Public-sector workers who already are part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program will not have that benefit taken away under President Donald Trump's budget proposal to eliminate the program, education department officials said. If the proposal is approved, the benefit no longer would be available to students taking out loans after July 1, 2018.
Tami Fricks, founder of Sassy Bitch Wines, has turned a $500 investment into a million-dollar business. Frustrated by the difficulty of choosing a good wine, she created her own brand and set it apart from the competition with a catchy name and label intended to create a connection with women consumers.
5/25/2017 ⋅ United Press International⋅The New York Times (free-article access for SmartBrief readers)⋅National Public Radio
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in testimony before Congress this week supported the administration's proposed education budget, which includes more than $9 billion in proposed cuts and seeks to direct more funding to school-choice programs. When asked about providing funding to private schools, DeVos maintained that such decisions would fall to states, rather than the federal government.
European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio says the eurozone economy will not be significantly damaged by Brexit, despite warnings to the contrary from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. "Brexit is very significant for the UK, but in view of the relative size, it's much less meaningful for the rest of the EU," Constancio said.
Albertsons is bulking up its digital team, hiring Karl Varsanyi to lead its product management and user experience efforts and Ramiya Iyer to lead digital, marketing and merchandising. The move is part of the retailer's larger digitally-focused strategy that also includes bolstering its digital loyalty offerings and its digital marketing and e-commerce efforts, and expanding home delivery and data usage.
A report from the Ponemon Institute and Metalogix found that in the past two years, 49% of about 1,400 health care organizations surveyed have experienced one or more confirmed file-sharing data breaches. Fifty-eight percent of respondents reported that their organization does not do enough to see that users of Microsoft SharePoint handle confidential or sensitive data appropriately, and 79% questioned existing tools' ability to safeguard sensitive data from a targeted breach or unintentional exposure, the report found.
Facebook has signed deals with BuzzFeed, Group Nine Media, Vox Media and ATTN, among others, to create original short- and long-form video that will contain ad breaks, Reuters reports. Facebook intends to run scripted shows that it will own, lasting between 20 and 30 minutes, and shorter unscripted and scripted content that it will not own, lasting between 5 and 10 minutes.
Adidas is launching an initiative to remove slavery from its supply chain by encouraging workers to speak up. The company has worker hotlines to call or to text questions and concerns, but it also has created apps for anonymously reporting concerns.
The private sector must help the federal government fight cyberattacks, said Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA. Companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook have the cybersecurity expertise and can move more quickly than the US government to deter threats, he said.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed that US oil production decreased last year, causing an increase in petroleum imports, but US resources such as biofuel can provide energy security, writes Rick Santorum of Americans for Energy Security and Innovation. The Renewable Fuel Standard allows farmers to provide homegrown crops for biofuels such as ethanol, promoting rural growth and protecting energy security, Santorum writes.
Elizabeth Moss will star in and executive produce upcoming BBC miniseries "Fever." Annapurna TV will produce the series, which is based on Mary Beth Keane's novel and tells the story of the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever.
Construction firms and environmental groups see the benefits of using nonpotable water at construction sites, but any effort to do so is stymied by regulatory hurdles. A commission has been assembled to study the problem and develop potential solutions.
EP Energy and Tesoro have set up a joint venture to fund an oil and natural gas development program in Utah's Uinta Basin. As part of the partnership, EP will drill 60 wells, while Tesoro will purchase all production from the wells and provide funding in exchange for a 50% stake in the wells.
UPS will create 100 jobs over the next five years near Kansas City, Kan., as it invests $220 million in area facilities. "Kansas is at the center of the reliable UPS network to keep packages rapidly moving in all directions across the country," said Fern Shaw of UPS.
Marriott has risen in the Forbes Global 2000 rankings to become the world's largest hotel chain, with a market value of $35 billion. After Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016, it increased its holdings to more than 6,000 hotels in 122 countries.