Monthly Archives: October 2022

A rule of physics dictates when a crowd crush turns deadly, like in Seoul, South Korea, where 154 died

The belongings of victims are seen at the scene of a deadly stampede during a Halloween festival on October 30, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images A Halloween party in Seoul ended in at least 154 deaths after the streets became badly crowded. The phenomenon, called crowd surging, comes down to…

Elon Musk has dissolved Twitter’s 9-person board of directors and become its sole director

Tesla founder Elon Musk attends Offshore Northern Seas 2022 in Stavanger, Norway August 29, 2022. NTB/Carina Johansen via REUTERS Elon Musk has scrapped Twitter’s board of directors. He is now its sole director. Musk’s purchase of Twitter went through on Thursday evening, and he took the company private. Musk had himself tried to join Twitter’s…

I work at Trader Joe’s and turned my job into a TikTok account. It’s boosted morale and deepened friendships among staff.

Christian Beltran. Christian Beltran Christian Beltran, 22, has worked at Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles for over a year. His “Christian from Trader Joe’s” TikTok account has racked up 20,000 followers. His favorite videos to make are reviews and recommendations from fellow employees. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christian Beltran, a…

Elon Musk’s biographer, who was shadowing him, ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ to see future lawsuits following ‘contentious’ conversations on the night the Twitter deal closed

Elon Musk has fired Parag Agrawal and other top Twitter executives. Getty Images/Reuters Walter Isaacson said he “would not be surprised” if Elon Musk faced more lawsuits over Twitter. The biographer said the day the deal closed it was “quite contentious” in Twitter’s headquarters. Isaacson shadowed Musk last week for his biography on the Tesla…

Trump Organization unveils its defense strategy: Keep any of the blame away from Trump

Former President Donald Trump. Evan Vucci/AP Defense attorneys in tax evasion trial of Donald Trump’s business are trying to keep any blame off Trump. Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is facing multiple charges, including scheme to defraud. The fraud scheme “started with” ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg and “ended” with him, a Trump Organization lawyer said. Defense…

Companies are taking money out of your pockets with fees you might not even know about. Here’s Biden’s plan to prevent that.

President Joe Biden. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images “Junk fees” are a type of fee that confuses consumers because the aren’t disclosed up front. Biden released a plan to tackle those fees, which can arise in industries like banking, internet, and auto. Plans to tackle banking fees alone could save consumers more than $1 billion annually.  After…

Lloyd Blankfein reminds investors that plenty could go right to send the stock market higher despite overwhelmingly negative sentiment

Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images This year’s stock market decline has flipped sentiment, turning most investors overly negative.But former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein reminded investors that any good news could send stocks higher.“Positives may be lurking. Fed pause, Ukraine truce, China lockdown end, etc. Sentiment can shift suddenly,” he tweeted….

Stephen King says he’ll quit Twitter if Elon Musk makes him pay $20 a month to be verified: ‘they should pay me’

King. Elise Amendola/Press Association Images Elon Musk is reportedly considering making people pay $20 per month to stay verified on Twitter. Author Stephen King tweeted that he’ll quit the site if that idea is implemented. “Fuck that, they should pay me,” he said. Author Stephen King isn’t a fan of the Elon Musk era of…

Clarence Thomas says ‘I don’t have a clue’ what ‘diversity’ means as the Supreme Court tackles affirmative action

Associate US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas poses for the official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on October 7, 2022. Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he didn’t know what the word “diversity” meant. Thomas asked for a specific definition of the word during oral…

Some United flights into Los Angeles have been resumed after an ‘apparent gas leak’ halted all inbound planes

Louis Nastro/Reuters An “apparent gas leak” is causing disruptions at Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 8 on Monday. Passengers have been evacuated from the terminal and many inbound United Airlines flights have been halted. The airport said fire crews are onsite assessing the hazard and will allow people back in when the area safe. There…