Author: KnowledgeHippo

US securities regulators sued Elon Musk in federal court in Washington on Tuesday in an enforcement action stemming from the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, now called X.The lawsuit against Mr. Musk, who has become a close adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, it is likely to be one of the SEC’s most contentious final acts under Gary Gensler, its outgoing chairman.The SEC claims that by buying Twitter in 2022, Mr. Musk violated securities laws by amassing a large equity position in the social media company without filing proper notice. The complaint said he waited 11 days before filing the…

Meta plans to lay off up to 5 percent of its employees based on performance reviews, according to an internal memo to employees Tuesday seen by The New York Times.”I decided to raise the bar on performance management and weed out low performers faster,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, said in the note. “Typically we manage people who don’t meet expectations over the course of a year, but now we’ll be making more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle.”Mr. Zuckerberg said in the memo that the employees whose roles were cut will be replaced by new hires in 2025.The layoffs come…

“We will make Americans healthy again,” said Robert Kennedy Jr. A political action committee that promoted Mr. Kennedy, President-elect Donald J. Trump for secretary of health and human services, says his movement is “sparking a health revolution in America.”But the word “again” presupposes a time in the country’s past when Americans were in better health. Was there ever a time when America was healthier?For historians of medicine, there is a short answer.”No,” said Nancy Tomes, a historian at Stony Brook University.John Harley Warner, a historian at Yale, said: “It’s hard for me to think of a time when America, with…

Tens of millions of Hindus are gathering this week in the world’s largest human gathering, where a staggering number of worshippers, tourists, politicians and celebrities take holy dips at the confluence of two holy rivers in India.The religious festival, called the Maha Kumbh Mela, happens every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj. Officials this year expect up to 400 million people – more than the population of the United States – to visit the site in Uttar Pradesh state over the next six weeks.An important display of Hinduism,…

Public schools in Montclair, NJ, were closed Monday after an elementary school teacher threatened his principal on social media, police said. Several hours later, the school district announced that the potential threat had been “neutralized.”The teacher, Amir Doctry, was arrested in Philadelphia on Monday morning and charged with making terroristic threats, Montclair Police Department spokesman Lt. Terence Turner said.Mr. Doctry, a teacher at Northeast Elementary School, was placed on administrative leave last week when he began showing signs of “erratic behavior,” Lt. Turner said. Mr. Doctry was in a “manic state” when he was arrested and taken to a Philadelphia…

Governments around the world are uncomfortably watching their borrowing costs rise, following the lead of the US Treasury market. But even in a global bond disaster, Britain stands out.British government bonds, known as gilts, are suffering a particularly harsh sell-off as investors retreat from the country’s sluggish economic growth, persistent inflation and high debt levels. The yield on 10-year gold, the benchmark, hit 4.9% on Tuesday, the highest since 2008, while 30-year yields were the highest since 1998.Rising borrowing costs jeopardize the British government’s plan to revive economic growth by freeing up more money for public services and greater investment,…

Paulette Lifton woke up on her 67th birthday Tuesday morning in a panic to smoke outside her home in the Granada Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. The first person to call was Annette’s sister.”What’s going on?” asked Mrs. Lifton.“You need to download the Watch Duty app,” her sister replied.Ms. Lifton did just that, tracking the fire’s spread via the app’s map and updates as she packed her car with her most prized possession — her favorite sequined jacket. her dogs, King Charles Spaniels, Elle and Sansa; both Emmys won as a TV and film sound editor.For Ms. Lifton and thousands…

At Azara Ballet, dancers are not expected to make eye contact with directors and choreographers. If the band members need an impromptu break from the harsh stage lights during rehearsal, they get one. They also receive clear instructions on hair and make-up well in advance of performances.Priority at Azara is the health of the dancers. Founded in 2022 by dancers Kate Flowers and Martin Roosaare, who are both autistic (and a married couple), the company, based in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida, is a haven for neurodeviant performers. (The company consists of 10 dancers, not all of whom are neurodeviant.)”When I’m…

Lebanon’s fractured parliament named Nawaf Salam prime minister on Monday, handing the country’s political reins to the prominent diplomat and international jurist as Lebanon emerges from a devastating war and tries to recover from a devastating economic collapse.Mr. Salam was endorsed by a majority of lawmakers in the country’s 128-seat parliament on Monday, after which Lebanon’s newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, asked him to form a government. Mr. Salam currently serves as head of the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest court, and previously served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations.The choice of Mr. Salam was widely…

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday her intention to limit access to cell phones in schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade as part of the latest push to address children’s addiction to the devices.In a statement, which provided no other details, the governor said she would include the legislation in her budget proposal for the next fiscal year. She gifted the initiative as a follow-up to one of her key achievements last year, passing legislation aimed at protecting young people from addictive social media algorithms. He cited a Pew Research poll that showed 72 percent of high…