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October 2022

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Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday in a filing that he will be the chief executive officer of Twitter, the social media company he recently acquired for $44 billion.

The move comes after Musk, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and other top company officials last week.

Musk previously changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” in a sign alluding to this move.

Last week, Musk’s takeover of the social media company for $44 billion concluded a months-long saga

Since then, Musk has moved quickly to begin making changes at the company, which he had ridiculed for months for being slow to introduce product changes or take down spam accounts.

Musk’s teams began meeting with some employees to investigate Twitter’s software code and understand how aspects of the platform worked, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

Some staff who spoke with Reuters said they had received little communication from Musk or other leaders and were using news reports to piece together what was happening at the company.

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A maker of coffee-scented lip balms brewed up a new lawsuit against Starbucks for allegedly stealing its idea after the company’s first complaint against the java giant was dismissed by a California judge.

Balmuccino, a California-based company with ties to Dr. Oz, took the fight to Seattle-based Starbucks’ doorstep by filing the lawsuit in a Western Washington District Court last week.

According to the lawsuit, Oz — the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania — introduced his sister-in-law, the actress Samantha Lemole, to then-CEO Howard Schultz for a pitch meeting in New York in 2017.

Schultz allegedly connected Lemole with Starbucks’ head of product development and senior vice president Mesh Gelman, but a deal was never made.

However, in 2019 Starbucks launched s’mores Frappuccinos lip glosses in Chocolicious Bliss, Marshmallow Glow, Campfire Spark and Graham Glam flavors, according to the lawsuit. 

“Starbucks misappropriated trade secrets to create their competing product,” said Eduardo Martorell, the legal representative of Balmuccino. “They launched a nationwide marketing campaign to sell the product.”  

Starbucks launched coffee-flavored s’mores Frappuccinos lip kit in Chocolicious Bliss, Marshmallow Glow, Campfire Spark, and Graham Glam.
Starbucks launched coffee-flavored s’mores Frappuccinos lip kit in Chocolicious Bliss, Marshmallow Glow, Campfire Spark and Graham Glam in 2019.
Starbucks

Balmuccino representatives had shared several details with the Starbucks team, including the creation process and names of its material suppliers and manufacturers in the 2017 meeting, the lawsuit claims.

Gelman left the company soon after that meeting and the following year Balmuccino learned through its suppliers that Starbucks had reached out to them regarding coffee-flavored lip balms, the suit said. The product’s details and specifications were apparently similar to the ones Balmuccino was hoping to launch. 

In 2019, Balmuccino filed its initial lawsuit in Los Angeles, where the company has its headquarters, but the court threw out the case.

Dr. Oz introduced introduced Samantha Lemole, his sister-in-law, to the then Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz for a pitch meeting in New York.
Dr. Oz introduced introduced Samantha Lemole, his sister-in-law, to the then Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz for a pitch meeting in New York.
Instagram / @slemole

“The Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles ruled that there was a lack of jurisdiction over Starbucks in California,” Martorell said in a statement.

An appeal also proved fruitless. Balmuccino’s latest filing in Washington state seeks $75,000 in damages.  

Starbucks did not respond to a request for comment. 

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The Federal Reserve should maintain its hawkish stance at its meeting this week despite mounting calls for a pivot toward softer economic policy, ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers asserted Monday.

The Fed will announce its latest policy move at the conclusion of a two-day summit Wednesday. Summers, a frequent critic of the Fed’s response to inflation, argued the central bank should reaffirm that policy tightening will continue until prices meaningfully recede.  

“I do not think that the dovish pivot in some of the rhetoric coming out of the Fed has yet been warranted by the economic statistics that I have seen,” Summers told Bloomberg on Monday.

“I hope the Fed will be clear that it is staying the course on doing what’s necessary until we see very clear signs of inflation coming down, but we’ll have to see how they assess things,” Summers added.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has remained adamant for months that policymakers were committed to a tightened policy environment until inflation improves. However, mounting fears of a recession have prompted increased calls among investors for the Fed to dial down its interest rate hikes.

Larry Summers
Inflation is still hovering above 8%.
Bloomberg Markets and Finance

Earlier this month, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bankers should seek to avoid an “unforced downturn” in the economy as a result of hiking rates too sharply.

“We have to make sure we are doing everything in our power not to over-tighten, and we can’t pull up too fast, and say we are done,” Daly said, according to Reuters.

Investors are pricing in an 88% probability that the Fed will hike by three-quarters of a percentage point and a 12% probability of a smaller half-point hike, according to data from CME Group. A week ago, the market saw a nearly 96% probability of a three-quarter-point hike.

Summers has been one of the most outspoken voices calling on the Fed to tackle inflation, even if tightened policy results in significant job losses.

Jerome Powell
The Fed is expected to hike its benchmark interest rate by 0.75%.
REUTERS

The former Clinton administration official said this week’s Fed gathering was a “big meeting” with major implications for the economic outlook.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to be very surprised when they do 75 basis points and that certainly would be what I would expect. I think people are going to be watching very carefully for the signals coming out of this meeting with respect to the next meeting and beyond,” Summers added.

The Fed has hiked by three-quarters of a percentage point for three consecutive meetings.

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – St. Louis County Executive Sam Page will sign a bill Tuesday authorizing the use of millions of dollars in federal funds to demolish derelict and abandoned properties in the county.

Page will sign Bill 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the Castle Point Empowerment House in Castle Point Park. The bill signing will be live streamed through the county executive’s Facebook page.

The money is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act. The county executive’s office did not specify the process by which the $11 million will be allocated to particular vacant homes or buildings.

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Elon Musk’s plans to revamp Twitter’s verification system — and potentially charge $20 a month for coveted “blue checks” — have verified users chirping about whether the fee would be worth it. 

Journalists — some of whom feel like they are part of what makes the social media site valuable — bristled at the proposed changes. 

“I’m not paying Twitter more than I’m paying Netflix every month,” CNBC anchor David Faber said Monday, referencing the streaming giant that sells subscriptions for as low as $6.99 per month. “We have millions of followers. Why should we pay?”

Jim Cramer, Faber’s co-host on “Squawk on the Street,” crowed: “I’m not paying them anything. They should pay me.”

Still, a banker familiar with Twitter’s thinking said charging for verification is the easiest way for the company to quickly make a profit — and argued that for most users who have spent years building their Twitter profile and online brand, shelling out $19.99 a month is a fait accompli.

David faber and Jim Cramer
David Faber and Jim Cramer said Monday they wouldn’t pay for a blue check mark.
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via

“There is no alternative platform for global social discourse,” the banker told The Post. “Are you really going to give it up and start from scratch by not paying $20 a month? You have to go through with it.”

Another insider who has worked with Twitter added that part of the appeal of blue checks is that tweets from verified users are boosted by the site’s algorithm. 

One crafty blue-check Twitter user told The Post he already has a contingency plan if his blue check mark is removed: Take a screenshot of his current verification status and make it his cover photo or pinned tweet. 

Elon Musk
Elon Musk reportedly plans to charge users who are verified on Twitter to keep their verified status.
AP

In a test of Twitter users’ attitudes toward the potential fee, Jason Calacanis, a venture capitalist who’s advising Musk, conducted a Twitter poll late Sunday asking if users would be willing to pay for Twitter verification and a blue check mark. More than 81% of respondents said they wouldn’t pay for the perk. 

In response to Calacanis’ poll, Musk wrote: “Interesting.” 

Musk and Calacanis did not respond to requests for comment. It’s unclear whether the company will reconsider the reported plan. 



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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Berkeley police are searching for a gunman who shot a man at a local gas station late Monday morning.

According to Berkeley Chief of Police Art Jackson, the shooting took place just before 11:35 a.m. at a BP Amoco on N. Hanley Road.

Police located the victim at the gas station and discovered he’d been shot in the eye during a physical altercation.

Jackson says the two men began arguing outside the gas station and continued inside, which escalated to a fight.

Jackson says police may release surveillance video of the incident in the near future.

Police have not said if the victim and shooter knew one another.

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The Trick-Or-Treaters: Brandon Barash (Stefan), Dan Feuerriegel (EJ) and Martha Madison (Belle)

Favorite Scary Movie

Barash: The Shining. No contest.”

Feuerriegel:The Exorcist. It’s a little dated, but it has all the elements to it.”

Madison: Poltergeist was the last scary movie I ever watched. I never recovered.”

Best Candy

Barash: “Reese’s Pieces or anything gummy.”

Feuerriegel: “Peppermint Leaves. It’s an Australian candy. They’re a green chewy candy shaped like leaves and they have sugar all over them.”

Madison: “Kit Kats and Snickers.”

Worst Candy

Barash: “Unequivocally, circus peanuts.”

Feuerriegel: “Licorice.”

Madison: “Candy corn.”

Favorite Pumpkin Dish

Barash: “I’m not caught up in the pumpkin spice craze, like the rest of America. It’s pumpkin pie, pure and simple.”

Feuerriegel: “It would have to be pumpkin pie.”

Madison: “Classic pumpkin pie for the win.”

Spookiest Sound

Barash: “The voices in my head.”

Feuerriegel: “The buzzing of an old-school alarm clock. Whenever I hear it in a movie or TV show or just in general, it makes me quiver. It reminds me of having to get up super-early every day for school.”

Madison: “Bloodcurdling screams.”

Best Halloween Costume Ever

Barash: “My mother, one year, dressed as a one-night stand. She took a cardboard box and cut out a hole for her to stand in. It hung around her waist. So she was a nightstand. And on the nightstand were a pair of underpants, a condom wrapper, a drink and a smoked cigarette.”

Feuerriegel: “Last year, I was a Hooters girl. But the best one I’ve seen was somebody dressed up like The Wheelers in Return To Oz. I was like, ‘Man, that’s commitment.’ ”

Madison: “In college, my best guy friend and I went as a cockroach and a giant can of Raid. It was pretty hilarious — at least to us.”

Costume Philosophy: Instantly Recognizable or More Obscure?

Barash: “I go between the two. One year I dressed up as Kenny Powers from EASTBOUND & DOWN on HBO. It was when the show had just started, so very few people knew who I was. Sometimes the obvious choices are fun, too. I was Borat for one year. I go for the laughs.”

Feuerriegel: “Instantly recognizable.”

Madison: “Based on the last question, I’d probably say more obscure.”

Make A Costume Or Buy One?

Barash: “Absolutely make one. When my daughter was 5, she was, and still is, obsessed with Billie Eilish. I was hell-bent on making her a costume. I saw Billie Eilish perform on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE in this outfit and replicated the entire thing by hand for Harper, and it made her day.”

Feuerriegel: “Buy one. I don’t have any talent to create something from scratch.”

Madison: “Buy one if you can and dress it up a little. Put your own spin on it.”

Host A Party Or Go To One?

Barash: “Go to one. Less cleanup.”

Feuerriegel: “Go to one.”

Madison: “Definitely go to one.”

Haunted Houses: Sign Me Up Or Skip ’Em?

Barash: “Sign me up all day — haunted houses, escape rooms, whatever.”

Feuerriegel: “Sign me up.”

Madison: “Sign me up.”

Pets In Costumes: Yay Or Nay?

Barash: “On Halloween, yay. On a random Tuesday in February, nay.”

Feuerriegel: “Yay, if they’re okay with them. If they’re not, then no.”

Madison: “Nay.”

Couples In Costumes: Yay Or Nay?

Barash: “Absolutely yay. We’re planning on doing a family costume this year, including Harper, my lady [fiancée Isabella Devoto] and my ex-wife [Kirsten Storms, Maxie, GH]. We’re planning on being part of the family from Hotel Transylvania.”

Feuerriegel: “Yay.”

Madison: “Yay! It’s much more fun to collaborate.”’



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Workers at China’s largest iPhone factory scaled fences after being locked inside the plant amid the country’s stringent measures to curb the spread of COVID.

Stunning video from the Communist nation showed workers at the Foxconn plant in the central city of Zhengzhou climbing over the perimeter fence Sunday and trekking back to their homes.

“There were so many people on the road, as if we were escaping from a famine,” said a Foxconn worker in his 30s surnamed Yuan, who said he scaled fences in order to leave the plant and return to his central China hometown of Hebi.

Workers at the factory, which employs 200,000, have been locked inside since Oct. 14 after an alleged COVID outbreak.

Since the lockdown began, conditions inside the plant have worsened, according to the workers. Trash had begun piling up in the hallways, and last week, the plant banned all dine-in catering. Workers had to eat meals in their dormitories, some crowded with as many as 11 people.

All the while, employees were expected to continue working full days, even ramping up production with the release of Apple’s new iPhone 14.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Foxconn is Apple’s biggest iPhone maker, producing 70% of iPhone shipments globally, which in turn makes up 45% of the Taiwanese firm’s revenue, analysts at Taipei-based Fubon Research said this month.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter said iPhone production at the plant could drop as much as 30% in November, and that Foxconn is working to boost production at a factory in Shenzhen, China, to make up for the shortfall.

workers leaving
Since the lockdown began, conditions inside the plant have worsened, according to the workers.
AP

“Foxconn really messed up, I don’t think a lot of people would want to go back. I know I wouldn’t,” Dong Wanwan, a 20-year-old worker who escaped the plant on Sunday, told Bloomberg.

Foxconn said Sunday it will not stop workers from leaving if they choose to, and that it will “resume dine-in meals to improve the convenience and satisfaction of employees’ lives,” with the cooperation of the Chinese government.

The Chinese government began removing workers from assembly lines without warning if they were suspected of having the virus, creating widespread fear and uncertainty among employees.

Workers attempting to flee
Workers attempting to flee the plant after being locked inside for two weeks.
AP

“People would be called away in the middle of work, and if they don’t show up the next day, that would mean they had been taken away,” one worker told Reuters.

Foxconn factory
The Chinese government has yet to declare how many COVID cases the factory has endured.
REUTERS

The lockdown is part of China’s controversial zero-COVID policy that has plagued the country’s economic productivity since 2020.

Zhengzhou reported 167 locally transmitted infections last week, resulting in a citywide lockdown of over 10 million people.

With Post wires



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pool noodle boats and craft stick trivia are two great activities for kids

The Best Ideas for Kids/Dream a Little Bigger

The phrase parents dread the most comes in a short, two-word statement, but it packs a gut punch: “I’m bored.” Those words can come at any time, at any place, no matter how many toys they have or no matter what the screen-time situation is.

But parents don’t have to fear boredom any longer with this list of the best activities for kids in 2022, meant to cut ennui off at the pass. Most of them only require materials that are probably already somewhere around the house (though you might have to supplement with a specific art supply or two). They’re designed to get kids to use their creativity and imaginations, or get them up and active, or have them practice certain skills like matching or memory or some combination of all of the above. But most of all, they’re designed to be fun, which means they’ll get so lost in their projects that they’ll forget they were ever at a loss for something to do to begin with.

Not enough boredom-busters? If the kids in question are more into crafts than activities, we have suggestions for all kinds of crafts for kids in every season, including summer crafts for kids, fall crafts for kids and winter crafts for kids (and also projects for holidays like Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day). If they’re drawn more to the activities than the crafts, you can find more ideas for backyard games, at-home science experiments, learning activities for preschoolers, learning activities for toddlers, fun activities for toddlers and activities for 1-year-olds. No matter what they’re into, they’ll find something to amuse themselves.

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ST. LOUIS – Annie Malone Children and Family Services is hosting a trunk or treat event this afternoon for families looking for safe Halloween festivities.

The event takes place at the organization’s Page office at 5355 Page Boulevard from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“We are looking forward to providing the community with a safe alternative for celebrating Halloween with their kids in the St. Louis City area,” Keisha Lee, CEO of Annie Malone Children and Family Services, said.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Community Credit Union are sponsoring the event.

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