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Why calligraphy inkstones are so expensive 2024-06-10 21:08:43+00:00 - Calligraphy inkstones, especially elaborately designed ones, can cost over $5,000. While the traditional practice of using an ink stick and inkstone is less common now that liquid ink exists, the artistry and labor involved in making inkstones — for use or as collectibles — keep demand alive. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .
Apple debuts new ‘Apple Intelligence’ AI features at WWDC 2024 2024-06-10 21:01:00+00:00 - Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, announced a series of generative artificial intelligence products and services on Monday during his keynote speech at the company’s annual developer conference, WWDC, including a deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The new tools mark a major shift toward AI for Apple, which has seen slowing global sales over the past year and integrated fewer AI features into its consumer-facing products than competitors. “It has to understand you and be grounded in your personal context like your routine, your relationships, your communications and more. It’s beyond artificial intelligence. It’s personal intelligence,” said Cook. “Introducing Apple Intelligence.” Apple’s new artificial intelligence system involves a range of generative AI tools aimed at creating an automated, personalized experience on its devices. The demonstration showed Apple’s AI would be integrated throughout the operating systems on its laptops, iPads and iPhones, as well as be able to pull information from and take action within apps. The company also confirmed its much-anticipated partnership with OpenAI during the keynote, announcing that Apple would integrate ChatGPT technology into responses from Siri, its AI assistant. One of Apple’s biggest updates was a new version of its Siri, which executives promised would feature a “more natural, more contextually relevant and more personal” experience. The new Siri is able to function as an AI chatbot and receive written instructions, and also has the ability to take actions within apps based on voice prompts. Apple promised that Siri would be able to look through your emails, texts and photos to find specific information based on relevant context. Apple demonstrated that its AI could, for instance, pick out the word “daughter” from an email and connect it to the matching phone contact. Throughout the demonstration, executives emphasized measures Apple had taken to protect users’ privacy when using company’s AI, such as a dedicated set of servers that would power the features but not store users’ personal information or on-device responses. Apple Intelligence also has the ability to summarize notifications, emails and texts. A group chat that involves figuring out trip planning could be shortened to a single message that conveys who booked a hotel and when to arrive, according to the demo. A new image generation tool, meanwhile, allows users to create unique emoji reactions, while its Image Playground feature can create more complex visuals in several different styles. The company also announced an updated operating system for its Vision Pro headset. The virtual reality device, which has only been available in the US since its release in February, will become available in China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom in the next two months. Apple said it would adopt Rich Communication Services to improve messaging between iPhones and other smartphones as well as expanding customization options for iMessage. Phones running Google’s Android operating system have long employed the messaging protocol. More incremental updates included a redesigned photos app, hiking maps in Apple Maps, tweaks to the Wallet app, customization options for texting, and texting via satellite in locations without cell tower connections. While the boom in generative AI in recent years has led tech giants such as Google to revamp their core services, Apple had until now held off from incorporating the technology into its flagship products. The company’s lack of generative AI tools has been a consistent source of consternation among analysts and investors over the previous year as they expressed concern that Apple seemed to be playing catch-up in the AI race. As pressure grew on Apple to provide some form of new AI offering, the company began discussing partnerships and eyeing ways of updating tools like Siri, its voice assistant that debuted in 2011. After Cook promised shareholders last month that Apple was making “significant investments” into artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported that the company was finalizing a deal with OpenAI to integrate the startup’s technology into its devices. Apple’s stock has rallied in recent months as investors waited to see what the company would unveil. Apple has struggled this year with weakening global demand for its iPhone, reporting another overall drop in revenue during an earnings call last month. An antitrust lawsuit in the US, a canceled electric vehicle project and a lack of public fanfare for the expensive Vision Pro have additionally dogged the company. Other tech firms have meanwhile seen their stock market value rise as they emphasized investments into artificial intelligence, with Apple’s rival Microsoft beating analyst’s expectations this year as its revenue and share price grew. The AI chipmaker Nvidia hit a $3tn stock market valuation last week, overtaking Apple to become the world’s second most valuable public company. Although Apple has been reluctant to debut a marquee AI product, it has been quietly building up its artificial intelligence capabilities and investments for years. It has acquired several AI startups, reallocated employees to work on artificial intelligence and is setting up an AI research lab in Zurich.
Advisory Panel of Experts Endorses F.D.A. Approval of New Alzheimer’s Drug 2024-06-10 21:00:53+00:00 - A committee of independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Monday that the benefits outweigh the risks of the newest experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s afflicts more than six million Americans. It has no cure, and there is no treatment or lifestyle modification that can restore memory loss or reverse cognitive decline. The drug, made by Eli Lilly, is donanemab. It modestly slowed cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of the disease but also had significant safety risks, including swelling and bleeding in the brain. The committee concluded, though, that the consequences of Alzheimer’s are so dire that even a modest benefit can be worthwhile.
How Costco is expanding e-commerce on 3 fronts and what's next for the record-high stock 2024-06-10 20:58:00+00:00 - Costco has only just started to tap into its e-commerce potential and is poised to emerge as a major player in online retail. That will drive business and its stock. Everybody, including Costco, is chasing Amazon, which accounts for 45% of all U.S. e-commerce sales, according to JPMorgan in a research note Monday. In fact, the analysts estimate that Amazon, including its physical locations, will overtake Walmart this year and become the world's overall largest retailer. While unlikely to compete at the level of Amazon or Walmart online in the near future, Costco could carve out a lucrative e-commerce lane with its loyal, value-orientated customers. "Online share is a key part of the COST bull case," JPMorgan said. Engaged members want to spend more online at Costco "given the value/quality and cash back," the analysts added. In 2023, e-commerce accounted for only 6% of Costco sales compared to an overall industry number of 23%. So, the sky is the limit. Jim Cramer said Monday that Club stock Costco has "much more upside," even after its 28% run year to date — more than double the S & P 500's gain and roughly triple the consumer staples sector performance in 2024. Costco on Monday closed at another record high. Costco has an "incredible opportunity to better target customers and leverage its rich database of perfect data and is still in its early innings" of e-commerce, JPMorgan said. The analysts added that growing online would also help Costco sell advertising against its website traffic — a new revenue stream that has benefited both Amazon and Walmart. In a separate note Monday, Morgan Stanley said that retailers capitalizing on selling ads against its online traffic, automation, and artificial intelligence should be able to increase margins by 2 percentage points over the next five years. The analysts specifically called out Costco as one of the "biggest likely winners" of these catalysts, along with Walmart, Target , and Kroger . COST .SPX YTD mountain Costco vs. S & P 500 YTD Total e-commerce sales during Costco's fiscal 2024 third quarter grew 20.7% year over year and Costco app downloads were up 32%. Much of the higher site traffic and order volume was led by high demand for gold and silver bullion, gift cards, and appliances. Adding to the e-commerce story, JPMorgan cited the Costco Logistics network, which has amped up "e-commerce fulfillment of bulky items." During the post-earnings call last month, Costco CFO Gary Millerchip said that Logistics is "proving to be a real differentiator for us on the member experience," particularly on appliances. Other online efforts include Costco Next, which allows members to shop suppliers' websites at Costco member prices and value, as well as partnerships with Instacart and Uber , which offers delivery options for customers that compete with Amazon. As we previously reported, Amazon has created its own fulfillment network , which has been regionalized for quick and efficient delivery. Another tailwind in Costco's push for online is the retailer's ability to offer over twice as many SKUs, or stock-keeping units, online than in stores. JPMorgan estimates that Costco offers roughly 3,700 in-store SKUs compared to the tens of thousands found at other big box store locations. As part of its business model, Costco carefully selects its product lines based on certain characteristics like quality and price. By shifting more of its goods out of its warehouse stores to online, JPMorgan said Costco can expand its assortment to "increase its value proposition for the member while protecting the productivity of the club." (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long COST, AMZN. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. A general view of a Costco Wholesale at Lakeside Retail Park on February 5, 2024 in Grays, United Kingdom. John Keeble | Getty Images
OpenAI hires new CFO and product chief, announces Apple deal to integrate ChatGPT 2024-06-10 20:53:00+00:00 - OpenAI on Monday hired two top executives and announced a partnership with Apple that includes a ChatGPT-Siri integration, the company announced in two blog posts. The company said Sarah Friar, previously CEO of Nextdoor and finance chief at Square, is joining as chief financial officer. Friar co-chairs the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. "She will lead a finance team that supports our mission by providing continued investment in our core research capabilities, and ensuring that we can scale to meet the needs of our growing customer base and the complex and global environment in which we are operating," OpenAI wrote in a blog post. OpenAI also hired Kevin Weil, an ex-president at Planet Labs , as its new chief product officer, according to the blog post. Weill was previously a senior vice president at Twitter and a vice president at Facebook and Instagram. Weil's product team will be focused on "applying our research to products and services that benefit consumers, developers, and businesses," the company wrote. OpenAI is bolstering its C-suite as its large language models gain importance across the tech sector and as competition rapidly emerges in the burgeoning generative artificial intelligence market. While the company has been in hyper-growth mode since late 2022, when it launched ChatGPT, OpenAI has also been riddled with controversy and has seen many employees hit the exits of late. In May, a group of current and former OpenAI employees published an open letter describing concerns about the AI industry's rapid advancement despite a lack of oversight and an absence of whistleblower protections for people who wish to speak up. "AI companies have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight, and we do not believe bespoke structures of corporate governance are sufficient to change this," they wrote. OpenAI on Monday also announced a new partnership between the company and Apple that will see the integration of ChatGPT into iOS, iPadOS and macOS in updates later this year. OpenAI said in a separate blog post that the integration allows users to access ChatGPT capabilities, such as image and document understanding, as well as text generation and image creation within Apple's Writing Tools feature. "Siri can also tap into ChatGPT's intelligence when helpful," OpenAI wrote. "Apple users are asked before any questions are sent to ChatGPT, along with any documents or photos, and Siri then presents the answer directly." WATCH: OpenAI announces new deals
FDA advisors recommend Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's drug donanemab, paving way for approval 2024-06-10 20:52:00+00:00 - Eli Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, US, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Eli Lilly & Co.'s shares climbed in early US trading after its experimental drug for Alzheimer's slowed the progress of the disease in a final-stage trial, paving the way for the company to apply for US approval. A panel of independent advisors to the Food and Drug Administration on Monday recommended Eli Lilly 's Alzheimer's drug donanemab, paving the way for the treatment to receive full approval in the U.S. later this year. The FDA typically follows the recommendations of its advisory panels but is not required to do so. If cleared for use, Eli Lilly's donanemab would become the second Alzheimer's drug of its kind currently on the U.S. market after another treatment called Leqembi from Biogen and its Japanese partner Eisai. An approval would expand the now limited treatment options for the more than 6 million Americans who have Alzheimer's, the fifth-leading cause of death for adults over 65. In a first vote, 11 committee members unanimously said available data on the drug shows that it is effective at treating Alzheimer's patients at the early stages of the mind-wasting disease. But several advisors noted that more data is needed on donanemab in Black and Hispanic patients, among other groups. In a second vote, advisors unanimously said the benefits of Eli Lilly's donanemab outweigh its risks. "There's a huge unmet medical need here that hopefully can be addressed," temporary committee member Sarah Dolan said during a meeting on Monday. Dolan is a consultant for the non-profit organization Critical Path Institute, which aims to improve the drug development process. Eli Lilly is "pleased" with the panel's recommendation and looks forward to bringing the treatment to patients, Mark Mintun, group vice president of neuroscience research and development at Eli Lilly, said in a statement. The recommendation follows snags Eli Lilly faced in bringing the treatment to market. The FDA in March called a last-minute meeting of an advisory panel to further review the safety and efficacy of Eli Lilly's drug in a late-stage trial, just weeks before the agency's deadline to rule on the treatment. It was another blow to Eli Lilly, which initially expected donanameb to win approval at the end of last year. The FDA also rejected the drug in January last year, saying it had insufficient data to greenlight it. The FDA appears to be reviewing donanemab more cautiously after its polarizing approval of the ill-fated Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, from Biogen and Eisai. The agency granted accelerated approval to that treatment despite a negative recommendation from an advisory panel. Biogen and Eisai have since dropped the drug. Leqembi and donanemab are milestones in the treatment of Alzheimer's after three decades of failed efforts to develop medicines that can fight the fatal disease. Both drugs are monoclonal antibodies that target amyloid plaque in the brain, considered a hallmark of Alzheimer's, to slow the progression of the disease in patients at the early stages of it. But neither of the treatments are cures. Drugs that target and clear amyloid plaque can also cause brain swelling and bleeding in patients, which in some cases can be severe and even fatal. Three patients who took Eli Lilly's drug in a late-stage trial died from severe cases of those side effects, called amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA. A host of hurdles has slowed Leqembi's rollout since its approval in July, including the steps needed to diagnose Alzheimer's and monitor and handle the weekly infusions required with the drug. Biogen and Eisai signaled in April that they are seeing adoption pick up. In a note Sunday, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said he expects limited commercial adoption of donanemab relative to Leqembi because Eli Lilly's drug has "more safety liabilities" and will be less convenient, since it is administered once a month through the veins. That is a method known as intravenous infusion. Leqembi is currently administered through twice-monthly infusions, but Biogen expects to launch an injectable version of the drug next year, Risinger noted. He expects donanemab to rake in $500 million in sales by the end of the decade.
Can Tim Cook sell you a new iPhone based on Apple's new AI features? It's a huge question for the company. 2024-06-10 20:33:12+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview What if your iPhone could scan, and understand, your emails and your texts and your calendar? So you could ask it when you're supposed to pick up your mom from the airport and where you're supposed to go to lunch afterward without looking through all of that stuff yourself? That's the scenario Apple sketched out Monday, when it tried to explain how it was integrating AI into its ecosystem. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. And that sounds … pretty good to me? But let's reframe the question: Would you pay $800 — or a lot more — for an Apple device that does that stuff? Advertisement Because that's the key question for Apple, which says that all of the new AI features it announced at its developers conference will only be available on its top-of-the-line devices. That means the series 15 iPhones it debuted last fall, as well as its newest/most powerful iPads and Macs, and whatever new devices it rolls out later this year. If the answer is "yes," then AI will be a very big deal for Apple because it will solve a very big problem: People aren't buying iPhones like they used to. That problem is not a secret and is on full display when Apple announces iPhone sales numbers that show slowing growth — or, like it revealed last quarter — an actual decline. And you can also see it in third-party reports about iPhone owners hanging on to their existing phones much longer than they used to. Advertisement In one way, this is a very high-quality problem for Apple — it makes phones so good that there's no reason to buy next year's model, or the one after that, or the one after that. (I can attest to this personally: I use an iPhone 13 that I got in 2021 and have yet to find any reason to swap it out for something new.) But it's also a very real problem for Apple since Apple is in the business of selling expensive, high-margin hardware. Related stories As we've discussed here before, Apple has tried to cope with this problem by emphasizing the growth of its "services" businesses, which can grow independently of its device sales. But it still really, really needs you — and me — to buy a new iPhone periodically to keep the whole thing humming. If you were a deeply cynical person, or a journalist, you might wonder if Apple really needs its latest and greatest chips and other hardware to make the AI it is showing off work. You might suggest that this is just a convenient sales pitch for a company that can no longer say "Thinner!" or "Better camera!" and get people to pony up for a new phone. Advertisement But for argument's sake, let's assume that this is at least a bit true. (We do know, for starters, that the tech that powers stuff like ChatGPT requires an enormous amount of electricity. So maybe running it on your pocket computer requires a state-of-the-art pocket computer, too.) So now, back to the main question: Is the stuff that Apple CEO Tim Cook showed off Monday amazing enough to make you buy a new phone, or iPad, or Mac? Because I saw some hints of some pretty cool stuff, like the mom/airport scenario Apple says it can solve. But a lot of stuff didn't seem as impressive, like the ability to custom-create emojis in your text messages. (What's up with Apple's belief in emojis as a difference-maker?) One reason this stuff may not have blown me away is that it may literally not be that big of a deal — just like talking poop emojis weren't a big deal in 2017. Or maybe it's that the most impressive uses of AI on iPhones won't show up until developers figure out cool new ways to use AI on iPhones — which is the whole rationale for showing this stuff off at a developers' conference. Advertisement But I do have a third, vibes-based theory about why the AI that Apple showed off didn't blow me away. It's that Apple is walking a fine line here: It wants you to think that AI is amazing — but not scary. Because the amazing/scary dichotomy has been something we've become quite used to with other AI launches in the last few years: Chatbots like ChatGPT can convincingly "talk" to you — but can you trust anything they say? Image- and video-making tech like Midjourney and Sora can conjure amazing-looking scenes from scratch — but maybe they'll replace an entire industry? Etc. And during Apple's Monday demo, the company played on both sides of that line: It would tell you that Apple's AI could instantly make your writing better. But it also made dark, fleeting references to other people's not-so-good AI. Like AI companies that store your data on "someone's AI cloud." And that tension is most obvious in the name of the product itself: Apple doesn't call its AI "artificial intelligence" but "Apple Intelligence" — implicitly arguing that the other AIs aren't something you need to spend time worrying about. Advertisement Actually, it was pretty explicit. "This is AI for the rest of us," Apple executive Craig Federighi spelled out at the end of his presentation. In Apple's framing, that's AI that's helpful, but not creepy; immediately useful, but not too disruptive. And, crucially: Cool enough to justify a new, very expensive purchase. Are you buying it?
Welcome to the Era of the A.I. Smartphone 2024-06-10 20:28:25+00:00 - Every year, Apple and Google announce major software updates that bring new features to our smartphones, like cosmetic overhauls to the home screen, stronger privacy protections and fun messaging tools. This year, the changes will feel more radical because the companies are focusing on reinventing our phones with artificial intelligence. At its annual software developer conference on Monday, Apple showed a host of enhancements coming this fall to iOS 18, its operating system powering iPhones. The new tools include a revamped version of its voice assistant, Siri, that is easier to talk to and an A.I. system that will generate images, create summaries of web articles and craft responses to text messages and emails. Apple’s news followed Google’s Android announcements last month, which included an A.I. system that automatically summarizes audio transcripts, detects whether a phone conversation is likely a scam and helps students with homework. Because A.I. tech is still new, it’s unclear whether these improvements will resonate with the masses. The change that will have a more immediate effect has to do with old-school text messages — also known as the green bubble. Apple said its new software would adopt a messaging standard that would let iPhone users send higher-quality messages to Androids, addressing an issue that has made it more difficult for people to communicate for more than a decade.
Elon Musk seemed less than impressed with aspects of Apple's WWDC keynote 2024-06-10 20:23:09+00:00 - Elon Musk seemed less than impressed with Apple's WWDC presentation Monday. He responded to posts on X about the new iPhone home screen and iPad Calculator app. Musk has been taking jabs at Apple for the better part of a decade. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Advertisement Elon Musk seemed slightly underwhelmed by a handful of updates Apple announced Monday during its WWDC presentation. Early on in the event, YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee posted on X that the crowd cheered when Apple introduced an iPhone home screen revamp, allowing users to place app icons wherever they want. The changes help make your iPhone wallpapers more visible, Apple said. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .
Federal agreement paves way for closer scrutiny of burgeoning AI industry 2024-06-10 20:23:00+00:00 - Federal regulators have agreed to the broad outlines of a deal that could lead to tighter government oversight of the rapidly emerging artificial intelligence industry, including heavyweights in the sector such as Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI, two people familiar with the talks confirmed to CBS News. The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department will split oversight of different companies in the sector, the people said, with the FTC regulating the business practices and conduct of OpenAI and Microsoft and the Justice Department's antitrust division overseeing chipmaker Nvidia. News of the agreement was first reported by the New York Times. The move comes as the federal government grapples with rapid advancements in AI technologies and their broadening influence on the U.S. economy and society, with the White House advocating for more scrutiny of Big Tech. Monitoring AI's impact on competition Federal officials have indicated for more than a year that they are looking out for monopolistic behavior as AI products produce human-like text, illustrations and sound. The Justice Department in February announced the appointment of the agency's first AI officer and, in May, said it was "actively examining the AI ecosystem." Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, stated in January that the agency would closely review deals that "enable dominant firms to exert undue influence or gain privileged access in ways that could undermine fair competition." The FTC at the time said it was launching a probe into ties between AI startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic and cloud-computing providers like Amazon, Google and Microsoft that have invested heavily in them. Microsoft, for instance, provides OpenAI with the huge computing resources needed to train generative AI systems like ChatGPT. And the whole AI industry counts heavily on chipmaker Nvidia's semiconductors to run AI applications. Open AI last month paused use of its ChatGPT voice mode function, called Sky, after Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson complained that it sounded "eerily similar to mine." The company denied that Sky's voice was the actor's. In the latest example of the tech industry embracing machine intelligence, Apple on Monday announced that it is weaving AI into many of its products, including iPhones. As part of that effort, Apple will work with OpenAI to integrate its ChatGPT tool into upcoming software releases, including iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. —The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Here's what probation interviews ask guilty defendants like Trump 2024-06-10 20:14:44+00:00 - Ahead of his July 11 sentencing, Donald Trump faces an aspect of the system that other guilty criminal defendants have to go through as well. NBC News reported Trump’s probation interview will take place Monday, though he has received the benefit of doing it remotely from Mar-a-Lago (incidentally, also the alleged crime scene of his classified documents case). It’s unclear what other conveniences this defendant might be afforded regarding the interview. But here’s a brief explainer of what this process is generally for. New York’s criminal procedure law requires that: “In any case where a person is convicted of a felony, the court must order a pre-sentence investigation of the defendant and it may not pronounce sentence until it has received a written report of such investigation.” Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Just because it’s referred to as a probation interview doesn’t mean that Trump is getting probation. Judge Juan Merchan has several options in front of him, including, among others, probation and imprisonment for up to four years. Incarceration isn’t mandatory. But it’s the probation department that conducts the pre-sentence interview and report for Merchan that may inform the judge’s sentence. During these interviews, defendants are asked a range of questions about both the case itself and their personal lives, such as their finances, employment and criminal history, although this is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s first criminal conviction. (Whether it’s his last will depend partly on whether he wins the White House again in November and gets rid of his two federal cases, while his fourth case, in Georgia state court, which U.S. presidents can’t dismiss or pardon, is currently tied up on a pre-trial appeal.) “The pre-sentence report is a chance for the defendant’s lawyer to say good things about the defendant, like that the defendant is in a counseling program or has a steady job and takes care of an ailing family member,” according to the state website. With defense lawyer Todd Blanche by his side (which Merchan gave permission for Friday), we can be sure that the lawyer will say good things about his client, though perhaps he’ll cite different examples. “The pre-sentence interview is a chance for the defendant to try to make a good impression and explain why he or she deserves a lighter punishment,” the site goes on to say. On that note, Blanche may seek to play down any substantive remarks Trump tries to make about the case, given that his statements throughout the trial earned him a whopping 10 gag order violations. Yet, Trump seemingly steered the defense strategy at the trial that quickly ended with unanimous guilty findings on all counts, so it’s unclear how much power Trump gives his attorney here, however much it would benefit him to do so. Ultimately, Trump may do himself more harm than good with his comments. At any rate, the report’s recommendation to Merchan probably won’t make or break the judge’s sentencing call, and the prosecution and defense are also set to weigh in. But this mandated process brings the historic matter a step closer to the judge’s crucial decision. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.
The US military has a plan to turn the Taiwan Strait into an 'unmanned hellscape' if China invades, top admiral says 2024-06-10 20:12:25+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview If China invades Taiwan, it may face a large, lethal drone force meant to make its military "miserable." At least that's the plan, according to the top US admiral in the Pacific, who said the "Hellscape" strategy is designed to distract China and buy the US time to respond. "I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities," Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told The Washington Post at the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Shangri-La Dialogue Summit. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. In doing so, he said, "I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything." Advertisement The plan involves launching thousands of unmanned systems, from surface vessels and submarines to aerial drones, to fight Chinese invading forces as soon as they begin to cross the Taiwan Strait, effectively acting as a kind of first line of defense. Related stories This type of strategy would require heavy investments in cheap, reliable drones, which the US has been doing with its Replicator initiative. Last year, the Department of Defense officially announced the program, which is a long-term plan to field thousands of autonomous systems. DJI Matrice 300 reconnaissance drones, bought in the frame of program 'The Army of Drones' are seen during test flights in the Kyiv region on August 2, 2022, prior to being sent to the front line. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images While progress on the ambitious plan has been relatively quiet, there have been some signs of movement. Back in March, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said the Pentagon aims to spend $1 billion this fiscal year on Replicator. A few capabilities have been highlighted as necessary for the first drones in the program, and the Pentagon is working with defense partners to develop and acquire these systems. Advertisement Last summer, Hicks said Replicator aimed to counter China's "biggest advantage," which is its mass: "More ships. More missiles. More people." She said that "we'll counter the [People's Liberation Army's] mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, harder to beat." The previous INDOPACOM commander said last year that US unmanned capabilities "will be an asymmetric advantage." He said "operational concepts that we are working through are going to help amplify our advantages in this theater," adding, "There's a term, hellscape, that we use." Paparo's remarks on the "Hellscape" strategy come on the heels of a massive Chinese military drill around Taiwan, during which it effectively surrounded the island and showed off joint force capabilities. While the exercise showed Taiwan and the US how quickly and easily China could employ a blockade, it was also a learning opportunity for the US military. Advertisement After the drills concluded, Paparo said they "looked like a rehearsal" for an invasion, telling Japan's Nikkei newspaper: "We watched it. We took note. We learned from it. And they helped us prepare for the future."
U.A.W. Reaches Accord on Pay and Safety at E.V. Battery Plant 2024-06-10 20:11:10+00:00 - The United Automobile Workers union on Monday announced a tentative contract agreement at an Ohio factory making batteries for electric vehicles, a step that it called a milestone in enhancing pay and safety in the E.V. supply chain. The accord covers 1,600 workers at a Lordstown plant operated by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and a South Korean partner, LG Energy Solution. It produces batteries for G.M. electric vehicles. The workers had not been unionized when the plant opened in 2022, but they were brought into the U.A.W. under the terms of the national contract the union negotiated with G.M. last fall. This new contract, subject to ratification by the plant’s workers, defines wages and working conditions specific to that location. Shawn Fain, the U.A.W. president, said in a letter to union members that the accord was “a game changer for the electric vehicle battery industry.”
Apple just made a big AI announcement. Here's what to know. 2024-06-10 20:10:00+00:00 - Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference is typically a springboard for the company to announce new tech features for its software programs, and not as flashy as its yearly September event to trumpet its latest iPhone rollout. But this year, the WWDC could be a make-or-break moment for the tech giant. That's because CEO Tim Cook on Monday announced Apple's strategy for integrating artificial intelligence into its tech, an area in which Wall Street analysts say the tech giant has so far lagged behind rivals such as Microsoft and Google. The WWDC announcement may be "a pivotal moment in Apple's future," according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, in a report issued before the conference. The announcements come at a time when Apple needs to juice up its iPhone business, with sales of the devices plunging 10% in the first three months of 2024, the steepest quarterly decline since the start of the pandemic. "Apple is taking the right path to implement AI across its ecosystem while laying out the foundation for the company's multi-year AI strategy across the strongest installed base of 2.2 billion iOS devices over the coming years," Ives said. The Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off on June 10 and will run through June 14, with developers attending in person at Apple's Cupertino, California-based headquarters. The event is geared toward developers, with Apple set to announce new iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS technology. Apple says the event is geared to helping developers create new apps and games for its devices. Here are some of the top announcements from WWDC. "Apple Intelligence" Cook announced what the company is calling "Apple Intelligence," or its version of AI-enhanced capabilities that will expand services such as its Siri voice assistance as well as other apps. The company said it's working with OpenAI to integrate its ChatGPT access into its upcoming software releases, including iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. The new AI service is designed to be intuitive and personalize, as well as built with privacy in mind, Cook noted. Apple won't collect data on users as consumers rely on the new AI services to answer questions, search personal data stored on their devices or engage in other tasks, the company said. The new AI will work across apps, tapping personal data to help users find specific information, such as photos or emails. For instance, you'll be able to ask your phone to search for photos that only include yourself and a parent. Apple's AI will also be able to suggest options for writing or rewriting emails, summarize emails that landed in your inbox and create images based on your photos that you can send as a text, among other functions. Apple is also introducing something called "Genmoji" that will create custom emoji based on a description, such as a dinosaur on a surfboard. The new AI services will be "game changers," Cook said at the conference. New texting options — including emoji tapbacks — in Messages Messages, Apple's texting app, is getting an overhaul. The company said it's expanding its tapbacks, which are the responses such as "?" or a thumbs up or thumbs down, that users can use in responding to messages. That will allow you to add any emoji as a text tapback. In addition, the app will let people add text formatting to their messages, including writing in bold, italics or strikethrough. Apple is also adding satellite service so users can send and receive texts even when they don't have wifi or cellular service. Shake or nod your head to answer calls on AirPods AirPods will soon have a new feature that allows people to answer or decline calls on their AirPods by either nodding or shaking their heads. The company said this could be useful for people who receive calls in a public situation and who might not want to talk in a busy setting. Its AirPods Pro devices will include a service called Voice Isolation, which will screen out background noise if you call someone from a noisy location. New organization in Photos Apple announced a number of improvements in other apps and services, including Photos and its control center. Photos will provide new organizational frameworks, such as grouping snapshots from specific trips and allowing users to customize photo collections.
Alzheimer’s drug that can slow disease gets backing from FDA advisers 2024-06-10 20:05:04+00:00 - WASHINGTON (AP) — A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s ability to slow the disease outweighs its risks, including side effects like brain swelling and bleeding that will have to be monitored. “I thought the evidence was very strong in the trial showing the effectiveness of the drug,” said panel member Dean Follmann, a National Institutes of Health statistician. The FDA will make the final decision on approval later this year. If the agency agrees with the panel’s recommendation, the drug, donanemab, would only be the second Alzheimer’s drug cleared in the U.S. that’s been shown to convincingly slow cognitive decline and memory problems due to Alzheimer’s. The FDA approved a similar infused drug, Leqembi, from Japanese drugmaker Eisai last year. The slowdown seen with both drugs amounts to several months and experts disagree on whether patients or their loved ones will be able to detect the difference. But Lilly’s approach to studying its once-a-month treatment prompted questions from FDA reviewers. Patients in the company’s study were grouped based on their levels of a brain protein, called tau, that predicts severity of cognitive problems. That led FDA to question whether patients might need to be screened via brain scans for tau before getting the drug. But most panelists thought there was enough evidence of the drug’s benefit to prescribe it broadly, without screening for the protein. “Imposing a requirement for tau imaging is not necessary and would raise serious practical and access concerns to the treatment,” said Dr. Thomas Montine of Stanford University, who chaired the panel and summarized its opinion. At a high level, Lilly’s results mirrored those of Leqembi, with both medications showing a modest slowing of cognitive problems in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. The Indianapolis-based company conducted a 1,700-patient study showing patients who received monthly IV infusions of its drug declined about 35% more slowly than those who got a sham treatment. The FDA had been widely expected to approve the drug in March. But instead the agency said it would ask its panel of neurology experts to publicly review the company’s data, an unexpected delay that surprised analysts and investors. Several unusual approaches in how Lilly tested its drug led to the meeting. One change was measuring patients’ tau, and excluding patients with very low or no levels of the protein. But panelists said there was enough data from other measures to feel confident that nearly all patients could benefit from the drug, regardless of their levels. In another key difference, Lilly studied taking patients off its drug when they reached very low levels of amyloid, a sticky brain plaque that’s a contributor to Alzheimer’s. Lilly scientists suggested stopping treatment is a key advantage for its drug, which could reduce side effects and costs. But FDA staff said Lilly provided little data supporting the optimal time to stop or how quickly patients might need to restart treatment. Despite those questions, many panelists thought the possibility of stopping doses held promise. “It’s a huge cost savings for the society, we’re talking about expensive treatment, expensive surveillance,” said Dr. Tanya Simuni of Northwestern University. She and other experts said patients would need to be tracked and tested to see how they fare and whether they need to resume treatment. The main safety issue with donanemab was brain swelling and bleeding, a problem common to all amyloid-targeting drugs. Most cases identified in Lilly’s trial were mild. Three deaths in the donanemab study were linked to the drug, according to the FDA, all involving brain swelling or bleeding. One of the deaths was caused by a stroke, a life-threatening complication that occurs more frequently among Alzheimer’s patients. FDA’s panel agreed that those the risks could be addressed by warning labels and education for doctors as well as medical scans to identify patients at greater risk of stroke. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Our Comprehensive Risk Tolerance Assessment 2024-06-10 20:00:00+00:00 - Understanding your risk tolerance is essential to making sound investment decisions. An accurate risk tolerance assessment will help you choose suitable investment strategies to create a balanced portfolio that matches your risk appetite. And when your investment choices align with your financial goals and comfort levels, i can prevent unnecessary anxiety and promote long-term financial stability. Factors like age, financial status, and investment experience significantly influence risk tolerance. Younger investors might have a higher risk tolerance because their investment horizon is longer, whereas older investors nearing retirement might prefer safer, low-risk investments. Get analyst upgrade alerts: Sign Up So, what is your appetite for risk? Perform our self-assessment below to find out. Take Our Risk Tolerance Assessment Answer these five questions to help you determine how much risk you can comfortably manage. 1. How do you feel about losing money on an investment? I can't stand losing any money I can handle small losses I'm okay with losing some for higher gains 2. How long is your typical investment horizon? Less than 3 years 3 to 7 years More than 7 years 3. If your investment portfolio lost 20% in one year, what would you do? Sell everything to stop losing more Hold on and wait for things to get better Buy more while prices are low 4. How would you describe your current financial situation? Lots of debt, no savings Some debt, some savings Little to no debt, good savings 5. What are your primary investment goals? I want to avoid losses and keep my capital safe I like moderate, consistent gains I aim for the highest returns and maximum growth Understand Your Risk Tolerance Assessment Results Add up the points from your answers to find your risk tolerance category. A: 1 point B: 2 points C: 3 points 5-7 Points: Conservative Risk Tolerance You prefer low-risk investments like bonds or savings accounts, aiming to keep your money safe and seeking modest, steady returns. You value stability and are more concerned with safeguarding your assets than achieving high returns. A conservative approach to risk is particularly suitable for individuals nearing retirement or those with short-term financial goals who cannot afford to take significant risks. 8-11 Points: Moderate Risk Tolerance You are willing to accept some risk for the chance of higher returns. A balanced mix of stocks and bonds suits you, offering growth, stability, and protection against market volatility. Most investors fall within this category, as it allows for reasonable growth potential without exposing them to extreme risks. Many mid-career individuals with a long-term investment horizon and moderate financial stability find this strategy aligns well with their goals and risk comfort levels. 12-15 Points: Aggressive Risk Tolerance You are comfortable with taking on quite a bit of risk in pursuit of significant returns, often choosing to invest heavily in high-growth stocks, emerging markets, and other high-reward opportunities. Aggressive investors are often younger individuals with a long investment horizon, allowing them to weather short-term market volatility in exchange for the potential of high long-term gains. This approach requires a strong stomach for market fluctuations and a keen focus on long-term growth rather than immediate stability. It's ideal for those who seek maximum capital appreciation and are prepared to handle the associated risks. Explore Your Investing Options with MarketBeat Once you have determined your risk tolerance, selecting the right investments becomes much easier. MarketBeat provides comprehensive tools and resources to help you compare a wide variety of investment options. Whether you are conservative, moderate, or aggressive in your risk approach, MarketBeat can assist you in finding investments that align with your goals and comfort levels, ensuring you are on the right path to achieving your financial objectives.
Trump smooching Joe Arpaio was MAGA masculinity in a nutshell 2024-06-10 19:59:06+00:00 - This edition of “This Week in MAGA masculinity” brings us a bizarre moment from Trump’s speech at Arizona's Dream City Church last Thursday: the kiss. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” And virtually all the words expressed in the image below — of Donald Trump kissing and embracing former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — are about the way Trump has made his toxic masculinity into a political credo. “I don’t kiss men, but I kissed him,” Trump said as he was introducing Arpaio onstage during a campaign stop in Arizona on Thursday. “We had a real border with this guy,” Trump said. “People said he was too tough or too — now they’re saying, ‘Where is Sheriff Joe?’ You know, he’s 170 years old, but we want him back. Joe say something.” The moment was the epitome of one of the animating forces in conservative politics: MAGA masculinity. It unites men around an ethos of hypermasculine paranoia, perpetual victimhood, overt rule-breaking and, most importantly, fawning praise for Donald Trump. All of which Trump managed to distill — the paranoia, the rule-breaking, even anticipatory victimhood — into eight words and a gesture. Arpaio had the praise covered. Donald Trump, right, and Joe Arpaio during a Turning Point PAC town hall in Phoenix, on June 6, 2024. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images As you may recall, the former sheriff was convicted in 2017 of contempt of court in Arizona for defying court orders and proceeding with an anti-immigration crackdown that was rife with racial profiling and largely deemed illegal (Trump pardoned Arpaio shortly thereafter). Arpaio, 91, returned that favor as best he could with a gushing speech that sang Trump's praises. He joked about birtherism, the racist conspiracy theory both men perpetuated about President Barack Obama being a foreigner; he appeared to reference his legal troubles when he called Trump “the only hero I’ve ever had in my life”; he suggested Trump is more heroic than the late Arizona Sen. John McCain; and he argued that Trump’s poll numbers would only go up the more the media reports negative stories about him. Biden’s campaign has already turned the men’s cringeworthy moment into an ad targeting Latinos, a group well-versed in Arpaio's political terrorism. The ad is just smart politicking. Trump’s embrace of Arpaio didn’t just message his plans for bigoted and illiberal anti-immigrant crackdowns if he’s elected president — it also highlighted the pitiful ties that bind MAGA men together: a shared belief in Trump’s greatness and a defiance of accountability.
An explosion and a fire at an armaments plant in Poland kills 1 person and injures another 2024-06-10 19:56:57+00:00 - WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An explosion at an armaments plant in Poland on Monday caused a fire that killed a 59-year-old man who worked there and injured another person, officials said. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that there was no reason to assume that an “external force” was behind Monday’s explosion at the Mesko plant. Poland has recently witnessed a string of fires, and officials have been investigating whether these could be the results of sabotage by Russian or Belarusian secret services in reaction to Polish support for Ukraine. The blast occurred at the Mesko plant in the town of Skarzysko-Kamienna, according to a statement published by the Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (Polish Armaments Group), a state holding group that unites weapons manufacturing companies. “This is a huge tragedy for the entire Polish Armaments Group,” the group said on its website. It said an investigation was underway. The plant is a manufacturer of ammunition, including missiles. Skarzysko-Kamienna is about 135 kilometers (85 miles) south of Poland’s capital, Warsaw.
Buying a home? Expect to pay $18,000 a year in additional costs 2024-06-10 19:34:00+00:00 - Soaring prices for homeowners insurance, property taxes and utility bills are adding thousands of dollars to the cost of owning a home. The increases come at a time of record-high real estate prices and elevated mortgages and closing fees. The average annual cost of insurance, taxes and utilities for a single-family home in the U.S. is currently about $18,118, according to an analysis from Bankrate. That's up from $14,428 in 2020, the personal finance website said. Those costs are rising for several reasons, including rising home values, rising costs from construction companies hired to build properties, and rising homeowners insurance rates as a result of climate-related natural disasters, Bankrate said. "These numbers show that the costs of owning a home are at the same level as buying a used car every year," Bankrate analyst Jeff Ostrowski said in a statement Monday. "Homeownership is an important wealth-builder for many Americans, but it ain't cheap," he added. Homeownership is becoming such a financial burden that an April survey from Redfin found that some homeowners have had to skip meals, take a second job or sell their belongings to keep up with their mortgage. The nation's median asking price on a home — what sellers hope their property goes for — reached a record $420,250 during the four weeks ending May 19, a 6.6% rise from a year ago, according to Redfin. Record-high home prices and mortgage rates nearing 7% have put a damper on the 2024 home-buying season so far, with many buyers opting to remain renters. Elevated mortgage rates have also caused some homeowners to refrain from placing their property on the market because they would then face paying higher mortgage rates on another property. Prices not likely to fall With both home prices and interest rates climbing, some buyers might be tempted to wait until those numbers drop. But as "[home] prices are unlikely to go down this summer," there's little to no benefit in waiting, Holden Lewis, mortgages spokesperson at NerdWallet, told CBS News. Homeowners in coastal states like California and Massachusetts are paying the highest costs, along with Hawaii, which has the most expensive home ownership costs in the country, according to Bankrate's survey. The most expensive states for hidden housing costs, according to Bankrate, are: Hawaii pay $29,015 a year California pay $28,790 a year Massachusetts pay $26,313 a year New Jersey pay $25,573 a year Connecticut pay $23,515 a year The states with the lowest amount of additional homeownership costs, according to Bankrate, are: Kentucky at $11,559 Arkansas at $11,692 Mississippi at $11,881 Alabama at $12,259 Indiana at $12,259 Bankrate reached its findings by totaling the average price of property taxes, homeowners insurance, energy bills, internet and cable subscriptions and home maintenance jobs between March 2020 and March 2024. Bankrate researchers obtained raw data for those costs from Redfin, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and real estate data collector ATTOM.
Apple Jumps Into A.I. Fray With Apple Intelligence 2024-06-10 18:48:32+00:00 - Nearly two years after OpenAI ignited a race to add generative artificial intelligence into products, Apple jumped into the competition on Monday, as it revealed plans to bring the technology to more than a billion iPhone users around the world. During a two-hour presentation from its futuristic Silicon Valley campus, Apple said that it would be using generative A.I. to power what it is calling Apple Intelligence. The system will prioritize messages and notifications and will offer writing tools that are capable of proofreading and suggesting what users have written in emails, notes or text. It also will result in a major upgrade for Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. Apple’s plans to offer A.I. in its iPhones represents the next step in bringing artificial intelligence into the consumer mainstream. Apple, the marquee name of Silicon Valley, could do more than any other company to add credibility to a technology that has more than a few critics, who worry that it is mistake-prone and could add to the flood of misinformation already on the internet. Apple’s new A.I. features could also help calm concerns that the iPhone maker had slipped behind its biggest rivals in the tech industry’s embrace of artificial intelligence. The value of other tech companies, like Microsoft and Nvidia, has ballooned because of their aggressive A.I. plans. Earlier this year, Microsoft dethroned Apple as the most valuable technology company in the world.