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German Company Sends LSD Prodrugs Via DHL And They Arrive! 2023-07-18 - A German company is selling a reportedly legal LSD prodrug and shipping it through DHL to clients based in Berlin The company, Acid Berlin, seems to be leaning on a legal loophole, as Germany’s Narcotic Act (BtMG), the New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG) and the Drugs Act (AMG) do not explicitly prohibit 1D-LSD. According to their website, both in terms of chemicals and properties, the difference between the available product and unlawful LSD is minimal. The new derivative would draw in “an additional molecular group,” and holds a stated 98% to 99% purity. Order amounts start at 5 or 10 and go up to no less than 500 for microdose capsules and 250 for either “extra-dose” pellets or “normal-dose” 150 microgram blotters. No Pun Intended? A warning comes with the three products. “In order to research the safety of this version of the chemical, you should read about the product on the Internet for your own good,” later joined by a note stating “The product is not suitable for in-vivo experiments. We hope you enjoy researching.” See Also: Discover ASRI: Exploring Alexander Shulgin's Scientific Legacy With Over 500 Psychedelic Compounds Acid Berlin is also in the CBD flowers market, which again are reportedly legal “because of an additional special THC extraction process” that makes the latter undetectable. They would also hold the same high-purity level as LSD’s prodrug. See Also: Colorado-Based Cannabis Company Expands CBD Business, Sets Sights On German Market Although they state that these shipments “cannot be intercepted” by authorities, precautions take the form of discreet packaging and exclude any orders that are not Germany-based. Considering recent bans on LSD derivatives, “it can be assumed that 1D-LSD will eventually be included in the NpSG,” it states. German law contemplates a “small quantity” limit, with 6 mg currently corresponding to LSD.
Canopy Growth's Consolidation Strategy Following NASDAQ Notice That Shares Are Too Low For Too Long - Canopy Gwth (NASDAQ:CGC) 2023-07-18 - Smith Falls-based Canopy Growth Corp. WEED CGC has received a non-compliance notice from the NASDAQ due to its shares' closing bid price remaining below $1 per share for 30 consecutive business days. However, the company has been granted a 180-day period to regain compliance. During this period, Canopy Growth's shares will continue to be traded on the exchange, and its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange remains unaffected, reported MJBiz Daily. See Also: HEXO Regains Compliance With Nasdaq Minimum Bid Price Requirement Canopy’s Strategy To address the non-compliance issue, Canopy Growth has outlined a strategic approach. The company intends to seek approval from shareholders for a share consolidation plan during its upcoming annual meeting on September 25. The proposal suggests a consolidation ratio ranging from one post-consolidation common share for every five to 15 pre-consolidation common shares. If approved, the company's board will have until September 25 to execute the consolidation. Moreover, Canopy Growth may consider implementing a reverse stock split to regain compliance. In addition to its compliance efforts, Canopy Growth recently entered into various agreements, including privately negotiated redemption agreements with certain holders of its unsecured senior notes due July 15, 2023. These agreements are expected to reduce the company's total debt by approximately $437 million over the next six months and decrease annual interest costs by approximately $20 to $30 million. According to New Cannabis Ventures, the situation for Canopy Growth has been challenging, with the company experiencing fluctuations since the departure of former CEO Bruce Linton in 2019. See Also: Former Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton On The Current Struggles the Company Is Facing Price Action: On Monday, at the market close, CGC shares were trading 2.66% lower at $0.3739 per share. Are you intrigued by the strategies that companies in the cannabis industry are employing to overcome challenges and drive growth? Consider joining us at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago this Sept 27-28 for its 17th edition. Get your tickets today before prices increase and secure a spot at the epicenter of cannabis investment, branding, culture, and where deals get done. Read Next: Canopy Growth's Strategy To Deleverage Balance Sheet By $437M And Enhance Financial Flexibility Photo: Courtesy Of Hans Eiskonen On Unsplash
Elon Musk Can Be 'Destructive,' Says Biographer Who Shadowed The Billionaire For 3 Years - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) 2023-07-18 - Elon Musk's biographer says the world's richest person lacks empathy and even has what he referred to as a "demon mode." What To Know: Walter Isaacson has followed Musk closely over the last three years, writing the Tesla Inc TSLA CEO's biography. One of his biggest takeaways during that time is that the eccentric billionaire lacks empathy and has a fierce side that he called "demon mode." "I'm more impressed with him as an engineer. I think that he does not have a fingertip feel for, you know, empathy, emotions," Isaacson said Monday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Isaacson's comments don't come as a complete surprise. It's been reported that Musk has a direct communication style and that you don't always know what to expect from the billionaire. Related Link: Elon Musk Poses 'Top Risk' To Tesla, Says EV Expert: 'Such An Unpredictable Person' In an Insider report from the beginning of the year, one of the founding employees of SpaceX Jim Cantrell recalled his time spent working alongside Musk. "Working with Elon was like working with two different people: the good Elon and the bad Elon, and you never knew which you were going to get," Cantrell said. Isaacson told CNBC that a lot of Musk's faults make him who he is. He is a driven individual and it's not just about money for him. He's also impulsive and he will tweet anything that's in his head, he added. "When you get up very close to a person, as I have for the past three years with him, you understand that person, you understand the motivations. And there are a lot of faults and he has a demon mode that is destructive," Isaacson said. "The question when you write a biography though, is how do you take the dark threads and realize that you can't just pull them out? He wouldn't be who he is without both demon mode and his drive." Isaacson's biography on Musk is set to be released in September. Read Next: Marc Andreessen Calls Elon Musk And Mark Zuckerberg 'Role Models' for Children, Defending Controversial Support For MMA This illustration was generated using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.
12 Consumer Discretionary Stocks Moving In Monday's After-Market Session - Lovesac (NASDAQ:LOVE), Youdao (NYSE:DAO), Kidpik (NASDAQ:PIK), Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ:AENT), CarParts.com (NASDAQ:PRT 2023-07-18 - Gainers CarParts.com PRTS shares increased by 6.0% to $4.76 during Monday's after-market session. The company's market cap stands at $268.1 million. shares increased by 6.0% to $4.76 during Monday's after-market session. The company's market cap stands at $268.1 million. Unique Fabricating UFAB stock increased by 4.24% to $0.22. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $2.5 million. stock increased by 4.24% to $0.22. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $2.5 million. Youdao DAO shares moved upwards by 4.09% to $4.83. The company's market cap stands at $599.9 million. shares moved upwards by 4.09% to $4.83. The company's market cap stands at $599.9 million. Visionary Education Tech VEDU stock rose 3.89% to $0.4. Trading volume for this security closed at 65.6K, accounting for 9.0% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $15.5 million. stock rose 3.89% to $0.4. Trading volume for this security closed at 65.6K, accounting for 9.0% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $15.5 million. Kidpik PIK stock increased by 3.81% to $0.71. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $5.5 million. stock increased by 3.81% to $0.71. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $5.5 million. Lovesac LOVE stock moved upwards by 3.76% to $29.5. The company's market cap stands at $448.9 million. Losers PARTS iD ID stock decreased by 9.0% to $0.46 during Monday's after-market session. This security traded at a volume of 101.1K shares come close, making up 29.2% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $16.1 million. stock decreased by 9.0% to $0.46 during Monday's after-market session. This security traded at a volume of 101.1K shares come close, making up 29.2% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $16.1 million. Alliance Entertainment AENT stock fell 8.72% to $2.2. The company's market cap stands at $111.1 million. stock fell 8.72% to $2.2. The company's market cap stands at $111.1 million. EpicQuest Education Group EEIQ stock decreased by 7.61% to $1.58. The company's market cap stands at $18.0 million. stock decreased by 7.61% to $1.58. The company's market cap stands at $18.0 million. Nova Lifestyle NVFY shares fell 6.77% to $2.62. This security traded at a volume of 2.7 million shares come close, making up 10126.2% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $3.7 million. shares fell 6.77% to $2.62. This security traded at a volume of 2.7 million shares come close, making up 10126.2% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $3.7 million. PlayAGS AGS stock declined by 4.93% to $6.18. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $234.3 million. stock declined by 4.93% to $6.18. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $234.3 million. Brilliant Earth Group BRLT stock declined by 4.82% to $3.95. The company's market cap stands at $45.9 million. See Also: www.benzinga.com/money/best-consumer-cyclical-stocks/ This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
12 Health Care Stocks Moving In Monday's After-Market Session - Cardio Diagnostics Hldgs (NASDAQ:CDIO), Petros Pharma (NASDAQ:PTPI), First Wave BioPharma (NASDAQ:FWBI), Cue Health (NASDAQ:HLTH), Karyo 2023-07-18 - Gainers Aridis Pharmaceuticals ARDS shares increased by 89.5% to $0.5 during Monday's after-market session. At the close, Aridis Pharmaceuticals's trading volume reached 8.1 million shares. This is 212.0% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $18.0 million. shares increased by 89.5% to $0.5 during Monday's after-market session. At the close, Aridis Pharmaceuticals's trading volume reached 8.1 million shares. This is 212.0% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $18.0 million. Dare Bioscience DARE stock moved upwards by 7.72% to $0.92. The company's market cap stands at $79.3 million. stock moved upwards by 7.72% to $0.92. The company's market cap stands at $79.3 million. Karyopharm Therapeutics KPTI stock rose 6.53% to $1.63. Trading volume for this security closed at 514.4K, accounting for 17.8% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $185.8 million. stock rose 6.53% to $1.63. Trading volume for this security closed at 514.4K, accounting for 17.8% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $185.8 million. Cue Health HLTH stock rose 5.45% to $0.45. The company's market cap stands at $67.9 million. stock rose 5.45% to $0.45. The company's market cap stands at $67.9 million. Cardio Diagnostics Hldgs CDIO stock rose 5.17% to $1.22. The company's market cap stands at $12.1 million. stock rose 5.17% to $1.22. The company's market cap stands at $12.1 million. Petros Pharma PTPI shares rose 4.98% to $3.58. The company's market cap stands at $7.5 million. Losers 9 Meters Biopharma NMTR shares fell 60.0% to $0.25 during Monday's after-market session. 9 Meters Biopharma's trading volume hit 886.9K shares by close, accounting for 1142.9% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $3.6 million. shares fell 60.0% to $0.25 during Monday's after-market session. 9 Meters Biopharma's trading volume hit 886.9K shares by close, accounting for 1142.9% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $3.6 million. Masimo MASI stock fell 24.92% to $110.5. Masimo's trading volume hit 84.8K shares by close, accounting for 18.1% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $5.8 billion. stock fell 24.92% to $110.5. Masimo's trading volume hit 84.8K shares by close, accounting for 18.1% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $5.8 billion. CEL-SCI CVM shares fell 21.33% to $2.25. At the close, CEL-SCI's trading volume reached 388.8K shares. This is 210.0% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $100.6 million. shares fell 21.33% to $2.25. At the close, CEL-SCI's trading volume reached 388.8K shares. This is 210.0% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $100.6 million. EUDA Health Holdings EUDA stock fell 16.41% to $0.51. This security traded at a volume of 1.1 million shares come close, making up 248.7% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $12.6 million. stock fell 16.41% to $0.51. This security traded at a volume of 1.1 million shares come close, making up 248.7% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $12.6 million. First Wave BioPharma FWBI shares decreased by 16.08% to $0.68. This security traded at a volume of 153.5K shares come close, making up 8.9% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $2.8 million. shares decreased by 16.08% to $0.68. This security traded at a volume of 153.5K shares come close, making up 8.9% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $2.8 million. Acumen Pharmaceuticals ABOS stock declined by 9.68% to $8.78. Acumen Pharmaceuticals's trading volume hit 12.7 million shares by close, accounting for 4221.5% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $360.2 million. See Also: www.benzinga.com/money/best-healthcare-stocks/ This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
12 Industrials Stocks Moving In Monday's After-Market Session - iPower (NASDAQ:IPW), Pineapple Energy (NASDAQ:PEGY), AERWINS Technologies (NASDAQ:AWIN), Performance Shipping (NASDAQ:PSHG), Quhuo (NASD 2023-07-18 - Gainers Fusion Fuel Green HTOO stock moved upwards by 7.7% to $2.67 during Monday's after-market session. The company's market cap stands at $38.8 million. stock moved upwards by 7.7% to $2.67 during Monday's after-market session. The company's market cap stands at $38.8 million. iPower IPW shares moved upwards by 7.22% to $0.89. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $26.4 million. shares moved upwards by 7.22% to $0.89. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $26.4 million. Astronics ATRO shares increased by 6.73% to $19.8. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $644.7 million. shares increased by 6.73% to $19.8. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $644.7 million. Quhuo QH stock rose 6.28% to $2.03. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $12.5 million. stock rose 6.28% to $2.03. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $12.5 million. Euroseas ESEA shares rose 4.85% to $21.15. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $148.1 million. shares rose 4.85% to $21.15. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $148.1 million. Wheels Up Experience UP shares moved upwards by 4.79% to $1.75. The company's market cap stands at $44.0 million. Losers AERWINS Technologies AWIN stock decreased by 8.5% to $0.41 during Monday's after-market session. Today's trading volume for this security ended up closing at 5.6 million shares, which is 3164.9 percent of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $23.0 million. stock decreased by 8.5% to $0.41 during Monday's after-market session. Today's trading volume for this security ended up closing at 5.6 million shares, which is 3164.9 percent of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $23.0 million. Pineapple Energy PEGY stock decreased by 5.39% to $1.23. The company's market cap stands at $12.2 million. stock decreased by 5.39% to $1.23. The company's market cap stands at $12.2 million. Perma-Fix Envirn Servs PESI stock decreased by 3.7% to $9.65. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $130.7 million. stock decreased by 3.7% to $9.65. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $130.7 million. Applied UV AUVI stock declined by 3.48% to $0.93. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $8.2 million. stock declined by 3.48% to $0.93. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $8.2 million. Performance Shipping PSHG stock decreased by 3.13% to $0.81. The company's market cap stands at $9.5 million. stock decreased by 3.13% to $0.81. The company's market cap stands at $9.5 million. Markforged Holding MKFG shares declined by 3.11% to $1.25. The company's market cap stands at $245.4 million. See Also: www.benzinga.com/money/best-industrials-stocks/ This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
12 Information Technology Stocks Moving In Monday's After-Market Session - GSE Systems (NASDAQ:GVP), Ostin Technology Group (NASDAQ:OST), Actelis Networks (NASDAQ:ASNS), SAI.TECH Global (NASDAQ:SAI), 2023-07-18 - Gainers Actelis Networks ASNS stock rose 8.2% to $3.57 during Monday's after-market session. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $6.9 million. stock rose 8.2% to $3.57 during Monday's after-market session. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $6.9 million. Peraso PRSO stock increased by 7.97% to $0.44. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $12.9 million. stock increased by 7.97% to $0.44. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $12.9 million. Infobird Co IFBD stock rose 6.88% to $0.73. Today's trading volume for this security ended up closing at 53.4K shares, which is 4.3 percent of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $3.3 million. stock rose 6.88% to $0.73. Today's trading volume for this security ended up closing at 53.4K shares, which is 4.3 percent of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $3.3 million. Ondas Holdings ONDS stock rose 5.88% to $1.26. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $64.3 million. stock rose 5.88% to $1.26. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $64.3 million. Riskified RSKD stock rose 4.86% to $4.96. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $873.0 million. stock rose 4.86% to $4.96. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $873.0 million. Veritone VERI stock increased by 3.99% to $4.42. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $162.7 million. Losers Ostin Technology Group OST stock decreased by 10.0% to $0.81 during Monday's after-market session. Trading volume for this security closed at 358.9K, accounting for 335.3% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $11.3 million. stock decreased by 10.0% to $0.81 during Monday's after-market session. Trading volume for this security closed at 358.9K, accounting for 335.3% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $11.3 million. IronNet IRNT stock fell 7.23% to $0.17. Today's trading volume for this security ended up closing at 787.3K shares, which is 19.2 percent of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $18.6 million. stock fell 7.23% to $0.17. Today's trading volume for this security ended up closing at 787.3K shares, which is 19.2 percent of its average volume over the last 100 days. The company's market cap stands at $18.6 million. ARB IOT Group ARBB shares declined by 6.9% to $2.97. ARB IOT Group's trading volume hit 60.5K shares by close, accounting for 26.9% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $78.1 million. shares declined by 6.9% to $2.97. ARB IOT Group's trading volume hit 60.5K shares by close, accounting for 26.9% of its average volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $78.1 million. MMTEC MTC stock decreased by 5.14% to $0.73. The company's market cap stands at $62.0 million. stock decreased by 5.14% to $0.73. The company's market cap stands at $62.0 million. SAI.TECH Global SAI shares declined by 5.12% to $2.04. Trading volume for this security closed at 54.9K, accounting for 2.3% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $46.8 million. shares declined by 5.12% to $2.04. Trading volume for this security closed at 54.9K, accounting for 2.3% of its average full-day volume over the last 100 days. The market value of their outstanding shares is at $46.8 million. GSE Systems GVP stock declined by 4.99% to $0.36. The company's market cap stands at $8.3 million. See Also: www.benzinga.com/money/tech-stocks/ This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
CNBC Daily Open: The long-awaited recession might not arrive 2023-07-18 - This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here . Waiting for earnings U.S. stocks made slight gains Monday, but trading volume was lower than average as investors braced for second-quarter earning. European markets, on the other hand, fell. The regional Stoxx 600 index declined 0.6% as most sectors and bourses in the region fell. Separating the wheat from the people Russia terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukraine to export food and fertilizers from three Ukrainian ports, hours before the agreement expired. The prices of wheat, corn and soybean all rose on the news. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previously described the deal as "indispensable" to global food security. Merger bonanza Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in Activision Blizzard from 6.7% last year to 1.9% yesterday, according to a securities filing released Monday. The news comes as Microsoft inches closer to completing its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision. Buffett previously revealed Berkshire added to its initial Activision stake in a bet the deal would close and cause shares to rise. Unraveling the Thread Meta's Threads, its rival to Twitter, launched to great excitement. But not everyone is thrilled. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan has asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to hand over documents about content moderation on Threads, according to a letter obtained exclusively by CNBC. The request is related to an ongoing investigation of technology platform's policies. [PRO] The S&P 5,400 Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research and previously chief investment strategist at various financial institutions, thinks the S&P 500 could go on an extended bull run and hit a record high of 5,400 within the next 18 months. Here's why the market veteran is so optimistic.
At "Haunted Mansion" premiere, Disney characters replace stars amid actors strike 2023-07-18 - As the actors strike scuttles Hollywood productions, as well as events promoting performers' work, one movie premiere went forward as scheduled, albeit without its stars. At Disney's "Haunted Mansion" premiere Saturday, the only recognizable faces on the red carpet were those of Disney characters, not the star-studded film's cast members. Typically, red carpet events featuring celebrities arriving amid flashing bulbs and screaming fans are a trademark of — and the engine behind — Hollywood premieres. But as roughly 65,000 actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are now on strike, they are prohibited not only from working on camera but from promoting their work through festivals, premieres or interviews. SAG-AFTRA announced the work stoppage Friday after negotiations with studios failed. They join more than 11,000 TV and script writers represented by the Writers Guild of America who have been on strike since early May, marking the first time since 1960 that two major Hollywood unions have been on strike at the same time. The dual strikes pose an existential threat to the industry, particularly if the protracted negotiations drag on past the summer, experts have said. YouTuber Kurt Tocci attends the World Premiere of Disney's "Haunted Mansion" at Disney California Adventure Park on July 15, 2023 in Anaheim, California. Frazer Harrison A different kind of premiere Consequently, the "Haunted House" premiere, the first Hollywood event to take place since SAG-AFTRA threw up picket lines last week, indeed looked different from typical red carpet events. Lead actors Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson, among other cast members, were notably absent from the event, held at the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, on which the film is based. In their place were Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Maleficent and Cruella de Vil, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Other attendees included so-called influencers, who are not represented by the actors guild. In lieu of the #HauntedMansion stars, who are not in attendance at the world premiere due to the actors strike, Disney has its classic villains walking the red carpet pic.twitter.com/aCc0G30SuK — The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 16, 2023 "I felt like I had to be here" The film's director, Justin Simien, was also in attendance. Simien said he supported actors who are striking in order to reach what they consider to be a fair deal with Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). But he's also proud of their work on the film which he wanted to promote. "I feel very ambivalent about it, but at the same time, I'm just so proud of this cast and I'm so, so proud of Katie Dippold who wrote the script, and so much of why I did this was to honor her words and to honor their work," Simien told The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere. "If they can't be here to speak for it, I felt like I had to be here to speak for it. It's sad that they're not here. At the same time, I totally support the reason why they're not here, and I'm happy to be the one to ring the bell in their stead." "Haunted Mansion" director Justin Simien, seen here at ESSENCE Festival Of Culture in June, attended the film's premiere in lieu of the film's stars and screenplay writer Katie Dippold. / Getty Images At issue in the negotiations between actors and studios are two primary sticking points: how the advent of streaming affects their pay, and the prospect of artificial intelligence replacing them. Simien also told the Hollywood Reporter that he believes actors' AI-related concerns are "a very important thing to hammer home and to figure out." No premiere for "Oppenheimer" By contrast, highly anticipated summer titles without costumed characters to rely on as stand-ins, such as Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," scrapped premieres altogether after the strike began. (Actors attending the film's U.K. premiere on Friday walked out as soon as SAG-AFTRA called a strike.) Media Mogul Barry Diller, the former chairman and CEO of Fox, Inc., suggested on "Face the Nation" Sunday that Hollywood executives as well as the highest-paid actors should take 25% pay cuts "to try and narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don't." "Everybody's probably overpaid at the top end," Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia, said.
Tesla factory produces Cybertruck nearly 4 years after Elon Musk unveiled it 2023-07-18 - Tesla has manufactured its first Cybertruck nearly four years after founder and CEO Elon Musk touted the automaker's first electric pickup. Tesla workers at the company's so-called Gigafactory near Austin, Texas, tweeted a photo of the completed vehicle on Saturday with the caption "First Cybertruck built in Giga Texas." The feat comes four years after CEO Elon Musk introduced the silver, futuristic-looking vehicle. Musk originally unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019 with the goal of starting production in late 2021. First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/ODRhHVsd0t — Tesla (@Tesla) July 15, 2023 The Cybertruck's stainless steel alloy body is strong enough to withstand certain types of small arms fire, Musk has said. He has also estimated the truck will be capable of towing 14,000 pounds. It's unclear when Cybertrucks will be available for purchase from a dealership lot or at what price. Musk said in April that the company expects to deliver the first truck sometime between July and September. Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. When it does hit dealer floors, the Cybertruck will be entering an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, including for pickups. Rival company Rivian sells its R1T, with a starting price of $73,000, according to Kelley Blue Book; General Motors offers the Hummer EV pickup; and Ford makes the F-150 Lightning. Ford on Monday dropped the price on seven models of the Lightning by between $6,000 and $10,000, citing easier access to the truck's battery material. The cuts partially reverse repeated price hikes in 2022 and early 2023, which the car maker blamed on higher material costs. Another factor motivating Ford to cut prices could be that company officials "hear the footsteps of the Cybertruck and others such as Rivian coming," Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a research note. Tesla originally said it would make three versions of the Cybertruck, with prices ranging from about $40,000 to $70,000. Later the company removed prices from the webpage where customers could pre-order the vehicle. —The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Musk reveals Twitter ad revenue is down 50% as social media competition mounts 2023-07-18 - Twitter owner Elon Musk said the social media company's advertising revenue has plunged roughly 50%, highlighting his struggle to revive the ailing company after buying it for $44 billion. The stark admission came in response to a comment by another Twitter user who suggested the billionaire form a consortium to buy the platform's debt. "Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else," the billionaire replied on Saturday. Twitter's ad-portal traffic plunged 20.6% in June 2023 from the year before, according to data from Similarweb, which analyzes advertising portals as "an indicator of business momentum." Overall traffic on the platform has declined steadily since January, falling 5.8% as of June. Engagement on Twitter's app also fell during that same period, from roughly 88 million users to 83 million, or 5.5%. Musk, who purchased Twitter in 2022, said in March that he believed the platform would break even or perhaps even see a positive cash flow by June of this year, the Financial Times reported. We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2023 Threads enters the chat Meanwhile, Meta this month debuted a social media app called Threads that the social media giant describes as "Instagram's text-based conversation app." The new service, which reached more than 100 million signups the first weekend after its release, has been dubbed the "Twitter killer" by some social media users because of the expectation that many people will migrate away from Twitter in favor of the new social media service. "It seems like some more negative sentiment [among users and advertisers] has set in," Similarweb Senior Insights Manager David Carr told CBS MoneyWatch. "People are saying, 'I don't know if we need to be [on Twitter] anymore.'" Driving users to competitors To be sure, Twitter was experiencing operational challenges long before its acquisition by Musk. Since taking control of the reins, however, Musk has been making changes to the social network that have driven away advertisers and alienated some users. "[Musk] just changed the rules ... and a lot of people just got exhausted with it," Futurum CEO Daniel Newman told CBS MoneyWatch. One of the first alterations to Twitter imposed by the outspoken tech billionaire and self-described "free speech absolutist" was to roll back content moderation, a move that a Tufts University study found fueled a rise in hate speech on the platform. He also reinstated previously banned accounts of polarizing public figures including former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. "You have a divisive leader, questionable politics from the person that runs the company…[and] a subset of other potential alternatives that have come into the market," Newman said. "You put those all together and you get a [traffic] decline." Musk's recent decision to temporarily throttle usage for some nonpaying members, limiting free accounts to reading 600 tweets per day, sparked intense backlash. "[The rate limit] was spitting in the face of the most active and engaged users," Carr said. "That gives people a reason to go, 'you know, I'm going to check out this Mastodon thing I've been hearing,'or 'I'm going to try and get on the Bluesky waitlist.'" On the Sunday after Twitter announced rate limits on free accounts, traffic on competitor Mastodon's website, mastodon.social, shot up 18%, Similarweb data shows. Traffic on the waitlist website for Bluesky Social, another Twitter rival, peaked at more than 750,000 daily visits during that same weekend, up from less than 100,000 views a day prior to Twitter's rate-limit announcement. Still the reigning platform Not all Twitter's changes under Musk have sent people running, however. During the past year, Twitter introduced an edit button and increased the character limit for tweets. Those features, however, are only available to account holders who pay between $8 and $11 a month for Twitter Blue, the platform's subscription service, which may have driven some users away, Newman said. And while Twitter copycats may momentarily drive declines in Twitter's traffic, it's too soon to tell how long that drop will last, according to Newman. Attracting the number of users and types of breaking news content that made Twitter popular with journalists and news junkies will not be easy, he said. And while Threads garnered more than 100 million sign-ups just days after its launch on July 5, some stats indicate that user interest in the app may be dropping off. Threads users spent an average of 7 minutes on the app on July 11, down from 21 minutes on July 6, the day after the app launched, Similarweb data shows. "It's very early to suggest that Meta is going to take down Twitter," Newman said. "If a $20 billion early loss in value can't take [Twitter] down, I don't know what will."
Who is Fran Drescher? What to know about the SAG-AFTRA president and sitcom star 2023-07-18 - When the leaders of Hollywood's actors union announced a strike last week, the most fiery words spoken came from SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, who drew thunderous applause when she berated movie studios executives for what she called unreasonable and insulting demands. She decried the studios for "plead[ing] poverty, that they're losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs." "It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment, " Drescher, 65, said. Drescher's cutting words were backed by decades of Hollywood experience. She got her start in movies in the 1970s and has worked as an actor, writer and producer on dozens of projects. Here's what to know about the actor and labor leader. Fran Drescher at the Iberostar Selection Llaut Palma Hotel on August 4, 2022, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Franziska Krug/Getty Images for Marcel Remus Where is Fran Drescher from? Drescher was born in Queens, New York, in 1957, the second child of Morty and Sylvia Drescher, working-class Jewish parents who traced their lineage to Eastern Europe. As young girl, Drescher dreamed of being an actor, as well as a politician, a writer and a hairdresser, she told Vanity Fair in an interview shortly after winning the SAG-AFTRA presidency. Drescher attended Queens' Hillcrest High School, where one of her classmates was comedian and actor Ray Romano (best known for the sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond.") She graduated in 1975, having already met the man who would later become her husband, future actor, writer and producer Peter Marc Jacobson. The couple married in 1978 and went on to collaborate on many creative projects. They divorced in 1999. Fran Drescher played "Fran Fine" in the CBS television sitcom, The Nanny, which aired from 1993 to 1999. Fran Drescher on the set of The Nanny. In what movies and shows has Drescher appeared? In the 1980s, Drescher had small roles in films including "Saturday Night Fever" and the mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap," in which she played a publicist for a heavy metal band. But her best-known role was playing the vivacious title character in the 1990s sitcom "The Nanny," which she co-created with Jacobson. In The Nanny, Drescher played Fran Fine, a working-class girl "with a face out of Vogue and a voice out of Queens" who stumbles into a job as a live-in nanny to a wealthy English widower's three kids. The show debuted on CBS in 1993 and ran for six seasons, earning Drescher two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations. The show pitted Fran's free-wheeling, spirited style against the uptight manners of her employers, with a dose of sentimentality thrown in. In one memorable episode and case of art imitating life, Fran refused to cross a picket line at a fancy dinner she was attending with her employer. "My mother had three rules," she said in the show. "Never make contact with a public toilet; never, ever, ever cross a picket line, what was the third one? Oh yeah—never wear musk oil to the zoo." The show "balanced edginess with heart," the New York Times wrote in a 1994 review that also mentioned Drescher's "hard work and the thickest Queens accent imaginable." Post-Nanny career After Drescher and Jacobson divorced, they developed the TV Land series "Happily Divorced," based on their marriage and friendship. Drescher has also appeared on the series "Living with Fran" and supplied the voice of Eunice in the "Hotel Transylvania" animated films. She is the author of two memoirs, "Enter Whining" and "Cancer Schmancer," an account of her diagnosis and recovery from uterine cancer; she also founded a nonprofit focusing on cancer early detection and prevention. Drescher served as a State Department public diplomacy envoy for health, a role in which she traveled the world to advocate for women's health issues. She helped convince Congress in 2007 to pass the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act. National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher join members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild on a picket line outside of Netflix in Los Angeles, California, on July 14, 2023. VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images New career as an activist Drescher became increasingly vocal online around 2017, decrying big business, oil drilling, pharmaceutical companies and the "ruling class" on Twitter. She described herself as "anti-capitalist" in a 2017 interview with Vulture, saying, "Once you really realize the global systemic problem is actually big-business greed, then you know really what you need to do." That activism culminated with Drescher's winning what the BBC described as a "vicious election" against actor Matthew Modine in 2021 to become SAG's president. Drescher campaigned on ending what she called "dysfunctional division" within the union, telling Deadline during her campaign that "I see reunification as one great and powerful SAG-AFTRA body as the only way to frontline for empowering and protecting members." Since taking the helm at SAG-AFTRA she has worked to smooth over those rifts, the BBC reported, and has won over some formerly skeptical voices, including noted screenwriter David Simon. "Just watched Fran Drescher chew the #AMPTP's face off," he wrote on Twitter. "After her credulous remarks in the run-up to today, I'll confess I thought she was a lost ball in tall grass. But now, if I hadn't cut the streaming service, I'd download all seasons of The Nanny." She has been a leading voice in support of the Writers Guild of America, whose 11,000 members went on strike in May, and has shown up on multiple picket lines. On Thursday, Drescher drew parallels between the actors' concerns and changing conditions in other industries. "What's happening to us is happening across all fields of labor by means of when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority, and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run," Drescher said. She directed her closing words directly at studio bosses. "Share the wealth, because you cannot exist without us," she said. Some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA members. But they work under a different contract than the actors and are not affected by the strike.
Education was once the No. 1 major for college students. Now it's an afterthought. 2023-07-18 - Five decades ago, the U.S. was training an army of college students to become teachers, with 1 in every 5 bachelor's degrees earned in the field of education. That guaranteed a steady pipeline of educators entering the profession, a vital resource for schools around the country, and for the economy as a whole. Today, education is an afterthought for many college students, who are more likely to study business, engineering, and even the visual and performing arts, according to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics. Even as the population of college students has increased by 150% since 1970, the number of bachelor's degrees in education has plummeted by almost 50% — a steeper drop than that for English, literature and foreign language majors. Meanwhile, schools in all 50 states report teacher shortages in at least one subject area last year, according to the Brookings Institution. The shift away from studying education in college represents a massive change in the career goals and aspirations for Gen-Z students compared with older generations, hinting at the underlying economic and societal changes that have transformed the U.S. since the 1970s. Women, who have always composed the bulk of education majors, have more options in the workplace compared with five decades ago, while teachers' relatively low pay and declining societal respect are also to blame, experts told CBS MoneyWatch. "In the past, we had many more women who were more inclined to pursue this 'caring' education career," said Nicole Smith, research professor and chief economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. "They were instructed in some ways to follow this path, but a lot of that has changed." Back in the 1960s and 1970s, when the baby boomer generation was coming of age, women enrolled in college and entered the workforce in greater numbers than did earlier generations, yet they were largely concentrated in fields that were viewed as feminine or caretaking roles, such as nursing, teaching and social work. At the time, teaching was viewed as a good career option for women with children because they could have summers off and school holidays, noted Chris Torres, associate professor at the at University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education. "Now that other types of jobs have opened up to women over the last few decades, you're seeing fewer highly educated women enter the profession," he added. Teacher pay gap But the reasons for declining interest in education as a college major extend beyond the greater career options for women, experts note. A big issue is the relatively low pay earned by teachers compared with other college-educated professionals. "I taught kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade, and it was by far the hardest job I've ever had," Torres said. "People talk about having a lot of teachers being social workers, and all these other jobs that teachers have to take on within their work." Torres added, "So whether you're paid competitively relative to jobs that are equally complex and difficult matters a lot to whether you want to get into a profession." The math on teacher pay may not add up for college students. Teachers are generally paid less than their college-educated peers, a trend that has worsened over the last several decades, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Public school teachers now earn about 24% less than other college-educated professionals, the biggest gap since 1979, the a left-leaning think tank noted. At the same time, getting a college degree today is far more expensive than it was in 1970, which is also driving students away from studying education given the modest pay for teachers. "People are making decisions on college that have an economic slant to it, in particular in respect to student loans," Georgetown's Smith noted. "The conversation now has to be more about the returns to investment and, 'How are we going to pay for it?' and 'Is it worth it in the long run?'" "Failure as a society to value education" Recent societal trends are also sapping college students' desire to study education, including the pandemic and what many perceive as a decline in respect for the teachers, noted Qudsia Saeed, a 4th-year education major at American University in Washington, D.C. A series of school shootings in recent years have also added to the demoralization felt by education students, she added. "The general consensus is that people are stuck in the major and they just want to graduate at this point," Saeed said. "A lot of that sentiment is attributed to COVID and the uncertainty with the education system. People feel demotivated, and I think this is because of our failure as a society to value education." Saeed said that while her parents are educators, "They're not very supportive" of her decision to enter the field. "I think they're unsupportive because they've seen the struggles of working in education themselves and they're burnt out from it," she added. Only about 18% of Americans would encourage a young person to become a K-12 teacher, according to a 2022 poll from NORC at the University of Chicago. The chief reason was low pay, followed by a lack of resources to meet student needs and a what is often an excessive workload. "I don't think we've done enough to professionalize teaching and to raise the prestige of teaching, and to treat it like a true profession and be competitive around pay," Torres said. For now, Saeed said she's sticking with education partly because she believes the profession needs to be more diverse, although over the long-term she is considering switching to education policy or law. "Students need representation, and I think that is so critical that it makes me stay in the field," she said. "It makes me happy when students ask me questions about Ramadan or my hijab, or students tell me their family is Muslim or show me their henna."
Elon Musk can't kill the resilient joy of Black Twitter 2023-07-18 - Last year, Elon Musk purchased Twitter at the inflated price of $44 billion. While some lauded it as a fix for Twitter’s ongoing struggles, others were concerned that Musk’s embrace of racist and alt-right accounts would ruin the platform — particularly for the many minority users who have formed communities and a digital home on the site. Musk’s antics since his official takeover have especially led journalists, power users and even cultural analysts to ask: “What’s going to happen to Black Twitter?” Black Twitter serves as a potent example of Black digital expertise, one that de-centers whiteness as a default internet identity. One of the largest gatherings of Black online users ever, Black Twitter is a community of Black collectives: college students, young professionals, tech bros and ladies, queer folk, academics, sex workers, celebrity fandoms, 40+ parents and more. It’s a community bounded by technology and culture rather than by physical location. Finally, Black Twitter serves as a potent example of Black digital expertise, one that de-centers whiteness as a default internet identity. Black folk have rarely been considered civil, rational or productive by mainstream American society, yet we dominate this influential platform. Black users are roughly a quarter of Twitter’s user base. Their presence has led influential folk to describe Black Twitter as the “perfect use case” for the service. Musk’s actions — re-activating racist and alt-right accounts like Kanye West’s, posting Hitler memes or complaining about “woke”-ness in multiple tweets — have encouraged Black users to seek out less problematic spaces, such as Mastodon, Spoutible, Spill and now Instagram’s Threads app. None of these apps are able to match Twitter’s feature set, but more important, none of them have tenure. That is, Black Twitter evolved as Twitter evolved. Some Black Twitter users have been there since the app’s inception in 2006. Twitter has furnished Black information about politics, relationships, drama, comedy — even as it added features to make these conversations more robust. Those experiences can’t be easily replicated in a feature list or through a new algorithmic feed, nor through a shiny new interface. Black Twitter has history, something that (perhaps unfairly) won’t be applicable for the new contenders until Black users have had time — time to learn the ins and outs of a new application, time to build out their social graphs and time to figure out how these new apps afford Blackness in ways that are familiar and pleasurable. I’ve been studying Twitter, in the form of Black Twitter, for nearly as long as it’s been around. I’ve found that Black Twitter is either a source of camaraderie or confusion; many have no idea what it’s for. Many think Black Twitter works “best” when it addresses and confronts injustice, citing the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, or Minneapolis as powerful examples of the platform’s capacity for political engagement. I argue that in order to fight together, we have to learn to live — and love — together. From this perspective, Black Twitter is vital as a space for Black folk to create, maintain and discuss the Black everyday in a way that reaffirms connection, and often joy. At its core, Twitter is an online third place, one that is neither work nor home. On Twitter, everyone is welcome and socializes together. There is no VIP section, and crucially, the privileged must interact with others as equals. Twitter interactions, in which users can write to anyone and everyone can read your posts, let it function as an equitable space where “anyone can get it” regardless of celebrity status, wealth or political power. Twitter is an energetic space thanks to its publication speed, in which world news is shared and discussed as eagerly as news of the latest celebrity affair. It’s not all good, of course. Twitter has been reported on as hostile to women and other minorities, in both its unevenly applied moderation policies and its prioritization of engagement over civility. Bots are often deployed for disinformation or to inflate follower counts. Pornography, which Twitter has never explicitly discouraged, is easily accessed. It is often described as a “hell site” in part because of many people’s experiences with the above, but also because our beliefs that the internet should be democratic and civil dictate how we think Twitter “should” work. And then there’s Black Twitter: an online gathering of Twitter users who identify as Black and are expert users. Few things highlight Black Twitter’s power to influence politics and American life as much as the Trump administration’s initiatives to declare Black Lives Matter, a social media movement drawing immense power from its online activism, as “domestic terrorists.” Twitter’s capacity to activate and mobilize social movements helped influence larger Black voter turnouts in 2018 and 2020, which is antithetical to the GOP’s ongoing strategies for Black voter suppression. Before we congregated on Black Twitter, Black information needs were imperfectly served by dozens of websites, bulletin boards or blogs or YouTube. For nearly a decade, Black Twitter has been where we went to get our news, to grieve or celebrate together and to debate issues specific to Black culture. As many of the more prolific tweeters move on to other spaces, we are experiencing a digital diaspora, one in which we must once again aggregate information from multiple online sources. These untried, nascent spaces will provide a sense of newness — that new car smell! — for a while, but I foresee that Black Twitter will continue to display flashes of brilliance and insight at least through the next presidential election, if not for a few years after. So what’s my answer to the “what’s next for Black Twitter” question? Think of Musk’s ownership as similar to a building’s management by a slumlord. In the immediate future, Twitter will decline and even decay. Many fine people will loudly proclaim their disgust at the new ownership and depart. Some will hang on, even as they are afflicted by shoddy management and unreliable technologies, until they can no longer find their friends or favorite accounts. Many more will stay on Twitter because it’s a habit, a comfortable or convenient place to socialize or find entertainment. Just like folk still live in those decaying neighborhoods and buildings, Black everyday life — the core the Black Twitter experience — will continue as long as its users find value and pleasure in using the site.
How Trump could further damage democracy in a second presidential term 2023-07-18 - Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s taste for autocracy is well known. But a new report suggests that if he returned to the White House, his agenda to consolidate power would be far more aggressive and well organized than the last time around — thanks in part to even wider buy-in from the remains of the GOP establishment. The New York Times published an article Monday that found that Trump and his allies are buzzing with ways he could use a radical interpretation of “unitary executive theory” to amass unprecedented power as president. That theory contends that the president holds total control of the executive branch, and it rejects constraints on presidential power such as Justice Department independence and congressional regulations on executive branch agencies. This level of planning suggests that a second Trump term could do a lot more damage than the first in degrading democracy. There are several proposals that Trump, his campaign and allied think tanks have pushed to realize this vision. He intends to purge officials from the State Department, Defense Department and intelligence agencies that he thinks represent the “deep state” cabal. He’s spoken openly about ending the norm of an independent Justice Department, and instead using it to investigate political opponents. He would seek to bring agencies like the Federal Trade Commission directly under presidential control. He may try to “impound” funds — refusing to spend money allocated by Congress on policymaking he personally disfavors. (As the Times noted, Congress banned the practice during Richard Nixon’s administration.) And Trump would revive and strengthen rule changes to make it easier to fire members of the nonpartisan, expert-focused civil service perceived as disloyal. Many of these measures would be met by fierce legal challenges. But the unmistakable goal is, as the Times put it, “to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House.” There are two particularly noteworthy takeaways from this report. One is that this level of planning suggests that a second Trump term could do a lot more damage than the first in degrading democracy. While Trump did in his first term reject norms constraining executive power, he underestimated how difficult it would be to reshape the government at his whim and was constantly confronted by a bureaucratic apparatus that pushed back against some of his boldest attempts to upend norms. Trump failed to put together a serious transition team, dramatically slowing his effectiveness when he entered office. Lawyers at the Department of Homeland Security pushed back against Trump’s first attempts at instituting a ban on Muslim immigration. When he wanted to install a new attorney general to assist him in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Justice Department lawyers threatened mass resignations as a way to discourage him. When Trump called for shooting protesters, a member of the national security apparatus objected. Civil servants served as guardrails against some of Trump's most transgressive ideas. Things could be different if Trump won another term. His team and his think tank allies are exerting a ton of effort to make the storming of the White House a lot more systematic, and thinking through using hiring and rule changes to create a more pliant set of officials and policymakers in the executive branch. One transition group, Project 2025, has a $22 million budget and already has drawn up personnel lists and transition plans, the Times reported. Trump and his inner circle will be more aware of the importance of swift strategic hiring and the points of friction with the bureaucracy that they felt held them back last time. And while Trump was probably not held back by shame in his first term, he did back off of some of his more extreme measures when he felt the possibility of mass resignations made it politically difficult to pursue something. Now that he’s openly calling for the idea of purges and likely has even less regard for the political establishment, he could be more emboldened to act more rashly in the future. The second noteworthy point is that this effort seems to have the potential to bleed well beyond Trump. Project 2025 isn’t designed only for Trump, but for any Republican who could win the White House. And it’s backed by the Heritage Foundation, an establishment right-wing think tank that has had tremendous influence over conservative politics since the Reagan era. In other words, the idea of leading an all-out assault on executive branch norms is something that, much like many of Trump’s ideas, could be seeping into the party more broadly. Theoretically, Trump’s competitors in the Republican presidential primary could object to dismantling an independent Justice Department or to other threats to democracy. But they seem eager to follow suit. Trump is far from the first president who has sought to increase the power of the presidency out of self-interest. Especially in the realm of national security, presidents from both parties have sought to expand their power in deeply alarming ways for decades. But Trump’s agenda seems poised to break new ground and attempt to streamline the government around the authority of one person. Even if he faces fights in the courts on many of his measures, the ambition and audacity of them are worrisome. Worst of all, his party appears to be on board with it.
Ben Rhodes: Trump is ‘making no effort to hide his fundamentally autocratic intentions’ 2023-07-18 - Ben Rhodes: Trump is ‘making no effort to hide his fundamentally autocratic intentions’ Former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes reacts to reporting on plans by Donald Trump to remove any and all obstacles to his power in a potential second termJuly 17, 2023
The connection between allergies and climate change 2023-07-18 - Why men have turned to 'awful models of masculinity' and how to change it 12:28
John Kirby: Ukraine ‘has every right’ to choose how it will ‘defend itself’ and ‘reclaim territory’ 2023-07-18 - The Kerch Bridge, connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula, was the target of another explosion that left two people dead. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby joins Andrea Mitchell to react. “This is the second time the bridge has come under attack. We know that the first attack was from Ukrainian forces. Again, I wouldn't want to speculate on who exactly was responsible for this,” Kirby says. “But to be clear, Andrea, Crimea is Ukraine. It belongs to Ukraine. It doesn't belong to Russia. They have no business being there in the first place. And Ukraine has every right to pick the targets that it wants to pick to defend itself and to try to reclaim its territory.”July 17, 2023
SAG-AFTRA issues strike guidance specifically for influencers amid confusion 2023-07-18 - Social media stars don’t need Hollywood to get famous, but they still have to play by some of the industry’s rules. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is encouraging digital content creators — even those who aren’t part of the labor union — to avoid promoting films and TV series in solidarity with the union’s strike against the industry’s top studios. The union shared its influencer-specific guidelines amid confusion among digital content creators online over how they could support those on strike while still honoring some of their existing contracts. Some influencers are members of SAG-AFTRA, but even those who aren’t are still beholden to the rules of the strike. They risk being blacklisted from the union if they “scab,” a term for someone who continues to work while unionized workers strike. Many content creators said they plan to strike alongside union members, pausing content creation about movies and television until the strike is resolved. Others drew backlash after they initially said they would continue to work with targeted studios. When Ellen Orsi, a digital creator who focuses on pop culture content, got a $5,000 offer to promote a large superhero franchise, she knew she wouldn’t take the deal because of the strikes. “While it is a lot of money right now, I just don’t want to cross the line and make a quick buck now and potentially burn the bridge with wonderful creators of all types, in multiple platforms, in the future," Orsi said. She said it would feel wrong to take such opportunities, even if they seem tempting in the short term, when the majority of strikers don’t make enough to qualify for health care within the union. “If there’s this type of budget to reach out to influencers, then there’s definitely budget to pay workers and meet the demands of the strike,” she said. “And so I just wanted to be in solidarity within that industry.” SAG-AFTRA, whose 160,000 members include some of the most famous faces in the entertainment industry, began striking Thursday after high-stakes negotiations between the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a trade association representing the entertainment industry’s top studios, broke down. As actors took to the picket lines, singer and actor Ellysa Rose was among the many weighing in on what to do — and what not to do — on social media. Rose, a member of SAG-AFTRA, warned content creators that if they have “any creative goals where you would be required to join a union,” don’t “cross a picket line, even a digital one.” “Studios are going to start reaching out to influencers,” Rose, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, said in a TikTok video. “And now here’s the thing: There’s going to be big numbers thrown at you, especially small influencers, because a lot of the big influencers are already in SAG.” Much of the discourse surrounding proper protocol for influencers during the strike began after Juju Green, who goes by Straw_Hat_Goofy on TikTok, posted a video saying that because he was nonunion, he intended to fulfill his contract and implied that union rules didn’t apply to him. “Here’s how the strike will be affecting my content. The answer is: very little,” Green, who has 3.4 million followers, said in a TikTok video. “I am not an actor, nor am I a writer. Therefore my job doesn’t overlap with those that the writers and actors can’t do during the strike.” Green, who is known for posting content about film and TV, also shared a skit about continuing to post during the strike, which some called insensitive. He later removed the video and apologized. In an email statement, Green said that the post was in poor taste and that there was limited information from both SAG and WGA when he made the videos. “I removed that skit and apologized for any hurt it caused. Once clear official information was released from SAG, I complied with all regulations and will not be taking any new work from struck companies until the strike is resolved and the union gets a fair deal,” Green said. “I stand with SAGAFTRA.” But Green’s content struck a nerve with creators, particularly those who are in the union. “You’re correct there’s a lot of misinformation floating around about the strike,” said Franchesca Ramsey, a creator and SAG-AFTRA member whose response to Green went viral. “Which is why it probably would’ve been a good idea to do more research or at the very least wait for a response from SAG before making 3 videos about the strike filled with your opinions & not facts.” Ramsey declined to comment. In its guidelines, SAG-AFTRA said influencers who had already signed contracts to promote struck projects should “fulfill their work obligation” but shouldn’t otherwise accept new work from struck companies. Influencers are discouraged from promoting films and shows, even if it’s as a fan and not as a sponsored partner. The guidelines acknowledge that there will still be cross-promotional work with influencer partners that falls into a gray area. For those circumstances, the union suggests reaching out to a strike captain or the union itself. Still, the union emphasized: “Any non-member seeking future membership in SAG-AFTRA who performs covered work or services for a struck company during the strike will not be admitted into membership in SAG-AFTRA.” It’s unclear when exactly SAG-AFTRA’s influencer-specific FAQ page went live. The union didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. If I’m being honest, I think I was looking for excuses not to disrupt my own life while still showing support. But that’s selfish. — TikTok creator Kit Lazer Many creators said they support the cause — even if it means their own brands will take a hit. Kit Lazer, who makes film and television content for his 462,000 TikTok followers, said in a video over the weekend that he was “going on strike” with SAG and WGA, “if you can call it that.” “I don’t know a way to make ethical content about viewing these new movies and TV shows that isn’t also promoting the studios’ work,” Lazer said. He added that he wished people “had been kinder, because a lot of this is new,” remarking that in the 1980s, when the last SAG strike happened, social media, podcasts and other technology didn’t exist. Now content creators are trying to catch up. “If I’m being honest, I think I was looking for excuses not to disrupt my own life while still showing support,” Lazer said. “But that’s selfish.” Lazer declined to comment. Other creators said they will follow SAG-AFTRA’s guidelines partly because they hope to join a union one day. Reece Feldman, a nonunion creator known for interviewing celebrities on the red carpet, announced in a TikTok video that he will no longer accept new contracts to work on or promote titles for struck studios. Feldman, who was unavailable for an interview, said in the video that he supports the joint strike as someone who hopes to join WGA in the future. “At its core, I realize this issue is much more important than myself,” he said. “And it does genuinely take a group effort to make sure that studios understand how important this is.”
Texas soldier who 'willfully' disappeared is not a person of interest in wife's death, Army says 2023-07-18 - A Texas soldier who disappeared for 11 days this year — and was found one day after the announcement of his wife’s death — is not a person of interest in the case, military officials said. In a news release, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division cleared Spc. Craig Chamberlain, 23, in the May death of Cam Chamberlain and said her cause and manner of death will be released after an autopsy is completed. The statement, which was released Friday, added that because the investigation is active, no additional details will be released. Cam Chamberlain. Courtesy Jessica D’Lynn Pyles In a text message Monday, Craig Chamberlain's mother disputed the date of death the Army released for Cam Chamberlain — May 25 — and said the Criminal Investigation Division previously told her family it was May 23. An Army spokeswoman could not immediately clarify the discrepancy. Fort Cavazos officials announced the death on May 25. "I am glad that the truth is coming out and I know that there will be more truth to follow," Virginia Chamberlain said in the text. "We do not know why it has taken so long for this to come to light." She called on the Killeen Police Department to release the details surrounding her daughter-in-law's death so "Cam's loved ones and friends can have closure." The police department previously referred questions to the lead agency investigating her death, the Criminal Investigation Division. NBC News reported Thursday that close friends of Cam Chamberlain’s have remained frustrated in the weeks after her death because authorities have released few details about it. “I can’t even mourn her death the way family should, because it’s as if she never existed at all now,” said a friend, Shandy Eubank. Efforts to reach Cam Chamberlain's family have been unsuccessful. Friends of hers have said she was estranged from relatives. Spc. Craig Chamberlain. U.S. Army Craig Chamberlain, of Fort Cavazos’ 704th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, went missing May 15 in what the Army described as a "willful" disappearance. The base has said he was found May 26. Army officials have declined to provide more details about his status or the disappearance, which was the subject of internal inquiry. A spokeswoman for the base said the Army does not comment on administrative actions. Craig Chamberlain’s mother previously said a civilian search party found him in the Killeen area — near where Fort Cavazos is located — in "rough shape." She declined to provide additional details, citing his privacy, but she described his path forward as a "hard journey" with "a lot of healing." Craig and Cam Chamberlain were married in October 2020. He was assigned to a new post in South Korea in December, Army officials have said, but for “unknown reasons” he never traveled to the country. In a Facebook message to a friend after Craig Chamberlain went missing, Cam Chamberlain said her husband had lied to her about the assignment, and in an interview with the Killeen Daily Herald she said military officials told her that he stopped reporting to work in March — though she said he never told her about it. In the days before her death, Cam Chamberlain told friends that her marriage had become "toxic" and that she was divorcing her husband. Eubank said her friend had struggled with her husband and his family partly because of her gender identity. Cam Chamberlain publicly identified as a transgender woman. Virginia Chamberlain has rejected that claim, calling it “very, very inaccurate.”