The Daily News Bloggers

WASHINGTON -- X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter , has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk . An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit's research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH's research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.” Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies. The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom . It regularly publishes reports on h

It's great time to skip the alcohol, thanks to elegant non-alcoholic offerings. Studio Null, Chavin, Edenvale The non-alcoholic category is not going anywhere. As drinkers consider to moderate their consumptions, more and more brands are entering the category, offering high-quality alternatives to beers, wines, spirits, and ready-to-drink cans. The no- and low-alcohol category has a market value of just under US$10 Billion globally, according to the IWSR Global No- and Low-Alcohol Strategic Study 2022, and continues to grow as new entrants join the category. With so many new products on the market, what bottles should you have your eyes on? Here are some of the category’s most exciting new bottlings. Null Wines just released a new Gruner blend — salty, floral, aromatic and green. Null Wines Studio Null’s Gruner Weiss Founded by friends Catherine Diao and Dorothy Munholland, Studio Null does an excellent job of replicating the craft and story of small producer wines in

The Michigan Supreme Court is out with a decision that provides critical relief for thousands of people who were badly injured in car wrecks By ED WHITE Associated Press July 31, 2023, 9:48 AM DETROIT -- Michigan residents who were catastrophically injured in car wrecks before the summer of 2019 can continue to bill insurance companies for ongoing care, the state Supreme Court said Monday in a decision that provides critical relief for thousands of people. For decades, people injured in crashes were entitled to lifetime payment for “all reasonable charges” related to care and rehabilitation. But a new state law set a fee schedule and a cap on reimbursements not covered by Medicare. Suddenly, 18,000 people already receiving long-term benefits were at risk of losing them. But in a 5-2 opinion, the Supreme Court said a “vested contractual right” to ongoing benefits “cannot be stripped away or diminished,” especially when lawmakers failed to declare an intent to do so when t

Crowd of Audience at during a concert with silhouette of a heart shaped hands shadow, light ... [+] illuminated is power of music concert getty Audience engagement is a primary focus for most music artists, and Forbes reports that efforts are evolving for creators to grow their fan bases. Take Spotify's Release Details Page and Audience Engagement Stats, which measure the impact of marketing efforts and contextualizes audience growth. And Apple AAPL Music's Music Analytics API that offers aggregated, anonymized counts of listeners and plays to shed light on fans while protecting their privacy. Just as customized streaming powers fan engagement, localizing music videos and content into various languages allows artists to further optimize their global marketing strategies to attract and maintain lasting connections to fans. In that spirit, YouTube recently launched a multi-language audio feature that allows creators to add dubbing to their videos so that the content can

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning ... [+] during the first baseball game of a doubleheader, Thursday, July 27, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Two years ago, Shohei Ohtani became the 19th player to win the Most Valuable Player award by a unanimous vote of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BWAA). It was quite an achievement for Ohtani, who is arguably the best hitter-pitcher combination in baseball history. This season, Ohtani has been even better. The Los Angeles Angels star could be the first player in Major League Baseball history to win the MVP unanimously on multiple occasions. As of now, there’s little doubt Ohtani will win the American League’s MVP, barring an injury or unforeseen mega-slump in the final nine weeks of the season. Ohtani is an overwhelming favorite, so much so that it makes little sense to bet on him. People would make

Left to right: Dr. Alex Box, PULSATION, 2023, Clara Bacou, ILLUMINATION, 2023, NARS ORGASM, ... [+] ACTIVATED campaign. NARS Cosmetics / Dr. Alex Box / Clara Bacou As part of new campaign ORGASM, ACTIVATED, makeup brand NARS has partnered with nonfungible token markeplace SuperRare on an auction of digital collectibles celebrating its cult classic Orgasm shade. An additional augmented reality element involving Instagram filters, live as of today, aims to bring the Web3 project to a wider audience. Fans are invited to share tagged footage via Instagram Stories for the chance to win Orgasm product. NARS commissioned five female-identifying artists: Dr. Alex Box, Serwah Attafuah, NINOCENCE, Clara Bacou, and Damara Ingles to create NFT artwork celebrating self expression and drawing on the colors and textures of the NARS signature. The NFTs came with physical Infinite Objects frames plus the complete NARS Orgasm Collection (valued at $315) and a 45-minute, one-on-one consultatio

Continue Here » Beyoncé is a global icon. Ever since her debut as a member of Destiny’s Child , the Lemonade superstar has gone on to pave her own path as a solo superstar over the past two decades, racking up dozens smash hits and critically hailed studio albums along the way, as well as proving to be incredibly influential as a cultural icon. Amid the global Renaissance Tour , we’ve rounded up all of Beyoncé ‘s solo studio albums and ranked them according to their score on aggregate website Metacritic . From 2003′s Dangerously in Love to today, find out how all of Bey’s studio albums rank among critics… Continue Here » Just Jared on Facebook View the rest of the story here

Police say two people were killed after shots rang out in a crowd in the home city of Florida’s flagship university By The Associated Press July 30, 2023, 1:48 PM FILE - Fans arrive for an NCAA college football game against UAB at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., Sept. 10, 2011. The Gators announced plans Monday, July 3, 2023, to hire an architect for the design of its revamped Florida Field, the first public step in a process that’s been ruminating for years.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File) The Associated Press GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Gunshots rang out in a crowd early Sunday, killing two people in the city that is home to Florida’s flagship university, authorities said. Police officers had been conducting crowd control in downtown Gainesville, Florida, in a commercial corridor several blocks from the University of Florida campus when they heard gunshots, the police department said in a post. The post didn't disclose how

Topline Barbie and Oppenheimer continued to dominate the box office in their second weekend in theaters, bringing in a combined total of nearly $140 million domestically from Friday to Sunday according to Variety , after Barbie had the biggest opening so far this year when it premiered last weekend. ‘Barbie’ brought in $93 million in its second weekend in theaters. Warner Bros Pictures/Universal Pictures vía AP Key Facts Barbie earned $93 million domestically from Friday to Sunday, bringing its North American earnings up to $351 million and its worldwide earnings up to $750 million after just over a week in theaters, according to Variety. If Barbie continues on this trajectory, it will only be the second film to cross the $1 billion mark so far this year, after The Super Mario Bros. Movie had great success earlier this year and earned $1.34 billion worldwide. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer brought in more than $46 million this weekend for a domestic box office total of

LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Banks working to develop global standards on accounting for carbon emissions in bond or stock sale underwriting have voted to exclude most of these emissions from their own carbon footprint, three people familiar with the matter said. The majority of banks comprising an industry working group backed a plan earlier this month to exclude two-thirds of the emissions linked to their capital markets businesses from being attributed to them in carbon accounting, the sources said, following months of discord over the issue . Advertisement If upheld, the decision would pit banks against environmental advocates, many of whom say the banking industry should assume full responsibility for the emissions generated by activities financed through bonds and stock sales, as it already does with loans. Almost half of the financing provided by the six biggest U.S. banks for top fossil fuel companies came from capital markets rather than direct lending between 2016

Russia's emergencies ministry says at least nine people have died, including three children, after high winds tore through central Russia By The Associated Press July 30, 2023, 4:22 AM MOSCOW -- At least nine people — including three children — have died after high winds tore through central Russia, emergency services and a local official reported Sunday. Eight of the dead were part of a group of tourists camping close to Lake Yalchik in the Mari-El region when the storm hit Saturday, Russia’s emergencies ministry said. The strong winds caused a large number of trees to fall in the area, including where the group’s tents had been pitched on a stretch of wild beach, regional leader Yuri Zaitsev wrote on social media. He said that three children were among the dead. Across the wider Volga Federal District, 76 people were injured in the storm, with thousands of households losing power, emergency services said. View the rest of the story here

Is your current boss the worst one you’ve ever had? One in four people say “yes,” according to research from the employee survey and analytics provider Perceptyx. If you’re not among that group, chances are one of your friends is. So, are there more bad bosses out there or are people just talking about them more? Emily Killham, Perceptyx’s director of research and insights, says it’s a little bit of both. “When I started in this field 25 years ago, people were just beginning to learn about what it meant to be a real people manager, a developmental person that focuses on careers, helping employees get from point A to point B,” she says. “Before that, we had taskmasters. Now employees have expectations, and it is table stakes for a business to have people managers.” Bosses can fall short if their companies demand more of them. “They’re being asked to do a lot of things they’ve never had to do before—things that their organizations haven’t upskilled them to do,” says Killham. “It’s

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that nearly two-thirds of Americans live paycheck to paycheck . Setting aside money in an emergency fund is nigh impossible when you need every single cent of your paycheck just to cover living expenses. So how do you get ahead when there’s always too much month left at the end of your money? Here are some tried-and-true methods for building an emergency fund when money is tight. of refunds and withholding The average American taxpayer received a refund of $2,812 for the 2023 tax filing season . While an emergency fund of just over $2,800 is unlikely to cover three months’ worth of expenses, saving your tax refund could be a great way to seed your savings cushion. But what if you’ve already spent this year’s refund? Refunds come but once a year, after all. That’s why you may want to adjust your withholding to receive a smaller refund next tax season. A $2,812 refund is equivalent to an additional $108 per biweekly paycheck. If you u

Brad Pitt is hitting the brakes on production of his upcoming Formula 1 racing movie. For the past several weeks, the 59-year-old Oscar-winning actor has been hard at work filming his Apple TV+ movie Apex in Hungary, which is outside jurisdiction of the Hollywood actors’ union. However, to show his solidarity with the actors on strike, Brad – who stars in the movie and is producing it – has decided to suspend production on Apex until the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved. Keep reading to find out more… “Brad agreed that they would finish shoots booked in but has postponed planned production over the next two months,” a source close to the movie shared with The Sun . “The cast and crew of Apex have been filming in Budapest but Brad has called for the future dates to be put back, in solidarity with everyone striking,” the source continued. “Postponing the production was a massive call, especially financially, but Brad has listened to the concerns of the people he works with and

TOPSHOT - Manchester United's Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku reacts after missing a shot during a ... [+] last 16 second leg UEFA Champions League football match between Manchester United and Sevilla at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England on March 13, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images After succumbing to a 0-2 loss to Real Madrid the question posed to Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag was whether the game provided more evidence of the need to sign a striker. “Absolutely,” the Dutchman responded, adding “there were two things – the pressing can be better from the start, and scoring goals. “I think we need more players who are capable to be in the one-on-ones and we had the situations of one-on-ones.” Addressing the club’s efforts to acquire a forward directly, Ten Hag said: “It’s always difficult to say. We are working 24/7. We do and everyone, well not everyone, but a lot in the club

The Witcher Netflix Netflix has returned with the final three episodes of The Witcher season 3, and yet they do not seem to have done much to change anyone’s mind about the trajectory of the series, and where things go from here. Looking at the numbers, it’s kind of wild. Critic reviews have always been good, a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes for season 1, a shocking 95% for season 2, and now a 78% for season 3. Fans have uh, been less receptive. But it’s not the usual “oh the nerds hate how this has been adapted” situation. In fact, in general, fans of both the books and games loved season 1 of the show, giving it an 89%, far higher than critics. In particular, Henry Cavill’s Geralt went from a meme (he’s too handsome to play him! what a bad wig!) to what seemed like one of the best casting decisions ever, helped in part by Cavill’s genuine love for the source material. Then, things started dropping. Season 2 fans rated a rotten 56% as more and more changes started to be made from th

Kris Tyson has officially come out as transgender. "I am a woman," the MrBeast star told fellow YouTuber Anthony Padilla in an interview published this weekend. "I've never said that publicly, but I've been fully confident in that decision for over a year now." [embedded content] Kris explained that when she first started growing her hair out and making other changes to her appearance, she wasn't quite sure of how to identify. She just knew she "was not cisgender." Advertisement "For a while, I was trying gender fluid," she continued. "I was like, what's making me feel like I'm bi-gender? What is tying me to this masculinity? And really, it was after a lot of talking with a therapist and a lot of self-reflection, [that] I realized it was really just the societal pressure of, 'You're Chris from MrBeast. You're the guy that starts the fires. You're the guy that builds the stuff.' And like