The man used Apple's Emergency SOS via satellite feature to relay useful information to rescuers, like his clothing, supplies, and any injuries. Apple A man in Alaska became stranded while traveling on a snow machine at around 2 a.m. He used Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite feature, on iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, to be rescued. The iPhone feature helps users without cellular and wifi coverage contact emergency services. A man in Alaska used Apple's new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature to be rescued after he became stranded in an area without cellular or WiFi signals while traveling on a snow machine.Around 2 a.m. on Friday, Alaska State Troopers received a notification that an adult man had activated the feature while traveling from Noorvik to Kotzebue, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety (ADPS).  The man's snow machine became disabled, an ADPS spokesperson confirmed to Insider.The Apple Emergency Response Center worked with local search and rescue teams and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinate, who sent four volunteer searchers to where Apple's GPS coordinates showed the ping came from. The search and rescue teams were dispatched at 3:30 a.m, the ADPS spokesperson told Insider.The stranded man was found at Nimiuk Point and taken to Kotzebue by the team at 6 a.m., according to ADPS. He had no reported injuries.The area where the stranded Alaska man was rescued using Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone 14.Google MapsThe stranded man had "appropriate clothing and firestarting supplies," and rescuers believe he was familiar with the area and travelling by snowmachine, the ADPS spokesperson told Insider. He did not have another form of satellite communication. Had the stranded man not had a satellite communication device, like the iPhone 14 in this case, the ADPS spokesperson told Insider the man may have been stranded for "several hours" until someone noticed he was missing. Historical weather data from Weather Underground shows that temperatures at 2 a.m. on Friday around Kotzebue hung in the low twenties Fahrenheit.Using the iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via Satellite, the stranded man was able to relay useful information to rescuers, like what clothing he was wearing, what kind of supplies he had, a description of his snow machine, whether he had injuries, and weather information of his location, the ADPS spokesperson told Insider.Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that communicates with Apple's Emergency Response Center allowed the rescue team to receive this information faster than a typical satellite communication device."Typically we have to ask that information of a person ourselves and that can take some time going back and forth over satellite," the ADPS spokesperson told Insider. "Having that information from the start allowed us to make quick decisions that helped this story have a happy ending.""The entire team involved in this incident was extremely impressed with the accuracy of the location provided and the initial information that the Apple Emergency Response Center was able to provide when they first notified first responders," the ADPS spokesperson added.Apple and Tim Cook did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models for free for two years after activating the phone. It allows users to contact emergency services when there's no cellular or WiFi coverage. Instead, the user's iPhone communicates with a satellite to try to connect them.Directly under the sky, a message could take around 15 seconds to send, while under light or medium foliage, it can take over a minute, according to Apple. Users under heavy foliage or other obstructions might not be able to connect.You can demo Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature without actually alerting rescue services before setting off on an adventure or journey to get a feel for the feature and how it works.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

"This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself when I was seven," Obama deadpanned of Walker's previous bizarre aside during a rally. Former President Barack Obama speaks during a rally for Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock before the 2022 Georgia runoff.Brynn Anderson/AP Obama torched Republican Herschel Walker for a previous bizarre aside during a November rally. Walker mused during a speech whether he would want to be a vampire or a werewolf. "This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself when I was seven," Obama deadpanned.  Former President Barack Obama lampooned Georgia Republican Herschel Walker on Thursday night, arguing that the former football great is akin to a crazy uncle who should not be trusted with serious responsibility."Since the last time I was here, Mr. Walker has been talking about issues that are of great importance to the people of Georgia. Like whether it's better to be a vampire or a werewolf," Obama said during a rally to tout his support for Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in the closing days before Georgia's Senate runoff.The former president then twisted the knife, "This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself when I was seven. Then I grew up."—The Recount (@therecount) December 2, 2022Obama's reference to the horror movie tangent is related to Walker's bizarre aside during a November rally. The former president also poked fun at the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner for claiming he let Obama beat him in basketball before conceding that they had never met."I don't know if you know, but vampires are some cool people, are they not?" Walker said. "But let me tell you something that I found out: A werewolf can kill a vampire. Did you know that? I never knew that."Democrats are already guaranteed to have control of the US Senate as a result of the midterm elections, but the outcome of Tuesday's runoff will determine whether the chamber will remain evenly split or if Democrats will hold a 51-49 majority. Obama stressed that beyond the real impacts of an extra seat, Georgia can't afford to send someone like Walker to Washington."This would be funny if he wasn't running for Senate," Obama said. "We all know some folks in our lives, who we don't wish them ill will, they say crazy stuff, and we're all like well, you know, Uncle Joe, you know what happened to them ... They're part of the family, but you don't give them serious responsibilities."Obama wanted to make sure that people knew Walker ultimately decided that he would be a werewolf. "As far as I'm concerned, he can be anything he wants to be besides a United States senator," he said.A representative for Walker's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

It's common for YouTubers to hire editors to help with their videos, both short and long form. Here's how to start earning money as a YouTube editor. Video editor Mathew Rhyze (left) and YouTuber Jeremy Hutchins (right)Mathew Rhyze. It's become increasingly common for YouTubers to hire editors to help with their videos. Being a YouTube video editor can be lucrative and become a full-time job, with the right tricks. Here's how YouTube editors set their rates and how they land big-name clients. As the creator economy grows, creators are hiring more talent to help with tasks such as shooting, production, and post-production.Take MrBeast, who is the most followed YouTuber in the world with over 111 million subscribers. He has built a large operation in his hometown of Greenville, NC, and he often has work positions open on his website.The jobs in the YouTube space range from "YouTube producer," to "thumbnail designer," or "video editor."Video editors, in particular, are in charge of selecting, cutting, and arranging the footage of videos. While some YouTube creators, like MrBeast, have in-house teams of editors that are employed full time, other editors work as freelancers and run their own businesses.How to become a YouTube video editorBecoming an established editor often depends on building the right connections.Taylor King, who has edited videos for YouTuber Alisha Marie, built her way into the job through networking and doing free work for creators to learn editing skills.It may be enough to show drive and dedication and make the right connections online, even without meeting creators in person. King mainly used Instagram for that."I'm constantly DMing people and I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting that you are a fan of someone," she previously told Insider.Read King's tips to network and build relationships in the YouTube industryDavid Stack, who freelances for different creators, worked for a year for MrBeast after he contacted the creator's lead video editor via Twitter DMs.Stack shared how he landed a job with MrBeast thanks to a Twitter DMA similar thing happened to Ayden Naenna, who saw that a tweet from a creator who was looking for someone to edit a video for him. Naenna took up the opportunity, and quickly started earning good money at just 15.Read more about how much Naenna makes as a video editor at just 17 years oldAndrew Siwicki, who now works as a producer, cameraman, and editor for creator Garrett Watts, got his start into editing by sending a direct message to a creator on YouTube (a feature that no longer exists).Siwicki shared his career path to becoming a full-time video editorIt might be easier to start working as an editor for short-form videos, to learn skills, and then transition to working with long-form creators.Read how Mathew Rhyze made video editing into a full-time jobHow much YouTube editors makeMaking good money as an editor requires a combination of skill, consistency, and self confidence.Stack said he is always trying to learn new techniques and keep up with more experienced editors."I love watching online art and creativity courses from universities like Harvard," Stack previously told Insider. "Editors from Disney or Pixar often hold lectures there."Read about how much Stack earns per month, and how he built a freelancing businessKnowing when it's time to raise your rate and not undervaluing yourself is also very important to make video editing into a full-time job.Rhyze explains how he sets his rates as an editorA good video editor also knows that editing for YouTube is very different than editing other forms of video entertainment."I think many associate YouTube videos with movies, which is a mistake," Rhyze said. "YouTube users have way less tolerance for slow pacing."Joe Vulpis, who's worked with creators like Liza Koshy and David Dobrik, was surprised at how little of what he learned in filmmaking school he would need for YouTube editing.Read how much Vulpis makes per month, and the differences between filmmaking and YouTube editingAyden Naenna hopes that learning video editing will help him get started in filmmaking, too.Naenna discussed what he learned while editing for YouTube and how he hopes it'll help him make moviesOther YouTube jobs: Thumbnail designerBeing a video editor is not the only way to build a career working "behind the scenes" of a YouTube video.Many YouTubers also outsource work on thumbnails — the small images that preview a video. Thumbnails are meant to catch the attention of the audience and convince them to click on a video, making them crucial to the success of a video.A great thumbnail requires attention to different factors, like color, emotion, and structure.Top thumbnail designers share the elements of a successful thumbnailBut turning it into a job can be tricky.19-year-old Dill Toma, who freelances for creators like Anthony Padilla (6.8 million YouTube subscribers) and Airrack (10.5 million subscribers), made thumbnail designing his full-time job by learning how to set appropriate rates. Read how much Toma earns as a full-time thumbnail designerRead the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Hui Ka Yan spoke in a 50-second voice clip about the need to speed up construction projects to boost the company, per the South China Morning Post. Evergrande chairman Hui Ka Yan.Getty Images Evergrande's founder sent a voice note after rumors of his death emerged on Friday, SCMP reported. Hui Ka Yan reportedly sent a 50-second clip to executives asking to speed up construction projects. Evergrande has debt of $300 billion and faces a collapse in property values in China. The founder of Evergrande, the Chinese construction giant, sent a voice note to executives and chaired a meeting on Friday as a rumor that he had killed himself emerged, according to reports.Hui Ka Yan used a 50-second voice clip on message app WeChat to tell about 100 executives to speed up work on unfinished construction projects and escalate marketing efforts to help restore the company's finances, the South China Morning Post reported.The clip was released about the same time on Friday afternoon that a rumour began circulating on social media that Hui had jumped off a building in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, the newspaper reported. Spokespeople for Evergrande in Guangzhou declined to comment to the publication.The chairman also chaired a meeting of Evergrande executives in Guangzhou on Friday night, per the SCMP, which cited a post on the company's website on Friday. Hui was shown in pictures and video talking to employees in the website post, per the report. "We have delivered 256,000 units between January and November, approaching our targeted 300,000 units in 2022," Hui said in the video, the SCMP reported. In September Evergrande said it would resume work on all its stalled property projects by the end of the month, the Financial Times reported.The company said at the time it had 706 developments in China awaiting completion for buyers who had already paid for properties, with work having resumed on 668, per the FT.Evergrande was once a pillar of China's construction sector but property valuations have sunk in recent months and it is laboring under a massive debt mountain of about $300 billion, making it the most indebted developer in the world.Evergrande's shares crashed and were then suspended in early January after the developer was ordered to demolish 39 buildings in a big development in China's southern province of Hainan, The Guardian reported.Hui was asked by creditors to hand over $2 billion of his own money to settle a self-imposed deadline for a restructuring proposal, Bloomberg reported last week.His net worth has plunged from almost $42 billion in October 2017 to about $6.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires' Index. Forbes puts his wealth at $2.9 billion.In October the FT reported that Hui was the real owner of a London property worth about $227 million that had gone on the market as he tried to liquidate assets to keep paying interest bills.Evergrande's electric vehicle unit also suspended production this week due to a lack of orders, Reuters reported. Hui could not be contacted for comment and Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

"The Federal Reserve will ultimately have plenty of excuse to taper down the rate hikes and pause them in the first quarter of next year." Chairman of the Federal Reserve nominee Jerome Powell testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee November 28, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.Alex Wong/Getty November's strong jobs report was likely distorted, and the Fed still has room to slow and eventually pause rate hikes. JPMorgan Asset Management's David Kelly pointed to possible exaggerations in the Friday's report. "I think beneath the surface there is more weakness here," Kelly said in an interview with CNBC. The November jobs report was likely distorted, and there's plenty of room for the Federal Reserve to taper rate hikes and pause them in the first quarter of 2023, according to JPMorgan Asset Management chief strategist David Kelly."I think beneath the surface there is more weakness here," Kelly said in an interview with CNBC on Friday, adding that figures in the report may not be as strong as they appear on the surface. The US added another 263,000 jobs last month, and average hourly wages jumped 5.1% from a year ago. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7%.Those are signs that the labor market is still hot – the opposite of what the Fed is looking for after hiking rates by nearly 400-basis-points this year. Powell has pointed to a strong labor market as a major reason why the Fed should stay the course with its aggressive tightening regime, although he recently signaled the central bank could slow its pace to a 50-basis-point increase in December.But it's possible the jobs market figures are distorted due to the way data is recorded in the report, Kelly said."When you are at a turning point in the economy, it tends to overestimate the number of firms that are actually in existence, and therefore, overestimate payroll job gains," he said, noting there was evidence that payrolls have actually declined in sectors like manufacturing and construction even as the report showed an increase.Wage gains could also be exaggerated due to shortened workweeks in November, on account of factors like bad weather and workers falling ill, he said."When I look at the overall mosaic of what's going on in the jobs market, I think it's still moderating here, and I think the Federal Reserve will ultimately have plenty of excuse to taper down the rate hikes and pause them in the first quarter of next year," he said.That's contrary to what some analysts have suggested, noting that a stronger-than-expected jobs market will pressure the central bank to keep tightening for longer in order to get inflation under control. The strong jobs data caused stocks to slip this morning as investors worried the Fed could stay aggressive with its monetary policy. Still, fed fund futures are showing a higher likelihood that this month's rate hike is smaller, with traders putting the odds of a 50 basis-point move at about 75%. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Sam Bankman-Fried denied intentional fraud but admitted to oversight issues in interviews that legal experts say could be used against him in court. Sam Bankman-Fried speaks with Andrew Ross Sorkin during The New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City on November 30, 2022.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images In new media appearances, Sam Bankman-Fried openly mused about his culpability in FTX's crash. He denied trying to defraud stakeholders, but conceded the lax oversight of FTX's risks.  Public remarks suggesting intent and negligence can be used in court, legal experts said. A question that's dogged Sam Bankman-Fried since he began tweet threading apologies and explanations before FTX's bankruptcy filing last month is, what must his lawyers think of their confession-prone client?   When the New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin broached the subject at Wednesday's DealBook interview, Bankman-Fried responded that his lawyers had told him, "'Don't say anything, recede into a hole,' and that's not who I am.""I have a duty to explain what happened," he insisted, his gaze down.But Bankman-Fried's remarks to Sorkin that he "did not ever try to commit fraud on anyone," and that there was "a massive failure of oversight of risk management and of diffusion of responsibility from myself running FTX," can be valuable leads for investigators, and come back to haunt him in court, legal experts told Insider. "For the prosecutors, this is a treasure trove of information that they're going to pursue," said Steven Block, a partner at Thompson Hine LLP and a former federal prosecutor in Chicago. "As a defense attorney, what you're thinking is that your client is potentially locking himself into certain positions that may not be the right positions to take down the road." FTX is reportedly facing multiple ongoing government inquiries in the US and the Bahamas, which may also determine the extent of Bankman-Fried's own potential liability. The fallout from the abrupt collapse of the crypto lending giant last month can lead to both civil and criminal proceedings, with enforcement authorities, regulators and plaintiffs attorneys all looking for recourse. Public statements by company leaders, and even remarks made to employees, can be valuable in completing a picture that investigators often build by looking into documents like banking and financial records, and interviewing investors and other third parties.And under the federal rules of evidence, which provide the framework that judges use to decide what pieces of evidence a jury should hear in a trial, public statements can also easily make their way into courtroom proceedings, attorneys said. The government, for instance, could argue that press interviews can be admitted into evidence as admissions, said Marjorie Peerce, a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP who represents clients in white collar cases, and co-heads the firm's crypto and blockchain practice. Peerce spoke generally about government inquiries and defenses, and not about Bankman-Fried. "You want to keep your powder dry as a defense lawyer until you have to surface with what your defense is going to be," she said.Even statements disavowing deliberate wrongdoing could be problematic. Bankman-Fried told Sorkin at one point that "I didn't knowingly commingle funds," between FTX and his other company, the hedge fund Alameda Research."Some might say on the surface, those statements are not incriminating," said Richard Scheff, a former federal prosecutor in Philadelphia who is now a partner at Armstrong Teasdale representing clients in government investigations. "But a good prosecutor is going to look at every single word he says publicly, and they're going to try to prove if it's accurate or inaccurate."  Bankman-Fried's ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos appeared to contain a more troubling admission. "Like, I wasn't spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX," he told the "Good Morning America" anchor. "And that that was obviously a mistake."The legal calculus behind what sort of intent or actions may provide the grounds for fraud allegations can be complex. A flagrant lack of care and oversight could factor into such allegations, said Andrew Jennings, an assistant professor at Brooklyn Law School."That phrase really struck me as being one of recklessness as to risk, which I think could be a quite significant statement that he made," he said. Greg Joseph and Stanford Law professor David Mills, who Semafor reported last month represent Bankman-Fried, didn't respond to Insider's email for comment Thursday evening. Representatives for FTX did not respond to a request for comment, and Bankman-Fried did not respond to a Twitter DM seeking comment.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

About 2.4 million barrels of Russian oil that once flowed to the EU per day will have to find a new destination. Russian President Vladimir Putin.Contributor/Getty Images The European Union's sanctions on Russian oil shipments will take effect on Monday.  EU officials have agreed to set a price cap on Russian oil at $60 a barrel.  The US has said ships loaded with Russian oil before December 5 and unloaded at destinations before January 19 won't be subject to the price cap. The European Union's sanctions on Russian oil will take effect on Monday, and energy markets are headed for uncharted waters in the months ahead.Meanwhile, EU officials have agreed to set a price cap on Russian oil at $60 a barrel as OPEC+ meets Sunday to discuss crude production, adding more uncertainty to the immediate future.What do sanctions include?Starting Monday, seaborne imports of Russian oil into the EU will be banned, as will European insurance and shipping services for vessels carrying Russian oil anywhere in the world.With the majority of the world's seaborne shipment services based in Europe, the ban would touch nearly every tanker across the globe. That means even ships transporting Russian oil to markets outside the EU will not be able to access services provided by EU companies.The EU sanctions exempt imports delivered via Russia's Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe — a concession to Hungary, which is led by Vladimir Putin ally Viktor Orban.How would the oil price cap work?At the same time, the EU, G7 member countries, and Australia are participating in the price cap on Russian oil. EU diplomats reached a deal on $60 per barrel on Friday, despite efforts by Poland and Baltic states for a lower cap.By essentially watering down the EU sanctions, Western powers hope to ensure that Russian oil keeps flowing — simultaneously preventing a price shock while limiting Russian revenue. Insurance can still be provided to tankers carrying Russian barrels so long as the crude was purchased at or below the cap. The US has said ships loaded with Russian oil before December 5 and unloaded at destinations before January 19 won't be subject to the price cap.But the EU ban on Russian oil supersedes a price cap, Energy Aspects analyst Amrita Sen has pointed out. So while Russian oil priced below the cap could flow via EU ships and insurance outside the EU, the trading bloc itself still will not import seaborne Russian crude.What will happen to oil prices?Russia has said it won't sell oil to any price-cap participants. Top buyers China and India haven't said they will take part, and the discounted prices they pay are already around $60 a barrel. A "dark fleet" of ships is also poised to help Russian supplies skirt EU sanctions. But 2.4 million barrels of Russian oil that once flowed to the EU per day will have to find new destinations, and Asian markets are unlikely to pick up all the slack. Top oil trader Vitol predicted Russian oil exports could fall by up to 1 million barrels per day, or 20% of its seaborne volume.Analysts at Bernstein estimated that oil prices could jump to $120 a barrel next year, as Russia struggles to find enough dark ships willing to operate without Western insurance.Kpler lead crude analyst Viktor Katona told Insider that a price cap could be easily circumvented because of questionable reporting requirements.Under the current framework, buyers are on the hook to provide proof that the oil in question complies with EU sanctions, while "for every other entity along the trading transaction there is no such necessity," he said.The cap also conflates "free-on-board" prices with destination prices, which has already allowed Russia to underreport prices, Katona said. FOB refers to the specific time during shipping when either the buyer or seller becomes liable for the goods. A cap that's set as a FOB price would represent "very porous regulation," he added.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Bank of America foresees the unemployment situation in 2023 will be as shocking to Main Street consumer sentiment as inflation was in 2022. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Sell stock rallies ahead of the likely recession shock for Main Street consumer sentiment in 2023, Bank of America said Friday.  Job losses next year will shock consumers, as inflation did in 2022, analysts predicted.  For now, the labor market still looks strong, with the addition of 263,000 jobs in November.  Steep job losses look set to sweep through the US next year, making it prudent for investors to sell stock rallies ahead of the major economic shift, according to Bank of America. "Bears (like us) worry unemployment in '23 will be as shocking to Main St consumer sentiment as inflation in '22, especially consumers with a 2% savings ratio," wrote Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at BofA Global Research. "[Selling] risk rallies from here," he wrote in the firm's Flow Show note published Friday.Strength in the labor market was on display Friday with the November nonfarm payrolls report. The world's largest economy added 263,000 jobs last month, outstripping economist expectations of 200,000. Wage growth continued to increase, marking a 5.1% rise over the previous year.But Wall Street analysts widely expect a recession next year as the Fed works to cool inflation by jacking up borrowing rates to slow down economic activity. Bank of America said it already sees signs of the labor market softening, with "small business jobs hard to fill (correlates with Fed funds) & peak in Atlanta Fed wage tracker," it said. "But bulls need wage growth to decline sharply without big job losses." Still, stocks finished November trade higher as investors latched onto expectations the Fed could manage a soft landing for the economy even as rates climb. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended the month up by more than 5% each. For the year to date, the S&P 500 has lost 15% but has come off its bear-market lows.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

US stock markets will be hard to read in 2023, and "it's going to frustrate both the bulls and the bears," Crossmark's Bob Doll said. Stock markets will carry on frustrating investors in the first half of 2023, veteran strategist Bob Doll said Thursday.Brendan McDermid/Reuters Investors should be ready for a hard-to-read stock market in 2023, Crossmark's Bob Doll said. "It's going to frustrate both the bulls and the bears," the ex-BlackRock stock chief said. Doll said there could be a recession next year – but said investors can still "pick their spots". US stock markets are likely to keep confounding both bulls and bears next year, but it's unlikely that there will be a recession-fueled crash, according to veteran investor Bob Doll.Doll — the CIO at Crossmark Global Investments and former chief US equity strategist at BlackRock — expects the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq indexes to all carry on fluctuating through the first half of 2023."We're not gonna go straight up. That doesn't mean we have to turn around and go straight down either," Doll told Fox Business on Thursday."We're in this broad trading range, and we're at the higher end of it. And it's going to frustrate both the bulls and the bears."Investors are starting to fret about a potential US recession next year, as the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate hikes feed through the economy. Both Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have said an economic downturn could lead to US stocks crashing by almost 25% in the first quarter of 2023.Doll said there's no need to flee markets entirely, but it'll be important to be selective when investing in equities."We might have a recession in '23. But it's not going to be a doozy like we've seen sometimes in the past," he said."When we talk to financial advisors, what we try to say is pick your spots. You don't have to chase it on the upside — wait for a pullback," he added."We're not in this straight-up bull market. So make sure you have some quality in the portfolio, but also some economic sensitivity for the other end of it."The veteran stock strategist was speaking after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled the US central bank could shift toward raising interest rates more gradually at its upcoming December meeting.Powell's comments helped spark a 3% rally in the S&P 500. Thursday's lower-than-expected reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation gauge was another source of cheer for investors, because it suggested that the Fed's tightening campaign is finally starting to tame soaring prices."I'm not sure there was a whole lot of good news, but I'll take it however I can get it," Doll said. "We have peaked in inflation, we've peaked at the pace of Fed increases, and now we're going to slow from here."But the Fed's tightening campaign — which increases the cost of borrowing in a bid to tame soaring inflation — will likely continue to weigh on the economy in the first half of 2023, according to Doll."People are looking past the slowdown," he said. "I'm not sure we're not going to have tests of that over time." "What the Fed has done is the fastest pace of rate increases in history with a lag in terms of impact," he added. "We're not going to know what the Fed has done and how it impacts the economy until into the first half of next year."Read more: Expect a US recession that will ravage markets and could send stocks spiraling down 24% next year, Bank of America saysRead the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Florida's attorney general is ordering MV Realty to return any money it made from the contracts and is seeking to impose civil penalties on the firm. Aerial view of Jacksonville, Florida along the St. Johns River.Art Wagner A Florida brokerage had offered homeowners upfront cash payments in exchange for exclusive rights to sell their property. Florida's attorney general alleges MV Realty's 40-year homeowner agreement is "deceptive" and "unconscionable." Florida has one of the hottest housing markets in the nation, with home prices rising more than 14% over the last year. Florida's attorney general is suing a real estate brokerage at a time when the state's housing market is facing significant issues from rising property taxes to increasingly severe weather.On November 29, Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a complaint against Del Ray Beach's MV Realty, alleging that the firm's "Homeowner Benefit Program," which offers sellers a cash payment in exchange for rights to list their property for sale, is deceptive and unlawful. The program works like this: Interested homeowners can receive between $300 and $5,000 in upfront cash incentives if they agree to give the brokerage exclusive rights for up to 40 years to sell their home. However, if homeowners attempt to back out of the deal down the line, MV Realty can place a lien on their property and collect up to 3% of the home's value.Considering how hot the Florida housing market has been in the last few years, and how much Florida is expected to grow in coming decades, MV Realty is effectively staking a claim to some of an owner's future equity for pennies on the dollar. The lawsuit seeks to impose civil penalties against the company and stop them from using their agreement altogether. "For many Floridians, their home is their most important asset and the cornerstone of their financial stability," AG Moody said in a press release. "For a company to prey on unsuspecting homeowners in a way that locks them into a 40-year obligation designed to siphon away equity from the property is disgraceful." Over the past year, the median home price in Florida has risen by 14.2% to $392,000, according to data from Redfin. For comparison, the national average home price has increased by 5% up to nearly $398,000 over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, damages caused by hurricanes Ian and Fiona have dramatically reduced Florida's already strained housing inventory levels at a time when demand for homes in the Sunshine State is increasing. Data from the University of Florida shows that the state did not have enough homes for low-to-moderate income earners before the pandemic and that the shortage of homes has only increased in the years since. According to a Tampa Bay Times report from September, Florida's attorney general's office has received 16 complaints directed at MV Realty's program since 2020. However, local news reports show that homeowners in cities ranging from Atlanta, Georgia to Malden, Massachusetts have had similar experiences with the company. Roy Brightwell, 70, is one complainant that the Tampa Bay Times interviewed about his experience with MV Realty. Brightwell said he spent three years trying to keep his Tarpon Springs, Florida home out of foreclosure only to have the brokerage and his homeowner's association try to take more than $12,000 in fees from him over an $879 cash benefit he received from MV Realty after he signed up for their homeowner program.  "They've left me without a nickel," Brightwell told the Tampa Bay Times. The lawsuit claims that MV Realty's agreement is illegal under Florida law because it does not meet the statutory requirements for liens. MV Realty's website says that the agreement is really a public memorandum outlining the homeowner's responsibilities under the Homeowner Benefit Agreement and helps ensure their agents earn a commission from the sale. "This language does not reflect express consumer permission for a broker lien on the property, but even if the consumer had provided express consent to the lien, this type of personal contract is not enforceable as a lien on property," the lawsuit reads in part. When asked about the pending litigation, a spokesperson for MV Realty responded to Insider suggesting that the practice is perfectly legal. "We are confident that after a full airing of the facts, the Florida Attorney General will find that MV Realty's business transactions are legal and ethical and that our team has operated in full compliance with the law," Diana London, MV Realty's communications and public relations lead, said to Insider. "We look forward to and are fully committed to working with the attorney general's office to regulate this process."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

China's censorship tools could be overwhelmed as hundreds of videos of China's protests and rallies circulate across social media. Protesters shout slogans during a protest against China's zero-COVID measures on November 28, 2022 in Beijing, ChinaKevin Frayer/Getty Images China is struggling to censor videos of protests against the country's zero-COVID policy, experts say. The country's censorship apparatus has been overwhelmed by the high volume of protest content. Some protesters are finding creative ways to circumvent China's Great Firewall, NYT reports. China has one of the most sophisticated censorship apparatuses in the world, responsible for blocking photos, messages, and videos that the country sees as an expressions of dissent.But protesters frustrated by China's restrictive zero-COVID policy have managed to break through China's "Great Firewall,"  said Allie Funk, the research director for technology and democracy at nonprofit Freedom House."The sheer number of people expressing themselves online right now, combined with their innovative circumvention techniques, is pushing the government's censorship capability to its max," Funk told Insider. The protests erupted after an apartment building fire in Urumqi, a city in the Xinjiang region, killed 10 residents last month, Insider reported. Locals alleged that they could've survived if the country's COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.As of earlier this week, 23 protests have spread across 17 Chinese cities, CNN reported. Participants say its rare to see protests at this scale under president Xi Jinping's leadership.Hundreds of videos of marches and rallies against the government's COVID restrictions continue to circulate on social media sites like WeChat and Douyin, the New York Times reported. Experts told the Times that the high volume of videos has overwhelmed China's censorship software and teams of human censors.The sheer scale of content reflects how fed up the Chinese people are with how the government treats them, said Yaqiu Wang, a senior researcher on China who studies internet censorship at the Human Rights Watch."The government and social media companies are doing all they can trying to stop the spread of information related to the protests, because they know discontent runs deep and courage is infectious," Wang told Insider. Protesters in Chengdu were seen shouting "Step down, Xi Jinping"and "Opposition to dictatorship," according to videos reviewed by CNN. Dissenters in parts of southern China were reportedly filmed clashing with police officers as the police shouted, banged their weapons against their riot shields, and made arrests, according to videos obtained and verified by the Times. "People across the country are feeling the same grievance, and many are directly pointing at the one-Party and one-man rule as the reason for their suffering," Wang said. "Everyone wants to live with dignity and to have a say in how they are governed. "Protesters are also finding creative ways to circumvent the firewall. Some internet users are reportedly evading content censorship by flipping videos on their side, adding filters, and recording videos of videos to confuse the censorship algorithms, reported the Times. Others are utilizing VPN software to access Twitter and Instagram, platforms that are banned in China, per the Times. They are even posting blank sheets of paper and single words like "good" and "okay" on social media to express their discontent in a covert way, Bloomberg reported. Twitter and Telegram, which are also blocked in China, have become the country's most popular apps amid the the protests, according to the South China Morning Post. "Though the Party's grip on power is tight, people's deep desire for freedom and democracy is still something the Party is deeply afraid of," Wang said. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The GMC Hummer EV creates more emissions than other electric vehicles and is, in many ways, a supersized gas guzzler for a new era. The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1.Tim Levin/Insider If you think driving a pint-sized Nissan Leaf is as good for the planet as driving a huge electric Hummer, think again.  The GMC Hummer EV uses significantly more electricity than other EVs, meaning it produces more pollution upstream.  The electric Hummer weighs 9,000 pounds and its battery weighs as much as a Honda Civic. The new electric Hummer rolls through town without a deafening engine rumble or a cloud of toxic fumes, but it doesn't exactly tread lightly. The colossal truck weighs an astonishing 9,000 pounds. (Think two Toyota Tacomas, three Honda Civics, or 24 Shaquille O'Neals.) Moreover, the GMC Hummer EV is in many ways a supersized gas guzzler for a new era. It repackages many of the same flaws of hulking SUVs and trucks of years past — and proves not all zero-emission cars are created equal.EVs can be energy guzzlers tooOn the whole, electric cars use less energy than gas-powered ones. But they aren't all equally efficient. No surprise here: The Hummer needs more electricity than any other EV on the market to move its elephantine frame. The Environmental Protection Agency rates the pickup at 47 MPGe (miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent). For comparison, the Tesla Model 3 sedan is nearly three times as efficient, earning a rating of 132 MPGe. The Ford F-150 Lightning, another electric truck, gets 70 MPGe. This has real consequences: Since the US gets 61% of its energy from oil, coal, and natural gas, the more electricity a car needs, the more pollution it creates upstream. As the Union of Concerned Scientists put it: "Both EV cars and trucks are much cleaner than their gasoline counterparts, but electric trucks are responsible for more global warming emissions than electric cars simply because trucks are larger and heavier." The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1.Tim Levin/InsiderThe Hummer EV is also resource-intensive to manufacture, requiring a ginormous (and weighty) battery to give people the 300-plus miles of range they desire. You could produce three Chevrolet Bolts with the same battery cells consumed by one Hummer. And raw battery materials like lithium are already in short supply. "How many more electric cars could we build that are a reasonable size if we just reallocated all the stuff going into that 3,000-pound Hummer EV battery toward sedans or more reasonably sized cars, let alone e-cargo bikes?," David Zipper, a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center for State and Local Government, told Insider. The 4.5-ton elephant in the roomThe Hummer EV is a full 4,000 pounds heavier than a well-optioned, gas-powered Ford F-150. And it's even chunkier than the original military-inspired Hummer H1 that put the brand on the map. It's so massive that it isn't allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge and that General Motors isn't required to display its EPA efficiency stats on a window sticker. Extra weight and size in a vehicle don't just breed inefficiency. Research shows it can also lead to increased emissions from tire and brake wear and greater risk to others in a crash (both from bigger blind spots and just plain physics). Responding to questions about all of this, a GM spokesperson noted that the Hummer EV is meant to be a so-called "halo vehicle" that demonstrates the potential of EVs. She also mentioned that GM engineers took mass into account when designing the truck's brakes and other systems and talked up its safety features. Some research attributes recent spikes in pedestrian road deaths to factors other than just bigger vehicles, like drunk driving, speeding, and infrastructure shortcomings, she added.The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1.Tim Levin/InsiderThe new Hummer isn't unique here. All battery-powered cars are heavier than their gas counterparts — but it is the biggest. To be sure, switching Americans over to electric cars will require presenting them with lots of options across the automotive spectrum. Someone who drives a lifted diesel truck isn't all of a sudden going to embrace a cute little hatchback. And research has shown that electrifying pickup trucks puts a bigger dent in greenhouse-gas emissions than doing the same for smaller cars.Still, some transportation experts think more should be done to steer buyers away from huge, energy-guzzling EVs. Zipper is a fan of weight-based fees that are already in place in Washington, DC, and Norway, a country on the leading edge of the EV movement. "People should be free to purchase what they want, but we should make sure that the market forces them to pay for the cost that their decision might impose on society," Zipper said. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

"Remote work makes anything seem possible," a worker who went on a secret vacation told Insider. "But the reality is, you can't work from anywhere." A vacationer in a beach chair.Paul Biris, Getty Images The freedom of remote work has led some employees to go abroad — to live and vacation.  Insider spoke to an employee who went to Mexico for vacation but chose not to tell their coworkers. They said after the stress of faking it and taking video calls at 2 a.m., they'd never do it again. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with an employee in the advertising sector. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their career, but Insider has verified their identity and former employment. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.I didn't ever expect to find myself working from the bathroom floor of a hotel room in Mexico at 2 a.m., but that's exactly what happened in May 2021. My job is based out of a city in Europe that had strict lockdowns during that time, and honestly, I was tired of it. I know it can seem irresponsible, but I decided to go on a vacationAfter everything was booked, my boss told me they really needed me for a series of meetings that week. So I decided to have my cake and eat it, too — I'd go on the vacation I'd planned and work from Mexico, and hopefully no one would be the wiser.I've always used a set background on video calls so that if I ever had to work from somewhere other than home, no one would be able to tell. That made it a lot easier to work from anywhere, because I didn't need to find a good background — I just needed strong WiFi, though even that could be an issue. I thought working on vacation would be the fairly easy — but it wasn'tAt one hotel in Mexico, the WiFi kept cutting out, making it really difficult to get my work done that day. Plus, my partner was annoyed that I was working during our vacation.It felt like I was losing at both things I was trying to do. I wasn't able to fully enjoy my vacation, and I wasn't able to submit the quality of work that I usually do.One night, I had an important call at 2 a.m. Mexico timeThe call was early in the morning in the city where I'm based, and that night, my partner and I went out to a club in Mexico. I remember thinking: "I'll just stay out and stay up until it's time for the call, then I'll do it and go to sleep." It seemed like a good plan. We stayed out until around 1 a.m. before going back to our hotel. My partner was ready for bed, and obviously I couldn't have the risk of being in the same room as them while they were sleeping, so I decided to take the call from the bathroom. Since there wasn't a chair in the bathroom, I took it from the bathroom floor.Luckily, my part of the presentation was the beginning of the meeting. I did my part, and then I turned my camera off and put my settings on mute. The next thing I knew, my partner was shaking me awake. The meeting — which had gone on for over an hour after my presentation — had ended, and I was the only one left in the virtual meeting room. I was also slumped over on the bathroom floor, sleeping next to my laptop.I ended up calling in sick when I got home because I realized trying to work from vacation didn't end wellI was so embarrassed about the call. I wondered if anyone had noticed that I hadn't spoken or said goodbye when the meeting ended, but when I got back to work the next week, no one said anything, so I don't think they knew. But I thought, "I'm never doing this again."That's the thing about remote work: It makes anything seem possible. But the reality is that you can't work from anywhere. You need reliable WiFi and a desk and a chair, at the very least. But at the same time, I honestly find office culture a little ridiculous. Like, did I really need to be working those days? I work in advertising and marketing. If I'm not at work, it's not like someone's going to die. I'm not a doctor. I won't ever take a vacation and try to work at the same time againThere are more important things in life than work meetings, like sleep and actually enjoying your time. There's this pressure that nothing is more important than work and that employees always have to be over-achieving, but the truth is that my clients don't notice if I'm putting in 80% versus 100%. You can't phone it in all the time, but I think a balance is really important.That said, the stress of lying and deceiving — and the steps it takes to conceal the lie, like blocking your coworkers on Instagram stories — takes away from the enjoyment of the vacation. It's just not worth it.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Alameda aided FTX after a client's leveraged bet on a token ripped through buffers aimed at shielding the crypto exchange, FT reported. Sam Bankman-Fried co-founded crypto exchange FTX in 2019.FTX Alameda Research in 2021 stepped in to shelter FTX from a loss of up to $1 billion, the FT reported Friday.  An FTX client's leveraged bet on a little-known token tore through buffers aimed at shielding FTX from losses.  The April 2021 incident highlights the deep ties between Sam Bankman-Fried's companies.  Hedge fund Alameda Research stepped in to shelter the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX from a loss of up to $1 billion last year after a customer trade on the exchange soured, according to the Financial Times, underscoring the deep ties between the companies in Sam Bankman-Fried empire. An FTX client's leveraged bet on a little-known token tore through buffers aimed at shielding FTX from sustaining losses when a trade goes bad, leading Alameda to step in and assume the trader's position to protect the exchange, people with knowledge of the matter told the FT in a report published Friday. The April 2021 incident took place more than a year before FTX collapsed last month following a run on the exchange.The incident revolved around a sudden price spike and crash in mobileCoin, a crypto token used for payments in the Signal messaging app. The moves came after a trader on FTX built an unusually large position in the token. Two people familiar with the matter told FT that when the price rose, the trader used the position to borrow against it on FTX, potentially a scheme to extract dollars from the exchange.Alameda was then forced to step in to protect FTX. The company's loss on the deal was at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars and as high as $1 billion, the report said, citing the unnamed sources. The action wiped out a large share of Alameda's 2021 trading profits.The ties between the exchange and the hedge fund are at the center of the implosion of FTX, with allegations that FTX had lent customer funds to Alameda for trading. FTX, which was once valued at $32 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The deals come ahead of the December 5 start date for a Russian oil price cap as well as the European Union's ban on seaborne Russian crude imports. Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters Chinese oil refiners have bought Russian oil cargoes at steeper discounts than just weeks ago, according to Bloomberg.  Those purchases were made in yuan rather than US dollars, and financed through local banks, per the report. Price cap talks remain underway but the deadline is meant to be December 5.  After a brief halt, Chinese oil refiners are buying Russian crude at even steeper discounts than just weeks ago, according to Bloomberg, and buyers are completing those purchases in yuan rather than US dollars.Per the report, Chinese private processors, so-called teapots, purchased steeply discounted cargoes of Russian ESPO crude slated for December-January arrivals. Local banks and institutions also financed the yuan-based deals, Bloomberg said.  The purchases come ahead of the December 5 start date for a Russian oil price cap as well as the European Union's ban on seaborne Russian crude imports.It remains to be seen whether these cargoes would be hit by sanctions or meet the parameters for the price cap, as it's unclear when the supplies would be loaded and unloaded. The Chinese buyers are also unconcerned because purchases were made on a delivered basis, meaning the responsibility of insurance and shipping is on the sellers, sources told Bloomberg.The Treasury Department has said that ships with Russian crude loaded before December 5 and unloaded at their destination before January 19 wouldn't be subject to the price cap.The final price of the Russian oil purchases won't be clear until a later date, as the deals are completed against Brent crude's front-month February contract, which only emerges at the end of December.Meanwhile, talks among EU nations on the exact level of the price cap are ongoing. While EU leadership has proposed a price cap at $60 a barrel, the bloc still has to convince all its members to agree to it for it to take effect.The EU has faced pushback by the likes of Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania, as each of those nations have instead called for a price cap of $30 a barrel.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 in November, exceeding the expected 200,000 increase, dashing hopes of an easing monetary policy path. Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell speaks at the Brookings Institution, November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Powell discussed the economic outlook, inflation and the labor market.Drew Angerer/Getty Images US stocks dropped Friday on the back of a stronger-than-expected jobs report.  Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000, above the expected 200,000 and opening the door for continued hawkishness from the Federal Reserve.  The still-tight labor market dashes hopes of policymakers easing monetary tightening.   US stocks dropped on Friday following a stronger-than-expected jobs report that raised the odds that the Federal Reserve will continue to take a hawkish approach to cooling down the economy to tame inflation. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000, above the expected 200,000, and workers' wages came in hotter than expected. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%Traders ramped up bets slightly that the Fed would initiate a fifth consecutive 75 basis-point rate hike this month, though fed fund futures were still pricing in nearly a 75% chance that it would be a smaller 50 basis-point move. Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Friday: S&P 500: 4,039.19, down 0.92% Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,147.02, down 0.72% (247.99 points)Nasdaq Composite: 11,482.45, down 1.23%Here's what else is happening:Binance has frozen withdrawals of a crypto linked to its own token that looks like it's been hacked, CZ says.Mohamed El-Erian said markets are fixated on a "dynamite" rate hike slowdown.Mike Novogratz backed off his call for bitcoin to hit $500,000, blaming the Fed's rate hikes.FTX customers could get their money back in Japan, as the local unit is working on unfreezing withdrawals.Coinbase said Apple shut down the ability for users to send NFTs because it can't collect the 30% in-app fee.In oil, commodities, and crypto:Oil prices slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.71% to $80.64 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower 0.62% to $86.35 a barrel.Gold edged lower 0.93% to 1,798.50 per ounce.The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher 4.5 basis points to 3.572%.Bitcoin dropped 0.15% to $16,909.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said the packages "had a corresponding smell." Spanish police stand outside of the Ukrainian embassy after a blast at the building injured one employee who was handling a letter in Madrid, Spain.Reuters Ukrainian embassies in Europe have gotten packages with "animal eyes," in them, an official said. A Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said he is "studying the meaning of this message." This comes after an apparent bomb inside an envelope exploded at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid. Ukrainian embassies and consulates in countries across Europe have received blood-soaked packages with "animal eyes" in them in the aftermath of the explosion of an apparent letter bomb at Ukraine's embassy in Madrid, according to Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry."The packages contained animal eyes," Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a Facebook post on Friday. Nikolenko said that the packages were soaked in a liquid that had a distinct color and "had a corresponding smell.""We are studying the meaning of this message," Nikolenko said in the post, according to a translation from Reuters.The gruesome packages were received by the Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, and Austria, Nikolenko said.The Ukrainian consulates general in Naples, Italy, Krakow, Poland, and the Czech Republic city of Brno also received the same packages, Nikolenko said. In a later Facebook post, Nikolenko said that the Embassy of Ukraine in Madrid, Spain, also got a blood-stained package "like those previously received to other Ukrainian diplomatic institutions." This comes after an apparent bomb concealed inside an envelope exploded at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid on Wednesday, injuring a worker handling the letter, officials said. "We have reasons to consider what's going on a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation of embassies and consulates of Ukraine," Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. "Not being able to stop Ukraine on the diplomatic front, they try to intimidate us," Kuleba said, adding that the attempts are "futile.""We will continue to effectively work for Ukraine's victory," he said.Meanwhile, Nikolenko said there were other incidents in addition to the bloody packages. The entrance to the ambassador's residence in the Vatican was vandalized and the Ukrainian embassy in the United States received "a letter with a photocopy of a critical article about Ukraine," according to Nikolenko. The letter came with others from Europe, he said. "We urge foreign governments to guarantee maximum protection of Ukrainian diplomatic institutions in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," Nikolenko said. The reported incidents come amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's nine-month-long war with Ukraine.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

We found great gift ideas under $50 that prove you don't have to spend a fortune to get just the right gift for any occasion. When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.We found great gift ideas $50 and under that prove you don't have to spend a fortune to get just the right gift for any occasion.Baublebar; Crystal Cox/Insider'Tis the season! The gift-giving season, that is. With holiday parties and family gatherings galore, there's plenty of merriment on the horizon this time of year. But there tends to be some stress around gifting too. With coworkers, friends, partners, siblings, and so many other loved ones on your gift list, it can be stressful to think about how you're going to get all those gifts without breaking the bank. Luckily you have us, a team of expert product reviewers with a knack for gift-giving, on your side. We've already done the heavy lifting and have spent the past few months scouring the web for the best gifts you can buy this year. And below, we've rounded up the gifts you can find for $50 or less. From silly custom art to life-changing tech to cookware, there's something for everyone on your list.A flower they can grow themselvesModern SproutPaperwhite Winter Bulb Kit, available at Modern Sprout, $20Best for: The green thumbFlowers are always a great gift, but this DIY grow kit takes that up a notch. The kit has everything they need to plant three Paperwhite bulbs. In just a few weeks, they'll get to enjoy the beautiful blooms they planted. A trio of spicy sauces and seasoningsFly By JingHoliday Triple Threat, available at Fly By Jing, $45Best for: The adventurous eater Help them spice up their home cooking with fresh takes on traditional Sichuan flavors. This spicy features the brand's iconic Sichuan Chili Crisp, the umami-rich, tangy Zhong Sauce which is perfect for dumpling-dipping, and the numbingly spicy Mala Spice Mix which can be added to rubs, marinades, batters, and more.A pair of classic gold hoopsBaubleBarVerbena Earrings, available at BaubleBar, from $36.80Best for: The minimalist dresser A great pair of gold hoops has the power to make any lackluster outfit feel special and more put-together. If they don't already have a go-to pair, why not give them one? These huggies come in multiple different sizes that look great no matter the occasion.A funky mugBlumeCloud Mug, available at Blume, $16.40Best for: The one who loves their beverages Anyone who loves their morning coffee knows that the mug said coffee is in is almost as important as the coffee itself. This ceramic one has an oversized handle with a retro, bubble design to make their morning sipping ritual all the sweeter.A Bluetooth karaoke microphoneAmazonBonaok Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone, available at Amazon, $27.99Best for: The songbirdThis Bluetooth karaoke microphone is the perfect accessory to gift the one who's the life of the party. They can sing along to their favorite songs with this gift that offers premium sound and noise reduction. The fanny pack they'll forget they're wearingPatagoniaPatagonia Ultralight Black Hole Mini Hip Pack, available at REI, Dick's Sporting Goods, Patagonia, $35Best for: The one who's always on the goMade from 100% recycled ripstop nylon and treated with a silicone face coating for weather resistance, this mini pack is durable and practical. Our pick for the best small fanny pack, the Patagonia Ultralight Blackhole is so light that they'll forget it's on. From the trails to the streets, they'll be secured and ready to go, always.A set of spa-worthy shower bombsAmazonEuka Wellness Shower Bombs 6-Pack, available at Amazon, $9.99Best for: The person who doesn't have a bathtub but wants the same funNo bathtub? No problem. With these shower bombs, anyone can transform their bathroom into a makeshift spa, and they don't even need a bathtub to do it. These come in a variety of options including Calm, Detox, Breathe, and Happy (and come 6 in a pack). A box of fiber-rich mac and cheeseGoodlesMac Pac, available at Goodles, $50Best for: The comfort food connoisseur For Kraft mac and cheese lovers, this brand features the same nostalgic taste but with more fiber and protein in the noodles. This sampler comes with four flavors of mac, a rainbow spork, and a plush toy of a bowl of mac and cheese.A personalized video message from their favorite celebrityCameoCameo video, available on Cameo, from $1Best for: The pop culture fanaticWhether they have a favorite musician, reality TV star, comedian, or actor, there's a good chance their favorite celebrity is on Cameo. You can even choose from pre-recorded video messages with a personal shoutout, or opt to give them a super special one-on-one video call. Of course, the price will greatly vary depending on who the star is.A pair of stylish wearable weightsBandierBala Bangles, available at Amazon, Target, and Bala, from $42Best for: The committed athleteIncorporate fitness into your daily life with these wearable weights that fit on your wrist or ankles. At one to two pounds, these stylish weights intensify any movement and build strength whether it's a workout or running errands.A rocks glass etched with a city mapUncommon GoodsUrban Map Glass, available at Uncommon Goods, $18Best for: The one who really loves their city (and whiskey)Whether you want to bring back fond memories of a place you visited together or just want a gift that highlights their favorite stomping grounds, you can cheers to these rocks glasses intricately etched with a city map and interspersed street names. Over 30 major US cities are available to choose from.To really up the ante, consider pairing the glass with a nice bottle of bourbon. A monogrammed clutchMark & GrahamPalm Leaf Rounded Clutch, available at Mark and Graham, from $37.99Best for: The beach vacationerYou can get your giftee's initials embroidered on this cute roll-up clutch for a personal touch. The bag is woven from natural palm leaves for a beachy vibe, and the blue and white striped interior adds to the fun coastal feel.An easy way to make their own bubble teaUncommon GoodsBubble Tea Kit, available at Uncommon Goods, $40Best for: The boba loverFor the bubble tea drinker in your life, this kit comes with two flavors of loose-leaf tea, tapioca pearls, and two reusable stainless steel straws. All they'll have to do is add a little milk (if they like!) and sip on this delicious brew.A foam roller for recoveryTPTherapyTriggerPoint Grid Foam Roller, available at Amazon and TPTherapy, from $36.95Best for: The perpetually sore athlete Proper recovery is paramount for optimal performance. That's why this foam roller is such a great gift; it'll help them improve mobility, increase circulation, relieve muscle pain and tightness, and get them in fighting shape all around.A cozy knit beanieAsosStormlock Rip Knit Cap, available at Amazon, $28.22Best for: The one who lives up northCold-weather accessories make a great gift for anyone braving the cold this winter and the Jack Wolfskin's Stormlock Rip Knit Cap is exactly what they need. Built of a blend of wool and acrylic, this beanie also features Stormlock fleece which just about guarantees a warm noggin. It's even available in two different colors to match a variety of outfits.  A meal kit from their favorite restaurantGoldbelly/FacebookRestaurant Meal Kits, available at Goldbelly, from $39.95Best for: The foodieBring a bit of their favorite restaurant right to their door. From bagels to barbeque, Goldbelly ships food gifts nationwide from iconic eateries in major cities. A personalized pillow of their favorite fur babyaurespaces/EtsyAurespaces Custom Pet Pillow, available at Etsy, from $42.99Best for: The proud pet parentIf there's nothing they love more than their cat or dog, this pillow — featuring a blown-up picture of their pet — is sure to make them smile. A small but mighty smart assistantGoogleGoogle Nest Mini (2nd Generation), available at Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, from $49Best for: The multitaskerGive the gift of a virtual helper. Currently on sale for under $30, the Google Nest Mini offers a compact, affordable smart speaker with Google Assistant built-in. Friends and family members will love being able to dim lights, control the volume on their TV, check the weather, and more, all with just the sound of their voice.Read our full review of the Google Nest Mini here.Notepads chock full of affirmationsAmazonKnock Knock Notepads, available at Amazon and Knock Knock, from $5.25Best for: Anyone in need of a motivational talkWhether you want to give them a quick pep talk or celebrate them just because, these notepads from Knock Knock provide a creative and encouraging way of doing so. Each set comes with 50 sheets, so they'll make plenty of use of these witty notes.A spice and herb kit packed with international flavorsUncommon GoodsGourmet Oil Dipping Spice Kit, available at Uncommon Goods, $42Best for: The seasoning aficionado Whether it's a dash of Italian oregano or za'atar from the Middle East, any cook will appreciate this international spice kit that lets them cook with various tastes of the world. A tracker for lost itemsAppleApple AirTag, available at Amazon, Target, and Apple, from $26.49Best for: Anyone always losing their keysWhether you lose track of your keys or a bag, Apple's AirTag is a sure way to find any lost item. This water-resistant tracker plays a sound or uses its precise distance findings to lead you straight to the item regardless of the distance on the Find My app.A hatch decanter to sophisticatedly store alcoholCrate & BarrelHatch Decanter, available at Crate & Barrel, $44.95Best for: The scotch drinkerIf their barware collection bares a sophisticated flair, they'll appreciate this elegant hatch decanter. This 32oz decanter is a more affordable price than others thanks to its beautiful molded diamond pattern that resembles cut crystal.A DIY recipe bookAmazonMy Recipes Cookbook, available at Amazon, $8.99Best for: The chefWhether they're a huge foodie or want to preserve a favorite family meal, this DIY cookbook offers 120 blank pages to fill with their favorite recipes. The notebook's table of contents and additional note space at the end will help keep them extra organized. Taking the time to add in your own savory vodka sauce pasta dish or having their loved ones fill in grandma's homemade recipes will make this gift feel extra special.Snacks for movie nightKnackPopcorn Snack Medley, available at Knack, $46Best for: The movie buffHelp them take their next Netflix marathon to the next level with this popcorn mix set. The mix includes two microwavable Pop on The Cob popcorn cobs, toffee pretzels, dark chocolate-covered cherries, and Virginia peanuts. If they have a particular favorite treat, each snack can also be added in extra quantities at an additional cost.Cozy house slippersSally Kaplan/Insider;Sally Kaplan/InsiderEQUICK Cloud Slides, available at Amazon, from $16.99Best for: The loungerClean space enthusiasts who enjoy a no outdoor shoe policy in their homes will appreciate these pillow slipper slides. The platform bottom and cushioned sole make for a cute and cozy fit. Farm-to-skin lip balmsEtsyBeekman 1802 Ten Piece Lip Balm Set, available at Uncommon Goods, $48Best for: The sustainable beauty fanThis farm-to-skin lip balm set is just right for the green beauty obsessive. All 10 lip balms are made from natural goat's milk and essential oils. Beautifully packaged and scented, the fragrances include Ylang Ylang and Tuberose, Orange Blossom, Fig Leaf, Sweet Grass, Grapefruit, Oak Moss, Apricot and Honey, Vanilla, and an unscented balm.A sand-free, quick-dry towelSand CloudSand Cloud Towel, available at Sand Cloud, from $48Best for: The avid beachgoer Not only are these thin towels easy to roll up and throw in your beach bag or picnic basket, but they also easily shake off sand and dry three times faster than classic beach and pool towels. Choose from a wide array of vibrant patterns and colors, from a navy blue whale shark print to tie-dye options.A cute kitchen gadget that makes breakfast in a flashCrystal Cox/InsiderDash Mini Waffle Maker, available at Target, Amazon, and Dash, from $10Best for: The brunch champion This compact waffle maker makes a great addition to any college dorm or small kitchen. All they have to do is plug it in and they can make their favorite breakfast treat in a flash.A 51-piece art kitAmazon51-Piece Watercolor Art Set, available at Amazon, $24.47Best for: The artistEncourage them to pick up a new hobby (or take advantage of an existing one) with this watercolor set that's built for both beginners and experts. The set includes various cakes and paints, watercolor pencils, paintbrushes, a paint palette, an eraser, and a pencil sharpener — all within a pre-packaged case that can save you the pain of gift wrapping. Authentic Japanese ramenICHIRAN USAICHIRAN Take-Home Ramen Kit, available at Amazon and ICHIRAN USA, from $29Best for: The ramen loverICHIRAN Ramen has been delighting ramen aficionados since 1960. Known for its original Tonkatsu (pork bone) soup, its ramen combines the rich umami flavors of the broth with Hakata-style noodles that are slender, chewy, and perfect. Enjoy a little bit of heat? The kit also comes with ICHIRAN's original spicy seasoning, using togarashi pepper spice to amp up the flavors even more.A cult-favorite candleOtherlandCandles, available at Otherland, $36Best for: The fancy candle collectorWe love Otherland's candles, whether seasonally inspired or from the classic collection. Notable scent combinations such as champagne, saffron, and leather, gorgeous packaging, and a 55 hour burn time have deemed Otherland's candles as a foolproof gift among the Insider Reviews team.A streaming stick that turns any TV into a smart oneAmazonRoku Streaming Stick 4K, available at Amazon, Walmart, and Roku, from $24.98Best for: The TV fanaticUpgrade their Netflix marathons without actually buying them a whole new TV. The Roku Streaming Stick 4K offers 4K, HD, and HDR streaming in a portable package and at an affordable price. A set of loose-leaf teas that Oprah lovesAmazonVadham Chai Tea Reserve Set, available at Amazon, $23.99Best for: The tea drinker who wants to spice it upThis classy set of loose-leaf teas made it into Oprah's Favorite Things back in 2018. It's filled with three variations of chai tea that any tea lover will appreciate. An at-home spa kitUncommon GoodsEucalyptus Spa Gift Set, available at Uncommon Goods, $40Best for: The one in need of a breakGive them the gift of soothing relaxation with this at-home kit that includes pampering botanical bath salts and natural jute body scrubber. The recipient will also be able to grow their own eucalyptus in the bamboo pot so they can continue to breathe deep and say ahh.A smooth olive oil that'll instantly elevate any dishBrightlandAlive Olive Oil, available at Brightland, $37Best for: The EVOO drizzlerIf they spend a lot of time in the kitchen, they probably already know the merits of high-quality olive oil. A drizzle of Alive from Brightland adds a vibrant, zesty flavor to any dish, plus the beautiful bottle will look great on display in their kitchen. An affordable electric toothbrush subscriptionQuipQuip Toothbrush Starter Set, available at Quip and Target, from $24.99Best for: The one who takes their dental care seriouslyHelp them upgrade their oral care routine with a Quip toothbrush. Not only is it a great electric toothbrush at a reasonable price, but Quip will send them a refill every three months with a new brush head and toothbrush. Delicious mini cupcakesBaked by Melissa/FacebookCupcake Gift Boxes, available at Baked by Melissa, from $37Best for: Anyone with a sweet toothWho doesn't love getting a sweet surprise? With delicious flavors ranging from Cookie Dough to Pink Frosted Donut, these bite-size treats are sure to please. You can also add a special gift box to complete the gift. A set of magnets that are fun to play with and can boost concentrationCrystal Cox/InsiderSpeks 2.5mm Magnet Balls, available at Speks and Barnes & Noble, from $29.99Best for: The fidgeter Almost everyone on the Insider Reviews team has a set of Speks at their desk. The little magnetic balls can be mashed, molded, and built into fun shapes and are a fun fidget toy that even adults will love. A sugary and fun snackNeiman MarcusSugarfina Champagne Bears, available at Neiman Marcus, Amazon, and Sugarfina, from $13.95Best for: The one in need of a toastElevate their next sugar fix with these fun champagne gummy bears. Don't worry if they're under 21, despite the name and flavor, these gummies are non-alcoholic. There are rosé options, too.    A simple, inspiring necklaceBan.doban.do Good Intentions Necklace, available at Amazon and ban.do, from $20Best for: The person who exudes posi vibesA sweet necklace with an even sweeter mission. Choose from a selection of positive intentions like "optimism," "strength," or "gratitude," which they can carry with them throughout the day. For every necklace sold, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Girls Inc.A taste of Japan by way of snacksBokksu3-Month Snack Gift Box, available at Bokksu, $45.99Best for: Anyone bored of their current snack rotationAdventurous foodies will love the chance to taste-test a curated box of gourmet Japanese snacks. In this Bokksu box, they can expect to find between 10-14 snacks, a tea pairing, and an in-depth guide that details every product included.A bestselling face mask for clearer skinAztec SecretAztec Secret Indian Healing Mask, available at Target and Walmart, from $9.98Best for: The one in search of the best skincare productsAnyone in on the latest skincare trends will know about this mask. Many claim it has helped clear their skin, and it has over 12,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. The best part is that this powerful facial is just $10.A soft pair of socks made from sustainable fabricUnited by BlueSoftHemp Socks (2-Pack), available at United by Blue, $12Best for: Anyone with cold feetWith cold weather approaching, there's nothing better than slipping on cozy socks. Made from soft, sustainable hemp fabric, these are sure to do the trick (and why not get them two pairs?).A luxurious exfoliator to keep skin smoothNecessaireNecessaire The Body Exfoliator, available at Sephora, Amazon, and Nordstrom, from $28.99Best for: The one dreading winter skinNecessaire's clean beauty products come in beautiful, minimalist packaging that looks as good in their bathroom as it feels on their skin. This gentle exfoliator will help them slough off dry winter skin for good.A beautiful way to store olive oilUncommon GoodsHandblown Glass Olive Oil Pourer, available at Uncommon Goods, $46Best for: The kitchen curatorThese stunning handmade jars can hold up to 12 ounces of olive oil or vinegar. Plus, they look beautiful sitting out on the kitchen counter.Cruelty-free nail polish in a range of fun colorsSmith & CultNail Polish, available at Smith & Cult, $18Best for: The at-home nail painterSmith & Cult's polish is vegan, cruelty-free, and chip-resistant. With 46 fun colors to choose from, you're sure to find one (or two, or three) they'll love. Useful cable clipsAmazonShintop Cable Clips (6-pack), available at Amazon, $3.97Best for: The desktop organizerWhether their phone charger is always falling under their desk or they simply have too many cables to keep track of, these affordable and efficient clips will allow them to simplify their workspace. Plus, the pink, orange, and green shades contribute a fun pop of color.A Disney+ subscriptionAlyssa Powell/Business InsiderGift subscription, available at Disney Plus, $7.99/monthBest for: The lifelong Disney loverIt gives them unlimited access to movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, "Star Wars," National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox, and costs just $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year after a free seven-day trial. Read everything there is to know about Disney+ over here.And if you need some binge-spiration, here are all the new movies available to stream.A sheet mask that'll hydrate dry, stressed skinSephoraDr. Jart+ Soothing Hydra Solution, available at Sephora and Amazon, from $7Best for: The face mask fanFall and winter skin tends to be dry and dull. While you can't change the weather, you can throw on a hydrating face mask to stay moisturized. This one will add lots of soothing hydration to their skin to keep it feeling fresh.A set of playing cards inspired by music's greatsAmazonMusic Genius Playing Cards, available at Uncommon Goods, $10Best for: The music loverWhether they love game night, music, or are equal fans of both, they'll surely get a kick out of these playing cards. The pack features illustrations of all the big names in pop, rock, country, and R&B.Makeup towels that make washing their face less of a choreWeezieMakeup Towels, available at Weezie, $40Best for: The one who struggles to remove their mascaraIf they've never thought of washcloths as anything special, Weezie towels will change their minds. The adorable towels are embroidered with either hearts, winky eyelids, or the words "stain me." Plus, the dark navy blue color will conceal makeup stains.A spray that protects their shoesAmazonJason Markk Repel, available at Amazon, Dick's Sporting Goods, and The Container Store, from $17Best for: The sneakerheadIf they love shoes, they should have the right products to take care of their favorite footwear. This spray protects shoes from stains caused by water and oil, and there are multiple people on our team who swear by it for every new pair of shoes they get.A lip gloss that has all the benefits of a balmTower 28 BeautyTower28 Beauty Jelly Lip Gloss, available at Sephora and Tower28, $15Best for: Anyone complaining about dry lipsThis clean-beauty favorite delivers the glossy sheen they'd expect from a lip gloss, but it's loaded with nourishing oils to keep lips hydrated, too. A unique case that protects their phoneCasetifyCasetify Phone Case, available at Casetify, from $42Best for: The one with a falling-apart phone caseOur phones are our lifelines these days and if you know someone who's always glued to theirs, consider giving them a unique case that's as protective as it is pretty thanks to being drop-tested and shock-absorbent. They have options ranging from watercolor forest scenes to cute sayings to cuddly animals. You can even do a customized option and put their initials on it.  A silky-smooth sleep mask to block lightNordstromSlip Pink Marble Sleep Mask, available at Nordstrom, $50Best for: The beauty sleeperIf there's nothing they appreciate more than a good night's sleep, they'll love Slip's silk sleep mask. It's made from 100% pure Mulberry silk for a luxe, light feel on their skin. A fitting vehicle for their post-run brewsUncommon GoodsEtched Marathon Pint Glass, available at Uncommon Goods, $20Best for: The runner If they like to celebrate a long run with a big pint, they'll appreciate these pint glasses etched with famous marathon routes. A set of colorful silicone straws that reduce plastic wasteFood52Five Two Silicone Straw, available at Food52, $19Best for: The environmentalist Bendable, sustainable, and portable (thanks to the set of carrying cases), these fun straws are the accessory any eco-conscious person should have.A bold lip color that'll last all day longSephoraLancome L'Absolu Rouge Lipstick, available at Sephora and Macy's, from $27.20Best for: The one who sticks to one lipstick at a timeWhether it's a pale peach or a deep-red look they crave, they'll love this long-lasting lipstick with its saturated colors and hydrating formula.A book subscriptionBook of the Month3-Month Subscription, available at Book of the Month, $49.99Best for: The obsessive readerA subscription box that sends them an exciting new read catered to their tastes each month is the perfect gift for a bookworm. A coffee mug that keeps their drinks hot or cold for hoursAmazonHydro Flask Travel Coffee Mug, available at Hydro Flask and REI, from $20.89Best for: The hot coffee loverHydro Flask's Travel Coffee Mug is a team favorite. It combines the classic shape of a mug with Hydro Flask's TempShield insulation to keep beverages hot, or cold, for hours— a great gift for the coffee or tea lover who's always on the move. A cute reusable tote that can fit tons of stuffBAGGUStandard Baggu, available at Baggu, $14Best for: The tote wearerIt's no wonder these bags are bestsellers — they can hold up to 50 pounds of stuff and come in a range of fun colors and patterns. Plus, at just $12, they're a great deal. A classy carrying case to stash chargersMark & GrahamLeather Charger Roll-Up, available at Mark & Graham, from $39Best for: The expert packerAfter they fill the three pockets with cables and chargers, all they have do is roll everything up and they're good to go. The soft, supple leather comes in a variety of fun colors and patterns. A cult-favorite cast-iron skilletAmazonLodge Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, available at Williams Sonoma, Target, and Amazon, from $19.90Best for: The frequent home cookEvery cook needs a cast-iron skillet in their kitchen. Lodge makes some of the best out there, but at prices that won't break the bank. A candle that reminds them of their favorite placeAmazonHomesick Location Scented Candle, available at Amazon, Homesick, and Uncommon Goods, from $34Best for: The one with state pride This is a great gift that's sure to make anyone sentimental. Whether it's their hometown, college town, or favorite spot to vacation, a Homesick candle, with scents inspired by all sorts of locations, will bring them back to that favorite place. An apron loaded with plenty of clever featuresFood52Five Two Ultimate Apron, available at Food52, from $35Best for: The kitchen splatter-averseAnyone who spends a good amount of time in the kitchen will appreciate this durable apron with its sturdy fabric, clever pockets made to hold the essentials, and pot-holders built right in. A cold brew coffee maker to keep up with their iced coffee habitAmazonTakeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker, available at Amazon and Target, $27.99Best for: The at-home coffee brewerIf their morning ritual includes a cup of cold brew, they'll appreciate this convenient cold brew maker. All they have to do is fill it with their favorite coffee grinds, add water, let it sit, and they've got a glass of delicious cold brew on the way. A portable straw that makes water drinkableAmazonLifeStraw Personal Water Filter, available at Amazon, $12.74Best for: The outdoor adventurerThis portable, personal water filter is consistently one of the bestselling products on Prime Day. It filters water from creeks and rivers, making it perfect for hiking, camping, and travel.A simple and elegant photo calendarArtifact UprisingWalnut Desktop Photo Calendar, available at Artifact Uprising, from $29.75Best for: The fan of the old-school paper calendarAll of Artifact Uprising's customized photo gifts are simple, beautiful, and made from eco-friendly materials. This simple calendar is an easy choice for anyone on your list. Just pick 12 photos (one for each month) of the people and places they love most to add a special sentiment to their desk setup.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

An independent examiner should probe "allegations of fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, and mismanagement," the Justice Department said. Sam Bankman-Fried.Jabin Botsford/Getty Images US Justice Department is pushing for an independent examiner to look into allegations of fraud against FTX. Authorities were already investigating FTX, and are now seeking a probe of alleged wrongdoing that led to its crash. But ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has tried to deflect those accusations, stating he "didn't ever try to commit fraud on anyone." US authorities are pushing for an independent examiner to look into fraud allegations against FTX, according to a court filing submitted by the Justice Department on Thursday.The Justice Department and US regulators were already probing Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire before FTX filed for bankruptcy November 11. But DOJ is now calling for a probe of alleged wrongdoing that led to its crash."An examiner could – and should – investigate the substantial and serious allegations of fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, and mismanagement by the Debtors," the filing said. "This is especially true where, as here, there are colorable claims that certain of the Debtors misappropriated $10 billion of their customers' assets," it later added.In recent weeks, reports and bankruptcy filings have revealed that FTX sent customer funds to Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's crypto-trading arm, as well as $300 million spent on luxury homes in the Bahamas and the disappearance of up to $2 billion in customer funds.But Bankman-Fried has tried to deflect allegations of fraud, saying he wasn't aware of what was going on at his companies."I didn't ever try to commit fraud on anyone," he said at the New York Times DealBook summit on Wednesday. "I was shocked by what happened this month."FTX's collapse has rattled crypto markets and led to the subsequent bankruptcy of BlockFi and a warning from Genesis of a potential bankruptcy, sparking fears that more contagion will continue to grip the industry.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Cochise County officials on Thursday voted to accept the results of the midterm elections after a judge gave them a strict deadline. Election workers sort ballots in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 9, 2022.John Moore/Getty Images Officials in Cochise County, Arizona, voted 2-0 to accept the results of the midterms on Thursday. Their vote came shortly after a judge ordered them to certify the vote. Two officials on the three-member board signed off on the vote, while the third was not present. A judge forced officials in Cochise County, Arizona, to certify the November 8 midterm results on Thursday, after they had repeatedly refused to do so.In a hearing on Thursday morning, Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley ruled that two Republicans on the three-member supervisor board broke the law when they refused to sign off on the vote count by the November 28 deadline.McGinley then ordered the board to sign off on the vote by that afternoon.Ann English, the only Democrat on the board, and Vice Chair Peggy Judd, who is a Republican, voted in favor of certifying the election. The third member, Tom Crosby — also a Republican — was absent from the vote. "I am not ashamed of anything I did," Judd, who initially voted to delay the certification, said, according to the Associated Press."And today I feel I must, because of a court ruling and because of my own health and situations that are going on in our life, I feel like I must follow what the judge did today," she added.Both Judd and Crosby previously voted to further delay certifying the election results on the basis of unproven claims that the machines used to count the ballots were not properly certified for use in the elections.State and federal election officials have said the machines were indeed certified.On Monday, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs sued the county, saying that she is required to hold the statewide certification on December 5 and by law can delay it only until December 8, AP reported.Hobbs defeated Trump-backed Kari Lake in an incredibly tight governor's race last month. But Hobbs has refused to concede.The board of supervisors in another country — Mohave County in northwest Arizona — also delayed certifying the midterm vote, but pledged to do so by the November 28 deadline.Mohave County certified the vote earlier this week, local media reported.It was suggested that Cochise County's refusal to certify its results could cost Republicans a seat in the US House of Representatives. A representative for Hobbs did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»