Netflix is looking to Asia after its shock first-quarter slowdown, seeking to both maintain growth in the one region where it's still adding subscribers and replicate its success there in other parts of the world. Despite plans to curb overall spending, investment in Asia will keep growing, including financing for the production of local films and series, Tony Zameczkowski, vice president of business development for Asia Pacific, said in an interview. While Netflix will continue to offer low-price, mobile-only membership across Asia, it's also seeking more partnerships with wireless operators and digital payment companies to reach more potential customers in a region where credit card use is less common, he said. The company's Asia strategy is informing moves in other emerging markets, where the platform must also grow to balance out saturation in North America and Europe. "Asia is a great proxy for other markets in the world," said Zameczkowski. "There are similarities between … [Read more...] about Netflix’s plan to fix its subscription crisis starts in Asia
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TX Gov. Greg Abbott blames Biden over San Antonio migrant deaths
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday blamed President Joe Biden for the deaths of 53 migrants discovered in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio Monday night. Flanked by armed National Guardsmen and law enforcement leaders in Eagle Pass, Texas, the Republican leader claimed Biden's border policies had spurred human trafficking attempts such as the one that ended in a tragic mass casualty event on a Bexar County roadside. “Because of the way that the Biden administration is not enforcing immigration laws, it’s attracting people and enticing people to make this very dangerous trek and lose their lives,” Abbott said. The governor's remarks come after he spent billions over the past year pursuing a litany of enhanced security measures along Texas' southern border. Among these policies was an initiative aimed at inspecting every commercial truck crossing the southern border. Abbott discontinued the inspection initiative after a week and a half, announcing “historic” … [Read more...] about TX Gov. Greg Abbott blames Biden over San Antonio migrant deaths
Self-driving trucks to deliver goods for Wayfair on Interstate 45
Self-driving big rigs will be soon hauling Wayfair furniture down Interstate 45 through a new partnership of Waymo and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. Beginning in July, the pilot will last over six weeks, marking the first in-depth transportation of home furnishings retail freight between J.B. Hunt and Waymo Via, the company’s “Class 8″ trucking unit. Class 8 units are considered “severe-duty,” which include big rigs, cement trucks and dump trucks. Autonomous specialists will be in the cab of each trip between Houston and Dallas to monitor trucking operations. Waymo is the California-based subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. “Real-time testing with customers like Wayfair is critical to making autonomous freight movement a viable solution in the future,” said Craig Harper, chief sustainability officer and executive vice president at J.B. Hunt in a statement. “Every supply chain is unique, so it’s important that customers can work alongside J.B. Hunt and Waymo to … [Read more...] about Self-driving trucks to deliver goods for Wayfair on Interstate 45
Delta wins right to stay at Dallas airport after lawsuit
DALLAS (AP) — Delta Air Lines will be able to continue operating flights at Dallas Love Field for another six years, under a settlement approved by the city council. The agreement, which passed without debate this week, appears to end a long court fight over gates at the city-owned airport near downtown Dallas that is dominated by Southwest Airlines. Delta has shared one of the airport’s 20 gates with Southwest since 2014, and currently uses it for up to five daily flights between Dallas and Atlanta. Southwest, which subleased the gate from United Airlines, has tried to remove rival Delta for several years. Southwest controls 17 other gates. Airlines have fought over Love Field because it is more convenient for many travelers than DFW Airport, 16 miles away, and because a law passed by Congress in 2006 capped Love Field at 20 gates. Dallas officials commissioned a study that suggested expanding Love Field, KXAS-TV in Dallas reported. People in nearby residential neighborhoods … [Read more...] about Delta wins right to stay at Dallas airport after lawsuit
Knocking down barriers for first-time homebuyers
(BPT) - Owning a home has long been an aspiration for many people across America, and one of the most effective ways to build generational wealth. Yet, due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rising interest rates, and housing affordability concerns, including the lack of affordable housing supply, homeownership may seem out of reach for many first-time homebuyers. In addition, the United States continues to combat the legacy of decades of discriminatory housing policies and practices, which have contributed to a major homeownership gap and disparities in socioeconomic well-being among historically underserved consumers and communities. Currently, the rate of Black homeownership is 30 percentage points lower than for white households – and is as high as it’s been in the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “The path to affordable quality rental housing and equitable access to sustainable homeownership has never been equally accessible to all due to a … [Read more...] about Knocking down barriers for first-time homebuyers
Sam Gilliam never fought the canvas – he liberated it
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 WASHINGTON - Throughout the 20th century, more than a few radical artists attacked the canvas. They ripped it from the frame, sliced it with a knife, burned holes into it and shot at it, sometimes with paint, sometimes with more lethal ammunition. Canvas became a metaphor for art and society, for the old ways of doing things, for the oppressive, immutable weight of complacency and cruelty woven into so much of the human-made world. Sam Gilliam didn't attack the canvas, he liberated it. That distinction was critical to his career, and the affection felt by so many for the artist, who died Saturday at age 88. Gilliam lived a long life, a productive one, and his artistic adventure was enormously varied and restlessly inventive. But it was work he began making in the mid- to late 1960s, using unstretched, draped canvas for which he is best known, and which secured both his entree and his … [Read more...] about Sam Gilliam never fought the canvas – he liberated it
State urged safety upgrades for site of fatal Amtrak wreck
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 26 MENDON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri Department of Transportation plan released this year cited a need to improve safety at the rail crossing where an Amtrak train and a dump truck collided, resulting in the deaths of two passengers and the truck driver. The crossing in a rural area near Mendon in western Missouri, about 84 miles (135 kilometers) northeast of Kansas City, has no lights or other signals to warn of an approaching train. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago Monday afternoon when it struck the truck and derailed at the crossing. An Amtrak spokeswoman said injured passengers were taken to eight hospitals. At least 60 people were hurt, according to officials at many of those hospitals. The Missouri State … [Read more...] about State urged safety upgrades for site of fatal Amtrak wreck
Peru Truckers, Farmers To Strike Over Fuel And Fertilizer Costs
Peru's truckers and some farm groups will go on strike on Monday after failing to reach agreements with the government seeking measures to reduce the impact of steep global price rises of fuel and fertilizer, sector leaders said on Sunday. Union leaders met on Friday and Saturday with government representatives, with demands including considering freight transport a "public service" that would reduce costs and curb competition from truckers from neighbor countries. "We are firm in plans to strike with all our bases nationwide," the leader of the heavy load haulage and drivers union Marlon Milla told radio station RPP. The union has 400,000 cargo transport units in 14 of the 25 regions of the country. High global fuel prices linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine have stoked unrest in Peru, the world's No. 2 copper producer, while shortages of fertilizer have raised fears over food supply with the government struggling to secure shipments. The government of leftist President … [Read more...] about Peru Truckers, Farmers To Strike Over Fuel And Fertilizer Costs
2022 DTM Norisring: Start time, how to watch and more
Listen to this article Norisring is easily the most prestigious round on the DTM calendar, attracting tens of thousands of fans every year for some of the best action in all of German motorsport. At 2.3km, it is also the shortest track of the year, with the pole time expected to be well under the 50s bracket. It is because of the nature of the track that the DTM has elected to split the qualifying into two parts, ensuring all 27 drivers can have a reasonable chance of setting a clean lap. Drivers will be divided into two batches based on championship standings, with those in odd positions going out first on Saturday in Group A followed by the remaining drivers in Group B. Both sessions will last 20 minutes, separated by a five-minute break, and the two groups will remain the same from Saturday to Sunday even if drivers move up and down the championship order. However, in Sunday's qualifying, the drivers in Group B will venture out on track before those in Group A. … [Read more...] about 2022 DTM Norisring: Start time, how to watch and more