Newsletter Jan 26, 2023

3 things you must know

California's strict gun laws couldn't stop massacre spree
In a span of less than 72 hours, a massacre at a Monterey Park dance studio and a killing spree at two farms in Half Moon Bay left California in anguish. One man carried out his attack with a gun banned by the state, while the other used a gun he legally owned. The twin shootings, which left 18 people dead, once again draw attention to the patchwork of laws, court rulings and workarounds that have made the U.S. the gun violence capital of the world.
THE MASSACRES LEAD TO A PUSH FOR GUN CONTROL

Tesla tops Wall Street expectations but profit margins drop
Tesla beat Wall Street targets for fourth-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday despite a sharp decline in vehicle profit margins. Tesla tried to reassure investors that it can cut costs and continue to generate cash as competition intensifies. Tesla forecast a 37% rise in car volume for the year, to 1.8 million vehicles, slowing the pace of growth from last year as it made aggressive price cuts.
SEE HOW TESLA KEEPS DELIVERING QUARTERLY PROFITS

Walmart raises minimum wage to $14 amid labor shortage
Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S., will raise its minimum wage for store associates to $14, a 17% increase intended to aid in retaining employees amid the tumultuous job market. Starting in early March, about 340,000 of Walmart's 1.7 million U.S. workers will make from $14 to $19 an hour as a result of the wage hike.
HOW WILL THE RAISES IMPACT WALMART'S BOTTOM LINE?

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Markets

DJIA	33,743.84	0.03%
S&P 500	4,016.22	-0.02%
Nasdaq Composite	11,313.36	-0.18%
Japan: Nikkei 225	27,362.75	-0.12%
UK: FTSE 100	7,758.93	0.18%
Crude Oil Futures	80.65	0.62%
Gold Futures	1,936.10	-0.33%
Yen	129.77	0.14%
Euro	1.09	-0.09%
* As of market close

Trump ban lifted by Facebook, Instagram

Meta Platforms said Wednesday it will restore former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year suspension after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot. Trump, who announced in November he will make another run for the White House in 2024, has 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram. The social media company Meta said in a blog post it has "put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses."

WHY META FINALLY CAVED TO TRUMP CAMPAIGN'S DEMANDS

Republicans lure Biden into debt limit talks

Republicans who control the House of Representatives are divided over how hard a line to take on the debt ceiling, but were united on Wednesday in demanding that President Joe Biden agree to negotiate on spending as part of any deal. Hard-line conservatives want to force deep spending cuts on Biden and the Democratic-led Senate in exchange for an agreement to avoid default on the $31.4 trillion debt.

WHY A NEGOTIATED DEAL COULD BE KILLED BY HARD-LINERS

Twitter's use of 'GodMode' raises concern

A former Twitter employee told members of Congress and the FTC that any engineer at the social media platform can activate a program called "GodMode," and use it to tweet, delete and undelete from any account. The whistleblower claimed as many as 1,000 Twitter employees and contractors had access to GodMode in 2020. The revelation comes on the heels of a crypto-scammer hack of the company's internal system.

Popularity contest

Who is the most popular person on Twitter with how many followers?

Wednesday's answer: The Academy Awards adopted the nickname "Oscars" in 1939, the year "Gone with the Wind" won Best Picture.

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