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Tensions flare as $34-billion Charter-Cox cable deal nears finish line
Spectrum owner Charter Communications is nearing the finish line in its long-awaited $34.5-billion purchase of Cox Enterprises to form the nation’s largest internet and cable television company. California’s Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote next week to approve the merger that would bolster Southern California’s dominant provider with more than 5 million customers. Securing…
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Mamdani’s groceries will have him competing against . . . himself
Mayor Mamdani’s city-owned supermarkets are ill-considered for many reasons. They’ll undercut minority-owned neighborhood bodegas. They’ll create an incentive for buyers to resell the cheap goods at higher prices elsewhere. These issues may not concern Mamdani, but something else should: Hizzoner will be competing against himself. That’s because another city program already provides financial incentives to…
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Why MAGA Really Hates Fauci
Half a dozen years ago, Anthony Fauci was as popular as he would ever be. A respected physician and researcher for decades, he became in 2020 the public face of the pandemic response—calm, confident, and reassuring, a symbol of scientific authority. And the country turned him into a folk hero. He was on the cover…
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Hackers Figure Out a Trick to Steal Bitcoin From Cold Wallets, Grab $110 Million
Hackers made away with more than $100 million worth of Bitcoin from thousands of supposedly secured “cold” wallets hosted by Canada-based company Coinkite. As Bloomberg reports, the hackers managed to infiltrate the wallets despite clients having a physical hardware key associated with their accounts, which was supposed to provide nearly impenetrable security. “The moment it…
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Graphic novels are reinventing the ridiculous power of satire
In the early 18th century, Ireland was a terrible place to be Irish. A small class of English landlords owned 90% of the soil and exported most of the island’s productive capacity while locals starved. For 10 years an anonymous writer published a series of earnest objections. His arguments were forceful, reasonable and largely ignored.…
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What Mitch McConnell Did to America
On the first Saturday of every August, the Saint Jerome Catholic Church in the tiny town of Fancy Farm, Kentucky, hosts a picnic renowned for its mutton-and-pork barbecue. Since 1880, the scent of smoked meat has attracted people; the whiff of votes then attracted politicians. The picnic long ago morphed into the premier event in…
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Ford ‘Fathom’ truck to vie with China’s EVs at sub-$30,000 price
Ford Motor Co.’s new budget-conscious electric pickup — dubbed the Fathom — will start at just under $30,000 when it arrives next year, the company’s opening bid to become competitive with low-cost electric vehicles from China. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker revealed the vehicle’s name and a starting price of $29,945 including shipping fees, confirming its…
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Todd Blanche confirmed: Trump’s former criminal lawyer becomes attorney general
Todd Blanche, the man who defended President Donald Trump when he was convicted on criminal charges in New York City, has been confirmed as attorney general, according to reports. Blanche was confirmed early Saturday morning by a vote of 50 to 49 after a dramatic showdown saw Sen. Lisa Murkowski vow to block him Friday…
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Weird Town Begs for AI Data Center
Municipalities across the country are fighting tooth and nail to stop data center construction. But not Jay, Maine. The town with a population of just 4,600 people has been so desperate for one of these power-hungry facilities that the state governor Janet Mills vetoed a bill that would’ve banned new data centers of a certain…
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A Lake Tahoe murder mystery: Who is poisoning towering pine trees?
A bizarre crime rampage has roiled an upscale mountain community on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The suspects are unknown. The victims? More than a dozen towering pine trees. Someone has, on multiple occasions, slipped into a residents-only beach in Incline Village, Nev., drilled holes near the roots of the conifers and poured a…