Ireland returns Bank of Ireland to full private ownership
Bank of Ireland became the first Irish lender to return to full private ownership since the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis after the government said on Friday that it had sold the … https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ireland-returns-bank-ireland-full-private-ownership-2022-09-23/
Caribbean disturbance ‘98L’ could spell trouble for Gulf of Mexico, Florida
Next week is when forecast models want to bring the system closer to the mainland US, where both the Gulf of Mexico region and the Florida Peninsula have possibilities of being affected. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/09/22/tropical-disturbance-98l-may-spell-trouble-for-gulf-of-mexico-florida/
Stop making fun of Nick Cannon for having so many kids
It’s hard not to be invested in a celeb’s outrageously high kid count. But what if our jokes are missing the point? https://www.salon.com/2022/09/23/stop-making-fun-of-nick-cannon-for-having-so-many-kids/
Rad Power Bikes and Cycle pilot consumer e-bike subscriptions
Rad Power Bikes, a popular American e-bike brand that has raised over $300 million in the past two years, will start offering bikes as a subscription service next week. The company is partnering with Cycle, a Berlin-based e-bike subscription service that caters to couriers and last-mile delivery, to pilot the offering in Berlin.
Starting September 22, Cycle will provide two cargo bikes, the RadRunner and RadWagon, for rent with a starting price of €79.90 per month and the choice between a rolling monthly rental or a yearly contract, according to Cycle.
This partnership is Rad’s first subscription play — the company has been hyperfocused on direct-to-consumer sales but wants to attract a new segment of customers that prefer to pay for the usage of an e-bike rather than owning it outright, according to Arno Saladin, Rad’s European business director.
“With this pilot we want to understand the size of the demand and the exact value these customers are looking for,” Saladin told TechCrunch. “This will help us to determine what the optimum value offer is and the demand potential.”
Partnering with Rad to offer a consumer-focused subscription offering is also new for Cycle, formerly GetHenry. In its short life, the startup has mainly catered to the needs of last-mile delivery workers and fleets. Cycle has its own in-house developed cargo bike that’s used by many of its fleet and courier customers, but in the spirit of diversity and choice, Cycle began adding Rad bikes to its lineup in 2020.
“The unique look of Rad Power Bikes caught the attention of many people on the street,” Luis Orsini-Rosenberg, co-founder and CEO of Cycle, told TechCrunch. “Since we added the vehicles to our fleet, not a single week has passed in which we didn’t receive an email from private customers asking to buy or rent them from us.”
Cycle has the on-the-ground operations, bike maintenance and subscription infrastructure in place to make it work in Berlin, so all Rad has to do is deliver the goods. Customers will be able to collect their fully assembled e-bike from Cycle’s workshop in the trendy neighborhood of Kreuzberg, Berlin. Service is obviously included and repairs can be booked using the Cycle app. Paranoid customers can add on a “peace-of-mind” package that would significantly reduce the excess in case of massive damage or theft.
Rad Power Bikes and Cycle pilot consumer e-bike subscriptions by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/22/rad-power-bikes-and-cycle-pilot-consumer-e-bike-subscriptions/
From Tehran to Los Angeles, the death of an Iranian woman sparks a feminist outcry
Protests spread to L.A. on Wednesday over Mahsa Amini’s death in Iranian morality police custody after she was accused of improperly covering her hair.
South Carolina 3-year-old accidentally kills mom in front of grandmother in shooting: cops
The child’s grandmother, who witnessed the murder, told authorities the toddler was responsible for her daughter’s death after “gaining access to an unsecured firearm,” police said. …read more
Migrants claiming they ‘just want to get to NY’ broke into elderly Texas farmer’s house: grandson
A Texas farmer claims he witnessed eight migrants on the run from border agents break into his 95-year-old grandfather’s home. …read more
Yuan Weakens to Near Trading Band Limit as Pressure Mounts
The onshore yuan is inches away from the lower limit of its daily trading band, as an unstoppable dollar emboldened traders to keep testing Beijing’s tolerance for further currency weakness. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-23/yuan-weakens-to-near-trading-band-limit-as-pressure-mounts
New lawsuit accuses DeSantis of flouting state law by flying migrants
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A legal and political battle over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ contentious operation to fly migrants from Texas to other parts of the country is escalating even further.
Jason Pizzo, a Florida Democratic senator from Miami, on Thursday night filed a lawsuit asking a judge to block the Republican governor from spending any more state money on the transports. DeSantis started the transports last week after the state paid an Oregon-based carrier hundreds of thousands of dollars to fly nearly 50 migrants from San Antonio to the wealthy resort island of Martha’s Vineyard.
It’s the second lawsuit filed this week seeking to scuttle the program that DeSantis has defended amid rising criticism from Democrats, including the White House. A civil rights law firm from Boston filed a federal class action lawsuit on Tuesday that accused the governor of orchestrating a “premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme” that misled the group of mostly Venezuelan migrants. The lawsuit alleged that people working for DeSantis lured the migrants onto flights with false promises of jobs in Boston or Washington.
DeSantis’ transports infuriated Democrats and civil rights groups, who have accused the governor of using the asylum seekers for a political stunt. Several Democrats have urged the Department of Justice to investigate the Republican governor and a sheriff in Texas has also opened a probe into him over the flights.
Pizzo contends in his lawsuit that the $12 million the Republican-led Legislature set aside for the relocation program violates state laws regarding the budget, including a state constitutional requirement that legislators are not supposed to enact substantive polices in the annual spending bill.
Florida has so far spent at least $1.56 million with the vendor that helped arrange the first flights. The state paid the carrier, Vertol Systems Company, Inc., $615,000 to transport migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and another $950,000 for what is believed to be a future flight.
But Pizzo’s lawsuit also asserts that state officials — including those at the Department of Transportation — have not followed the guidelines for the relocation program as drawn up by the Florida Legislature in the budget language, including that money was spent on food, hotel rooms and even haircuts for the migrants in Texas who were eventually sent to Martha’s Vineyard.
He also says that the state is violating a new state law on immigration that was passed this year by state lawmakers at the urging of DeSantis because the migrants were transported from Texas and not Florida. The flight that transported the migrants made a brief stop in Florida before continuing on to Martha’s Vineyard.
“The governor had legislators carry and pass bills that were crafted to suit his agenda and that he signed into law,” Pizzo said in an interview. “And yet, he still can’t comply with the requirements and restrictions.”
The lawsuit is not unexpected, as Pizzo and other Democrats in the Legislature for days now …read more
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/22/lawsuit-desantis-migrants-00058497
Latin America bank directors urge firing Trump-nominated chief
Mauricio Claver-Carone, president of Latin America’s largest development bank, was found to have violated ethics rules by investigators. US President Joe Biden’s administration has been pushing for his removal. …read more