The salacious gossip website is hounding politicians and tracking vacationing members of Congress TMZ has only been in Washington DC for a matter of weeks, but the salacious gossip website is already having an impact: hounding politicians, tracking vacationing members of Congress and reporting on a senator taking a trip to Disney World. It’s been quite the start as the website and TV channel attem...
The salacious gossip website is hounding politicians and tracking vacationing members of Congress TMZ has only been in Washington DC for a matter of weeks, but the salacious gossip website is already having an impact: hounding politicians, tracking vacationing members of Congress and reporting on a senator taking a trip to Disney World. It’s been quite the start as the website and TV channel attempts to break into the political scene, with its first focus on members of Congress taking a two-week recess – typically meaning the politicians return to their home districts and states to meet constituents – during a record partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Continue reading...
My activist group is about 80% women. Where did all the men go – and how can we get them back? In Donald Trump’s first term, my Brooklyn-based activist group had the peculiar dynamic of being started by two men while being composed of about 65% women. Since November 2024, our group has doubled in size, and the gender imbalance has tipped even further: we are now about 80% women. Almost 18 months i...
My activist group is about 80% women. Where did all the men go – and how can we get them back? In Donald Trump’s first term, my Brooklyn-based activist group had the peculiar dynamic of being started by two men while being composed of about 65% women. Since November 2024, our group has doubled in size, and the gender imbalance has tipped even further: we are now about 80% women. Almost 18 months into Trump’s second term, it is abundantly clear that the appetite for anti-Trump, pro-democracy activism has not dimmed at all. And yet, there is a substantial portion of the populace that, in my experience as an activist, seems to have lost its fervor for the fight. Continue reading...
State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLP) provides broad, low-cost exposure to large-cap staples, while Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEMKT:PBJ) offers a concentrated, higher-fee strategy focused on specific food-industry metrics. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total ret...
State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLP) provides broad, low-cost exposure to large-cap staples, while Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEMKT:PBJ) offers a concentrated, higher-fee strategy focused on specific food-industry metrics. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Cost is a major differentiator, as XLP is significantly more affordable with an expense ratio 0.53 percentage points lower than its peer. Investors looking for income could find the State Street fund more attractive, as it provides a significantly higher distribution than the Invesco fund. Continue reading
The X300 Ultra is mostly let down by its rather dull design. A few months ago, I wrote that the telephoto camera is the only lens that matters any more , at least when it comes to Ultra-class flagships. As phones got better, cameras became where manufacturers tried to stand out. As cameras got better, telephoto lenses became the next point of focus. The most recent Ultra phones from Xiaomi , Oppo ...
The X300 Ultra is mostly let down by its rather dull design. A few months ago, I wrote that the telephoto camera is the only lens that matters any more , at least when it comes to Ultra-class flagships. As phones got better, cameras became where manufacturers tried to stand out. As cameras got better, telephoto lenses became the next point of focus. The most recent Ultra phones from Xiaomi , Oppo , and Huawei have all made the telephoto, above all, their selling point. Vivo's X300 Ultra is doing something different. Instead of pushing its telephoto hardware to further extremes, Vivo has mostly left it be. The company has focused its efforts on a significantly improved 35mm main camera, unique among the … Read the full story at The Verge.
When the Food and Drug Administration approved Gleevec to treat a form of leukemia in 2001, it ushered in a new era in cancer care. (Image credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff)
When the Food and Drug Administration approved Gleevec to treat a form of leukemia in 2001, it ushered in a new era in cancer care. (Image credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff)
Lord of the Flies adaptation.'/> As I watched the new series, I only cared about Piggy — the thoughtful, smart kid stranded on an island with other boys. That made me think about what we look for in art. (Image credit: J Redza)
Lord of the Flies adaptation.'/> As I watched the new series, I only cared about Piggy — the thoughtful, smart kid stranded on an island with other boys. That made me think about what we look for in art. (Image credit: J Redza)
AI Is Losing The PR Battle And The Consequences Could Be Huge Authored by Donald Kendal via The Epoch Times, Lately, when watching high-profile sporting events like the NBA Playoffs, you may have noticed a rash of commercials for artificial intelligence (AI) companies. While average commercials strive to show off new products or services or recruit new customers, these AI commercials seem to have ...
AI Is Losing The PR Battle And The Consequences Could Be Huge Authored by Donald Kendal via The Epoch Times, Lately, when watching high-profile sporting events like the NBA Playoffs, you may have noticed a rash of commercials for artificial intelligence (AI) companies. While average commercials strive to show off new products or services or recruit new customers, these AI commercials seem to have a different primary objective. They seem to target goodwill. Heartwarming commercials show families bonding over AI-generated memories, where AI brings life to old family photos. Emotional voice-overs promise connection, creativity, and even nostalgia. These AI companies are trying to sell people a good reputation. This strategy should tell us something. Companies don’t often spend millions trying to make you feel good about their brand unless they know, deep down, that you don’t trust it. Despite hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into AI development, the industry is quietly losing the battle for hearts and minds. And sentimental advertising is not doing much to fix this problem. Rare Bipartisan Agreement on AI A new national survey from Marquette University Law School should give the AI industry serious pause. According to the poll, roughly 70 percent of Americans believe artificial intelligence will do more harm than good for society. Even more striking, the skepticism cuts across party lines. Poll Director Charles Franklin put it bluntly: “It really is striking … there’s pretty much bipartisan skepticism … That’s an awful lot of partisan agreement, where we normally see Republicans and Democrats on opposite ends.” In today’s political climate, bipartisan agreement on anything is rare. On AI, however, Americans seem united, just not in the way Silicon Valley might hope. Worse yet is the fact that this poll supports similar findings on AI skepticism from numerous other surveys. A particularly damning NBC News poll from last month showed that AI’s net favorability rat...
Anastasiia Shavshyna/E+ via Getty Images Overview When I previously covered Fidus Investment ( FDUS ), I issued a buy rating due to the solid earnings and discounted valuation at the time. The BDC sector has continued to face headwinds but I decided to put my trust in FDUS's earnings data and portfolio health. Since my last coverage, FDUS's share price has seen a double-digit increase and has outp...
Anastasiia Shavshyna/E+ via Getty Images Overview When I previously covered Fidus Investment ( FDUS ), I issued a buy rating due to the solid earnings and discounted valuation at the time. The BDC sector has continued to face headwinds but I decided to put my trust in FDUS's earnings data and portfolio health. Since my last coverage, FDUS's share price has seen a double-digit increase and has outperformed the S&P 500. FDUS recently reported its Q1 earnings to kick off its 2026 fiscal year, so I wanted to revisit the business development company to reassess its value proposition and outlook in this challenging interest rate environment. Looking at the performance over the last twelve months, we can see that FDUS has done a lot better than the rest of the BDC sector. For instance, FDUS's total return sits at 15.8%, which severely outpaces both the VanEck BDC Income ETF ( BIZD ) and the Putnam BDC Income ETF ( PBDC ) over the same time frame. After reviewing the latest earnings report, I believe that this outperformance is likely to continue. The portfolio health is great and FDUS continues to demonstrate its ability to invest in new growth opportunities. Data by YCharts FDUS now offers investors a starting dividend yield of about 10.7%, while issuing those payouts on a quarterly basis. One of the strongest aspects of FDUS is that the distribution is well supported by net investment income. The coverage is so strong that it is very likely that FDUS will continue to pay supplementals, while also keeping the payout level consistent in the foreseeable future. However, FDUS's risk profile is extremely difficult to gauge. For a portfolio that leans heavily on technology investments, FDUS has remained incredibly resilient compared to peers. Strength Continues Through Q1 According to the latest portfolio overview , FDUS has total investments at a fair value of $1.36B. During a time where the debt markets are facing headwinds, I wanted to highlight that the majority of FDUS's ...
The death toll from a suicide attack on a security post in northwest Pakistan rose to 14 police officers, authorities said early on Sunday. A self-proclaimed breakaway group of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed the attack. A suicide bomber and several gunmen detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, late on Saturd...
The death toll from a suicide attack on a security post in northwest Pakistan rose to 14 police officers, authorities said early on Sunday. A self-proclaimed breakaway group of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed the attack. A suicide bomber and several gunmen detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the post in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, late on Saturday, senior police official Sajjad Khan said. The attack triggered an intense shoot-out, and some...
Key PointsThe stock market has blossomed under President Donald Trump, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite delivering outsize returns.
Key PointsThe stock market has blossomed under President Donald Trump, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite delivering outsize returns.
Yates sustained abrasions and laceration to his left ear Jay Vine and Marc Soler still under medical observation The British rider Adam Yates has been pulled out of the Giro d’Italia after sustaining a concussion following a crash on stage two . The 33-year-old sustained abrasions and a laceration to his left ear during an incident involving almost 30 riders on Saturday’s rain-soaked 221km route f...
Yates sustained abrasions and laceration to his left ear Jay Vine and Marc Soler still under medical observation The British rider Adam Yates has been pulled out of the Giro d’Italia after sustaining a concussion following a crash on stage two . The 33-year-old sustained abrasions and a laceration to his left ear during an incident involving almost 30 riders on Saturday’s rain-soaked 221km route from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. This report will update after stage three Continue reading...
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency and taken on May 2, 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Photo by Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images) / Amirhossein Khorgooei | Afp | Getty Images A Qatari natural gas tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday for the first time since th...
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency and taken on May 2, 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Photo by Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images) / Amirhossein Khorgooei | Afp | Getty Images A Qatari natural gas tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday for the first time since the start of the Iran war, heading for Pakistan, while Washington continued to wait for Tehran's response to its latest proposals to begin peace talks. After some 48 hours of relative calm following sporadic clashes last week that have shaken a month-old ceasefire, Kuwait detected several hostile drones in its airspace early on Sunday, authorities said. But the QatarEnergy-operated carrier Al Kharaitiyat passed safely through the strait and was heading for Pakistan's Port Qasim, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler, the first Qatari vessel carrying liquefied natural gas to cross the strait since the U.S. and Israel started the war on Feb 28. Sources said earlier the transfer, which offered a modicum of relief to Pakistan after a wave of power blackouts caused by a halt to vital gas imports, had been approved by Iran to build confidence with Qatar and Pakistan, both mediators in the war. But Iranian authorities said vessels from countries that follow U.S. sanctions against Iran would face problems crossing the Strait, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Sunday. The United States is still waiting for a response from Tehran to a proposal that would formally end the war before the start of talks on more contentious issues, including Iran's nuclear program. A reporter for French broadcaster LCI, Margot Haddad, said on Saturday that Trump had told her in a brief interview that he still expected to find out Iran's answer "very soon". Trump is under pressure to end war ahead of China visit With U.S. President Donald Trump due to visit China this week, there h...
On May 8, 2026, Gen-Wealth Partners Inc disclosed a new position in the iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF (NASDAQ:CORO) , acquiring 177,793 shares valued at an estimated $5.72 million based on quarterly average pricing. According to a May 8, 2026, SEC filing , Gen-Wealth Partners Inc reported a new position in the iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF, purchasing 177,79...
On May 8, 2026, Gen-Wealth Partners Inc disclosed a new position in the iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF (NASDAQ:CORO) , acquiring 177,793 shares valued at an estimated $5.72 million based on quarterly average pricing. According to a May 8, 2026, SEC filing , Gen-Wealth Partners Inc reported a new position in the iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF, purchasing 177,793 shares. The estimated transaction value was $5.72 million, based on the average share price for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. The quarter-end value of the holding matched the transaction value, reflecting no significant price movement during the period. The iShares International Country Rotation Active ETF provides investors with an actively managed solution for international equity exposure, emphasizing dynamic country allocation. The fund's strategy is designed to capitalize on shifting macroeconomic trends and market cycles across global regions. By employing a disciplined rotation methodology, the ETF aims to deliver enhanced risk-adjusted returns for clients seeking international diversification. Continue reading