees ‘participating manufacturers’ (yet to be determined) to make 20% of their related pharmaceutical production available to the WHO, half as a donation, and half at ‘affordable prices’ (also to be determined). The expectation is that the WHO and other international partners will pool these and other resources for distribution (in an improved COVAX-like mechanism yet to be determined). In addition, a still relatively undefined ‘Coordinating Financial Mechanism’ (CFM) will be established to support the implementation of both the Pandemic Agreement and the amended International Health Regulations (IHRs), as well as to disburse surge funding to developing countries in the event of a pandemic.These commitments build on the IHR amendments that come into force in September 2025, which authorise the WHO Director-General to declare a ‘Pandemic Emergency.’ This represents an escalation of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), with a ‘Pandemic Emergency’ now representing ‘the highest level of alarm,’ which is meant to trigger a host of national and international responses. The PHEIC has been declared eight times since 2005, including for the ongoing Mpox outbreak in Central Africa, and there remains ambiguity about whether an outbreak like Mpox would now also qualify as a Pandemic Emergency. The Pandemic Agreement also now defines the first somewhat tangible effects of declaring a Pandemic Emergency, although these triggering effects are currently most clear regarding the mobilization of ‘pandemic-relevant health products.’In general, the text reads as one might expect when diplomats from almost 200 countries spent years negotiating and scrutinising every sentence. Although the United States and Argentina withdrew from these negotiations earlier this year, the document still had to navigate the manifold and often conflicting interests of delegates from Russia and Ukraine, Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan; not to mention members of the Africa Group who largely saw the Pandemic Agreement as a raw deal for Africa (see below). The result is therefore 30 pages full of vague declarations of intent, often qualified by references to the preservation of national sovereignty in an attempt to neutralize opposition. As it stands, the ‘Agreement’ looks primarily of symbolic importance, since a failure to reach an agreement would have been embarrassing for everyone involved.Yet, it would be churlish not to understand that the Pandemic Agreement consolidates ‘pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response’ as a definitive ‘space’ of global political action, for the purpose of which numerous new institutions and funding streams have already been created. Its potential passage into international law is unusual in global health and represents only the second time such a global health covenant has been created (the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control being the first), with the potential to mobilize substantial resources and policies.For example, according to estimates by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), expenditure on preparing for future pandemics had already more than quadrupled between 2009 and 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic unmistakably moved the topic into international ‘high politics.’ In the Agreement, governments pledge to ‘maintain or increase’ this funding for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response and to support mechanisms for its execution. As reported elsewhere by REPPARE, the requested funds for pandemic preparedness are $31.1 billion a year (for comparison, about 8 times global expenditure on malaria), of which $26.4 billion must come from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), while $10.5 billion in new overseas development assistance (ODA) would need to be raised. Presumably, the WHO’s preferred mechanism for the distribution of this ODA is via the yet-to-be-defined CFM.Vaccine EquityThe declared guiding principle of the Pandemic Agreement is ‘equity.’ The focus on ‘equity’ is driven largely by the WHO and associated philanthropists, NGOs, scientific advisers, and several LMICs (particularly in Africa), who view a lack of equity, primarily ‘vaccine equity,’ as the main failure of the Covid response. Representatives of poorer countries, but also important donors, have criticised the inequitable access to vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 as a key failure of the Covid response and the reason for increased Covid mortality. This inequitable access has been labelled ‘vaccine nationalism,’ which refers to the stockpiling of Covid vaccines in high-income countries (HICs) during the pandemic, limiting availability to vaccines by LMICs. The World Economic Forum, for example, claims that a fairer distribution of vaccines would have saved over a million lives. While enough Covid vaccine doses were ordered in Europe to immunise the entire population from infants to the elderly more than three times over, and are now being destroyed, many African countries were denied access. In fact, developing countries only received large quantities of coronavirus vaccines months after richer countries had been ‘fully vaccinated.’ Even after vaccination had been universally available in most HIC countries by summer 2021, under 2% in low-income countries had been vaccinated, many of them with Chinese vaccines that Western countries deemed inferior and thus not qualifying for travel clearance.The proponents of the Pandemic Agreement do not question the success of universal vaccination despite its limited and rapidly declining protective effect, nor the numerous reported adverse effects. But even if we assume that coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective, global comparisons of vaccination rates remain nonsensical. In HICs, most Covid-19 deaths occurred in people over 80, suggesting the need for context-specific interventions in the case of the most vulnerable.In most low-income countries (LICs), this risk group comprises only a tiny fraction of the population. For example, the average age in Africa is 19, presenting an entirely different pandemic risk and response profile. In addition, a meta-analysis of blood tests by Bergeri et al. suggests that by mid-2021 most Africans had already had post-infection immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Yet, despite these variables, the manufacturers of the vaccines were encouraged to mass produce vaccines for global rollout, were given emergency authorisation, were released from liability, cashed in on advanced purchasing commitments, and were able to make record profits at the expense of taxpayers.As reported elsewhere, committing large resources to pandemic preparedness, particularly expensive surveillance, diagnostic, R&D, and the manufacturing of biomedical countermeasures, threatens to produce high opportunity costs since many LMICs must confront other more pressing and destructive disease burdens. This was at least implicitly recognised by many African countries during the Pandemic Agreement negotiations. Many resisted the inclusion of One Health into the Agreement, arguing that it was unaffordable and not a priority within their national strategic health plans.To paraphrase an African delegate on the INB, ‘We have difficulty doing coordinated surveillance within the health sector, let alone integrated surveillance across sectors.’ This concern not only suggests the need for more locally owned strategies to assure the efficient use of scarce resources, but also the need for strategies that better capture contextualised need to deliver greater effectiveness and true health equity, not just ‘product equity.’ Yet, even if product equity is a desired and justified outcome in particular cases, there is nothing in the Pandemic Agreement that guarantees this, since, in practice,e poor countries without their own production capacities will always be last in line. Although the ‘pathogen access and benefit system’ (PABS) in Article 12 of the Pandemic Agreement seeks to improve product equity, it is reasonable to expect wealthy countries to meet their own demand before making larger quantities available to LICs or the WHO for distribution (leaving it reliant on donations – which proved problematic during COVAX). As a result, it is hard to see what the Pandemic Agreement has improved in this regard, other than the codification of extremely loose normative commitments aiming to improve equitable access to pandemic products – an area on which countries would already broadly agree. The Pandemic Agreement also calls for more transparency for contracts between countries and manufacturers. This measure is seen as a mechanism that can expose rampant vaccine nationalism and profiteering, albeit only ‘as appropriate’ and ‘in accordance with national regulations.’ Thus, it is questionable whether such flimsy wording would have stopped EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from fixing billion-dollar deals with the Pfizer CEO through undisclosed text messaging nor stopped other countries from engaging in their own bilateral pre-purchasing and stockpiling activities.Of course, LMIC negotiators in the INB were aware of all this, which is why the fault line in the Pandemic Agreement negotiations mainly centred on issues of intellectual property and technology transfer. In essence, developing countries do not want to rely on handouts and want to produce vaccines and therapeutics themselves without having to pay expensive licensing fees to the pharmaceutical giants of the North. In contrast, the North has been steadfast in their commitments to intellectual property protections as outlined in TRIPS and TRIPS-Plus, seeing these legal mechanisms as important protections for their pharmaceutical industries. As a ‘compromise,’ the Pandemic Agreement contains provisions for ‘geographically diversified local production’ of pandemic products and closer international cooperation in research and development, with simplified licensing procedures intended to ensure technology transfer. However, the wording within the Pandemic Agreement is nonspecific and the EU insisted on adding last-minute footnotes to the technology transfer provision to ensure they only take effect ‘as mutually agreed.’ Thus, the Pandemic Agreement looks like the solidification of business as usual. Surveillance and One HealthWhereas a lack of ‘equity’ is understood by advocates of the Pandemic Agreement as the main failure of the Covid response, a ‘failure of preparedness’ is also seen as allowing the emergence and subsequent global spread of the novel coronavirus in the first place. The goal of eliminating the ‘existential threat’ of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) is dominant within the policy lexicon, endorsed by the G20 High Level Independent Panel, the World Bank, the WHO, The Elders’ Proposal for Action, and the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. As we have argued elsewhere, these assessments are largely based on weak evidence, problematic methodologies, the use of political eminence over expertise, and simplified modelling, yet they remained unquestionable mainstays within INB negotiations. In response to future zoonoses, the Pandemic Agreement calls for a ‘One Health’ approach. In principle, One Health reflects the self-evident fact that human, animal, and environmental health are closely connected. Yet, in practice, One Health requires the targeted monitoring of soil, water, domestic animals, and farm animals with the view to identifying possible spillover to humans. As highlighted above, implementing One Health necessitates integrated systems across sectors with sophisticated laboratory capacities, processes, information systems, and trained personnel. As a result, the costs of implementing One Health are estimated by the World Bank to be approximately $11 billion a year, which would be in addition to the $31.1 billion currently estimated as required to finance the IHRs and Pandemic Agreement. With more laboratories looking for pathogens and their mutations, it is guaranteed that more will be found. Given the current practice of over-securitized knee-jerk risk assessments, it is foreseeable that more discoveries will be deemed ‘high risk,’ even though humans have coexisted with many of these pathogens without major incident for centuries, and even though the risk of geographical spread is low (e.g., reactions to Mpox). The logic of the Pandemic Agreement is that, based on genomic advancements, ‘pandemic-related health products’ can then be quickly developed and distributed via the ‘WHO Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System’ (PABS). This is disquieting for at least three reasons. First, large resources will be poured into responding to these low-burden potential risks while everyday killers like malaria will continue to receive an underwhelming response. Second, this aspect of the Pandemic Agreement will undoubtedly engross under its own momentum, where new perceptions of threat legitimate ever-more surveillance, which will uncover even more potential threats in a self-perpetuating regress of securitization and over-biomedicalization. Lastly, nowhere in the Pandemic Agreement is there any mention of the fact that dangerous gain-of-function research will continue to be conducted to develop the ‘pandemic benefits’ expected under PABS, although biosafety and biosecurity obligations are mentioned in passing.This suggests that the risk assessments associated with the Pandemic Agreement are singularly focused on natural zoonosis spillover events, ignoring an area of risk that may have actually been responsible for the worst pandemic in the last 100 years. Thus, the recent Covid-19 pandemic is likely irrelevant to the Pandemic Agreement in terms of pandemic preparation and prevention.InfodemicsThe calamities of the Covid response have eroded trust in the WHO and other public health institutions. This has manifested in a clear scepticism of pandemic preparedness. For example, hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions warning of the WHO’s ‘power grab’ to undermine national sovereignty. These messages arose primarily after the proposed amendments to the IHR started to circulate, which contained original language allowing the WHO to issue binding recommendations to national governments during a pandemic. Ultimately, such plans did not materialise.The drafters of the Pandemic Agreement have seemingly agreed with such concerns. Article 24.2 states in unusually clear terms: ‘Nothing in the WHO Pandemic Agreement shall be interpreted as providing the WHO Secretariat, including the WHO Director-General, any authority to direct, order, alter or otherwise prescribe the national and/or domestic laws, as appropriate, or policies of any Party, or to mandate or otherwise impose any requirements that Parties take specific actions, such as ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures or implement lockdowns.’ In practice, this clause has no effect, as there is no way of arriving at the interpretations Article 24.2 rules out, since the WHO simply does not have legal jurisdiction to force compliance. Regarding non-pharmaceutical measures, the signatories to the Pandemic Agreement merely agree to conduct research into their effectiveness and adherence. This includes not only epidemiology, but also ‘the use of social and behavioural sciences, risk communication and community engagement.’In addition, states agree on taking ‘measures to strengthen science, public health, and pandemic literacy in the population.’ Here, nothing is binding nor specified, leaving sufficient room for countries to determine how and to what degree to deploy non-pharmaceutical measures (for better or worse). It is just putting (again) in writing what States are already doing – an arguably pointless exercise.That said, references to the behavioural sciences are likely to trigger suspicion from those critical of the WHO. In particular, those concerned about the Covid response remember how behavioural scientists advised the British government to make people feel ‘sufficiently personally threatened’ and how UK Secretary of Health Matt Hancock shared WhatsApp chats about how he planned to ‘deploy’ the announcement of a new variant to ‘frighten the pants off everyone.’ Although it is the job of public health authorities to issue recommendations to guide the public, there are honest and more effective methods of doing so. Otherwise, public perceptions of disingenuousness undermine trust, something advocates of the Pandemic Agreement suggest is crucial for an effective pandemic response.In some ways, the explicit ruling out of WHO-imposed lockdowns or vaccine mandates is an excellent example of what the WHO calls ‘infodemic management.’ In the WHO’s ‘Managing Epidemics’ handbook, an infodemic is defined as ‘an overabundance of information, accurate or not, in the digital and physical space, accompanying an acute health event such as an outbreak or epidemic.’ Infodemic management also made it into the revised IHR, where “risk communication, including addressing misinformation and disinformation” is defined as a core capacity of public health. It is understandable that critics of infodemic management understand ‘addressing misinformation’ as a euphemism for censorship, especially given how scientists who spoke against mainstream narratives during Covid were sidelined and ‘cancelled.’ However, the first principle of infodemic management highlighted in ‘Managing Epidemics’ is ‘listening to concerns,’ which the Pandemic Agreement appears to have done by proactively ruling out lockdowns that they could not legally impose anyway. While the ‘zero draft’ three years ago still foresaw countries being expected to ‘tackle’ misinformation, this is now only mentioned in the preamble, where the timely sharing of information is said to prevent the emergence of misinformation. Nonetheless, the language around infodemics raises several concerns that remain unaddressed and require greater reflection. First, the criteria by which information is meant to be judged as accurate, and by whom, are unclear. Although this leaves the process undefined, allowing countries to design their own control mechanisms, it also leaves room for abuse. It is entirely feasible that some countries (with WHO support) could silence dissenting views under the guise of infodemic management. It is also not beyond imagination that mission creep will occur, where non-health-related information is also controlled under the pretext of ‘maintaining peace and security’ during a health or other emergency. Second, there is a serious risk that the poor management of information will exclude good science by accident, undermining overall public health. As witnessed during Covid, messages proclaiming that ‘the science is settled’ proliferated, and were often used to discredit credible science. Third, there is an underwritten presumption within the logic of infodemics that public health authorities and their affiliates are correct, that policies are always based entirely on the best evidence available, that those policies are free of conflicts of interest, that information from these authorities is never filtered nor distorted, and that people should not expect reason-giving from authorities via immanent critique or self-reflection. Clearly, public health institutions are like any other human institution, subject to the same potential biases and pitfalls. The Future of Pandemics and This AgreementWenham and Potluru from the London School of Economics estimate that the protracted negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement had already cost over $200 million by May 2024. Of course, this is only a fraction of the public expenditure on preparing for hypothetical future pandemics. The amount of ODA that the WHO, World Bank, and G20 have called for annually would correspond to about five to ten times the annual expenditure on combating tuberculosis – a disease that, according to WHO figures, has killed about as many people in the last five years as Covid-19, and at a much lower average age (representing higher years of life lost).Although the $10.5 billion a year in development aid for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response is unlikely to materialise, even a more cautious increase will come with opportunity costs. Moreover, these financial demands come at an inflection point in global health policy, where development assistance for health (DAH) is under massive pressure from serious stoppages and reductions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan. Thus, increase in scarcity requires the better use of health financing, not simply more of the same. Furthermore, as REPPARE has shown, the alarming statements of pandemic risk by the WHO, World Bank, and G20 are not well-grounded in empirical evidence. This means that the entire basis for the Pandemic Agreement is questionable. For example, the World Bank claims millions of annual deaths from zoonotic diseases, although the figure is less than 400,000 per year in the half-century before the Covid-19 pandemic, extrapolated to the current world population, 95% of which is attributable to HIV. The fact that many more new pathogens are being found today than just a few decades ago is not necessarily evidence of an increased risk, but rather the consequence of increased interest in research and, above all, the use of modern diagnostics and reporting processes.In many ways, the Pandemic Agreement is just a figurehead of a new pandemic industry that has already grown more robust in the last five years. This includes, for example, projects for pathogen surveillance, for which the Pandemic Fund set up at the World Bank in 2021 has already received $2.1 billion in donor commitments while raising almost seven billion for implementation (when additionality is calculated). In 2021, the WHO Pandemic Hub was opened in Berlin, where data and biological material from all over the world are collated as an early warning system for pandemics. In Cape Town, the WHO mRNA hub seeks to promote international technology transfer.And the 100 Days Mission, driven primarily by the public-private partnership CEPI, aims to ensure that vaccines are available in just 100 days during the next pandemic, which not only requires substantial investment in R&D and production facilities, but also a further speeding up of clinical trials and emergency use authorisation, posing potential risks regarding vaccine safetyTo coordinate the complex ecosystem of different pandemic initiatives, the signatories to the Pandemic Agreement will need to develop ‘whole-of-society’ pandemic plans that will presumably be ignored in the event of a real crisis, as happened with the existing plans in 2020. They are further expected to ‘report periodically to the Conference of the Parties, through the Secretariat, on their implementation of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.’ The WHO Secretariat, in turn, publishes ‘guidelines, recommendations and other non-binding measures.’ This suggests that the Pandemic Agreement will set global norms and seek compliance through the usual mechanisms of nudging, naming, and shaming, and through conditionalities imposed by the CFM or through other World Bank development loans. It is in the case of the latter where policy choices designed within the Conference of Parties could become more coercive on low-income countries.However, the importance of this new global pandemic bureaucracy should also not be overestimated, and the potency of the Pandemic Agreement is not immediately clear. After all, it is just one in a long list of United Nations agreements, only a few of which, such as the Climate Change Conference or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, receive any broader attention. Thus, it is feasible that both the Conference of Parties and Pandemic Agreement will become politically inert. Nevertheless, what tempers this moderate view is a key similarity between the three aforementioned policy areas. Namely, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and pandemics are all continually presented as an ‘existential threat,’ which drives media coverage, consequent political motivation, and continued investment. In the case of pandemic risk, the official narratives project an apocalyptic vision of ever-increasing pandemics (e.g., every 20 to 50 years), with ever-increasing severity (2.5 million dead per year on average), and ever-increasing economic costs (e.g,. $14 to $21 trillion per pandemic if investments are not made). Therefore, it is to be expected that the Pandemic Agreement will continue to enjoy a status of high politics and increased investment through perpetual fear and vested interests. Consequently, if the draft Pandemic Agreement is adopted at the 78th WHA and subsequently ratified by the required 60 countries, the key to its potency will be how various legal obligations, governance processes, financial instruments, and ‘partner’ commitments are defined and implemented into policy via the Conference of Parties (COP). In many ways, the drafters of the Agreement merely ‘kicked the can down the road’ regarding the most difficult and contentious disagreements in hopes that future consensus will be found during the COP.Here, comparisons and contrasts between the Climate COP and Pandemic COP could help to glean some useful insights on how the politics of the Pandemic Agreement might play out. Both have become industries with significant levels of vested governmental and corporate interest, both use fear to motivate political and fiscal action, and both rely heavily on the natural proclivities of the media to propagate fear and justify states of exception as dominating narratives. Tyler DurdenWed, 05/14/2025 - 22:35

2025-05-15

CNBC Daily Open: Trump's deals help Nvidia become the latest ‘Magnificent Seven' stock to pare losses

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose on Wednesday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell. Nvidia shares are back in positive territory for the year after climbing 4% on Wednesday. Boeing and Qatar Airways announced a deal for the Middle Eastern airline to buy up to 210 jets. U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech at U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum praising Saudi Arabia and its crown prince. Steve Cohen, founder of investment firm Point72, said he thinks stocks could “go back toward the lows” in April.The “Magnificent Seven” group of stocks — comprising Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — drove much of the S&P 500’s sterling 23.31% gain in 2024.They have also been some of the hardest stocks hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Those that rely heavily on global supply chains and export markets, such as Apple and Nvidia, suffered the most. By contrast, Meta and Microsoft, which derive more of their revenue from digital services, such as ad sales or enterprise software, actually saw their shares head upward this year.On Wednesday, Nvidia joined Meta and Microsoft to become the third member of the Magnificent Seven to trade in the green year to date. It’s a significant move because the chipmaker — as the word suggests — doesn’t deal in intangible products that can slip through trade barriers.Nvidia’s recovery suggests that deal-making under Trump — in terms of tariff agreements and broad bilateral ties, such as those he is forging with Saudi Arabia on his state visit — is providing businesses with a better environment. But it also emphasizes how volatile the market can be this year, when the engine behind 2024’s blistering rally can sputter out within the weeks surrounding Trump’s “Liberation Day.”What you need to know todayThree-day winning streak for S&P 500U.S. markets traded mixed Wednesday. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.72%. The tech-heavy index was lifted by a 4.7% rise in AMD shares after the chip company announced a $6 billion share buyback as well as a jump in Nvidia shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.21%. Asia-Pacific stocks fell Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined around 0.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped nearly 1%.Nvidia is back in the greenNvidia on Wednesday climbed more than 4% on the back of news that it would sell more than 18,000 of its top artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabia. The share move puts Nvidia into positive territory for the year, becoming the latest “Magnificent 7” member stock to return to the green amid the for broader market’s recovery. Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla and Apple are still facing year-to-date losses in their share prices.Largest deal for Boeing and Qatar AirwaysBoeing and Qatar Airways on Wednesday announced a deal for the Middle Eastern airline to buy up to 210 jets during Trump’s state visit with the emir of Qatar. The order, which is the biggest in Qatar Airways’ history — and for Boeing, according to Trump — is a boost to the beleaguered planemaker, which hasn’t posted a profit since 2018.‘I like you too much’: Trump to Saudi crown princeAt the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Tuesday that was attended by CEOs such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Trump gave a speech in which he praised Saudi Arabia and told the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who was in the audience — “I like you too much.” Trump also met with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia the same day.[PRO] Stocks could retest April lows: Steve CohenSteve Cohen, founder of investment firm Point72, said he thinks stocks could “go back toward the lows” in April and that there’s a 45% chance of a recession. Cohen, however, said a decline in the stock market would not necessarily be a “calamity.”And finally...Pallava Bagla | Corbis News | Getty ImagesCritical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese can be found in potato-sized nodules at the bottom of the seafloor.Trump’s critical minerals drive paves the way for a deep-sea gold rushSeeking to counter China’s mineral dominance, the Trump administration in April signed a sweeping executive order to fast-track deep-sea mining within U.S. and international waters.The move is designed to help private companies access billions of tons of potato-sized rocks known as polymetallic nodules, which are rich in strategically important minerals.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a government agency, appeared to welcome Trump’s announcement, saying the executive order heralds “the next gold rush” and lays the ground for “a thriving domestic manufacturing industry.”

2025-05-15

Stocks drift, dollar wobbles as markets bide time ahead of US data - Yahoo Finance

Stocks drift, dollar wobbles as markets bide time ahead of US data Yahoo FinanceStocks ease, dollar wobbles as markets bide time ahead of US data ReutersGlobal Markets Lower as Trade Deal Optimism Loses Steam; U.S. Data Eyed WSJEconomy: Asia Gains Altitude, Dollar Loses Ground CointribuneMarket Stalemate: US Debt Woes And Trade Policy Jitters Finimize

2025-05-15

Musk Visits With The Saudis — With US Citizens’ Private Data In His Pocket

Elon Musk was part of the Trump coterie who flew to meet with the Saudis this week. The planned series of forums and spectacles was a way for Musk, who runs his own artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI, to position himself within fierce peer competition for funding from the Saudis. ... [continued]The post Musk Visits With The Saudis — With US Citizens’ Private Data In His Pocket appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-15

Clover Health sees AI platform as key to long-term growth

Clover Health is betting its future financial standing on its artificial intelligence subsidiary, Counterpart Health. Here's what the company had to say to its investors about its direction, the company's financial standing and why AI is the future.

2025-05-15

Powering the Future: A 30-Year Roadmap to Zero-Emission Port Operations

European ports face an increasingly urgent mandate to reduce carbon emissions across their landside and waterside operations, driven not only by climate policies but also by local air quality concerns. The scale of the challenge is enormous yet manageable, provided clear strategies and timelines are established. My perspective is straightforward. ... [continued]The post Powering the Future: A 30-Year Roadmap to Zero-Emission Port Operations appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-15

EV Sales in New Zealand — April Update

Compared with March 2025, plug-in vehicle sales dropped slightly in both New Zealand and Australia in April. In New Zealand, 649 cars with a plug were sold, approximately 10% of the market (7.3% BEV — 442 units, 3% PHEV — 207 units). In Australia, 8,628 cars with a plug were ... [continued]The post EV Sales in New Zealand — April Update appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-14

Beam Global to Release Q1 2025 Operating Results, Conference Call Scheduled for May 15, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET

Beam Global to Release Q1 2025 Operating Results, Conference Call Scheduled for Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

2025-05-14

Oklo Stock Soars After First-Quarter Earnings As AI Confidence Continues

Oklo stock advanced Wednesday after the nuclear-power startup reported first-quarter earnings late Tuesday.The post Oklo Stock Soars After First-Quarter Earnings As AI Confidence Continues appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.

2025-05-14

Portland's top permitting officer warns layoffs would delay projects, add costs

Portland's permitting department director said his office is already operating with a minimum level of staff necessary to meet demand. Proposed layoffs would leave it 'woefully understaffed.'

2025-05-14

Health inspections lead to 2 Orange County restaurant shutdowns last week

Two Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of May 4-10, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

2025-05-14

Here's How Much You Would Have Made Owning Chemed Stock In The Last 10 Years

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) has outperformed the market over the past 10 years by 5.49% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 16.17%. Currently, Chemed has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion. Buying $1000 In CHE: If an ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-14

CBTS names new CEO following acquisition by global PE firm

CBTS, Cincinnati-based information technology company that sold last year to a global private equity group, has a new CEO at the helm.

2025-05-14

Control Valves Market worth $12.40 billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by The Research Insights

CHICAGO, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Control Valves Market is projected to be valued at USD 7.2 billion in 2024 and reach USD 12.40 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.4% according to a new report by The Research Insights. Industry 4.0 has revolutionized the manufacturing and processing sectors through the integration of automation and real-time data into operational processes. The control valves market has seen a major expansion as factories and industrial plants pursue increased intelligence and operational efficiency. Simple mechanical valves are transforming into intelligent components with sensors and digital interfaces that enable remote monitoring.Download PDF Brochure: https://www.theresearchinsights.com/request_sample?id=11950Browse in-depth TOC on "Control Valves Market"106 - Tables74 - Figures213 - PagesBy Based on component, the valve body stands as the most important element within the control valves market because it serves as the primary structure that manages fluid flow in systems. Although actuators, positioners, and I/P converters improve functionality and automation capabilities the valve body remains critical for defining performance standards as well as durability and compatibility across various applications and fluid types. The increasing demands of industrial processes lead end users to focus on high-performance valve bodies capable of handling extreme conditions driving the control valves market growth.By Based on product type, the control valves market shows a growing preference for rotary control valves as their compact design and lower cost along with their wide application range make them the top choice. Ball and butterfly rotary valves deliver faster operation and superior throttling performance for large flow rates while requiring less maintenance compared to linear valves which makes them perfect for water treatment and oil & gas industries as well as HVAC applications. The increasing demand for rotary valve types drives significant changes in product development and procurement patterns throughout the global control valves market.By Based on size, the control valves market favors valve sizes between 1" and 6" because these dimensions fulfil the requirements needed for multiple industry applications including oil & gas production as well as chemical processing and power generation facilities. Control valves sized between 1" and 6" provide superior flow capacity and precision control along with installation flexibility which suits both typical and moderately demanding process environments. The segment's valves are affordable and simple to maintain while supporting automated actuation systems to increase their industrial automation market attractiveness. The size ranges from 1" to 6" maintains its position as the most sought-after segment in terms of volume demand across the worldwide control valves market.By end-use, the control valves market sees the oil & gas sector as its leading end-use field because this industry requires precise flow, pressure, and temperature management throughout its upstream, midstream, and downstream processes. Complex operations like crude oil extraction and gas transmission require control valves because system reliability and safety hold top importance. The rebirth of energy projects and increased financial commitments to LNG terminals along with offshore drilling infrastructure expansion cause the need for robust control valves to maintain steady growth.The oil & gas industry's focus on automated systems and predictive maintenance strategies complements the growing capabilities of smart valve technologies. The oil & gas industry demands advanced valve bodies and actuators because of harsh operating conditions and corrosive elements which helps maintain its leading position in the worldwide control valves market. The oil ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-14

Don Lemon Rages Over White Refugees: "Most Racist Shit Ever!"

Don Lemon Rages Over White Refugees: "Most Racist Shit Ever!" Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,Ex-CNN host Don Lemon had a total meltdown over Trump resettling a small number of white South African refugees in America, calling it “the most racist shit ever.”A mere 59 Afrikaners arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Monday, prompting widespread derision and demonization from leftists and the media, who claimed they were not real refugees while also monstering them as white supremacists.The backlash to the refugees arriving in America was so vociferous that it became a stunning mask off moment in proving that anti-white hatred is still mainstream.Don Lemon hyperventilated over “this South African farmer bullshit, which is the most blatantly obvious racist shit ever,” implying that Afrikaners couldn’t be refugees because they “own most of the land and the property” in South Africa.Lemon failed to acknowledge that this is precisely why they are being targeted, sometimes violently, and officially by government discrimination in the form of compulsory land grabs.The former CNN anchor’s main bone of contention was that Trump was “trying to cut down on immigration from other countries” while favoring people from white countries.Don Lemon has a meltdown over South African refugees: “The most obvious racist sht ever”pic.twitter.com/eNXmnXTEXu— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) May 13, 2025Because legally admitting 59 white people from South Africa is totally the same as the millions upon millions of illegal immigrants who entered America under Joe Biden, many of whom were violent criminals.Lemon then ludicrously tried to justify the South African government taking land from farmers without compensation by claiming it’s only for land that isn’t being used.Who decides whether the land is being used or not?The same government seizing it without compensation.I’m sure that’s a completely impartial and fair process!Suddenly developing a flair for per capita statistics that leftists can’t seem to grasp when it comes to crime, Lemon complained that white South Africans own more land than blacks despite being a minority of the population.Apparently, this alone, in true Communist dictatorship style, is enough to justify the government just stealing it from them without compensation.As we highlighted earlier, African-American influencers are now suggesting that the white refugees should be violently targeted because they’re “racist,” proving precisely why they needed to flee South Africa in the first place.“These racist motherfuckers gonna find out the hard way, they’re gonna fuck around and find out, you can’t talk that shit over here on our soil,” he said.Tiktoker threatens the immigrants from South Africa and says they’re all racist and Trump brought them here to be racist“They’re gonna find out the hard way... These people will start getting their ass whooped”Seems totally normal and stable... pic.twitter.com/NuRrBxweap— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 14, 2025“So what’s gonna happen is that these people will start getting their ass whooped...we’re gonna start lighting motherfuckers up because they don’t know how to talk to black people in America,” he added.The influencer then complained that when white South African refugees start getting violently attacked, people will complain about it, prompting more discrimination against black Americans.* * *Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews. Tyler DurdenWed, 05/14/2025 - 10:45

2025-05-14

Exelixis Crushes Q1 Earnings Estimates With Strong Cabometyx Sales, Raises 2025 Revenue Guidance

Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) reported adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share on Tuesday for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 17 cents a year ago, beating the consensus of 36 cents.The cancer-focused company reported quarterly sales of $555.45 million, beating the consensus of $498.18 million.Total revenues included net product revenues of $513.3 million, compared to $378.5 million for the comparable period in 2024.The increase in net product revenues was primarily due to an increase in sales volume and an increase in average net selling price.Also Read: FDA Approves Exelixis’ Lead Cancer Drug Cabometyx For Expanded Use In Neuroendocrine Tumors“Exelixis delivered outstanding financial performance in the first quarter of 2025, driven by accelerating growth in Cabometyx demand, new patient starts, and revenues,” said Michael M. Morrissey, president and CEO of Exelixis.“The Exelixis commercial team rapidly mobilized for the launch of CABOMETYX in advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NET) within hours of receiving U.S. regulatory ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-14

Ticketmaster and StubHub Must Now Display Upfront Prices for Concert Tickets

FTC rule bans hidden fees, requiring ticket sites to display full prices upfront by default.The post Ticketmaster and StubHub Must Now Display Upfront Prices for Concert Tickets appeared first on Idaho Statesman.

2025-05-14

COMPASS DIVERSIFIED SHAREHOLDER ALERT BY FORMER LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL: KAHN SWICK & FOTI, LLC REMINDS INVESTORS WITH LOSSES IN EXCESS OF $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Compass Diversified Holdings - CODI

NEW YORK and NEW ORLEANS, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until July 8, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI), if they purchased the Company's securities between May 1, 2024 and May 7, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Compass and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-codi/ ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-14

AP Business SummaryBrief at 10:40 p.m. EDT

Inflation cooled again even as some tariffs took effect. But economists don't expect that to last

2025-05-13

Archer Aviation Stock Is Flying Today: What's Fueling The Move?

Archer Aviation Inc (NASDAQ:ACHR) shares are surging Tuesday following the company’s better-than-expected first-quarter results. Multiple analysts reiterated Buy ratings following the print. Here’s a look at what’s going on.What To Know: Archer reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter, posting a 17-cent loss versus estimates for a loss of 28 cents, per Benzinga Pro.The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer said in the report that it plans to deliver its first Midnight Edition aircraft to the UAE in the coming months, with planned deployment expected later this year. Archer also highlighted its partnership with Palantir, and said the companies are working to build AI software for next-gen aviation systems.Archer reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $109 million for the first quarter and forecasted a second-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss of $100 million to $120 million. The company said its spending for the ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-13

Construction nears for Clearwater transit hub

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority has worked with the city and county for years to replace the existing Park Street Terminal with a multimodal facility that adds downtown Clearwater as a stop in the transit system. That plan is moving forward as the authority takes steps to prepare for construction.

2025-05-13

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson rips Trump over $400M Qatari plane: ‘Purchased with the same money used to murder American citizens’

Erickson, a longtime voice in right-wing media, rejected the idea that the gift was technically a bribe or outright corruption.

2025-05-13

DANDY® CELERY LAUNCHES "SHUCK & SMILES" CONSUMER SWEEPSTAKES

Oviedo, Fla., May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dandy® Produce, a leading grower of fresh celery, radish and corn in the U.S., launches the "Shucks & Smiles Sweepstakes". Now through May 30, participants can enter HERE for 31 chances to win different prize packs, including one grand prize valued at $670, five secondary prizes valued at $210 each and 25 third place winners who will receive free product and coupons.At the end of the promotion, one lucky winner will be chosen to receive a brand name 22-inch griddle with grilling accessories, a variety of BBQ seasonings and rubs, along with a $250 gift card to a popular online grocery ordering and delivery service, and free Dandy corn sample coupons. Five additional winners will receive an 11-quart name brand cooler, pool float, insulated tumbler $50 online grocery and delivery service gift card as well as more Dandy corn products. The brand will also choose 25 winners to receive coupons to enjoy fresh corn even after the ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-13

ESPN Streaming Service Sets $29.99 Price and Bundle With Disney+

The service will be called ESPN: "Simple, straightforward, clear," chief Jimmy Pitaro said Tuesday.

2025-05-13

Plug Power Chases Growth Beyond US Tax Credit Hurdles

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) Monday reported its first-quarter results.With U.S. policy for green energy posing challenges, the company is likely to shift its focus to international opportunities, according to JPMorgan.The Plug Power Analyst: Analyst Bill Peterson maintained a Neutral rating and price target of 96 cents.The Plug Power Thesis: The company reported its quarterly revenue at $134 million, in-line with its pre-announcement, and reiterated its second-quarter revenue guidance of $140 million-180 million, Peterson said in the note.Check out other analyst stock ratings.The wide range in Plug Power's revenue guidance was due to ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-13

XPENG et Plugsurfing joignent leurs forces en vue de garantir un vaste réseau de recharge

AMSTERDAM, 13 mai 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XPENG, constructeur automobile chinois à vocation mondiale spécialisé dans la haute technologie, signe un partenariat stratégique avec Plugsurfing, l’un des plus importants fournisseurs de services de recharge de véhicules électriques d’Europe. En conséquence, ses clients bénéficient désormais de plus de 940 000 bornes de recharge réparties dans 27 pays, et le réseau de recharge devient transcontinental pour relier l’Europe à l’Asie.

2025-05-13

Here's How Much $1000 Invested In Deere 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

Deere (NYSE:DE) has outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 14.54% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 29.28%. Currently, Deere has a market capitalization of $135.63 billion. Buying $1000 In DE: If an ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-13

JMIR Mental Health Invites Submissions for a Theme Issue on AI-Powered Therapy Bots and Virtual Companions

JMIR Mental Health invites submissions for a theme issue on AI-Powered Therapy Bots and Virtual Companions, with a focus on next-generation research that moves beyond proof of concept and addresses the real-world challenges, risks, and opportunities these technologies present in the context of digital psychiatry and mental health.

2025-05-13

Dr.AI Empowers Smart Hospitals with Pre-Consults and Real-Time Transcriptions, Winning the COMPUTEX Digital Healthcare Award

TAIPEI, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr.AI ( https://www.draiai.com/ ), an AI medical platform designed for healthcare professionals, has been honored with the 2025 COMPUTEX "Best Choice Award – Digital Healthcare Category" for its groundbreaking applications and outstanding performance in...

2025-05-13

Honda Motor reports 76% plunge in operating profit in huge earnings miss

Fourth-quarter revenue was in line with LSEG mean estimates, but fourth-quarter operating profit posted a huge miss. Revenue for the full financial year rose 6.2%, but operating profit fell 12.2% and missed expectationsJapanese auto giant Honda missed fourth-quarter earnings estimates as operating profit plunged 76%, with the company bracing for the full impact of U.S. tariffs.Here are Honda’s results compared with mean estimates from LSEG: Revenue: 5.36 trillion yen ($47.26 billion) vs. 5.36 trillion yen Operating profit: 73.5 billion yen vs. 275.52 billion yenHonda’s fourth quarter ends March 31.For its financial year ended March, revenue came in at 21.69 trillion yen, compared to the average expectation of 21.63 trillion yen from LSEG and marking a 6.2% rise year on year.Operating profit fell 12.2% to 1.21 trillion yen, against the average LSEG estimate of 1.41 trillion yen.Honda’s results come amid trade tensions with the U.S., which has slapped a 25% tariff on foreign automobile imports.In March, Honda had reportedly decided to produce its next-generation Civic hybrid in the U.S. state of Indiana, instead of Mexico, to avoid potential tariffs on one of its top-selling car models, according to a Reuters exclusive.According to U.S. car marketplace Carpro, Asian automakers made up six of the top eight automakers in the U.S. by sales volume in 2024, with Honda in fourth place.Back in February, Honda and rival Nissan terminated talks over a $60 billion merger, which would have created the world’s third-largest automaker by sales volume.This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

2025-05-13

Nolensville ranks 10th in U.S. population growth

Nolensville's population boom has landed it on a national list, placing the Williamson County city among the 10 fastest-growing communities across the United States.

2025-05-13

DHS Investigates Los Angeles For Allegedly Providing Federal Benefits To Illegal Immigrants

DHS Investigates Los Angeles For Allegedly Providing Federal Benefits To Illegal Immigrants Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),The Department of Homeland Security has issued a subpoena to Los Angeles County for records tied to a state-run assistance program, which the department alleges might have been used to unlawfully provide federal benefits to illegal immigrants.A Social Security Administration building in Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2020. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty ImagesHomeland Security Investigations served a Title 8 subpoena to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, which administers California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.While the cash assistance program is a state-funded initiative, the federal subpoena seeks records from January 2021 to the present to determine whether any recipients received Supplemental Security Income benefits but who were ineligible, based on their immigration status.The requested documents include applications, immigration status records, proof of Supplemental Security Income ineligibility, and supporting affidavits, DHS said in an announcement.“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.“If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County—it is just the beginning.”The move comes less than a month after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing federal agencies to crack down on misuse of Social Security Act funds. The April 15 directive, aimed at enforcing Executive Order 14218, calls on federal officials to identify and prevent payments to ineligible recipients, including those without lawful immigration status.Trump’s memorandum directs federal agencies to investigate fraud and prioritize enforcement in areas with high numbers of illegal immigrants. It also calls for expanding fraud prosecution programs through special assistant U.S. attorneys, particularly targeting identity theft and improper benefit payments.According to DHS, more than 2 million illegal immigrants were issued Social Security numbers in fiscal year 2024 under prior policies. The department said it is now working with other agencies to prevent any further disbursement of benefits to ineligible recipients.The Social Security Administration previously expressed support for the White House memo and outlined steps it is taking to prevent future benefit fraud. In an April 16 statement, acting Commissioner Leland Dudek said the agency is committed to ensuring that benefits are “paid only to those who should receive them.”The Social Security Administration said it is reviewing questionable earnings reports and considering whether to resume civil monetary penalties in cases of fraud. The agency also confirmed that it recently reclassified more than 6,300 Social Security numbers as ineligible after identifying recipients who had been paroled into the U.S. despite criminal records or national security concerns.California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, and the California Department of Social Services did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times before publication.Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report. Tyler DurdenMon, 05/12/2025 - 22:35

2025-05-13

CNBC Daily Open: Is the trade agreement between the U.S. and China a ‘Trump put'?

The U.S. and China on Monday agreed to an initial trade deal that cuts “reciprocal” tariffs from 125% to 10% for 90 days. Chinese officials, influencers and state-run media on Monday were casting the trade agreement with U.S. as a victory. Now that the U.S. and China have struck an agreement over tariffs, major global banks are growing optimistic on Beijing’s economy and market in 2025. News of the two superpowers’ trade deal turbocharged U.S. stocks on Monday. Shares of technology and consumer discretionary stocks jumped. The idea of a “Trump put” was resurrected by the president’s trade agreement with China. The S&P 500 shot past a key technical indicator, and looks to be on its way to surpass another.Over the weekend, both the U.S. and China agreed to slash tariffs on each other for 90 days from 125% to 10%. That’s much more than expected, as Trump on Friday has said that an 80% tariff on China “seems right!” The U.S. is still keeping its 20% fentanyl-related levy on China, so the total duty on Beijing adds up to 30%.While high, 30% is a far cry from 145%. Investors were ecstatic, and sent stocks soaring. Technology names such as Nvidia and Broadcom, as well as consumer discretionary stocks including Nike and Starbucks, rallied. The market frenzy brought to mind the “Trump put,” the notion a falling market will prompt measures from the president that prop it up.That said, as Dario Perkins, managing director of global macro strategy at TS Lombard pointed out, it is “(sort of) of funny that the optimistic case for Trump 2.0 is basically that it will reverse most of what it has done so far.”A Trump put, perhaps, is just the president putting things back where they once were.What you need to know todayChina and U.S. suspend most tariffsThe U.S. and China on Monday agreed to an initial trade deal that suspends most tariffs on imports for 90 days. “Reciprocal” tariffs between both countries will be cut from 125% to 10%, but the U.S.′ 20% duties on Chinese imports relating to fentanyl will remain, meaning total tariffs on China stand at 30%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Monday that the deal represents progress in the country’s “decoupling” from China for “strategic necessities.”A win for China, according to BeijingReferring to the U.S.-China trade deal, U.S. President Donald Trump said Beijing “agreed to open up,” but offered few other details. However, Chinese officials, influencers and state-run media on Monday were casting the trade agreement with U.S. as a victory and vindication of Beijing’s negotiating strategy, “China’s firm countermeasures and resolute stance have been highly effective,” said a social media account linked to China’s national broadcaster CCTV.Deal boosts China’s prospectsNow that the U.S. and China have struck an agreement over tariffs, major global banks are growing optimistic on Beijing’s economy and market in 2025. In a late Monday note, UBS hiked its forecast for China’s economic growth to between 3.7% and 4% from 3.4%, while Nomura raised China equities to “tactical Overweight” and rotated some funds out of its position in India to China, the Japanese said in a note following the trade talks.Investors cheered trade dealNews of the two superpowers’ trade deal turbocharged U.S. stocks on Monday. The S&P 500 shot up 3.26%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.81% and the Nasdaq Composite surged 4.35%. U.S. Treasury yields and oil prices jumped during U.S hours as the chance of a recession appeared to diminish. However, Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Tuesday. Even though Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose more than 1.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell nearly 1.5%.Technology shares rallied stronglyMembers of the so-called Magnificent 7 group added an aggregate $837.5 billion in market value on Monday, the largest collective move for the group since April 9. Outside this bag of stocks and their technology peers, consumer discretionary stocks also rallied. The U.S.-China agreement resurrected the idea of the “Trump put,” in which the president will take action to prevent markets from falling too drastically.[PRO] S&P shoots past key levelWith the S&P’s rally on Monday, the broad-based index has broken through a key technical level. The speed of the movement, however, is not typical, and suggests that investors were caught off guard by trade developments — and might continue to be for the next market milestone.And finally...Betty Laura Zapata | Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe app icons for Revolut and Monzo displayed on a smartphone.Fintechs that raked in profits from high interest rates now face a key testFinancial technology firms were initially the biggest losers of interest rate hikes by global central banks in 2022, which led to tumbling valuations.But with time, that change in the interest rate environment steadily boosted profits for fintechs. This is because higher rates boost what’s called net interest income — or the difference between the rates charged for loans and the interest paid out to savers.Now, fintechs — especially digital banks — face a key test as a broad decline in interest rates raises doubts about the sustainability of relying on this heightened income over the long term.

2025-05-12

25% of workers admit to lying on their resume

A study by the jobs website Career.IO finds one out of four people admit to lying, exaggerating, or giving inaccurate information on their job application.

2025-05-12

Stock Market Today: Dow Jones Soars As Bessent Says This On China; Nvidia Surges, Alibaba Clears Entry (Live Coverage)

The Dow Jones surged on the stock market today. Treasury Secretary Bessent spoke out on China amid tariff progress. Alibaba cleared an entry.The post Stock Market Today: Dow Jones Soars As Bessent Says This On China; Nvidia Surges, Alibaba Clears Entry (Live Coverage) appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.

2025-05-12

Stock Market Today: Dow Jones Soars As Bessent Says This On China; Nvidia Surges, Alibaba Clears Entry (Live Coverage) - Investor's Business Daily

Stock Market Today: Dow Jones Soars As Bessent Says This On China; Nvidia Surges, Alibaba Clears Entry (Live Coverage) Investor's Business DailyStock market today: Dow gains 900 points, while S&P 500, Nasdaq surge as US-China deal spurs a rush into stocks Yahoo FinanceRetail Stocks Jump on Lower China Tariffs. It Isn’t the ‘All Clear’ Yet. Barron'sTrump China tariff truce ignites stock markets – will it also pump up president's poll numbers? Fox NewsDow Jones Futures Surge As U.S., China Slash Tariffs; Tesla, Palantir, Alibaba Jump Investor's Business Daily

2025-05-12

Huntington Bank Opens First North Carolina Branch in Charlotte's SouthPark Area

Opening marks the second of a 55-branch buildout in the Carolinas over three years CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Huntington National Bank (Huntington) has officially opened its first North Carolina branch at 6700 Fairview Road, Suite 113, in Charlotte's SouthPark area....

2025-05-12

Here's How Much You Would Have Made Owning OSI Systems Stock In The Last 5 Years

OSI Systems (NASDAQ:OSIS) has outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 11.66% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 26.74%. Currently, OSI Systems has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion. Buying $1000 In OSIS: If ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-12

Apple May Hike iPhone Prices For First Time Since 2017

Apple May Hike iPhone Prices For First Time Since 2017 Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup on September 9, with pre-orders likely to open later that week—consistent with the company's usual early-September launch cycle. However, this year's release may come with a notable deviation from the norm: according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is considering its first iPhone price increase since the debut of the iPhone X in 2017.Sources familiar with the upcoming iPhone lineup told WSJ that CEO Tim Cook is expected to steer clear of linking any potential price increases to the ongoing U.S.-China tariff dispute. While most of Apple's devices are still manufactured in China, the company has steadily shifted iPhone production to India to mitigate tariffs and potential supply chain snarls. Positive news emerged earlier, with the US and China agreeing to limit tariffs, including reducing levies on Chinese goods entering the US from 145% to 30%. This 90-day cool-off period will allow both economic superpowers to move forward and attempt to strike a resolution to end or at least continue de-escalating the trade war. The people said Apple's most profitable, high-end phones, such as the Pro and Pro Max models, will still be produced in China. They pointed out that Indian production lines are still incapable of mass-producing Pro models. Jefferies estimates that approximately 65 million iPhones were sold in the US market last year, 36 to 39 million of which were Pro or Pro Max models. Apple hasn't raised iPhone pricing since the X debuted in 2017, keeping prices at a $999 ceiling. The sources did not indicate future pricing for the models.Via Apple Club...Here's more from WSJ:These circumstances have led Apple to look at what supply-chain insiders described as the least-bad choice: raising prices on the new iPhones to preserve profit and finding reasons other than tariffs to explain the move. It couldn't be determined what new features Apple may offer to help justify price increases.Apple traditionally rolls out new models of its iPhones in the fall. If it follows convention, this fall's models will be known as the iPhone 17 lineup. Current iPhone models range from the base model iPhone 16, which starts at $799, to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which costs $1,199 and up.It's clear that Apple can't put a premium on Apple Intelligence because it has so far been a bust...Apple Shares Slide On Report Cook' Lost Confidence' In AI HeadStocks Slide As Apple Exec Admits Efforts To Replace Google For AI SearchIn Trump's first term, Tim Cook lobbied the administration to exempt some of its devices from tariffs. Before the trade war broke out earlier this year, Cook visited the White House."By the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027, we are optimistic that India will be capable of meeting both the U.S. and India's demand, but China will still be important" for sourcing components, Abhilash Kumar, an analyst with tech research firm TechInsights, said, quoted by WSJ. Jefferies analysts cautioned that increasing production of high-end iPhone models in India to around 40 million within two years was a "tall order."A previous WSJ report cited sources who said Apple has been studying various ways to shift overseas iPhone production to the US—a move that could take years. Wedbush Securities suggested that an American iPhone could cost $3,500. Tyler DurdenMon, 05/12/2025 - 10:45

2025-05-12

Global stock markets surge as U.S. and China reach 90-day trade truce

Big gains for Wall Street, along with other global stock markets including the TSX today on news the Trump administration is pausing tariffs with China ahead of a new trade deal.

2025-05-12

Trump says he'll set 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription drugs

President Donald Trump says he'll set a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription drugs in a sweeping executive order that he will sign. Trump will sign an executive order calling on the nation’s health department to...

2025-05-12

Accredited Debt Relief Review: Is It a Legit Way to Get Out of Debt?

Drowning in debt? This company can negotiate your debts in half. For example, this Green Beret and father of three, $84K in debt, is saving $700 a month on payments.This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance...

2025-05-12

South32 names Anglo exec as successor to Graham Kerr

Mining and metals company South32 said on Monday that Anglo American executive Matthew Daley would become its new CEO in 2026, replacing Graham Kerr who would step down later that year after leading the company since its demerger from BHP.Daley would join the diversified miner as deputy CEO on February 2, 2026, before succeeding Kerr later in the year, the company said in a statement.

2025-05-12

Smartee Targets 209-Ton CO2Cut with Solar Power; ESG Strategy Integrates Employee Wellness & Tech-Driven Governance

SHANGHAI, May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Smartee Denti-Technology, a global leader in clear aligner manufacturing and digital orthodontic solutions, projects to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 209,370 kg through its newly operational rooftop solar installation at the Jiaxing smart factory—equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of 11,700+ mature trees. This initiative anchors its 2025 ESG strategy, integrating renewable energy, employee welfare, and agile governance to align business growth with sustainability goals.Environmental: Solar Leadership with Data-Driven ProjectionsSmartee's facility in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China, equipped with 20,000 sqm rooftop photovoltaic panels, which have a capacity of 2MW. The installation is sufficient to meet 50% of the factory's energy requirements. This initiative reduces CO2 emissions by 209,370 kg/year, equivalent to planting 11,700+ trees.Additionally, the facility ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

2025-05-12

Asia stocks rise on US-China trade deal, Indo-Pak deescalation - Investing.com

Asia stocks rise on US-China trade deal, Indo-Pak deescalation Investing.comStock futures rise after ‘substantial progress’ is made in US-China trade negotiations CNNAsian shares advance as details awaited on progress in China-US trade talks CityNews HalifaxAsia-Pacific as markets cheer India-Pakistan ceasefire and U.S.-China trade deal CNBCStock Market Today: Dow Futures Jump on Hints of Trade De-Escalation With China WSJ

2025-05-12

Electrified Cars From Volvo & Cupra That May Or May Not Come To America

Volvo and Cupra are both contemplating the sale of plug-in hybrids in the US, but tariffs had cultural challenges abound. The post Electrified Cars From Volvo & Cupra That May Or May Not Come To America appeared first on CleanTechnica.

2025-05-12

AP PHOTOS: Economic jitters and soaring gold prices create a frenzy for US jewelry merchants

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As gold prices soar to record highs resulting from global economic jitters, hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars’ worth of gold are circulating through the doors of the St. Vincent Jewelry Center in downtown Los Angeles...

2025-05-12

At least 10 people sickened in US listeria outbreak linked to prepared foods

At least 10 people in the U.S. have been sickened in a listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat food products, and a producer is voluntarily recalling several products, federal officials said.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Saturday that federal, state and local officials are investig...

2025-05-12

At 17, this high school student earns a five-figure salary thanks to his very lucrative side hustle. - Stewartville Star

At 17, this high school student earns a five-figure salary thanks to his very lucrative side hustle. Stewartville Star

2025-05-12

Concrete Sealers Market worth $2.95 billion by 2030, at 6.4%, says MarketsandMarketsTM

Delray Beach, FL, May 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In terms of value, the Concrete Sealers Market size is estimated to be valued at USD 2.03 billion in 2024 and reach USD 2.95 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.4% between 2024 and 2030, as per the recent study by MarketsandMarketsTM. Concrete sealers are currently in high demand due to the advancements in sealer technology. Recent improvements in concrete sealer technology, including nanotechnology and eco-friendly formulations, are driving the market growth. Sealers with a nanotech base penetrate deeper into the concrete’s pores, creating a substantial barrier to moisture, chemicals, and abrasion.

2025-05-12

Top of The List: Nashville's largest residential builders

What are the largest residential builders in Nashville? We ranked builders by number of single-family home permits issued in 2024.

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