General Business

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police have sought a search warrant for the Reddit website as they try to identify the person who leaked a racist discussion between Los Angeles City Council members and a powerful labor leader, causing a scandal that has rocked the community and shaken faith in its lawmakers.

The LAPD is trying to determine the origin of the recording that appeared on the site in October, according to a Tuesday statement.

“The investigation involves interviews of persons present and any potential witnesses that have insight into this investigation. A search warrant request has been initiated to Reddit in order to identify the person responsible for posting the recording," said the statement.

There was no immediate information on whether the request had been granted or other details of the ongoing investigation, Officer J. Chaves, an LAPD spokesperson, said Wednesday.

An email to Reddit seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.

Police Chief Michel Moore announced last month that detectives were investigating whether the recording made last year was made illegally.

The previously unknown recording was of a 2021 private meeting involving then-council president Nury Martinez and Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, as well as Ron Hererra, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

The people at the discussion, all Latino Democrats, were captured on the recording scheming to protect their political clout in the redrawing of council districts during an hourlong, closed-door meeting that was laced with bigoted comments. They used racist language to mock colleagues — as well as one councilman’s young Black son — while they planned to protect Latino political strength in council districts.

It’s not known who made the tape, or why. It was released just...

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai broke into Hong Kong's rambunctious media world 30 years ago armed with the belief that delivering information equates with protecting freedom.

Lai's own freedom is at stake as he fights charges of endangering national security as former publisher of his now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

Already serving a 20-month term for other offenses, the 74-year-old Lai could face up to life in prison if he is convicted under a sweeping National Security Law that Beijing has imposed on the former British colony, silencing or jailing many pro-democracy activists.

The high-profile trial was to begin Thursday but the judges have to first deal with a request from Hong Kong’s department of Justice for a postponement based on its objection over whether Lai’s British lawyer will be allowed to defend him. Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader John Lee has asked China to issue a ruling that could block veteran barrister Timothy Owen from representing Lai.

If Beijing intervenes, that would mark the sixth time the Communist-ruled government has stepped in despite its promise to respect Hong Kong's judicial independence and civil liberties for at least 50 years after China took over from Britain in 1997.

The Department of Justice has asked for the trial, which will be overseen by three judges, to be suspended pending a decision from Beijing about Lai's defense lawyer.

Lai's legal troubles derailed a stunning career for a man smuggled into Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland at age 12.

After getting only a primary school education, he started out working in a glove factory and sprinted up the ranks to found the casual clothing chain Giordano in 1981. Following the crackdown on 1989 student-led pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square,...

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Wednesday the company does not have plans to stop selling the antisemitic film that gained notoriety recently after Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving tweeted out an Amazon link to it.

Pressure has been mounting on Amazon to discontinue sale of the film, called “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," since Irving shared the link to the documentary with his millions of Twitter followers in October. The synopsis on Amazon says the film “uncovers the true identity of the Children of Israel.”

At The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York City, Jassy said it is difficult for the company to determine what content crosses the line to where Amazon doesn’t make it available to customers.

“As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable — objectionable and they differ from our particular viewpoints,” the Times quoted Jassy as saying.

He said making decisions about what content to take down is “more straight forward” in some cases, such as when it “actively incites or promotes violence, or teaches people to do things like pedophilia."

Dozens of celebrities, public figures as well as Jewish organizations and the Nets have called on the company to take down the film or add a disclaimer offering an explanation as to why the documentary and related book are problematic.

Amazon told the newspaper earlier this month that it would look into adding a disclaimer on the documentary’s main page. But that hasn’t happened.

The Seattle-based company did not reply to request for comment sent by The Associated Press earlier this month on whether it would add a disclaimer or not. Jassy, who is Jewish, said Wednesday that...

NEW YORK (AP) — The former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX said Wednesday that he did not "knowingly" misuse customers' funds, and said he believes his millions of angry customers will eventually be made whole.

The comments from Sam Bankman-Fried came during an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at a conference put on by The New York Times. Bankman-Fried has done a handful of media interviews since FTX collapsed in mid-November, but Wednesday's was his first video interview since it filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11.

“I didn’t ever want to commit fraud on anyone. I was shocked at what happened this month,” Bankman-Fried said.

FTX failed in the cryptocurrency version of a bank run, when customers tried to withdraw their assets all at once because of growing doubts about the financial strength of the company and its affiliated trading arm, Alameda Research. Since its collapse, FTX's new management has called the cryptocurrency exchange's management a “complete failure of corporate controls.”

Bankman-Fried said that he took responsibility for FTX's collapse and said he failed to grasp the amount of risk FTX and Alameda were taking on across both businesses. One of the accusations made against Bankman-Fried is that he arranged for Alameda to use customers' assets in FTX to place bets in the market. Bankman-Fried told Sorkin he did not “knowingly” co-mingle customers' assets with Alameda.

Exchanges like FTX are supposed to segregate customers' deposits from any bets they place in the markets. Other financial companies have gotten into legal hot water for misusing customers deposits, one example being MF Global roughly 10 years ago.

“Whatever happened, why it happened, I had a duty to our stakeholders, our customers, our investors, the regulators of...

BEIJING (AP) — A campaign to vaccinate the elderly has sparked hopes China might roll back severe anti-virus controls that prompted protesters to demand President Xi Jinping resign, but the country faces daunting hurdles and up to a year of hard work before “zero COVID” can end.

Stock markets rose after the National Health Commission on Tuesday announced the long-awaited campaign. A low vaccination rate is one of the biggest obstacles to ending curbs that have confined millions of people to their homes, depressed the economy and kept most visitors out of China. Health officials gave no indication how long it might take.

A vaccination campaign will require months and China also needs to build up its hospitals and work out a long-term virus strategy, health experts and economists warn. They say “zero COVID” is likely to stay in place until mid-2023 and possibly as late as 2024.

“China is in no place right now to move away from its ‘zero-COVID’ policy toward a ‘living with COVID’ policy,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics. “Health care capacity is very weak.”

China, where the virus first was detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, is the last major country trying to stop transmission completely. Others are relaxing controls and trying to live with the virus that has killed at least 6.6 million people worldwide and sickened almost 650 million.

Chinese protesters accuse the ruling Communist Party of failing to outline a path away from restrictions that have repeatedly closed businesses and schools and suspended access to neighborhoods. The curbs have kept case numbers lower than other countries but are seen by the public and scientists as excessive.

Families who have been confined at home for up to four months say they lack...

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Journalists from an investigative news outlet in El Salvador sued NSO Group in United States federal court Wednesday after the Israeli firm’s powerful Pegasus spyware was detected on their iPhones.

In January, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, an internet watchdog, reported that dozens of journalists and human rights defenders in El Salvador had their cellphones repeatedly hacked with the spyware.

Among them were journalists at the El Faro news site.

“These spyware attacks were an attempt to silence our sources and deter us from doing journalism,” Carlos Dada, El Faro’s co-founder and director, said in a statement released by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the El Faro journalists.

“We are filing this lawsuit to defend our right to investigate and report, and to protect journalists around the world in their pursuit of the truth,” Dada said

NSO Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.

NSO, which was blacklisted by the U.S. government last year, says it sells its spyware only to legitimate government law enforcement and intelligence agencies vetted by Israel’s Defense Ministry for use against terrorists and criminals.

In response to the Citizen Lab report in January, NSO said it does not operate the technology once it is given to a client and cannot know the targets of its customers. But it said the use of its tools to monitor activists, dissidents or journalists “is a severe misuse of any technology and goes against the desired use of such critical tools.”

It said it has terminated multiple contracts in the past due to client misuse.

At the time, a spokeswoman for the administration of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said the...

LONDON (AP) — A top European Union official warned Elon Musk on Wednesday that Twitter needs to beef up measures to protect users from hate speech, misinformation and other harmful content to avoid violating new rules that threaten tech giants with big fines or even a ban in the 27-nation bloc.

Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for digital policy, told the billionaire Tesla CEO that the social media platform will have to significantly increase efforts to comply with the new rules, known as the Digital Services Act, set to take effect next year.

The two held a video call to discuss Twitter's preparedness for the law, which will require tech companies to better police their platforms for material that, for instance, promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams.

It’s part of a new digital rulebook that has made Europe the global leader in the push to rein in the power of social media companies, potentially setting up a clash with Musk’s vision for a more unfettered Twitter. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said Wednesday that an investigation into Musk's $44 billion purchase was not off the table.

Breton said he was pleased to hear that Musk considers the EU rules “a sensible approach to implement on a worldwide basis.”

“But let’s also be clear that there is still huge work ahead,” Musk said, according to a readout of the call released by Breton’s office. “Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech, tackle disinformation with resolve, and limit targeted advertising.”

After Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” bought Twitter a month ago, groups that monitor the platform for racist, antisemitic and other toxic speech, such the Cyber...

NEW YORK (AP) — GivingTuesday raised a record $3.1 billion in 24 hours for charitable causes in the U.S. earlier this week, as the event that started as a hashtag in 2012 celebrated its 10th anniversary and its status as a staple of fundraising for nonprofits, the group's leader said Wednesday.

Despite the difficult economic year that many households have experienced, with inflation in the costs of basic goods, gas and housing, people were still willing to give, said GivingTuesday CEO Asha Curran.

“That’s really what we saw yesterday,” she told The Associated Press. “That whatever it is that people are experiencing, they were as generous as they had the capacity to be.”

GivingTuesday estimated that giving increased about 15% from 2021′s $2.7 billion, outpacing inflation. Donations were tallied using an array of data sources that includes major community foundations, companies that offer fundraising software, the payment processor PayPal and large grantmakers like Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable. Their methodology for compiling the estimate seeks to eliminate duplicate data points, Curran said.

In another measure of the resilience of donations, Fidelity Charitable said Tuesday that for the first time since 2018, the value of grants from its donor advised funds exceeds the value of investments going into the funds.

The organization said this year's totals marked the largest amount donated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving since the group started tracking it.

The hashtag to promote fundraising on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving started in 2012 as a project of the 92nd Street Y and the organization GivingTuesday became an independent nonprofit in 2020. The organization has also launched a campaign to raise $26 million over five years to expand their database...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved.

The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved there, it will be signed by President Joe Biden, who urged the Senate to act swiftly.

“Without the certainty of a final vote to avoid a shutdown this week, railroads will begin to halt the movement of critical materials like chemicals to clean our drinking water as soon as this weekend," Biden said. “Let me say that again: without action this week, disruptions to our auto supply chains, our ability to move food to tables, and our ability to remove hazardous waste from gasoline refineries will begin."

Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Farm Bureau Federation have warned that halting rail service would cause a devastating $2 billion per day hit to the economy.

The bill would impose a compromise labor agreement brokered by the Biden administration that was ultimately voted down by four of the 12 unions representing roughly 115,000 employees at large freight railroads. The unions have threatened to strike if an agreement can’t be reached before a Dec. 9 deadline.

Lawmakers from both parties expressed reservations about overriding the negotiations. The intervention was particularly difficult for Democratic lawmakers who have traditionally sought to align themselves with the politically powerful labor unions that criticized Biden’s move to intervene in the contract dispute and block a strike.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to that concern by adding a second vote Wednesday that would add...

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have approved the first pharmaceutical-grade version of the so-called fecal transplant procedures that doctors have increasingly used against hard-to-treat intestinal infections.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Rebyota for adults who have trouble fighting off infections with Clostridium difficile, commonly referred to as C. diff, a bacteria that causes nausea, cramping and diarrhea. The infection is particularly dangerous when it reoccurs and is linked to about 15,000 to 30,000 deaths a year.

For more than a decade, some U.S. doctors have used stool samples from healthy donors to treat the condition. The healthy bacteria from donors' gut has been shown to help recipients fight off C. diff bacteria. The procedure has grown more common as many patients no longer respond to traditional antibiotics.

But the proliferation of stool banks and fecal transplant practitioners across the country has created regulatory headaches for the FDA, which doesn't traditionally regulate doctors' medical procedures. The FDA has rarely intervened, provided stool donors are carefully screened for potential infectious diseases.

The new therapy from Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. is manufactured at a facility in Minnesota from stool donations that are screened for dozens of infections and viruses. The therapy is delivered via the rectum by health professionals as a one-time procedure.

The FDA said it approved the treatment based on results from two studies in which 70% of patients taking Rebyota saw their symptoms resolve after eight weeks, compared with 58% of patients getting a placebo.

The new treatment is only for patients who have already taken a course of antibiotics for recurrent infection. The condition is more common in seniors...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A Virginia sheriff’s deputy posed as a 17-year-old boy online and asked a teenage California girl for nude photos before he drove across the country and killed her mother and grandparents and set fire to their home, authorities said Wednesday.

Austin Lee Edwards, 28, died by suicide Friday during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriff's deputies. The 15-year-old girl from Riverside, California, was rescued and is in counseling for trauma, family members and police said at a news conference Wednesday.

Edwards, a resident of North Chesterfield, Virginia, appears to have posed as a teenager online to engage in a romantic relationship with the girl and obtain her personal information by deceiving her with a false identity, known as “catfishing,” police said.

Authorities did not provide additional details about their communications and said they still need to comb through online accounts. Officials are looking into whether he victimized other minors across the country.

It’s also unclear whether this was the girl’s first in-person encounter with Edwards or whether she was aware that he was coming to California, officials said.

Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said that because of the girl’s young age and trauma it will take time to complete their interviews with her and get answers to the many questions surrounding the case, such as whether she was coerced or threatened into leaving with him.

"We don’t believe at this point she had anything to do with the murders,” he said.

At some point, Edwards asked the girl for sexual photos and she stopped communicating with him, Gonzalez said, but detectives don’t yet know when that happened or whether Edwards killed her family in retaliation.

Authorities believe Edwards parked his vehicle in a...

Wall Street closed out a solid November with a broad market rally Wednesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said the central bank could soon begin easing up on its aggressive interest rate increases aimed at taming inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking at the Brookings Institution, reaffirmed that the central bank could begin moderating its pace of rate hikes as soon as December, when its policymaking committee is due to hold its next meeting.

“We have a risk management balance to strike,” Powell said. “And we think that slowing down (on rate hikes) at this point is a good way to balance the risks.”

Stocks roared higher following Powell’s midafternoon remarks. The S&P 500 rose 3.1%, snapping a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.2% and the Nasdaq composite climbed 4.4%.

The major indexes ended November with their second straight month of gains, though they remain in the red for the year.

Powell’s comments sent Treasury yields sharply lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 3.65% from 3.75% late Tuesday. The yield on the two-year note, which tends to track market expectations of future Fed action, fell to 4.34%. It was trading at 4.48% late Tuesday and had been as high as 4.53% shortly before Powell’s speech.

“Perhaps all that the market was looking for today was confirmation that we’re going to have a smaller rate hike in December,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

While citing some recent signs that inflation is cooling, Powell stressed that the Fed will push rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period to ensure inflation comes down sufficiently.

“History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy,” Powell said. “We will stay...

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday:

Intuit Inc., up $27.88 to $407.59.

The maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and other accounting software beat analysts' fiscal first-quarter revenue and earnings.

Biogen Inc., up $13.76 to $305.17.

Investors received an encouraging update on a potential Alzheimer's drug being developed by the biopharmaceutical company and partner Eisai.

Workday Inc., up $24.60 to $167.90.

The human resource software maker reported strong fiscal third-quarter financial results.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., down $20.35 to $117.65.

The cloud-based security company gave investors a weak revenue forecast.

Wayfair Inc., up $4.97 to $36.64.

The online home goods retailer reported strong sales results for the five-day period following the Thanksgiving holiday.

NetApp Inc., down $4.18 to $67.61

The data storage company gave investors a weak earnings and revenue forecast.

Horizon Therapeutics Plc., up $21.53 to $100.29.

The biopharmaceutical company confirmed that it is discussing a potential sale with several big pharmaceutical companies.

Petco Health & Wellness Co., up $1.55 to $11.04.

The pet store chain reported strong third-quarter financial results.

Stocks rallied on Wall Street after the head of the Federal Reserve said the central bank could soon ease up on its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes aimed at taming inflation.

While citing some signs that inflation is cooling, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed Wednesday that the Fed will push rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period.

Major indexes ended November with their second straight month of gains.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 rose 122.48 points, or 3.1%, to 4,080.11.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 737.24 points, or 2.2%, to 34,589.77.

The Nasdaq rose 484.22 points, or 4.4%, to 11,468.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 50.03 points, or 2.7%, to 1,886.58.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 53.99 points, or 1.3%.

The Dow is up 242.74 points, or 0.7%.

The Nasdaq is up 241.64 points, or 2.2%.

The Russell 2000 is up 17.39 points, or 0.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is down 686.07 points, or 14.4%.

The Dow is down 1,748.53 points, or 4.8%.

The Nasdaq is down 4,176.97 points, or 26.7%.

The Russell 2000 is down 358.74 points, or 16%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will push rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday in remarks likely intended to underscore the Fed's single-minded focus on combating stubborn inflation.

Yet in a speech at the Brookings Institution, Powell also signaled that the Fed may increase its key interest rate by a half-point at its December meeting, a smaller boost after four straight three-quarter point hikes. Rate increases could then fall to a more traditional quarter-point size at its February and March meetings, based on previous Fed forecasts.

Powell said the Fed is seeking to increase its benchmark rate by enough to slow the economy, hiring, and wage growth, but not so much as to send the U.S. into recession.

It has lifted the rate six times this year to a range of 3.75% to 4%, the highest in 15 years. Those increases have sharply boosted mortgage rates, causing home sales to plunge, while also raising costs for most other consumer and business loans.

“We think that slowing down at this point is a good way to balance the risks," Powell said. “The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting,” which will take place Dec. 13-14.

Financial markets rallied in response to Powell's suggestion that rate increases will slow. The S&P 500 jumped 122 points, or 3.1%. It had fallen before Powell spoke.

But Powell also stressed that smaller hikes shouldn’t be taken as a sign the Fed will let up on its inflation fight anytime soon.

“It is likely that restoring price stability will require holding (interest rates) at a restrictive level for some time,” Powell said. “History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy.”

Powell acknowledged there...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The streaming services Netflix and Hulu are not video service providers that would have to pay local governments in Ohio the same fees levied on cable operators, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a case similar to lawsuits filed by hundreds of other municipalities nationally.

At issue in Ohio is the state’s 2007 Video Service Authorization law, which directed the state Commerce Department to determine what entities must obtain permission to physically install cables and wires in a public right-of-way. Companies that are deemed video service providers must pay a fee to local governments under that law.

Officials with Maple Heights in suburban Cleveland contended that streaming services are subject to the fee because their content is delivered via the internet over cables and wires.

The Supreme Court said in its ruling that Netflix and Hulu aren't video service providers under the law because they provide streaming services over public internet.

“They do not need to place their own wires or equipment in the public rights-of-way to provide their subscribers with their programming, and the equipment used to access their services belongs to their customers, not to them,” the court noted.

Messages seeking comment on the decision were left Wednesday for the companies and for attorneys representing Maple Heights.

The argument before the Ohio court was similar to those in several other states where cities are trying to force streaming service companies to pay cable operator fees.

In Tennessee, the state Supreme Court last spring heard arguments brought by Knoxville against Netflix and Hulu. In July, a Missouri judge allowed more than 400 municipalities to join efforts in a lawsuit seeking similar fees against Netflix and Hulu. In 2020, four...

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closes sharply higher after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signals slower interest rate hikes; S&P 500 up 3.1%.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jada Williams was a social media star and a talented point guard when she moved with her mother from a Kansas City suburb to San Diego, looking to play basketball for a high school powerhouse and parlay her online prowess into endorsement deals.

She found it all in California, which has become the trendsetter among the 19 states that allow high school athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness without affecting their eligibility to play in college.

The 17-year-old Williams is now pulling in six figures a year from six major endorsement deals. The senior at La Jolla Country Day School has signed to play at the University of Arizona.

“It’s definitely a big change for me, but it was good in every single direction,” Williams said during a break from her exhaustive practice routine, which she often documents with videos and photos posted online. It was the right decision for school and basketball, "and on top of that I was able to start capitalizing off NIL," shorthand for name, image and likeness.

The effort that began when former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon took on the college sports establishment over NIL rules is quickly reshaping high school sports. Elite prep athletes are banking six and even seven figures before heading to college. The buzz extends to social media, where the top stars have millions of followers on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, which in turn helps boost their NIL valuation.

“It’s getting bigger by the day,” said Michael Caspino, a Newport Beach attorney who became NIL savvy while reviewing deals for his son’s high school friends and pushing back against the ones that tried to take advantage of the athletes.

Three high school stars are at the top of On3.com’s NIL valuations, which include both college and high...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — It’s the middle of the afternoon and Jada Williams begins a live stream on Instagram. In a heartbeat, more than 1,000 of her 671,000 followers join the broadcast and begin typing in questions and comments.

Williams does her best to follow along as the comments and questions scroll past. She laughs and interacts with fans, whether the topic is her basketball career or what shoes and clothes she should wear on an upcoming trip.

If there’s a face of the bold new frontier of name, image and likeness (NIL) at the high school level, it might as well be the 17-year-old Williams, who is a senior point guard at San Diego’s La Jolla Country Day. Engaging and charismatic, she constantly updates her feed with photos and videos from her 6 a.m. basketball workouts, anything to do with her high school team and women’s hoops and her flair for fashion.

Social media is a big part of NIL, which allows athletes to get paid without jeopardizing their eligibility. There are certainly bigger names in the prep ranks, like Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, and Arch Manning, the third generation of the first family of quarterbacks. James has more than 10 million followers on social media and Mikey Williams of San Diego’s San Ysidro High and a Memphis commit has more than 5 million.

Jada Williams has been a fixture on social media since she was 11 and stands out because of her flair for engagement. With the advent of NIL, she has parlayed her basketball skills and social media presence into six major endorsement deals that bring in a total of six figures a year. Among them are Spalding, Gym Shark and Move Insoles, which was cofounded by NBA star Damian Lillard.

She moved with her mother, Jill McIntyre, and an older sister from a Kansas City suburb to enroll at the same...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A heavily criticized private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico secured a last-minute extension on its contract Wednesday despite widespread objections.

Luma Energy obtained the extension following a 4-1 vote by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s board, with the sole dissenting vote cast by a member representing the public’s interest. Luma also will be paid some $122 million next year, up from the $115 million it has received so far.

The approval of the temporary contract comes amid worsening power outages that prompted the U.S. government to intervene this month and start securing barges and land-based generators to ease blackouts. Crews have started to rebuild the power grid that Hurricane Maria razed in September 2017, with only emergency repairs made until now.

Luma, a consortium made up of Calgary, Alberta-based Atco and Quanta Services Inc. of Houston, was initially awarded the contract in June 2021, taking over crumbling infrastructure resulting from decades of neglect and mismanagement under Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority.

But the duration of outages has worsened under Luma, which has faced heavy scrutiny and calls for its contract to be cancelled by customers hit with several state-implemented electric rate increases in one year while often left in the dark. Several substations have caught fire in recent months, with bad weather, sargassum — a type of seaweed — and even an iguana blamed for the outages, as well as aging infrastructure further weakened by Hurricane Fiona, a Category 1 storm that struck Puerto Rico’s southwest region in September and caused an estimated $4 billion in damage to the power grid.

In August, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi criticized Luma publicly for...

The post 3 Cost-cutting Practices for Businesses appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

At a time when we’re all looking to reduce our expenditure, businesses are seeking new measures to preserve their income.

But keeping costs down shouldn’t just be an exercise for hard times – it always pays to put efficiency first, and your company should always be looking for ways to improve in the day-to-day workings as well as processes and procedures.

With that in mind, these are just a handful of cost-cutting exercises for businesses to help you protect your team, conserve budget and reap success.

1. Ditch the office

Remote working has become something of a new normal since the start of the pandemic, and many businesses have adopted it at least partially into their working routine.…

The post Everything About Bitcoin’s Price Fluctuations appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

If you’ve thought about starting on the path of cryptocurrency trading, you’re not alone. An ever-growing number of traders have begun approaching it. Even some of those that used to see crypto as a holding entirely too volatile ever to be part of the portfolio of any sensible investor has had a change of heart after Bitcoin recorded some of its highest increases even in the last months of 2021.

photo credit: Austin Distel / Unsplash

However, the situation has changed a little since then, and in 2022 the digital asset ecosystem has frozen under the influence of crypto winter. The market is still reeling from it, and the dipping prices have indicated that the situation won’t change very soon.…

The post Want Increased Trust and More Profitability? Show Some Compassion appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

Truly compassionate leaders are rare, but you’ll always remember them, since their impact on the workplace is huge and lasting. These leaders encourage a positive attitude, listen to their employees, invest time in teaching, and create a collaborative culture.

You’ll find that when you show compassion in your workplace what happens is like magic. Your employees feel trusted, appreciated, valued, and grow professionally. That benefits everyone, from you to your employees to your company’s bottom line. Below are even more reasons why compassion in the workplace is such a powerful tool.

1. Healthier personal lives

Stephen Covey’s book The Speed of Trustfound that 42% of workers believe their employers don’t care about them on a personal level.…

The post 8 Tips For Designing The Best Virtual Business Card appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

Back when social media accounts and other digital platforms weren’t as rampant as they are now, business cards remained the go-to for exchanging contact information. Nowadays, though, more and more people are ditching physical cards in favor of digital ones—and for a good reason.

Not only is a virtual business card more environment-friendly, but they’re also more convenient and easier to keep track of. Plus, you can include more information on them such as links to your website and even a video introduction.

If you’re thinking of switching to digital business cards or if you’re just starting and want to make sure you get it right from the get-go, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1.

…

The post What are The Different Methods to Scale a Business? appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

Business is a combination of entities that collaborate to manage and perform different tasks for the betterment of society and themselves. Business is not only a task to do but if it grows properly the n it can be proved to be a life changer in someone’s life. A lot of attention, management, proper planning, and investment are required for business growth. you can also get more insights on pareto website.

Now, the important thing that one needs to understand for scaling a business is which path should be opted for business growth. Starting a business is not a big thing but working for its growth is the real challenge.…

The post Remote Working: 5 Must-Have Essentials appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

Working from home has become more common over the years and even more so since the pandemic. Some people specifically look for remote jobs to avoid long commutes, gain a better work-life balance, or to even stay home with kids. Employers, too, may prefer this setup as for them it means getting to save on resources and office space.

Remote work can be a dream for many people, but it’s easier said than done. If you are considering jumping on the remote work bandwagon, or already are, you’re going to want to know how to elevate your work-from-home game. These must-have essentials will ensure better productivity, efficiency, safety, and comfort while working remotely.…

The post Five Essentials for Pay-Per-Click Success in the Beauty Industry appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

PPC advertising may be a great marketing investment for beauty firms of any size, whether they have a large or small budget. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a highly efficient method of boosting brand awareness and sales, regardless of your marketing budget.

However, PPC is only effective when utilized properly, and firms run the danger of losing money if they don’t take the time to plan ahead before launching campaigns. An effective PPC campaign requires careful planning and preparation before it can begin yielding results.

In this article, we’ll go through the top five considerations for beauty firms’ PPC strategies.

Step One – Niche Markets

Your PPC campaign needs a target demographic before you can write catchy headlines and copy that converts.…

The post The Brief Guide That Makes Starting a New Construction Company Simple appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

Construction is an industry that will probably never go away. There are constantly new building projects and repairs needed for construction companies of all sizes. It’s no surprise that the market has a size of $2.7 trillion.

Do you think you have what it takes to start a new construction company? Check out the guide below to learn how to build the best construction company in your area.

Create a Plan

A great plan is critical to start a successful construction company. It doesn’t matter if you want to start with residential or commercial construction, either. If you don’t understand your customers’ needs, understand the best way to serve them, or have milestones for success, it’s hard to take the right actions in your business.…

The post Palm Jumeirah and Four More Areas in Dubai to Invest in 2022 appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

Dubai is famous for many things: excellent conditions for the activities of foreign entrepreneurs, great opportunities for recreation and entertainment, a high standard of living, an ever-expanding job market, etc. But for many, Dubai represents the ideal real estate market. Construction here does not stop even for a minute.

photo credit: Jason Mrachina / Flickr

Every year, new and new properties are added to the already existing magnificent buildings that amaze with luxury, the use of the latest materials and technologies, and the convenience of planning. Although, some may consider villas prices in Palm Jumeirah, Downtown and other areas of the city quite expensive, others understand that this is a highly profitable investment that is able to bring its owner a high ROI.…

The post Passive Investments That Pay Off appeared first on SMALL BUSINESS CEO.

There are many different types of passive investments that can potentially pay off. Some of the more common ones include real estate, stocks, and bonds. While there are no guarantees with any type of investment, those who choose to go the passive route often find that they have less stress and more peace of mind, knowing that their money is working for them, even when they’re not actively involved in the day-to-day operations.

The following will explore some of the more popular passive investments and how they can provide a stream of income.

Real Estate

One of the greatest and biggest benefits of investing in real estate is that it can provide a steady stream of income.…

Beaverton-based Reser’s Fine Foods held a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking operations at its new Pasco processing plant on Sept. 21. The new plant is more than twice the size of its…

The post Reser’s Fine Foods appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The majority of the patients Grace Clinic serves work hard at their jobs to make ends meet – but they don’t have health insurance. They arrive at the Kennewick clinic…

The post Majority of Grace Clinic’s patients have jobs but no insurance appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The ink was barely dry on a $39 million road improvement plan for Pasco’s Broadmoor area when Big Sky Developers dispatched excavators. Big Sky’s heavy equipment as much as anything…

The post Pasco road deal signals the start of development at Broadmoor appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

One Richland business has figured out a way to inject more fun into travel for kids. A Richland business has figured out a way to inject more fun into travel…

The post Kid-focused luggage turns tots into airport rock stars appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Benton County closes deal for old KGH building Benton County closed a $1.6 million deal to purchase the former Kennewick General Hospital on Nov. 1. and is seeking a behavioral…

The post Business Briefs – November 2022 appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Rain and dark clouds didn’t dampen the enthusiasm at Visit Tri-Cities’ annual luncheon in early November. Organizers rallied around the event’s upbeat theme, “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear…

The post We are grateful for this special place we call home appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Some of the most amazing companies in the world are hiding in plain sight, right here in Washington. They’re located inside industrial buildings and office parks that we drive by…

The post AWB hit the road. Here are some<br>of the manufacturers who inspire us appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

To “build back America” key workers must return to job sites. It is not good enough for President Joe Biden to lean back on low unemployment numbers claiming success when…

The post America’s real recovery hinges on people returning to work sites appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

In 2019, CISI Capital Markets and Corporate Finance estimated the U.S. equity markets had a value of $30 trillion and the U.S. bond markets had a value of $40 trillion.…

The post Wondering how to invest in bonds? Here’s a primer appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

As nights get longer and colder, staff at the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission shelter for women face an unenviable task. When the shelter is full, they’re forced to turn away…

The post As nights get cold, Union Gospel Mission turns its attention to women, children appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.