The average U.S. House district includes about 590,000 voting-age people. How many of them do you expect to cast their vote for their representative in Congress? half? a fourth?In 2020, the representative for Georgia's 14th Congressional District was effectively chosen by the 43,813 people who voted for the winner of the Republican primary — just 8% of eligible voters. In 2018, the representative for New York's 14th District was chosen by 16,898 people who voted for the winner of the Democratic primary, just 5% of eligible voters. In these two districts, one dark red and one dark blue, the dominant…
Author: ricardofrancois
Insurance industry groups have described it as a “bomb-dropping false advocacy group,” a “publicity-seeking financial dark front,” and an organization seeking to protect its “financial self-interests.”These are the kinds of attacks that Harvey Rosenfeld and Consumer Watchdog, the advocacy group he founded nearly 40 years ago, predicted. But last year, as home insurers stopped writing new policies and backed away from wildfire-prone parts of the state, a new voice joined the ranks of critics who say Harvey and Co. are making things worse: California's elected insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, who His office described the consumer watchdog as a vested interest…
A vendor prepares a bag of sweets for a customer at Sicilian pastry shop Mazzone on February 02, 2024 in Catania, Italy. Villa Fabrizio | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesPreliminary figures on Friday showed that inflation in the 20-country euro zone fell to 2.6% in February, but headline and core numbers were higher than expected.Economists polled by Reuters had expected a headline reading of 2.5%.Core inflation, which excludes volatile components such as energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, was 3.1% – higher than the 2.9% expected.The European Union statistics agency said food, alcohol and tobacco prices recorded the highest inflation…
Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the multibillion-dollar alliance between ChatGPT and Microsoft has harmed the startup's original mission of building artificial intelligence systems for the benefit of humanity.“OpenAI, Inc. has turned into a de facto closed-source subsidiary of the world’s largest technology company: Microsoft,” Musk’s lawyers wrote in a filing filed in a San Francisco court on Thursday. “Under its new board, it is not just developing, but improving AGI to maximize…
ROCHDALE, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 29: British Labor Party candidate George Galloway speaks after being declared the winner of the by-election in Rochdale on February 29, 2024.Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOn Thursday, staunch pro-Palestinian leftist George Galloway won a chaotic by-election in Rochdale, northwest England, marked by conflict between Israel and Gaza.The controversial former Labor MP, who ran as a Labor Party candidate, polled 12,335 votes with a majority of 5,697, giving his party its first ever MP in the UK House of Commons. This will be Galway's fifth constituency in 37 years, having now ousted his…
Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up for myFT Digest of UK house prices – delivered straight to your inbox.UK house prices rose more than expected in February, recording their first annual increase in more than a year, according to Nationwide Bank, adding to evidence of a market recovery as mortgage rates decline.The average house price was 1.2 per cent higher last month than it was in February last year, after a 0.2 per cent contraction in January. Economists polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 0.3 percent on a monthly basis and 0.7 percent on an annual basis.Prices…
An aerial view of the roof gardens at Gasoulder Park in King's Cross, London.Richard Newstead | moment | Getty ImagesThe UK looks set to lead a European property recovery this year, as international investors bring capital back into the region's tense property market.An expected decline in interest rates and a modest economic recovery will stimulate inflows from foreign investors looking to take advantage of “increasingly attractive pricing levels”, according to new research from an international real estate firm. Savills She suggests.US, Israeli, Japanese and Taiwanese investors are set to lead the charge, driving a 20% rebound in property investment activity…
Meta is trying to distance itself from news media-related regulations and payment complexities as it plans to remove Facebook's news tab in the US and Australia. The company said today that it will discontinue the product in April 2024. Last year, Meta discontinued Facebook News in the UK, Germany and France, saying it wanted to devote resources to “our products and services that people value most.” The tone of the latest ad is similar. The number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the US has fallen by 80% in the past year, the social media company said. “This…
Washington – A transcript of Hunter Biden's testimony to Congress was released late Thursday, providing a full view of the controversial testimony that took place behind closed doors on Wednesday as Republicans aggressively questioned the central figure in the impeachment inquiry targeting his father.Nearly 230 pages of questioning revealed deep animosity between President Biden's son and Republican lawmakers who were investigating his family. The arguments were repetitive and short-tempered, providing a preview of what will surely happen when Republicans hold a public hearing with Hunter Biden in the next few weeks. He was defiant during the briefing as Republicans peppered…
Mobile World Congress 2024, the world's largest mobile trade show, saw a lot of futuristic technology on display.Arjun Kharpal | CNBCMobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile phone show, is a place where device makers showcase some of their latest innovations.And there was a lot to be shown in Barcelona, Spain, this year.AI took center stage, but there was also plenty of experimentation with different types of displays and a first look at some of the devices from some of the world's biggest tech companies.Motorola phone that wraps around the wristMotorola showed off a smartphone with the ability to bend…