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With the price of gold topping $4,000 an ounce for the first time Tuesday, you might be wondering whether the precious metal should be a bigger part of your investment strategy.Prices have soared by 54% so far this year, putting it on track for its best yearly performance since 1979.Investors often turn to gold when they lose confidence in other assets, typically in periods of economic uncertainty or market stress, because it’s seen as a store of value that holds its worth.And when the U.S. dollar declines, gold becomes cheaper for international buyers, boosting demand. That’s helped push prices higher…

Before he became a farmer, Joshua Morgenthau planned to pursue a career in art.He graduated from Yale University with a degree in painting in 2006, but just two years later, he instead took on the task of reviving his family’s struggling Hudson Valley farm.Morgenthau, now 41, is the owner and operator of Fishkill Farms, a 112-year-old apple farm in Hopewell Junction, New York.Since he took charge of the farm 17 years ago, he’s transformed it into a popular fall destination for families across the Northeast.Fishkill Farms was founded in 1913 by Joshua’s grandfather Henry Morgenthau, a lifelong agriculture enthusiast who…

People walk past a billboard advertisement for YouTube in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 27, 2019.Sean Gallup | Getty ImagesYouTube is offering creators who were banned from the platform a second chance.On Thursday, the Google-owned platform announced it is rolling out a feature for previously terminated creators to apply to create a new channel. Previous rules led to a lifetime ban.”We know many terminated creators deserve a second chance,” wrote the YouTube Team in a blog post. “We’re looking forward to providing an opportunity for creators to start fresh and bring their voice back to the platform.”Tech companies have faced months…

President Donald Trump announced plans in September to impose a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, a move that could pose a challenge to companies, particularly in the technology sector, that rely heavily on highly skilled foreign workers.”Now this is a big change because the typical fee is currently a couple thousand dollars,” said Stephanie Roth, chief economist at Wolfe Research. “So this could potentially change the program pretty significantly.””The whole idea is, no more will these Big Tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “They have to pay the government…

Thirty-four men have died by court-ordered executions in the U.S. so far this year, and eight others are scheduled to be put to death by year’s end, including five in the next eight days.The total for 2025 already far exceeds the number of executions carried out last year — 25 — and could be the highest since 2012, when 43 inmates were put to death, though still far below the modern peak of 98 executions in 1999.The increase in executions is largely being driven by four states — Florida, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina — that have carried out 76%…

As the government shutdown stretches into its second week, federal workers and contractors say the wave of job uncertainty is just the latest hardship in a months-long grind of workplace challenges.Some worry they’re reaching a breaking point in their careers in the federal workforce.Marcus Ivory, 37, works as an IT contractor with the Environmental Protection Agency. He is currently working with pay since his work is funded with money from outside the Congressional budget. But if that budget runs dry, Ivory could lose his income without expecting it back at a later time.During government shutdowns, essential federal employees work without…

Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt spoke at the Sifted Summit on Wednesday 8, October.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGoogle’s former CEO Eric Schmidt has issued a stark reminder about the dangers of AI and how susceptible it is to being hacked.Schmidt, who served as Google’s chief executive from 2001 to 2011, warned about “the bad stuff that AI can do,” when asked whether AI is more destructive than nuclear weapons during a fireside chat at the Sifted Summit”Is there a possibility of a proliferation problem in AI? Absolutely,” Schmidt said Wednesday. The proliferation risks of AI include the technology falling…

An explosion rattled windows across nearby neighborhoods. Orange columns of flame shot like blowtorches out of stacks and pipes, uncontrolled.The incident that shook Chevron’s El Segundo refinery last week once would have prompted a federal investigation. Not anymore.As the Trump administration moves to weaken the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, California still hasn’t said whether any agency, department or authority will take charge of a comprehensive investigation when a refinery erupts — something that’s happened twice this year.Separately, in response to fears over higher gas prices, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have opened the door to more drilling, and state…

Kylian Mbappé said his move to Real Madrid helped “get his head back in place” and his brilliant start to the season has highlighted that.The France striker has scored 16 goals in 14 appearances for club and country and has failed to find the net in only one match in his second season in the Spanish capital.It took him until the middle of January to reach the same number having moved from Paris Saint-Germain last year but the 26-year-old said life away from his homeland was easier for him.”I’ve adapted well to Madrid, I’m a little more relaxed there,” he…

Good news, for a change, from Egypt on Thursday morning. A deal has been reached to end Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. In my opinion, the Hamas leadership surely would not have agreed to the deal had there not been concrete gains for the Palestinian people. Unlike previous ceasefire deals that didn’t last long – due to Israel’s violations – or never materialised, this deal is the product of an international effort led by the United States and joined by no less than eight Arab and Muslim countries.  Such an international coalition seems to constitute a solid guarantee that once the…