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‘Stop falling for weird s—’: Four takeaways from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

By Paul Glader | CNN“You’ll never be successful,” Errol Musk in 1989 told his 17-year-old son Elon, who was then preparing to fly from South Africa to Canada to find relatives and a college education.That’s one of the scenes Walter Isaacson paints in his 670-page biography of Elon Musk, who is now the richest person who ever lived. The biography allows readers new glimpses into the private life of the entrepreneur who popularized electric vehicles for the masses and landed rocket boosters hurtling back to Earth so they could be reused.But Musk’s public statements and actions have become increasingly unhinged, filing and threatening lawsuits against nonprofits that fight hate speech and allowing some of the internet’s worst actors to regain their platforms.Isaacson portrays Musk as a restless genius with a turbulent upbringing on the cusp of launching a new AI company along with his five other companies.Musk allowed Isaacson to shadow him for two years but exercised no control over t...

Nasal decongestant in over-the-counter cold medicines doesn’t actually work, FDA experts day

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

By Cailley LaPara | BloombergA panel of US regulatory advisers said phenylephrine, a main component of over-the-counter cold medicines including some versions of Procter & Gamble Co.’s Nyquil, doesn’t actually work.The committee of 16 advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday that scientific evidence doesn’t prove that the nasal decongestant is effective when taken orally at recommended doses. The majority of panelists agreed that further studies to test higher doses of the drug would not be worthwhile.The advisory committee’s decision isn’t binding, but the FDA’s own staff have also questioned phenylephrine’s efficacy. If the agency follows the panel’s recommendation, it could next begin a process to remove the drug from the market, forcing manufacturers, including P&G, Kenvue Inc. (Sudafed) and Reckitt Benckiser Group (Mucinex), to reformulate many popular cough and cold products.The companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.Consumers...

Review: Shakespeare and Marlowe collide and collaborate on Berkeley stage

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

Ancient poets like Homer aside, there aren’t many authors whose very existence is debated as much as William Shakespeare. There are ardent factions devoted to the “authorship question” of whether Shakespeare actually wrote any of his plays or was simply a front man or invention of somebody else.Even the majority who believe Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare generally accept that he probably had co-authors for some of the plays, especially the weaker ones that vary wildly in style.In recent years, some scholars have become so convinced that Shakespeare collaborated with Christopher Marlowe on his “Henry VI” trilogy that the 2016 “New Oxford Shakespeare” credits the two playwrights side by side.Playwright Liz Duffy Adams imagines that untold collaboration between the two great contemporaries in her superb two-person play “Born with Teeth” at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company, fresh from its premiere at Houston’s Alley Theatre last year.In artistic director Josh Costello’s fast-paced stagi...

America’s Test Kitchen’s Oktoberfest recipes: Spaetzle, Black Forest Brownies

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

America’s Test Kitchen’s newest cookbook, “Gatherings, Casual-Fancy Meals to Share,” lands on Sept. 19, just in time to inspire celebrations of every variety. The book opens with a chapter of practical tips on everything from party planning to menu management, before plunging into themed gathering ideas. You’ll find recipes and how-tos from ATK and Cook’s Country test kitchen chefs for everything from a Mexican Brunch to a Great British Picnic, a Bao Bar, a Vegetarian Dumpling Party and — this being the season — Oktoberfest.The Oktoberfest at Home spread devised by Cook’s Country’s Mark Huxoll offers a full menu of German fare, complete with Schweinebraten, brown butter sauerkraut, beer and caraway pretzels, Gruyere and fontina-topped spaetzle and Black Forest Brownies.Spätzle — or spaetzle, if your keyboard is umlaut challenged — is traditionally made with a spaetzle maker, which forms the eggy little noodles as the batter drips into ...

A Trump Appointee Is Trying to Gut the FEC’s Ability to Investigate Campaign Finance Crimes

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

The government agency tasked with investigating campaign finance violations is on its way to intentionally making that very obligation more difficult to accomplish.The Federal Election Commission is a notoriously deadlocked agency that has nonetheless taken some significant enforcement actions in recent years. In 2019, for instance, the FEC issued record fines in relation to a Jeb Bush super PAC’s acceptance of $1.3 million from a Chinese-owned corporation. Last year, the agency fined Marathon Petroleum Company for giving $1 million to Republican party campaign committees while the fossil fuel company had existing contracts with the federal government.Now FEC Commissioner Allen Dickerson, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, is pushing a rules change that would encumber the agency’s ability to investigate such violations. The proposal would require the FEC’s Office of General Counsel to get explicit approval from the commissioners for any investigative activity, no matter ho...

Prince George’s Co. police identify 16-year-old girl gunned down near high school

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

Police tape around the fatal shooting at DuVal High School, near Palamar Drive and Woodstream Drive. (WTOP/John Domen) Police tape around the fatal shooting at DuVal High School, near Palamar Drive and Woodstream Drive. (WTOP/John Domen) Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, have identified the teen girl fatally shot near DuVal High School in Lanham on Monday.Police said Jayda Medrano-Moore, of Greenbelt, Maryland, was walking on Palamar Avenue after leaving the high school about 3:45 p.m., when a dispute occurred between two groups and she was shot.In an update Tuesday, police said they still don’t know if they are looking for a single suspect or multiple suspects in the shooting and urged anyon...

WestRock, Exxon Mobil and GoDaddy rise; Oracle falls, Tuesday, 9/12/2023

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that are trading heavily or have substantial price changes on Tuesday:Oracle Corp. (ORCL), down $16.02 to $110.68.The business software giant reported revenue that fell short of forecasts. WestRock Co. (WRK), up $1.25 to $35.32. The company is combining with Smurfit Kappa to create a global packaging company.Apple Inc. (AAPL), down $2.66 to $176.70.The company is holding an event to announce its latest iPhone models.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), down 75 cents to $136.17.An antitrust trial against Google’s parent company got underway challenging its dominance of internet search. Zions Bancorporation (ZION), up $2.65 to $37.40.The Utah-based bank said it was seeing improving trends in lending.GoDaddy Inc. (GDDY), up $1.88 to $75.58. Activist investor Starboard Value sent a letter to the company saying it’s deeply undervalued and needs to cut costs and make other changes. Casey’s General Stores Inc. (CASY), up $23.07 to $262.47.The operator of convenien...

US sanctions Lebanon-South America network accused of financing Hezbollah

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday slapped terrorism sanctions on a family network of seven individuals and businesses in Lebanon and South America accused of financing the militant group Hezbollah, including a Lebanese man who officials say was involved in two deadly attacks in Argentina in the 1990s.Amer Mohamed Akil Rada was described as “one of the operational members” who carried out the attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds. A 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina killed 29 people.“Today’s action underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to pursuing Hezbollah operatives and financiers no matter their location,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.The Iran-backed group is designated a “foreign terrorist organization,” and Washington also claims that the group has been involved in drug traffick...

Helping mothers and babies survive childbirth is a personal goal, says Melinda French Gates

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Melinda French Gates says she takes personally the deaths of hundreds of thousands of women and babies during child birth each year and believes more people should get involved in the fight for improving maternal health care.French Gates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder and co-chair told The Associated Press that when her daughter, Jennifer, gave birth to Leila — Jennifer’s first child and the Gateses’ first grandchild — earlier this year, she couldn’t help but think of her own experience giving birth. “That’s a terrifying day whether you’re in a great hospital in the U.S. in a high-income setting or in a low-income setting. It’s a scary day for moms, right?” French Gates said. “And you want to survive and you want your baby to survive.”Several low cost and low tech interventions would increase those chances of survival, according to a new report released Tuesday by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that tracks progres...

Alabama walk-on football player arrested on sodomy charge

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:58 GMT

WEAVER, Ala. (AP) — A walk-on member of the Alabama football team has been arrested on a charge of second-degree sodomy involving a juvenile female.Antonio Ross, 19, a freshman defensive back with the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide, was arrested at his home in Weaver on Monday after being indicted by a Calhoun County grand jury. Ross was released from Calhoun County Jail on Monday on $50,000 bond.“Tonio Ross is no longer part of the program and has been removed from campus,” Alabama said in a statement.The case was initially reported to and investigated by the Anniston Police Department. The juvenile, whose name and age were not released, was interviewed at Calhoun County Children’s Advocacy Center.An attorney for Ross wasn’t immediately able to be contacted.Ross did not see action in the Tide’s first two games.___AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollSource