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Bitcoin trader loses almost $70 million after sending crypto to wrong online account address 2024-05-05 19:24:40+00:00 - A cryptocurrency trader lost nearly $70 million in an 'address poisoning' scam. Scammers made spoof accounts to trick the victim into sending funds to the fake address. Crypto-related scams are on the rise, costing investors almost $4 billion last year, the FBI says. NEW LOOK 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. Advertisement A cryptocurrency trader reportedly lost tens of millions of dollars in a so-called "address poisoning" scam. Address poisoning scams are carried out by thieves who make spoof accounts of their victim's online crypto "address," which they use to send a small amount of currency to the victim in hopes that they will accidentally send money to the fake address later, according to Transak, a crypto trading platform. Because blockchains are public, it's easy for scammers to find people's crypto addresses and send out spoof transactions to phish for victims. CertiK, a blockchain security firm, confirmed it detected a transfer of $69.3 million worth of Bitcoin to an address "linked with address poisoning" in a post on X. Advertisement The victim's crypto wallet now shows a total loss of around 97% of its assets on Coinbase. The account is now worth just more than $1.6 million. Peckshield, another security firm, wrote on X that the scammers traded the stolen Bitcoin for 23,000 Ethereum and then transferred the funds. Ethereum is trading at $3,116 a coin, according to The Daily Hodl. Related stories Trezor, another crypto trading platform, recommends double-checking every address before sending a transaction and never copying an address from transaction history when transferring funds to avoid address scams. Sending a small test transaction before making a large transfer is also an effective method of verifying the address, the company says. Advertisement Cryptocurrency-related scams are on the rise, according to the FBI's 2023 internet crime report. Crypto-related frauds cost investors $3.94 billion last year, the report says, making up more than three-quarters of the year's investment scam losses. One study showed that crypto "pig butchering" scams cost investors $75 million from 2020 to 2024. The fraud starts with criminals sending a wrong-number text that they use as a way to build trust with victims. Then, they send small payments to them and lure them into making fake crypto investments, only cutting off contact once the victim has sent a large amount of money to the thief. The scam's name refers to fattening a pig up before the slaughter. Advertisement Most cryptocurrency scams involve scammers trying to get victims in unrelated scams to pay them in Bitcoin so that their crimes cannot be traced, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The best way to spot a crypto scam is to never trust someone who will only accept payment in crypto or who is promising big profit returns on a fishy investment, the agency says. "Investment scams are one of the top ways scammers trick you into buying cryptocurrency and sending it on to scammers," the FTC says. "But scammers are also impersonating businesses, government agencies, and a love interest, among other tactics."
Trump VP hopeful Kristi Noem suggests Biden's dog Commander should also be put down 2024-05-05 18:24:00+00:00 - South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, U.S. May 27, 2022. Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem implied that President Joe Biden's dog, Commander, should meet the same ill fate as her own 14-month-old dog Cricket, who she shot due to its aggressive behavior, as she revealed in her upcoming memoir. "Joe Biden's dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people. So how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog?" Noem said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." "That's the question that the president should be held accountable to." The Biden administration announced in October that Commander had been relocated off White House grounds after various incidents where he had bitten or otherwise attacked U.S. Secret Service agents. Noem's Sunday comment comes as she faces considerable blowback from both Democrats and Republicans for anecdotes in her upcoming memoir about decisions to personally put down various family farm animals, including Cricket and an unnamed goat. As she vies to become Donald Trump's vice presidential pick, some, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have posited that the controversial memoir snippets have tanked her chances. In the days since Noem's memoir anecdotes went public, the South Dakota governor has been doing damage control to save her VP bid. On Sunday, Noem doubled down on her defense to put down Cricket, claiming that the dog had been attacking her children and that the backlash she has received is politically motivated. "This has been a story that my political opponents have tried to use against me for years," Noem said. "They're doing the same thing to me, that they do to Donald Trump every day."
Russian soldiers were convicted of over 100 murders when they returned home last year, a report says 2024-05-05 18:15:36+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. 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 Russian military personnel were convicted of 116 murders in 2023, Mediazona, a local news website, reported. It is almost a 900% increase from the previous year when there were 13 convictions, said the UK Ministry of Defence on X. The data came from Judicial Department of the Supreme Court's published statistics on the work of courts for 2023, said Mediazona. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and desensitization to violence, bred on the battlefield, often linger long after the conflict ends. Alcoholism and drug abuse exacerbate these problems, said the UK defense ministry last week. Advertisement "The high number of homicides by serving and veteran Russian soldiers are likely in part due to enduring war-related chronic poor mental health issues," it wrote. Compounding this is the return to civilian life of ex-convicts who had volunteered to serve in Ukraine and secure their freedom. They were men with a pre-existing propensity for criminality and extreme violence, said the UK defense ministry. Related stories Citing Olga Romanova, the head of Russia Behind Bars, The New York Times reported that 15,000 pardoned prisoners had returned to Russian society after serving in penal military units, such as the Wagner Group and Storm Z. Members of Wagner group looks from a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don late on June 24, 2023. ROMAN ROMOKHOV/AFP via Getty Images The New York Times report detailed cases of high-security prisoners in Russia being offered a clean slate and freedom by the Wagner mercenary group if they agree to fight in Ukraine. Advertisement An ex-Wagner prisoner-soldier was sentenced by the Kirov court on April 24, 2024, to 22 years for the crimes of murdering and raping an elderly woman post-discharge, said the UK defense ministry. When ex-prisoner Viktor Savvinov was pardoned after serving in Ukraine earlier this year, he drunkenly murdered two people upon returning to his native village. "It is a story about invisible violence," said Kirill Titaev, a Russian sociologist and criminology expert at Yale, told the Times. "It is a big problem for the society, but one they do not recognize." Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the risk of pardoned convicts re-offending upon their release "inevitable," per the Times. Advertisement "But the negative consequences are minimal," Putin said. In March, it was reported that Russia has tapped on so many inmates to fuel its war effort in Ukraine that it's closing down some prisons. The Kremlin is now resorting to recruiting female convicts to replenish its troops. According to recent UK estimates, about 450,000 Russian personnel have been killed or wounded, with tens of thousands more deserting their posts since the full-scale invasion commenced in February 2022. Advertisement The New York Times reported that in the fall of 2023, recruiters toured Russian prisons offering female inmates a pardon and $2,000 a month — 10 times the national minimum wage — in return for serving in frontline roles for a year.
‘The Fall Guy’ Fizzles With $28 Million in Ticket Sales 2024-05-05 18:04:18.071000+00:00 - “The Fall Guy” seemed to have everything. Megawatt stars. Death-defying stunts. Splendid reviews. An original story — what sequel-weary moviegoers say they want. Universal backed “The Fall Guy” with a six-month marketing campaign, releasing trailers that racked up 400 million views and carpet-bombing televised sporting events, including the Super Bowl, with ads. It added up to only $28.5 million in North American ticket sales from Friday to Sunday, the worst start to Hollywood’s all-important summer season since 1995. “The Fall Guy” cost Universal at least $200 million to make and market and was released in 4,002 theaters in the United States and Canada. It collected an additional $37 million overseas. This is why studios do not take risks on new stories. “The business is so tough, and it’s so hard to break through with new ideas,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter on box office numbers. “You want to explain to shareholders why you spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a newfangled idea that crashed?”
Sony and Apollo in Talks to Acquire Paramount 2024-05-05 17:57:35+00:00 - Paramount has decided to formally open negotiations with a bidding group led by Sony Pictures Entertainment and the private equity giant Apollo, according to three people familiar with the matter. The move comes after a period of exclusive talks with the Hollywood studio Skydance lapsed on Friday night. A special committee of Paramount’s board of directors met Saturday and signed off on beginning deal talks with Sony and Apollo, which last week submitted a nonbinding letter of interest offering to buy the company for around $26 billion in cash, the people said. The committee also decided to push for further negotiations with Skydance, a studio founded by the technology scion David Ellison. Paramount, the owner of Nickelodeon, MTV, CBS and Paramount Pictures, has been exploring a deal as it faces industrywide headwinds, including the decline of cable TV and the unprofitability of its streaming business. Any deal between the Sony group and Paramount faces hurdles. Government regulations restrict foreign ownership of broadcast networks and could prevent Sony’s parent company, based in Japan, from owning CBS outright. The bidding group would probably push for Apollo, which is based in the United States, to hold the rights to the CBS broadcast license, according to two people familiar with their strategy.
A GOP senator says Kristi Noem is 'done' as a possible Trump running mate after revealing she killed her dog 2024-05-05 17:52:58+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. 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 South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem has long been a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, largely on the strength of her conservative credentials and the Republican Party's push to appeal to more female voters. But Noem's admission that she killed her family's 14-month-old dog, Cricket, has elicited bipartisan outrage in recent days — and it could prompt Trump to look elsewhere should he be seriously considering Noem for the No. 2 slot. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. In her forthcoming memoir, "No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward," Noem wrote that she killed her dog because the dog was "untrainable" and "dangerous to anyone she came in contact with," according to an excerpt obtained by The Guardian. Noem has continued to defend the act, stating last week on the Fox News program "Hannity" that the dog posed a threat to her children. Advertisement "She attacked me. And it was a hard decision," Noem said. But according to a GOP senator who spoke to The Hill, Noem has sunk her chances with Trump. Related stories "She's just done, too much drama," the unnamed lawmaker, who remains in contact with the former president, told the outlet. Mike Rounds, one of Noem's Republican home-state senators, said the governor's actions could damage her in the eyes of voters should Trump select her to be his running mate. Advertisement "I don't see how it helps," the senator told CNN last week. "I've had dogs. I just think that when a family decides to put down dogs, it's a very personal and private decision to be made." "These dogs become a member of a family, you know?" he continued. "People identify with that." However, Dusty Johnson, the state's at-large GOP congressman, came to Noem's defense. "I will tell you, there are lots of people in rural America, who if an animal's got to be put down, they would do that themselves," he told CNN. "I know most people would go to the vet, but I would tell you that Kristi Noem was not the first or the one thousandth, you know, farmer or rancher that's put down an animal themselves." Advertisement Noem, in late April, took to X to remark on the circumstances of such situations. "We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm," she wrote. "Sadly, we just had to put down three horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years." Business Insider reached out to a representative of Noem for comment.
Ole Miss opens conduct investigation following protest confrontation 2024-05-05 16:37:00+00:00 - The University of Mississippi has opened at least one student conduct investigation after videos of pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded by counterprotesters circulated online, including one that many have singled out as racist. Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce sent a letter to students and staff on Friday noting that Ole Miss leaders were aware of behaviors that were "offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones" at Thursday's protest. "While student privacy laws prohibit us from commenting on any specific student, we have opened one student conduct investigation," Boyce wrote. "We are working to determine whether more cases are warranted." Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold signs protesting the Israel-Hamas war at the University of Mississippi on Thursday. Maria Ramirez / The Daily Mississippian via AP On Thursday, a group of roughly 30 to 60 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on the quad and added to the list of demonstrations on college campuses nationwide. But the event turned hostile as they were outnumbered by counterprotesters, who at one point drowned out the chants of protesters by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Videos of the event circulated online, with many noting that the pro-Palestinian demonstrators appeared to be a multiracial group but were surrounded by a mostly white group of counterprotesters taunting them. One confrontation drew particular offense, in which a Black female graduate student on the protest side of a barricade went up to two young men to record the group as they yelled in her direction. In the corner of one widely shared video, a man can be seen jumping up and down and appearing to make a noise to imitate an ape at the woman. Hecklers shout at a pro-Palestinian protester at the University of Mississippi in Oxford on Thursday. Stacey J. Spiehler via AP Other members of the group yelled "Lizzo" and "Lock her up" at the woman, who was guided away by police. The university's Black Student Union released a statement in solidarity with the pro-Palestinian group, whom they described as "nonviolent demonstrators who were advocating for Palestine," according to The Daily Mississippian. "The students were exercising their right under the First Amendment, while the counter-protesters were present with malicious intent as well as a prominent lack of knowledge on the situation at hand," the statement posted to Instagram said. Commenters online condemned the incident, comparing the racist overtones of the interaction to the long history of racial animus and violence in Mississippi. More than 100 years ago, the state's senators voted to send all of its Black people to Africa. When the university was ordered by a federal court to admit Black students in 1962, 2,000 white people rioted against the arrival of new student James Meredith. University of Mississippi students demonstrate on campus against the admission of African American student James Meredith in Oxford on Sept. 20, 1962. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images file And even though it's in a state with one of the highest proportions of Black residents, only 11.4% of Ole Miss' student body is Black. Boyce's message on Friday acknowledged both students' and faculty's rights to free speech and peaceful assembly under the First Amendment, but singled out behaviors that demeaned people "because of their race or ethnicity" as contrary to the school's values. He added that it is "important to acknowledge our challenging history, and incidents like this can set us back." "It is one reason why we do not take this lightly and cannot let the unacceptable behavior of a few speak for our institution or define us," Boyce said. "We are a community of scholars committed to creating an academic experience that respects the dignity of each individual."
A 9-year-old boy mistook a millionaire for a homeless man and gave him his last dollar, report says 2024-05-05 16:28:12+00:00 - A nine-year-old boy mistook a businessman as homeless and gave him his last dollar. The businessman, Matt Busbice, rewarded the boy with a shopping spree. Busbice said he hadn't had "that much faith in humanity in a very long time." NEW LOOK 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. Advertisement A nine-year-old boy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, mistook a businessman as homeless and gave him his last dollar, local news outlet WBRZ reported. The incident occurred after 42 year-old Matt Busbice had left his house in a rush one morning after hearing a fire alarm. Finding no fire, he headed to a local coffee shop, placed his order, and then stepped outside to do his morning prayer, as security camera footage of the incident shows. As he finished, nine-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr. approached him with his hand held out, thinking Busbice was a homeless man. Advertisement "'I said, 'Excuse me, sir, are you homeless? Because if you are, here's a dollar,'" Ellis Jr. recalled, adding that he had always wanted to help a homeless person. Related stories "I had money, it wasn't that much — but it could still help him get something," he said. Busbice told CBS News he hadn't had "that much faith in humanity in a very long time." As a thank you for the kind gesture, Busbice bought Ellis Jr. breakfast as well as a coffee for his father. He also took Ellis Jr. on a shopping trip to his sporting goods store, BuckFeather, giving him 40 seconds to choose anything he wanted, per the report. Advertisement According to WBRZ, Busbice is a millionaire who found success after opening a string of outdoor businesses and brands focused on the hunting industry. "If you give, you're actually going to get more out of that," Busbice told CBS News. "I couldn't grasp that as a kid. And if we can spread that around, everything changes." Louisiana has experienced huge swings in the number of homeless people in the state over the last few years, likely driven by the devastating impact of Hurricane Ida in 2021. From 2020 to 2022, the state suffered the second-largest percentage increase in homelessness levels, up 132.4%, per the 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress. Advertisement From 2022 to 2023, Louisiana had the largest percentage decrease in the number of homeless people, down 57%,
From 25 years in prison to just four months: Inside the final verdict on a crypto billionaire CEO archrivalry 2024-05-05 15:42:00+00:00 - Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and Zhao Changpeng (R), founder and chief executive officer of Binance. Mike Segar | Reuters | Benjamin Girette | Bloomberg | Getty Images An arch rivalry between one-time crypto titans was brought to a close at a federal courthouse in Seattle on Tuesday when Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was handed a sentence of four months in prison. A month earlier, on the opposite coast in downtown Manhattan, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison sentence for his crimes. It seemed an underwhelming and somewhat anti-climactic finish to a protracted battle between Zhao and Bankman-Fried, two men who were legendary adversaries, as well as key stewards of the $2.2 trillion crypto sector. For years, Binance's Zhao and FTX's Bankman-Fried preached the power of decentralized, digital currencies to the masses. Both were bitcoin billionaires who drove Toyotas, ran their own global cryptocurrency exchanges and spent much of their professional career selling the public on a new, tech-powered world order; one where an alternative financial system comprised of borderless virtual coins would liberate the oppressed by eliminating middlemen like banks and the overreach of the government. Ultimately, both also helped crypto critics and regulators make the case that the skeptics had been right all along — the industry was rife with grifters and fraudsters intent on using new tech to carry out age-old crimes. Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted of seven criminal counts in early November, including charges related to stealing billions of dollars from FTX's customers. Less than three weeks after Bankman-Fried's conviction, 47-year-old Zhao pleaded guilty to criminal charges and stepped down as Binance's CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice. Yet, much else about the pair is starkly at odds — perhaps most notably, the 296-month difference in their respective prison sentences. "Comparing CZ and SBF, both figures emerged as prominent in the cryptocurrency sector but under vastly different circumstances," said Braden Perry, a former senior trial lawyer for the CFTC. "The nature of their alleged crimes reflects different aspects of the 'dark' and illicit corners of crypto: CZ's case seems to focus on regulatory and compliance failures, while SBF's case hinges on direct financial misconduct and deception," Perry said. Indeed, the disparate consequences for the two former crypto CEOs lay bare that the pair was, in the end, nothing alike in business or in personal dealings. watch now A tale of two bitcoin billionaires It was the small things — the type of details that you don't notice at first and are often difficult to articulate the significance of once you do — that betrayed the more notable differences between the two former CEOs. Take Manfred, a worn stuffed animal that Bankman-Fried has carried around the world with him since birth, from California, to Hong Kong, to the Bahamas, and then back home to Palo Alto, where the FTX founder lived under house arrest until he was remanded to custody for tampering with witnesses. The 32-year-old toy, which has lost much of its shape and identifying features, sat on the bed of his sparsely decorated room in his parents' house on Stanford University's campus in his final days before incarceration. It was a harmless prop at first glance, more a charming nod to an adolescent spirit than the sort of window into Bankman-Fried's inner psyche that some of those who knew him would later attempt to turn it into. Two of Bankman-Fried's former colleagues and friends took turns at speculating on its meaning. One thought that SBF kept the stuffed animal close because "he doesn't need to share Manfred with anyone," according to reporting from "Going Infinite," the Michael Lewis book that profiled Bankman-Fried. Another guessed, "I think it is very, very important for him to have an emotional attachment." Lewis himself writes that "Sam didn't care about real animals" and that it had, in fact, been "an expected value calculation, rather than emotion, that had led him to go vegan." Bankman-Fried did have a history of intimacy issues. Part of it, according to his family, friends, work colleagues, criminal defense attorneys, and even Bankman-Fried himself, had to do with his inability to feel much of anything, for anyone, including romantic love interests. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the U.S. courthouse in New York City on July 26, 2023. Amr Alfiky | Reuters His lawyers described him as often struggling socially, disclosing that in high school, Bankman-Fried "realized he was anhedonic, or unable to experience joy or pleasure." "As Sam describes it, he experiences negative emotions in ways that are not very different from many other people — neither much more extreme, nor much less negative. But he does not feel pleasure, or happiness, or joy, even when something very good happens to him," a court filing in SBF's criminal court docket reads. Lawyers for Bankman-Fried added that it was not a disease or condition to be "cured," but instead, "a fundamental aspect" of his identity. Lewis relayed an exchange with SBF in which Bankman-Fried said that smiling was the biggest thing that he "most weirdly" couldn't do. Bankman-Fried never married, has no children, and according to Lewis, moved himself and his company headquarters to the opposite side of the planet, twice, partly to avoid committing to his ex-girlfriend, ex-colleague, and the prosecution's star witness against him: Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison. The government's case against him — which resulted in a unanimous guilty verdict in just a few hours despite it being a complicated month-long trial involving hundreds of exhibits and nearly 20 witnesses — was largely built upon the testimony of the people who knew Bankman-Fried best. The list included his former C-suite, ex-roommates, and ex-best friends going back to high school. And so, Manfred took on new meaning, and began to embody much of what appeared to onlookers as a very lonely existence, in which the people closest to Bankman-Fried were the ones to seal his fate behind bars. While Bankman-Fried's parents were staunch defenders of their son in court, CZ, by contrast, had many who know him best leap to his defense. Zhao's wife, his current lover, two of his five children, and dozens of Binance employees all penned the judge to plead for mercy in sentencing. "I am a partner in the work of Changpeng Zhao (abbreviated CZ) and I am also the mother of his three children," reads a note submitted by Yi He, a co-founder of Binance and Zhao's current romantic partner. "Although the mainstream media tries to portray CZ as an evil bad actor, millions of community users and ordinary people regard him as a hero of the industry, because CZ has always insisted on justice." Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, arrives at federal court in Seattle, Washington, April 30, 2024. David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images Zhao's wife, Weiqing "Winnie" Yang called him a "self-made man" who "has never owed money to others and has not had any liabilities." Yang added that Zhao has "taken the greatest care" of her and their shared children. Their daughter, Rachel Zhao, implored the judge "to consider her father's positive attributes; to not define my father's character solely through this one incident and consider the entirety of his character," emphasizing that he was "the best father." Differences between the pair also showed up in the way they presented themselves. Whereas Zhao maintained a military-style buzzcut, Bankman-Fried was known for his iconic and unwieldy mop of curls. CZ bought clothes on Amazon, but his look and demeanor were buttoned-up. SBF, who similarly opted for simple dress (usually a loose T-shirt and cargo shorts), appeared perpetually disheveled, whatever the occasion. At the beginning of his trial, SBF sported a fresh haircut and wore suits, but by its end, his curls were wild again. Zhao wore a fitted navy suit and light blue tie at his sentencing, versus the beige jailhouse jumpsuit donned by Bankman-Fried. But perhaps the greatest distinction between the two relates to the command they held over those around them. Zhao had an air of the consummate professional, with a strong appetite for total control of his sprawling enterprise. Bankman-Fried, who takes medication for the neuro-developmental disorder attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, sought a similar level of control, but admitted on the stand that mistakes were made, in part, because he was overwhelmed. Bankman-Fried's psychiatrist unequivocally made clear to the judge that without prescribed medication, Bankman-Fried would experience a return of his symptoms and be "severely negatively impacted in his ability to assist in his own defense." Reuters reporting found that even as CZ's crypto exchange diversified its hiring into traditional finance and regulatory talent pools, "Zhao's tight control over his company was undiminished." Binance set up more than 70 entities, and according to Reuters, Zhao personally controlled most of them. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao speaks at a Binance fifth anniversary event in Paris, France, July 8, 2022. Staff | Reuters Prosecutors similarly proved through testimony and evidentiary exhibits their narrative of Bankman-Fried quietly continuing to call the shots at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. They showed that his decision-making power over the $32 billion crypto empire he built was absolute, and that all wrongdoing stemmed from decisions touched, or directly made by, Bankman-Fried himself. But unlike CZ, Bankman-Fried oversaw an organization with chaotic and falsified bookkeeping that ultimately led to the implosion of the companies he founded and the theft of billions of dollars of customer money. And then there was the way that each looked to craft their public persona. CZ was big on privacy. The letters submitted by his romantic partners and children were a rare inside look at Zhao's personal dealings. And rather than take to mainstream media to share his defense, CZ clammed up and cooperated with the feds. Shirking the advice of all counsel, Bankman-Fried went on a media blitz to talk about the implosion of his crypto empire. Many of those statements ultimately appeared in the government's successful trial against him in October and November 2023. "SBF resolutely did not settle, violated his bail conditions, spoke frequently to the press in his own favor and seemed to lack a display of genuine, heartfelt remorse even at his own sentencing," said Yesha Yadav, law professor and associate dean at Vanderbilt University. "Part of CZ's deliberations in settling with Justice in November may have been precisely to make this point – that his conduct stands profoundly in contrast to the brazen behavior of SBF," Yadav added. The power of saying you're sorry In Seattle, Zhao's sentencing was a relatively quiet affair, with a vibe that was more muted than the circus surrounding Bankman-Fried's time in court. "This proceeding looked and felt like the prosecution of a Wall Street executive," said Mark Bini, a former state and federal prosecutor. Zhao also expressed his remorse, accepting responsibility for his crimes and telling the judge he was sorry for his actions. It stood in stark contrast to Bankman-Fried's final appeal to the judge, which lacked any sort of real admission of guilt. Judge Lewis Kaplan, who sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison, noted during his sentencing hearing that he had never heard "a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes" from Bankman-Fried and that in his 30 years on the federal bench, he had "never seen a performance" like SBF's trial testimony. If Bankman-Fried was not "outright lying" during cross-examination by prosecutors, he was "evasive," Kaplan said. "Instead of accepting responsibility, Bankman-Fried pushed his case to trial where he lied and perjured himself and was convicted by overwhelming evidence," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told CNBC. To be sure, the Zhao and Bankman-Fried cases are very different. While much of Bankman-Fried's empire was a mirage, Zhao's operation was laced with questionable business tactics under the hood. Bankman-Fried and other leaders at FTX took billions of dollars in customer money. In fact, during the criminal trial of Bankman-Fried, both the prosecution and defense agreed that $10 billion in customer money that was sitting in FTX's crypto exchange went missing, with some of it going toward payments for real estate, recalled loans, venture investments and political donations. They also agreed that Bankman-Fried was the one calling the shots. The key question for jurors was one of intent: Did Bankman-Fried knowingly commit fraud in directing those payouts with FTX customer cash, or did he simply make some mistakes along the way? Jurors decided within a few hours of deliberation that he had knowingly committed fraud on a mass scale. watch now The government's beef with Zhao and Binance was different. Perry said that the connection with foreign crime, including money laundering and breaching international financial sanctions, was key to Binance's undoing. There was, however, no pursuit of criminal fraud of its customers' money — a key distinction from the case of Bankman-Fried. Instead, three criminal charges were brought against the exchange, including conducting an unlicensed money-transmitting business, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and conspiracy. Binance agreed to forfeit $2.5 billion to the government, as well as to pay a fine of $1.8 billion, for crimes which included allowing illicit actors to make more than 100,000 transactions that supported activities such as terrorism and illegal narcotics. Zhao and others were also charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an effective anti-money-laundering program and for willfully violating U.S. economic sanctions "in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the U.S. market without implementing controls required by U.S. law," according to the Justice Department. The DOJ is recommending that the court impose a $50 million fine on Zhao. Zhao turned a blind eye to money laundering, explains Rahmani, but he pleaded guilty and accepted responsibility for his actions. Bankman-Fried, on the other hand, stole money from clients and used them for lavish personal expenses. "That's why Bankman-Fried received a significantly longer prison sentence than Zhao," Rahmani said. Los Angeles corporate law attorney Tre Lovell said that, unlike Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud, Zhao hasn't been charged with fraud or other crimes deserving of a longer sentence. "In addition, his letter to the judge does reflect remorse, discusses his making of poor decisions, and indicates that the Binance platform has instituted strict anti-money laundering controls at his direction," Lovell said. "SBF's case involved allegations of fraud and misuse of customer funds, which are typically viewed as more directly deceitful and financially damaging to a broader array of individuals than compliance failures (like inadequate AML programs)," Perry said. Compliance failures, while serious, might be seen as a failure of oversight rather than active malfeasance, according to Perry. "Fraudulent actions directly undermine trust and suggest intentional wrongdoing, which can lead to harsher public and judicial responses," he added. watch now Money makes all the difference Unlike SBF, CZ didn't have his wealth wiped out by bankruptcy of the crypto company he founded. And as he cooperated with the government and pleaded guilty, his assets weren't seized. Despite the fact that Zhao is being put behind bars, his controlling stake in Binance means that he will continue being one of the wealthiest people in crypto today. Zhao is widely reported to have an estimated 90% stake in Binance, and his fortune is largely derived from his equity ownership in the company. Binance is by far the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, processing $18.1 trillion worth of trading volume in 2023, according to data from crypto market data firm CCData. And even though Binance has seen its market share drop to 41.6% since Zhao stepped down as CEO in November 2023, the company remains the dominant player overall — leagues ahead of South Korean exchange Upbit, Dubai-headquartered Bybit, and U.S. giant Coinbase. While Binance has been convicted of extremely serious charges, it still remains a lucrative operation, according to Yadav. Binance is profitable and solvent, meaning that it has a hefty war chest to settle fines. FTX, on the other hand, remains in bankruptcy court in Delaware. "FTX has been revealed to have been a criminal enterprise that is now headed into liquidation owing to its assessed inability to salvage any brand and use value," Yadav said. watch now
UK installs record number of public electric vehicle chargers 2024-05-05 15:23:00+00:00 - The UK has installed a record number of public electric car chargers this year, as companies race to keep up with the growing number of battery vehicles on British roads. Nearly 6,000 new chargers were installed during the first three months of 2024, according to quarterly figures from data company Zapmap published by the Department for Transport. About 1,500 of those were rapid chargers, capable of charging a car in less than an hour. There were just under 60,000 public chargers installed in the UK by 1 April, a 49% increase compared with a year earlier. The number of public chargers of all speeds in the UK has doubled since the start of 2022. Some electric car companies, including global leaders Tesla and China’s BYD, are experiencing falling sales as higher interest rates hit disposable incomes. That has meant that the share of electric models in total car sales has stalled in the UK at 15.5% this year, after previously rapid growth. One of the most common reasons cited by people concerned about shifting to EVs is range anxiety, or the fear that their car will run out of power before they can find a charger. In many parts of the world – and notably in the US, the world’s second-largest car market – that concern can be well founded. However, in the UK the problem is being addressed and the number of black spots, at least in areas with high demand, is reducing rapidly. Quick Guide Electric vehicle charging speeds Show Not all chargers are created equal More and more people are buying electric cars, and are having to grapple with charging for the first time. However, not all chargers are created equal, and the profusion of units can cause confusion. Charging speeds are measured by power output in kilowatts (kW), while battery capacity is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). For example, a Nissan Leaf has 39kWh of battery capacity, while a Tesla Model Y has 60kWh. Recharge times vary depending on battery size: divide the battery size by the power to get a very rough idea of how many hours it will take to charge. (E.g., a 60kWh battery at a 22kW charger would take about three hours.) The quicker the charge, the more it tends to cost. Slow: 3kW to 6kW Common at homes, and on-street chargers. Suitable for charging overnight. Plugging in with a UK three-pin plug to the mains at home will deliver about 2.3kW – although it is not recommended. Fast: 7kW to 22kW Found at urban sites like supermarkets and shopping centres. Capable of charging a smaller battery in a few hours. Rapid: 23kW to 100kW Motorway service stations and dedicated public charging hubs. 50kW could give an 80% charge in less than an hour. Ultra-rapid: 100kW and above Some of the newest and most expensive cars can handle power up to 270kW, adding hundreds of miles of range in 10 minutes. Photograph: John Walton/PA Wire Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. Ben Nelmes, the chief executive of New AutoMotive, a thinktank focused on electric cars, said improvements were evident in many areas that had previously been poorly served. He said this was partly a result of councils gradually taking advantage of central government grants to install chargers. “I think there is a coming together of two things,” Nelmes said. “Some of the barriers have been mitigated. And the private sector has woken up to the opportunity.” More than 1m electric cars have been sold in the UK. Only 6% of EV drivers in England surveyed last year by the Electric Vehicle Association said they experience range anxiety either very often or fairly often, while 94% said they had range anxiety occasionally, rarely or never. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Down to Earth Free weekly newsletter The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential 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 The region with the fastest growth in charger numbers per person was north-east England, followed by the south-west. The situation also improved in Northern Ireland, although it remained by far the worst-served part of the UK in terms of charger numbers, with only 29 per 100,000 people. The best served region has always been London, which has 221 chargers per 100,000 people, as companies chase a wealthier population more likely to own an electric car. Many wealthy neighbourhoods in the capital do not have off-street parking, meaning EV buyers are reliant on public charging.
Scientists pour scorn on mushroom coffee, the latest ‘healthy’ food trend 2024-05-05 15:01:00+00:00 - Sipping mushroom coffee sounds like a weird camping trip anecdote but more Britons are embracing this alternative morning pick-me-up as “mushroom mania” sweeps the high street. With the food industry eager to cash in on demand for “functional foods” that promise extra health benefits, medicinal mushrooms – not the button kind you put in a stew – are turning up in hot drinks, supplements and even beer. While Britons seem receptive – health food store Holland & Barrett says that searches on its website for “functional mushrooms” are up 50% on a year ago – a recent investigation by Which? put the products in the category of “health products you don’t need”. “There isn’t enough evidence yet to suggest they work and the vast majority don’t have authorised health claims in the UK,” the consumer champion concluded of products made from mushrooms including reishi, lion’s mane and chaga. Close reading of the packaging showed the benefits were often derived from other ingredients with authorised health claims, such as omega-3, and vitamins B12 and D. While mushrooms may contain beneficial nutrients such as antioxidants and beta-glucan, its researchers said, they were essentially “incidental” in many of the supplements. Mushroom-based hot drinks appeal to people who want to reduce their caffeine intake but also to the 35% of consumers, and half of 16- to 34-year-olds, who told Mintel they were interested in food and drink with “healthy ingredients based on ‘ancient wisdom’ such as Ayurveda and Chinese medicine”, said Kiti Soininen, its category director of UK food and drink research. Demand for these products is growing thanks to an advertising blitz on social media, word of mouth and the fact they are stocked more widely. While consumers often buy direct from brands such as Dirtea, Spacegoods and Reformed, they are an increasingly common sight in pharmacies and health stores, including Boots and Holland & Barrett. A pouch of Dirtea coffee. “Functional mushrooms have been a growing category at H&B, as our customers seek out the latest trending health and wellness products,” said a Holland & Barrett spokesperson. “There is increasing awareness of the benefits of mushrooms for both internal and external use, with emerging evidence that the natural adaptogens they contain may support with overall wellbeing.” It said it had just added 13 new products to its range. “All of the products we sell are carefully selected by our team of experts and comply with food labelling legislation and permitted claims.” Neil Marrakchi, cofounder of Reformed, says people often get confused and think of magic mushrooms, asking questions such as: “Will I have weird dreams?” The answer, he said, is: “No.” The young entrepreneur set out to “create the healthiest coffee in the world” resulting in a heavily fortified blend that includes mushrooms (lion’s mane, chaga, maitake and shiitake), collagen and MCT oil, and costs £40 a packet. Its more established rival Spacegoods is growing fast and expects to turn over £10m this year as customers gravitate to its chocolate-flavoured Rainbow Dust which comes in technicolour packaging and promises “zero jitters/crashing”. Matthew Kelly, the Spacegoods founder, says the coffee replacement, loaded with 15 supplements and which recently went into Boots, avoids the need to “stack” vitamins. At present its customer base is split between men and women but long-term he expects the “Lululemon audience” of 25- to 45-year-old women will be its sweet spot. Spacegoods has not done its own clinical studies but would like to in the future, Kelly says, adding there is a lot of evidence around the specific ingredients it uses. “If it was bogus, we wouldn’t have 15,000 subscribers that buy the products every month and tell us how great it is.” While many of the brands share the testimonials of “happy” customers and promote positive reviews on their websites, the science community is scathing of the evidence base for the latest in a long line of wellness trends. Some experts point out that many people feel better when they switch to a mushroom blend not because of a fungi feelgood effect but because they generally contain less caffeine, with a large section of the population very sensitive to the stimulant. Prof Nicholas Money, a mycologist at Miami University in Ohio, who previously told the Guardian that some of the claims being made were “without scientific foundation and amount to little more than snake oil”, told a recent episode of BBC Radio 4’s Sliced Bread programme devoted to the topic that it was “complete BS”. “Mushrooms probably do contain some really, really useful compounds but I want to see the science,” said Money, who published a review on medicinal mushrooms in 2016 and whose book Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines came out this year. “Show me the evidence – that’s my bottom line with all of these products. On the plus side, probably, these products are not harming any consumers … the placebo effect is so powerful if somebody feels better after drinking mushroom coffee, go for it.”
62% of parents feel burnt out, study shows: 3 tips to manage the stress 2024-05-05 14:56:00+00:00 - The word "burnout" is usually associated with career-related stress. But, the often-invisible work of parenting can take just as much of a toll on one's mental health as a paid job. In fact, 62% of parents feel burned out by their responsibilities as a parent, according to a new survey by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This burnout can lead many caretakers to self-isolate, as they don't feel like they have the energy to maintain relationships outside their family. Two out of three parents say the demands of parenthood sometimes or frequently make them feel lonely, according to the survey. "When we're out of energy, we retreat," Mercedes Samudio, a licensed clinical social worker and and founder of Shame-Proof Parenting, a company which offers mental health resources for parents, told CNBC Make It. To curb burnout at home and in the workplace, take these three steps.
3 catalysts we learned from earnings that should push our industrial stocks higher 2024-05-05 14:56:00+00:00 - The industrial-focused names in the Club's portfolio wrapped up a pretty solid earnings season last week, but their stocks were largely not rewarded. Shares of toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker and industrial gas giant Linde tumbled on fiscal results Thursday, so the Club added to both positions on the overblown reactions. DuPont was the exception. The stock hit multi-year highs Wednesday after the specialty chemical maker delivered top and bottom line beats. Shares of electrical components giant Eaton sank undeservedly Tuesday despite quarterly beats. Honeywell , out the prior week, came under pressure on its April 25 earnings day on softer guidance. Artificial intelligence, destocking, and pricing emerged as themes and reasons for optimism, despite some of the initial stock moves. AI spending First, a surge in AI investments was welcomed news for Eaton, DuPont and Linde. Eaton posted a better-than-expected quarter Tuesday, beating estimates for revenue and earnings. Front and center was the success of its largest division, Electrical Americas, which set another record for sales, profit, and segment margins. It benefited from increased spending by companies to build and retrofit data centers for AI workloads. Those facilities need lots of power and that means Eaton's power management systems are in high demand. ETN YTD mountain Eaton (ETN) year-to-date performance On the post-earnings conference call, Eaton CEO Craig Arnold said AI data center orders "on a trailing 12-month basis have more than doubled, and our negotiations in the U.S. have increased by more than four times." We touched on the data center tailwind as a way to invest in the next wave of AI in a commentary last month. This past week's quarterly results put the opportunity into sharper focus. Despite the stellar quarter and guidance, Eaton shares declined 2.5% on Tuesday and another nearly 2% on Wednesday as investors took profits following a roughly 30% year-to-date gain. Still, the Club raised our price target to $350 per share from $330 because of stronger-than-expected demand for Eaton's offerings on the back of AI spend. "Everything was about as perfect as you can get this quarter," Jim Cramer said after the print. DD YTD mountain DuPont de Nemours (DD) DuPont delivered a much-needed rebound quarter this week, highlighted by improvements in the company's crucial Electronics & Industrials (E & I) division. Management said that AI demand and data center growth will help spur more growth in this division. E & I creates materials used in the manufacturing process of semiconductors, which later goes into powering AI. During the earnings call, CEO Ed Breen forecasted that E & I will grow in the high single digits in 2025 — as fab utilization, shorthand for chip manufacturing, continues to improve. "People don't realize what it's like when Ed Breen gets on the juggernaut," Jim said after the release. "This is the DuPont we wanted when we bought it." LIN YTD mountain Linde (LIN) year-to-date performance Linde posted mixed a quarterly Thursday — an earnings beat but a revenue miss. The stock fell 5% on softer guidance, which we thought was conservative. The Club took the dip as a buying opportunity, scooping up shares of the quality industrial name for the first time in over two years. We upgraded the stock to our buy equivalent 1 rating . During the conference call, CEO Sanjiv Lamba said surging demand for new data centers and AI chips will help drive volumes in the back half of the year for Linde's electronics business, which accounts for roughly 10% of its portfolio. Linde plays a role in the semiconductor fabrication process because of its specialty industrial gases. Destocking Destocking, or whittling down excess inventory, was important at Stanley Black & Decker, DuPont, and Honeywell. Supply chain disruptions and softening consumer demand on macroeconomic uncertainty were some of the factors that led to high inventory levels in recent years. SWK YTD mountain Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) year-to-date performance As supply chains continued to normalize and destocking costs eased, Stanley Black & Decker's results indicated that gross margins improved for the first quarter. While posting top- and bottom-line beats , the toolmaker failed to impress Wall Street with its guidance — reiterating its outlook, rather than raising it. Investors took profits, driving SWK shares down 7.5% on Thursday. But we bought the dip. "I want to load up the boat on this one," Jim said. The Club cut our Stanley Black & Decker price target to $105 per share from $110 in recognition of the delay. Timing around recovery for home improvement also remains unclear as interest rate cut expectations continue to get pushed out. Jim said SWK would benefit greatly from Fed rate cuts. Back at DuPont, its upbeat quarter — and subsequent share price surge — was largely due to overcoming destocking headwinds. The chemical maker has dealt with an inventory glut over several business lines, which has weighed on sales and profits for years. But destocking in DuPont's Water unit and parts of its Industrial Technologies segment appeared to bottom as the company experienced an increase in orders. These improvements, in part, led us to raise our DuPont price target to $85 per share from $78. Once destocking ends across all business segments, Club analysts forecast more upside as the stock demands a higher multiple. HON YTD mountain Honeywell International (HON) year-to-date performance During Honeywell's earnings call, CEO Vimal Kapur said the industrial conglomerate's short-cycle business is beginning to see improvements on better inventory levels. "We are starting to see recovery in some areas of our short-cycle portfolio, including consecutive quarters of order growth in productivity solutions and services, while the other short-cycle businesses continue to normalize as the effects of destocking fade," Kapur said on the April 25 post-earnings call. Overall, Honeywell's quarterly results were better than feared. The company beat on sales and earnings, while its long-cycle business remained strong and jumped to a record of $32 billion. Pricing Our third takeaway was the importance of pricing for Linde and Stanley Black & Decker. Stanley Black & Decker's pricing for its largest segment — known as Tools & Outdoor — was flat for the quarter. But the Club saw this as a positive because management isn't lowering prices in order to boost demand for the company's offerings. During Thursday's conference call, Lamba described pricing as "an important lever " for the firm. Linde CFO Matthew White said on the earnings call, "Price continues to drive underlying sales growth with a positive contribution of 2% year-over-year." Lamba said, "While pricing remains an important lever for us, we're also focused on other growth opportunities. ... Add to that the contracted backlog and we have a solid growth pipeline for the next few years ahead." We know Linde has immense pricing power because its products are high up on the supply chain. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long LIN, HON, DD, ETN, SWK. 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. Power management company Eaton in Pleasanton, California. Smith Collection | Archive Photos | Getty Images
21-year-old joined the circus over going to college—and gets shot out of a cannon for work 2024-05-05 14:56:00+00:00 - Skyler Miser credits her love for the circus to her parents Brian and Tina, who performed in earlier versions of the Ringling Circus in the early and mid-2000s. Skyler Miser's average work shift lasts about three seconds — a time during which she's shot out of a cannon in front of thousands of people. Miser, 21, is the "human rocket" in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's circus. During the show, in some cases three times a day, Miser is blasted through the air out of a rocket at 7 G. For comparison, the fastest rollercoaster in the world, Abu Dhabi's Formula Rossa, reaches a maximum of 4.8 G. "I love the adrenaline rush, I can't imagine a more fun job," Miser tells CNBC Make It. "I also like seeing the reactions from the audience. People don't expect a young girl to do such a daredevil stunt." For Miser, working in the circus is a childhood dream realized. Miser was just 2 years old when she first performed in the circus, joining her parents on stage to introduce their act. Photo: Skyler Miser Joining the family business Some people dream of running away with the circus, but for Miser, it's home. Her father, Brian Miser, and her mother Tina Miser performed in earlier versions of the Ringling Circus in the early and mid-2000s, also as human cannonballs. "One of my earliest memories is watching my parents fly out of the cannon," says Miser. She was just 2 years old when she first performed in the circus, joining her parents on stage to introduce their act. Miser grew up in Peru, Indiana, a small town in the Midwest known as the Circus Capital of the World. The circus is in the town's blood: Benjamin Wallace, one of the Ringling Brothers' greatest rivals, first brought the big top to Peru in the 19th century, and it never left. Every July, Peru hosts an eight-day circus festival, culminating in a parade. Miser spent her summers training with the Peru Amateur Circus, learning trapeze and acrobatic skills. Miser's father, Brian, started training her on a trampoline when she was young, teaching her how to develop proprioception, which is awareness of your body's positioning in space — a helpful skill to master if you're flying through the air. She first shot out of a cannon at 11 years old. "My dad had made an eight-foot-long cannon for a clown act and before he sent it over, he asked if I wanted to be the test dummy," Miser recalls. "I was like, 'Absolutely.'" At the time, she flew about 18 feet in the air — a small fraction of the distance she travels today. During her act, Miser is propelled about 70 feet in the air at speeds of up to 65 miles an hour. Miser says she was "instantly hooked" and decided then that if she were ever given the opportunity to follow in her parents' footsteps (or flight path), she would take it. That chance came in 2022 when Miser's father received an email that Ringling, which shut down in 2017, was making a comeback, and planning live auditions in Las Vegas. At the time, Miser was finishing her senior year of high school. She applied to a few colleges and debated continuing her education or enlisting in the Air Force, but says she "couldn't resist" the chance to work with the circus she grew up with. "That email was the end of my college quest," she jokes. A few months later Miser attended live auditions in Las Vegas and in September 2022, she received official word that she was cast as the show's "human rocket." Ringling made its official return in September 2023. She signed her contract in an old Ringling train car that her parents had bought when the circus closed. Miser's entire act is done without any safety gear — like helmets or shoulder pads — which she says would slow her down. Photo: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Getting shot out of a cannon for a living Miser typically performs in six shows per week, all of which happen between Friday and Sunday. She's traveling with Ringling to perform in cities across the United States nearly every week between now and December. Her work schedule varies leading up to each weekend's performances, but Miser says she has at least one dress rehearsal to walk through her act at the venue. Much of Miser's prep happens outside of the cannon. "Normally, Friday is my first night flying for the week," she says. "Getting shot out of the cannon is a lot of pain on your body, so I don't want to put my body through more than I need to." The trick takes skill, practice and "extreme focus," Miser explains. "It's a bit nerve-wracking, you just get one shot to get it right." To prepare for the stunt, Miser does yoga, stretching and foam rolling to release tension in her hip flexors and back. She performs drills on a trampoline and practices falling on an airbag. She prioritizes sleep, aiming for 10 hours a night. Miser learned from her mother to meditate right before her performance, to help focus and reduce anxiety. "As soon as I walk out into the ring, I'm thinking of every little detail: where the airbag is, my posture, if the cannon feels hot or cold," she says. "The flight might be two to three seconds but to me, it feels like I am moving in slow motion, I'm feeling every millisecond." Her entire act is done without any safety gear — like helmets or shoulder pads — which Miser says would slow her down. She adds that she hasn't suffered any injuries beyond minor scrapes and bruises from the act. On her days off, Miser says she likes to explore restaurants and museums in the cities the circus is passing through or sleep in. "I try to listen to my body to make sure I'm ready for the next weekend of shows," she says. The career path of a circus performer
China’s president arrives in Europe to reinvigorate ties at a time of global tensions 2024-05-05 14:08:57+00:00 - PARIS (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a three-country trip to Europe on Sunday with the continent divided over how to deal with Beijing’s growing power and the U.S.-China rivalry. European carmakers are losing ground to subsidized Chinese electric vehicles. Diplomats fret about alleged Chinese spies in European capitals. And China’s continued defense trade with Russia worries anyone in Europe who supports war-ravaged Ukraine and fears that the Russian army won’t stop there. But Europe and China have hefty economic ties — EU-China trade is estimated at 2.3 billion euros per day — and Xi appears determined to rebuild and deepen relations with European leaders after a prolonged absence prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Xi started Sunday in France, whose president wants Europe to have more economic and strategic independence from other world powers. Then the Chinese president heads to Serbia and Hungary, both seen as China-friendly and close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and recipients of substantial Chinese investment. Xi’s trip will be closely watched in Washington for signs of diminishing European support for its key foreign policy goals. At the same time, there’s increasing uncertainty in Europe about future U.S. support for trans-Atlantic allies. Xi was greeted at Paris’ Orly Airport by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal — and by protests by groups demanding that France pressure China to respect Tibetan and Uyghur minority rights. Activists seeking a free Tibet attempted to unfurl a banner Saturday beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and protested in the French capital around the same time as Xi’s plane landed. After arriving, Xi said he hoped the visit would bring ‘’strategic convergence’’ between China and France, and that further developing their relations would contribute to ‘’stability and positive energy in an turbulent world,’' according to a text provided to reporters at the airport. On Monday French President Emmanuel Macron will treat the Chinese leader to formal honors of a full state visit. They will also meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is expected to join Macron in pushing for fairer trade policies and for China to use its leverage with Russia to push it toward ending the war in Ukraine. The EU launched an investigation last fall into Chinese subsidies and could impose tariffs on electric vehicles exported from China. China claims neutrality in the Ukraine conflict but has refused to call the full-blown Russian assault on its neighbor an invasion, and has been accused of bolstering Russia’s capacity to produce weapons.
What is a US small business? One owner explains 2024-05-05 14:01:00+00:00 - Last week was National Small Business Week, which went virtually unnoticed by most business owners who were busy working. The Small Business Administration and big brands try so hard to celebrate small businesses with events like these. But what they miss are a few sobering facts. The number of actual small businesses is much fewer than reported. According to Pew Research, almost two-thirds of our country’s 33m small businesses have fewer than four employees, with most of them being solely owned and operated. Yes, the number of startups grew during and in the immediate aftermath of Covid. But these are mostly freelance, side gig or independent “businesses” for workers who need extra money. Is a side gig a small business? Maybe? To me, a real business is an employer-owned business, one that has paychecks and workmen’s compensation and HR policies. According to the US Census Bureau, there are only about 7m employer-owned companies in the country. That’s a far cry from 33m. Small businesses still aren’t very diverse. Black-owned businesses are regularly featured in the TV shows from Queen Sugar to Atlanta and Insecure. Anne Hathaway is the cool entrepreneur running an online fashion business in The Intern. Lorelai Gilmore owns and runs the Dragonfly Inn in Gilmore Girls. Mindy Lahiri starts her own fertility clinic in The Mindy Project. Things are changing but this is not reality. According to Pew Research, 85% of our nation’s business owners are white and 76% are men. And, according to the Small Business Administration, more than half are over the age of 50. No one really knows how small businesses in this country are doing I speak at many associations and groups representing industries around the country, and when I look out at the audience I have to look pretty hard to find a female or a Black or brown face in the crowd. The numbers are creeping up but there’s still a long, long way to go before we see the kind of the equal representation that we see on TV or on the Small Business Administration’s website. Most small businesses don’t earn much money. Do you ever walk by that coffee shop, or that boutique with three pairs of shoes in the window, or the store that just sells cookies and wonder to yourself how many cups of coffee, pairs of shoes or cookies they have to sell to earn enough profit to pay themselves? You’re not wrong to wonder. The fact is that most of these small businesses don’t make much money at all. 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 According to research from the financing site Fundera, small businesses with no employees have an average annual revenue of $46,978, the average small business owner makes $71,813 a year, and 86.3% of small business owners make less than $100,000 a year in income. Opening up a retail location requires rent, utilities, insurance and payroll – and that’s even before you start buying the ingredients for coffee or cookies or inventorying shoes. The business owners who make money are generally the ones that have people, machines and multiple locations that generate a higher volume of revenue which, at a certain margin, can sustain a profitable cashflow above overhead. This requires capital and sweat and time and even then there are no guarantees that a Starbucks won’t open across the street or a slowing economy forces people to reconsider a $5 cookie. Profits are needed to sustain a business, not just sustainable materials. Finally, no one really knows how “small businesses” are faring. Not a week goes by for me without getting some survey or research gauging small business “optimism” or “sentiment”, and they’re all in conflict. The National Federation of Independent Businesses says that small business confidence is the lowest it’s been since 2012. The US Chamber of Commerce says that small businesses see a “stable” economic environment. Latino business owners are showing a “growing optimism” according to Verizon. A poll of 500-plus business owners from a marketing firm “paints a picture of cautious optimism and resilience”. The messaging platform Slack says that many small business owners are calling 2024 a “make or break year”. Republicans say small businesses are struggling. Democrats say they’re doing just fine. Just as opinions differ for the economy and the weather, no one really knows how small businesses in this country are doing. And you can’t blame them – we live in a big country. A roofing company can be crushing it in Texas yet a similar company can be struggling in Wisconsin. A tech company may be facing cashflow issues where an energy company is flush. You can’t just generalize.
Sen. Tim Scott dodges on whether he would accept 2024 election results 2024-05-05 13:48:00+00:00 - Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina on Sunday did not directly answer multiple questions about whether he'd accept the results of the 2024 presidential election, regardless of who wins. "At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump," Scott, a Republican, said the first time he was directly asked whether he would commit to accepting the election results on NBC News' "Meet the Press." Asked again by moderator Kristen Welker to answer "yes or no?" to the original question, Scott simply said, "That is my statement." Pressed a third time to answer the question, Scott said, "I look forward to President Trump being the 47th president — the American people will make the decision." Earlier this month, Trump himself told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he would accept the results of the presidential election in Wisconsin only "if everything’s honest." “If everything’s honest, I’d gladly accept the results," he said, adding, “If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country." Scott ran for president last year, challenging Trump for the Republican nomination. He dropped out in November and eventually endorsed the former president. Now, he's widely considered to be on the shortlist for Trump's vice presidential pick. But following the 2020 presidential election, when Trump questioned the integrity of the election and baselessly alleged that voter fraud took place in states across the country, Scott offered a different tone. Ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, congressional session to certify the presidential election results, Scott said in a statement, "The President’s legal team exercised its right to access the courts by initiating suits in state and federal courts in numerous states. Some of these lawsuits have even been presided over and adjudicated by conservative judges nominated by President Trump. Thus far, no justice, judge or fact finder has found evidence indicating the election results in those states should be overturned." He added that “as I read the Constitution, there is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election wherein the states have certified and sent their Electors" and later voted to certify the results of the presidential election. Even later on the campaign trail, Scott disagreed with voters who claimed the 2020 election was stolen. "I do not believe the election was stolen. I do believe that states created a new system, mail-in ballots, that did not have signature verification," Scott said during a campaign event in June in Davenport, Iowa. After an audience member asked questions about "cheating" in the election, Scott added, "There was cheating, but was the election stolen? There’s a difference. I think every election there’s cheating."
If Tory hopes rest on the UK economy, they could go the way of the monasteries 2024-05-05 13:18:00+00:00 - Tory MPs have been busy this past week and probably not found the time to watch Shardlake, the adaptation of CJ Sansom’s book set during the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, but once the dust has settled from last week’s elections they might want to take a look. This was a turbulent period. Having forced through his own version of Brexit through the break with Rome, Henry VIII then in effect nationalised the assets of religious houses dotted around England, Wales and Ireland. It was a seminal moment in the development of British capitalism and the nation state. But what should alarm Rishi Sunak is the speed with which the monasteries went from being a mighty presence in the land to extinction. A process that began in 1536 was pretty much over by 1540. Something similar could be happening to the Tory party today. Less than five years ago, the Conservatives won an 80-seat majority at the 2019 general election. On the basis of last week’s evidence from local elections they will do well to avoid a complete wipeout next time round. Andy Street’s defeat in the West Midlands mayoral race showed how bad things are for the prime minister. Sunak still hopes an improving economy will boost his party’s survival hopes and there are three pieces of economic news coming up in the next two weeks that ought to be helpful: the interest-rate decision by the Bank of England on Thursday, the growth figures on Friday and the inflation numbers the following week. The Bank’s monetary policy committee is not going to cut borrowing costs immediately but it is expected to send out a signal that a reduction will not be long in coming. The first move could come in late June, but mortgage rates will come down before that if the hint of an impending cut is strong enough. On the following day, Office for National Statistics figures will show that the UK emerged from last year’s shallow recession in the first three months of 2024, with the economy expanding by 0.3% or 0.4% in the first quarter of the year. Finally, the latest bulletin on the cost of living is likely to show the annual inflation rate in April dropping from 3.2% to somewhere close to the government’s 2% target, mainly due to the previous year’s big jump in domestic energy bills not being replicated this year. The exit from recession and the fall in inflation will allow Sunak to say the economy has turned a corner, something the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will dispute in a speech this Tuesday. Reeves says there is a gulf between the message from Sunak and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and what voters think is happening, and that the public doesn’t buy the idea that things are getting better. There are reasons for that, Reeves will argue. The first is that numbers on a graph – this one going down, another going up – mean very little to people. The inflation rate is falling but that means prices are simply rising at a slower rate. The cost of the weekly shop for the average family is 25% higher than it was two years ago. A second reason why the Conservatives are not seeing any benefit from the economy is that Hunt and Sunak are celebrating a distinctly average performance. The UK, according to the latest forecast from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, will grow by just 0.4% in 2024, which would make it the second worst in the G7 group of large industrial nations after Germany. Likewise, an inflation rate of 2% might look good in comparison with its 11.1% peak in October 2022 but merely means the Bank of England is doing what it is supposed to do. 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 There is obviously an element of political calculus in the timing of Reeves’s speech. She wants to get her retaliation in first, before ministers hit the news studios to trumpet that happy times are here again. While the shadow chancellor intends to leave nothing to chance, she has little to worry about. Quarterly growth of 0.3-0.4% would be fine for a government 20-25 points behind in the polls if this were midterm, but not for a government fast approaching a general election. There is always a lag before better news feeds through into the public consciousness and on this occasion there are reasons – Partygate, Liz Truss’s brief premiership and NHS waiting lists for example – why the process is taking longer than usual. The Conservatives say that voters don’t seem particularly keen on Labour either – and they are right about that. There is none of the enthusiasm for Sir Keir Starmer that there was when Tony Blair was leader of the opposition before the 1997 election. This, though, is worse news for Sunak and Hunt than it is for Starmer and Reeves. Voters are unwilling to give the Conservatives a hearing under any circumstances and expectations are so low for Labour that it wouldn’t take much to exceed them. There will be no victory from the jaws of defeat, as there was in 1992. The economy is going to remain in a low gear at least until the election, so the best the prime minister and chancellor can hope for is damage limitation. The Conservative party has proved to be a formidable election-winning machine but the lessons from history are there. Following their split over the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 it took 28 years for the Conservatives to form another majority government. The result of the general election is not in doubt. A more intriguing question is whether the Tories survive defeat or go the way of the monasteries.
Campus protests: LAPD officers gather to clear USC campus; university warns of possible arrests 2024-05-05 12:57:00+00:00 - It's daybreak in Los Angeles and the Alumni Park in the campus, where most of the encampment had been set up, has been largely cleared after warnings of arrest for those who remained, according to a KNBC camera crew on the campus. No arrests or violent clashes have been reported so far. A KNBC chopper over the campus also saw the officers dismantling tents in the park.
Netanyahu’s Cabinet votes to close Al Jazeera offices in Israel after rising tensions 2024-05-05 11:18:00+00:00 - TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera. Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter, but details on the implications of the step on the channel, when it would go into effect or whether the measure was permanent or temporary were not immediately clear. There was no immediate comment from the channel headquarters in Doha, Qatar. An Al Jazeera correspondent on its Arabic service said the order would affect the broadcaster’s operations in Israel and in east Jerusalem, where it has been doing live shots for months since the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza. It would not affect Al Jazeera’s operations in the Palestinian territories, the correspondent said. Israeli media said the vote allows Israel to block the channel from operating in the country for 45 days, according to the decision. “My government decided unanimously: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will close in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on X. Al Jazeera has vehemently denied that it incites against Israel. The decision escalated Israel’s long-running feud against Al Jazeera. It also threatened to heighten tensions with Qatar, which owns the channel, at a time when the Doha government is playing a key role in mediation efforts to halt the war in Gaza. Israel has long had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing it of bias against it. Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza throughout the war, broadcasting bloody scenes of airstrikes and overcrowded hospitals and accusing Israel of massacres. Israel accuses Al Jazeera of collaborating with Hamas. Al Jazeera, the Doha-based broadcaster funded by Qatar’s government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While Al Jazeera’s English operation often resembles the programming found on other major broadcast networks, its Arabic arm often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in the region. It similarly came under harsh U.S. criticism during America’s occupation of Iraq after its 2003 invasion toppled director Saddam Hussein. It remains unclear how such an order would be enforced by Israel.