In 2019, the United Nations’ revenue totaled US $56.9 billion. It’s the most recent year for which there is data, and is roughly the same amount as Uruguay’s GDP in 2020. With that kind of money floating around, it pays to understand at least the basics of how the UN is financed.
A well-designed home can make us happier and healthier, a principle that is even more relevant for older people living with mental health disorders. In a project meant to serve Sweden’s aging population, the IKEA and Skanska-backed company BoKlok has unveiled renderings of SilvaBo homes designed for residents 55 or older who have dementia.
In 2017, immediately after the New York Times published its first allegations against him, Harvey Weinstein was prepared to go on the offensive. In an attempt to salvage his career and reputation, he contacted his lawyer at the time, Lisa Bloom, who crafted a memo about the tactics Weinstein could use to get his life back on track (Bloom quit just a few days after Weinstein retained her).
Keep calm, carry on, and prepare to spend £13 ($16) more each week on food.
Good randomness is hard to find.
Nearly half of Canadian cannabis consumers purchase their weed illegally, reveals Statistics Canada’s National Cannabis Survey released Thursday (Aug. 15). Ten months after the country legalized recreational marijuana, 42% of those who partake admitted to buying at least some of their pot from an illegal source, such as a drug dealer.
A Brexit preparation document leaked to the Sunday Times (paywall) reveals a government bracing for the worst. The leak comes as prime minister Boris Johnson doubles down on his vow to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without a deal.
Shopping websites have ways of getting you to do what they want, and the sneakiest design and interface tricks they use are known as “dark patterns.” According to an extensive analysis from Princeton University and the University of Chicago, dark patterns appear on more than 11% of roughly 11,000 shopping sites studied.
The statistics are grim. There is a roughly 60% chance that today there will be at least one mass shooting in the US. And there is a 17% probability that there will be exactly two shootings.
If you want to understand China, you might want to turn to its literature.
Back in 2016, Boris Johnson, then the mayor of London, penned an op-ed that argued the UK should vote to remain in the EU.
You’re not imagining things—movies are less original than they used to be. Sequels, prequels, reboots, and remakes are all accounting for an ever-growing share of US box-office revenue.
US president Donald Trump’s days-long attack on four non-white American Congresswomen is turning into a galvanizing moment in his presidency.
US president Donald Trump spent a lot of time during a White House’s “social media summit” this week complaining that his tweets don’t get the same engagement that they used to.
I haven’t read any of the 45 books I’m about to recommend to you.
Government research in machine learning is ramping up. Since 2003, the US government has spent nearly a billion dollars on AI-focused or facilitated research grants. Half of it was awarded in the past four years. The money has been used to fund research into everything from bird migration to astronaut assessments, according to a trove of federal assistance data compiled by Quartz.
The US economy is the largest in the world. It is 50% bigger than China’s, in second place, as measured by GDP. But when it comes to the size of the stock market, the US is five times larger than second-place China, as measured by market capitalization.
There’s a new pathway to a career at Tesla. All it takes is some wit, control over an obscure museum’s social-media feed, and a picture of a really, really big ram.
China’s latest tariff retaliation, announced today, will hit some $60 billion in US exports, including hundreds of agricultural, mining, and manufactured products, threatening jobs and profits at companies around the United States.
One of Japan’s richest men, and SpaceX’s first scheduled moon tourist, announced on Twitter yesterday (May 4) he will be selling several of his valuable artworks. When Yusaku Maezawa was asked online if it was because he was broke, he responded, “Yes, I never have any money because I always spend it.”
When not satisfied with negotiations, try a tweet. That’s what Donald Trump did today, saying on Twitter that he will increase US tariffs on certain Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, a surprising about-face from his earlier stance. Trump had previously delayed tariff hikes, pointing to productive talks with China during trade negotiations that started last year.
His crimes were described by a judge as “extremely wicked, shockingly evil, vile.” Now those words appear in the title of a Neflix movie starring Zac Efron about the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. It’s the latest serial killer-themed offering from Netflix, following similar recent releases, including Mindhunter and Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. It’s easy to feel like there’s been a spike in media that depict, focus on, and perhaps even glorify murderous men.
Tracking down low-level credit-card scammers can’t possibly be as exciting as an action movie, can it? We didn’t think so, either.
