SUMMARY

BICYCLE INDUSTRY STILL BOOMING

A YEAR INTO THE PANDEMIC  08
THE NEW iMAC 24”: A NEW ERA FOR
DESKTOP COMPUTING BEGINS  46
APPLE UNVEILS NEW PRODUCTS,
SCHEDULES PRIVACY CRACKDOWN  64
RESTAURANTS, DELIVERY APPS STILL
AT ODDS AS DEMAND GROWS  82
 MERCEDES ROLLS OUT LUXURY ELECTRIC CAR IN DUEL WITH TESLA   28

SCRUTINY OF TESLA CRASH A SIGN THAT REGULATION MAY BE COMING   34

APPLE SIGNALS RETURN OF RIGHT-WING ‘FREE SPEECH’ APP PARLER   76

UNION, AUTOMAKERS HEADED FOR FIGHT OVER BATTERY PLANT WAGES   94

DEMS PUSH $25B TO ELECTRIFY SCHOOL BUSES   104

IS IT FINALLY GAME ON FOR VIDEO GAME ADAPTATIONS?   126

AMAZON BEGINS ROLLOUT OF PAY-BY-PALM AT WHOLE FOODS NEAR HQ   136

NASA’S MARS HELICOPTER TAKES FLIGHT, 1ST FOR ANOTHER PLANET   140

ASTRONAUTS FLYING REUSED SPACEX ROCKET, CAPSULE FOR 1ST TIME   148

FOXCONN DEAL WITH WISCONSIN LOWERS TAX BREAKS TO $80 MILLION   168

SANCTIONED RUSSIAN IT FIRM WAS PARTNER WITH MICROSOFT, IBM   176

‘BRITCOIN’ DIGITAL CURRENCY BEING CONSIDERED BY UK   184

EU PROPOSES RULES FOR HIGH-RISK ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USES   188

WINNERS OF $20M CONTEST MAKE CONCRETE TO TRAP CARBON DIOXIDE   194

ALSO ROARING BACK FROM PANDEMIC: EARTH-WARMING EMISSIONS   200

MOVIES & TV SHOWS   110

MUSIC   118
TOP 10 SONGS   158
TOP 10 ALBUMS   160
TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS   162
TOP 10 TV SHOWS   164
TOP 10 BOOKS   166
BICYCLE
INDUSTRY STILL
BOOMING A
YEAR INTO THE
PANDEMIC

Bicycles continue to spin out of stores in

record numbers.

Last March, people began purchasing bicycles at

the beginning of the pandemic. A year later, the
industry continues to see an increase in sales —
to the point where manufacturers are struggling
to supply product, experts said.

“We used to get a truckload of bikes, and now we

are getting two or three at a time,” said George
Gatto, co-owner of Gatto Cycle Shop in Tarentum.
“The vendors can’t keep up with the demand. It’s
been a really challenging past 12 months.”
This time last year, Gatto said, he was hesitant
about placing a big order, but peers from shops
in other states suggested he do so.

08
09
10
“I am glad I did, because now there is no
inventory anywhere,” Gatto said. “I’ve never seen
anything like this.”
Gatto said the shop normally has three times the
number of bikes in the showroom and plenty
more in inventory. A shortage of bike parts also
has affected the manufacturers — from Trek
to Specialized to Cannondale to Schwinn and
others — being able to make bikes, he said.
This is happening across all types, from road
bikes to electronic bikes.
Gatto’s shop currently has 60 bikes, which is
one-third of what he normally has in stock.
And the shortage is not just in bicycles,
he said.
He is seeing the trend encompass other
outdoor recreation items such as jet skis,
dirt bikes, off-road vehicles and motorcycles.
He’s adding pontoon boats to the inventory
so he has another product to offer
outdoor enthusiasts.

DON’T WAIT
At Flat Tire Co. Bike Shop in Greensburg, owner
Ashley Reefer said if a new bike comes in, it’s
usually gone within 48 hours. She has list of
bikes she’s ordered, but there is no guarantee
they will arrive.
Reefer said she has about 25% of what she
would normally have in inventory.
“Sales have gone through the roof,” she said.
People began to buy bikes at the beginning of
the pandemic, when children didn’t have sports
practices and gyms weren’t open for people to
exercise. Everyone was looking for something

11
12
to do outside where they felt safe and socially
distanced and where they could work out,
she said.
“Bikes can help them do just that,” she said. “It’s
going to be a rough summer, because I don’t see
this changing much over the next few months
or maybe even longer.”

A BARE SHOWROOM
At Dirty Harry’s, the showroom floor is nowhere
near what it usually looks like this time of
year, said Jeffries, who has been in the bicycle
business 41 years. He said they normally would
have “a couple hundred bikes.”

“The demand is far exceeding the supply

chain,” Jeffries said. “Because of the pandemic,
the supply chain was broken and that, in turn,
fractured the industry. The industry is trying to
repair itself, but it is worse a year later.

“I have never seen anything like this.”

He said that, before the pandemic, he would go

to his computer, order bikes and know when
they would be arrive. He has a list of more than
400 customer names waiting for a bike or a
repair on a bike.

“We love cycling, and we really want people to

get into cycling,” he said. “If you want a bike and
you see one in a store, get it that day because it
most likely will be gone tomorrow.”
He said one positive is seeing children’s bikes
selling well, because that means a future for the
bike community.
Jeffries said that, since people are at home more,
it’s fostering more family time. He recalled one
day when he was riding on a trail where there

13
are usually about 40 people, he stopped and
counted 504, including many families.
“People are pulling out old bikes out of garages
and attics, because they want to get outside and
be able to do something,” he said. “Pittsburgh
has so many good trails. We as a bike community
will keep pushing forward and get over this
mountain, because that’s what bike riders do. We
keep pedaling to get to where we want to go.”

AT YOUR SERVICE
Bike shops also are seeing a spike in service
calls. Gatto said he is having difficulty hiring a
bike mechanic, and the store manager has been
doing repairs.

At Flat Tire, the wait for a service is usually a

week, but it’s been at least two weeks recently
because of the increase in bikes that need to be
repaired or tuned up.

Flat Tire service manager Justin Sweed said they

assess what a bike needs before they take it in to
make sure they have the correct parts in stock.

In the basement at Dirty Harry’s Bicycles in

Verona, there are 100 bikes that have been
serviced and 60 ready to be repaired. Owner
Barry Jeffries said parts that normally would
take 90 days to arrive are now arriving in
350-440 days.
Jeffries said there is usually a down time in the
winter, but not this past year. They usually have
100 bikes in boxes ready to be set up. On a
recent Friday, he had one in a box.
At PRO BIKE + RUN in North Park, the store
typically has 500-600 bikes in stock. They had
120 last week.

14
15
16
“Our numbers are significantly lower than usual,”
said Shane Muro, sales associate at the store. “As
soon as they come in, they leave. We don’t have
a lot of bikes to show people.”

The store carries many types of bikes, from

basic to mountain bikes to electric and other
high-end bicycles.
Technology has made its way into bikes. Electric
bikes provide an easier way to go up hills and
are good for someone who needs some extra
assistance. They cost more than a manual bike,
starting around $600-$800 and reaching as
much as $8,000 or more.

Muro said PRO BIKE + RUN is one of the largest

bike shops in Western Pennsylvania.
He said they noticed more people coming in
right after they received their government
stimulus checks. He also said people who
bought an entry-level bicycle last year often
came back to upgrade.

Muro said the City of Pittsburgh has bikes that

people can rent Downtown and are a catalyst for
bike riding, he said.

“People got active during the pandemic,” he said.

SOME STATISTICS
According to The NPD Group, a market research
company based in New York, cycling industry
sales growth was up 75% last April, generating
$1 billion in sales for the month.

Purchases for traditional bikes, indoor

bikes, parts, helmets and other accessories
grew a combined 75% compared to the
previous year.

17
18
Bicycles suitable for family use, neighborhood
riding and those with more affordable prices
showed the strongest year-over-year sales
gains, the report said. It also said lifestyle and
leisure bikes, sold in the $200 range, grew by
203%, while mountain bike sales increased by
more than 150%. Children’s bike sales were up
by 107%.
“For far too long the cycling industry has
been solely focused on the pinnacle athlete,
but these results show that a broader, family
and beginner focus can reap gains,” said Matt
Powell, NPD’s sports industry advisor in the
report. “This is a silver lining, and one of the
important sports retail lessons to come out of
the pandemic.”
Dirk Sorenson, sports industry analyst at NPD
said in the report that consumers are showing
interest in recreational and family riding. That is
a way to engage new riders, he said.

“Continued growth will require them not only

to have product in stock, but to focus on new
riders’ basic needs such as how to fix a flat tire, or
locating a family-friendly trail to ride,” Sorenson
said. “Addressing these basics right now has
immeasurable return on investment, and the
industry should be laser-focused on servicing
these new riders.”
According to the National Bicycle Dealers
Association website, the bicycle industry stands
to benefit from the behavior change during
the pandemic. The industry is evolving and
the cycling trend is accelerating rather than
slowing down.

The pandemic has caused disruption in how

consumers live, work, and play. People working

19
from home value personal mobility and are
realizing the value of a bicycle, according to
the association.
The website shows that in 2020, retail sales
skyrocketed by more than 40% and, by the year
2025, revenue is projected to be $8 billion.

GO FOR A RIDE
Here are some reasons for the popularity
of bikes, according to the National Bicycle
Dealers Association:
Changing lifestyles — People are spending
much more time at home, both for work
and for leisure. As travel shrinks, people are
willing to spend more on family recreational
activities close to home, investing more
in themselves.

Discovering the joy of cycling — Craving

an expanded relief from isolation and stress,
consumers want the freedom of simplicity,
and cycling fits the bill. Bikes are a way to stay
socially distanced and satisfy the need for social
engagement among like-minded people, family
and friends.
Human power pedals new wheels —
Research finds consumers are riding more for
sport, recreation and performance, but also
for transportation.

TAKE YOUR PICK

There is a bike style to fit every rider:

Road Bikes — Lightweight, efficient bikes

with drop handlebars and narrow tires, for
recreational riding, mostly (but not exclusively)
on pavement.

20
21
Mountain Bikes — Rugged machines with flat
handlebars and wide, knobby tires for riding
narrow dirt trails.
Gravel/Adventure Bikes — Drop-bar bikes with
clearance for multiple tire sizes for a range of
riding experiences on- and off-road.

Utility Bikes — Bikes designed for practical

cycling while commuting or running errands,
including tasks that involve carrying family
members or cargo.

Comfort/Fitness Bikes — Everything from

beach cruisers to flat-bar bikes for weekend
spins on multiuse paths.

E-Bikes — Electronic bicycles can be bikes

from almost any of the other categories here,
designed with a small, lightweight electric
motor to assist the rider.
Fat Bikes — These head-turning bikes feature
3.8-inch-wide or wider tires for flotation and
traction often for sand, snow or trail.
Triathlon Bikes — Road-style bikes built to
optimize aerodynamics with a wing-shaped
frame, wheel cross-sections and aggressive
rider positions.

Tandem Bikes — Tandems are bicycles built for

two or more riders, and thus are often built with
reinforced frames and components to handle
the extra weight. The rider in front is called the
pilot; the rear is referred to as the stoker.
Park Bikes — These purpose-built machines are
made for various uses, with two commonalities
linking them: They’re made for use in groomed
terrain, like bike park trails or skate parks, and
they’re all great at catching air.

22
23
24
Children’s Bikes — Get your little ones into
the action with a great kid’s bike. There are all
kinds of options, even dedicated road and full-
suspension mountain bikes built for small riders.

Tricycles — We’re not talking kid stuff here;

these are adult three-wheelers intended for
anyone who wants to haul lots of stuff, or who
needs or prefers the stability of the third wheel.

Recumbent Bikes — In contrast to a traditional

bicycle on which the rider sits upright,
recumbents put the rider in a reclined position
that some people find more comfortable.
Track Bikes — These stripped-down machines
are designed for special use in velodrome racing.
They feature very stiff frames, narrow tires, a
single gear that does not freewheel (if the bike is
moving, the pedals are turning) and no brakes.

TIPS FOR BUYING A BIKE

Ashley Reefer, owner of Flat Tire Co. in
Greensburg offers this advice for buying a bike:

• There are different sizes, so choose a bike that

fits you. If you buy the wrong frame size, it’s
like purchasing a pair of shoes that don’t fit.
That won’t be comfortable.

• Purchase from a local bicycle shop, because

the people there have knowledge about
bicycles and will support you after the sale. If
you buy something online, you don’t know
what you are getting.
• Buy a bike that fits your budget.
• Bring your bike in for annual service.

• If you purchase a used bike, make sure it’s

tuned up.

25
 Simply Better Living

SUPERSTEAM+ ™

BUILT-IN WALL OVEN

SSC2489DS

The Sharp® SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven is the start of

a cooking revolution. With Wi-Fi enabled IoT features, the
innovations within this steam oven are a perfect match
for modern cooking needs.
While regular steam only reaches 212°F, the SuperSteam+
oven can create superheated steam up to 485°F. Steam
this hot can roast meats and caramelize sugars so your
food can be brown and crispy on the outside, tender and
juicy on the inside. With the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven,
you can grill without smoke, roast without drying, and get
the roasty-toasty, tasty results you desire.

SEE FOR
YOURSELF

Get started right away with built-in recipes and The new Sharp SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven
download the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven app* to features Steam Bake for superior breads, and Water
enable the smart features and access custom Bath for cheesecakes, custards and puddings.
recipes powered by SideChef.

www.sharpusa.com | simplybetterliving.sharpusa.com
*Mobile Application and Home Assistant Skill available upon commercial release. © 2020 Sharp Electronics Corporation. All rights reserved. Sharp, Supersteam™ Oven
and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated entities. Product specifications and design are subject to
change without notice. Internal capacity calculated by measuring maximum width, depth and height. Actual capacity for holding food is less.
28
MERCEDES ROLLS
OUT LUXURY
ELECTRIC CAR IN
DUEL WITH TESLA

Daimler AG unveiled a battery-powered

counterpart to its top Mercedes-Benz luxury
sedan as German carmakers ramp up their
challenge to electric upstart Tesla.
The EQS is the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle to be
built on a framework designed from the start as
an electric car, rather than using components
from an internal-combustion vehicle.
Mercedes underscored the car’s technological
features by equipping it with a sweeping
touchscreen panel that stretches across the entire
front of the car’s interior in place of a conventional
dashboard. Tesla and other carmakers are also
adding large screens to their interiors.

29
The EQS is the sibling to the company’s S-Class
large internal-combustion sedan, the luxury
brands flagship model that sells for $110,000
and up. The two cars aim at the same upper end
of the market, though the EQS is set apart by
being build on the company’s electric-vehicle
architecture, or EVA. Mercedes isn’t saying yet
how much the EQS will cost when it reaches
customers later this year.

Daimler said the vehicle will get 770 kilometers

(478 miles) on a full charge under testing
standard used in the European Union. The
company is offering a year’s free charging
through Ionity, a network of highway charging
stations built by a group of major automakers.

German carmakers were slower to develop all-

electric models until tougher environmental
regulations and sales lost to California-based
Tesla pushed them to ramp up their efforts.
Volkswagen sold 422,000 electric vehicles last
year and developed the ID.3, a compact it hopes
will win over mass-market buyers, while its
Porsche division has come out with the Taycan
sports car. BMW launched the iX3 electric SUV.

30
31
SCRUTINY OF
TESLA CRASH
A SIGN THAT
REGULATION MAY
BE COMING

The fiery crash of a Tesla near Houston with

no one behind the wheel is drawing scrutiny
from two federal agencies that could bring new
regulation of electronic systems that take on
some driving tasks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration and the National Transportation
Safety board said this week they would send
teams to investigate the Saturday night crash
on a residential road that killed two men in a
Tesla Model S.

Local authorities said one man was found in

the passenger seat, while another was in the
back. They’re issuing search warrants in the
probe, which will determine whether the Tesla’s
Autopilot partially automated system was in
use. Autopilot can keep a car centered in its
lane, keep a distance from cars in front of it,
and can even change lanes automatically in
some circumstances.

34
Image: David Zalubowski
35
36
In the past, NHTSA, which has authority
to regulate automakers and seek recalls
for defective vehicles, has taken a hands-
off approach to regulating partial and fully
automated systems for fear of hindering
development of promising new features.

But since March, the agency has stepped up

inquiries into Teslas, dispatching teams to three
crashes. It has investigated 28 Tesla crashes in
the past few years, but thus far has relied on
voluntary safety compliance from auto and
tech companies.

“With a new administration in place, we’re

reviewing regulations around autonomous
vehicles,” the agency said last month.

Agency critics say regulations — especially of

Tesla — are long overdue as the automated
systems keep creeping toward being fully
autonomous. At present, though, there are no
specific regulations and no fully self-driving
systems available for sale to consumers in the U.S.
At issue is whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk has
over-sold the capability of his systems by using
the name Autopilot or telling customers that
“Full Self-Driving” will be available this year.

“Elon’s been totally irresponsible,” said Alain

Kornhauser, faculty chair of autonomous
vehicle engineering at Princeton University.
Musk, he said, has sold the dream that the cars
can drive themselves even though in the fine
print Tesla says they’re not ready. “It’s not a
game. This is serious stuff.”
Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations
office, did not respond to requests for
comment. Its stock fell 3.4% in the face of
publicity about the crash.

37
 Image: Christopher Goodney

38
In December, before former President Donald
Trump left office, NHTSA sought public
comment on regulations. Transportation
Secretary Elaine Chao, whose department
included NHTSA, said the proposal would
address safety “without hampering innovation in
development of automated driving systems.”
But her replacement under President Joe Biden,
Pete Buttigieg, indicated before Congress that
change might be coming.

“I would suggest that the policy framework in the

U.S. has not really caught up with the technology
platforms,” he said last month. “So we intend to
pay a lot of attention for that and do everything
we can within our authorities,” he said, adding that
the agency may work with Congress on the issue.

Tesla has had serious problems with Autopilot,

which has been involved in several fatal crashes
where it failed to stop for tractor-trailers crossing
in front of it, stopped emergency vehicles, or a
highway barrier. The NTSB, which can only issue
recommendations, asked that NHTSA and Tesla
limit the system to roads on which the system
can safely operate, and that Tesla install a more
robust system to monitor drivers to make sure
they’re paying attention. Neither Tesla nor the
agency took action, drawing criticism and blame
for one of the crashes from the NTSB.

Missy Cummings, an electrical and computer

engineering professor at Duke University who
studies automated vehicles, said the Texas crash
is a watershed moment for NHTSA.
She’s not optimistic the agency will do anything
substantial, but hopes the crash will bring
change. “Tesla has had such a free pass for so
long,” she said.

39
Frank Borris, a former head of NHTSA’s Office
of Defects Investigation who now runs a safety
consulting business, said the agency is in a
tough position because of a slow, outdated
regulatory process that can’t keep up with fast-
developing technology.

The systems holds great promise to improve

safety, Borris said. But it’s also working with
“what is an antiquated regulatory rule
promulgating process which can take years.”

Investigators in the Houston-area case haven’t

determined how fast the Tesla was driving at the
time of the crash, but Harris County Precinct Four
Constable Mark Herman said it was a high speed.
He would not say if there was evidence that
anyone tampered with Tesla’s system to monitor
the driver, which detects force from hands on
the wheel. The system will issue warnings and
eventually shut the car down if it doesn’t detect
hands. But critics say Tesla’s system is easy to fool
and can take as long as a minute to shut down.
The company has said in the past that drivers
using Autopilot and the company’s “Full Self-
Driving Capability” system must be ready to
intervene at any time, and that neither system
can drive the cars itself.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company
had released a safety report from the first
quarter showing that Tesla with Autopilot has
nearly a 10 times lower chance of crashing than
the average vehicle with a human piloting it.

But Kelly Funkhouser, head of connected

and automated vehicle testing for Consumer
Reports, said Tesla’s numbers have been
inaccurate in the past and are difficult to verify
without underlying data.

40
41
42
“You just have to take their word for it,”
Funkhouser said, adding that Tesla doesn’t say
how many times the system failed but didn’t
crash, or when a driver failed to take over.

Funkhouser said it’s time for the government to

step in, set performance standards and draw a
line between partially automated systems that
require drivers to intervene and systems that can
drive themselves.
“There is no metric, there is no yes or no, black or
white,” she said. She fears that Tesla is asserting
that it’s not a testing autonomous vehicles or
putting self-driving cars on the road, while
“getting away with using the general population
of Tesla owners as guinea pigs to test the system.”

43
 THE NEW iMAC 24”:
A NEW ERA FOR DESKTOP
COMPUTING BEGINS

46
47
It was perhaps one of Apple’s most anticipated
product refreshes of all time, and at its Spring
Loaded event, the Cupertino company did not
disappoint. Apple’s iconic all-in-one desktop
computer has been overhauled from the ground
up, sparking a new era for the Mac.

AN ALL-NEW DESIGN
At last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference,
Apple confirmed plans to transition away
from third-party computer chips towards its
own custom-designed silicon. Fast-forward six
months, and the first M1 Macs were born, with
the Mac mini, MacBook, and MacBook Pro given
new leases of life with record-breaking internals,
taking the Mac into a new direction. Speaking
of the M1 chip ahead of its launch, Apple’s CEO
Tim Cook said that “Apple silicon will make the
Mac stronger and more capable than ever. I’ve
never been more excited about the future of the
Mac,” promising to overhaul the entire product
portfolio within 2 years.

Where the first batch of M1 Macs focused

exclusively on internals, the new iMac offers a
more comprehensive refresh, enabled by the
system-on-chip architecture and amazing power
efficiency of M1. Compared to the previous
generation iMac, the logic board and thermals
are dramatically consolidated and reduced in
size, which aids in the stunning new design of
the computer, which effectively allows the side
profile of the iMac to “disappear”. According to
Apple, the new compact design, brought about
by huge innovations internally, have helped to
reduce the size of the iMac by half, and thanks
to seven striking color options - green, yellow,
orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver - Apple

48
 Introducing the new iMac

Image: Apple Inc.

49
 Image: Apple Inc.
50
harks back to a bygone era of the original
Mac range, available in plastic colors that
represented change and excitement.
Apple says that the new iMac sports softer
colors and thinner borders to allow users to
focus on their content, and for safety and to
simplify the design of the iMac, MagSafe has
been introduced, with a power connector that
attaches magnetically and a beautifully woven
2-meter-long color-matched cable. For the first
time, the Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and
Magic Keyboard have been given new color
options, now sold in complimenting colors
for corresponding iMacs.

AN EYE-WATERING DISPLAY
Keen to follow on from its award-winning Pro
Display XDR, Apple wanted to offer the very
best screen quality it could on its entry-level
iMac, and this year is no exception. The new
iMac features an expansive 24-inch 4.5K Retina
display with narrower borders and 11.3 million
pixels, as well as a P3 wide color gamut and
over a billion colors, with 500 nits of brightness,
ensuring text pops and images are brighter and
more vivid. True Tone tech has been introduced
to the iMac, too, automatically adjusting the
color temperature as the environment changes
for a more natural viewing experience, whilst
the new iMac also sports an industry-leading
anti-reflective coating for greater comfort
and readability. It’s true that the new iMac
display may not be quite as powerful as Apple’s
standalone $5,000 display, but it now shares
many of the same elements and stunning
design language.

51
52
 UNLOCKING THE POWER
OF APPLE SILICON
The new iMac really comes into its own
in regards to the new M1 chip and the
performance of macOS Big Sur, allowing the PC
to wake from sleep immediately, offer super-
fast performance for everyday computing tasks,
and run hundreds of tabs at once. Apple really
sets itself apart from the competition when
it comes to the combination of software and
hardware, and now with the introduction of
its own custom silicon chip, that experience is
even more refined, offering super-fast speeds
and everyday reliability, ideal for business.
The new iMac M1 chip features a powerful
8-core CPU, the fastest CPU core in low-power
silicon, as well as an 8-core GPU, which delivers
the fastest integrated graphics in a personal
computer. Combined with high efficiency,
unified memory architecture, and the 16-core
Apple Neural Engine, the new iMac delivers
powerful performance when it’s compared to
the previous 21.5-inch iMac. And though Apple’s
own data should always be taken with a pinch
of salt, we’ve seen with other M1-powered
Macs, the company can indeed deliver on its
cutting-edge speed promises. For example, the
new iMac offers up to 85 percent faster CPU
performance, two times faster CPU performance
in certain applications such as Photoshop, and
the ability to edit five streams of 4K footage
without dropping a frame. Apple also says the
new iMac offers three-times faster machine
learning in apps that leverage the 16-core
Neural Engine in M1, and as more developers
optimize their applications for M1, those figures
could become more impressive.
Image: Apple Inc.
53
GIVING THE ADD-ONS SOME LOVE
For the first time, Apple has introduced a 1080p
FaceTime HD camera into the iMac, offering
higher-quality video and great performance
in low light. In today’s remote working era,
where consumers are spending more time in
their home offices than ever before on Zoom
meetings and Skype catch-up calls, the new
iMac becomes an even more important tool in
any professional’s arsenal. Thanks to an image
signal processor in the M1 chip and the Neural
Engine, Apple is able to further enhance the
camera image quality, reducing noise and
offering greater dynamic range and improved
auto exposure and white balance over previous
models, hopefully solving an all-too-common
complaint from iMac users.

Alongside a new camera, the new iMac comes

with a studio-quality three-microphone array
for clearer calls and voice recordings, the best
ever in a Mac. According to Apple, the new
microphones have been strategically positioned
to reduce feedback from the rest of the system,
and directional beamforming allows them to
better ignore the background noise and focus
on a user’s voice. As well as new microphones,
the new iMac sports the “best sound system
ever in a Mac,” with two pairs of force-canceling
woofers placed side by side for impressive
bass response, as well as reducing unintended
vibrations. When combined, it offers users a six-
speaker sound system that produces a massive
sound stage with strong, articulate bass and
crystal-clear mids and highs - ideal for studios.

For the first time, users can choose from three

models of Magic Keyboard with gorgeous

54
Image: Apple Inc.

Say hello to the new iMac

55
aluminum enclosures that are color-matched to
iMac, and Touch ID comes to the iMac thanks to
a new fingerprint reader on the Eject button. It’s
the first time Apple has added a wireless Touch
ID option to a device, and it communicates
directly with Secure Enclave in M1, creating an
encrypted channel to protect users’ fingerprint
data from end to end. Not only does it allow
users to unlock their iMacs, but it also enables
Apple Pay and Fast User Switching, offering a
whole host of possibilities for businesses and
retail in years to come.

PUTTING CONNECTIVITY FIRST

In recent years, Apple has been criticized by
professional users for its lack of support for
third-party accessories. Indeed, some of the
latest MacBooks came with just a couple of

Image: Apple Inc.

56
USB-C ports on one side of the device, forcing
users to purchase expensive dongles just
so they could connect accessories such as
cameras, printers, and external hard drives. It
has taken time, but Apple has finally begun to
listen to its professional community and has
plans to make amends with its next-generation
Macs. The iMac comes first, and each new
model comes with two Thunderbolt ports
for superfast data transfers, giving customers
high-performance options to connect to
more devices, including support for up to a 6K
display, like Apple Pro Display XDR, and Wi-Fi 6
delivers faster wireless performance.

The new 8-core iMac configuration also

introduces two additional USB-C ports and
also features a 1Gbps Ethernet port in the
power adapter, allowing for a less cluttered

57
 ‘Spring Loaded’ Event — April 20

Image: Apple Inc.

58
desktop. Though there’ll still be some level
of compromise, it’s a great leap forward and
ensures that professional users can connect
important elements to their new iMac, without
having to worry about adapters and cables as
they once did. The 27-inch successor should
offer even more ports and connectivity
options to create a high-end all-in-one for
professional users.

ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS
Apple is increasingly considering the
environment when releasing new products,
and the new iMac is especially environmentally
friendly. During its keynote presentation, the
firm reiterated that it is now a carbon neutral
company for global corporate operations,
and vowed that by 2030, it will have net-zero
climate impact across the entire business,
including its manufacturing supply chains
and all product life cycles. Indeed, from
the time materials are collected for new
devices, through to the manufacturing of
components, then assembly, transport,
customer use, charging, and back through
recycling and material recovery down the line,
the company says it will be carbon neutral in
the next decade.

The truth is that upgrading your computer

still contributes to global warming, but Apple
is committed to reducing the impact. Indeed,
the new iMac was built using a low-carbon
aluminum enclosure and 100 percent recycled
tin in the solder of its main logic board, and
100% wood fiber from the packaging is
recycled, whilst the magnets in the speakers,
fan motor, and power connector are made with

59
100 percent recycled rare earth elements. As
has been the case for a number of years, the
new iMac is free of harmful substances, too.
Users can begin pre-ordering the new iMac
from April 30, with the first deliveries beginning
mid-May. The basic 7-core iMac starts at $1,299
in the United States, with a $50 discount for
students, and comes in green, pink, blue, and
silver. The 8-core GPU iMac starts at $1,499 in the
United States and is available in a wider color

Image: Apple Inc.

60
pallet - green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue,
and silver - coming with an 8-core CPU, 8GB of
unified memory, 256GB SSD, two Thunderbolt
ports, two additional USB 3 ports, Magic
Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Mouse, and
Ethernet. The first iMac review models will ship
to influencers shortly.

Although the new iMac has faced some initial

criticism over its design, few can argue that its
latest iteration marks a significant leap forward
for the all-in-one computer. In the years ahead,
as Apple further refines the iMac, and introduces
a successor to the 27-inch model, we’ll no doubt
see even greater innovations that push personal
computing even further.

61
APPLE UNVEILS
NEW PRODUCTS,
SCHEDULES
PRIVACY
CRACKDOWN

64
Apple spruced up its product line at an event
Tuesday while slipping in quiet notice of a
software update, now due next week, designed
to enhance the privacy of iPhone users at the
expense of digital advertisers such as Facebook.
Timing for the software upgrade trickled out
during a series of announcements for new
iPads, iMac computers and more during a pre-
recorded event that sometimes seemed like a
one-hour infomercial for Apple.

Apple also unveiled a new subscription option

for podcasts and a gadget called AirTags —
coin-sized devices that can be attached to keys,
backpacks, purses and other items to help people
track them down via iPhone if they’re misplaced.

The AirTags, due in stores April 30, will require

the iPhone software update called iOS 14.5.
That update will also include a new feature
requiring apps to obtain explicit permission
from users before tracking their activity and
whereabouts. Apple said in a footnote to its
AirTags announcement that the update will be
released at some point next week.

65
66
67
68
Apple had previously only said that the update
would be available in the spring. A similar
software update is coming out for iPads as well.
The new privacy tool could drain billions of
dollars of revenue from apps such as Facebook,
which rely on following people around on
iPhones to collect personal information that
helps them sell targeted ads.

That feature, called App Tracking Transparency,

will force apps to obtain permission before
collecting such surveillance data, even those
that are already installed on the device. To date,
such apps have been free to track iPhone users
automatically unless people take the time and
trouble to prevent the snooping.

Apple originally planned to released the ant-

tracking feature last September, but delayed it
to give apps that ad-dependent “free” apps to
adjust to the changes. Facebook spent part of
the delay blasting Apple for a change that it says
could make it difficult for smaller apps to survive
without charging consumers. At the same time,
Facebook has acknowledged to investors that its
own ad revenue could also be hurt.

69
70
71
On the product front, Apple is rolling out new
iMacs with better cameras and speakers for
improved video meetings and sound and new
iMac keyboards with the same fingerprint ID
sensor that unlocks iPhones and iPads. The
latest iPad Pros will work on ultrafast 5G wireless
networks that are still being built out.
Apple’s new paid podcast option will join
an increasingly crowded field of digital
antertainment and information subscription

72
services. Those already include several from
Apple, including music and video streaming
options that feed off the nearly 1.6 billion
devices currently in use by the company’s mostly
affluent customers.
The popularity of those products and services
have turned Apple into one of the world’s most
profitable companies with a market value of
$2.2 trillion, twice where it stood when the
pandemic began.

73
76
 APPLE SIGNALS
RETURN OF
RIGHT-WING
‘FREE SPEECH’
APP PARLER

Apple said it has reached an agreement with the

right-wing social app Parler that could lead to its
reinstatement in the company’s app store. Apple
kicked out Parler in January over ties to the
deadly Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.
In a letter to two Republican lawmakers in
Congress, Apple said it has been in “ substantial
conversations ” with Parler over how the
company plans to moderate content on its
network. Before its removal from the app
store, Parler was a hotbed of hate speech, Nazi
imagery, calls for violence (including violence
against specific people) and conspiracy theories.

77
Apple declined to comment beyond the letter,
which didn’t provide details on how Parler plans
to moderate such content. In the letter, Apple
said Parlor’s proposed changes would lead to
approval of the app.
Parler did not immediately respond to a
message for comment. Parler was not yet
available in the app store and Apple did not
give a timeline for when it will be reinstated.
According to Apple’s letter, Parler proposed
changes to its app and how it moderates
content. Apple said the updated app
incorporating those changes should be available
as soon as Parler releases it.

Google also banned Parler from its Google Play

store in January, but Parler remains available for
Android phones through third-party app stores.
Apple’s closed app system means apps are
only available through Apple’s own App Store.
Google reiterated its January statement that
“Parler is welcome back in the Play store once it
submits an app that complies with our policies.”

So far, this has not happened.

Parler remains banned from Amazon’s Web

Services. Amazon said in January that Parler was
unable to moderate a rise in violent content
before, during and after the insurrection. Parler
asked a federal judge in Seattle to force Amazon
to reinstate it on the web. That effort failed, and
the companies are still fighting in court.
Republican political donor Rebekah Mercer has
confirmed she helped bankroll Parler and has
emerged in recent months as the network’s
shadow executive after its founder John Matze
was ousted as CEO in February.

78
79
82
 RESTAURANTS,
DELIVERY APPS
STILL AT ODDS AS
DEMAND GROWS

Diners got used to delivery during the

pandemic, and the habit may stick long after
dining rooms reopen. But restaurants and
delivery companies remain uneasy partners,
haggling over fees and struggling to make the
service profitable for themselves and each other.

Companies like DoorDash and UberEats helped

many restaurants stay in business during
lockdowns, allowing diners to stay in and still
order out. But that convenience came at a price:
Delivery companies can charge commission fees
of 30% or more per order, hurting restaurants’
already meager profits.
Some restaurants, fed up with the fees, have
since started their own delivery or dropped off
the platforms altogether. Delivery companies
are trying to keep them in the fold with lower-
priced services and relief funds. But they’re not
making money either.
“The relationship was bad, and it didn’t get
better with the pandemic,” said Karan Girotra, a
professor at Cornell University’s Johnson College
of Business.

83
Girotra said delivery can be profitable in dense
neighborhoods, where multiple orders can be
delivered quickly and cheaply. But in sprawling
suburbs, the cost of shuttling food gets too high.

“The economics don’t work out, so the delivery

companies have to squeeze someone,” he
said. “They have to squeeze the restaurants,
the customers or the people working on
these platforms.”
Figuring out how to make delivery profitable
could be crucial in the coming years. Delivery
was already growing before the pandemic,
but it surged worldwide during lockdowns.
Online orders for home delivery more than
doubled in the U.S., Russia and Canada last year,
and jumped around 30% in France, Germany
and Spain, according to NPD Group, a market
research company.

In a recent survey, the National Restaurant

Association found that 60% of U.S. adults — and
71% of millennials — said they’re more likely
to get delivery now than they were before the
pandemic. But it’s unclear how many people will
stick to delivery once the pandemic is over and
they can dine in again.

Robbin Swaney, a retiree in Walker, Michigan,

said she and her husband started getting
delivery about once a week from Uber Eats early
in the pandemic. At the time, they wanted to
help local restaurants, but they have also come
to like the convenience.

“We’ll keep doing it,” Swaney said.

Some restaurant owners still welcome delivery
companies as partners. Corey Kaplan, who owns
Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli in downtown Chicago,

84
85
86
said DoorDash expanded his reach when his
usual traffic of office workers dried up. The
company lowered his commission fees and even
provided bags.

“DoorDash singlehandedly saved this store,”

said Kaplan, whose delivery orders now
make up 70% of his sales, up from 20% before
the pandemic.

Chocolate maker Jeffray Gardner says he

probably loses money on the one or two
delivery orders he gets each day at Marsatta
Chocolate in Torrance, California. But he’s still
happy to work with delivery companies because
they help him reach a wider audience. Last year,
he even drove for DoorDash and UberEats to
make extra cash and meet other local restaurant
owners who might stock his chocolates.

But many restaurant owners say they can’t make

the math work.

Evelyn Shelton, the chef-owner of Evelyn’s Food

Love in Chicago, says the food she makes in her
40-seat restaurant, like fried lobster, is expensive,
so her margins are already slim. She only briefly
tried third-party delivery before deciding to
focus on catering to survive the pandemic.

“Doing a revenue share with someone who

hasn’t bought any food or paid any labor doesn’t
make sense to me,” she said. “We’re too tiny to
give away all the profits.”

Many U.S. and Canadian lawmakers agree, and

temporarily capped the fees delivery companies
can charge to restaurants during the pandemic.
DoorDash said it lost $36 million in the fourth
quarter alone because of fee caps in 73 cities,
counties and states like Washington and Oregon.

87
Kevin Huang, vice president of merchant
operations at San Francisco-based DoorDash,
said he understands the impulse to protect
restaurants. But if DoorDash charges diners more
to make up for the lost revenue, then fewer
people will order. That hurts restaurants and the
gig workers who drive for DoorDash, he said.
Huang says the relationship between restaurants
and delivery companies is frayed partly because
delivery grew so quickly during the pandemic.
“Overnight they were forced to rely on delivery
in order to stay open,” he said. “There were
probably things lost in terms of how our business
works and how our pricing structure works.”
Huang said the company is trying to build trust.
It’s making more in-person visits to restaurants to
educate them about their options, like building
their own websites so they can bypass some
DoorDash fees.
Uber Eats said it’s experimenting with new pricing
tiers. It has a light plan — with a 5% commission
fee — that lets restaurants use their own drivers,
for example. A premium plan, with a 20%
commission fee, gives restaurants more visibility
on the app and access to Uber Eats drivers.
But delivery costs money, and the companies are
under pressure to start showing profits. DoorDash
and Uber Eats both lost money last year, even
though their sales more than tripled. European
rivals Deliveroo and Just Eat Takeaway.com —
which recently acquired U.S. delivery company
Grubhub — also lost money last year.
“If those guys can’t turn a profit, it shows how
broken the system is,” said Josh Saltzman, the
co-founder of Ivy and Coney, a restaurant and
bar in Washington.

88
89
Last May, Saltzman formed D.C. To-GoGo, a
delivery service for independent restaurants.
D.C. To-GoGo now has 62 restaurants and 20
delivery drivers who make an average of $18 to
$28 per hour, including tips, Saltzman said. The
site charges restaurants a 15% commission.

Others are trying to band restaurants together.

The Restaurant Empowerment Project,
which was founded late last year by Oakland,
California-based entrepreneur Sheng Xie, aims
to give independent restaurants the same
power to negotiate delivery commissions as big
chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks. Xie said
700 restaurants have already signed on.

“Food delivery is here to stay,” Xie said. “But a lot

of restaurants are very scared right now. They
fear going back to normal, paying 30% or more
and having no choice but to use these apps.”

After an unprecedented year, many restaurants

are somewhere in the middle. Philadelphia
restaurant owner Aaron Anderson thinks
delivery fees are too high. But he also sees
some value in delivery companies, which can
help restaurants test new concepts.
Anderson, who operates four Original Hot
Dog Factory locations, started a delivery-only
brand late last year called Chef Big Rube’s Kitchen.
It’s been so popular that Anderson will soon open
a physical restaurant. He hopes it will be packed
with patrons who aren’t getting delivery.
“Once things open back up, a lot of people
are not going to be using the delivery apps,
and that gives us the leverage to negotiate
those fees,” he said. “Right now, we don’t have
that leverage.”

90
91
94
 UNION,
AUTOMAKERS
HEADED FOR FIGHT
OVER BATTERY
PLANT WAGES

The United Auto Workers union is calling on

General Motors to pay full union wages at
electric vehicle battery factories, thrusting what
had been a festering conflict into the spotlight.

The union, in a statement reacting to GM’s

announcement that it would build a second U.S.
battery plant, said the company and its joint
venture partner have a “moral obligation” to pay
the higher wages at battery factories.
The statement sets the tone for the next round
of contract talks in 2023 between GM, Ford
and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler), all of
which have plans to make significant numbers
of battery-powered vehicles by then as they
invest billions to transition from internal
combustion engines.

However the conflict is resolved, it’s likely to

chart the course of American manufacturing
wages into the next decade as the nation moves
from petroleum powered vehicles to those that
run on electricity.

95
GM said wages at the battery plants would be
determined by Ultium Cells LLC, the joint venture
with LG Energy that’s running the factories.
GM and LG Energy Solutions, its partner on the
new plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and another
under construction in Lordstown, Ohio, near
Cleveland, should work with the UAW “to make
sure these are good-paying union jobs like those
of their brothers and sisters who make internal
combustion engines,” the union statement said.

It also could draw President Joe Biden into the

fray, because he is pushing the transition to EVs,
which he says will create “good-paying, union
jobs of the future.”

Currently top-scale union production workers

at internal combustion engine and transmission
plants run by GM, Ford and Stellantis (formerly Fiat
Chrysler) make more than $31 per hour. But when
the Lordstown plant was announced in 2019, GM
CEO Mary Barra said its worker pay would follow
GM’s component manufacturing strategy, where
workers are paid less than top union wages. She
said the plant would have to be cost-competitive.

At a GM plant assembling batteries in Brownstown

Township, Michigan, the union agreed in 2009 to
$15 to $17 per hour wages to assemble battery
cells into packs for the now-canceled Chevrolet
Volt hybrid gas-electric vehicle. That’s a little
more than what Amazon pays at distribution
centers and just above a proposed $15 per hour
new federal minimum wage. GM also pays about
$22.50 per hour at union-represented parts
manufacturing plants.
Kristin Dziczek, senior vice president at the
Center for Automotive Research, an industry
think tank, said workers who make internal

96
97
98
combustion engines and transmissions and
associated parts are at “the epicenter of
this industrial transformation from internal
combustion engines to batteries.”

With thousands of union jobs at stake, the

UAW will want the higher wages, she said, but
joint venture companies fear they won’t be
competitive globally if they pay too much.

“There’s lots of jobs on the line. The president

talks about this transition being positive for
jobs, but to do that it has to be very carefully
orchestrated,” she said.
Guidehouse Insights Principal Analyst Sam
Abuelsamid said Ford and Stellantis probably
will follow a model similar to GM with joint
ventures running battery plants, placing union
jobs at combustion engine and transmission
plants at risk.

“The union is going to lose a huge number of

jobs from engine and transmission plants that are
replaced by battery plants,” he said. “There are
also going to be job reductions in the assembly
plants due to simplified production of EVs with
probably somewhere around 25-30% fewer people
required to build same number of vehicles.”

The transition, he said, could cost the union half

of its membership in the next 10 to 15 years
unless it successfully organizes the battery plants.
The union statement came just after GM
announced plans to more than $2.3 billion to
build the second U.S. electric vehicle battery
factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
The 2.8-million-square-foot plant is expected
to create 1,300 manufacturing jobs in Maury
County when it opens in 2023.

99
The joint venture already is building the Ohio
plant, which will employ about 1,100 people.
“We are taking bold steps necessary to
accelerate toward an all-electric future and
to support our vision of zero crashes, zero
emissions and zero congestion,” said GM CEO
Mary Barra at a news conference in Nashville.
GM has previously announced that the Cadillac
Lyriq electric SUV will be built at the Spring Hill
complex. The SUV, due in showrooms during the
first half of 2022, will go an estimated 300 miles
(482 kilometers) per charge.
GM is likely to need far more battery capacity
if it’s able to deliver on a goal of converting
all of its new passenger vehicles from internal
combustion engines to electricity by 2035.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declared the new battery

plant project “the largest single investment of
economic activity in the state’s history” while
praising the project.

Lee, a Republican, and his top economic

development chief declined to detail how much
the state had provided in incentives but said
that information would come out soon.

“We will accommodate the companies as they

determine what strategies they’re going to take
for manufacturing,” Lee told reporters. “The
demand for their products is enormous, we
think this is a very wise investment.”
Industry analysts have said automakers face
a global shortage of batteries as the industry
moves away from gasoline powered vehicles.
Most of the world’s batteries are built in China
and other countries.

100
101
104
 DEMS PUSH $25B
TO ELECTRIFY
SCHOOL BUSES

Democratic lawmakers are unveiling legislation

that would invest $25 billion to convert the
nation’s fleet of gasoline- and diesel-powered
school buses to electric vehicles, aiming at a
component of President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion
infrastructure plan to improve children’s health.
The legislation led by Sen. Alex Padilla,
D-Calif., seeks to build on the administration’s
effort this week to promote the electrification
of school buses, which Biden sees as an
important step in addressing climate change
and economic inequities.
School buses make up 90% of the nation’s
total bus fleet and typically carry nearly 25
million children each day. Emissions from diesel
engines may contribute to respiratory illnesses
in children, studies have found, and have been
linked to poor academic performance.

105
The bill introduced this week would authorize
federal grant money over 10 years, with 40% of
it devoted to replacing school buses that serve
mostly nonwhite, poorer communities.

It would cover the expense of purchasing

electric school buses, building charging stations
and providing workforce training. The legislation
also directs the Environmental Protection
Agency to conduct outreach to help school
districts with the transition.

“I know firsthand how outdated diesel school

buses expose our children to harmful and
unnecessary pollution,” Padilla told The
Associated Press, explaining how as a kid he
frequently rode the bus to get to class and for
after-school programs such as baseball games.
“Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, my
lungs would be filled with diesel exhaust by the
time I arrived at school each day.”

“Transitioning our school bus fleet to zero-

emission vehicles is an essential aspect of
building equitable, sustainable infrastructure
and is a wise investment in our children, our
environment and our future,” he said.
Joining Padilla in co-sponsoring the legislation
are Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Reps. Tony
Cárdenas, D-Calif., and Jahana Hayes, D-Conn.

The lawmakers’ push comes in a week when

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are
highlighting their proposed $45 billion in
infrastructure spending to accelerate the
adoption of zero-emission transit buses and
school buses. Harris visited a North Carolina bus
manufacturing plant and urged $20 billion in
investments to help convert the nation’s 500,000
school buses to electric.

106
107
108
Harris’ focus on the issue dates back to
legislation she introduced as a California
senator in 2019 that would have provided $1
billion in federal grants to help districts electrify
school buses. The issue later was a plank in
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposed Green
New Deal.
Padilla was appointed by California Gov. Gavin
Newsom to fill Harris’ seat when she was
elected vice president.

The legislation faces an uphill climb to attract

60 votes needed for passage as a stand-alone
bill in a Senate divided 50-50, with Harris
casting the tie-breaking vote. But as lawmakers
start building the Biden infrastructure bill, the
measure could become a piece of the broader
package that could have more support or that
congressional Democrats may try to muscle
through on 51 votes via a budget process
called reconciliation.
The bill has earned support from an array
of outside groups, including the American
Federation of Teachers, the Environmental
Defense Fund, the Environmental Law & Policy
Center, the League of Conservation Voters and
the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Public schools are huge consumers of mass
transit, and the challenge of getting students
to school buildings in a more green, efficient
way is one we must tackle immediately,”
said Randi Weingarten, AFT’s president. “By
investing in zero-emission school buses we
can create cleaner, healthier, more sustainable
school communities where our children don’t
just survive but actually thrive.”

109
 by Tim Story
Genre: Action & Adventure
Released: 2021
Price: $19.99

6 Ratings

TOM & JERRY - Official Trailer

Movies
&TV Shows Rotten Tomatoes

31 %
110
Tom & Jerry
Jerry Mouse takes refuge in New York City’s
plush Royal Gate Hotel on the eve of an
eagerly anticipated celebrity wedding,
leading event planner and hotel employee
Kayla Forester (Chloë Grace Moretz) to hire
Tom Cat in a desperate attempt to get rid of
the vermin.

FIVE FACTS:
1. This is only the second theatrically-
released, feature-length film starring Tom and
Jerry – after 1992’s Tom and Jerry: The Movie.
2. However, while that film was entirely
animated, the new film combines animation
and live action in a similar manner to the
1988 classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
3. Jennifer Lawrence, Kelly Marie Tran and
Olivia Cooke were all reportedly considered
for the role of Kayla.
4. The film includes archive recordings of
animator William Hanna, who co-created
the characters of Tom and Jerry and was
responsible for their vocal sound effects in
the original run of cartoons.
5. As in the 1992 film, Droopy – a character
who, like Tom and Jerry, was originally
created for the now defunct Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio – makes a
cameo appearance.

111
112
Chloe Grace Moretz Talks About Acting
With “Tom & Jerry”

113
The Courier (2021)
In the 1960s, British businessman Greville
Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) is recruited
by his country’s Secret Intelligence Service and
keeps in touch with a Soviet contact, officer
Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), in an attempt
to help defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.

FIVE FACTS:
1. The film is based on the real-life Cold
War story of Wynne and Penokvsky, whose
espionage activities in the early 1960s indeed
helped prevent a nuclear confrontation.
2. Rachel Brosnahan also appears in the film
as a CIA officer. by Dominic Cooke
Genre: Drama
3. Characters in the film mention a spy called Released: 2021
Price: $19.99
Popov – a possible allusion to the real-life,
World War II-era MI6 double agent “Duško”
Popov, who is thought to have inspired the
6 Ratings
character of James Bond.
4. Cumberbatch has previously appeared in
two other films concerning British espionage:
2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and 2014’s The
Imitation Game.
5. The Courier was named Ironbark
during production.

Rotten Tomatoes

87 %
114
The Courier Official Trailer | In Theaters March 19

115
 Dominic Cooke on The Courier and His
Movie Adaptation of Follies

116
117
 Young Thug, Yak Gotti, & Gunna - Take It To Trial
(Official Music Video)

118
Music
 Slime Language 2
Young Stoner Life,
Young Thug & Gunna

Young Thug, widely considered one of his

generation’s most influential rappers, has
recruited many other big names on the hip-
hop scene – including Drake, Lil Uzi Vert and
Lil Baby – for this compilation album released
by Young Thug’s Atlanta-based label imprint
YSL Records.
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Released: Apr 16, 2021
23 Songs
Price: $10.99 FIVE FACTS:
1. Young Thug rose to mainstream
71 Ratings recognition with his 2014 singles “Stoner” and
“Danny Glover”.
2. Slime Language 2 is the follow-up to the
compilation album Slime Language, which
was released on August 17, 2018 – also by
Young Thug on his YSL Records label.
3. Artists who featured on that earlier album
and returned for its sequel include Lil Uzi Vert,
Lil Keed and Lil Baby.
4. Slime Language 2 was delayed multiple
times before its eventual release.
5. Three singles have been released from the
album: “Take it to Trial”, “GFU” and “That Go!”

119
120
Yak Gotti, Yung Kayo & Sheck Wes - GFU
[Official Video] | Young Stoner Life

121
Californian Soil
London Grammar

“We did things where we were, ‘We’re going

to make something that the world is never
going to hear. Let’s just do it for us,’” Hannah
Reid, vocalist of the British indie pop band
London Grammar, has told Apple Music
about this new album – an attitude which has
made it “different”.

Genre: Alternative
FIVE FACTS: Released: Apr 16, 2021
12 Songs
1. London Grammar consists of Reid, Dan Price: $10.99
Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major.
2. The band chose to mention London in 37 Ratings
their name not only because they hail from
the UK capital, but also because London is
“so international and multicultural”.
3. Four of the album’s tracks have been
released as singles: “Baby It’s You”, “Californian
Soil”, “Lose Your Head” and “How Does It Feel”.
4. Reid told Apple Music about the lead
single: “It gave me such a feeling of being in
love, newly in love, and stuff like that.”
5. Meanwhile, the title track “has a different
kind of energy going on”, according to Reid.

122
London Grammar - Baby It’s You (Official Visualiser)

123
 London Grammar - Californian Soil (Official Video)

124
125
126
 IS IT FINALLY
GAME ON FOR
VIDEO GAME
ADAPTATIONS?

Is there a more woebegone movie genre than

the video game adaptation? This is the pantheon
of “Max Payne,” “Wing Commander” and
“Assassin’s Creed.” In the 27 years since the first
video game movie, “Super Mario Bros.,” these
adaptations have been so regularly mocked that
you might think the genre was -- like a teetering
fighter in “Mortal Kombat” surrounded by chants
of “Finish him!” -- on its last legs.
And yet, Hollywood is increasingly viewing
video games as one of the ripest, richest veins
of intellectual property outside of comic books.

127
Even as much of the film business slowed over
the last year, the hunt for the kind of IP that has
fueled an overwhelming share of worldwide
box-office ticket sales has continued unabated.

The video game movie isn’t finished. It might

even be just pressing “Start.”

On Friday, Warner Bros. will release a new,

rebooted “Mortal Kombat” 26 years after the
first adaptation of the martial arts fighter. It
was then just the fourth video game movie,
coming on the heels of “Double Dragon” and
“Street Fighter,” with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
This was well before the IP land rush started
by Marvel’s success more than a decade later.
“Apollo 13” was the No. 2 film at the box office
in 1995.

Now, a bloodier, R-rated “Mortal Kombat”

signals a new cycle for video game adaptations.
After years of misfires and flops, it’s lately
seemed like a new level has been unlocked
for one of the movies’ most derided genres.
In 2019, “Detective Pikachu,” based on the
Nintendo game, grossed more than $400 million
worldwide for Warner Bros. Last year, “Sonic
the Hedgehog” became the genre’s highest
grosser; a sequel is already underway. Netflix,
which on Wednesday suggested it may invest
more deeply in gaming, has found one of its
biggest hits -- the streamer’s answer to “Game
of Thrones” -- in “The Witcher.” The Henry Cavill-
led series is based on a fantasy novel series that
found fame as a popular video game.

No one is engraving Oscars or Emmys yet. But

it may be that video game adaptations aren’t
cursed, after all. They were just going through
some growing pains.

128
129
 Mortal Kombat (2021) - Official Red Band Trailer

130
“Comic-book IP is the biggest IP in the world
right now and yet it took 40 years to really get
into the spotlight and it took 50 years to become
the biggest thing,” says Matthew Ball, a venture
capitalist and former head of strategic planning
for Amazon Studios. “Video game adaptions
have been happening since the early ’90s but
we see a lot of evidence that people are learning
-- they’re training. At some point in the near
future, I would be shocked if we didn’t have on
a recurring basis one of the biggest films and TV
series of the year coming from video games.”
Hollywood’s hunt for IP with built-in global
fanbases has found more dead ends over the
last decade than new directions. But gaming is
unique in its scope and growth. Last year, the
gaming industry was worth more than $150
billion. By 2023, revenue will reach $200 billion,
Juniper Research has forecast, exceeding the
size of the film industry. A study released this
week by consulting firm Deloitte found that the
top entertainment activity of Gen Z — those
aged 14-24 — is playing video games, ranking
over movies or music by a wide margin.
“There’s an appetite and desire to make things
that might have seemed more niche at some
point,” says “Mortal Kombat” filmmaker Simon
McQuoid, an in-demand director of commercials
who’s previously worked on ad campaigns for
Sony’s PlayStation and “Halo.”“I get the feeling
people are OK pushing that forward and being
a little mainstream with things.”
Many video game adaptations have had
prolonged or even torturous developments,
suggesting the industry is still figuring out
how to tackle these properties. “Mortal
Kombat” was in development for a decade.

131
Infamously, “Sonic the Hedgehog” was forced
to redesign its animated protagonist after an
outcry from fans. There are reasons that video
game movies get ranked from “least bad to
absolute worst.”
Some have suggested the mediums are
inherently distinct. Roger Ebert maintained
video games aren’t art and “by their nature
require player choices, which is the opposite of
the strategy of serious film and literature, which
requires authorial control.”

But someone, eventually, may crack the code of

the video game movie. In the years since Ebert
wrote that in 2015, games have developed in
atmosphere, narrative and character. They are
more cinematic. More filmmakers are gamers,
themselves, and they’re interested in plumbing
virtual worlds while staying true to a game’s spirit.

“The importance of the source material has

become something that 20 years ago people
didn’t really care about. They nodded at it,”
says Johannes Roberts (“47 Meters Down”),
director of the upcoming “Resident Evil” reboot,
“Welcome to Racoon City.”“There’s definitely a
real understanding that you need to believe and
love in it. I think studio execs get that, that it is
an important thing, that you can’t just take the
name and run with it.”

Roberts’ film, currently in post-production,

follows six “Resident Evil” films, the longest-
running video game movie franchise. It’s set
for release in November from Sony Pictures,
which next February will unveil a long-awaited
adaptation of the game “Uncharted” by director
Ruben Fleischer (“Venom,”“Zombieland”), with
Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.

132
133
134

Mortal Kombat - Opening Seven Minutes
Pipelines are getting crowded. A long-in-
development, Steven Spielberg-produced
“Halo” series is planned for early next year on
Paramount+. Netflix will premiere a “Resident
Evil” series in June; the streamer also has an
“Assassin’s Creed” series in the works. Last
month, Sony and PlayStation Productions said
they would produce an adaptation of the hugely
popular game “Ghost of Tsushima” with “John
Wick” director Chad Stahelski.
Launched in 2019, Sony’s PlayStation
Productions is uniquely poised between
moviemaking and video games. The production
company is also making an HBO series of the
“The Last of Us,” a celebrated third-person post-
apocalyptic adventure game. That the project
attracted “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin is for
many observers a sign of a rising stature for
video game adaptations.
“I’ve noticed in the last year that there is this
awareness that they’re sitting on something that
is quite interesting and not as mined as it should
be, or could be,” says Roberts, who says he’s
approaching “Resident Evil” the way he would a
Stephen King novel. “I’m interested to see how
all the other movies tackle it. It’s a fascinating
time for sure.”
135
AMAZON BEGINS
ROLLOUT OF
PAY-BY-PALM AT
WHOLE FOODS
NEAR HQ

136
137
138
Amazon is rolling out pay-by-palm technology
at some Whole Foods grocery stores near its
headquarters to make paying quicker and
more convenient.

The technology, called Amazon One, lets

shoppers scan the palm of their hand and
connect it to a credit card or Amazon account.
After the initial set up, which Amazon says
takes less than a minute, shoppers can scan
their hand at the register to pay for groceries
without having to open their wallets.

Amazon first launched the technology late last

year and at the time said the technology could
be used at stadiums, office buildings and other
retailers. So far, Amazon hasn’t announced
any takers. It has been put into use in several
of its cashier-less stores and Amazon said it
has signed up thousands of users, but didn’t
provide a specific number.

Privacy experts have warned against the use

by companies of biometric data, such as face
or palm scans, because of the risk of it being
hacked and stolen. Amazon said it keeps the
palm images in a secure part of its cloud and
doesn’t store the information on the Amazon
One device. The company said shoppers can
also ask for their information to be deleted at
any time.
A Whole Foods store in Amazon’s hometown
of Seattle started using the technology on
Wednesday. Seven additional Whole Foods
locations in the area will have it installed in
the coming months. Amazon declined to say
if or when other locations might get it. There
are about 500 Whole Foods stores across
the country.

139
140
 NASA’S MARS
HELICOPTER
TAKES FLIGHT,
1ST FOR
ANOTHER PLANET

NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose

into the thin air above the dusty red surface of
Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered
flight by an aircraft on another planet.

The triumph was hailed as a Wright brothers

moment. The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram)
copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the
Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

It was a brief hop — just 39 seconds and 10

feet (3 meters) — but accomplished all the
major milestones.

“Goosebumps. It looks just the way we had

tested,” project manager MiMi Aung said as she
watched the flight video during a later briefing.
“Absolutely beautiful flight. I don’t think I can
ever stop watching it over and over again.”
Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in California declared success
after receiving the data and images via the
Perseverance rover. Ingenuity hitched a ride

141
to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover’s
belly when it touched down in an ancient river
delta in February.
The $85 million helicopter demo was considered
high risk, yet high reward.
Scientists cheered the news from around the
world, even from space, and the White House
offered its congratulations.

“A whole new way to explore the alien terrain

in our solar system is now at our disposal,”
Nottingham Trent University astronomer Daniel
Brown said from England.

This first test flight holds great promise, Brown

noted. Future helicopters could serve as scouts
for rovers, and eventually astronauts, in difficult,
dangerous places.

Ingenuity has provided a third dimension to

planetary exploration and ”freed us from the surface
now forever,” said JPL director, Michael Watkins.
Ground controllers had to wait more than three
excruciating hours before learning whether
the preprogrammed flight had succeeded 178
million miles (287 million kilometers) away. The
first attempt had been delayed a week because
of a software error.
When the news finally came, the operations
center filled with applause, cheers and laughter.
More followed when the first black and white
photo from Ingenuity appeared, showing the
helicopter’s shadow as it hovered above the
surface of Mars.
“The shadow of greatness, #MarsHelicopter
first flight on another world complete!” NASA
astronaut Victor Glover tweeted from the
International Space Station.

142
First Video of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in
Flight, Includes Takeoff and Landing (High-Res)

143
 After NASA’s Historic First Flight:
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Update

144
Next came stunning color video of the copter’s
clean landing, taken by Perseverance, “the best
host little Ingenuity could ever hope for,” Aung
said in thanking everyone.

The helicopter hovered for 30 seconds at its

intended altitude of 10 feet (3 meters), and
spent 39 seconds airborne, more than three
times longer than the first successful flight
of the Wright Flyer, which lasted a mere 12
seconds on Dec. 17, 1903.

To accomplish all this, the helicopter’s twin,

counter-rotating rotor blades needed to spin
at 2,500 revolutions per minute — five times
faster than on Earth. With an atmosphere
just 1% the density of Earth’s, engineers had
to build a helicopter light enough — with
blades spinning fast enough — to generate
this otherworldly lift. The Martian wind was
relatively gentle Monday: between 4 mph and
14 mph (7 kph to 22 kph).
More than six years in the making, Ingenuity
is just 19 inches (49 centimeters) tall, a spindly
four-legged chopper. Its fuselage, containing
all the batteries, heaters and sensors, is the
size of a tissue box. The carbon-fiber, foam-
filled rotors are the biggest pieces: Each pair
stretches 4 feet (1.2 meters) tip to tip.

Ingenuity also had to be sturdy enough to

withstand the Martian wind, and is topped with
a solar panel for recharging the batteries, crucial
for surviving the minus-130 degree Fahrenheit
(minus-90 degree-Celsius) Martian nights.
NASA chose a flat, relatively rock-free
patch for Ingenuity’s airfield. Following
Monday’s success, NASA named the area for
the Wright brothers.

145
“While these two iconic moments in aviation
history may be separated by time and... million
miles of space, they now will forever be
linked,” NASA’s science missions chief Thomas
Zurbuchen announced.
The little chopper with a giant job attracted
attention from the moment it launched
with Perseverance last July. Even Arnold
Schwarzenegger joined in the fun, rooting
for Ingenuity over the weekend. “Get to the
chopper!” he shouted in a tweeted video, a line
from his 1987 sci-fi film “Predator.”

Up to five increasingly ambitious flights are

planned, and they could lead the way to a fleet
of Martian drones in decades to come, providing
aerial views, transporting packages and serving
as lookouts for human crews. On Earth, the
technology could enable helicopters to reach
new heights, doing things like more easily
navigating the Himalayas.
Ingenuity’s team has until the beginning of May
to complete the test flights so that the rover
can get on with its main mission: collecting rock
samples that could hold evidence of past Martian
life, for return to Earth a decade from now.

The team plans to test the helicopter’s limits,

possibly even wrecking the craft, leaving it
to rest in place forever, having sent its data
back home.
Until then, Perseverance will keep tabs on
Ingenuity. Flight engineers affectionately call
them Percy and Ginny.
“Big sister’s watching,” said Malin Space
Science Systems’ Elsa Jensen, the rover’s lead
camera operator.

146
147
148
 ASTRONAUTS
FLYING REUSED
SPACEX ROCKET,
CAPSULE FOR
1ST TIME

For the first time, NASA is putting its trust in a

recycled SpaceX rocket and capsule for a crew.
Astronaut Megan McArthur takes special
pleasure in the reused spacecraft set to soar
Thursday morning. In “a fun twist,” she’ll sit in the
same seat in the same capsule as her husband,
Bob Behnken, did last spring for a test flight to
the International Space Station.
“It’s kind of a fun thing that we can share. I can
see him and say, ‘Hey, can you hand over the
keys. I’m ready now to go,’“ she said in a recent
interview with The Associated Press.
Image: John Raoux
149
150
While their 7-year-old son, Theo, is becoming
a pro at parent launches, McArthur said “he’s
not super excited” about her being gone for
six months. That’s how long she and her three
crewmates will spend at the space station.
This will be SpaceX’s third crew flight for NASA
from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in under
a year. The commercial flights ended the U.S.’s
reliance on Russian rockets launched from
Kazakhstan to get astronauts to and from the
space station after the shuttles retired.

SpaceX’s Benji Reed noted Tuesday the private

company already has put six people in space
— as many as NASA’s Project Mercury did back
in the early 1960s when it launched the first
Americans. The upcoming flight will boost that
number to 10.

Some highlights of the SpaceX flight:

USE, RECYCLE, REPEAT

Both the Dragon capsule and Falcon rocket
for this mission have soared once before. The
capsule launched the first SpaceX crew last
May, while the rocket hoisted the second set of
astronauts, who are still at the space station. For
SpaceX, recycling is key to space exploration,
Reed said, lowering costs, increasing flights
and destinations, and allowing more kinds
of people to jump on board. Each capsule is
designed to launch at least five times with a
crew. SpaceX and NASA are assessing how many
times a Falcon can safely launch astronauts.
For satellites, Falcons can be used for 10 flights.
The company uses the same kind of rocket and
similar capsules for station supply runs, and
recycles those, too.

151
US-FRENCH-JAPANESE CREW
This is the most internationally diverse crew yet
for SpaceX. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough,
a retired Army colonel, is the spacecraft
commander, with McArthur, an oceanographer,
as his pilot. Thomas Pesquet, a former Air France
pilot, is representing the European Space
Agency. Engineer Akihiko Hoshide has worked
for the Japanese Space Agency for nearly 30
years and helped build the space station. All but
McArthur have already visited the 260-mile-high
(420-kilometer-high) outpost. But she’s ventured
100 miles (160 kilometers) higher on the space
shuttle, taking part in NASA’s final Hubble Space
Telescope mission in 2009. The four have started
a new recycled-rocket tradition for SpaceX crews,
writing their initials in the soot of their booster.

BON APPETIT
With French and Japanese astronauts flying
together, dining promises to reach new heights.
Hoshide is taking up curry and rice, as well as
canned fish and yakitori — grilled and skewered
chicken — but no sushi. Pesquet had a Michelin-
starred chef whip up some French delicacies:
beef with red wine and mushroom sauce,
truffled potato and onion tart, and almond tart
with caramelized pears. There are also Crepes
Suzette. Pesquet said last weekend he had
“some national pressure” to fly French cuisine.
His crewmates also had high expectations: “OK,
we’re flying with a Frenchman, it better be good.”

COMING & GOING

Five days after this crew’s arrival at the space
station, the one Japanese and three U.S.

152
153
 Image: Aubrey Gemignani
154
astronauts who have been up there since
November will strap into their SpaceX capsule
to come home. NASA wants some time in orbit
between the two crews, so the newcomers
can benefit from their colleagues’ experience
up there. SpaceX is targeting an April 28
splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast
of Tallahassee, Florida. The company already
is conferring with the Coast Guard to prevent
pleasure boats from swarming the area like
they did for the first SpaceX crew’s splashdown
in August. More Coast Guard ships will be on
patrol this time.

155
156
SPACE ‘SEXY’ AGAIN
As France’s Pesquet sees it, the U.S. and
European space agencies may be cool, but
SpaceX is even cooler. “They’ve done a really
good job, I think, making human spaceflight
sexy again. Sometimes people don’t like me
saying that, but that’s kind of the truth. And
it’s not that easy,” he told the AP in a recent
interview. Take the white-with-black-trim
SpaceX spacesuits, which are color-coordinated
with the rocket, capsule and gull-winged Teslas
used to transport astronauts to the launch pad.
Looking good is important for SpaceX, Pesquet
noted, and “it’s a reasonable price to pay” to get
the public enthusiastic about space travel.

157
158
 DRUNK (AND I DON’T WANNA GO HOME)
EllE King & Miranda laMbErt

THE GOOD ONES

gabby barrEtt

ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN

MasKEd Wolf

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN

bruno Mars, andErson .PaaK & silK sonic

CHASING AFTER YOU

ryan Hurd & MarEn Morris

MAGGIE’S SONG
cHris staPlEton

PEACHES (FEAT. DANIEL CAESAR & GIVĒON)

Justin biEbEr

FOREVER AFTER ALL

luKE coMbs

WINE, BEER, WHISKEY

littlE big toWn

GLAD YOU EXIST

dan + sHay

159
160
 MY SAVIOR
carriE undErWood

HEART
Eric cHurcH

FEARLESS (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

taylor sWift

THE BATTLE AT GARDEN’S GATE

grEta Van flEEt

STARTING OVER
cHris staPlEton

LET THE BAD TIMES ROLL

tHE offsPring

HERE AND NOW

KEnny cHEsnEy

SLIME LANGUAGE 2
young stonEr lifE, young tHug & gunna

DANGEROUS: THE DOUBLE ALBUM

Morgan WallEn

THE BEST OF DMX

dMX

161
162
 MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)
lil nas X

TALKING TO JESUS (FEAT. BRANDON LAKE)

ElEVation WorsHiP & MaVEricK city Music

JIREH (FEAT. CHANDLER MOORE &

NAOMI RAINE)
ElEVation WorsHiP & MaVEricK city Music

G.U.Y. (AN ARTPOP FILM)

lady gaga

CANCIÓN BONITA (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

carlos ViVEs & ricKy Martin

ATLANTIS
sHinEE

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN

bruno Mars, andErson .PaaK & silK sonic

KISS ME MORE (FEAT. SZA)

doJa cat

NO MORE PARTIES (REMIX)

coi lEray & lil durK

ON THE GROUND
rosÉ
163
164
 CAKE SHOCK
bEloW dEcK sailing yacHt, sEason 2

GREAT EX-PECTATIONS
KEEPing uP WitH tHE KardasHians, sEason 20

HOW THE WIG STOLE CHRISTMAS

tHE rEal HousEWiVEs of atlanta, sEason 13

PUT UP OR SHUT UP
all aMErican, sEason 3

TELL ALL, PT. 2

90 day fiancÉ, sEason 8

RPDR REUNITED
ruPaul’s drag racE, sEason 13 (uncEnsorEd)

EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY

bull, sEason 5

WHO SMARTED?
aMErican dad, sEason 16

NEW BLOOD
tHE rooKiE, sEason 3

GENDER REVEAL
tHE good doctor, sEason 4

165
166
 THE CROWN OF GILDED BONES
JEnnifEr l. arMEntrout

A GAMBLING MAN
daVid baldacci

BATMAN/FORTNITE: ZERO POINT (2021) #1

cHristos gagE & rEilly broWn

OCEAN PREY
JoHn sandford

STATE OF AFFAIRS
MariE forcE

LOVER UNVEILED
J.r. Ward

THE RELUCTANT FATHER

diana PalMEr

KNOCKOUT
catHErinE coultEr

THE RIGHT PATH

nora robErts

THE FOUR WINDS

Kristin HannaH

167
168
 FOXCONN DEAL
WITH WISCONSIN
LOWERS TAX
BREAKS TO
$80 MILLION

Foxconn Technology Group will be eligible for

just $80 million in taxpayer subsidies under
a new contract signed this week, down from
nearly $3 billion it could have received under
the original deal that envisioned a much larger
project in southeastern Wisconsin.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who ran in 2018
as a critic of the deal that his Republican
predecessor struck with the world’s largest
electronics manufacturer, announced details of

169
170
the new contract after it was approved by the
Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. during
a closed session.
“The last deal didn’t work for Wisconsin, and
that doesn’t work for me,” Evers said. “Today I’m
delivering on that promise with an agreement
that treats Foxconn like any other business and
will save taxpayers $2.77 billion, protect the
hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure
investments the state and local communities
have already made, and ensure there’s
accountability for creating the jobs promised.”

Under the original deal, signed in 2017, Taiwan-

based Foxconn would have qualified for $2.85
billion in state tax credits if it invested $10 billion
and created 13,000 jobs. Under the new deal,
Foxconn will qualify for $80 million if it employs
1,454 people with an average wage of $53,875
and invests $676 million by 2026. Under the
original deal, when taking into account local
government incentives, the taxpayer subsidies
for Foxconn totaled more than $4 billion.

The new contract is good for six years rather

than 15. It also allows the state to recover 100%
of incentives paid each year in the event of
a default.

Both Evers and Missy Hughes, secretary of the

state economic development agency, said the
amended contract would treat Foxconn the
same as other businesses.
“By right-sizing the contract, our state is in a
position where we can ensure that all businesses
– everywhere – have the resources they need to
grow and prosper,” Hughes said.

Foxconn, best known for making Apple iPhones,

said in a statement that the new contract

171
172
will give it the “flexibility to pursue business
opportunities in response to changing global
market conditions.” Foxconn said the original
projections for the project have “changed due to
unanticipated market fluctuations.”
The Evers’ administration had informed Foxconn
that the project was no longer in compliance
with its original contract and therefore would
not qualify for tax incentives tied to job creation
and investments by the company. The two sides
have been working on a new deal for more than
a year.

Its sprawling campus is 2,500 acres

(1,012 hectares).

Then-President Donald Trump heralded the

original deal as a sign of a revitalized American
manufacturing economy, calling the envisioned
plant “transformational” and the “eighth wonder
of the world.” But skeptics, citing other Foxconn

173
174
promises that never came to pass, questioned
whether the Wisconsin project would be as
massive as planned.
What exactly Foxconn will make in Wisconsin
has changed since it signed the first contract
in 2017 under then-Gov. Scott Walker. At that
time, Foxconn said it planned to build large,
flat screen panels at the plant. However, the
company’s chairman said earlier this year might
make electric vehicles at the facility.

The new contract allows Foxconn to earn the

incentives with no specific requirement on
what it makes. The original contract was tied to
Foxconn producing the flat screens it initially
said would be made there.

State Sen. Dan Feyen, a Republican who is

also on the economic development board of
directors, said the Wisconsin plant will be used
“for the manufacturing of data infrastructure
and other operations related to high-
performance computing, cloud computing, and
artificial intelligence.”

“This project and commitment to our state

is a transformational opportunity for our
Wisconsin, and I am proud to support
these family supporting jobs,” Feyen said.
“The contract amendment will protect
taxpayers while providing state incentives
that make the Foxconn’s changing future in
Wisconsin possible.”
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos,
whose district includes the Foxconn factory,
said, “Hopefully we can now put the politics
surrounding the development behind us and
focus on the partnership that continues to
benefit all of Wisconsin.”

175
SANCTIONED
RUSSIAN IT
FIRM WAS
PARTNER WITH
MICROSOFT, IBM

The Treasury Department slapped six Russian

technology companies with sanctions for
supporting Kremlin intelligence agencies
engaged in “dangerous and disruptive
cyber attacks.”
But only one of them stands out for its
international footprint and partnerships with
such IT heavyweights as Microsoft and IBM.
That company, Positive Technologies, claims
more than 2,000 customers in 30 countries,
including major European banks Societe
Generale and ING, as well as Samsung, SK
Telecom of South Korea and BT, the British
telecommunications giant.
Its clients also include the FSB, a successor to
the KGB that “cultivates and co-opts criminal
hackers” who carry out ransomware and
phishing attacks, the Treasury Department
said. The U.S. said big conventions hosted by
Positive Technologies are “used as recruiting

176
Image: Andrew Harnik
177
178
events” by the FSB and the GRU, Russia’s military
intelligence agency.
GRU agents are the swashbucklers of Russian
intelligence. The agency stands accused of
spearheading the hack-and-leak operation
that interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential
election to favor Donald Trump. Its agents also
conducted the most damaging cyberattack on
record, the runaway 2017 NotPetya virus that
did more than $10 billion in global damage, its
victims including the shipping giant Maersk and
pharmaceutical company Merck.

The CEO of the software industry-supported

Internet Research Institute in Moscow, Karen
Kazaryan, said he was not familiar with most of
the Russian IT companies sanctioned last week.
But Positive Tech is well-known in the industry
for its annual Hack Days conference, which is
scheduled for May 20-21 at a Moscow hotel.

Former CIA analyst Michael van Landingham

applauded the naming and sanctioning of
Russian IT companies known to have aided and
abetted malign government activity.

“Naming specific companies can create

incentives for educated and skilled Russians
who might be able to obtain jobs elsewhere
where they don’t support Russian state
hacking,” he said.
Positive Tech’s specialty is identifying
vulnerabilities in popular software such as
Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The
world’s intelligence agencies regularly lean
on companies like it not to disclose potent
vulnerabilities publicly when they find them
but to instead quietly share them for hacking
adversaries’ networks.

179
The U.S. did not accuse Positive Technologies of
any such behavior and the Treasury Department
declined to answer questions about the
company’s activities beyond a press release.

Microsoft would not offer details on the the

company’s business relationship with Positive Tech
but did say it would comply with the sanctions.
Spokesmen also said the company was removing
Positive Tech from a list of more than 80 security
software providers to which it gives early access
to vulnerability information so they can make sure
their customers get patches quickly. IBM also lists
Positive Technologies as a security partner, offering
customers one of its scanning tools.

IBM didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Neither did U.S. tech companies HP and
VMware, which Positive Technologies lists as
technology partners.

On its website, Positive Technologies lists

Russia’s Defense Ministry as among its first
major clients, in 2004 when it was two years old
with just 11 employees. It claimed more than
800 employees in 2018.

Russia’s biggest business database lists the

company’s CEO and founder as Yury Maximov,
about whom little is known other than he
graduated from Moscow State University. The
company did not respond to questions sent to
press contacts on its website.
Positive Tech’s website boasts of a number
of accomplishments, such as providing
cybersecurity for the 2018 soccer World Cup
hosted by Russia and publishing data that same
year on 30 high-risk vulnerabilities. It said it
opened its first international office in London in
2010 and its first U.S. office in 2012.

180
Image: Daniel Newman

181
182
The company has sometimes used Framingham,
Massachusetts, as its U.S. location in news
releases, though it’s not recorded in city or state
records as a business by that name. An office
building with an address linked to the company
is a co-working space that can be rented on
flexible terms for “one person or more.”
Market research firm IDC listed Positive
Technologies as one of the fastest-growing
companies in security and vulnerability
management in 2012, in part because it was so
small at the time, growing nearly 82% year-over-
year to $30 million in worldwide revenue. Nearly all
that revenue came from assessing vulnerabilities.
But by 2015, its worldwide revenues fell 37.6% to
$26.5 million, according to IDC, which eventually
stopped tracking the company.

183
‘BRITCOIN’ DIGITAL
CURRENCY BEING
CONSIDERED
BY UK

British authorities are exploring the possibility

of creating a new digital currency that Treasury
chief Rishi Sunak touted as “Britcoin.”
The Bank of England and the Treasury said this
week that they will work together to assess
the benefits of a central bank digital currency,
at a time when cash payments are generally
on the decline, partly as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic.

The bank said the new currency, if it comes to

pass, would be a new form of digital money for
use by households and businesses and would
exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather
than replacing them.
Digital currencies, which are only available in
digital or electronic form, are already being
explored or even implemented in several other
countries, with many proponents drawing

184
Image: Tolga Akmen
185
186
inspiration from the success of Bitcoin and other
so-called cryptocurrencies. However, digital
currencies, like the one being considered in the
U.K. are different in a key sense to Bitcoin as they
are issued by state authorities.
“The world is going the way of digital currencies
and we have to find a place for them in the
mainstream,” said Anne Boden, founder and
chief executive of app-based Starling Bank.

One of the benefits of a digital currency would be

as a backup to card payments if cash payments
continue to drop in the years to come — by the
end of this decade, only one in 10 payments in
the U.K. are expected to be made with traditional
paper money. Proponents of digital currencies
also think they can provide another way for
people to make purchases online.

Currently, only the Bahamas has such a currency,

though China is trialing it in several cities.
Sweden has indicated it could have its own
digital currency by 2026, while the European
Central Bank has indicated an electronic euro
might be created within four years.

The new British task force is part of a series of

measures that Treasury chief Sunak hopes will
help the U.K.’s financial technology sector.
“Our vision is for a more open, greener, and
more technologically advanced financial
services sector,” he told a fintech conference.
“And if we can capture the extraordinary potential
of technology, we’ll cement the U .K.’s position as
the world’s preeminent financial center.”
Promoting the announcement on Twitter,
Sunak was brief.
“Britcoin?,” he posited.

187
188
EU PROPOSES RULES FOR
HIGH-RISK ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE USES

European Union officials unveiled proposals for

reining in high-risk uses of artificial intelligence
such as live facial scanning that could threaten
people’s safety or rights.

The draft regulations from the EU’s executive

commission include rules on the use of the
rapidly expanding technology in systems that
filter out school, job or loan applicants. They
also would ban artificial intelligence outright in
a few cases considered too risky, such as “social
scoring” systems that judge people based on
their behavior and physical traits.
The ambitious proposals are the 27-nation bloc’s
latest move to maintain its role as the world’s
standard-bearer for technology regulation,

189
putting it ahead of the world’s two big tech
superpowers, the U.S. and China. EU officials
say they are taking a “risk-based approach”
as they try to balance the need to protect
rights such as data privacy against the need to
encourage innovation.

“With these landmark rules, the EU is

spearheading the development of new
global norms to make sure AI can be trusted,”
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s
executive vice president for the digital age,
said in a statement. “By setting the standards,
we can pave the way for to ethical technology
worldwide and ensure that the EU remains
competitive along the way.”

The proposals also include a prohibition in

principle on controversial “remote biometric
identification,” such as the use of live facial
recognition to pick people out of crowds in
real time, because “there is no room for mass
surveillance in our society,” Vestager said in a
media briefing.

There will, however, be an exception only for

narrowly defined law enforcement purposes
such as searching for a missing child or a wanted
person or preventing a terror attack or threat.
But some EU lawmakers and digital rights group
called for the carve-out to be removed over fears
it could be used to justify widespread future use
of the intrusive technology.
The draft regulations also cover AI applications
that pose “limited risk,” such as chatbots which
should be labeled so people know they are
interacting with a machine. Most AI applications
will be unaffected or covered by existing
consumer protection rules.

190
191
192
Violations could result in fines of up to 30,000
euros (more than $36,000), or for companies, up
to 6% of their global annual revenue, whichever
is higher, although Vestager said authorities
would first ask providers to fix their AI products
or remove them from the market.

The proposals still have to be debated by EU

lawmakers and could be amended in a process
that could take several years. They would apply
to anyone that provides an artificial intelligence
system in the EU or uses one that affects people
in the bloc.

EU officials, trying to catch up with the Chinese

and American tech industry, said the rules would
encourage the industry’s growth by raising
trust in artificial intelligence systems and by
introducing legal clarity for companies them.

193
 Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez
194
 WINNERS OF
$20M CONTEST
MAKE CONCRETE
TO TRAP
CARBON DIOXIDE

Organizers of a $20 million contest to develop

products from greenhouse gas that flows
from power plants announced two winners
ahead of launching a similar but much bigger
competition backed by Elon Musk.

Both winners made concrete that trapped

carbon dioxide, keeping it out of the
atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate
change. Production of cement, concrete’s key
ingredient, accounts for 7% of global emissions
of the greenhouse gas, said Marcius Extavour,
XPRIZE vice president of climate and energy.

“So it’s not surprising that the winning teams

focused on reducing emissions associated with

195
concrete, which will be a game-changer for
global decarbonization,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Musk, the electric car and

space entrepreneur, has pledged $100
million for researchers who can show how
to trap huge volumes of carbon dioxide
straight from the atmosphere and store the
gas permanently.

“We want teams that will build real systems that

can make a measurable impact and scale to a
gigaton level. Whatever it takes. Time is of the
essence,” Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and
SpaceX, said in February.

Both contests are organized by XPRIZE, which

encourages new technology by putting up prize
money for demonstrating achievements. Most
famously, Mojave Aerospace Ventures won a
$10 million XPRIZE in 2004 by being first to fly
a privately funded, reusable rocket plane into
space multiple times.
The $20 million prize announced this week had
two parts: One at a coal-fired power plant in
Wyoming and the other at a gas-fired power
plant in Alberta, Canada. The contest focused on
using carbon dioxide nabbed from the plants’
smokestacks, and the winners showed they can
trap the emissions in cement, making stronger
concrete in some cases.

The winner at the Wyoming plant, Los Angeles-

based CarbonBuilt, used carbon dioxide to
cure concrete, trapping it in a process that also
emitted less of the greenhouse gas compared
with traditional cement production, according
to XPRIZE.

The winner in Alberta was CarbonCure

Technologies, based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,

196
Image: Chad Hipolito
197
198
which showed it can inject carbon dioxide into
water used to wash out cement trucks and
mixers at a cement plant, resulting in a mix that
makes stronger concrete, according to XPRIZE.

The two winners will split $15 million. Ten

finalists split the other $5 million in 2018.

The U.S. portion of the contest took place at the

Wyoming Integrated Test Center, a facility at a
coal-fired power plant near the city of Gillette
that hosts research into ways to trap and use
carbon dioxide in real-world scenarios.
Gov. Mark Gordon has often touted the research
center as an example of Wyoming’s interest
in finding solutions to climate change —
potentially preserving the state’s declining coal
industry in the process.

U.S. coal production has declined by half over

the last 15 years or so as utilities get more
electricity from renewables and cheaper
natural gas. About 40% of U.S. coal comes
from Wyoming, more than any other state
by far.

The state covered three-quarters of the $20

million cost of the Wyoming Integrated Test
Center, which opened in 2018.

“Managing carbon, there’s not going to be a

one-size-fits-all,” said Jason Begger, the center’s
managing director. “A cement plant might
not make a lot of sense at a power plant in
Wyoming, but it might make a heck of a lot of
sense in Japan.”

Wyoming officials have expressed interest

in participating in the Musk-funded XPRIZE
contest but hasn’t heard back from him, Gordon
spokesman Michael Pearlman said.

199
ALSO ROARING
BACK FROM
PANDEMIC:
EARTH-WARMING
EMISSIONS

Global warming emissions are expected to

spike this year as the world emerges from the
coronavirus pandemic and economies begin
to recover.

Worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide

emissions could surge by 1.5 billion metric
tons this year, following last year’s decline
due to the pandemic, according to a report
from the International Energy Agency, an
intergovernmental group based in Paris.

That would be the second-largest annual increase

in emissions since 2010 following the global
financial crisis of 2008-2009, the IEA reported.

Carbon dioxide emissions will increase 5%

increase this year, to 33 billion metric tons, the
IEA forecast. The group says that the main driver
is coal demand, which is on course to grow by
4.5%. That would surpass its 2019 level and

200
201
202
approach its 2014 peak, according to the IEA,
which says the electricity sector is responsible
for about three-quarters of the rise.
China is by far the world’s biggest coal user and
carbon emitter, followed in emissions by the
United States, the third largest user. The two
countries pump out nearly half of the fossil fuel
fumes that are warming the planet’s atmosphere.

“This is a dire warning that the economic

recovery from the COVID crisis is currently
anything but sustainable for our climate,” said
Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director. “Unless
governments around the world move rapidly to
start cutting emissions, we are likely to face an
even worse situation in 2022.”

The IEA report landed in the same week that

the U.S. will host a virtual climate summit with
dozens of world leaders. President Joe Biden and
his administration have been adamant about
reasserting U.S. leadership on the world stage,
including climate change. President Donald
Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate
agreement, a commitment by nearly 200 nations
to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The
U.S. formally rejoined the Paris agreement this
year about a month after Biden’s inauguration.

Diplomats for the U.S. and China agreed to

cooperate on climate change leading up to the
virtual summit that begins on Earth Day. The
agreement was reached by U.S. special envoy for
climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart
Xie Zhenhua during two days of talks in
Shanghai last week.
Global energy demand is on pace to increase
by 4.6% this year, with demand for fossil fuels
projected to grow significantly, according to

203
report. The expected rise in coal use will outpace
that of renewables by nearly 60%, despite
increase demand for energy made by renewables
like wind and solar, the report predicted.

The desire to return to pre-pandemic levels of

economic activity will drive energy demand
in 2021.
Economists expect a huge rebound for the
U.S. economy this year, helped by government

204
support packages including a $1.9 trillion
package signed by President Biden last month.

Economists believe all the government

relief measures will boost GDP in the current
January-March quarter to 5% or higher and
are forecasting growth for the entire year of
around 6% or even higher. That would top the
strongest performance since a 7.2% GDP gain
in 1984 when the economy was coming out of
a deep recession.

205