
<p><strong>An Enron-like accounting scandal at South Africa-based furniture group Steinhoff International wiped out billions of retail tycoon Wiese’s fortune. After a four-year battle, he’s back as one of Africa’s richest, and at peace with the world.</strong></p>



<p>Christoffel “Christo” Wiese exudes an air of calm that betrays no hint of the chaos that turned his world turned upside down for more than four years.</p>



<p>In December 2017, the then-76-year-old South African billionaire was informed about serious accounting fraud at retailer Steinhoff International, where he was both chairman and the largest shareholder. Those irregularities turned out to total $7.4 billion in falsified transactions over a span of nine years from 2009 to 2017, a PwC investigation found–making the Steinhoff affair the South African equivalent of the 2001 Enron debacle.</p>



<p>Steinhoff International had acquired Wiese’s discount clothing retailer, Pepkor, in 2015 for $5.7 billion in stock and cash; and he became its chairman a year later in May 2016. Wiese stepped down as chairman in mid-December 2017, soon after the accounting fraud was made public. While it was eventually proven that Weise had no role in the fraud, the 90% drop in the share price of Steinhoff–by far Wiese’s most valuable asset–pummelled his fortune, from an estimated $5.6 billion in March 2017 to $1.1 billion on the 2018 <em>Forbes</em> list of Africa’s billionaires and then off the ranks altogether by the time <em>Forbes</em>’ World Billionaires list came out a few months later that year.</p>



<p>Now, following a multi-year legal battle that ended in a $500 million settlement consisting of cash and stock, Wiese is back on <em>Forbes’ </em>newly released<em> </em><a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/africa-billionaires/">2023 list of Africa’s billionaires</a>, tied at No. 18 with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.</p>



<p>Asked about his ordeal last week, Wiese described his initial reaction–and what he’s grateful for. “It came as a huge shock to discover that this [Steinhoff] fraud was in the core of the business,” Wiese recalled in a Teams video call from his office in Cape Town, South Africa. The other shock? “That the people who were committing the fraud managed to get through all the gatekeepers,” he added, ticking them off: internal auditors, external auditor Deloitte, the South African Reserve Bank, international banks that were lending Steinhoff billions of rand, the South African and Frankfurt, Germany stock exchanges (where the company’s shares trade) and the ratings agencies.</p>



<p>What did Wiese know? Nothing, he insists. “People said, ‘But Christo, you were the chairman.’ And I said I chaired four board meetings in the entire time,” Wiese explained. “I am supposed to know what all the other gatekeepers missed?”</p>



<p>Despite his comments, Wiese–and the investment community–had been alerted to concerns about Steinhoff as early as a decade before the furniture seller admitted its problems. In 2007, Sean Holmes, a South Africa-based analyst for JP Morgan, published a critical 56-page report that questioned Steinhoff’s earnings and pointed to poor financial disclosure and a lack of transparency, according to the 2018 book <em>Steinheist: Markus Jooste, Steinhoff &amp; SA’s Biggest Corporate Fraud. </em>The book also recounts a 2009 meeting Wiese had with an analyst at a different firm who shared 40 slides that delved into concerns such as Steinhoff’s inflated assets and its “suspiciously low tax rate.” (That was years before he sold his company to Steinhoff). Then in 2015, right before Steinhoff shifted its primary stock listing to Frankfurt, a German tax authority raised concerns about the company’s accounting. Wiese said a forensic accounting firm the board hired shortly afterward failed to find any issues.</p>



<p>In fact, Wiese had demonstrated supreme confidence in Steinhoff as a business (or took a huge risk, depending on your perspective). In September 2016, he borrowed $1.8 billion from banks to finance the purchase of more shares in Steinhoff, lifting his ownership stake from nearly 20% to 25%. To guarantee the loans, Wiese pledged the vast majority of his Steinhoff shares as collateral. When Steinhoff stock tanked at the end of 2017, the banks took control of his shares. The loan transaction was ring fenced around the Steinhoff shares, so that in case of default, the banks could not go after Wiese’s other assets, a spokesperson for Wiese said.</p>



<p>Markus Jooste, a South African and the former CEO of Steinhoff International–who ran the company during the years of the accounting fraud, will be tried in Germany in April, South African media reported on Friday. In the spring of 2021, German prosecutors were reported to have charged Jooste and three colleagues with balance sheet fraud. Jooste, who has denied the allegations in the past, could not be reached for comment.</p>



<p>Altogether, Wiese claimed he was defrauded out of $5 billion (59 billion Rand) and sued Steinhoff for that amount in 2018. It took until late January 2022 for Steinhoff to get South African and Dutch courts (Steinhoff is headquartered in Amsterdam) to sign off on its settlement for shareholders–Wiese and thousands of others–and creditors. Wiese’s roughly $500 million (8 billion Rand) settlement came in the form of cash plus a 5% stake in listed retailer Pepkor Holdings (which is now 51% owned by Steinhoff International). Wiese says he accepted far less than he initially sought, partly to put a halt to the negotiations, which kept dragging on. Steinhoff funded the settlement with Pepkor shares and cash raised from selling off assets–though it still owns 50% of U.S. company MattressFirm and a few other holdings.</p>



<p>Wiese was never in danger of losing his fortune entirely. Besides his Steinhoff stake, he owns more than 10% of listed supermarket chain Shoprite Holdings, Africa’s largest retailer–a kind of South African Walmart, with a hard focus on low prices. It had $10.7 billion revenues in the most recent fiscal year, 145,000 employees and nearly 3,000 stores across southern Africa. In the wake of the Steinhoff accounting nightmare, Wiese sold off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of his Shoprite shares, lowering his stake from 18% in 2017.</p>



<p>Other Wiese holdings include industrial investing firm Invicta Holdings, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which has investments in China, Singapore, the U.K. and a small business in the U.S. Via another firm, Tradehold Ltd., he owns industrial businesses in South Africa and commercial property in the U.K. And through Luxembourg-listed firm Brait PLC, Wiese owns stakes in Virgin Active health clubs and two South African firms: a fashion label and a consumer goods business.</p>



<p>“Christo has been a massive risk taker his whole life,&#8221; Syd Vianello, a retail analyst in Johannesburg, told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2016/03/01/the-billionaire-african-behind-the-continents-greatest-retail-empire/?sh=14de17223a7a">a March 2016 profile of Wiese</a>. “Africa is not a place for sissies.” Wiese, who calls himself an incurable optimist, agrees. “I’ve been in business for 55 years,” he says. “I just accept that the world is always difficult.”</p>



<p>Wiese’s journey to become Africa’s biggest retail tycoon took a meandering path. After attending Stellenbosch University, he started working for his cousin’s husband’s discount firm PEP in 1970. Four years later he decided he wasn’t good at working for someone else, and wanted a job that required less hours so he could start a family. Following a detour that included buying, running and then selling a diamond mine, Wiese went back to his cousin, who’d grown PEP and added Shoprite, a grocery chain, and offered to buy him out. The cousin accepted.</p>



<p>He focused on maintaining low prices and serving poor customers of all races–at a time of apartheid. In 1986, Wiese spun off Shoprite and PEP (now called Pepkor) into separate public companies, maintaining control of both. By 2014, Wiese says he controlled the two largest retail businesses in South Africa, and there was really no way to grow more domestically due to antitrust concerns.</p>



<p>That is when he turned to Steinhoff, which did business in Europe and South Africa. “I came to the conclusion that here was a business with a very strong balance sheet, strong cash flows, experienced management and international operations,” he recalled. It didn’t turn out that way.</p>



<p>Now 81, Wiese said he has no plans to retire. “I nearly died in 2021 with Covid, so I’ve come to realize that I’m not necessarily destined to live forever. But my problem is I don’t play golf or do stuff like that. For me, my business is my pleasure.”</p>



<p>Plus he certainly has no desire for Steinhoff to be his final chapter.</p>



<p>“I was not going to let this almost unbelievable disaster spoil my life,” Weise reflected on the Steinhoff matter. “I have a lot to be grateful for. I love my country, I’ve got a wonderful family, wonderful friends. I just decided to carry on with my life.”</p>



<p>By <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/">Kerry A. Dolan</a></p>


How South Africa’s Christo Wiese Sued His Way Back Into The Billionaire Ranks


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>According to a new <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.53590?utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_term=013023" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>, Covid placed in the top 10 leading causes of death for children of all age groups, but there are several precautions (like vaccines, masks and isolation), which effectively protect against the virus.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The study, published in the&nbsp;<em>JAMA Network&nbsp;</em>on Monday, found Covid was a leading cause of death in children and adolescents and caused more deaths than any other vaccine-preventable disease.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-leading-cause-of-death-ranking/#Total%20deaths%20in%20the%20United%20States%20from%20COVID-19%20and%20other%20leading%20causes,%202020-2022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According</a> to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, Covid was the third- leading cause of death in the U.S. each year from 2020 to 2022, and according to the <em>JAMA</em> study, Covid mortality between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2022 ranked in the top 10 leading causes of death for the age group between infants and 19-year-olds.</p>



<p>Between January 2020 and January 21, there have been 1,098,583 Covid-related deaths in the U.S., with children (Americans 18 and under) making up over 1,600 of those cases,&nbsp;<a href="https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Deaths-Focus-on-Ages-0-18-Yea/nr4s-juj3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>



<p>TangentA <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanam/article/PIIS2667-193X(22)00222-8/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> published in the <em>Lancet </em>found although Covid infections due to the omicron variant (the most wide-spread Covid strain) were more transmissible among children, they were less deadly than infections caused by the previous variant.</p>



<h2>COVID VACCINES AND BOOSTERS APPROVED FOR CHILDREN</h2>



<p>The CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0618-children-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">included</a>&nbsp;children ages six months to five years in their recommendation for Covid vaccines in June 2022. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are the only vaccines&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html?s_cid=11368:what%20age%20can%20covid%20vaccine%20be%20given:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">authorized and approved</a>&nbsp;for use in children aged six months and older by the Food and Drug Administration. However, those 12 and up can receive the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/novavax-covid-19-vaccine-adjuvanted" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Novavax</a>vaccine. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/janssen/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a>&nbsp;vaccine is only approved for people 18 years and up. Bivalent boosters (booster shot that protect against the original Covid variant and the now dominant omicron variant) became available for anyone six months and older in December 2022. Bivalent boosters are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.11.17.516898v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proven</a>&nbsp;to be more effective at protecting against Covid, severe symptoms and hospitalization than the original monovalent vaccines. Kids aged 6 months through four years who completed a Moderna vaccine series are eligible to receive a Moderna bivalent booster two months after their second dose, and kids five and up who completed the Moderna series can receive either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster two months after their second dose. Those aged six months through five years who are completing a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine series can only get a Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine as their third dose. Children six years and up who completed a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine series can receive either the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster two months after their second dose. Children 12 to 17 years of age who got the Novavax vaccines can get either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines two months after completing their second dose.</p>



<h2>OTHER PRECAUTIONS</h2>



<ul>
<li><strong>Isolation:</strong>&nbsp;Self isolation at home for at least five days for those who test positive for Covid is recommended, as infectious levels are the highest during this time. If someone has to go out in public or be around others in the household, a high-quality mask is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0811-covid-guidance.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advised</a>&nbsp;by the CDC. If symptoms are improving and a fever isn’t present for 24 hours without the use of medicine after the five day period is up, isolation can end and the use of a high quality mask should continue until day 10. However, being around high risk individuals should be avoided until day 11.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-covid19-who-is-at-higher-risk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">High risk</a>&nbsp;individuals include those over the age of 65, those with a weakened immune system, those with underlying conditions (like obesity, heart disease and cancer) and pregnant people. The CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/tribal/social-distancing.html#SocialDistancing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommends</a>&nbsp;those who aren’t vaccinated to practice social distancing in public, remaining at least six feet away from others. According to a 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-022-07636-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>, self-isolation and stay-at-home orders were essential in preventing the spread of the virus during the early phases of the pandemic.</li>



<li><strong>Masks:</strong>&nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014564118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;found masks were effective at slowing the spread of Covid. The CDC breaks down&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fscience%2Fcommunity-levels.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mask guidelines</a>&nbsp;based on Covid community levels. For those living in low level communities (places where Covid cases are minimal), masks are not required indoors in public. For medium level communities, it’s recommended high risk people wear high-quality masks or respirators (like the N95) indoors in public. For high level communities, all people should wear high-quality masks indoors in public. Regardless of community level, people with symptoms, those who’ve tested positive for Covid or have come in contact with a positive person should wear a mask indoors. As of April, the CDC no longer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/masks-public-transportation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">requires</a>&nbsp;the use of masks on public transportation. However, it still recommends the use of masks in indoor public transportation situations.</li>
</ul>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://kdhnews.com/living/health/odds-of-severe-covid-19-disease-lower-for-children-during-omicron-predominance/article_3f1f3d1f-a0b5-5497-9830-a2ba6c0f2323.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Odds of Severe COVID-19 Disease Lower for Children During Omicron Predominance</a>&nbsp;(Killeen Daily Herald)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/01/26/covid-vaccines-heres-evidence-they-work-despite-persistent-misinformation-along-with-side-effects-and-common-misconceptions/?sh=5a8235b047c3">Covid Vaccines: Here’s Evidence They Work—Despite Persistent Misinformation—Along With Side Effects And Common Misconceptions</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Booster COVID-19 Vaccination In Colombia

Study Finds Covid A Leading Cause Of Death Among Children And Adolescents. Here’s How To Stay Safe


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Weeks after Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter was quoted as saying Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were “using” his legacy for profit in their new Netflix documentary series, Ndileka Mandela insisted Saturday she had been misquoted, and applauded the couple for “the inspiration that Harry and Meghan take from my grandfather’s legacy for their social activism.”</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Netflix&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/live-to-lead-release-date-cast-news#:~:text=The%20inspiring%20docuseries%2C%20produced%20by,Sussex%2C%20showcases%20global%20justice%20activists.&amp;text=Inspired%20by%20Nelson%20Mandela%20and,their%20lives%20to%20social%20justice." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the series was “inspired by Nelson Mandela,” and shortly after it was released the&nbsp;<em>Australian&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2023/01/04/nelson-mandelas-granddaughter-claims-harry-and-meghan-are-using-grandfathers-legacy-in-new-netflix-series/?sh=31ce7cff4d8f">quoted</a>&nbsp;Ndileka Mandela saying people “have used” her grandfather’s “legacy because they know his name sells—Harry and Meghan are no different from them,” adding Harry “needs to be authentic and stick to his own story. . . .&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/nelson-mandelas-granddaughter-speaks-out-on-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-netflix-series/news-story/77dd59baa8f7725b109db72e8596b808" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">What relevance</a>&nbsp;does grandad’s life have with his?”</p>



<p>However, in <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/prince-harry-meghan-markle-nelson-mandela-b2270406.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an essay</a> published Saturday in<em> The Independent</em>, Mandela said she never claimed Harry and Meghan were “‘profiteering’ from my grandfather’s name,” and the people who actually did this were the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “critics, who falsely exploited my grandfather’s name to attack <em>them</em>.”</p>



<p>Mandela said she is “mortified” to see how her comments to the<em>Australian</em>—a large Rupert Murdoch-controlled paper—about “my genuine concerns about the commercial exploitation of my grandfather’s legacy” were twisted, and how they were “misused to attack a woman of colour who was, effectively, hounded out of the British royal family.”</p>



<p>Mandela wrote the same people who “impugn Harry and Meghan want to silence the rest of us who are still fighting for the values my grandfather stood for,” namely those who do not acknowledge Britain’s role in the Atlantic slave trade and other “atrocities,” and those who believe the realities of institutional racism shouldn’t be taught in schools.</p>



<p>Mandela said that ripples of colonialism and the apartheid still linger in South Africa, and the British royal family still benefits from “exploitative structures” and laws that allow them to conceal the scope of their wealth.</p>



<p>The Sussexes “are widening the boundaries of acceptable discourse, bringing to light the unsavoury realities of a cherished British institution that remains at the heart of racialised global inequalities,” Mandela wrote.</p>



<p><em>Forbes</em> has reached out to News Corp Australia for comment.</p>



<h2>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“I greatly admire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for their courageous commitment to defending those less privileged than them – vulnerable people, women, and people of colour,” Madela wrote.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Last month, Harry and Meghan debuted a documentary interview series on Netflix called&nbsp;<em>Live To Lead</em>, which Harry said was inspired by Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist and former president of South Africa.&nbsp;<em>Live To Lead</em>&nbsp;features interviews from Greta Thunberg and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among others. The series was done in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and Mandela said in her Independent piece she &#8220;greatly admire[s]&#8221; this partnership. She previously told Fox News Digital she did not criticize the couple, saying &#8220;I just think that people are making a … mountain out of a mole hill, and they’re wanting to persecute Meghan and Harry for no reason, honestly.” She had also published an essay in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/nelson-mandela-name-prince-harry-meghan-markle/672762/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Atlantic</a>about being misquoted.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2023/01/04/nelson-mandelas-granddaughter-claims-harry-and-meghan-are-using-grandfathers-legacy-in-new-netflix-series/?sh=48b5db1a4d8f">Nelson Mandela’s Granddaughter Claims Harry And Meghan Are ‘Using’ Grandfather’s Legacy In New Netflix Series</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><em><strong>By Marisa Dellatto, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


The Duke And Duchess Of Sussex Attend The Endeavour Fund Awards

Nelson Mandela’s Granddaughter Applauds Harry And Meghan For Invoking Grandfather’s Legacy—And Says Criticism Was Misquoted


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Boeing pleaded not guilty in an arraignment on Thursday over charges the manufacturer deceived federal authorities over the safety of its 737 MAX jets following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-26/boeing-pleads-not-guilty-in-fraud-case-over-737-max-crashes?srnd=premium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a> reported, after a judge ruled the families of the victims have standing to challenge a massive $2.5 billion settlement the company agreed to in 2021.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Representatives from Boeing appeared in a federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday over a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud the Department of Justice over claims it had made that its 737 MAX commercial jets are safe.</p>



<p>It comes just over two years after Boeing made a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/boeing-charged-737-max-fraud-conspiracy-and-agrees-pay-over-25-billion" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$2.5 billion</a> plea agreement with the Department of Justice in 2021, admitting to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration’s evaluation agency over the safety of its 737 MAX planes, in return for being immunized from prosecution if it met the terms of its deal.</p>



<p>Federal District Court Judge Reed O’Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://docs-cdn-prod.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/publish_document/c5b3a8a4-db15-4a7e-84c8-03bae6cca2dd/published/c5b3a8a4-db15-4a7e-84c8-03bae6cca2dd.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruled</a>&nbsp;last October, however, that the 346 people killed in the two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia are crime victims, and that the Department of Justice failed to inform the families about the department’s negotiations with Boeing, violating the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act.</p>



<p>Lawyers representing the relatives of some of the passengers killed in the two crashes had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-us-department-of-justice-texas-business-fraud-57db69f33fda9f62785e1fe5d3b2f538?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accused</a> the company of the “deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history,” in a brief filed on Wednesday.</p>



<p>Families of the victims are requesting a monitor chosen by the court to evaluate whether Boeing is making safety improvements in the wake of the crashes and that the company be “prosecuted to the hilt,” families’ attorney Paul G. Cassell said, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-us-department-of-justice-texas-business-fraud-57db69f33fda9f62785e1fe5d3b2f538" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/737-max-crash-victims-families-seek-monitor-for-boeing-11674742032" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlets</a> reported.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Boeing launched its 737 MAX commercial jet in 2017, but was forced to ground its fleet worldwide after a deadly crash in Ethiopia in March 2019 killed 157 people on board. That crash came five months after another flight on a Boeing 737 MAX jet left 189 people dead—with both crashes stemming from a failure in the planes’ flight control system, pushing the nose of the plane sharply downwards, according to a technical review. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/11/18/boeing-737-max-cleared-to-fly-again-after-nearly-two-years/?sh=17fb8561704e">FAA cleared</a>&nbsp;the 737 MAX jets for flights nearly two years later, in November 2020, deeming the planes safe for passengers.</p>



<h2>TANGENT</h2>



<p>In addition to the $2.5 billion settlement in 2021, Boeing’s board of directors also agreed to pay the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/11/05/boeing-directors-settle-shareholder-lawsuit-over-737-max-crashes-for-2375-million/?sh=15506f8b344b">$237.5 million</a>&nbsp;in a settlement last April to resolve a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2020/08/new-york-state-comptroller-dinapoli-fire-and-police-pension-association-colorado-announce-appointment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;from shareholders—led by New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and the Police Pension Association of Colorado—alleging Boeing’s board of directors “abdicated their obligation to monitor safety to the extent it was no longer even a topic of discussion in board meetings.” Boeing also agreed to pay&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/09/22/boeing-will-pay-200-million-after-sec-says-it-misled-investors-about-737-max-crashes/?sh=5dd1406730d1">$200 million</a>last September to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had allegedly misled investors with “materially misleading public statements” following the two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX airplane, and that it knew the first of the two crashes was at least partly caused by a malfunction of its flight control feature. Boeing had instead told the public the crash was the result of pilot error and insufficient aircraft maintenance, and failed to publicly disclose the results of an internal safety review that found an “airplane safety issue,” according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-170" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SEC</a>.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-us-department-of-justice-texas-business-fraud-57db69f33fda9f62785e1fe5d3b2f538?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boeing to be arraigned in court over two Max jet crashes</a>&nbsp;(The Associated Press)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/09/22/boeing-will-pay-200-million-after-sec-says-it-misled-investors-about-737-max-crashes/?sh=5dd1406730d1">Boeing Will Pay $200 Million After SEC Says It Misled Investors About 737 MAX Crashes</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/26/1151565489/boeing-criminal-charge-fraud-deadly-737-max-crashes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boeing faces a criminal charge of fraud related to deadly 737 Max crashes</a> (NPR)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Brian Bushard, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


US-AIRPLANE-TRAVEL-TRANSPORT

Boeing Pleads Not Guilty In 737 Max Crash Fraud Case


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>False claims that Covid-19 vaccines cause spasms have gone viral on social media, with many users — even language education company Duolingo — making an even more viral joke out of the misinformation.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Anti-vaxxers are spreading videos on social media of people appearing to seize or spasm, falsely claiming these to be Covid-19 vaccine side effects — but in many cases the videos are years old, unrelated to the Covid-19 vaccine and have been debunked by fact-checkers.</p>



<p>Spasms and seizures are not listed as either <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect/after.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">common side effects</a> or <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adverse side effects</a> of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emphasizes</a> the vaccines are safe and effective.</p>



<p>One&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/healthbyjames/status/1616142878723407894?s=20&amp;t=PnM3jv9-_e2R5xhE7kFShg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;shared by James Cintolo, who claims in his Twitter bio to be a medical expert, shows a woman convulsing — he called the video “urgent” despite a Twitter fact-checking label noting the video is two years old — and it racked up 25 million views on the platform, inspired widespread mockery and a note from Twitter’s fact-checking team noting it “has been debunked by multiple news outlets and local and Federal health officials, showing no association … with the COVID vaccine,” according to multiple news outlets including a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/covid-vaccine-misinformation-facebook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Wired</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em>investigation.</p>



<p>Twitter users quickly turned these fake vaccine side effects into a meme: Many tweets, some simply captioned “Thanks Pfizer”—the&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AngeliaDesselle/status/1522948044043468800" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">caption</a>&nbsp;from a widely derided Twitter video by Angelia Desselle labeled as misinformation that has been viewed more than 23 million times)—show a video like Steve Carrell’s character from&nbsp;<em>The Office&nbsp;</em>doing a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/theofficereacs/status/1617249097240436738" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bizarre dance</a>, or Dua Lipa simply&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/theashrb/status/1616921840135426048" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">swaying</a>&nbsp;side to side, garnering millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes this week.</p>



<p>Brands made their own jokes, too: Duolingo <a href="https://twitter.com/duolingo/status/1617619591303421953" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shared a video</a> of its mascot dancing, captioning it “Thanks Pfizer” (the company also <a href="https://twitter.com/duolingo/status/1618004237576994817" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shared a tweet</a> with a link to the CDC website, urging people to stay informed about the vaccine and assuring people “twerking is not a side effect”).</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Videos of people appearing to convulse after receiving a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which are used to intentionally spread misinformation, date back at least two years but have recently resurfaced on social media. Angelia Desselle’s January 2021 video was reshared last week on Twitter by user Cintolo, who regularly posts false and misleading information about Covid-19 and the vaccine. Desselle’s case was debunked by media outlets; A CDC spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/covid-vaccine-misinformation-facebook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told&nbsp;<em>Wired</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em>in January 2021 it had “no adverse event data regarding a case of this nature out of Louisiana,” where Desselle is from. A Louisiana Department of Health spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/covid-vaccine-misinformation-facebook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told&nbsp;<em>Wired</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em>in January 2021 only one adverse vaccine reaction had led to hospitalization at that time — the person, who experienced gastrointestinal distress and lightheadedness, was released and recovered. Cintolo frequently posts such bogus videos, falsely claiming that the vaccine is dangerous, and several of his tweets have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/anti-vax-movement-new-misinformation-injuries-deaths-1234666611/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">debunked</a>&nbsp;by media outlets and are branded with fact-checks on Twitter. His false tweets come as anti-vaccine propaganda&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/anti-vax-movement-new-misinformation-injuries-deaths-1234666611/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surges</a>, particularly the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/died-suddenly-documentary-covid-vaccine-conspiracy-theory/672819/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“died suddenly” conspiracy theory</a>, which was peddled in a documentary of the same name and prompted Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1616940625152057345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1616940625152057345%7Ctwgr%5E3265c464fd431cb9b25bb7b031586f05c05ccedd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fculture%2Fculture-features%2Fanti-vax-movement-new-misinformation-injuries-deaths-1234666611%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">demand</a>&nbsp;an investigation into the vaccines.</p>



<h2><strong>“THANKS PFIZER” MEMES</strong></h2>



<p>Duolingo has garnered nearly 300,000 likes and more than 8 million views on their “Thanks Pfizer” meme&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/duolingo/status/1617619591303421953" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>, which the language learning company posted on Monday. Other tweets taking part in the viral joke include a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/iwishyouwoulds/status/1617370708862173184" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;of Taylor Swift dancing in her video for “Delicate” and a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/machinegumkiss/status/1617520447373078535" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;of comedian Nathan Fielder dancing to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” — both captioned “Thanks Pfizer.” “My friend Brenda got her vaccine and this started happening in the middle of movie night thanks Pfizer,” one user captioned a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/seanybrams/status/1618103835700125696" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">satirical tweet</a>, paired with a video of Regina Hall’s character having a seizure in&nbsp;<em>Scary Movie 3.</em>&nbsp;Subjects of the meme aren’t always human — some Twitter users joked the vaccine was to blame for why apps on their&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/yannhatchuel/status/1617302132058910721" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iPhone</a>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jennaep7/status/1617216745315483648" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shopping cart</a>&nbsp;or a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/joshleonn/status/1616386609762521090" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Halloween decoration</a>were shaking or twitching.</p>



<h2><strong>WHAT ARE THE ACTUAL VACCINE SIDE EFFECTS?</strong></h2>



<p>The most common vaccine side effects — which tend to be mild and temporary — in adults include pain, redness and swelling in the arm, as well as tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect/after.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to the CDC</a>. Booster shot side effects may include fever, headache, fatigue, and pain at the injection site.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adverse effects</a>&nbsp;of the vaccine are rare, and the CDC emphasizes the vaccines are safe and effective. Five cases per one million vaccine doses have been linked to anaphylaxis and four cases per one million doses of the Johnson &amp; Johnson/Janssen vaccine have been linked to thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. Seizures or spams are not listed among the adverse effects of any Covid-19 vaccine on the CDC website.</p>



<h2><strong>FURTHER READING</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/anti-vax-movement-new-misinformation-injuries-deaths-1234666611/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Claims of Covid Vaccine Injuries and Deaths Revive Protest Movement</a>(<em>Rolling Stone</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/covid-vaccine-misinformation-facebook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">They claimed the Covid-19 vaccine made them ill. Then they went viral</a>(<em>Wired</em>)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Conor Murray, Forbes Africa</em></strong></p>


Vaccinations at Egoli Township as Omicron Cases Spread

How A ‘Thanks Pfizer’ Covid Misinformation Meme Went Viral


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Microsoft on Wednesday said it is investigating after an outage took down a number of its platforms around the world, leaving thousands of users locked out of services including Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Xbox Live.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Microsoft acknowledged the outage and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MSFT365Status/status/1618160643873411072?s=20&amp;t=wosH9ryKIUx2X6wcKqFjAQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it has “identified a potential networking issue”&nbsp;<a href="https://status.office365.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">affecting</a>&nbsp;multiple Microsoft 365 services early Wednesday morning.</p>



<p>The firm said it is now working on a fix to restore the downed services.</p>



<p>Microsoft did not reveal the scale of the disruption but said the outage has affected many of its services including Teams, Outlook, Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online and Microsoft Graph.</p>



<p>Thousands of users in countries including India, the U.K., Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Japan began reporting difficulties accessing Microsoft services from around 2:30 a.m. ET, according to outage tracker&nbsp;<a href="https://downdetector.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Downdetector</a>.</p>



<p>Microsoft Azure, the firm’s cloud computing platform, and GitHub, one of the most popular code-hosting sites on the web, also appeared to be hit by the outage, according to Downdetector reports.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We&#39;ve identified a potential networking issue and are reviewing telemetry to determine the next troubleshooting steps. You can find additional information on our status page at <a href="https://t.co/pZt32fOafR">https://t.co/pZt32fOafR</a> or on SHD under MO502273.</p>&mdash; Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSFT365Status/status/1618160643873411072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Microsoft’s products are used by businesses around the world and many are absolutely critical to day-to-day business operations. Teams, a messaging and communication service, is used by more than&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/fxshaw/status/1618015984702615553?s=20&amp;t=JaALMMz7vdzOwE0-WdBXyg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">280 million people worldwide</a>&nbsp;and Outlook is one of the world’s most popular email clients. The impact on Azure, a key&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a519cb01-4467-4820-ada6-680d2300acb0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revenue</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-misses-quarterly-revenue-estimates-2023-01-24/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">driver</a>&nbsp;for Microsoft, could mean the disruption is felt further afield from sites using the cloud computing service. The firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/01/24/2023-layoffs-3m-slashes-2500-while-gemini-reportedly-cuts-10-of-its-staff/?sh=6bf785a34235">said</a>&nbsp;it plans to cut 10,000 jobs in mid-January ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-24/microsoft-says-azure-growth-to-decelerate-shares-erase-gains" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealing</a>&nbsp;lackluster earnings amid slower corporate sales and declining demand.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-24/microsoft-says-azure-growth-to-decelerate-shares-erase-gains" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft Erases Gains After Saying Azure Growth to Decelerate</a>(Bloomberg)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Microsoft Services Down For Tens Of Thousands Around World

Microsoft Investigates Major Outage—Xbox Live, Teams, Outlook Among Services Down Across Several Countries


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The hands of the Doomsday Clock, used by top scientists to assess how close humanity is to self-annihilation, moved forwards to 90 seconds to midnight on Tuesday, the highest threat level in the project&#8217;s history—here are the highest threat levels previously reached.</p>



<h2>TIMELINE</h2>



<p><strong>2 minutes to midnight.</strong> 1953.The Bulletin&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/files/1953%20Clock%20Statement%201.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moved</a>&nbsp;the clock the closest to midnight it had ever been—and the closest it would ever be in the 20th Century—after the U.S. and the Soviet Union detonated their first thermonuclear weapons.</p>



<p><strong>2.5 minutes to midnight. </strong>2017.The Bulletin&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/files/Final%202017%20Clock%20Statement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the “words of a single person,” Donald Trump, had motivated the decision to move the clock 30 seconds, having “made a bad international security situation worse” despite only having been president for a matter of days at the time of the announcement.</p>



<p><strong>2 minutes to midnight.</strong> 2018.Nuclear concerns were once again center stage when the Bulletin&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2018-doomsday-clock-statement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">returned</a>&nbsp;the clock to two minutes to midnight in 2018, when the group said major nuclear powers were on the “cusp of a new arms race.”</p>



<p><strong>2 minutes to midnight.</strong> 2019.&nbsp;The Bulletin&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2019-doomsday-clock-statement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">listed</a>&nbsp;the U.S.’ departure as a global nuclear leader, particularly its abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal and withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, as ”grave steps towards a complete dismantlement of the global arms control process” and a key reason for keeping the clock at 2 minutes to midnight.</p>



<p><strong>100 seconds to midnight. </strong>2020.The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which oversees the clock,&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2020-doomsday-clock-statement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the twin risks of nuclear war and climate change, compounded by the spread of misinformation and behavior of world leaders, justified moving the clock forwards to 100 seconds to midnight, the closest to midnight it had been before Tuesday’s update.</p>



<p><strong>100 seconds to midnight.</strong> 2021.The Bulletin&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2021-doomsday-clock-statement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cited</a>&nbsp;“accelerating nuclear programs in multiple countries,” the Covid-19 pandemic and the continued failure of governments to tackle climate change as reasons to keep the clock at 100 seconds to midnight, illustrating that “we are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/20/doomsday-clock-holds-at-100-seconds-to-midnight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stuck in a perilous</a>moment.”</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The Doomsday Clock is a symbol of how close humanity is to self-annihilation. It was created in 1947 in the wake of the world’s first nuclear detonations by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group of scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. endeavor responsible for developing the world’s first nuclear weapon. The Bulletin, through a group of experts, is responsible for setting the hands of the clock each year. Experts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220119-how-to-read-the-doomsday-clock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">say</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/doomsday-clock-moves-closer-to-midnight-but-can-we-really-predict-the-end-of-the-world-36632" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it</a>&nbsp;is best to use the timings as a way of stimulating discussion, highlighting risks and as a wake-up call rather than a strict risk assessment or indication of time humanity has left. The clock was originally set at seven minutes from midnight in 1947 and the furthest from midnight it has ever been set was 17 minutes in 1991&nbsp;<a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-the-doomsday-clock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following</a>&nbsp;the fall of the Soviet Union and signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.</p>



<h2>BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>25. That’s how many times the Bulletin has adjusted the clock since its creation. Since 1991, it has been steadily moving closer to midnight, except for a brief reprieve between 2010 and 2012, when it was moved back slightly. Climate change risks were included for the first time in 2017, when the clock was moved five minutes to midnight, and have been a prominent discussion point in the Bulletin’s announcements since.</p>



<h2>FURTHER LISTENING</h2>



<p>Over the years, the Doomsday Clock has inspired a number of songs. The Bulletin&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/doomsday-clock-playlist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">maintains</a>&nbsp;a playlist of material that references the clock or where the artist has cited it as an inspiration and includes Iron Maiden’s “2 Minutes To Midnight,” The Who’s “Why Did I Fall For That,” Pink Floyd’s “Two Suns in the Sunset” and Linkin Park’s album “Minutes to Midnight.”</p>



<h2>FURTHER VIEWING</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="2023 Doomsday Clock Announcement" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KxB9dM0u4mU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<h2>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the risk of nuclear weapons use, raised the specter of biological and chemical weapons use, hamstrung the world’s response to climate change, and hampered international efforts to deal with other global concerns,” the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists said in its 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/#footer_menu_itm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>. Moscow’s violation of longstanding international norms could also “embolden” other nations to do the same, the statement said.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220119-how-to-read-the-doomsday-clock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How to read the Doomsday Clock</a>&nbsp;(BBC)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/01/23/what-how-doomsday-clock/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Is apocalypse near? How the Doomsday Clock tracks nuclear, climate threats</a>&nbsp;(Washington Post)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists Announce New Doomsday Clock Time For 2023

Doomsday Clock—Measuring Humanity’s Threat Of Self-Annihilation—Moves To 90 Seconds To Midnight. Here’s What To Know.


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Children who are more physically active could be less susceptible to respiratory tract infections like the common cold, according to a study published in <em>Pediatric Research</em> Monday, as less than one-quarter of children are estimated to have participated in at least an hour of physical activity each day.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Researchers measured the physical activity levels and symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections—like coughing or sneezing—of 104 children aged 4 to 7 between 2018 and 2019.</p>



<p>As children increased the daily average of steps taken by 1,000, the number of days they experienced symptoms decreased by an average of 4.1 days, while children who participated in three or more hours of physical activity experienced fewer days with symptoms than those who did not.</p>



<p>One group of children whose average daily steps was over 5,600 experienced symptoms more often than another group whose average daily steps was over 9,300.</p>



<p>The study speculates higher physical activity levels result in reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines—proteins associated with chronic inflammation and disease—while improving the immune system’s responses.</p>



<p>The data analyzed by researchers was collected by the childrens’ parents, who reported any illness symptoms as well as whether their child was vaccinated, participated in sports, whether they had siblings and whether they were exposed to second-hand smoke or pet hair.</p>



<p>Despite the reporting of additional data, researchers said they found no association between respiratory tract infection symptoms and sleep patterns, siblings, vaccinations or exposure to pet hair or second-hand smoke.</p>



<h2>SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>Only 24% of children aged 6 to 17 participate in at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion&nbsp;<a href="https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/physical-activity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimates</a>&nbsp;only 25% of adults aged 18 or older participate in enough physical activity.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The amount of physical activity recommended for children depends on their age,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/children/index.htm#:~:text=60%20minutes%20or%20more%20of,should%20include%20vigorous%2Dintensity%20activities." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the CDC, though most&nbsp;<a href="https://health.gov/moveyourway/get-kids-active#:~:text=Kids%20need%2060%20minutes%20of,to%20happen%20all%20at%20once." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">health organizations</a>suggest a 60-minute daily average. Regular physical activity in children has already been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm#print" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">linked</a>&nbsp;to reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity. Lack of physical activity has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and low bone density, which could lead to osteoporosis. Other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK201501/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a>&nbsp;suggest that increased physical activity could lead to better grades and academic performance in addition to improved&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/features/physical-activity-brain-health/index.html#:~:text=Physical%20activity%20can%20improve%20your,of%20physical%20activity%20can%20help." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive performance</a>.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/10/28/rsv-infections-are-spiking-among-kids-and-swamping-childrens-hospitals---heres-what-parents-need-to-know/?sh=ca64d3e42f5b">RSV Infections Are Spiking Among Kids And Swamping Children’s Hospitals — Here’s What Parents Need To Know</a> (<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Ty Roush, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Girl practising Somersault at home

Kids Who Exercise More Are Less Likely To Get Respiratory Infections, Study Suggests


<p><strong>Nancy Davis’ hedge against rising prices, celebrated when it launched in 2019, has yet to hit the jackpot due to freakish circumstances in the debt market.</strong></p>



<p><strong>Travel back through</strong>&nbsp;the mists of time to the faraway land of 2019. Inflation, at least for anyone younger than Jay Powell, was the stuff of legend — about as plausible as unicorns, fire-breathing dragons or a killer virus that would shut down the world economy.</p>



<p>Not so for Nancy Davis, the CIO of Quadratic Capital Management. While others were asking whether inflation was&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/joelwebershow/status/1118589812737495041" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dead</a>, Davis was pitching her firm’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ivoletf.com/ivol-specifications/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Interest Rate Volatility &amp; Inflation Hedge ETF</a>&nbsp;(IVOL). IVOL is a chimera, a lion with a goat’s head sticking out of its back. Most of its assets are held in a bond ETF that any mom or pop can buy. The rest of the money goes to options bets that are off limits to even many professional asset managers because of the sophisticated ways they offer investors of losing their shirts. It’s the options, however, that make IVOL unique and what could, if inflation expectations rise sharply and quickly enough, provide a windfall.</p>



<p>Davis’ timing couldn’t have been more perfect. By 2021, fretting about inflation moved from the fringe to the frontline. IVOL’s assets under management soared to more than $3.5 billion, no small feat for an upstart fund in the cutthroat world of ETFs. But while Davis’ warnings proved almost clairvoyant, IVOL hasn’t grabbed the brass ring. At least, not yet.</p>



<p>Since its debut, IVOL has returned just 3% despite inflation hitting 40-year highs over the last year. Since March 2021, when the Consumer Price Index breached the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target, the IVOL ETF has slumped 15%. Over both timeframes, an investment in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), one of the simplest, cheapest and best-known ways to guard against inflation, has outpaced IVOL by 8% and 12%, respectively.</p>



<p>Davis pointed out in a conversation with&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>that IVOL is meant to hedge inflation expectations and not the Consumer Price Index. She also noted that IVOL has a friendlier tax structure than the Schwab ETF, meaning the gap in returns is narrower than it appears at first blush (mileage may vary, so consult your tax advisor to determine by how much).</p>



<p>What’s more, IVOL isn’t exactly what you’d call cheap. Its 1% annual fee makes it look like a Ferrari in a parking lot filled with Hyundais. That’s despite the fact that what’s under IVOL’s hood –&nbsp;<a href="https://kfafunds.com/ivol/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">85% to be exact</a>&nbsp;– are the same assets held in a Charles Schwab TIPS ETF. Schwab’s fee: 0.04% per year, or 25 times less than IVOL.</p>



<p>Davis told&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>that IVOL was “crazy cheap for what we do” and that one of her clients called it “the Vanguard of convexity.” She also suggested a more apt comparison would be to actively managed mutual funds with similar objectives.</p>



<p>Davis’ fund asks a premium partly because it was the first ETF to incorporate over-the-counter interest rate derivatives. For those not in the know that might not mean much, but IVOL effectively opened up a rugged frontier that even some sophisticated family offices and endowments were previously unable to penetrate. Add to that the fact that Davis, a former Goldman Sachs prop trader,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2019/09/24/the-fear-fund-nancy-davis-etf-aims-to-protect-investors-from-scary-stuff-like-recession-and-inflation/?sh=2371830a14b7" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">actively manages</a>&nbsp;the options side of the book.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>IVOL is “crazy cheap for what we do”Nancy Davis</p></blockquote>



<p>The simple explanation for how IVOL works is this: it buys TIPS to protect against inflation, then sprinkles some options on top to, if all goes well, goose its returns. Over short periods, when the options aren’t cashing in, the fund will lag the TIPS ETF (no secret here, IVOL says as much in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1547576/000161577419005273/s117194_485apos.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prospectus</a>). But if and when those options hit, a jackpot could be in the making.</p>



<p>While there’s no guarantee, rising inflation expectations typically lead to a steeper yield curve (that’s to say that the cost of borrowing money for longer periods of time will rise faster than borrowing for the short term). Investors, expecting that the Federal Reserve will start yammering about rate hikes (and maybe, gasp, even go through with them) want to get ahead of the, well, curve. When those stars align, the gains on IVOL’s options could shoot its returns into the stratosphere and make Davis a hero.</p>



<p>Nearly four years after raising the curtains, IVOL remains on the launchpad.</p>



<p>If IVOL is in a rut, it’s because interest rate movements, specifically the spread between the 10-year Treasury rate and the 2-year that IVOL bets on, aren’t cooperating.</p>



<p>IVOL’s options make money as the yield on the 10-year outpaces that of the 2. History suggests the gap should be wider than it is today. Instead, the spread has narrowed.</p>



<p>Today, the 2-year yields more than the 10-year. It’s what’s called an inverted yield curve. Why that’s happened is up for debate, but what matters for IVOL is that the inversion has neutralized its options bets and been a drag on returns.</p>



<p>“I think there will come a time when this does really well in a specific circumstance,” Bryan Armour, Morningstar’s director of passive strategies, told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. “It’s just a difficulty of market timing. IVOL can go through years and years of underperformance until it finally works.”</p>



<p>Of course, none of this rules out the possibility that IVOL’s options will eventually strike gold. And we might now be living through the perfect set-up, according to Davis, who believes the fund is positioned for success even if&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/08/27/i-think-stagflation-should-be-on-investors-radar-says-quadratics-davis.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stagflation</a>&nbsp;is what’s in store.</p>



<p>“If you buy the fund now, you get all these options for free,” Davis told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. “Our investors know we have exposure to the yield curve. Our investors have been high-fiving me.”</p>



<p>But whether that’ll be enough to offset what’s already been done is something worth considering for anyone that plans to buy and hold IVOL rather than use it tactically.</p>



<p>“You add complexities with options, plus there’s the 1% fee on top of a four basis points TIPS ETF,” Morningstar’s Armour told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. “It’s challenging to see it performing well in the long term.”</p>



<p><strong><em>By Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Close up of businesswoman checking financial stock market analysis with mobile app on smartphone on the go, against illuminated corporate skyscrapers in financial district at night. Financial investment, stock market and exchange, accounting concept

This Investment Fund, Once $3.5 Billion, Was Designed To Combat Inflation. How Could It Be Losing The Battle?


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings stepped down as co-CEO after 25 years at the company’s helm, Netflix <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2022/q4/FINAL-Q4-22-Shareholder-Letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> Thursday in its fourth quarter earnings report, after the streaming service added over 7 million subscribers in the last three months of 2022, surpassing expectations as it reported slightly increased revenue after a difficult first half of the year for the content giant.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Former COO Greg Peters will replace Hastings as co-CEO of Netflix, joining the company’s existing Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, while Hastings—a cofounder of the brand—will stay on as the brand’s Executive Chairman.</p>



<p>The streaming giant reported 230.75 million subscribers, an increase of 7.66 million from the third quarter—more than the 4.5 million it expected to add.</p>



<p>Netflix reported revenue of $7.85 billion in the fourth quarter, roughly 1.2% more than the $7.7 billion reported in the same period last year and falling in line with analyst forecasts.</p>



<p>Net income, meanwhile, went down from last year to $55 million, or $0.12 per share, compared to $607 million one year ago and below average analyst expectations of $0.45 per share.</p>



<p>Netflix shares increased nearly 5% in after-hours trading immediately after the announcement; shares have plunged 37% over the past year, far more than the tech-heavy Nasdaq&#8217;s 23% decline.</p>



<h2>FORBES VALUATION</h2>



<p>Hastings is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/reed-hastings/?sh=4ee7c4012782">worth</a>&nbsp;an estimated $3.3 billion, according to&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>estimates. The 62-year-old owns about 2% of Netflix, which went public in 2002. Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO in 2020.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The earnings report marks the end of one of the rockiest years in Netflix’s history. In the first quarter, it reported subscriber losses for the first time in a decade, which continued into the second quarter. The streaming giant began adding subscribers again in the third quarter, however, reversing its subscriber losses in the first half of the year. The company blamed the losses in part on households that share accounts and passwords with one another, and launched test programs in some countries to combat the issue. It’s been reported this program will roll out to the U.S. sometime this year. Netflix also launched a cheaper, ad-supported tier in November to increase its subscriber base, though Digiday reported last month the company is falling behind on viewership expectations it promised to advertisers, and the <em>Wall Street Journal </em>reported data showing only 9% of new Netflix users were those who signed up for the ad-supported tier in its first month. Still, Netflix shows released in 2022 saw record viewership. Five of the top 10 <a href="https://top10.netflix.com/tv" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most viewed English-language shows</a> in their first month on Netflix were released last year.</p>



<h2>TANGENT</h2>



<p>Hastings, 62, tweeted that he will stay on as executive chairman for “many years to come,” and he’s “so confident” in Peters and Sarandos’ leadership. “Twice the heart, double the ability to please members &amp; accelerate growth,” Hastings wrote. He&nbsp;<a href="https://about.netflix.com/en/news/ted-sarandos-greg-peters-co-ceos-netflix" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;he plans to spend “more time on philanthropy” and focus on Netflix’s stock. In a statement, Hastings compared himself to Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who have passed “the CEO baton to others.”</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/12/20/netflix-shares-dip-as-first-month-of-ad-supported-subscription-reportedly-disappoints/?sh=47a5f7953a24">Netflix Shares Dip As First Month Of Ad-Supported Subscription Reportedly Disappoints</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/12/15/netflix-reportedly-isnt-meeting-viewership-expectations-for-some-advertisers/?sh=3f954d516a74">Netflix Reportedly Isn’t Meeting Viewership Expectations For Some Advertisers</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Marisa Dellatto, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Latest Consumer Technology Products On Display At CES 2016

Reed Hastings Steps Down As Netflix Co-CEO After Rocky Year For Streaming Service


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October, the social media platform has made many tweaks to the user experience, including an overhaul to the verification process and an emphasis on “freedom of speech.”</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Since Elon Musk’s highly publicized — and controversial — acquisition of Twitter in October, he’s made a series of updates to the platform, often live-tweeting them along the way.</p>



<p>Among the most notable changes is the overhaul to the verification process: Previously, blue checkmarks denoted public figures that the platform had independently verified, but now users can purchase a verified checkmark by subscribing to <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-blue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Blue</a> for $8 per month.</p>



<p>After&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593673339826212864?s=20&amp;t=6ANX0DjzIxKuKaV6BWa_Mw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declaring</a>&nbsp;Twitter’s new policy to be “freedom of speech” in which negative or hate tweets will be “deboosted,” but not banned, Musk reinstated a number of accounts that were notably suspended, including Donald Trump,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593673844996288512?s=20&amp;t=6ANX0DjzIxKuKaV6BWa_Mw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jordan Peterson and Kathy Griffin</a>&nbsp;(Musk reinstated Trump’s account after conducting a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593767953706921985" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">poll</a>&nbsp;on Twitter — 51.8% of the 15 million respondents voted “yes” to return the former president’s account).</p>



<p>Each tweet now publicly displays how many views it has garnered, an update Musk made in an effort to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1601112753271209985?s=20&amp;t=wkeaG5Nb24XxhUcRRNZ4aQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">show</a>&nbsp;how “Twitter is much more alive than people think.”</p>



<p>Twitter now splits a user’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/10/23549368/twitter-for-you-page-tiktok-following-tab" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">timeline</a>&nbsp;between a TikTok-esque “for you” page, an algorithm-curated feed with tweets it thinks the user will like, and a “following” page, which consists solely of tweets that user follows.</p>



<p>Twitter <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/tech/twitter-elon-musk-deletes-policy/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">backtracked</a> from a short-lived policy banning users from sharing links to other social media platforms — after less than a day of backlash, the platform deleted the policy from its website.</p>



<h2><strong>NEW VERIFICATION PROCESS</strong></h2>



<p>One of the biggest — and most widely ridiculed — Musk-era Twitter updates is his drastic change to the verification process. Previously, blue verification badges confirmed that profiles of public figures, like celebrities, journalists or government officials, were legitimate. Those blue checks (which Twitter now refers to as “legacy” verified accounts) are still visible, but the platform has made blue checks available to anyone so long as they subscribe to&nbsp;<a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-blue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Blue</a>, a service that permits users to preview new features. There’s no visual difference between the old and new blue checkmarks, which has raised concerns that people may impersonate public figures (though hovering over or tapping on the blue check reveals whether the account is subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account). Within hours of the new blue checks launching, users purchased checkmarks to impersonate people including Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Kobe Bryant,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/tech/twitter-impersonators-paid-verification/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN reported</a>. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/11/twitter-blue-checkmark/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Washington Post</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em>columnist got accounts impersonating comedian Blaire Erskine and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) verified within minutes. Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/11/twitter-fake-verified-accounts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">temporarily suspended</a>&nbsp;the ability to purchase a blue check the following day, pledging to address impersonation issues. Musk has said he plans to get rid of legacy verified checkmarks,&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/12/elon-says-twitter-will-remove-all-legacy-verifications-in-a-few-months/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claiming</a>&nbsp;that the old process of verification was “corrupt and nonsensical.” In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/tech/twitter-verification-relaunch/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">another shakeup</a>&nbsp;to the verification system, accounts owned by companies are denoted by gold checks while government entities and politicians are marked with gray checks.</p>



<h2><strong>CRITICISM OVER UPDATES</strong></h2>



<p>Musk’s changes to the platform have been criticized for a number of reasons, ranging from being unnecessary and annoying to opening the door for hate speech. The ability of anyone to purchase verification has been condemned for making it easy to impersonate public figures and spread misinformation. In January, members of the Taliban&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/17/twitter-blue-verified-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">purchased</a>blue checks, though these were later removed following backlash. Musk also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/17/1143796992/twitter-lifts-suspensions-on-several-journalists-amid-rift-between-the-site-and-" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">came under fire</a>&nbsp;in December after Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists who were critical of his ownership of the company (Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1603600001057185792" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;these accounts “doxxed my exact location in real time”), though these accounts were later reinstated. Criticisms of the verification process as well as Musk’s massive layoffs have prompted more than 500 advertisers to pause spending on Twitter,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/twitter-manager-daily-revenue-has-dropped-40-500-top-advertisers-have-left" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Information reported</a>, causing a 40% drop in daily revenue. Some popular Twitter influencers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/musk-making-twitter-worse-say-top-influencers-platform-rcna63606" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told NBC News</a>&nbsp;that daily use of the platform has gotten worse under Musk’s leadership, including an influx of hate speech in light of its new emphasis on freedom of speech, as well as an uptick in technical glitches as the company’s staff has been halved. These influencers — including Matt Nelson, who runs “<a href="https://twitter.com/dog_rates?s=20&amp;t=4h2872WW1RY106CSjpj1XA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">We Rate Dogs</a>,” an account with 9.3 million followers — told NBC News the verified notifications feature, which displays notifications received by verified accounts, is no longer useful as anyone can pay for a blue checkmark. The default “for you” feed has also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/01/13/twitter-faces-wave-complaints-tiktok-style-reboot/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">angered</a>&nbsp;some users who find the update unnecessary and now see tweets they are uninterested in. LGBTQ advocacy groups have also alleged that the platform’s “freedom of speech” approach is worsening anti-transgender speech on the platform. Among the accounts reinstated under Musk’s tenure are the Babylon Bee, a Christian satire news site, and author Jordan Peterson, who has previously made transphobic tweets,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-22/twitter-restores-anti-trans-accounts-and-fuels-hate-groups-say" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported.</a></p>



<h2><strong>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</strong></h2>



<p>Musk has discussed future updates that have yet to debut on the platform. He will increase the current 280 character limit to 4,000 in February — a massive increase for the platform long known for its brevity — and users will soon be able to use formatting features like bold, underline, and font sizes, a move Musk hopes will keep people on Twitter instead of using other websites to publish work. The company is also considering selling usernames that have been dormant for years to free up the handles and generate revenue.</p>



<h2><strong>KEY BACKGROUND</strong></h2>



<p>After months of back-and-forth and the threat of going to trial, Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/technology/elon-musk-twitter-deal-complete.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">purchased</a>&nbsp;Twitter in October in a highly publicized $44 million dollar deal. He quickly slashed the company’s workforce,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/technology/elon-musk-twitter-fired-criticism.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claiming</a>&nbsp;that it could go bankrupt and needed to become “hard core” in order to survive, and began implementing his “free speech” vision for the platform. Musk had previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/27/musk-twitter-attacks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criticized</a>&nbsp;Twitter’s prior leadership, alleging they operated the platform with a “left-wing bias.”</p>



<h2><strong>WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</strong></h2>



<p>Will Musk actually step down as CEO of Twitter? He&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1605372724800393216" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;in December he will step down when he finds someone “foolish enough” to succeed him and will then run the company’s software and servers teams. He asked via Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1604617643973124097?s=20&amp;t=fo6JvyaSKDLpmPKgPuAPCQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">poll</a>&nbsp;if he should step down, stating he would “abide by the results of this poll” — and “yes” won a clear victory, securing 57.5% of the poll’s 17.5 million votes. Musk has not provided updates or a timeline on the search for a successor since creating the poll.</p>



<h2><strong>FORBES VALUATION</strong></h2>



<p>$149.4 billion. That’s Musk’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/?sh=6c332b5d7999">net worth</a>&nbsp;as of Wednesday according to the Forbes real-time net worth tracker, making him the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#776435d23d78">second-richest person</a>&nbsp;in the world behind French fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault and his family. Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2022/12/08/elon-musk-no-longer-worlds-richest-again-as-stock-hit-by-report-of-personal-margin-loan/?sh=ca7000927733">fell</a>&nbsp;from his prior position as the world’s richest person in December.</p>



<h2><strong>FURTHER READING</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/11/4/23438917/twitter-verifications-blue-check-elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter: Five ways Elon Musk has changed the platform for users</a>&nbsp;(BBC)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/17/twitter-blue-verified-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter ‘verified’ check marks bought by Taliban appear to have been removed</a> (The Guardian)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Conor Murray, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Twitter Losing Its Most Active Users

Verification To View Counts: Here’s Every Twitter Change Under Elon Musk


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Lucile Randon, a French nun who was the oldest known person on Earth, died at age 118, French media outlets Tuesday, following a long life that began before the first World War and that Randon credited to a daily glass of wine.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Randon, better known to the people of France by her nickname Sister André, died in her sleep this week at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2023/0117/1349286-lucile-randon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nursing home</a>&nbsp;in Toulon, France, where she spent the final years of her life, according to AFP.</p>



<p>Sainte Catherine Labouré nursing home spokesman David Tavella said Ranon’s death was “a great sadness” but that for her, “it’s a liberation.” (In an interview last year, Randon told reporters she was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/10/nun-117-survive-covid-france/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ready to die</a> and reunite with her late relatives in heaven.)</p>



<p>Guinness World Records named Randon the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/4/worlds-oldest-person-confirmed-as-118-year-old-sister-andre-699611" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oldest living person</a>&nbsp;in April 2022 at 118 years old, after the death of Kane Tanako, a Japanese woman who lived to be 119.</p>



<p>She was also the&nbsp;<a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/french-nun-europes-oldest-person-052311721.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oldest known Covid-19 survivor</a>&nbsp;after she contracted the virus in 2021 at age 116.</p>



<p>Randon, who said she only stopped working at age 108, last year partially credited her longevity to her habit of drinking “a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2022/04/26/the-secret-to-a-long-life-ask-sister-andr-the-worlds-newest-oldest-person/?sh=60f1565d7554">small glass of wine</a> every day.”</p>



<h2>BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>122. That’s at what age the oldest known person to ever live,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2020/10/the-worlds-oldest-people-and-their-secrets-to-a-long-life-632895" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeanne Louise Calment</a>, died in 1997 according to Guinness. Like Randon, Calment was French and said wine was her secret to long life, along with olive oil and chocolate.</p>



<h2>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sister-andre-118-worlds-oldest-person-wants-to-break-longevity-record/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not nice being old</a>, because I used to like taking care of others, making children dance, and now I can&#8217;t do that any more,” Randon told reporters at her 118th birthday last year.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Randon was born in Arles, France, on February 11, 1904, a full decade before the beginning of World War I. She told reporters last year that her favorite memories were of when her two brothers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thelocal.fr/20210211/french-nun-turns-117-after-surviving-covid?" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">returned home</a>from the war. Born into a non-practicing Protestant family, Randon converted to Catholicism at age 19 and worked at a hospital for nearly three decades&nbsp;<a href="https://www.leparisien.fr/societe/qu-ils-gardent-espoir-le-message-de-soeur-andre-117-ans-qui-a-vaincu-le-covid-09-02-2021-8424112.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">caring for children and the elderly</a>. She became a nun at age 45 in 1944 when she joined The Daughters of Charity, and took the name Sister André to honor her late brother. She only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sister-andre-118-worlds-oldest-person-wants-to-break-longevity-record/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stopped working</a>at age 108, Randon told reporters last year.</p>



<h2>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>Who Guinness will confirm as the oldest living person. After Randon’s death, the oldest person on Earth is believed to be 115-year-old María Branyas Morera, who was born in the U.S. but now resides in Spain.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2023/0117/1349286-lucile-randon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World&#8217;s oldest person dies at age of 118</a>&nbsp;(AFP)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2022/04/26/the-secret-to-a-long-life-ask-sister-andr-the-worlds-newest-oldest-person/?sh=60f1565d7554">The Secret To A Long Life? Ask Sister André, The World’s Newest Oldest Person</a> (<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Screenshot 2023-01-18 at 09.11.59

World’s Oldest Known Person Dies At Age 118


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Bitcoin hit a two-month high over the weekend as crypto continues to rebound from a crash following the stunning collapse of industry titans FTX and Alameda Research, though looming macroeconomic concerns may soon eat into crypto’s gains.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Bitcoin traded as high as $21,325 late Sunday, its first time over $21,000 since November 5, the day before Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1589283421704290306?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;his exchange sold all of its holdings in rival cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s token following a report on the questionable finances at FTX and Alameda, setting forth the firms’ unraveling.</p>



<p>Relatedly, the combined market value of all cryptocurrencies passed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time since early November, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/global-charts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to CoinGecko, sitting at $1.02 trillion on Monday.</p>



<p>Bitcoin—the world’s most valuable digital asset—pared gains slightly Monday, trading at $21,108 as of Monday at 12:45 EST, but bitcoin is still up 27% since the start of 2023, while Ether, the second valuable crypto coin by market value, is up 30% year-to-date.</p>



<p>The jump comes during a broader boom for equities, with the S&amp;P 500 up 4.6% in 2023, as more and more data <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2023/01/12/inflation-fell-01-in-december-but-prices-still-spiked-65-over-the-past-year/?sh=42795b633997">indicates</a> inflation is cooling, which investors hope will cause the Federal Reserve to in turn take its foot off the interest rate hike pedal.</p>



<h2>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>Crypto is the “biggest winner” during the current “boost in risk appetite,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam wrote in a Monday note, cautioning it remains unclear if this is a true “resurgence or just a brief rebound.”</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Bitcoin peaked at over $65,000 in November 2021, while the total crypto market peaked at just over $3 trillion at the same time. Digital assets cratered in value in 2022 during a broader downturn caused by several interest rate hikes from the Fed, causing investors to largely turn their back on risk-sensitive assets, and a breakdown in trust in the crypto industry as several major crypto players went bankrupt. Despite its recent spike, Bitcoin is still down 51% from this point in 2022.<strong></strong></p>



<h2>CONTRA</h2>



<p>The recent spike in equity prices will soon “hit an air pocket and end up looking premature,” JPMorgan Chase analysts led by Mislav Matejka wrote in a recent note, adding the “market is behaving as if we were in an early cycle recovery phase, but the Fed has not even concluded hiking yet.”</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2023/01/13/recession-now-seems-more-likely-than-not-heres-what-big-bank-earnings-revealed-about-the-economy/?sh=625481fc4896">Recession Now Seems More Likely Than Not—Here’s What Big Bank Earnings Revealed About The Economy</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2023/01/15/ftx-deltec-bank-jean-chalopin-moonstone/?sh=72d3ad1211e4">FTX Secretly Channeled A $50 Million Loan To Its Bahamian Bank Through An Executive’s Company</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierpaz/2023/01/10/binance-is-bleeding-assets-12-billion-gone-in-less-than-60-days/?sh=57a2e20953c3">Binance Is Bleeding Assets, $12 Billion Gone In Less Than 60 Days</a>(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Derek Saul, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Business fund investor planning for investment in crisis

Crypto Market Crosses $1 Trillion For First Time In Months As Bitcoin Recovers From FTX-Driven Crash


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/bivalent-boosters.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> Friday a possible link has been identified between Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Covid-19 vaccine and ischemic strokes in people over the age of 65 who received the shot, however the agencies are not recommending any changes to vaccine distribution.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink surveillance system detected data that “raised a question” as to whether people over the age of 65 who received that specific Pfizer vaccine were more likely to have an ischemic stroke in the first 21 days following their inoculation, compared to between 22 and 44 days after.</p>



<p>The statement said no other safety signals have detected this potential issue, and neither have studies of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Veterans Affairs, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and Pfizer-BioNTech.</p>



<p>No such signal has been detected with Moderna’s bivalent vaccine.</p>



<p>The data suggests it’s “very unlikely” this signal represents “a true clinical risk,” the CDC said, and the agency and the FDA will continue to evaluate data regarding this issue.</p>



<h2>BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>15.9%. That’s how many Americans who are aged five and older have received an updated booster dose, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDC</a>.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Known as “updated boosters,” the bivalent shots became available to those 12-years-old and older in September, those ages 5 to 11 in October, and to some children between the ages six months and four years old in December. These shots contain mRNA from both the original strain of Covid-19, and those related to the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the omicron strain, which was one of the most popular strains of the virus last year. A CDC study released in December found that the bivalent doses were 56% more effective in preventing Covid compared to no vaccine. And those who received the dose were 50% less likely to contract Covid-19 than those who received the initial dosage at least 11 months earlier. The updated booster also greatly decreased the risk of hospitalization, compared to unvaccinated adults.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/01/04/omicron-subvariant-xbb15-the-dominant-covid-strain-in-the-us-surges-in-major-metro-areas-with-slightly-different-symptoms/?sh=a357951af2c4">Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5: The Dominant Covid Strain In The U.S. Surges In Major Metro Areas With Slightly Weaker Symptoms</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/12/16/should-you-get-a-covid-booster-cdc-says-they-cut-risk-of-hospitalization-in-half/?sh=448049147443">Should You Get A Covid Booster? CDC Says They Cut Risk Of Hospitalization In Half</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/12/02/covid-still-killed-over-9000-americans-in-november-as-attention-to-it-and-boosters-declines/?sh=5f93d40733d8">Covid Still Killed Over 9,000 Americans In November, As Attention To It (And Boosters) Declines</a> (Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Marisa Dellatto, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Injection of the third dose of the covid 19 vaccine at a Covid-19 vaccination center in Dinan, Brittany

CDC Exploring Possible But Unlikely Link Between Covid-19 Bivalent Booster And Strokes￼


<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The mother of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims spoke out against the hit Netflix series <em>Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story</em> after its lead actor won a Golden Globe this week, saying the depiction of murderers in pop culture “keeps the obsession” with killers going, making her the latest family member of a Dahmer victim to criticize the series.</p>



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Shirley Hughes, the mother of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/12/evan-peters-golden-globes-win-slammed-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-mom/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tony Hughes</a>, whose murder by Dahmer in 1991 was depicted in the Netflix series, told TMZ that “sick people thrive on the fame” and added it’s “a shame that people can take our tragedy and make money.”</p>



<p>Actor Evan Peters—who played Dahmer—should have used his Golden Globes acceptance speech to recognize the serial killer’s <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/12/evan-peters-golden-globes-win-slammed-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-mom/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">victims and their families</a>, Hughes told TMZ, although she added that he shouldn’t have accepted the role in the first place “out of respect for the families still living with heartbreak from losing loved ones.”</p>



<p>Rita Isbell, whose 19-year-old brother, Eric Perry, was killed by Dahmer, called the show “<a href="https://www.insider.com/rita-isbell-sister-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-talks-about-netflix-show-2022-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">harsh and careless</a>” last year. (Isbell gave a victim impact statement at Dahmer’s 1992 trial that was dramatized in the Netflix series.)</p>



<p>Isbell wrote in a September essay for Insider that she wishes some of the show’s profits had been donated to the children of Dahmer’s victims, saying it’s “<a href="https://www.insider.com/rita-isbell-sister-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-talks-about-netflix-show-2022-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sad</a>” the streamer is “just making money off of this tragedy. That&#8217;s just greed.”</p>



<p>Perry’s daughter, Tatiana Banks—who was born six months after her father’s murder—told Insider in October the series&#8217; renewed interest in her father’s killer has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insider.com/daughter-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-errol-lindsey-nightmares-since-netflix-show-2022-10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">opened old wounds</a>, saying that “chapter of my life was closed and they reopened it, basically.”</p>



<p>Multiple family members of victims have claimed they were never contacted about the Netflix series before <em>Dahmer</em> began streaming last year, which has sparked criticism from people like Perry, who said they should have been notified as “people who are actually <a href="https://www.insider.com/daughter-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-errol-lindsey-nightmares-since-netflix-show-2022-10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">still grieving</a> from that situation” (a claim the show’s creators have denied).</p>



<h2>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“We’re all&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-09-30/netflix-monster-jeffrey-dahmer-story-controversy-victims-eric-perry-rita-isbell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one traumatic event&nbsp;</a>away from the worst day of your life being reduced to your neighbor’s favorite binge show,” Eric Perry, whose cousin Errol Lindsey was killed by Dahmer in 1991, told the&nbsp;<em>Los Angeles Times</em>&nbsp;in September. Perry added that if a company like Netflix is “going to create something that uses real-world people and experiences, you should at minimum contact those people out of respect.”</p>



<h2>CONTRA</h2>



<p>Creator Ryan Murphy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-10-28/jeffrey-dahmer-netflix-ryan-murphy-family-members" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">denied</a>&nbsp;claims that no one from the&nbsp;<em>Dahmer</em>&nbsp;team reached out to the families, saying during an October Directors Guild of America event in Los Angeles that his team contacted about 20 friends and relatives of victims and that “not a single person&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ryan-murphy-says-he-reached-out-to-20-of-the-victims-family-and-friends-for-dahmer-series-not-a-single-person-responded-to-us-1235250610/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">responded</a>&nbsp;to us in that process,” according to&nbsp;<em>The Hollywood Reporter</em>.</p>



<h2>TANGENT</h2>



<p>During his&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/nbc/status/1613020584946069506?s=20&amp;t=K5hAr0GT8hTwQFSWc17BxA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acceptance speech</a>, Peters said the series “was a hard one to make” and “a difficult one to watch,” but added “I sincerely hope some good came out of it.”&nbsp;<em>Dahmer</em>&nbsp;was nominated for four Golden Globes, but only took home Peter’s win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.</p>



<h2>BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p><strong>962.4 million.</strong>&nbsp;That’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/12/30/netflix-reveals-its-top-10-shows-and-movies-of-2022/?sh=752645cc859f">how many hours</a>&nbsp;the Netflix audience spent watching&nbsp;<em>Dahmer</em>&nbsp;last year after its September premiere. It was the third most popular series on the platform, following only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/05/31/stranger-things-4-sets-netflix-viewership-record-in-opening-weekend/"><em>Stranger Things</em></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2023/01/06/netflix-announces-wednesday-season-two-after-rumors-swirled-about-delay---heres-what-happened/?sh=31f41469608e"><em>Wednesday</em></a>.</p>



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Between 1978 and 1991, Dahmer murdered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/09/28/jeffrey-dahmers-17-victims-and-what-we-knew-them-errol-lindsey-rita-isbell-anthony-tony-hughes/10443235002/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">17 men and boys</a>, the vast majority of who were people of color or LBGTQ. Dahmer also performed cruel experiments on his victims and committed necrophilia and cannibalism. The Netflix series shows how Milwaukee authorities ignored and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/10/11/racism-homophobia-enabled-jeffrey-dahmers-crimes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">downplayed concerns about Dahmer</a>&nbsp;raised by members of the Northside community, a part of the city that is predominantly Black. After being convicted, Dahmer was sentenced in 1992 to 15 consecutive life sentences. He only served three years before he was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/29/us/jeffrey-dahmer-multiple-killer-is-bludgeoned-to-death-in-prison.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bludgeoned to death</a>&nbsp;in 1994 by another inmate.</p>



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/01/10/golden-globes-2023-abbott-elementary-the-banshees-of-inisherin-win-big/?sh=1e6266fb59c5">Golden Globes 2023: ‘Abbott Elementary,’ ‘The Banshees Of Inisherin’ Win Big</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/12/30/netflix-reveals-its-top-10-shows-and-movies-of-2022/?sh=752645cc859f">Netflix Reveals Its Top 10 Shows And Movies Of 2022</a> (<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Author: Forbes

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