All posts tagged: Collections: Business

Czech Power Company ČEZ Signs Deal With Rolls-Royce SMR to Prepare for First Small Nuclear Reactor

Czech Power Company ČEZ Signs Deal With Rolls-Royce SMR to Prepare for First Small Nuclear Reactor

Published by Sam Flores

ČEZ chief executive Daniel Beneš said that the work includes the project plan and licensing documentation necessary for issuing building permits for the reactor. Beneš said the company hopes to have all the approvals by 2030. The small nuclear reactor will be built at the site of the existing Temelín nuclear plant. On April 13, Great Britain Energy – Nuclear, a government agency, inked a contract with Rolls-Royce SMR to begin design work for the first small nuclear reactors in the U.K. Beneš said that the Czech small nuclear reactor will be the second one built by the British firm after the first one is completed in the U.K. ČEZ has a 20% share in Rolls-Royce SMR and the companies had signed a deal about a strategic partnership, which should result in up to 3 gigawatt energy sources installed in the Czech Republic. The Czech state has an almost 70% stake in ČEZ and the government is taking steps to acquire full control of the company. Small modular reactors are a type of nuclear reactor …

US Soldier Charged With Using Classified Intel to Win 0K Polymarket Bet on Maduro Raid

US Soldier Charged With Using Classified Intel to Win $400K Polymarket Bet on Maduro Raid

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged with using classified information about the mission to win more than $400,000 in an online betting market, federal officials announced Thursday. Gannon Ken Van Dyke was part of the operation to capture Maduro in January and used his access to classified information to make money on the prediction market site Polymarket, the federal prosecutor’s office in New York said. He has been charged by the Justice Department with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction. He could face years in prison. Van Dyke, 38, was involved in the planning and execution of capturing Maduro for about a month beginning Dec. 8, 2025, according to the federal prosecutor’s office. Even though he signed nondisclosure agreements promising to not divulge “any classified or sensitive information” related to the operations, prosecutors say the Army soldier used this information to …

Meta Slashes 8,000 Jobs, or 10% of Its Workforce, as Microsoft Offers Buyouts

Meta Slashes 8,000 Jobs, or 10% of Its Workforce, as Microsoft Offers Buyouts

Published by Sam Flores

Meta is laying off about 8,000 workers, or about 10% of its workforce, the company said Thursday as it continues to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and highly paid AI-expert hires. The company said it was making the cuts for the sake of efficiency and to allow new investments in parts of its business, as first reported by Bloomberg, which also said the company will leave about 6,000 jobs unfilled. Also Thursday, Microsoft said it was offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of its U.S. employees. The software giant plans to make the offers in early May to about 8,750 people, or 7% of its U.S. workforce, according to two people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to speak about it publicly. While an alternative to the sudden layoffs removing tech workers from peers like Meta and Oracle, the savings are likely tied to a similar industry upheaval that is requiring huge spending on the costs of artificial intelligence. Meta has already warned investors that its 2026 expenses will grow significantly — …

Brazil Regulator Approves Deeper Probe Into Google’s News Content Use

Brazil Regulator Approves Deeper Probe Into Google’s News Content Use

Published by Sam Flores

SAO PAULO, April 23 (Reuters) – Brazil’s ⁠antitrust ⁠watchdog CADE approved ⁠on Thursday a recommendation to deepen investigations ​into the use of journalistic content by Alphabet’s Google, ‌which would assess potential abuse ‌of the company’s dominant market position. CADE’s members ⁠backed ⁠a proposal from its interim chief Diogo Thomson de ​Andrade to return the case to its general superintendence for formal administrative proceedings, citing the evolution of Google’s ​conduct since the 2019 inquiry began. • The case began ⁠following CADE’s ⁠2019 determination to ⁠examine ​competitive conditions in search and news markets. • Initial investigation focused ​on Google’s automated ⁠collection of journalistic content and its display in search results. • CADE’s general superintendence had previously recommended shelving the case for lack of sufficient evidence ⁠of violations. • De Andrade’s new analysis noted Google’s conduct ⁠evolved with AI generative features that synthesize information directly in search interfaces. • It highlighted the potential structural dependency of news publishers on Google’s search mechanisms for audience reach. • De Andrade pointed out this could constitute exploitative abuse through extracting value …

You Can Put Beef Tallow and Salmon Sperm on Your Face. but Should You?

You Can Put Beef Tallow and Salmon Sperm on Your Face. but Should You?

Published by Sam Flores

Bryan Vander Dussen spent years as a dairy farmer before shifting to selling farm-raised beef. In the past year, he and his wife have been making another transition: Cooking up recipes in their kitchen that turn organ fat from his animals into tallow balm that buyers are eager to slather on their skin. One tricky bit: Coming up with formulas that don’t smell like pot roast. “You see it everywhere, so we were like, ‘Why don’t we do this?’” he said. “Some of the feedback is, ‘We don’t want to smell like beef,’ so we add things like lavender and wild orange to kind of counter that potential beef smell.” From moisturizers made with beef tallow to salmon sperm facials, consumers have become more interested in animal-based skin care products in recent years. Promoted as natural alternatives to synthetics, they’re gaining popularity across social media and high-end spas as well as at farmers’ markets and in home kitchens. “There’s been a movement in the last couple of years to embrace animal-based foods,” said Norah MacKendrick, …

Record US Drought Sparks Worries About Fires, Water Supply and Food Prices

Record US Drought Sparks Worries About Fires, Water Supply and Food Prices

Published by Sam Flores

Drought in the contiguous United States has reached record levels for this time of year, weather data shows. Meteorologists said it’s a bad sign for the upcoming wildfire season, food prices and western water issues. More than 61% of the Lower 48 states is in moderate to exceptional drought — including 97% of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West — according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. It’s the highest levels for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s comprehensive Palmer Drought Severity Index not only hit its highest level for March since records started in 1895, but last month was the third-driest month recorded regardless of time of year. It trailed only the famed Dust Bowl months of July and August 1934. Because of record heat, much of the West has had exceptionally low levels of snow in the first few months of the year, which is usually how the region stores water for the summer. A different drought — connected to the jet …

Pope Leo XIV Challenges Angola’s Leaders While Delivering a Message of Encouragement for Its People

Pope Leo XIV Challenges Angola’s Leaders While Delivering a Message of Encouragement for Its People

Published by Sam Flores

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — Pope Leo XIV challenged Angola’s leaders to break the “cycle of interests” that have plundered and exploited Africa for centuries as he arrived in the southern African country on Saturday with a message of encouragement for its long-suffering people. Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, said that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace, justice and brotherhood in Africa. U.S. Vice President JD Vance later wrote on social media that “I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this.” Vance, a Catholic convert, suggested earlier in the week that Leo “be careful” when speaking about theology. In Angola, Leo met with President Joao Lourenco and delivered his first speech to Angolan government authorities, in which he referred repeatedly to Angola’s tortured history of colonial plunder and civil war. “I desire to meet you in the spirit born of peace and to affirm that your people possess treasures that cannot be bought or stolen,” he said. “There dwells …

Macron and Starmer Welcome Hormuz Reopening and Push for Permanent Navigation Security

Macron and Starmer Welcome Hormuz Reopening and Push for Permanent Navigation Security

Published by Sam Flores

PARIS (AP) — The leaders of France and the U.K. on Friday welcomed the announcement by Iran and the U.S. that the Strait of Hormuz is open, but said freedom of navigation must be permanently restored to the key oil route choked by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they would keep planning an international mission to restore maritime security, which Starmer said will be deployed “as soon as conditions allow.” They said military planners will meet in London next week. Speaking after a gathering of some 50 countries, Macron said “we all demand the full, immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by all parties.” Starmer said the announcement by Iran and the U.S. that the waterway is open must become “both lasting and a workable proposal.” The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined, but that has sent the global economy reeling. Petroleum prices soared after the war …

QVC Prepares for Bankruptcy Protection in the Era of Influencers, TikTok and Temu

QVC Prepares for Bankruptcy Protection in the Era of Influencers, TikTok and Temu

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of home shopping network pioneer QVC — which for years garnered the attention of millions of TV viewers looking for a deal on baubles and housewares, is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A filing about imminent bankruptcy protection by parent company QVC Group, which also owns HSN, formerly the Home Shopping Network, arrives as long-running TV shopping networks struggle to adapt to the rapid shift by consumers now tuning in to livestreams on TikTok, or online marketplaces like Shein. According to an annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, the company said that it intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after reaching a restructuring agreement with creditors. Its goal is to emerge from bankruptcy protection before the summer is over, but the West Chester, Pennsylvania, company warned that its access to funding is difficult to predict. It noted significant fees and other costs in connection with the preparation for …

Former Meta Contractor Sama to Lay off More Than 1,000 Workers in Kenya

Former Meta Contractor Sama to Lay off More Than 1,000 Workers in Kenya

Published by Sam Flores

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A company that was sued by Facebook content moderators in Kenya over poor working conditions said Thursday that more than 1,000 workers will be laid off after Meta, Facebook’s parent company, ended its contract. Meta and its local contractor Sama have been in court since 2022 after former content moderators accused them of paying low wages and not offering sufficient mental health support. Sama has since changed its business model and stopped offering content moderation services to Meta, but has remained focused on services such as AI data labeling for the tech giant. Sama said in a statement Thursday that it received formal notice from Meta to end a “major engagement at its Nairobi office.” Sama said it has issued a formal layoff notice that would affect 1,108 staffers, adding that it was “actively supporting affected employees with care and respect.” In 2023 some 200 former content moderators sued Sama over the exploitation of workers by offering low pay, little mental health support for the grueling work they do, and long …