>>Weekly Jobless Claims Rise
(Washington, DC) -- Weekly jobless claims are up. Government figures out today show claims rose by seven-thousand last week, landing at 198-thousand. That's a few thousand more than most analysts had expected. Another key economic report that's sure to get a lot of attention today is the GDP report. The nation's gross domestic product, meaning the economy's total output of goods and services, grew at a rate of two-point-six percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 despite rising interest rates.
>>Senators Unveil Bill To Recoup Executive Compensation Following Banks Failures
(Washington, DC) -- A bipartisan group of senators is pushing legislation to claw back compensation from executives after bank failures. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Catherine Cortez-Masto teamed up with Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Mike Braun to introduce the bill today. It would allow the FDIC to recoup up to five years' worth of compensation from executives at any bank that requires a federal takeover. The move follows the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which officials say was the result of failure by management. Warren said bank executives need to bear the cost of failure.
>>Musk Holds Record For Most Twitter Followers
(San Francisco, CA) -- Elon Musk now has the most followers on Twitter. Guinness World Records says the Twitter CEO now has over 133-million followers, passing up former President Barack Obama, who had held the record since 2020. When Musk bought the platform back in October, he was the third-most followed person behind Obama and Justin Bieber. This is the second title for Musk in the Guinness World Records. Earlier this year, Musk was recognized for having the largest loss of personal fortune in history.
>>DeSantis Disney Board Says Disney Stripped It Of Its Powers
(Lake Buena Vista, CA) -- The state board chosen by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to oversee Disney World's government services says Disney stripped it of its power. The "Orlando Sentinel" says before the state took control of Disney World's district board last month, the entertainment company quietly pushed through a development agreement that will keep Disney in power for 30 years. One state board member said the agreement "completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern." A statement from Disney said all agreements were approved in public forums in compliance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine law.
>>Tech Leaders Call For Pause On Race To Make A.I. As Advanced As Humans
(Undated) -- Tech leaders are calling the race to make artificial intelligence as advanced as humans, "dangerous." In an open letter signed by 12 innovators, including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, they urged for a six-month pause on the development of human-level intelligence, saying it represents a risk to society. Musk, who is one of OpenAI's co-founders, has criticized the organization a number of times recently, saying he believes it is diverging from its original purpose. Open AI makes the popular ChatGPT. GPT-4, which was released earlier this month, is thought to be far more advanced than its predecessor GPT-3.
>>Earnings Soar 700% At Nation's Largest Egg Producer
(Jackson, MS) -- The country's largest egg producer saw a 700 percent surge in profits last quarter due to climbing egg prices. Cal-Maine Foods is a Mississippi-based company that controls nearly 20 percent of the US egg market according to Reuters. At the end of last month, Cal-Maine sold a dozen eggs for three dollars and 30 cents -- that's more than double the one-sixty-one a carton was averaging this time last year. Some politicians are accusing egg producers of price gouging. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and California Representative Katie Porter sent a letter to Cal-Maine and other producers last month demanding to know if the price hikes "represent a legitimate response to reduced supply" or unchecked opportunism.
>>How To Get The Quickest Tax Return
(Undated) -- People looking for the quickest tax return should file as soon as possible. Oren Adler is a Certified Public Accountant in New Jersey and says the absolute fastest way to get a refund is through electronic filing. He says the IRS will usually refund money within three to five days of receiving all the correct documents regarding an electronic filing. However, those who file physical taxes could be waiting longer than three months to receive their refund from the IRS. Adler notes filers will be waiting at least a month from the state.
