CNN Business | Good inflation news: Online shopping prices are suddenly falling fast

New York (CNN Business) – The world of online shopping was long immune to inflation until Covid-19 turned everything upside down.

E-commerce prices began rising in June 2020, beginning an unprecedented stretch of 25 consecutive months of increases that underscored the severe price pressures hitting the US economy.

That streak has finally ended. Online prices declined by 1% year-over-year in July, snapping a string of nearly two years of persistent inflation, according to a report released Tuesday by Adobe.  —read more–

CNN BUSINESS | WhatsApp is going to stop letting everyone see when you’re online

(CNN Business) – WhatsApp announced several new privacy updates on Tuesday, including the ability for users to check their messages without other people knowing.

The platform will soon allow people to control who can see when they’re online, prevent others from taking screenshots of certain messages, and leave groups without notifying entire channels.

WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users globally, and is owned by Facebook (FB) parent Meta. Announcing the changes on Facebook and Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would “keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”  –read more–  

CNN BUSINESS | The rise and fall of Theranos: A timeline

(CNN) – Four years after the top two Theranos executives, Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, were first indicted together on a dozen federal fraud charges stemming from their time heading up the failed blood testing startup, both have been convicted by juries.

Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos, was found guilty on four out of 11 federal fraud and conspiracy charges in January after a months-long trial. Balwani, Theranos’ former president and COO who was also Holmes’ live-in boyfriend at the time, was found guilty on Thursday of ten counts of federal wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  –read more–

CNN entertainment | ‘My Life as a Rolling Stone’ shines a stadium-worthy spotlight on the Rolling Stones

(CNN) – “The Beatles: Get Back” set a very high bar for musical nostalgia, but “My Life As a Rolling Stone” is no slouch, breaking the four band members into their own dedicated hours, with extensive access to the three surviving members and a who’s who of rock voices serving as the chorus. Yes, you can’t always get what you want, but for Rolling Stones fans, this should come close.

Narrated by Sienna Miller, the docuseries — playing on the BBC in the UK and on the Epix pay channel in the US — interviews Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on camera, while leaving the musicians, managers and others with insight about the band as off-camera voices, keeping the focus squarely on the Stones.  –read more– 

CNN BUSINESS | Why Bluetooth remains an ‘unusually painful’ technology after two decades

(CNN Business) – In the two decades since it was first included in products available to the general public, Bluetooth has become so widespread that an entire generation of consumers may not be able to remember a time without it.

ABI Research estimates that 5 billion Bluetooth-enabled devices will ship to consumers this year, with that figure expected to rise to 7 billion by 2026. Bluetooth is now in everything from smartphones to refrigerators to lightbulbs, allowing a growing number of products to connect to each other seamlessly — sometimes.  –read more–

CNN entertainment | One thing to talk about

The news that Zahara Jolie-Pitt will be attending Spelman College in Atlanta is quite a boon to HBCUs.

As the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the teen had her choice of schools. And by choosing one of the best known of the historically Black colleges and universities to matriculate at, she brings a great deal of attention to the liberal arts college.

Her mother proudly announced Jolie-Pitt’s choice on social media, and the excitement for her was palpable.

I get it, as I count several Spelman graduates as good friends. A supportive sisterhood awaits Jolie-Pitt.

Good luck to her and all the incoming freshmen across the nation this semester.

CNN health Relationships | Want to improve your relationship? The answer may be simpler than you think

(CNN) – Married and intimate couples are often looking for ways to maximize satisfaction and compatibility. Countless self-help books, seminars and relationship experts have weighed in on what they feel are the keys to a couple’s happiness and longevity. The ideas have varied quite a bit, including the amount of time spent together, shared interests and similar levels of intelligence, not to mention degrees of fondness and admiration for one another.

It’s often said that longtime partners develop their own language, a shorthand from building a strong bond. In the same vein, consider the five love languages, which are acts of service, gift-giving, physical touch, quality time and words of affirmation.–read more–  

CNN travel | Flight attendants call out ‘unsustainable’ air travel situation

(CNN) — British flight attendant Kris Major has worked in aviation for over two decades. He’s seen the industry suffer and recover in the wake of 9/11, SARS and foot and mouth disease.

Now, Major’s on the front line of what he reckons is the worst aviation crisis yet: the 2022 summer of travel chaos. Major, who serves as chair of the European Transport Workers Federation’s Joint Aircrew Committee, representing European flight attendants and pilots, says flight crew are struggling.

“It’s completely unsustainable as a job,” Major tells CNN Travel.  –read more–  

CNN BUSINESS  | The US economy has regained all the jobs lost during the pandemic, adding 528,000 in July

Minneapolis (CNN Business) – The US economy has now regained all jobs lost during the pandemic, after a blowout July jobs report that showed a gain of 528,000 jobs, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The massive monthly gain was more than double the 250,000 that economists were expecting, according to Refinitiv.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5% after holding at 3.6% for the past four months. The July jobless rate matched the half-century low last seen in February 2020.  –read more–