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PlayStation Unveils Lineup: Lego Marvel’s Avengers, Animal Well - Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) 2024-04-11 21:50:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... PlayStation Plus subscribers are in for a gaming extravaganza, as the April lineup features an eclectic mix of titles that cater to every gaming preference. From immersive single-player adventures to thrilling multiplayer showdowns, there’s something for everyone to sink their teeth into. Whether you’re a fan of atmospheric storytelling, heart-pounding action, or whimsical exploration, the April lineup promises to deliver hours of entertainment. See Also: Ubisoft Accidentally Leaks Star Wars Outlaws Release Date, Special Editions And More PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium | Game Catalog: Animal Well (Launching May 9, PS5): Explore a surreal labyrinth, solve puzzles, and navigate danger in this combat-free Metroidvania. Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Launching April 23, PS5): Embark on a poignant single-player journey, wielding powers from the Sun and Moon in rhythmic combat. Dave the Diver (Available April 16, PS4, PS5): Join Dave in a casual adventure RPG, exploring the deep sea by day and managing a sushi restaurant by night. Oddballers (Available April 16, PS4): Engage in hard-hitting dodgeball with wacky multiplayer action and unfair tactics to outmaneuver opponents. Construction Simulator (Available April 16, PS4, PS5): Fulfill your dreams of becoming a construction entrepreneur, tackling diverse projects and challenges to grow your business. The Crew 2 (Available April 16, PS4): Experience high-speed action driving across the USA, with free content updates and multiplayer options. Raji: An Ancient Epic (Available April 16, PS4, PS5): Immerse yourself in Indian mythology and battle demons in this action-adventure game with stunning Pahari art style. Lego Ninjago Movie Videogame (Available April 16, PS4): Defend Ninjago Island from evil forces as your favorite ninjas, mastering Ninjagility and battling foes. Nour: Play With Your Food (Available April 16, PS4, PS5): Experience a surreal food art game, exploring fantastical scenes and embracing playful exploration. Deliver Us Mars (Available April 16, PS4, PS5): Embark on an atmospheric sci-fi adventure, recovering stolen colony ships on a suspense-filled mission to Mars. Lego Marvel's Avengers (Available April 16, PS4): Join the Avengers in a new Lego Marvel adventure, featuring characters and storylines from the films. Miasma Chronicles (Available April 16, PS5): Explore a post-apocalyptic wasteland and uncover secrets with real-time exploration and turn-based combat. Stray Blade (Available April 16, PS5): Master intense combat and explore ancient ruins in this action-adventure, restoring balance to a war-torn land. PlayStation Premium | Classics: Enjoy classic PlayStation titles including Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire, and MediEvil. Read Next: Fortnite, GTA 5 Dominate Gaming Landscape Despite Blockbuster Releases Image credits: ShinoStock on Shutterstock.
Trump Media shares close down by more than 5%, latest grim day for Truth Social owner 2024-04-11 21:43:00+00:00 - The share price of Trump Media fell 5.4% at the close of trading on Thursday. DJT shares, the majority of which are owned by former President Donald Trump, ended at $32.41. Thursday's drop came a day after Trump Media shares fell 8.57%. The social media company's stock began public trading on the Nasdaq on March 26 with an opening price of $70.90, and soared to a high of nearly $80 that day. But the share price has slumped since then.
Knopf to publish posthumous memoir of Alexey Navalny in October 2024-04-11 21:39:00+00:00 - Deceased Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's posthumous memoir will be published in October by Alfred A. Knopf. The U.S. publisher is calling the book, titled "Patriot," Navalny's "final letter to the world." Navalny, who was Russian President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken critic, began writing the memoir in 2020, after a near-fatal poisoning that he alleged was carried out by the Kremlin. He died in February at the age of 47, while serving a 19-year sentence in a Russian penal colony for charges of "extremism." The memoir tells the full story of Navalny's life in his own words, including his youth, his marriage and family, his commitment to advocating for Russian democracy and freedom, and multiple attempts on his life, according to a press release from Knopf. It also includes previously unreleased correspondence from prison. Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, called the book "a testament not only to Alexey's life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship — a fight he gave everything for, including his life," in a statement shared by Knopf. But this is not how Navalnaya expected her late husband to release his autobiography. "I thought we'd be around 80 years old, and he'd be sitting at the computer by the open window, typing away. And I would be grumbling about the grandchildren coming soon, telling him he's busy with nonsense," the 47-year-old widow wrote in a post on X. She added that the memoir will be released simultaneously in at least 11 different languages around the world, including Russian. A first print of 500,000 copies will be published by Knopf on October 22.
Not even AOC is calling for Sonia Sotomayor to retire 2024-04-11 21:29:27+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 In recent weeks, progressive figures have grown louder in calling for Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor to consider resigning from the Supreme Court. Those calls, however, have yet to echo within the halls of Congress — even among lawmakers one might expect to jump on board. "I don't think you can tell the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, who's still in her 60s, when to retire," said Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California. "Some members of Congress are in their 70s and 80s." This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Not even members of the progressive "Squad" are on board with the idea. Advertisement "I'm not in favor of telling people when they should retire," said Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. "I just think it's a waste of energy and time to have these silly debates." "I haven't really delved into that conversation much," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. "So I don't really have much of a comment on it at the moment." Generally, those who want Sotomayor to step down have argued that the 69-year-old justice's health could falter in the coming years, owing to her type 1 diabetes diagnosis and a Huffington Post report that she has traveled with a medic. Related story Given the possibility of former President Donald Trump winning in November — or of Republicans retaking the Senate and refusing to confirm another Democratic nominee — the "Retire Sotomayor" crowd is aiming to safeguard against the possibility of 7-2 conservative court. Advertisement Hanging over the discussion is the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in 2020 just months before the end of the Trump administration. Years earlier, Ginsburg had resisted calls to retire during the Obama administration. She was swiftly replaced by conservative Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which laid the groundwork for decisions like the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Yet there's little indication that Sotomayor isn't healthy enough to serve, and the arguments in favor of her retirement are built on a fair degree of speculation about her condition. For now, calls for Sotomayor's retirement remain limited to some prominent progressives and media figures. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal has gone the furthest of anyone, telling NBC News recently that Sotomayor "has to weigh the competing factors" and that Democrats "should learn a lesson" from Ginsburg. In recent days, several other Democratic senators have told reporters that they oppose calls for the justice to retire. But while it's the Senate that deals with the confirmation of justices, the lower chamber also has some say over the court, too: the House could theoretically move to impeach a justice, if it came to that. Advertisement "Taking into account what happened to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I get it," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California. But the progressive Democrat said that people need to "chill out" about Sotomayor, noting that he was recently at an event with the 94-year-old civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, and that she seemed healthy. Ironically, Gomez also pointed to Ginsburg — who survived several bouts of cancer and died at age 87 — to support his defense of Sotomayor. "I'm not concerned," said Gomez. "How many health issues did Ruth Bader Ginsburg have? And she kept on trucking for years." "I think it's an overreaction to a recent experience on the court with Justice Ginsburg," said Rep. Chuy Garcia, a progressive Democrat from Illinois, saying that Sotomayor is an "extraordinary Justice" whose "lived experience is very insightful to the court." Advertisement Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota — who waged an entire Democratic presidential primary campaign based on the premise that Joe Biden is too old — said Sotomayor's situation is a "very different context" than Biden's. But Phillips said that if it became clear that Sotomayor was gravely ill, he would have a different opinion. "Then it becomes an issue of great acute consequence," said Phillips. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg was ill. We knew she had cancer. We knew she was old."
Wells Fargo kicks off our bank earnings Friday. Rate cuts and dealmaking will be in focus this season 2024-04-11 21:24:00+00:00 - What a difference a year makes. Club holding Wells Fargo will post quarterly results on Friday, followed by our other financial holding, Morgan Stanley, on Tuesday. The industry's first-quarter results will come against a more pleasant backdrop than last year, when the March 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent shockwaves throughout the sector. The major banks are also beyond last quarter's messy numbers as they paid for the FDIC's regional bank rescue efforts. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rate hikes has also changed from a year ago when central bankers were increasing rates to the current talk about how many rate cuts to expect in 2024. The impact of higher-for-longer interest rates is in focus again this earnings season. Some analysts believe it's a positive for a key financial gauge for Wells Fargo. We're also optimistic but want to temper expectations because several factors play into the firm's performance. Expectations for Fed rate cuts have continued to come down since the start of 2024 when the market ambitiously priced in six reductions. With some recent data signaling an uptick in inflation, including Wednesday's consumer price index for March, market odds are now in the two-cut neighborhood for this year, with the first projected one to arrive in September. Jim Cramer has been saying repeatedly that the resilient economy could re-ignite inflation and that the Fed should not cut rates anytime soon, if at all, this year. A higher rate environment could lead Wells Fargo to boost full-year net interest income (NII) guidance, which we saw as conservative when it was delivered alongside fourth-quarter 2023 results . At the time, its NII outlook, which assumed five Fed rate cuts this year, hit the stock. WFC YTD mountain Wells Fargo (WFC) year-to-date performance NII is the revenue generated from loans, securities, and other interest-earning assets minus the interest expenses paid on its liabilities like customer deposits. Higher rates can be seen as a positive for Wells Fargo's NII because the firm relies heavily on its consumer banking and lending segment. It accounted for roughly 44% of overall revenue in 2023. In theory, higher borrowing costs mean Wells Fargo can generate more money from those interest-earning assets, but it's not that simple. Rates are one of many factors that play into a firm's interest income, including potentially sluggish loan growth, which was a factor in the fourth quarter. It's hard to say with the fluid inflation and rate expectations whether Wells Fargo might change its NII outlook when it reports on Friday. During a UBS financial services conference in February, Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo said the bank is "still very comfortable" with its NII guidance. "When you look at rates in isolation, higher rates, [for a] modestly asset-sensitive business [like Wells] is a positive," Santomassimo said at the Feb. 26 event. However, he added it's only "one factor that you sort of have to look at across the whole balance sheet." Wells Fargo's expense guidance will also be in focus after the bank barely hit estimates last quarter. Expense control is crucial for Wells Fargo to continue improving its efficiency ratio , a profitability measurement in the banking industry. In the fourth quarter, management indicated that the firm met its multiyear goal to cut expenses by $10 billion. We don't predict any thesis-changing events in Friday's release and remain bullish long-term on the bank stock. During Wednesday's Morning Meeting , Jim said, "I like Wells. Let Wells sell off $3 [per share], and then you buy it." The stock was above $56 apiece when Jim made his statement, and it traded modestly lower on Thursday. Wells Fargo also has a key long-term growth prospect in the potential removal of its $1.9 trillion Fed-imposed asset cap. This is a big part of our investment thesis and why we have continued to own the stock, though we trimmed some earlier this year when its outperformance resulted in it becoming our largest position. Once the bank gets its growth cap lifted, which we expect next year, Wells Fargo will be able to grow its balance sheet again. Wells Fargo has also been making noise about getting into the investment banking business in a bigger way. In February, Wells Fargo cleared a big regulatory hurdle tied to past misdeeds, which gave us more optimism around CEO Charlie Scharf and the rest of management's strides to get the growth cap lifted. "Charlie's got a great handle on things," Jim said earlier this week. "He's also a great risk manager." Shares of Wells Fargo have gained more than 15% year to date — due in part to February's regulatory victory — but in recent weeks, the financial name has cooled off. Over the past month, the stock was down slightly while the S & P 500 was up more than 1 percent. Morgan Stanley has generally been hurt by higher interest rates over the past two years because they have injected uncertainty into the economic landscape, limiting dealmaking activity for its investment banking division to partake in. Investment banking came back "strongly" in the first quarter of 2024, JPMorgan analysts said in a note to clients this month. Industrywide fees rose 21% quarter over quarter and 10% on an annual basis, the firm said, reaching their highest levels since the first quarter of 2022 — coinciding with the start of the Fed's rate-hiking campaign . Although these JPMorgan analysts don't cover Morgan Stanley directly, the improved dealmaking backdrop is encouraging for our financial holding's once-lucrative investment banking business. After booming during the early parts of the Covid pandemic, the segment has lagged for over a year amid muted mergers & acquisitions (M & A) activity and a weaker initial public offering (IPO) market. In a note to clients last week, Jefferies analysts similarly said investment banking activity has "begun to rebound," adding that an increase in M & A announcements "bodes well" for Morgan Stanley's advisory revenues during the second half of 2024. Morgan Stanley served as a financial advisor to Discover in Capital One's $35 billion acquisition of the credit-card issuer, which was one of the biggest deals announced in the first quarter of the year. MS YTD mountain Morgan Stanley (MS) year-to-date performance The Club agrees with the Wall Street firms, considering the many signs we've seen that indicate the dealmaking environment is improving. In addition to increased acquisitions, there's been a slew of big-name IPOs already in 2024. Morgan Stanley's investment banking services were tapped for big public debuts from the likes of Wilson tennis racket maker Amer Sports and chip firm Astera Labs , both of which are in the top five IPOs so far this year based on money raised, according to Jefferies. Perhaps most notably, Morgan Stanley was a lead underwriter for Reddit's multibillion-dollar IPO in March. The stock debuted at around $34 per share and is trading around $45 per share Thursday. Reddit's successful debut on the New York Stock Exchange can be viewed as a positive for both investors' current appetite and the future dealmaking environment. And our hope is private companies that want to go public will choose Morgan Stanley as a facilitator for their future offerings. Morgan Stanley earns a fee based on the size of the IPO and for selling the stock to investors. Elsewhere, margins in Morgan Stanley's wealth management division will be under scrutiny after leaving plenty to be desired in the fourth quarter. One factor that weighed on profitability in the segment, which houses online brokerage E-Trade, was that clients were moving their deposits into higher-yield accounts in a process sometimes called "cash sorting." However, deposit trends generally seem to have stabilized, according to Jefferies analysts. And a more supportive market should help Morgan Stanley's margins, analysts suggested. We want to see the firm get back on track toward its previously issued goal of 30% operating margins for the segment down the line. Under recently departed CEO James Gorman, Morgan Stanley embarked on an aggressive push into asset and wealth management, in a bid to become less reliant on the boom-and-bust nature of its traditional investment banking operations. The firm bought E-Trade in 2020 as part of that transformation, but the brokerage has become "sleepy," Jim said, during the Club's most recent Monthly Meeting, alongside a plea for management to improve the bank's overall performance. "New CEO Ted Pick has to come out swinging on this next conference call about how he's going to grow revenues in a faster, less-complacent pace," Jim said. "He's got a better IPO market to crow about, but this company has been a big disappointment versus some others in the industry." Shares of Morgan Stanley tumbled 5% on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported that multiple federal regulators are probing the bank for its wealth management practices. To be sure, the report cited people familiar with the matter and has not been confirmed yet. With the information the Club has now, though, we think the stock decline was a market overreaction. Still, Thursday's losses add on to an overall lackluster 2024 performance for the stock. Morgan Stanley shares have now lost nearly 7% year to date, compared with a roughly 8% gain for the S & P 500 financials sector. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long WFC, MS. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. A woman walks past Wells Fargo bank in New York City, U.S., March 17, 2020. Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Apple shares just had their best day since last May 2024-04-11 21:21:00+00:00 - Apple CEO Tim Cook greets customers as he arrives for the release of the Vision Pro headset at the Apple Store in New York City on Feb. 2, 2024. Apple shares climbed 4.3% on Thursday to a share price of $175.04. It is Apple's best day since May 5, 2023. Apple's rise came during a strong day for technology stocks, especially those in artificial intelligence, as the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.77%. Apple shares are down more than 5% so far this year. On Thursday, JPMorgan analysts wrote that sentiment over Apple shares is improving with hedge fund investors, partially due to its recent stock slide. Despite some negative trends around iPhone sales in China, and recent reports of canceled projects such as its effort to build a car, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said investors may be more comfortable with its current valuation after recent losses and the potential to benefit from AI. The JPMorgan analysts predicted a strong iPhone sales cycle in 2026 due to forthcoming AI features. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told investors to expect an AI announcement later this year. That is expected to occur during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference event in June. "Hedge fund investors are increasingly warming up to the opportunity of the AI upgrade cycle, but the uncertainty still pertains to whether the upgrade cycle starts with iPhone 16 in September 2024 or iPhone 17 in September 2025," Chatterjee wrote. Separately, Apple is also preparing new Mac laptops and desktops with next-generation "M4 chips" that emphasize AI, according to a report Thursday from Bloomberg. Apple declined to comment on the report. The current generation of Apple's chips is called M3.
Gas prices are on the rise again. Here's where experts say they are going next. 2024-04-11 21:15:00+00:00 - Budget-conscious motorists may want to fill up sooner rather than later, as prices at the pump are likely headed higher in the near term. The approach of the peak driving season and the annual switch by refineries to more costly summer gasolines has driven up the national average for unleaded to $3.63, according to AAA. Prices have been edging higher, with motorists on average paying six cents more per gallon than a week ago and 23 cents more this time last month. Still, the cost of filling up is in line with where motorists and their wallets stood a year ago, when a gallon of unleaded came to $3.61, AAA data shows. The cost of gas proved to be a large factor in the surprise jump in inflation last month — a trend that is likely to persist in April, experts told CBS MoneyWatch. Paying to keep vehicles running and a roof over one's head accounted for more than half the March rise in the consumer price index, which rose 3.5% last month from a year ago. Gas prices increased 1.7% from February to March, the government data released on Wednesday showed. Why are gas prices rising? Underlying the higher costs of gas are routine factors including refinery maintenance, the switch to summer gasoline and rising demand. Added to the mix are geopolitical factors, including the Russian-Ukraine war and Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has spurred the price of oil to six-month highs. U.S. intelligence that Iran is preparing to retaliate for the Israeli attack early last week on an Iranian consulate in Syria is among the developments keeping the global commodities market on edge. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has urged Ukraine against further attacks on Russian oil refineries, citing the risk to global energy markets, the Biden administration official told Congress on Wednesday. "The West Coast is likely to see gas prices continue to jump, and in a week or so, will be joined by the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states as they wrap up the transition to summer gasoline," GasBuddy noted Monday in a blog post. Gas prices are averaging $5.41 a gallon in California and topped four bucks a gallon in half a dozen states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, according to AAA. The least expensive gas can be found in Arkansas, Colorado, Mississippi, where a gallon is averaging under $3.20.
Biden’s China tariff threats are more bark than bite, economists say 2024-04-11 21:09:00+00:00 - U.S. President Joe Biden attends a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Filoli estate on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Woodside, California, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The Biden administration this week sent several signals of a toughening U.S. economic strategy against China. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington to announce bolstered military collaboration between the two countries and to showcase the strength of the U.S.-Japan economic relationship. "We agreed that our two countries will continue to respond to challenges concerning China through close coordination," Kishida said at a joint press conference with Biden after their bilateral discussions. Earlier in the week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivered tougher economic red lines on a visit to China. Yellen amplified a concern shared by the United States and EU members, that Chinese companies are producing an overcapacity of cheap clean energy products like solar panels and electric vehicles. If there are not enough buyers for the supply, Beijing could dump them on global markets. The U.S. has not ruled out future tariff hikes on Chinese imports if Beijing does not move to address the overcapacity concern, Yellen said in an interview with CNBC's Sara Eisen, following sessions with her Chinese counterpart Vice Premier He Lifeng. China has so far denied the overcapacity accusation as "groundless" and fired back that the U.S. is threatening protectionist trade policies to stifle global competition. The prospect of new economic tensions between the U.S. and China comes as the two countries try to stabilize their already-fraught relationship after several years of minimal communication, sparked in part by a years-long tariff war. "It remains unclear what this relationship will endure in the months and years ahead," Yellen said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. Taken together, the administration's moves translate into useful talking points for Biden on the 2024 campaign trail, where he and Republican Donald Trump both express China-hawkish worldviews. But they also risk refreezing bilateral relations between the two superpowers.
Harvard hopefuls are going to need to start cramming for the SAT again 2024-04-11 21:07:54+00:00 - Harvard is the fourth Ivy League school to bring back standardized testing. The SAT and ACT tests will be used in admissions again. The timing of Harvard's decision could mean a tight turnaround for this year's applicants. 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 Harvard is the fourth Ivy League school to make standardized testing mandatory again, reversing an earlier shift away from the SAT and ACT by the nation's top universities. All eight Ivies made testing optional when centers shuttered during the pandemic. At the same time, debates started about whether the tests were an actual measure of ability or just economic opportunity. But now the tests are back at Harvard. Related story Harvard's reversal echoes those of Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale — and goes into effect this next admission cycle. Students can choose between the SAT or ACT, Harvard said. Advertisement Harvard said the move will actually help it identify promising students at less-well-resourced schools. "Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond," Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean Hopi Hoekstra said in a statement. Even as top schools are bringing back tests, most colleges in America are remaining test-optional. Still, the timing of the announcement is raising eyebrows. Advertisement The Harvard Crimson called the move a "sudden reversal," noting the university had previously committed to remaining test-optional through 2026. Plus, the SAT and ACT are only offered seven times a year, with the Crimson noting that one sitting for each test has already passed. The window gets even tighter for those looking to apply by Harvard's early action deadline of Nov. 1. The ACT suggests students test at least two months ahead of their deadline, while the SAT says scores are typically available within two to four weeks. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
I'm a lifelong Jersey girl choosing to retire in South Carolina. It's where my adult daughter is planning to live — and it's cheaper. 2024-04-11 21:04:45+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 This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kathie Zucker, 57, and her decision to move to Charleston, South Carolina, from the New York City suburb of Butler, New Jersey. The conversation was edited for length and clarity. I started to seriously look to move to Charleston in the fall of 2023. Before that, my husband and I would talk about it and drive to different areas. Then we figured out areas we liked. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. It's a hard decision to make. You just say to yourself, "My husband and I are entering the second phase and moving toward retirement eventually. I'm an insurance agency manager. I'm too young to retire right now, but is New Jersey where I want to eventually be?" Advertisement And the answer was no. On top of that was the cost of living in New Jersey. The property tax situation when you retire is still significant. I mean, you're talking $9,000 a year — just increase after increase. I've been to Charleston extensively to stay with my daughter. She transferred there from another school in Virginia. But it wasn't really on my radar as a place to retire — more so Florida, or somewhere like that. But the more I went to visit her and the more I saw of what it offered, the more I could visualize my husband and I retiring there. Advertisement We did consider Florida, but we ruled it out. For maybe a quick minute we considered North Carolina and ruled that out. But we definitely wanted something on the seaboard here in the east. I wanted to be closer to my daughter — and the beach My family had vacationed in Isle of Palms, which is near Charleston, for many years. But until my daughter went to school there, I never really went down and experienced it. It's funny that's where I ended up. I wouldn't say my daughter living there was the sole consideration for moving. Out of 10, I would probably have to say it's a seven. Wanting to be near your adult children was important for me and my husband because she's our only child. But then I think if she was in a place we definitely didn't want to be, we wouldn't move. Related story If she was in Virginia, where she originally started school, we probably would have looked in that area. But if she was in Ohio, there's not a chance I'd go to Ohio. Advertisement She loves it down there, so it's a great place for her to call home. I wouldn't say it felt like a place immediately that I could live. Being from New Jersey and living outside New York City my whole life, it's very diverse and there are a lot of different things to do. While obviously not as big as New York, there are also things to do in Charleston. You can hike, there are cultural events in the city and also outside the city, there's an area called Summerville that also has those things. I could very much picture myself in there because of the variety of things the area has to offer. Also the weather — no snow, none of that to deal with. The weather and being outdoors all year round. When I was younger I used to be a winter person where I liked to ski and all that. But now I like being able to enjoy life and be outside and in a mild climate with lots of activities. Advertisement Our house in South Carolina isn't cheaper, but we got more bang for our buck I was born and raised in New Jersey, and I was in that house for 27 years. Opendoor purchased the home from me free and clear for somewhere around $493,000. The company then put the home on the market a couple of weeks ago and it was sold within a week to another buyer. (Editor's note: The Zillow listing says the home sale is pending for $540,000.) We bought the house for $143,000 in 1997. It was about 1,300 square feet, ranch style, with three bedrooms and two baths. Our house in South Carolina is in a suburb called Moncks Corner, about 30 miles from Charleston proper. The feel of the town is a lot like Butler, except with beautiful weather and palm trees. There's a huge, huge lake two miles from where the house is being built. I can get to the beach easily — the beaches are free — and I can get to the city easily. Advertisement Obviously it's not New York City, but it's still a city and just a more laid-back life. You have great food, and some entertainment. In general, the cost of living is less there and there are far lower taxes on property and payroll. But it's not as much in savings as you would think. That area is really booming. It's growing and there's building like crazy. The house that we bought in Charleston was $433,000, but the square footage is more than we had in New Jersey. It's a brand-new build in a brand-new development, which goes towards the quality of life. We could not have afforded that build in New Jersey. Advertisement Altogether, there are three bedrooms and two full baths on the first floor, and then a lofted area makes it four bedrooms. So if we have guests, or my daughter comes home to live with us, it's almost like an additional self-contained space away from the main parts of the house. It's really nice to have that area of the house that we didn't have in New Jersey, and the yard is actually a little bit bigger than we had in New Jersey. Would we have moved here if our daughter was here? Probably not, because I hadn't been to the area. She's a senior now and an athlete, so I go down to Charleston at least four or five times a year to see her events and stay with her or in a hotel. But I'm not so sure if, had I not had those experiences and been down there, that Charleston would necessarily have been on my list.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appeals fraud conviction, 25-year prison sentence 2024-04-11 21:02:00+00:00 - Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arrives at court as lawyers push to persuade the judge overseeing his fraud case not to jail him ahead of trial, at a courthouse in New York, August 11, 2023. A lawyer for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on Thursday filed a notice of appeal of his federal fraud and conspiracy conviction and his 25-year prison sentence. Bankman-Fried's appeal came two weeks after he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Manhattan and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture for the massive fraud at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and a related hedge fund, Alameda Research. Prosecutors said it was one of the largest financial frauds in history. The appeal, which was expected, will be heard by a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which sits in Manhattan. Criminal defendants face very long odds of having their convictions overturned in federal court, winning reversals in fewer than 10% of appeals. If Bankman-Fried loses at the 2nd Circuit, he would have to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take his appeal, which is an even longer shot. Alexandra Shapiro, the lawyer who filed Bankman-Fried's notice of appeal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted at trial in November of seven fraud and conspiracy counts related to misappropriating around $10 billion in customer money. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said Bankman-Fried oversaw a conspiracy that looted customer funds to make investments and fund political donations to Democrats and Republicans. He also used the swindled funds for personal expenses and to repay loans taken out by Alameda Research, prosecutors said.
Ford prepares to resume F-150 Lightning shipments, drops prices on some models 2024-04-11 20:55:00+00:00 - The F-150 Lightning on display at the New York International Auto Show on March 28, 2024. DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor is lowering the starting prices of some all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks as it prepares to resume shipping the vehicles after quality issues. The included models are expected to ship later this month for between $2,000 and $5,500 less than before the automaker halted shipments for undisclosed quality issues in early February. The biggest price decrease is on the pickup's mid-level Flash trim, now priced $5,500 lower at $67,995. That was followed by $2,500 off Lariat models, now priced at $74,995, as well as a $2,000 reduction for XLT models, with a new price of $62,995. Prices on the $54,995 entry-level Pro model and an $84,995 top-end Platinum model were unchanged. The cost reductions are the latest electric vehicle price changes for the broader automotive industry amid slower-than-expected consumer adoption. Ford's cuts come three months after it adjusted Lightning prices, including increasing some model prices. "It's part of the normal response to both where the market place is, our supply and where our inventory sits ... which we do all the time," Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra told reporters on the sidelines of an event at its F-150 plant in Dearborn, Michigan. "New technology like electric vehicles takes some time to find the right sweet spot and the balance."
Feds to close 'gun show loophole' once and for all — unless Republicans get in the way 2024-04-11 20:51:10+00:00 - The Biden administration is poised to expand background checks on firearm purchases and close what is known as the "gun show loophole" in a move that Republicans are already pushing back on. Under federal law, licensed gun dealers must run a background check on a potential buyer before making a sale. But unlicensed dealers who sell firearms outside of physical stores — like at a gun show or a market, or online — are not required to conduct background checks. Under the new rule, anyone “engaged in the business” of selling firearms for profit must register for a federal dealer's license and conduct background criminal and mental health checks on buyers. Federal and state governments have struggled to enact meaningful restrictions on access to guns despite the staggering rates of gun violence in the U.S. In 2022, after 19 children and two adults were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which went some ways in addressing the issue. But it still fell short of requiring background checks on all firearm purchases and banning assault weapons. The new rule, which implements a change in the 2022 legislation, is set to go into effect next month. But it will almost certainly face legal challenges: Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who worked on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, have said they will introduce a joint resolution to stop the rule. According to a recent analysis by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, unlicensed dealers are the biggest source of illegally trafficked firearms in the country, amounting to more than 68,000 firearms traceable back to unlicensed dealers from 2017 to 2021. Over the years, multiple mass shooters who'd been turned away by licensed dealers later obtained their firearms through private sellers who did not run background checks — including in the 1999 Columbine High shooting, one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
Rhode Island transit chief resigns after he’s accused in a hit-and-run at a McDonald’s drive-thru 2024-04-11 20:50:42+00:00 - PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Public Transit Authority CEO Scott Avedisian submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Dan McKee on Thursday just two weeks after he was accused in a hit-and-run in a McDonald’s drive-thru in Warwick. The announcement came the same day as the RIPTA board of directors met behind closed doors to discuss Avedisian’s fate. In his letter of resignation, Avedisian ticked off a series of what he portrayed as successes adopted during his tenure. “Regrettably, all of these initiatives are now being overshadowed by recent events,” he wrote. “I regret that the good work of the employees is being detracted by my actions.” Avedisian pleaded not guilty last week to a misdemeanor offense of leaving the scene of an accident after police said he caused a three-car crash in a Warwick McDonald’s drive-thru and fled the scene. The former Warwick mayor began serving as the head of RIPTA in 2018. A successor to the post has yet to be named.
How much do caddies make at the Masters? Here's how their pay at the PGA tournament works. 2024-04-11 20:50:00+00:00 - Being a caddie at the Masters is an entirely different experience than doing the job anywhere else — just ask Ken Martin. "Caddies are treated really great at Augusta," said Martin, who caddied for Scottish golfer Sandy Lyle at the major tournament last year. "We had our own locker room. They feed us just wonderful food — the best food I've ever had really. But it's a long week. You have to be fit to get around that hilly course." Some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, will converge on the famously hilly course Thursday to compete in the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. Golfers are playing for a multimillion dollar cash prize and the chance to don the coveted green jacket for a year. Much of this year's attention will be on the cash prize the winning golfer will receive at this year's tournament. The purse for the 2023 Masters totaled $18 million, which was $3 million more than the purse the year before — the largest year-over-year increase in tournament history. Of that total, 2023 winner Jon Rahm took home $3.24 million. But players aren't the only ones in line for a big payout. The winner's caddie can easily go home with a six-figure paycheck after four days of work. But snagging the four-day gig is the culmination of years spent working one-on-one with the same professional golfer, Martin said. Caddies develop a strong friendship with a golfer long before it's time for an elite competition like the Masters, Martin said. Fans seated in the stands, as well those watching at home, can only see the caddie handing the player a club, but in reality, there's a constant back-and-forth communication taking place between golfer and caddie during commercial breaks and while the two are walking to the next hole, he explained. Martin, who played professionally from 1982 to 2015, now teaches the sport at Keiser University in Florida. Aside from carrying the heavy bag, the caddie also provides input on which club to use, as well as swing technique, Martin said. That's because most caddies working PGA Tour games are former professional players with a wealth of knowledge on the game. But technique is only a small part of the exchange, he added. With a strong camaraderie forged over the years, it's very likely the two spend most of time chatting like old friends, he said. "It's boring to talk about only golf for four to six hours," Martin said. "You're out there for a long time together so the friendship part of it plays a larger role." How much do caddies make at the Masters? Caddies like Martin earn a salary from two sources during the Masters. One part is a weekly wage between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on the caddie's experience, the Association of Professional Caddies and the Caddies Network told CBS MoneyWatch. The weekly wage helps caddies recoup financially because they're required to pay their own travel to Georgia, along with hotel and food while working the tournament. Caddies also get a percentage of whatever their player earns after the tournament ends. The caddie of the Master's winner will get 10% of the prize money. For context, Jon Rahm won the Masters' last year and got $3.24 million. The caddie for the runner up at the Masters will get 7% of that player's prize winnings; every caddie after that will get 5%. Caddies Network CEO John von Stade told CBS MoneyWatch there are rare occasions when a caddie has a private contract with the player, in which case that person's salary will not follow the traditional setup. Over the past five years, caddie have seen some positive changes. PGA Tour officials have increased caddies' weekly wages and players' prize money has also climbed — potentially giving caddies a chance to bring home six figures after a tournament. "But what hasn't changed is, if your player doesn't make the cut, there is no other source of money other than the weekly fee," von Stade said.
Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple 2024-04-11 20:38:30+00:00 - To Russia, the Ukraine war and the "gray zone" fights beyond it are two sides of the same coin. Destabilizing Africa would ease Russia's campaign in Ukraine, the Kremlin believes. The KGB's successors, however, have had a less than stellar record. 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 Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. "Russia is using unconventional methods to expand its influence, evade containment, and destabilize and disrupt its adversaries — and is making progress in several directions," warned a report by Britain's Royal United Services Institute think tank. This includes covert operations in Europe, mercenaries operating across Africa, and establishing links with Muslim communities in Central Asia and Europe. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. "It is the conventional threat of escalation that deters retaliation against unconventional activity, thereby expanding the scope of what Russia can get away with," RUSI said. "Conversely, it is the unconventional operations of the Russian special services that aim to set the conditions for the successful application of conventional military force." Thus, for example, destabilizing Africa — and diverting Western attention and resources — will ease Russia's campaign in Ukraine, the Kremlin believes. All of this means that Russian "special services" — spies, assassins, and propagandists — will continue their efforts. Advertisement Revolution and subversion was the business model for the Soviet Union and later Russia. "The Russian playbook has been remarkably consistent for decades," noted RUSI. "The overall approach is to use information operations and active measures to polarize a target population, mobilize factions in support of allied elites, and paralyze support for opposing elements of a country's leadership. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. Finally, violence can be employed to escalate political tensions to the point of crisis, or in other contexts to isolate a captured elite." For example, in 2016, Russian military intelligence recruited criminal gangs for an attempted coup to stop Montenegro from joining NATO (the attempt eventually led to several agents and Montenegrin politicians being jailed). In February 2022, Moscow tried to spark street protests that would "justify Russian military intervention, aided by collaborators within the Ukrainian government, clearing the path for Russian agents recruited inside the Ukrainian parliament and state to seize power," RUSI said. And in Moldova in 2022 and 2023, Russia's FSB security service hoped that protests would offer an excuse for pro-Russian leaders to call for military intervention (though "the poor performance of Russian arms in Ukraine" made these leaders hesitate, RUSI noted). An aerial view of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces building, also known as the GRU, in Moscow, Russia. Getty Images 'Creating crises' Unfortunately for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the KGB's successors have had a less-than-stellar record. The 161 Intelligence Specialists Training Center — the shadowy sabotage, subversion, and assassination unit of the GRU, or Russian military intelligence — has accrued multiple failures over the last decade, including an unsuccessful coup in Montenegro in 2016, and attempts to foment violence in Ukraine and Moldova to justify Russian military intervention. Related stories "The reasons for failure were consistent," said RUSI analysts Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds. "Poor operational security leading to the exposure of the plan to domestic security services and the disruption of its implementation; and inaccurate assessment by the Russian special services as to the extent of their influence in these countries." In addition, many European nations expelled Russian diplomats and spies after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Inept operations — such as botched assassinations of GRU defectors in Britain — also didn't help. Advertisement Undaunted, Russia has rebuilt its capacity for unconventional warfare capabilities, or "active measures." To create a support network for its agents in Europe, it has switched from using Russian businessmen and expatriates to utilizing the Russian mafia and recruiting foreign students at Russian universities. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "The Balkans present a particularly serious set of opportunities for such enterprises. Russia also has an active interest in destabilizing Ukraine's partners, and with a slew of elections forthcoming across Europe there is a wide range of opportunities to exacerbate polarization." Meanwhile, Russia's state-sponsored mercenaries are expanding their efforts in Africa and the Middle East by providing military support to dictators and warlords, from Libya and Mali to Sudan and the Central African Republic. The infamous Wagner Group — a private military corporation — seems to be subsumed, its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin having opposed Putin before dying in a mysterious plane crash. Instead, Russia is now offering a "regime survival package" — delivered via a GRU Expeditionary Corps of mercenary groups such as Convoy — to support clients against threats from Islamic rebels and rival factions. "The Kremlin, through the GRU, has now set about seeking to build an 'Entente Roscolonial' — a group of states that actively seek to assist Russia, while also becoming increasingly subordinate to Russian influence — displacing Western interests across Africa and the Middle East," according to RUSI. Advertisement At the same time, Ramzan Kadyrov, the powerful and ruthless leader of Russia's republic of Chechnya, is attempting to expand Moscow's influence among the Muslims of Central Asia and the Balkans. "Russian official propaganda and networks of hidden influence operating in Muslim countries push a romantic image of Kadyrov as a defender of Islam, opposing Western heretics who are trying to destroy traditional values," RUSI said. Even so, Russia has become a target of Islamist terror groups like ISIS-K, which claimed responsibility for the gunmen who killed more than 140 at a Moscow concert on March 22. Interestingly, the RUSI experts concluded that the West's best defense against Russian unconventional warfare isn't to rebut Moscow's relentless flood of propaganda and fake news. "Countering disinformation — while important — is far less consequential than breaking Russia's access to and leverage over elites, and its support apparatus for active measures. This can be achieved through the exposure and arrest of its agents, intelligence officers, and activities." However, the West has to be careful not to become as repressive and paranoid as its enemy. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized. "This is why having a broad understanding of Russian forms and methods is essential; it protects a state from jumping at shadows." Advertisement Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The best Amazon Echo devices of 2024 2024-04-11 20:36:43+00:00 - When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more When it comes to welcoming Alexa into your home, you've got a lot of devices to choose from. Amazon's own selection of Echo products is a great place to start, and the lineup is versatile, catering to every kind of user and budget. It can be overwhelming to find the right fit for your setup, so we've gathered the best Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays all in one place. Our top pick is the standard Amazon Echo, which offers the perfect balance of features, price, and capabilities for most smart-home needs. However, if you're on a tighter budget, the Amazon Echo Dot is half the price. Though its sound quality isn't as good, the Dot doesn't compromise on convenient features, and its compact design is great for smaller rooms. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are more Echo models to choose from, including smart displays with touchscreens and even a high-end speaker model with Dolby Atmos sound. Keep scrolling to see all our picks for the best Amazon Echo devices. Our top picks for the best Amazon Echo devices you can buy: Best overall: Echo (4th Gen) - See at Amazon Best on a budget: Echo Dot (5th Gen) - See at Amazon Best for audiophiles: Echo Studio - See at Amazon Best with a display: Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) - See at Amazon Best overall Amazon Echo (4th Gen) Amazon's flagship smart speaker is the best Echo for most people thanks to its room-filling sound, reliable Alexa voice control, and built-in smart-home hub capabilities. Shop at Amazon Shop at Best Buy Shop at Target What we like Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Good sound quality for the money Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Integrated Zigbee hub support Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 3.5mm port for wired connections What we don’t like con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Doesn't support Dolby Atmos or high-res music The fourth-generation Echo feels like a realization of everything Amazon has been building toward in previous models. It's an Alexa speaker that finds just the right balance between audio performance, price, and smart-home capabilities. The device has a modern look and is shaped like a six-inch orb, eschewing the cylindrical style of older Echo devices. It's available in three colors and looks good on any counter or shelf. With its three-inch neodymium woofer, dual tweeters, and support for Dolby audio, the Echo is a solid device for general music listening and an ideal smart speaker for larger areas like living rooms and dining spaces. As noted in our Echo review, the fourth-generation Echo sounds better than its predecessors in every way, with louder, deeper, and more full-bodied audio. It beats every other member of Amazon's smart speaker family, save for the more expensive Echo Studio, which steps things up with more powerful drivers, Dolby Atmos playback, and high-resolution music support. The standard Echo is a great all-around smart speaker. Matt Monath Photography for Business Insider Of course, the device includes all of the smart-home capabilities that Echo speakers are known for, including built-in Alexa support for voice control and a suite of digital assistant functions. It also supports motion detection for activating routines, temperature sensing, and even an integrated Zigbee hub along with support for the Matter protocol to directly link other compatible smart-home devices together for seamless control. Whether you're just starting to build an Amazon smart home or simply want a standalone smart speaker that does it all, the Amazon Echo is our top recommendation for the top Alexa speaker you can snag right now. It offers everything most people could need without being exorbitant in price. Check out our Amazon Echo review. Best on a budget Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) Amazon’s new fifth-generation Echo Dot offers improved sound quality over previous models, along with a temperature sensor and Eero WiFi extender capabilities. Shop at Amazon Shop at Best Buy What we like Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Carries over most of the standard Echo’s features Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Small footprint with modern design What we don’t like con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Lacks Zigbee smart-home hub integration con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No 3.5mm port Though it's no longer the cheapest Echo speaker you can buy, the fifth-generation Echo Dot is still our favorite budget pick. It offers the best balance of features for its price, and it's even on sale regularly to bring its cost down lower. At just under 3.5 inches high, the Echo Dot is one of the most compact Alexa smart speakers, making it ideal for smaller rooms or for placing out of the way. In exchange for its tiny size and low price, it does make some compromises in sound quality compared to the regular Echo, and it lacks that model's built-in Zigbee smart home hub and 3.5mm port for wired connections. The Echo Dot offers many of the capabilities of its larger counterpart, but for only half the price. Sarah Saril/Insider However, if you're looking for a budget-friendly speaker to supplement, not spearhead, an Alexa smart-home setup, these shortcomings shouldn't matter much. After all, the Echo Dot still offers all of the digital assistant features and extra perks that most users seek, including hands-free voice control, motion detection, temperature sensing, and built-in Eero support for extending Eero-compatible WiFi systems. And while it doesn't support Zigbee, the Dot does still support pairing with other devices that use the Matter smart-home protocol. The Echo Dot's smaller speaker drivers do result in less impressive audio performance than its larger siblings, but the Dot is still more than capable enough to suit smaller spaces like a kitchen, bedroom, or dorm room. While it's not something we recommend as a device dedicated to playing music, it works fine for casual listening. We also think the Echo Dot remains a better investment for your money when compared to Amazon's newest budget speaker, the Echo Pop. Though the Pop is $10 cheaper and performed well enough during our tests, the Dot looks more premium, fills space better with audio, and comes with temperature and motion sensing features. It's easy to see why it's the brand's most popular Echo speaker. Buyers who want a little something extra, should also consider the Echo Dot with clock, which for $10 more adds an LED display that can show the time, temperature, and song titles. Best for audiophiles Amazon Echo Studio Amazon's Echo Studio offers high quality audio that's a notable step above the standard Echo model. It has Dolby Atmos spatial audio, and also includes a Zigbee hub for convenient smart home control. Shop at Amazon What we like Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. The best sound of any Echo speaker Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Supports Dolby Atmos and high-res audio Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Zigbee smart-home hub support What we don’t like con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Larger footprint that won’t fit in small spaces con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Hefty price despite its five-year-old age con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Lacks motion detection and temperature sensing If you want an Alexa smart speaker with the chops to deliver great music playback in a large space, the Echo Studio is the model for you. The largest of the Echo lineup, this speaker packs a punch with clear audio that far surpasses the quality of our other picks. As soon as you set it up, the Echo Studio balances its sound to match the acoustics of your space, making for a personalized auditory experience. It automatically recalibrates when you move its location, too, so you never have to worry about finessing the details yourself. The Echo Studio delivers the best audio quality of any Echo. Sarah Saril/Insider For a smart speaker, it's shocking how good the Echo Studio sounds. Bass is rich and weighty, with highs and vocals that don't get lost in the mix. Music fills the space, and rather than just a device for background noise or casual listening like some smart speakers, the Echo Studio's audio becomes the main attraction. When paired with a good quality source, the Echo Studio makes other Echo speakers sound weak. It even supports playing Dolby Atmos tracks from Amazon Music, which is a spatial audio format designed to spread sound effects and instruments in all directions, including above your head. It also has an optical port to connect to a TV to serve as a mini home theater speaker. And if you have one of Amazon's latest Fire TV models, the Echo Studio can connect wirelessly to your streaming device to serve as your audio system. However, it's important to note the Echo Studio is older than most models in Amazon's lineup. It came out in 2019, and it still uses the older cylindrical design of past-generation Echo speakers. It also lacks some extra features found on other Echo models, like motion detection and temperature sensing, and it's huge to boot. The Echo Studio isn't designed to fit in the background like other smart devices. You need a dedicated space for this speaker. But if you're looking for an Alexa device that puts audio quality first, the Echo Studio is the best Amazon Echo you can buy. Best with a display Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) The latest version of the Echo Show 8 features improved audio, a built-in smart home hub, a better processor, and a revised design featuring edge-to-edge glass with a centered camera. Shop at Amazon What we like Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Medium-size design fits most needs Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Nice screen and camera that rival pricier models What we don’t like con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Not wall mountable con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Too large for fitting in very tight spaces Amazon offers a wide range of Echo smart displays, from the huge Echo Show 15 to the tiny Echo Show 5. However, if you're looking for the best all-around display to cover most needs and use cases, the midsize Echo Show 8 is the best Amazon Echo to get. Its screen is just the right size for poking around menus and reading internet recipes while remaining compact enough to fit on most shelves and counters without getting in the way. During testing, it was the one smart display that never felt "too big" or "too small" for any of its features, whereas the other Echo Shows often fell into one of those categories. The Amazon Echo Show 8 is the perfect size for most smart display uses. Sarah Saril/Insider The Echo Show 8 also matches the more expensive Show 10 with its 13-megapixel camera and 1280 x 800 resolution touchscreen. Though it lacks the Show 10's automatic rotating feature, the Show 8's HD display and camera combo make it ideal for streaming clips and video-calling friends and family. In contrast, the cheaper Show 5 has a smaller, lower resolution screen and a camera with just 2MP, which makes it difficult to recommend for video chatting. With dual two-inch speakers, the Show 8 also offers a nice upgrade in sound quality over the cheaper Show 5, and it has the bonus of Zigbee smart-home hub support. And like all Echo devices, it features hands-free Alexa digital assistant functionality. If you absolutely need something smaller, the Echo Show 5 is still a solid alternative, and if you want a larger screen that can automatically follow you during calls, the Echo Show 10 has you covered. But if you're looking for the best Amazon Echo smart display that will be "just right" for most needs, we recommend the Echo Show 8 over other options. What to look for in an Amazon Echo smart device Christian de Looper/Business Insider Amazon offers a wide array of Echo devices for various needs. When selecting the best Amazon Echo for your home, we recommend settling on a few priorities first. The first major decision to make is whether you want a speaker or a display. If you have a need for visualizing recipes, browsing your smart home devices, or video calling, then an Echo Show display is going to be a better fit than an Echo speaker. You should then consider what kind of space it's going in and how often you plan to video call with it because that will help narrow down which size you should get: the 5-, 8-, 10-, or 15-inch Echo Show. If you don't need a screen, an Echo speaker should do the trick. Each one brings Alexa capabilities with at least decent audio quality to help smarten your space. All that's left is to determine where you'd like to place it, how much you prioritize speaker quality, and whether you need it to connect directly to other smart devices in your home. Once you've got those questions answered, you can confidently narrow down which Echo speaker has the features you need most. Lastly, we recommend keeping in mind whether this is your first Echo device or an additional purchase you're making to add to an existing smart-home ecosystem. If you already have Alexa products in your home and you're just adding supplemental devices, you can probably go with budget models that forgo some features. For example, if you already have a standard Echo or Echo Show 8, you likely won't need an additional Zigbee-capable model if you're shopping for a secondary speaker for your bedroom or kitchen. In that case, opting for a smaller Echo Dot or Show 5 can save you money and space. For details on Amazon's entire lineup of Echo devices, check out our full guide to Amazon Echo products with a breakdown of key features for each model. Amazon Echo device FAQs Lisa Eadicicco/Insider How do I set up an Amazon Echo device? Setting up an Amazon Echo device is simple and only requires a smartphone or tablet with the Alexa app and an Amazon account (no Prime membership necessary). It's a very similar process across the board for all of the speakers and displays: just turn on the new device and follow the instructions in the Alexa app. Are Amazon Echo and Alexa the same thing? Amazon Echo and Alexa are closely related but they're not the same thing. Echo is the brand name for Amazon's series of smart products, while Alexa is the name of the company's digital assistant. All Echo devices support Alexa, so it's best to think of Alexa as the primary feature of an Amazon Echo. What does an Amazon Echo do? The best Amazon Echo devices offer many useful features. Most notably, Echo smart speakers and displays feature built-in support for Amazon Alexa, the company's popular digital assistant. Alexa enables voice commands so you can ask questions, set timers, check the weather, get news updates, play music, and control other compatible smart devices through hands-free commands. Do I need to have an Amazon account to use Echo? You need to have a basic Amazon account to set up and use an Echo device with Alexa. That said, Echo products don't require a paid subscription to Amazon Prime. You can just use a free Amazon account to get started with your Echo and access its main features. Should I wait until Prime Day, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday to buy an Amazon Echo? The best Amazon Echo devices get big discounts during deal events like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. If you're planning to buy an Echo but don't mind holding off for a few months, you should wait until one of these deal holidays to snag one for the best price.
A 13-year-old girl helped unearth an ancient Roman town. She's finally getting credit for it over 90 years later. 2024-04-11 20:32:36+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 In the early 1930s, a 13-year-old girl, Helen Carlton-Smith, helped excavate a former Roman settlement. She joined several female archaeologists in finding gold coins and pottery and uncovering mosaics. Until recently, few people knew of her participation. Located near what's now Hertfordshire, England, Verulamium was one of Britain's largest Roman cities. Archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, then director of the London Museum, was in charge of the excavation. His wife, Tessa Verney Wheeler, was also an archaeologist. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. "In reality, the day-to-day running of the project fell to" Tessa Wheeler, Lexi Diggins, the guest curator of an exhibit at the Verulamium Museum on the women who worked at the site, told Business Insider via email. Women have been part of archaeological digs since the 19th century if not earlier, Diggins said. They often "didn't receive the same public acknowledgment as their male colleagues or partners," she said. Advertisement Amateurs like Carlton-Smith were usually overlooked as well. A 13-year-old's diary of a dig Carlton-Smith lived nearby and saw archaeologists digging in the park. She was curious enough to ask about their work. That led Tessa Wheeler to ask the teenager if she wanted to help, Diggins said. Carlton-Smith's mother was a talented amateur artist, and the Wheelers enlisted her to sketch the mosaics and make drawings of the dig. "Helen inherited her mother's talent and also traced the mosaics," Diggins said. Related stories Over the course of a few years, the girl kept a detailed diary of the excavation, Diggins said. The team became so used to Carlton-Smith's presence that Mortimer Wheeler nicknamed her "Helen of Troy." Advertisement Several women worked on the Verulamium Excavation, including Helen Carlton-Smith, second from the right. Photographs from the Verulamium Excavations of the 1930s ©St Albans Museums "Helen became a schoolteacher and had three daughters, all of whom were taught how to draw and record fossils," Diggins said, "and she taught them the importance of the natural world and of being outside and observing everything." Carlton-Smith's family kept the trowel she used for excavating, which is part of the exhibit. A network of female archaeologists Carlton-Smith's diary also revealed how Tessa Wheeler helped instruct the men and women working on the excavation. "Her method was to teach by doing," Diggins said. In addition to teaching the archaeologists skills like photographing and drawing archaeological features, Tessa Wheeler instructed them on managing similar projects, allocating resources, and training others. Advertisement "To Tessa's credit, many women archaeologists cut their teeth working at the site and then went on to achieve incredible things within the discipline of archaeology," Diggins said. Kathleen Kenyon excavated Verulamium's Roman theater and was later appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire because of her archaeological work. Some of the women who worked on the Verulamium dig went on to have long and distinguished careers in archaeology. Photographs from the Verulamium Excavations of the 1930s ©St Albans Museums Peggy Piggot Guido turned 21 while working on the Verulamium site. Six years later, she helped excavate a seventh-century ship at Sutton Hoo, as depicted in Netflix's "Dig." Tessa Wheeler's work was cut short with her death in 1936 at age 43. She had fundraised to open the Verulamium Museum but didn't live to see it, Diggins said. Advertisement "I believe the real heroine of the story is Tessa Wheeler," Diggins said. "Her impact on those she met was impressive and has created ripples of influence and connection right up to today."
Lawsuit settled: 2 top US gun parts makers agree to temporarily halt sales in Philadelphia 2024-04-11 20:27:57+00:00 - Two of America’s leading gun parts manufacturers have agreed to temporarily halt sales of their products in Philadelphia and elsewhere in Pennsylvania, city officials said Thursday, announcing a settlement of their lawsuit against the companies. Philadelphia filed suit against Polymer80 and JSD Supply in July, accusing the manufacturers of perpetuating gun violence in the city by manufacturing and selling untraceable, self-manufactured weapons commonly known as “ghost guns.” The suit came under a broader legal effort to restrict where manufacturers can market their assemble-at-home guns. David Pucino, legal director of Giffords Law Center, which represented the city, accusing Polymer80 and JSD Supply of “reckless business practices ... that threatened public safety.” “The gun industry must be held accountable when it breaks the law and endangers Americans,” he said in a statement. Under the settlement, JSD Supply, based in Butler, Pennsylvania, agreed it would no longer sell its products in the state for four years, city officials said. Dayton, Nevada-based Polymer80 agreed to a four-year ban on sales to customers in Philadelphia and the nearby counties of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton, which include the cities of Allentown, Easton, Reading and Lancaster. Additionally, Polymer80 agreed to pay $1.3 million, which Philadelphia officials said will fund efforts to address gun violence. The settlement was expected to be filed with the court on Friday. Messages were left at both companies seeking comment on the agreement. “These weapons have ended up in the hands of our youth and individuals who are not otherwise permitted to possess a firearm, and the consequences in our communities have been devastating,” Renee Garcia, Philadelphia’s city solicitor, said in a statement. Ghost guns, which can be purchased without a background check and assembled at home, have become the weapon of choice for children, criminals and others who cannot lawfully own a gun, according to city officials. They have been used in a staggering number of shootings in recent years. Between 2019 and 2022, police recorded a fourfold increase in the number of ghost guns that had been used to commit crimes, according to the city’s lawsuit. In 2022, city police seized 575 of the guns. Last July, a gunman armed with an AR-15-style weapon and a handgun — both self-manufactured — went on a shooting spree that killed five people in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, announcing the settlement at a news conference to discuss her first 100 days in office, said Polymer80 and JSD produced 90% of the ghost guns recovered in the city, “We needed to find a way to hold them accountable for their role in supplying the crime gun market, and perpetuating gun violence,” she said. In February, Polymer80 agreed to stop selling its firearms to Maryland residents under a settlement with the city of Baltimore. Last month, a federal judge permanently banned a Florida gun retailer from selling or delivering certain gun parts in New York that officials say could be used to assemble untraceable ghost guns and sold without background checks.
Many taxpayers fear getting audited by the IRS. Here are the odds based on your income. 2024-04-11 20:11:00+00:00 - IRS Audits help the agency collect money that tax cheats owe the federal government, but experts say they also serve another important purpose: They help deter fraud. That can cause some serious agita, of course. The IRS says about 6 in 10 taxpayers cite the anxiety of getting audited as a motive for being honest on their taxes. Meanwhile, the IRS has vowed to increase audits on taxpayers with annual income over $400,000 as a way to raise revenue and crack down on tax dodgers, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. After the 2022 law was passed, roughly a quarter of voters expressed concern about getting hit with an audit, according to Morning Consult research. So what are the odds of getting audited? Very low. Only 0.2% of all individual income tax returns filed for the 2020 tax year faced an audit, according to the most recent data available from the IRS. That means about 1 in 500 tax returns are audited each year. To be sure, some people face higher audit risks than others, and one of them might surprise you. The taxpayers most likely to be audited are those with annual incomes exceeding $10 million — about 2.4% of those returns were audited in 2020. But the second most likely group to get audited are low- and moderate-income taxpayers who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Why can the EITC trigger an audit? The higher audit rate for people who claim the EITC has sparked criticism from policy experts. The Bipartisan Policy Center notes that these examinations tend to disproportionately fall on people of color, partly because they are more likely to qualify for the tax credit. People can claim different amounts through the EITC based on their income and their number of dependent children. For instance, a married couple filing jointly with three kids and less than $63,398 in income can claim the maximum EITC amount, at $7,430. But the most a single taxpayer with no kids can claim is $600. EITC returns can get flagged if the IRS' records show the taxpayer doesn't qualify for all or some of the credit, such as claiming a child who isn't actually eligible (which can happen if they're over 19 and not a full-time student). About 8 in 10 audited returns that claimed the EITC had either incorrectly claimed a child or misreported income, the National Taxpayer Advocate noted in a 2022 report. Still, these audits are slightly different than the kind a wealthier taxpayer would typically face. The IRS relies on so-called "correspondence audits" to handle EITC issues, which are handled via letters and phone calls, rather than in-person visits from an IRS agent, or how audits are handled with high-income taxpayers. Are taxpayers more or less likely to get audited these days? Quite the opposite. In fact, the audit rate has been declining for years, according to IRS data. For instance, the agency in 2014 audited about 9.4% of all tax returns for people earning more than $10 million a year — that's almost four times the present audit rate, IRS data shows. Middle-class taxpayers are also much less likely to get audited today. IRS figures show that the audit rate for people with annual income of $50,000 to $75,000 was 0.4% in 2014 — also four times higher than the current audit rate. The reason, the IRS says, is partly due to its shrinking workforce. In fiscal year 2022, the agency had about 79,000 full-time equivalent workers, a 9.1% decline from 2013. But the IRS is now beefing up its staff, thanks to Inflation Reduction Act funding, and it says that it is focusing on increasing audits for those earning above $400,000.