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Huge Las Vegas Strip Brands Likely Up for Sale

January 6, 2023 Published by The Street

The Las Vegas Strip has little sympathy for people with money troubles. That’s true if you can’t pay your hotel bill, run out of money at the tables, or have your credit card declined at dinner.

Las Vegas casino owners including Caesars Entertainment (CZR) – Get Free Report and MGM Resorts International (MGM) – Get Free Report may no longer take you into a back room to break your legs, but they will get their money. If you hit the end of your credit line or just run out of cash, you’ll be shown the door and if a casino did extend you credit, it will come after you to get paid.

The same thing happens with developers on the Las Vegas Strip. If you’re building a property and run out of money, banks will foreclose, and someone else will end up owning that property. That happened multiple times with Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a resort/casino that has been under construction for roughly 20 years. That property has gone through multiple owners and a variety of financing deals before ultimately ending up in the hands of its original owner.

Basically, Las Vegas is a “show me the money” city. If you don’t have the cash — especially as a developer — things fall apart quickly and you lose control of your project. That, to some extent, appears to be what’s happening to one of the Strip’s players, Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) – Get Free Report.

That company, which owns the Tao Group, a number of luxury day clubs, nightclubs, and restaurants, has been building a first-of-its-kind performance venue on the Strip called MSG Sphere. That venue, which was originally budgeted at $2 billion, has seen costs increase by at least $175 million.

Because of those overruns, the parent company appears to need cash. Apparently, it’s set to raise that by selling the Tao Group, according to a report in the New York Post.

MSG Sphere Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip Billionaire Could Become a Bigger Player

Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which owns Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and the Rockettes, among other properties, has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of Tao Group, according to the paper.

“First-round bids for Tao — whose pricey clubs have long been playgrounds for Wall Street financiers and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Bella Hadid, and Justin Bieber — are being submitted now, two sources with knowledge of the situation said. Houston Rockets and Golden Nugget Casino owner Tilman Fertitta is a rumored suitor for Tao, one of the sources said.”

Fertitta, who owns the Golden Nugget casino on Fremont St., has been somewhat quietly raising his holdings on the Las Vegas Strip. He bought a piece of land in April on the Las Vegas Strip located between Caesars’ Planet Hollywood and the MGM Grand. And while he has not confirmed plans for that property, he is expected to build a high-end resort casino (not a Golden Nugget) on the site.

In addition, the billionaire, who also owns the Landry’s restaurant group, has also taken a 6.1% stake in Wynn Resorts (WYNN) – Get Free Report, which owns two major Strip resorts/casinos.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment declined the Post’s request for comment.

MSG Sphere Costs Spiral Out of Control

Madison Square Garden Entertainment has insisted that it can pay for the rising costs of its massive Strip project without a sale. The company’s CFO David Byrnes commented on its funding plans during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

“We continue to expect to fund the remaining construction costs from cash-on-hand and cash flow from operations. This includes the impact of our plans to implement a cost-reduction program across our businesses and reduce and/or defer certain discretionary capital projects. We also continue to have revolver capacity available to us if needed,” he said.

MSG Sphere, which sits on property on the Las Vegas Strip near the Venetian, is expected to open in the second half of 2023 with a U2 residency rumored as its first artist.

“Work continues on the exterior of the venue with the installation of the LED mega panels on the exosphere, where crews have been progressing from the top of the venue down,” Byrnes said. “And inside, we are continuing to build out the interior spaces, including the atrium and hospitality areas as we prepare for the installation of some of the venue’s signature immersive technology features. This includes the interior display plane, which will be the highest-resolution LED screen in the world.”

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Peloton Pays $19 Million Penalty Related to Treadmill Recall

January 6, 2023 Published by The Street

Peloton Interactive (PTON) – Get Free Report agreed to pay a large civil penalty for failing to immediately recall a treadmill that was linked to a dozen injuries and the death of a child, federal officials said.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Jan, 5 that the settlement resolves charges that the New York-based company failed to immediately report that its Tread+ treadmill contained a defect “that could create a substantial product hazard and created an unreasonable risk of serious injury to consumers.”

The $19 million penalty, which is one of the largest that the commission ever imposed, also settles charges that Peloton knowingly distributed recalled treadmills in violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act

From December 2018 and continuing into 2019, the agency said, Peloton received reports of incidents of pull under and entrapment in the rear of the treadmills, including reports of injuries, but did not immediately them report to the commission.

By the time Peloton filed a report with the commission, the agency said, there were more than 150 reports of people, pets, and objects being pulled under the rear of the Tread+ treadmill, including the death of a six-year-old child on March 3, 2021, and 13 injuries involving broken bones, lacerations, abrasions and friction burns.

Peloton and the Commission jointly announced the recall of the Tread+ treadmill on May 5, 2021.

Consumer Protection Sends ‘Loud and Clear Warning’

The CPSC said that after the public announcement of the recall, Peloton knowingly distributed 38 Tread+ recalled treadmills using company personnel and through third-party delivery firms.

In addition to the the penalty, Peloton also agreed to file annual reports regarding its compliance program and system of internal controls for five years.

“By acting with one voice, the CPSC sends a loud and clear warning to companies who continue to sell dangerous products that they know can cause serious injury or death,” Commission Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement. “By failing to report these incidents to the Commission immediately, Peloton not only violated the Consumer Product Safety Act, but also consumers’ trust.”

Hoehn-Saric also noted that Peloton did not report the various incidents and injuries to the CPSC until it learned about the child’s death.

Peloton said in a statement that the company “remains deeply committed to the safety and well-being of our members and to the continuous improvement of our products.”

“We are pleased to have reached this settlement agreement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and look forward to working cooperatively with the CPSC to further enhance member safety,” the statement said. “As such, Peloton continues to pursue the CPSC’s approval of a Tread+ rear guard that would further augment its safety features.”

Expert Says ‘Product Design is First Culprit’

George Ball, a professor at Indiana University who studies product recalls, was critical of both Peloton and the CPSC.

“In my opinion, the product design is the first culprit,” Ball said. “It was not designed with children’s safety in mind. Once the reports of injuries started coming in, I don’t think they acted quickly enough.”

Ball said the CPSC, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Food & Drug Administration all espouse different regulatory strategies, and described the commission “as the weakest regulatory body that oversees recalls.”

“Their leadership structure is disjointed, they regulate too many diverse products, their public data on recalls and complaints are poorly organized, and they are overall much less proactive than NHTSA and FDA,” he said. “I think that the current administration is taking a harder line towards businesses, and this is just one example.”

The CPSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Acting Chairman Robert Adler said in a March 1, 2021 letter that the agency its budget was “woefully inadequate to accomplish the vital mission before us” and laid out a strategy to reinvent the agency.

Ball said he believes the Peloton decision can and likely will serve “as a wake-up call for CPSC regulated firms that have generally gone loosely regulated for many years.”

He added that when firms decide to recall a product “they are trying to balance public safety with firm profits.”

Many Biases at Play in Recall Decision

“However, the research that my colleagues and I conduct indicates that there are many underlying biases at play in the decision,” Ball said. “Many of them unknown most likely to the decision-makers.”

“Stock compensation, gender of the firm leadership, tenure of the CEO, recalls by competitors, whether the regulator mandates recalls or not, these all play a role in the decision,” he said.

Peloton and other pandemic-era types of home-fitness companies saw sales jump in the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak, only to see revenue tumble as people returned to normal life.

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Walgreens Admits It May Have Cried Wolf Over Theft

January 6, 2023 Published by The Street

If you live in a city, you’ll likely noticed the changes made by many grocery store chains over the last two years. Plastic cases around shampoo and Tide detergent. Packages of soap and $4 deodorant under lock and key and employee call buttons for those who want to buy them.

The move to put more and more product under lock and key, which retail giants like Walgreens (WBA) – Get Free Report, Rite Aid (RAD,) – Get Free Report and CVS (CVS) – Get Free Report said were necessary as shoplifting rates rise, also spark major political battles — while conservatives see it as one more indication of city leaders being weak on crime, those with more progressive politics criticize what amounts to starting out with an initial distrust of one’s customers and community.

The one unifying thread is that nobody likes having to call a store employee to “unlock” a $5 bag of candy — a customer call that, until now, largely went unheeded.

“We’re looking at literally putting everything behind showcases to ensure the products are there for customers who want to buy it,” Rite Aid’s Chief Revenue Officer Arnaud Persaud said during the chain’s last earnings call. “We’ve even had to go to the extent of using off-duty police officers in some of our stores.”

‘Maybe We Cried Too Much’, Says Walgreens CFO

But while shoplifting is definitely on the rise (one retail research group estimated that the average retailer went from having 0.7% to 1% of its sales lost to theft pre-pandemic to between 2% and 3% now), drug store executives have started to signal a change in how they approach the problem.

“Maybe we cried too much last year,” Walgreens CFO James Kehoe said during the company’s most recent earnings call on Jan. 5. At the start of 2022, Kehoe said that there’s been a 52% increase in shoplifting losses and lamented that it was not “petty theft” but “gangs that actually go in and empty our stores of beauty products.”

Now that Walgreens has admitted it may have overdone things with its response, the next steps could include cutting back on some in-store security or having fewer products in plastic casing. But overall, Kehore says that Walgreens is “quite happy with where we are.”

Are Major Drug Store Chains Starting To ‘Step Back?’

“We’ve put in incremental security in the stores in the first quarter,” Kehoe also told analysts of security staffing. “We probably put in too much. We might step back a little bit from that.”

Kehoe’s reflections on the fact that the chain might have overreacted is a sharp swerve from the rhetoric of almost all of Walgreens’ competitors. Less than a month ago, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said that higher prices and store closures are the next logical step if theft rates continued as they are.

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'Astonishing' snowy owl spotted in Southern California neighborhood

January 6, 2023 Published by CNN

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A snowy owl that looks like it should be flying about the wintry wizarding world of Harry Potter has been spotted among the palm trees of beachy Southern California.

Snowy owls are native to the Arctic tundra, where their largely white coats camouflage them in the snow, according to the National Audubon Society, which protects birds across the Americas.

“They’re most common in very, very North Canada,” said Jaret Davey, a wildlife technician and volunteer coordinator at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, California. “The southern limit of their winter range is in the northern United States. So it’s not uncommon for them to be in Washington or Minnesota or Maine in the winter. But to be this far south is really exceptional.”

Pictured is the snowy owl perched on a rooftop in a neighborhood in Cypress, California, on December 31, 2022.

Residents in a neighborhood in Cypress, California — about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles — got a Christmas miracle when the owl first appeared in mid-December. It has been spotted every day since December 27.

“It’s astonishing to see a snowy owl in Southern California,” said Chris Spurgeon, program chair and member of the board of directors at the Pasadena Audubon Society, a local chapter of the National Audubon Society serving the Greater Pasadena area of California.

Spurgeon and Davey aren’t alone in their excitement. There have been hundreds of people admiring the owl some days, and some have traveled hundreds of miles, Davey said.

“In February … I flew to Manitoba (Canada), and then drove several hours north just to see a snowy owl,” Spurgeon said. “It was 25 degrees below zero in northern Canada. I never thought I’d see one standing in my shirtsleeves on a suburban street in 70-degree weather.”

Snowy owls are classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ 2021 Red List of Threatened Species. There are fewer than 500,000 snowy owls in the world, which isn’t a huge number “when it comes to birds,” Spurgeon said.

“We could be vastly wrong with that number because they do live so far away from most people,” he said. “And unfortunately, many birds are threatened by climate change. With the changing conditions in the Arctic, it’s affecting them as well as everyone else.”

No one knows exactly why and how the West Coast snowy owl got to a place so far from its natural habitat, but bird experts have a few theories.

“Birds that migrate do occasionally do crazy things: go in the wrong direction, go too far, migrate at the wrong time of year, stuff like that,” Spurgeon said.

This can also happen if a bird is young and hasn’t migrated many times before, Davey said. The brown spots on snowy owls’ feathers usually get wider as they age, so the size of the California owl’s spots suggest it could have been born within the last couple years, Spurgeon said.

The owl could have hitched a ride on a passing cargo ship while flying across the sea, went all the way to a seaport and found itself back on land, Spurgeon and Davey said. It also could have escaped from being illegally kept as a pet.

“Oftentimes with really beautiful animals like the snowy owl, people will get them on a black market and then illegally keep them as pets,” Davey said. However, he said the owl did not appear to have a leg band, clipped talons or clipped wings that would suggest they had been kept in captivity.

When Spurgeon saw the snowy owl, it didn’t look emaciated or unhealthy, he said. But some birdwatchers did think the owl might have been experiencing symptoms of heat stress during the first couple of days, Davey said.

“It looked like it was breathing really heavy. Its feathers were all fluffed up to try to shed heat,” Davey added. “Since then, it seems to have been doing just fine.”

Southern California is relatively cold now, but the owl could be at risk when the weather warms up in the spring, Davey said.

Snowy owls are carnivores and typically eat small rodents — especially lemmings — but can eat animals as big as geese, Davey said.

With parks, open fields and grasslands nearby, experts think the owl shouldn’t have difficulty finding food during its stay. In fact, there has already been evidence that the owl has been eating well — in a pellet the owl regurgitated, staff at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center found a whole skeleton of what might have been a gopher.

“All owls do regurgitate small little pellets just of indigestible material because, unlike us, where (when) we eat a piece of meat we eat around the bone, birds of prey just eat the whole thing,” Davey said. “For the small little bones they can’t digest, they just cough it back up.”

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House speaker chaos signals Donald Trump’s shrinking influence

January 6, 2023 Published by [email protected] (Nicole Gaudiano,Warren Rojas)

Business Insider

President Donald Trump (R) speaks as he joined by House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (L) in the Rose Garden of the White House on January 4, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Trump’s allies repeatedly rejected Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, displaying his power’s limits.

McCarthy may win, but the process was ugly for the institution, Republicans, and Trump.
“He is losing them. Finally,” said one Trump critic.

A week of House speaker chaos revealed one thing about Donald Trump: He can’t get his MAGA house in order.

His staunch allies’ repeated rejections of Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker, over multiple days of voting, further exposed the outer reaches of the former president’s power over his own movement. If McCarthy squeaks through as speaker, the wild process still looked terribly ugly for the institution, Republicans — and Trump.

Trump made overtures to the faction opposing McCarthy, who Trump has called “my Kevin.” They didn’t listen. With more than a dozen votes, they responded to “my Kevin” with “never Kevin,” making this the most contested speaker race since 1821.

“He is losing them. Finally,” said criminal defense attorney Ron Filipkowski, a former Republican who monitors Trump’s base online.

Even Trump’s former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke agreed on “CNN Tonight” that Trump’s influence over Republicans is “absolutely” waning after his McCarthy endorsement failed to win more votes for him.

House dissidents have opposed McCarthy over issues having nothing to do with Trump. They want more power for rank-and-file members and an easier way to remove the speaker. And they just don’t trust McCarthy.

But their opposition to him is also an embarrassing blow to Trump, who put his waning political capital on the line for the California Republican and failed to force his MAGA followers to fall in line.

“REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT,” Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, on Wednesday.

His plea made no difference, failing to move any votes.

At one point, he tried to spin the loss as a “VICTORY” because he said the numerous votes made the “position & process of getting to be Speaker BIGGER & MORE IMPORTANT.”

The drama started on Tuesday, and it wasn’t until Friday that McCarthy managed to make headway in flipping members’ votes. At its worst point for McCarthy, 20 Republicans opposed him and one voted “present.” But by the end of the week, only seven Republicans were voting “no.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado was among them.

“Let’s stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us, even having my favorite president call us and tell us ‘We need to knock this off,'” Boebert said on the House floor on Wednesday.

“I think it actually needs to be reversed,” she continued. “The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, ‘Sir, you do not have the votes, and it’s time to withdraw.'”

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida defied Trump by twice nominating the former president for speaker. But he was the only Republican to vote for Trump.

“Sad!”

On Wednesday, Gaetz told Fox News Digital that Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy made no difference to him.

“Sad!” Gaetz said in Trump-style statement. “This changes neither my view of McCarthy, nor Trump, nor my vote.”

Trump, now a 2024 presidential candidate, endorsed 80% of the anti-McCarthy camp ahead of the 2022 midterms, leaving only Rep.-elects Andy Biggs of Arizona, Andy Harris of Maryland, Chip Roy of Texas, and Keith Self of Texas to fend for themselves.

The former president’s calls to rally behind McCarthy must have rang hollow to congressional newcomers Reps.-elect Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, and Self — all of whom voted squarely with the anti-McCarthy bloc until Friday afternoon. Rep.-elect Eli Crane of Arizona remained with the rebels through the thirteenth speaker ballot.

Rep.-elect Cory Mills, a freshman who has consistently backed McCarthy, said he appreciates vigorous debate — “I’m fine with democracy. It’s messy sometimes, but it’s the way to go,” he said just off the House floor — but he chided colleagues who he suspected were obstructing Trump’s America First agenda for their personal gain.

“If the major concern is your position, your committee assignment, the title you carry, that’s self above country,” Mills said.

The brazen defiance of Trump’s wishes from his supporters extended outside the Capitol. The dissidents have the support of the Conservative Action Project, group of activists and organizations that includes Ginni Thomas, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife. They blasted McCarthy in an open letter on Wednesday and encouraged more Republicans to join his opponents.

Some anti-McCarthy Republicans on Friday met at the offices of the Conservative Partnership Institute, which is run by Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Sen. Jim DeMint, Yahoo News reported.

As rebel Republicans nominated other anti-McCarthy members, 212 Democrats, now the minority party, consistently voted for Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. “He does not grovel to or make excuses for a twice-impeached, so-called former president,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, House Democratic Caucus chair, in an apparent dig at both Trump and McCarthy.

‘He still has the power to destroy’

Trump, himself, has been flailing as he faces mounting legal challenges. Republicans blamed him for their midterm losses. Most Americans — 55% — have an unfavorable opinion of him, according to a FiveThirtyEight polling average. When he invited journalists to a “media availability” at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on New Year’s Eve, no cable news networks covered it, according to Raw Story.

“Trump is not irrelevant, because he still has the power to destroy,” Charlie Sykes, editor of The Bulwark, wrote on Thursday. “A single statement on his fail-site could kill all of McCarthy’s ambitions.”

But Sykes wrote that his “shrunken clout was remarkably obvious” during events in the House. “Trump threw his weight behind His Kevin, only to be blown off by his most loyal supporters,” he added.

Filipkowski told Insider that MAGA House members are “just yawning and rolling their eyes” because “they know he’s lost the plot” while staying “isolated” at Mar-a-Lago and “surrounded by ‘yes’ men.”

What Trump says matters because if he withdrew his support, McCarthy “would be toast,” Filipkowski said, but his word doesn’t weigh as much as it did before his midterms disaster. House members who are responding to the MAGA base have no reason to fear Trump on this, he said.

“They have the voters on this, not him,” Filipkowski said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Scam Artists Are Finding New Ways to Rip You Off

January 6, 2023 Published by The Street

It used to be that banks and credit card companies were the primary targets of financial fraudsters.

Not anymore.

Now digital payment providers like PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle find themselves in the cyber data crosshairs.

According to the most recent Phone Scam Monitor Report, Zelle data fraud scams rose by 816% from 2021 to 2022. Meanwhile, PayPal data fraud incidents rose 31% over the same time period.

Higher scam rates are a big red flag, as they signal fraudsters see certain companies as easier targets.

“Scams that show fast growth are worth our attention, as they often become scams that dominate in years to come,” said Robert Lowry, the vice president of security at BeenVerified, which issued the Phone Scam report.

Fraud victims who participated in the BeenVerified survey say the payment structure linked to digital payment transactions lends itself to fraudulent behavior.

According to the report, rental scammers tend to bait victims with fake listings on Facebook Marketplace, then defraud them using Zelle as a common payment method.

Scammers often pose as rental property owners they don’t actually own, the report said. One scam victim told BeenVerified that she and her spouse paid $1,790 via Zelle for a rental property down payment only to see the payee take the money and run.

Pet scams are another hot market for fraudsters.

Cyber thieves post “pets for sale” online, ask for a deposit on the deal from unsuspecting buyers and once they receive the money, stop any communication with the buyers and make off with the cash. In two separate incidents using Zelle, buyers lost $700 and $1,000, respectively in fraudulent pet-related scams.

How to Fight Back Against Digital Payment Scams

Payment apps should be required to maintain the same protections that banks maintain for their clients. Unfortunately, they don’t have to bear that burden from a regulatory standpoint.

“As non-bank technology companies, they are not held to the same regulatory standards as banks,” said Industry FinTech chief technology officer Sandy Fliderman. “The payment apps want to reduce their liability and maintain client loyalty which drives their security and protection systems. But, they’re not required to provide guarantees to their clients or provide insurance such as FDIC.”

Another major issue is that these types of transactions are often irreversible.

“Unlike with a credit card, where you can dispute fraudulent charges, once a payment is made through a peer-to-peer app, it is typically impossible to recover those funds,” said Top Mobile Banks founder Tommy Gallagher. “This makes users particularly vulnerable to scams, as they have no way to get their money back if they fall victim to fraud.”

Additionally, digital payment apps often rely on users inputting their personal and financial information, such as bank account numbers and login credentials. “If this information falls into the wrong hands, it can be used to steal money or make unauthorized purchases,” Gallagher said.

Data security experts advise payment app users to be especially careful before sending money to people or companies they don’t know. Use these tips and tactics to keep your money and data safe in 2023.

Lots of Personal Data is Available Online

Don’t share personal information with any digital person or company you don’t know. One problem with Zelle is that it’s a basic service for consumers to send payments to one another using their banks, rather than using a third-party service such as PayPal.

“It largely relies on phone numbers and emails, which in theory are something that only friends and family would have,” said MerchantMaverick.com payment processing analyst Melissa Johnson. “But it’s 2023 now, and that kind of data exists on big lists that can be purchased by nearly anyone willing to shell out the money.”

Consequently, scam artists regularly mine lists of phone numbers and emails and routinely request payment, posing as friends and family.

“That’s why Zelle now has a feature that notes when a contact name in your phone doesn’t match the name associated with the account,” Johnson added.

Online payment platforms like Cash App and Venmo have made user handles public, meaning that just about anyone can request funds from someone as long as they know the username.

Because those accounts exist as digital wallets separate from banking accounts, there are different security issues,” Johnson said. “Accounts can be hacked, funds drained and sent to a bank account halfway across the world, and users can be left with very little recourse to get their money back,” she noted.

As a result, digital payment consumers need to learn the basics of online security and keep any account secure before engaging online.

“Know what it is you signed up for and make sure you know your username and password,” Johnson said. “If you struggle with remembering passwords, get a secure password manager installed on your computer and phone.”

Be smart when using digital payment platforms. Online payment consumers need to be vigilant when they see an email or texts stating that personal accounts are locked or when confronted with unexpected requests for funds, among other grifts.

“These are scams,” Johnson said. “Never ever click a link from a text or email — always go directly to a site or app and log in if you want to verify that a message is legitimate.”

Many times, these ploys rely on a sense of urgency and try to create panic to trick a person into acting quickly and without thinking.

“If you take just a moment to breathe and remember good internet safety, you can avoid any negative digital payment pitfalls,” Johnson added.

Be vigilant about data security for the long haul. Digital payment users should also take the following steps to keep their financial accounts safe and their data secure.

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Raytheon selects Lockheed Martin bus for U.S. Space Force missile-tracking satellite

January 6, 2023 Published by NASA Official

Raytheon’s infrared sensing payload will be integrated on a Lockheed Martin LM400

WASHINGTON — Raytheon Intelligence & Space announced Jan. 4 it selected a Lockheed Martin bus to build a missile-tracking satellite for the U.S. Space Force.

The U.S. Space Systems Command selected two satellite designs — one by Raytheon and the other by Millennium Space Systems — for a planned constellation of sensors in medium Earth orbit (MEO) to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Both companies’ proposals last year cleared Space Force design reviews.

The Pentagon is adding a layer of MEO satellites to the nation’s missile-defense architecture to provide extra eyes on enemy hypersonic missiles. Compared to current sensors in geostationary satellites, sensors in medium orbits would see closer to Earth and track a wider area than satellites in low Earth orbit.

Raytheon won a contract of undisclosed value to develop a prototype satellite, ground systems and data processing applications.

“This is an advanced solution to counter emerging missile threats facing our country,” said Roger Cole, executive director of strategic systems at Raytheon Intelligence & Space.

Raytheon’s infrared sensing payload will be integrated on a Lockheed Martin LM400, a new medium-size satellite bus the company introduced in 2021 with security features aimed at the military market.

“Lockheed Martin is excited to provide our mid-sized, rapidly-producible LM400 bus to Raytheon,” said Mike Corriea, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s overhead persistent infrared mission area.

A “system critical design review” is scheduled for 2023, and the goal is to deliver the satellite for a 2026 launch. Work for this program will be performed at Raytheon’s facilities in El Segundo, California, and Lockheed Martin’s in Aurora, Colorado.

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The latest on the House speaker vote

January 6, 2023 Published by CNN

Kevin McCarthy listens during the 13th vote. (Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy succeeded in winning over some opponents in the 12th and 13th ballots Friday as he continued his work to secure the House speakership.

The process has now lasted four days — the longest speaker contest in more than 160 years. Democrats, meanwhile, have remained unified around their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

The House has voted to adjourn until 10 p.m. ET, when McCarthy is confident he will finally have enough votes to win the job. McCarthy said that when the House reconvenes, “I believe we’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all.”

Here’s how the latest votes played out:

12th ballot:

213: McCarthy
211: Jeffries
4: Rep. Jim Jordan
3: Rep. Kevin Hern

13th ballot:

214: McCarthy
212: Jeffries
6: Others — Jordan

Here’s what else you need to know to get you up to speed:

Surge of support: McCarthy started Friday saying he thought some of his fellow Republicans who have blocked his bid for speaker would vote for him. That is what happened — 14 GOP lawmakers who were holding out, did vote for McCarthy during the 12th vote. An additional Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, flipped his vote in the 13th ballot. McCarthy said he thinks some minds were changed after negotiations over the last few days. No other Republican was nominated to oppose McCarthy in the 13th vote, though the six remaining hardliners voted in the “others” category for Jordan.

These lawmakers flipped, across both votes:

Rep. Dan Bishop
Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen
Rep. Michael Cloud
Rep. Andrew Clyde
Rep. Byron Donalds
Rep. Andy Harris (voted for McCarthy in 13th ballot)
Rep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna
Rep. Mary Miller
Rep. Ralph Norman
Rep. Scott Perry
Rep. Chip Roy
Rep.-elect Keith Self
Rep. Victoria Spartz (who had been voting “present” and had said she would continue to do so until she saw progress)
Rep. Paul Gosar
Rep.-elect Andy Ogles

Moving forward: McCarthy’s team sees Rep. Matt Gaetz as their biggest obstacle now, multiple sources said. They see him as trying to gin up opposition. McCarthy’s allies are seeing whether any absent members can return and whether they can flip two holdouts: Rep. Matt Rosendale and Rep.-elect Eli Crane, or convince them to vote “present,” according to sources familiar.

Remember: McCarthy does not technically need 218 votes to become speaker. A majority of those present and voting is required to get the speakership, which is usually 218 lawmakers. But if enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was elected with 216 votes in 2021.

Role of the House clerk: In his nomination of Jeffries during the 12th round of voting, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn started off by thanking Cheryl Johnson, the House clerk who has presided over voting for four days this week. Johnson is no stranger to turbulent times in the House. She has been present for two impeachment hearings as well as the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Read more about the clerk here.

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New York City stands up emergency situation room to triage possible nurses strike

January 6, 2023 Published by Maya Kaufman

Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories

NEW YORK — The New York City Office of Emergency Management is assembling an interagency situation room that would monitor hospital operations citywide in real time and direct the flow of ambulances if thousands of nurses decide to strike Monday morning, officials said.

The virtual and in-person operation would kick into gear at 6 a.m. Monday, when the New York State Nurses Association has authorized strikes to begin at five hospitals across the city if they can’t reach agreements on new contracts before then.

The situation room would bring together representatives from the FDNY, NYPD, the city’s Health Department, the lobbying group the Greater New York Hospital Association and facilities affected by the strike to keep “eyes and ears” on the city’s health care system, said Andrew Dahl, the association’s vice president of emergency preparedness and response, in an interview with POLITICO.

Taking action: A City Hall spokesperson said the FDNY has contingency plans to reroute ambulances and NYC Health + Hospitals has emergency strategies to handle increased numbers of patients.

“We recognize the effect that a nurse strike would have on health care in our city and we are actively planning for different scenarios to minimize any impact to New Yorkers and ensure that the people of our city continue to receive care,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We encourage all of the parties to remain at the bargaining table for however long it takes and work toward reaching a voluntary agreement. Our system will be prepared, in the event of a strike, to meet the challenges.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Friday that her administration has been in touch hourly with the nurses and hospital administrators to resolve the situation and avoid disruption to health care services.

“My full expectation is this will be resolved because there is no alternative,” Hochul told reporters. “We need to make sure that people in New York are taken care of.”

Ken Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, has personally briefed Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul on the looming strike and hospitals’ preparations, he said in an interview.

Go deeper: Dahl said his discussions with city officials about the prospect of a strike have been underway for the last two to three weeks. About 16,000 NYSNA members voted on Dec. 30 to authorize a strike at eight private hospitals across the city if they could not reach deals to renew their contracts, which expired at the end of last year.

Now, Dahl said on Friday, “The phone hasn’t stopped ringing.”

Also Friday, Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai West started transferring 13 babies who were in neonatal intensive care units to other hospitals in preparation for the strike.

Three hospitals — New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Maimonides Medical Center and Richmond University Medical Center — have reached tentative deals with the union. Nurses at those hospitals are now voting on whether to approve them.

Negotiations are ongoing at Montefiore Medical Center, BronxCare, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside. The union wants improved staffing ratios and a stronger mechanism to enforce them.

Anna Gronewold contributed reporting.

Whole Foods must pay $300,000 over accusations that a system meant to track productivity captured warehouse workers’ voices without their consent

January 6, 2023 Published by [email protected] (Alex Bitter)

Business Insider

Employees at a Whole Foods warehouse in Chicago would get payments of over $500 under a lawsuit settlement related to a work management system that recorded their voices.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Whole Foods will pay out almost $300,000 in a lawsuit settlement over voice technology.
Workers at an Illinois warehouse had to record their voices in a system that directed their work.
But the employees said that Whole Foods ran afoul of a biometric-data law in making the recordings.

Whole Foods has agreed to pay nearly $300,000 to settle a lawsuit over a system that requires warehouse employees to speak into a computer system that records their voices. The grocery chain uses the system to make and track work assignments but workers complained that it captured their “voiceprints” without their consent, in violation of an Illinois privacy law.

The Amazon-owned grocer would pay $297,000 to current and former employees who worked in a Whole Foods warehouse in Chicago and used headsets to record their voices and complete tasks, Bloomberg Law first reported on Thursday.

The class-action settlement received preliminary approval from a circuit court in Cook County, Illinois, Law360 reported. Affected workers would receive payments of roughly $545 each, according to the publication. Whole Foods declined to comment to Insider on the case or the settlement.

At Whole Foods warehouses, employees are given a headset that they wear while at work. The employees use these headsets to talk to a computer, telling it when they have completed tasks and listening for directions. The headsets are a substitute for screen-based systems and “free up employees’ hands and eyes with voice-guided workflows,” according to the website of Honeywell, the company that manufactured the headsets that the Whole Foods warehouses use.

Whole Foods uses the system at its warehouses because “it increases the overall efficiency at distribution and fulfillment centers by identifying the individual’s voice patterns as they give commands,” the workers argued, according to the original complaint in the lawsuit.

System is capturing biometric information, plaintiffs say

At the Chicago warehouse, employees had to submit recordings of their voices before they started using the system so that it could understand them, per the complaint. But those recordings, which are called “voiceprints” in the lawsuit, are biometric data, similar to a person’s fingerprints, the plaintiffs said.

Whole Foods had to provide workers at the warehouse with information on how their voiceprints would be kept and treated under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA. But the workers “were never first asked for their consent, nor were they ever provided with a written policy regarding the use of their biometric identifiers as required under BIPA,” the complaint reads.

“Moreover, they were never told whether their voiceprints would be deleted from the Defendant’s systems or when they would be deleted,” according to the complaint.

Other companies, including Walmart and PetSmart, are also facing lawsuits over their use of voice command technology at facilities in Illinois.

Using biometric data is just one way that some employers, including many retail companies, track and guide workers’ productivity. Amazon warehouse workers have been tracked by the amount of time they spend doing things other than working, such as going to the bathroom. At Amazon, that’s known as “time off task” and was referenced by workers in union drives at Amazon warehouses in 2022.

Do you work in a warehouse operated by Whole Foods or another retailer and use voice technology to do your job? Reach out to Alex Bitter at [email protected] or via the encrypted messaging app Signal at (808) 854-4501.

Read the original article on Business Insider