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Young job seekers are finding it tougher to find employment, despite a bustling labor market: 'It was brutal' 2024-06-06 20:00:00+00:00 - Samantha McCloud, 16, left, Victoria Garcia, 16, Jessel Rincon, 16, at college and career fair at Temple City High School on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 in Temple City, CA. Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images After receiving a graduate degree, Julianna Larock was bombarded with news about the powerful labor market and how much demand there was for skilled workers. But that wasn't her reality. Instead, she spent untold hours browsing through networking sites such as LinkedIn, attending mixers and other professional events, and generally scouring the collective workplace for something that would fit her desire to land a job in the world of finance. All to no avail. "Quite honestly, it was pretty brutal," says Larock, 25, a Wilmington, Delaware, native now living in New York City. "It felt like a lot of work for little response, little reward." Fortunately, after slogging through a year of dashed hopes, interspersed with some contract work to get her through, Larock found full-time employment as an executive assistant and research associate for Acumen, a nonprofit impact investment firm in New York. The firm was founded by Jacqueline Novogratz, sister of prominent investor Michael Novogratz, the CEO of crypto-focused Galaxy Investment Partners. Julianna LaRock Courtesy: Julianna LaRock While Larock is content with her current station, getting there was rough and the future feels uncertain. "The depression and the anxiety that was coming from the job search oftentimes bubbled over into a lot of my other social relationships," the University of Delaware and Fordham graduate says. "People can only be so supportive, and you just felt like every day was the same. And I really hate monotony." Larock's experience comes at a time when, at least on the surface, the jobs market has continued to glide along. Signs of weakness Since the beginning of 2023, nonfarm payrolls have expanded by about 4 million, continuing growth that started after the Covid crisis. The unemployment rate has held below 4% every month since January 2022, a run of strength not seen since the 1960s. But worries are growing that the labor market is beginning to show cracks. Larock's cohort of workers — in their late teens and early 20s, including new college graduates and other first-time entrants to the labor market — looks particularly vulnerable. The hiring rate for all workers is at 3.6% of those counted in the labor force, just off the low of the post-Covid era, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prior to the pandemic, the hiring rate was last below the current level in August 2014. It's getting worse for younger workers. "I oftentimes would have people telling me the job quality or job search statistics aren't really that bad, using that kind of leverage to invalidate everything I was feeling," Larock says. "Whether that's what they meant to do or not, and I don't think it was, that was the impact it had. It made me feel worse." Welcome to the good news-bad news labor market, where the collective experience is positive but not as much for individuals in particular groups. "The good news," Goldman Sachs economist Elsie Peng said in a recent note, "is that monthly job-finding rates remain at or above pre-pandemic rates for groups who are usually more vulnerable to weaker cyclical conditions, including workers without a college degree, workers in low-skill industries, and workers who are foreign-born." "But the bad news is that new entrants to the labor market are faring less well," Peng added. The monthly rate of workers with little previous work experience getting jobs has plunged, falling to 13% from its previous peak of 20%, according to Goldman data. While Peng characterized the jobs market as "strong overall," she said there are "soft soft spots" that are particularly hitting "new entrants to the workforce." While the unemployment level for the 20-to-24 age group is at 3.5%, it's slightly higher than it was pre-pandemic and is one area to watch for softness in the labor market. Molly Huang, a 22-year-old recent Penn State University graduate with an aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering degree, also is finding challenges in navigating the situation — a process she started during her studies that has intensified now that she's out of school. "To be completely honest, it's not a very great market. A lot of people I talk to agree that finding a full-time job for a new grad is kind of tough," the Horsham, Pennsylvania, resident says. "I get interviews here and there, but nothing has ever come to an actual offer." Huang acknowledges that her specialized major adds a degree of difficulty to the search, so she's being somewhat flexible about her approach. "I'm trying to be pretty optimistic, because a lot of people I know that do get a job don't start until August, so I feel like I have a little bit of time," she said. "But at the same time, it does feel like the clock is ticking." Getting the experience One age-old quandary Huang and others in her shoes have to face is the experience dilemma: Employers want to hire those who have some background working in their field, which outside of internships, is hard to get for new grads. There does appear to be some good news on that front. The rate of new hires as a share of existing employees rose to 2.8% in April, its highest level since October 2022, according to Vanguard, which uses proprietary data gleaned from 401(k) program enrollments. "In recent months, though, there has been a modest uptick in hiring among younger workers, while hiring rates have been flatter for older workers," said Vanguard investment analyst David Pakula. watch now At the same time, jobs website Indeed reports that fewer than one-third of all postings on the site in April listed a specific number of years' experience, off from nearly 40% just two years ago. The reason, according to Indeed economist Cory Stahle, is more of a shift to "skills-first hiring" that places less emphasis on educational background and more on what prospective employees bring to the table. That's both good news and bad news for younger workers, some of who had hoped that expensive degrees would give them a foothold. The challenge for younger workers "The overall job market has really been changing a lot since 2021 and '22, so I do think college grads are entering into a job market that is much more challenging than it has been over the past few years," said Joanie Bily, chief workforce analyst at Employbridge, an industrial staffing firm. For how healthy the top-line numbers have looked since the 22 million layoffs in the early days of the pandemic, Bily points out that much of the recovery has come in health care, leisure and hospitality and government positions. The finance field, where Julianna Larock works, actually has a higher unemployment rate now than before the pandemic — 2.7% compared with 1.7% in February 2020. Also, the balance of household employment has gone to part-time jobs, which have risen by more than a million over the past 12 months, while full-time employment has fallen by more than half a million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Though it's still been a relatively tight labor market, I do think we are seeing a weakening in the overall jobs market in the U.S., and really we've been seeing that decline since 2022," Bily said. "What we're seeing with college grads is they're looking to enter into the workforce and launch their careers, and many of them are taking jobs even in leisure and hospitality, because that's where the jobs are." Ethan Mariano will be taking his double major in political science and international affairs from Gettysburg College to grad school later this year at American University in Washington, D.C. He needs a job while he's studying so he can afford living expenses, but would like a position that could serve as springboard to work in foreign policy analysis at the State Department or a think tank. So far, no luck. "A lot of the jobs they say, despite the fact that it's entry level, we need two years of experience. Others say you need a Capitol Hill internship, which is difficult because the ones who can afford to live down in D.C. get the internships," says Mariano, 22, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania. "It's been difficult." Despite the obstacles, he remains optimistic while still knowing that getting a post-graduate degree probably will be required before he can really establish himself. "Yeah, I'm optimistic. Maybe it's the young naivety in me, but I think I'll find something," Mariano says. "I just need to get my foot in the door."

36% of Americans think real estate is the best long-term investment. Here's the easiest way to get started 2024-06-06 19:51:00+00:00 - Some Americans believe real estate is the best long-term investment. If you are among them, real estate investment trusts, or REITs, might be the easiest way to tap the market. About 36% of surveyed Americans ranked real estate as the top long-term investment, more than cited stocks or mutual funds (22%), gold (18%) and savings accounts or certificates of deposits (13%), according to a recent survey by Gallup, a global analytics and advisory firm. Fewer of the surveyed adults believe bonds and cryptocurrency are good investments for the long haul, at 4% and 3%, respectively, the report found. The firm polled 1,001 U.S. adults through telephone interviews from April 1-22. More from Personal Finance: 5 ways to maximize your vacation days Average 401(k) savings rates recently hit a record Here's what's wrong with TikTok's viral money hacks For those people who see long-term investment potential in real estate, REITs can be a great way to start as they have a "low barrier to entry," said Stacy Francis, a certified financial planner and president and CEO of Francis Financial in New York City. An REIT is a publicly traded company that invests in different types of income-producing residential or commercial real estate. In many cases, you can buy shares of publicly traded REITs like you would a stock, or shares of a REIT mutual fund or exchange-traded fund. REIT investors typically make money through dividend payments. Some, "you can invest in for as little as $25," said Francis, a CNBC Financial Advisor Council member.

Ukraine isn't 'one system away from some massive breakthrough,' but there are things it can't get enough of, White House official says 2024-06-06 19:48:22+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 Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer said there isn't a specific single weapon Ukraine needs to defeat Russia. Instead, Ukraine needs a consistent flow of certain capabilities. There is this idea out there that "they are one system away from some massive breakthrough where they will get the system and run roughshod over the Russian army," Finer said during a Center for New American Security conference Thursday. "This is not that kind of war," he added. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Finer said that he wishes the US could provide Ukraine with an endless supply of artillery and air defense weaponry, which Ukraine needs most. "If there are two things that we could provide an infinite number of to the Ukrainians to try and turn the tide of this war, it would be artillery munitions and air defense interceptors," he explained. Related stories "We just don't make enough of them," he said, adding that "we're making more, and by early next year, we think we'll be in a much stronger position." Related Video In May, the consulting firm Bain & Company found that Russia is producing artillery shells three times faster than Ukraine's NATO partners for less, and it is expected to refurbish or produce as many as 4.5 million artillery shells this year. That said, the US, like some of its allies and partners in Europe, has been working to dramatically increase artillery shell production, particularly the highly sought-after 155 mm shells. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US was making about 14,000 a month, but the goal is to bring that number up to 100,000 by 2025. A serviceman of the 66th separate cannon artillery battalion of the 406th separate artillery brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is pictured by the American M777 howitzer. Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images In addition to making more shells, Finer added that the US is launching co-production with Kyiv to boost its defense industry and compete with Russia's manufacturing capabilities. Ukrainian soldiers expressed the dire need for artillery and air defense on the battlefield in an interview with CNN last week, with some saying that US-supplied M1 Abrams tanks have not been enough. US veterans who have fought in Ukraine have also said the same thing in the past, especially as Ukraine grappled with debilitating ammo shortages. Advertisement "This conflict between two very similar armies, in some ways, is much more about the basic blocking and tackling that, frankly, I think many of us did not fully appreciate would remain a key facet of modern warfare: production of not super high-tech but critically important munitions, which we have let lapse," Finer said. "We are now taking significant action to get our act together on those things," he said.

President Joe Biden says he will not pardon his son Hunter Biden if he's convicted on gun-related charges 2024-06-06 19:45:00+00:00 - President Joe Biden told ABC News in an interview Thursday that he will accept whatever a jury decides in his son Hunter Biden's criminal trial and that he will not use his presidential power to pardon him if he's convicted. Biden made his brief statements on his son's historic trial in an interview with ABC News anchor David Muir in Normandy, where Biden and other dignitaries were taking part in a service to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a turning point for the Allied forces in World War II. Asked if he would rule out a pardon for his son, who's facing three federal gun-related charges in court in Delaware, Biden answered simply, "Yes." Asked if he would accept the outcome of the jury trial, a first for an offspring of a sitting president, he again replied, "Yes." The White House had previously said Biden would not use his pardon power on Hunter Biden, who is also facing a trial on federal tax charges in September. Presidents have the power to grant pardons in federal cases, but not state cases. “I’ve been very clear; the president is not going to pardon his son,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in December. In a statement when the trial started Monday, Biden said: “As the President, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases, but as a Dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength. Our family has been through a lot together, and Jill and I are going to continue to be there for Hunter and our family with our love and support.” The first lady has attended the trial most of this week along with Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, and various other family members. In the ABC interview, Biden also took aim at former President Donald Trump for refusing to accept a New York jury finding him guilty of 34 charges of falsifying business records last month, and calling the case "rigged." Biden said Trump was trying to "undermine" the rule of law. "He got a fair trial. The jury spoke," Biden said.

Big Tech CEOs are lining up to back Trump. Don't be surprised. 2024-06-06 19:41:13+00:00 - There’s been a lot of recent reporting on the endorsements and monetary support that Donald Trump’s campaign is receiving from tech executives and investors — many of them white men. This week’s “Tuesday Tech Drop” documented one aspect of that phenomenon, in which some influential figures in tech who previously donated to Democrats are now lining up behind Trump’s campaign. And last week, Reuters reported that the venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya are hosting a high-dollar event for Trump in San Francisco on Thursday, designed to show an outpouring of support from Silicon Valley leaders for the convicted former president. To the extent that this may come as a surprise, that may be rooted in a widespread misconception of Silicon Valley as a bastion of liberalism and not what it truly is: an epitome of crony capitalism, exclusion and white male elitism. Author Malcolm Harris’ book “Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World” is a great read for anyone looking to disabuse themselves of the pollyannaish propaganda about Silicon Valley’s purported progressive bonafides. The history of how Silicon Valley (largely built on Ohlone land) and its roots intertwine with the development of nuclear weapons dispelled for me some of the more fanciful depictions that portray Silicon Valley executives as avatars of a progressive revolution. In reality, the public alignment of some tech executives with the Trump campaign is pretty easy to understand. Generally speaking, Silicon Valley leaders are overwhelmingly white and male — and disproportionately rich. Which is to say, they belong to a group that Trump and his allies have gone to great lengths to show they’ll defend in a second Trump term. And conversely, Joe Biden’s administration has taken steps to bring more equity and diversity to the tech industry and to ensure rich people pay their fair share in taxes, both of which could diminish the power of those who’ve already made a killing off of Big Tech. As an example, the divergence between some rich, white tech executives and the Biden administration is epitomized in the administration’s efforts involving artificial intelligence tools, which are arguably the building blocks for the future global economy. Biden has emphasized the need for marginalized communities — including women, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minority groups — to be involved in the decision-making process when it comes to major developments in the world of AI. Conservative tech bros, including Elon Musk and others in his orbit, have vocally opposed such efforts to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion in the world of artificial intelligence. There’s no reason to think the tech executives and investors sidling up to Trump this year wouldn’t also benefit from Biden’s re-election. The U.S. is going to be deeply invested in new technologies regardless of who wins. But their share of Big Tech’s power and wealth is likely to be diminished if Biden wins in November and his administration follows through on its plans to emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion when it comes to emerging technology. Trump, on the other hand, is vowing to give a massive tax cut to the rich if elected. Judges he handpicked have ruled that efforts to diversify the tech industry amount to anti-white discrimination. And Trump himself has said he’d prioritize ridding America of “anti-white feeling” if he’s elected. That appears to have been all the assurance some in Big Tech needed to fall in line.

Boeing’s Starliner Overcomes Malfunctioning Thrusters to Dock at Space Station 2024-06-06 19:35:53+00:00 - There were glitches with its propulsion system, but Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and the two NASA astronauts it carried successfully docked at the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon. The docking, at 1:34 p.m. Eastern time, was more than an hour later than planned, after the troubleshooting of several malfunctioning thrusters.

AOC says she 'wouldn't be surprised' if Trump 'threw me in jail' if he wins in 2024 2024-06-06 19:35:13+00:00 - AOC suggested that Trump could jail her if he wins the presidency again. "It sounds nuts, but like, I wouldn't be surprised if this guy threw me in jail," she said. "If Donald Trump wins, we are looking at the potential dissolution of democracy," she added. 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 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested this week that she could be jailed if former President Donald Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November. "I mean, it sounds nuts, but like, I wouldn't be surprised if this guy threw me in jail," the New York congresswoman said during an appearance on the "On With Kara Swisher" podcast. "He's out of his mind. I mean, he did his whole first campaign around 'lock her up.' This is his motto." This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Billionaire Frank McCourt's TikTok bid wins key backer as he looks past app's prized algorithm 2024-06-06 19:31:00+00:00 - Frank McCourt, civic entrepreneur, executive chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City on May 22, 2024. In the race to buy TikTok, billionaire Frank McCourt is pitching investors with a chance to create a new platform that gives users the ability to control their own data. "I don't want to own TikTok," he told reporters Thursday. "I don't want to be the CEO of a social media platform. I want a new internet. A new improved alternative to what we have." McCourt's move comes at a time when concerns about data privacy and child safety online have led to dozens of bills at the state level, and a bipartisan push to move federal legislation. His pitch has drawn a key group: Parents whose children died after being influenced by social media or bullied on various platforms. "Once Frank's built the infrastructure and the public finds out that there's a safer way to go, a more profitable way to go, then the people will start coming," said Sam Chapman, who said his son Sammy died from a fentanyl overdose after buying drugs on Snapchat . Chapman said McCourt's vision would appeal to "hundreds of thousands of parents" who are seeking a safer internet for their kids. As a business executive and philanthropist, McCourt spent years advocating for a new internet in which a user's data is owed by the user. He founded Project Liberty to build a healthier version of social media. Project Liberty is working with Guggenheim Securities and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to buy the viral video platform. McCourt said he has also been approached by a wide-ranging group of potential investors including pension funds, philanthropies, academics and private investors.

The low-end consumer 'is really being stretched,' says Five Below CEO 2024-06-06 19:30:00+00:00 - While inflation is showing signs of easing, consumers in the country may still be feeling its effects for quite some time, according to Joel Anderson, CEO of discount retailer Five Below . The executive sees underperformance particularly in the lower-income demographic. "The lower-end customer is really being stretched," Anderson said on an earnings call with analysts Wednesday. "We've got to deliver value, and we've got to really display that in how we go to market, and when you walk in the store, what you see. But all that's in flight right now, and [we] expect to see some of those changes improve by back half of the year." Five Below issued soft revenue guidance for the second quarter and the full year. Revenue for the first quarter also came in below expectations. Shares plummeted nearly 11% Thursday, hitting a new 52-week low during the trading session. The retailer is down more than 44% in 2024. "Consumers were more discerning with their dollars, increasingly buying to need," Anderson added. The types of products they've been purchasing reflect this, he added, noting that consumers bought more in the company's "consumable" categories such as candy, food and beverage, beauty and health and beauty aids. The CEO also noted that Five Beyond — the company's in-store shop that sells some products for more than $5 — performed the best among its lower-income household stores. This, he said, indicates that when consumers see the value of products, the more they have to "stretch their dollar." Though there has been some indication that aspects of the U.S. economy are improving, consumer sentiment has been lagging. In fact, consumer sentiment dropped more than 10% in May, according to the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. Not only that, more than half of Americans falsely believe the country is in an economic recession. "The quarter solidified that consumers are feeling the impact of multiple years of inflation across many key categories, such as food, fuel and rent, and are therefore far more deliberate with their discretionary dollars," Anderson said.

Mega backdoor Roth conversions can boost tax-free growth — if you avoid these mistakes 2024-06-06 19:23:00+00:00 - Mega backdoor Roth conversions can significantly boost tax-free retirement savings — but this maneuver is not available for all investors and mistakes are common, experts say. When investors make too much to save directly to a Roth individual retirement account, backdoor strategies can bypass the IRS income limits. A mega backdoor Roth conversion involves after-tax 401(k) contributions, which are shifted to Roth accounts. It is more generous than regular backdoor Roth conversions because after-tax contributions can exceed the yearly 401(k) deferral limit, which is $23,000 for investors under age 50. The full 401(k) limit is $69,000 for 2024, including employee deferrals, employer matches, profit sharing and other deposits. Mega backdoor Roth conversions are "a great tool when used appropriately," but you need to know your goals first, said certified financial planner Jamie Clark, founder of Ruby Pebble Financial Planning in Seattle. More from Personal Finance: Mega backdoor Roth conversions can be a 'no brainer' for higher earners, expert says Why a five-day return to office is unlikely, Stanford economist says Here's how 'spaving' could hurt your finances Here are some common mega backdoor Roth conversion mistakes and how to avoid them, according to experts.

House Republicans’ Biden impeachment effort takes a desperate turn 2024-06-06 19:15:58+00:00 - The Republican chairmen of three House committees have filed criminal referrals to the Justice Department for Hunter Biden and James Biden, accusing the president's son and brother of lying to Congress in the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel David Weiss on Wednesday, House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., accused the two Bidens of making “provably false statements" about the impeachment inquiry, "in what appears to be a conscious effort to hinder the investigation’s focus on President Joe Biden.” The referrals misrepresent some aspects of Hunter Biden's testimony, as The New York Times reported, and they come a week after Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. The referrals are not binding. It's unclear if Garland will entertain them, considering that he himself is facing a potential contempt of Congress vote by House Republicans for not turning over a recording of the president's interview with special counsel Robert Hur. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., challenged Garland to open criminal investigations into Hunter and James Biden, going so far as to tell the attorney general that it would be proof that his agency is not being weaponized against the president’s opponents — a popular narrative among Trump and his GOP allies. “If the Attorney General wishes to demonstrate he is not running a two-tiered system of justice and targeting the President’s political opponents, he will open criminal investigations into James and Hunter Biden,” Johnson said. Paul Fishman, who represents James Biden, said it was "a transparent and cynical attempt to distract from and retaliate for Donald Trump’s recent criminal conviction." Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, accused Republicans of distorting his client's testimony. (Hunter Biden is currently on trial in Delaware on gun-related charges; he has pleaded not guilty.) House Democrats have said the criminal referrals against the president's family members are a "last-ditch effort" by House Republicans to show that their efforts to impeach the president haven't been a total bust. As my MSNBC colleague Steve Benen wrote, despite launching multiple impeachment resolutions against Biden, House Republicans have been unable to come up with any significant evidence that Biden committed impeachable crimes.

Republicans’ sneaky strategy to undermine birth control 2024-06-06 19:08:53+00:00 - All but two Senate Republicans voted to block the Right to Contraception Act on Wednesday, refusing to protect a right at risk after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated the right to abortion. Only those two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, voted for the bill. The rest accused Democrats of trying to scare voters. But if voters are scared, it is because of what Republicans are doing, not the Democrats. It took nearly 50 years for Republicans to achieve their goal of overturning the right to an abortion. The GOP attack on contraception is a similarly slow burn and has the same end goal: the disappearance of a long-cherished constitutional right. Republicans in at least 17 states have blocked Democratic efforts to expand or protect access to contraception. Of course, Senate Republicans, aware that contraception access is overwhelmingly popular even with their own voters, pretended their “no” votes were meaningless. “This is a show vote. It’s not serious. It doesn’t mean anything,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. More than 20 GOP senators signed a statement from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., declaring “There is no threat to access to contraception… and it’s disgusting that Democrats are fearmongering on this important issue to score cheap political points.” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., baselessly claimed the bill could be applied to protect access to abortion pills. He also scoffed at the notion that Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 case that struck down state criminal bans on the sale of birth control to married couples, is in danger. “Nobody’s gonna overturn Griswold,” he said. “No way.” Hawley knows full well that the conservative legal movement sees Griswold as the “judicial activism” undergirding Roe. When Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his Dobbs concurrence that Griswold also should be overturned, he wasn’t freelancing. Christian right activists and legal scholars have long disparaged the right recognized in Griswold as the corrupt foundation of Roe v. Wade, and of later cases protecting LGBTQ rights. In this conservative legal world, Griswold became known as “the bad case that started it all.” In 2017, while he was directing then-President Donald Trump’s selection of judicial nominees, Leonard Leo delivered a speech lambasting the “creation of rights found nowhere in the text or structure of the Constitution,” citing Griswold, Roe, and Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage. The right’s strategy is to chip away at access to birth control in federal and state policies, while working toward an even more extreme conservative Supreme Court majority that would find a way to overturn Griswold or otherwise eviscerate this crucial right. After Ronald Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court went up in flames nearly 40 years ago, in part over his virulent criticism of Griswold, right-wing activists launched a network of conservative advocacy groups to prevent future defeats. These groups set out to ensure both that future Supreme Court nominees would not get tripped up by questions about Griswold, and that nominees who expressed any support for the decision would not advance. Meanwhile, the GOP and the conservative justices have attacked contraception in other ways, including using religious belief to excuse anti-scientific disinformation. In its 2014 decision in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell, the high court held that religious employers who believed IUDs and emergency contraception are abortifacients (even though they are not) had a religious right to opt out of Affordable Care Act requirements that they cover contraception in their employee health insurance plans. Now, this same disinformation about IUDs and emergency contraception is spreading in state legislatures. As The Washington Post reported this week, since the downfall of Roe, Republicans in at least 17 states have blocked Democratic efforts to expand or protect access to contraception, citing false claims equating certain methods with abortion. Both Trump and Senate Republicans want to obscure their true intentions. Last month, Trump said he was “looking at” restricting the right to contraception if he returned to the White House. Though he scrambled to walk back the statement, he left the door open to restrictions at the state level. And the blueprint laid out in his allies’ Project 2025 calls for his administration to, among other restrictions, end requirements that employers cover emergency contraception, and add requirements they cover “fertility awareness-based methods,” according to a report last month in Politico. Project 2025 even calls for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “update its public messaging about the unsurpassed effectiveness of modern fertility awareness–based methods.” (The efficacy of these methods, which heavily depend on the circumstances of the user and the cooperation of her partner, among other things, are far from “unsurpassed.”) In other words, Project 2025 envisions the administration implementing religiously-motivated changes to how the federal government promotes family planning, elevating right-wing Christian ideology over science. Both Trump and Senate Republicans want to obscure their true intentions. But the reality is there for all to see. Republicans do not want to protect birth control from the Supreme Court they shaped. They want policy based on extreme religious views, not science. Wednesday’s vote chillingly confirmed exactly where they stand.

Washington Post C.E.O. Promised Interview for Ignoring Scandal, NPR Reporter Says 2024-06-06 19:02:03+00:00 - Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, repeatedly offered an exclusive interview to an NPR reporter if the reporter agreed not to write about allegations against Mr. Lewis in a phone-hacking scandal in Britain, according to an account by that reporter published on Thursday. David Folkenflik, a veteran media reporter for NPR, wrote that a spokesperson for Mr. Lewis confirmed the offer in December. That spokesperson declined to comment when approached again Thursday, according to NPR. “In several conversations, Lewis repeatedly — and heatedly — offered to give me an exclusive interview about the Post’s future, as long as I dropped the story about the allegations,” Mr. Folkenflik wrote. A spokeswoman for Mr. Lewis said that “when he was a private citizen ahead of joining The Washington Post, he had off the record conversations with an employee of NPR about a story the employee then published.” The spokeswoman said any interview requests with Mr. Lewis after he joined The Post were “processed through the normal corporate communication channels.”

U.S. regulators to open antitrust probes into Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI 2024-06-06 18:59:00+00:00 - The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are set to open antitrust investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia, examining the powerful companies’ influence on the artificial intelligence industry, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC. The FTC will take the lead on looking into Microsoft and OpenAI, while the DOJ will focus on Nvidia, and the investigations will focus on the companies’ conduct, rather than mergers and acquisitions, according to the source. The New York Times first reported on the investigation. As startups like OpenAI and Anthropic — the companies behind the ChatGPT and Claude chatbots, respectively — gain steam in the generative AI market, tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta have been part of an AI arms race of sorts, racing to integrate the technology to ensure they don’t fall behind in a market that’s predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade. Microsoft, for instance, first invested $1 billion into OpenAI in 2019. The size of its investment has since swelled to about $13 billion. Microsoft heavily uses OpenAI’s model for its Copilot chatbot and offers open-source models on its Azure cloud. The hefty investments are necessary because AI models are notoriously expensive to build and train, requiring thousands of specialized chips that, to date, have largely come from Nvidia. Meta, which is developing its own model called Llama, has said it’s spending billions on Nvidia’s graphics processing units, one of the many companies that’s helped the chipmaker bolster year-over-year revenue by more than 250%. News of the coming antitrust investigation comes days after a group of current and former OpenAI employees published an open letter Tuesday, describing concerns about the AI industry’s rapid advancement despite a lack of oversight and an absence of whistleblower protections for those 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,” the employees wrote, adding that the companies “currently have only weak obligations to share some of this information with governments, and none with civil society. We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily.” The news also follows the FTC’s January decision to conduct an extensive study on AI industry heavyweights, including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI. FTC Chair Lina Khan announced the inquiry in January during the agency’s tech summit on AI, describing it as a “market inquiry into the investments and partnerships being formed between AI developers and major cloud service providers.” By invoking its authority to conduct a so-called 6(b) study — named for Section 6(b) of the FTC Act — the regulator can look into the AI companies separately from its law enforcement arm and make civil investigative demands. For example, the agency can order companies to file specific reports and answer questions in writing about their businesses. “At the FTC, the rapid development and deployment of AI is informing our work across the agency,” Khan said at the time. “There’s no AI exemption from the laws on the books, and we’re looking closely at the ways companies may be using their power to thwart competition or trick the public.” OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. Microsoft and Nvidia declined to comment.

T.D. Allman, Assertive Globe-Trotting Journalist, Dies at 79 2024-06-06 18:47:52.513000+00:00 - T.D. Allman, a free-spirited journalist who challenged American mythmaking in pointed, personal reporting over five decades on topics as varied as the Vietnam War and contemporary Florida, died on May 12 in Manhattan. He was 79. His death, in a hospital, was caused by pneumonia, his partner, Chengzhong Sui, said. In March 1970, as a 25-year-old freelance journalist, Mr. Allman, accompanied by two other reporters, walked 15 miles over the mountains in Laos to report for The New York Times about Long Cheng, a secret C.I.A. base that was being used to fight the communist Pathet Lao revolutionaries and their allies, the North Vietnamese. “At the end of the paved runway were three Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopters,” Mr. Allman reported. “Their presence is believed to be one of the reasons the United States tries to keep Long Cheng secret. The Jolly Green Giants are regarded as proof that the United States bombs not just the Ho Chi Minh Trail but northeastern Laos as well.”

Kentucky Democratic governor pushes back against Trump-led attacks on electric vehicles 2024-06-06 18:41:32+00:00 - FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Electric vehicles have built up enough momentum from job growth and investments to steer past any roadblocks from Donald Trump and other critics, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. The Democratic governor said the thousands of EV-related jobs springing up across the country, including in rural GOP strongholds, should be enough to overcome the political backlash against the technology. “Jobs are so much more important than the political rhetoric that’s out there day in and day out,” Beshear said during a sit-down interview with The Associated Press. In the Bluegrass State, the emerging EV sector has been a big contributor to the state’s record pace of economic growth. Since mid-2020, EV-related companies have announced nearly $12 billion in investments and are expected to produce more than 10,200 full-time jobs. That includes the state’s largest-ever economic development project under construction, which will produce batteries to power future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. The governor dismissed the barrage of anti-EV attacks from former Republican President Trump and others as “just another attempt to divide people.” “A lot of people have tried to fight the future, and none of them have ever won,” Beshear said. “The EV evolution or revolution is coming. The only question is how long will it take to get here.” The emergence of EVs has become an issue in the presidential campaign. Democratic President Joe Biden promotes electric vehicles as a key component of his clean-energy agenda. Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, calls Biden’s push for EVs a “radical plan” that amounts to government overreach. Meanwhile, Republican allies in the petroleum industry have spent millions on ads that say Biden’s tax credit for EV buyers will cost Americans their freedom. Beshear said Thursday that the attacks won’t impede Kentucky’s EV sector. Since winning reelection last year, the governor has taken a more active role in promoting Democrats across the country. Beshear defeated Trump-backed candidates twice in winning the governorship in GOP-leaning Kentucky, “This is coming,” Beshear said of the EV industry. “It is already growing. And Kentucky is going to be a leader in this EV evolution ... and it’s exciting. And it’s a huge number of jobs.” “At the end of the day, regardless of who wins the presidential election, there are going to be so many jobs and so much investment that the EV sector is going to continue to grow,” he added. GM CEO Mary Barra said at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday that May was the company’s best sales month ever for electric vehicles. Spokesman David Caldwell declined to give U.S. numbers, but said GM sold about 9,000 vehicles in North America last month. Previously the best month was around 7,000, he said. But the EV sector still faces headwinds. A new poll indicates that many Americans remain skeptical of electric vehicles. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they would be at least somewhat likely to buy an EV the next time they buy a car, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. Some 46% say they are not too likely or not at all likely to purchase one. Beshear said Thursday that the poll revealed encouraging signs for the EV sector. The number of adults indicating they’d be at least somewhat likely to buy an EV “is a heck of a start in looking at the transition that we know is going to occur,” he said. “So I don’t view that as bad news at all,” Beshear added. “Four in 10 consumers is more than enough to support where we are right now as a state. But that’s going to grow over time.” Range anxiety – the idea that EVs cannot go far enough on a single charge and may leave a driver stranded — continues as a major reason why many Americans do not purchase electric vehicles. In ridiculing EVs, Trump says “they don’t go far enough and they’re too expensive.” In Kentucky, Beshear recently announced a third round of awards to private developers to build federally funded EV charging stations. In all, the state has approved 42 charging stations from 11 developers to provide “reliable and convenient places to charge vehicles that are located every 50 miles along our interstates and our parkways. This is just the start,” Beshear said at a recent news conference. That total doesn’t include the charging stations others are building in the state. Beshear predicted EVs will overcome charging and pricing concerns — as well as the political attacks. And their availability will free motorists from anxiety over gas prices, he said. “One of the things that we see every single day when we drive around is the price of gas,” he said. ___ Associated Press Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Ex-BT boss pockets £3.7m final pay deal as group plans to axe 55,000 jobs 2024-06-06 18:39:00+00:00 - BT’s former chief executive Philip Jansen has been awarded his largest pay and bonus package, a £3.7m reward for the same year in which he announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs at the telecoms company by 2030. The pay deal for Jansen, who was nicknamed Food Bank Phil after the company set up a “community pantry” for call centre staff struggling to make ends meet, was revealed in BT’s latest annual report. The sum includes a £2.6m bonus for hitting targets linked to profit and cashflow, taking Jansen’s total earnings over five years at the company to £16.8m. Jansen joined BT in 2019 after reportedly making £50m from the stock market float of payments processing firm Worldpay. Under his stewardship, BT focused much of its efforts on rolling out fast fibre broadband, however the company’s share price also halved during his tenure. He left the top job at the London-based telecoms company in January this year after announcing his intention to step down in 2023. He remains employed as an adviser until the end of this month. Thousands of staff are also due to leave BT after Jansen announced sweeping job cuts in May 2023, during the same financial year covered by his latest pay award. BT said it would become a “leaner business”, reducing its workforce by up to 55,000 by 2030, more than 40% of its global employee base, including about 10,000 jobs replaced by artificial intelligence. Jansen said at the time that a “big chunk” of the job cuts would be in the UK, where the company is headquartered. “Philip’s pay last year was not affected by the stated plan to reduce the total number of BT employees over the next seven years,” a company spokesperson said. BT employs about 130,000 staff globally, with approximately 30,000 of those contractors through third parties, and has about 80,000 staff in the UK. In 2022, the company was embroiled in a labour dispute with staff over pay, including a series of strikes, during which the Communication Workers Union (CWU) coined the nickname Food Bank Phil. The name related to claims that BT set up a food bank at a call centre in North Tyneside. BT said it was a “community pantry” for shift workers with no time to go to the shops. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion In May last year, BT said it intended to reduce its total workforce to about 75,000-90,000 between 2028 and 2030. Last month BT disclosed a further £3bn of cost-cutting measures, saying it had peak investment in the rollout of its UK full-fibre broadband network. The company also raised the dividend it pays to investors. Jansen’s successor as chief executive, Allison Kirkby, has said she will continue with his cost-cutting plans, with the job reduction target unchanged. A spokesperson said: “Philip’s basic salary stayed flat between the time he joined BT in 2019 and standing down as chief executive earlier this year – but his overall remuneration last financial year was higher, due to stronger performance outcomes against our bonus measures, as well as the fact that two tranches of his long-term share awards vested in [2024]. “A significant proportion of the chief executive’s remuneration is delivered through long-term incentives, where awards are linked to share price movements over the longer term.”

Aileen Cannon makes procedural moves that help Donald Trump, again 2024-06-06 18:36:30+00:00 - U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon keeps using her vast discretion over her docket to Donald Trump’s benefit. She added a new dimension to that approach this week, further confirming that the former president won’t face trial in Florida this year. Perhaps more importantly, the Trump appointee’s latest maneuvers call into even more significant question how she’d handle any trial that happens in the classified documents case — if one ever happens. The latest moves stem from a claim that has nothing to do with the charges themselves: the far-fetched defense argument that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment and funding are unlawful. It’s the sort of claim that other judges have rejected out of hand. But Cannon is choosing to hold hearings on the subject and further delay other matters. Making things even weirder, she’s having outside parties weigh in on the appointment issue (two lawyers supporting Trump, one supporting Smith) in a full-day hearing June 21. It’s abnormal to involve outside parties at this trial stage of a criminal case. Cannon will also hear argument on the issue on June 24 in the morning, and only that afternoon will she hear argument over Smith’s motion to stop Trump from spreading the lie that law enforcement tried to assassinate him, an issue the special counsel first raised urgently May 24. And in shuffling the calendar in an order Wednesday — which lays out the upcoming dates — Cannon canceled a multiday hearing over another defense motion she previously set for June 24-26. That will now happen at some uncertain point in the future, along with other issues holding up a possible trial against the presumptive GOP nominee, who will likely crush this case and his other federal case if he wins in November. The Florida judge’s latest machinations come the same week that Trump’s Georgia state prosecution was officially paused pending his appeal to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Another Supreme Court opinion day passed Thursday without the justices deciding the immunity claim holding up his federal election interference case in Washington. One difference between those two cases (and the New York case set for July sentencing) and the Florida case is that the trial judges presiding over them have shown their ability and willingness to move cases along. The same can’t be said for Cannon, whom Smith may eventually take up on appeal on any number of issues. But before that might happen, along with the related (though presently still unlikely) possibility of getting a new judge on the case, she first needs to issue some rulings, something that doesn't normally need to be said about a judge but apparently does here. 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.

GOP backers of 3 initiatives sue to keep their fiscal impact off the November ballot 2024-06-06 18:22:25+00:00 - OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Republican backers of three initiatives that could change important state policies are suing to keep each measure’s fiscal impact from appearing on the November ballot. But lawyers for the state say the budget implications must be disclosed to voters. Analysts have said if the initiatives pass, they could reduce funding for education and environmental projects by billions of dollars, the Seattle Times reported. And the initiative focusing on the state’s long-term care insurance program could potentially shut down that program, they said. A newly passed disclosure law requires the state attorney general to detail how funding or services could be affected by a ballot initiative that repeals, imposes or changes any tax or fee, or state revenue. But the GOP backers of the initiatives say the law doesn’t apply to measures on the state’s capital gains tax, carbon market and public long-term care insurance program. “They were very specific when they passed the warning-label law,” Jim Walsh, a state representative from Aberdeen who filed the three initiatives and the chair of the state Republican Party, said in a statement Monday. “But they were so specific that the law doesn’t apply to any of the initiatives that go before voters this year. The case is so clear-cut I am surprised we have to take this to court.” They asked a Thurston County Superior Court judge to stop Attorney General Bob Ferguson from preparing a statement for each initiative and want the judge to stop Secretary of State Steve Hobbs from certifying the statements and instruct county elections officials to print them without statements. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Friday. State lawyers plan to argue that the ballots must include the budget impacts. “Under state law, the public has a right to have those fiscal impacts described on the ballot,” lawyers for the state wrote in court documents. “This Court should reject Plaintiffs’ cynical attempt to keep voters in the dark.” Initiative 2117 would repeal the state’s carbon market, and Initiative 2109 would repeal the capital gains tax. Initiative 2124 will decide whether state residents must pay into Washington Cares, the state’s public long-term care insurance program.

Kids coming of age with social media offer sage advice for their younger peers 2024-06-06 18:17:00+00:00 - Kids constantly hear about the downsides of social media from the adults in their lives, often in the form of dire warnings and commands. But the adults themselves did not grow up with social media. They didn't get a phone handed to them as toddlers, just to keep them quiet in a restaurant. They didn't join TikTok and do silly dances before they even learned to read. They didn't have their schools shut down in a global pandemic, their connections to friends and peers relegated to phone and computer screens. Kids coming of age with social media are forging ahead in a whole new world. And now that they are getting older, they have some advice for their younger peers. Here's what young adults say they wish they knew when they first got online. You don't have to compare everything : "It's so easy to look at your friends' stories and feel this feeling of FOMO, of missing out and comparing yourself, like: 'Oh, my friend just got a new car,' said Bao Le, 18, a freshman at Vanderbilt University. "It's like this overwhelming sense of comparison," he added. "But the things that people post on social media, it's just the highlight reel, like the 1% of their life that they want to showcase to other people." : "It's so easy to look at your friends' stories and feel this feeling of FOMO, of missing out and comparing yourself, like: 'Oh, my friend just got a new car,' said Bao Le, 18, a freshman at Vanderbilt University. "It's like this overwhelming sense of comparison," he added. "But the things that people post on social media, it's just the highlight reel, like the 1% of their life that they want to showcase to other people." Be yourself. Don't obsess over products, brands: "My main point of advice would be not to take it too seriously," said Doreen Malata, 22, a senior at the University of Maryland. "Be yourself," she added. "Younger kids want to be who they idolize. And when the TikTok stars or the social media stars are 20, 18, 16, they're going to want to be like them. You're getting younger kids that are now obsessing over products and brands, and it's just getting really hard to be young. And it shouldn't be really hard to be young. You should be enjoying childhood. And we shouldn't be rushing to grow up. It's OK to be 12. It's OK to be young. It's OK to enjoy childhood." "My main point of advice would be not to take it too seriously," said Doreen Malata, 22, a senior at the University of Maryland. "Be yourself," she added. "Younger kids want to be who they idolize. And when the TikTok stars or the social media stars are 20, 18, 16, they're going to want to be like them. You're getting younger kids that are now obsessing over products and brands, and it's just getting really hard to be young. And it shouldn't be really hard to be young. You should be enjoying childhood. And we shouldn't be rushing to grow up. It's OK to be 12. It's OK to be young. It's OK to enjoy childhood." Set time limits: "It seems like it would be really easy to just put your phone down and stop scrolling. But it is not," said Sienna Keene, 17, a high school senior in Orinda, California. "If there was advice that I could give to my younger self, it would be to tell my parents to set up time limits for me — even though I would have never said that when I was starting social media. Also, I personally would not let my kid have TikTok. I would try to resist it as long as I could. It's so addictive." "It seems like it would be really easy to just put your phone down and stop scrolling. But it is not," said Sienna Keene, 17, a high school senior in Orinda, California. "If there was advice that I could give to my younger self, it would be to tell my parents to set up time limits for me — even though I would have never said that when I was starting social media. Also, I personally would not let my kid have TikTok. I would try to resist it as long as I could. It's so addictive." Take a "social media detox": "When you first get these apps, it hits you — like, BOOM, there is so much content, Ava Havidic, 18, a high school senior in Broward County, Florida, said. "Styles, fashion models. It really impacts you heavily when you first get it, this feeling of: 'How do they do it? How do they look like this? How do they get clothes like that?' When you're new to social media, these trends can overtake you. I started to use Screen Time (monitoring) on my phone and limit the amount of time I am on social media. I've been taking phone detoxes. On weekends, I'll take a social media detox for 10 hours or the majority of the day. I'll hang out with my family, ride my bike. I only have notifications for my messages and workspaces. I don't have any notifications on for social media apps." "When you first get these apps, it hits you — like, BOOM, there is so much content, Ava Havidic, 18, a high school senior in Broward County, Florida, said. "Styles, fashion models. It really impacts you heavily when you first get it, this feeling of: 'How do they do it? How do they look like this? How do they get clothes like that?' When you're new to social media, these trends can overtake you. I started to use Screen Time (monitoring) on my phone and limit the amount of time I am on social media. I've been taking phone detoxes. On weekends, I'll take a social media detox for 10 hours or the majority of the day. I'll hang out with my family, ride my bike. I only have notifications for my messages and workspaces. I don't have any notifications on for social media apps." Engage with the real world: "Often I hear the term 'social media user,' but I felt like I was being used by social media," said Lea Nepomuceno, 18, a freshman at George Washington University. "I had this routine of scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, just scrolling and scrolling and comparing myself to other people. It ultimately really affected my body image, my perception of what was considered beautiful or accepted into society. But the only thing I was getting out of social media was feeling fatigued, or I would feel sad," she said. "You can use social media to amplify your passions, but in order to do that you need to do a lot of work outside of social media, to discover who you are as a person, what matters to you and what contributions you can make to the world." "Often I hear the term 'social media user,' but I felt like I was being used by social media," said Lea Nepomuceno, 18, a freshman at George Washington University. "I had this routine of scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, just scrolling and scrolling and comparing myself to other people. It ultimately really affected my body image, my perception of what was considered beautiful or accepted into society. But the only thing I was getting out of social media was feeling fatigued, or I would feel sad," she said. "You can use social media to amplify your passions, but in order to do that you need to do a lot of work outside of social media, to discover who you are as a person, what matters to you and what contributions you can make to the world." Don't waste your time: "I would say just don't use it," said Mikael Makonnen, 18, a freshman at American University. It's kind of a waste of time. You're just having conversations about pointless things, random pop culture stuff. It just sucks your time. You're not really getting anything out of it, just short-term satisfaction. It's kind of meaningless. I know this is kind of outlandish, but I feel like there should be some sort of age limit because I don't think children should be on the internet." "I would say just don't use it," said Mikael Makonnen, 18, a freshman at American University. It's kind of a waste of time. You're just having conversations about pointless things, random pop culture stuff. It just sucks your time. You're not really getting anything out of it, just short-term satisfaction. It's kind of meaningless. I know this is kind of outlandish, but I feel like there should be some sort of age limit because I don't think children should be on the internet." Be aware it's not real: "A lot of people make their life artificial so that they're perceived in a certain way," said Nour Mahmoud, 21, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University. "And I think going into social media, I wish I knew it is a tool to learn from. There's so much information, and you're able to learn so much about different things. ... I wish people had that outlook rather than the whole idea of other people viewing you and having to be seen a certain way." "A lot of people make their life artificial so that they're perceived in a certain way," said Nour Mahmoud, 21, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University. "And I think going into social media, I wish I knew it is a tool to learn from. There's so much information, and you're able to learn so much about different things. ... I wish people had that outlook rather than the whole idea of other people viewing you and having to be seen a certain way." It's OK to block someone. Protect yourself and your body image: "You can't scroll on TikTok or look through Instagram without seeing supermodels who have edited their photos and are promoting unrealistic beauty standards. I don't want to see these girls who pretend to be fitness influencers but are just promoting an eating disorder like 'body checking' on my feed," said Madeleine Maestre,18, a freshman at Santa Clara University. "That is one thing I wish I knew when I started: that it is OK to not want to look at that or want to consume it. It's OK to protect yourself and your own body image. Another thing I wish I knew is that not everyone on social media is your friend. When you are young and impressionable and people are reaching out to you, just know that not everyone is as friendly as you think they are." Interviews by Almaz Abedje, Jocelyn Gecker and Barbara Ortutay.