Category: Business

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Inductees Dave Stewart, left, and Annie Lennox of Eurythmics pose in the press room during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on, Nov. 5, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A new album called “Is This What We Want?” features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians — and the sound of silence.

With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control.

The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Continue reading

Roses are red, violets are blue, 940 million flowers are traveling (through Miami) to you

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

Valentine’s Day roses are unwrapped after being inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialist Elaine Mendez at Miami International Airport, and Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

By DAVID FISCHER Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — If any husbands or boyfriends mess up Valentine’s Day this week, it’s not because of a shortage of flowers.

In the run up to Feb. 14, agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport have processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Around 90% of the fresh cut flowers being sold for Valentine’s Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10% pass through Los Angeles.

Roses, carnations, pompons, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums and gypsophila arrive on hundreds of flights, mostly from Colombia and Ecuador, to Miami on their journey to florists and supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada. Continue reading

With home prices and mortgage rates high, many families find the American dream out of reach

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Julieta Lopez’s condo is seen from the street in Boston, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, some two years after she bought her first home, capping a 30-year pursuit of homeownership. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

By R.J. RICO Associated Press

The Petersen family’s two-bedroom apartment in northern California is starting to feel small.

Four-year-old Jerrik’s toy monster trucks are everywhere in the 1,100-square-foot unit in Campbell, just outside of San Jose. And it’s only a matter of time before 9-month-old Carolynn starts amassing more toys, adding to the disarray, says her mother, Jenn Petersen.

The 42-year-old chiropractor had hoped she and her husband, Steve, a 39-year-old dental hygienist, would have bought a house by now. But when they can afford a bigger place, it will have to be another rental. Petersen has done the math: With mortgage rates and home prices stubbornly high, there’s no way the couple, who make about $270,000 a year and pay about $2,500 in monthly rent, can afford a home anywhere in their area.

According to October data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a San Jose family with a median income of $156,700 would need to spend 80% of their income on housing — including an $8,600 monthly mortgage payment — to own a median-priced $1.54 million home. That’s far higher than the general rule of thumb that people should pay no more than 30% of their income on a mortgage or rent. Continue reading

Target is ending its diversity goals as a strong DEI opponent occupies the White House

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – A person heads into a Target store Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Discount store chain Target said Friday that it would join rival Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack from conservative activists and, as of this week, the White House.

The Minneapolis-based retailer said the changes to its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy would include ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it already had planned to end the racial program this year. The company said Friday that it also would conclude the diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, goals it previously set in three-year cycles. Continue reading

Big Tech wants to plug data centers right into power plants. Utilities say it’s not fair

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

A data center owned by Amazon Web Services, front right, is under construction next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pa., on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

By MARC LEVY Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Looking for a quick fix for their fast-growing electricity diets, tech giants are increasingly looking to strike deals with power plant owners to plug in directly, avoiding a potentially longer and more expensive process of hooking into a fraying electric grid that serves everyone else.

It’s raising questions over whether diverting power to higher-paying customers will leave enough for others and whether it’s fair to excuse big power users from paying for the grid. Federal regulators are trying to figure out what to do about it, and quickly.

Front and center is the data center that Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary, Amazon Web Services, is building next to the Susquehanna nuclear plant in eastern Pennsylvania. Continue reading

Trump’s first day actions loom large as Davos begins

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Countries’ flags fly on the roof of the congress center in front of Kongress Hotel prior to the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — As the World Economic Forum’s annual gabfest gets into full swing Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump gave everybody something to talk about with his actions on his first day back in office.

Energy industry executives will mull Trump’s vow to “drill, baby, drill.” Foreign leaders will decipher what he means by his wish to expand U.S. territory. Environmentalists will decry his planned exit from the Paris climate deal. Trade advocates can digest his newly christened “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs and duties.

From the earliest speeches, panel discussions and back-channel meetings in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos, Trump’s executive orders and evocative oratory will loom large. Continue reading

UN predicts world economic growth at subdued 2.8% in 2025

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, during a visit in Pretoria, South Africa. Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Shiraaz Mohamed)

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world economy resisted battering by conflicts and inflation last year and is expected to grow a subdued 2.8% in 2025, the United Nations said Thursday.

In “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025,” U.N. economists wrote that their positive prediction was driven by the strong although slowing growth forecast for China and the United States and by the robust performances anticipated for India and Indonesia. The European Union, Japan, and United Kingdom are expected to experience modest recovery, the report says.

“We are in a period of stable, subpar growth,” said Shantanu Mukherjee, chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch at the Economic Analysis and Policy Division at the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Continue reading

Working Well: Saying no is hard, but setting boundaries can improve your health

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

AP Illustration / Annie Ng

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — When Justin Stewart started his career, he juggled several jobs to make ends meet. He poured himself into his full-time role as a news show production assistant from 3 a.m. until noon. Then he rushed to the airport where he rented cars or to the big box stores where he pulled retail shifts.

Sometimes, he slept in his car between jobs. Then he was hospitalized for exhaustion and a staph infection.

“While people around me praised my hustle, I eventually paid the price,” Stewart said. “The doctor looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know what lifestyle you’re living, but you’re too young to be this stressed. You’re going to have to quit something.'”

So Stewart, now 36, began setting boundaries. He gave up the side jobs, deciding he could survive without extra income. If people from the news show texted him after-hours, he let them know he was off-duty and where else to call. Continue reading

Are Employers Ready for a Mass Exodus More Than Half of US Workers Planning Career Changes

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Chhavi Agarwal | Wealth of Geeks undefined

As rampant layoffs across industries concern many American workers, a recent ResumeTemplates.com survey reveals another potentially significant workforce shift. More than half (56%) of survey respondents admit they’re already searching for a new job or plan to start hunting in the coming year.

Perhaps even more striking, 1 in 3 job seekers expressed willingness to quit their current positions, even without another job lined up.

These findings highlight a growing trend of career reassessment as workers look for new opportunities amid a challenging and changing job market. Continue reading

FIFA confirms Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup host despite human rights concerns

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, stand for the anthem prior to opening soccer match of the 2018 World Cup between Russia and Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, Russia, on June 14, 2018. (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer

ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed Wednesday by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich by the soccer body’s president Gianni Infantino.

“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support.

The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games.

The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930. Continue reading