Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, is preparing to speak with a class of MBA students at Harvard University. The former fake socialite is still under house arrest after being released from ICE custody in October. She previously spoke with journalism students at Columbia University in New York. Harvard Business School students are in for a lesson from convicted fraudster and "Inventing Anna" subject Anna Sorokin. Read More

Tim Bieber | Photodisc | Getty Images Amid stock market gyrations, recession fears and loftier payouts, consumers pumped a record sum of money last year into annuities, a type of insurance that offers a guaranteed income stream. Buyers funneled $310.6 billion into annuities in 2022, according to estimates published by Limra, an insurance industry trade group. Read More

At this stage, when you say “blockchain,” you get two reactions: eye-rolling and dismissal or excited fervor at the potential for quick money. But it doesn’t have to be either/or. The system that powers Bitcoin could yank power from central banks, build trust into supply chains, and manage ownership in the metaverse, but it could also shrivel into nothing amid chaos and hype, a technology looking for a use case. The original blockchain is the decentralized ledger behind the digital currency bitcoin. The ledger consists of linked batches of transactions known as blocks, with an identical copy stored on each of the roughly 60,000 computers that make up the Bitcoin network. Each change to the ledger is cryptographically signed to prove that the person transferring bitcoins is the actual owner. No one can spend coins twice because once a transaction is recorded in the ledger, every node in the network will know about it. Read More

Meta stocks skyrocketed Thursday morning, on pace for its second-best day in almost ten years, as investors were encouraged by a $40 billion stock buyback and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s commitment to making 2023 a “Year of Efficiency,” CNBC reported. Despite the fact that the company saw profits plummet by 55% in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the same time in 2021, the large buyback and a forecasted rebound in sales gave investors confidence, the WSJ reported. The company’s apparent refocus on profits also encouraged investors, after many expressed discontent with the billions it lost on virtual reality as its stocks plunged by roughly 65% in 2022, according to CNBC. Read More

PHOENIX (The Borowitz Report)—Kari Lake said that she is “absolutely furious and outraged” that no one has performed a search of her home for stolen documents. “The F.B.I. has been raiding the house of every Tom, Dick, and Harry, but somehow doesn’t think mine is worthy of their attention,” she said. “This doesn’t pass the smell test.” Read More

Australia’s new $5 banknote won’t feature Britain’s new king. King Charles III, who took the throne after the Queen’s death last year, will not be replacing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the Australian bill. Instead of the monarch, who is technically Australia’s head of state, the new banknote will “feature a new design that honours the culture and history of the First Australians,” the country’s central bank said on Feb. 2. First Australians is one of the terms used to refer to the communities who have inhabited the territory for over 50,000 years, the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. In mid-2021, there were more than 941,000 Aboriginal peoples living in Australia, comprising 3.8% of the population. Read More

Hike of 0.5 percentage points lifts rates to 14-year high but BoE says shorter and shallower recession now more likely.Interest rates rise again but Bank of England hints at a brighter future The Bank of England has blamed the inflationary impact of higher than expected wage rises for an increase in interest rates from 3.5% to 4%, piling more pressure on mortgage payers and businesses struggling to pay off their loans. Amid calls from unions for higher wages to protect against the worst falls in living standards for 100 years, a majority of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) said the 0.5 percentage point rise was needed after a jump in private sector wages above the central bank’s previous forecasts. Read More

Conagra Brands has recalled almost 2.6 million pounds of canned meat and poultry products because of a packaging defect that may have caused the food to get contaminated, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. The meat and poultry products recalled were produced between Dec. 12, 2022, and Jan. 13, 2023, the agency said. The full list of products that are affected is listed here. The recalled products, which were shipped to retail locations nationwide, also have the code "P4247" written on the cans. Read More

Rittenhouse was found not guilty of double murder in 2021, but he could face a civil trial for wrongful death—which requires a much lower burden of proof. Read More

Former Memphis officer Demetrius Haley came under fire two years before beating Tyre Nichols. In Feb. 2021, Haley was on the scene when another officer ripped a woman from her car. Despite seeing the officer dislocating the woman's shoulder, he didn't write a use of force report. Years before beating Tyre Nichols, then-Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley was on the scene of another brutal incident where a woman was ripped from her car by a fellow officer who didn't approve of her laughing, according to police disciplinary records obtained by Insider. Read More

"This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America," she says of the vote to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the foreign affairs committee. Read More

LeBron James is in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s neighborhood and pretty soon he’ll be kicking down the door. After putting up a 28-point triple-double in the Lakers’ 129-123 overtime win over the Knicks Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, James is now 89 points shy of breaking Kareem’s mark. The Lakers (24-28) visit the Indiana Pacers (24-28) Thursday night. Read More

Crystal Cameron-Schaad runs Crystal Palate Wine & Gourmet in Norfolk, Virginia. Her business is growing in space and offerings, and she says that her clientele includes a strong following of wine consumers 40 and under. "I believe the key to attracting the younger demographic is to create unique experiences and provide valuable information they can use in their everyday life," says Cameron-Schaad. According to the Silicon Valley Bank State of the US Wine Industry Report 2023, this population is a sore spot and has been for a while. Ron McMillan, author of the report, executive vice president, and founder of the bank’s wine division, writes, "We are improving engagement with 60- to 80-year-old consumers and losing the interest of the under-50 population." The good news is that the 60+ crowd demonstrates a strong interest in spending money on wine. The bad news is that plenty of younger people view wine as their "parents' alcoholic beverage but not their own," according to the report. Read More

Postscript He Was Tom Verlaine Patti Smith remembers her friend, who possessed the child’s gift of transforming a drop of water into a poem that somehow begat music. Read More

An engineering director at Google found out she was laid off as she prepared to take her kids to school.  Sivan Hermon felt like she was "one kid's tantrum away from losing it," she wrote in a Medium Post.  The thought of no longer being at Google after nine years was "too painful," she added. An engineering director at Google said she took her kids to school right after finding out she was one of the 12,000 people who had been laid off by the tech giant in an emotive post on Medium. Read More

More than 500,000 people are without power Thursday morning as snow and ice continue to affect Southern states, while millions more are expected to be impacted by freezing wind chill and record-low temperatures in the Northeast in the days ahead. Key Facts According to PowerOutage.us, 404,482 people are without power in Texas, followed by 55,878 in Arkansas, 22,632 in Mississippi, 18,702 in Tennessee and 6,374 in Florida as of 9:40 a.m. Thursday. Read More

Amazon was cited again by federal regulators alleging its warehouse workers face "high" injury risks. Regulators said a "gamification system" encouraged working at a fast pace that could pose injury. Read More

India’s Gautam Adani slipped one more spot to third on the list of Asia’s richest people after shares in his group’s listed companies continued to nosedive on Thursday while they attempt to push back against allegations of fraud and stock manipulation. Key Facts According to Forbes’ estimates, Adani’s net worth fell to $64.2 billion as a stock market rout wiped off another $12.5 billion from his fortune on Thursday. Read More

Calling your retail clerk an "assistant store manager" has a surprisingly big payoff, new research finds. Read More

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Check out the companies making headlines in early morning trading. Meta — Shares of the Facebook parent surged 19% in early morning trading after the company posted better-than-expected revenue and announced a $40 billion stock buyback when it reported its quarterly results Wednesday evening. Bank of America upgraded Meta Thursday, saying the company's new efficiency mentality positions stock for more than 40% upside. The spike in shares helped pull other mega cap tech companies Amazon and Alphabet up by 4% each. Read More

More remote workers are traveling without their employer's permission, also known as "hush trips." The discreet workations are poised to be one of the top travel trends in 2023, according to Forbes. Hotels are taking advantage of the growing work and travel overlap by discounting longer stays. A software engineer working in Puerto Rico for two weeks after his boss told him not to. A couple traveling through South America when they're supposed to be in Miami. A remote worker based in Germany secretly spending his winters in the Canary Islands. Read More

You can watch free movies online through a number of streaming service websites and apps. Some streaming sites offer a mix of free and paid content, while others are free with ads. Our top picks include YouTube, Pluto TV, Tubi, and Peacock, all of which have a variety of titles. We live in a world with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to streaming channels, but subscribing to Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime and a half-dozen others can be as pricey as an old-fashioned cable subscription — or worse. Read More

The Biden administration’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lost a court challenge to prevent Facebook-parent Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality startup Within Unlimited, according to multiple reports Wednesday. The decision — which has not yet been made public —is the first significant antitrust setback for FTC Chair Lina Khan, who was appointed by President Joe Biden specifically to beef up the agency’s antitrust enforcement, according to Bloomberg. While U.S. District Judge Edward Davila denied the FTC’s challenge, he also ordered Meta wait one week before closing the acquisition to give the FTC time to appeal. (RELATED: ‘Radical And Partisan’: Republican Concern Is Growing Over Lina Khan’s FTC Overhaul) Read More

The Federal Reserve is no longer taking into account data on public health when making decisions about interest rates, a change that was revealed in its latest statement about raising rates. Read More

The N.F.L.’s greatest quarterback seemed ageless right up until his first retirement. Then he came back. And now he is retiring again, presumably for good. Read More

The odds of winning the Powerball are roughly 1 in 292.2 million, making it less likely than being struck by lightning in any given year, according to the CDC. Read More

House Democrats pushing for a stock trade ban in Congress got burned by Pelosi last year. In a letter exclusively shared with Insider, they're now pushing McCarthy to pick up where she left off. The GOP House Speaker has spoken favorably of a ban in the last year, but hasn't gotten specific. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing new calls to pass legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Read More

Recycling rates in US states could hit 75% if companies bear the costs, a study found. The policy, known as extended producer responsibility, is successful in Canada and Europe. EPR is gaining popularity in the US after four states passed laws to help reduce packaging waste. This article is part of Insider's weekly newsletter on sustainability, written by Catherine Boudreau, senior sustainability reporter. Sign up here. Read More

Microsoft is integrating ChatGPT-like capabilities into its meeting software, contributing to the user base that has made the AI-powered generative text tool the fastest-growing app of all time. The tech company on Thursday introduced a "more intelligent" premium version of Microsoft Teams, its videoconferencing tool, powered by the same AI that runs ChatGPT. Chores that can now be performed by the tool include taking notes and bulleting key takeaways from meetings — work traditionally done by employees. Read More

Postscript He Was Tom Verlaine Patti Smith remembers her friend, who possessed the child’s gift of transforming a drop of water into a poem that somehow begat music. Read More

For a time, the director’s name was a pop-cultural punch line. With the release of his new film, “Knock at the Cabin,” he says, “You know, things are going well for me, and it makes me scared.” Read More

Is it time to say goodbye to earthquake alerts and serendipitous art on Twitter? Like most social media businesses, Twitter has long offered an API, which allows outside developers to write programs that use its platform. It’s how third-party apps like Hootsuite and tools like ThreadReader are able to operate. And it’s how automated accounts function. Read More

The debate over gas stoves is coming to the Senate after Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced legislation Thursday to bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from using federal funding to ban gas stoves, following a weeks-long debate over the “hidden hazard” of gas stoves. Key Facts The bipartisan legislation aims to prevent the commission from imposing or enforcing a new safety standard that would lead to prohibiting the use or sale of gas stoves. Read More

Titanic director James Cameron has finally admitted that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Jack “might’ve lived” at the end of the movie when the titular ocean liner crashed and sank, Variety and Rolling Stone reported Thursday, giving credence to an obsessive 25-year-old fan theory. Key Facts To celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, Cameron participated in a National Geographic special, “Titanic: 25 Years Later With James Cameron,” in which three scientific tests were performed by stunt actors to determine if Jack could have fit on a makeshift raft along with Rose, which saved her life. Read More

There are things we could be doing—or doing better—to help more people get kidney transplants, but the lack of urgency to address this means that many people needlessly die from this affliction, which disproportionately affects Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans. Read More

In late November, the presidential campaign in the Republic of Cyprus hadn’t officially started—but at the headquarters of the fintech startup ecommbx, in central Nicosia, the battle for voters was already underway. Read More

Seinfeld was famously described as "a show about nothing," and that description has become something of a prophecy, as a bizarre, AI-generated Seinfeld episode has been streaming on Twitch for a full month, titled “Infinite Nothing.” The never-ending episode is, as its title suggests, very much “about nothing,” as algorithmically animated Seinfeld characters wander aimlessly around their apartment, engaging in meandering, dreamlike conversations powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model, with minimal human moderation. Read More

Elon Musk locked his Twitter account this week, having convinced himself that something was awry within the website’s all-powerful algorithm. “Made my account private until tomorrow morning to test whether you can see my private tweets more than my public ones,” Musk wrote just after midnight US eastern time on Feb. 1. Read More

The exact timeline of when the policy will apply to U.S. users is unclear. Netflix has said it will roll out the policy "more broadly" by the end of the first quarter. Read More

A pilot program to buy cotton from Black farmers delivers on Target's goal of expanding diversity within it's supply chain. It also supports farmers who employ sustainable growing practices aligned with the retailer's environmental goals. Read More

"He has helped steer my economic vision into reality, and managed the transition of our historic economic recovery to steady and stable growth," the president said. Read More

States are preparing to remove millions of people from Medicaid as protections put in place early in the COVID-19 pandemic expire. The upheaval, which begins in April, will put millions of low-income Americans at risk of losing health coverage, threatening their access to care and potentially exposing them to large medical bills. Read More

"A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security," the 99-year-eld Munger said in an op-ed published in the WSJ Wednesday evening. Read More

Netflix said last month that it expects to roll out paid sharing more broadly by the end of March. Paid sharing is being tested in Latin America, where it costs up to $3 to add an extra member. The help section in trial countries details how it works, with a temporary-access code for traveling. With around eight weeks left before Netflix is expected to more widely roll out plans to stop free password-sharing, a trial in Latin America gives an indication of how it might implement the changes around the world. Read More

Hollie Adams | Bloomberg | Getty Images LONDON — The Bank of England on Thursday hiked interest rates by 50 basis points and dialed back some of its previous bleak economic forecasts. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favor of a second consecutive half-point rate hike, taking the main Bank rate to 4%, but indicated in its decision statement that smaller hikes of 25 basis points may be in the cards in coming meetings. The two dissenting members voted to leave rates unchanged. Read More

Individual users would not have faced penalties for staying on TikTok, and internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon would not have been covered under the order unless they had any kind of business deal with TikTok. “The trigger is really a transaction,” says Pablo Chavez, a longtime tech policy executive at Microsoft and Google who is now an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security. Make a Law to Fix the Flaw Some members of Congress say they will propose new laws in the coming weeks to address the legal issues that allowed courts to block Trump’s order. The new chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, expects his panel to vote by the end of the month on legislation that he has yet to unveil that would authorize the president to ban TikTok and other apps that the US deems beholden to China’s government, his office says. Read More

Private equity firms managing millions of Americans’ retirement savings may be inflating their investments. As public officials across America prepare to funnel even more of government workers’ savings to private equity moguls, an alarm just sounded for anyone bothering to listen. It is a warning that Wall Street executives, busy skimming fees off retirement nest eggs, want you to ignore. The longer the warning goes unheeded, however, the bigger the financial time bomb may be for workers, retirees and the governments that pay them. Earlier this month, PitchBook – the go-to news outlet of the private equity industry – declared that “private equity returns are a major threat to pension plans’ ability to pay retirees in 2023”. Read More

Somalia sits at the bottom of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index by Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International that surveyed 180 countries. Read More

American women are having fewer babies and having them later, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The mean number of births by women ages 15 to 49 from 2015 to 2019 was 1.3. Read More

Analysts didn’t hold great expectations for Meta’s fourth quarter earnings, largely due to a downturn in online advertising and fierce competition from rivals like TikTok. What was most unexpected, however, was how happy Wall Street was with Mark Zuckerberg’s plans. Read More