On January 1, the U.S. government began recognizing sesame as a major food allergen, making it the ninth such ingredient subject to specific labeling and manufacturing regulatory requirements. It’s a long-awaited update, coming as a result of the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act (FASTER Act). The rollout means food and restaurant brands must now disclose if products contain or even potentially could have come into contact with sesame seeds. Data shows that as many as 1.6 million Americans have an allergy to sesame, roughly the same number as those allergic to soy.
Author: knjohn
List of fully remote jobs in 2023: Try these 7 industries | Fast Company
If your goal for 2023 is to find a fully remote job that lets you work from home (or from anywhere you choose) without ever needing to step foot in an office again, you’ll want to pay attention to data compiled by FlexJobs, a jobs website that focuses on hybrid and remote work.
FlexJobs’s data shows that those hoping to go all-remote should focus their search on select industries—seven of them to be precise. The jobs site says that data compiled between January and December 2022 reveals that these seven specific industries each saw at least 20% growth in full-time fully remote jobs. Those industries are:
The SEC Is Expanding Oversight Into Private Companies | AllBusiness.com
When most of us think about the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), we think about a government agency designed to ensure public companies provide investors with accurate information, that employees who have access to “inside information” don’t trade on it, and that investment professionals don’t exploit, misinform or defraud the average investor on Main Street, USA. We certainly don’t think of the SEC as a means for broadly regulating private companies trying to raise capital, especially during a down economy many think is heading into recession.
President Ronald Reagan famously answered his rhetorical question of what are the nine most terrifying words in the English language as: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” While we can take that notion with a grain of salt, the truth of the matter is that the SEC is one of the most powerful government agencies you may know the least about, and under current leadership, it is seeking a dramatic increase in its oversight, regulatory demands, and enforcement among all American companies, including, more and more, privately held ones.
Quiet Quitting Is a Sign of a Deeper Problem | AllBusiness.com
There’s been a lot of talk around quiet quitting. This is the trend where employees put in a minimal amount of effort just to get through the workday. Although this trend is disturbing, we need to take a look at some underlying factors that contribute.
Nothing has been the same since Covid. Lives have changed, working situations have changed, and we all interact differently. I understand this as a wife, mother, and CEO. As a result, we need to approach things differently. We’ll get into the reasons why quiet quitting is worse than just quitting. I believe that it means people are struggling to find meaning in their work.
IRS Delays $600 Threshold Rule for PayPal, Venmo, CashApp Users | Small Business Trends
The IRS is delaying implementation of a new rule that requires companies like PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp to report user transactions that eclipse a $600 threshold.
That unpopular new rule is part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan. It will require companies known as third-party settlement organizations (TPSOs) to send users who transact $600 or more in a year a Form 1099-K.
The rule was supposed to go into effect this year. However, in an update announced on Dec. 23, the IRS says that rule will not go into effect for the 2022 tax year. It was only a month ago that the IRS reminded taxpayers and businesses of the new $600 threshold rule.
IRS Announces 2023 Mileage Reimbursement Rate | Small Biz Trends
2023 IRS Mileage Reimbursement Rate
For 2023 the IRS mileage reimbursement rates for businesses, individuals, and other organizations are as follows:
- 65.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3 cents from the midyear increase setting the rate for the second half of 2022.
- 22 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, consistent with the increased midyear rate set for the second half of 2022. 1
- 4 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations; the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2022
The best smartwatches in 2023: Apple, Samsung, and more | Digital Trends
The Apple Watch Series 8 is the best smartwatch you can buy right now. It is feature-rich, user-friendly, gorgeous, and extremely reliable.
However, that recommendation comes with caveats — and the biggest one is that you need to own an iPhone to use the Apple Watch. That means that if you’re using an Android smartphone, the Apple Watch simply isn’t an option. But don’t worry, there are plenty of great alternatives. Digital Trends has reviewed more than 100 smartwatches, fitness trackers, and wearables, so we have all the deep insight you need to find your ideal smartwatch.
Best practices for customer verification | The Startup Magazine
The internet is a great tool for business, transforming how companies interact with their customers and providing new channels to sell products, provide services, and make money. Unfortunately, the internet is also great for criminals looking to exploit businesses for their own gain.
Global estimates for online payment fraud in 2022 reached $41 billion (USD), more than double the figure from the previous year. With that in mind, if you’re running an online business, you need to consider implementing customer verification best practices
Deadly California earthquake leaves thousands without power | BBC News
Two people have died and tens of thousands of households were left without power after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocked northern California.
The tremor, 215 miles (350km) north of San Francisco, has caused widespread damage to roadways.
“Anything that was on the walls broke off the walls,” said JB Mathers, a resident of the coastal city of Eureka.
Authorities have closed several roads and warned the public to brace for aftershocks.
The quake struck at 02:34 PST (10:34 GMT) on Tuesday. It spawned up to 80 smaller quakes between magnitude 4.6 and 2.5, according to the US Geological Survey.
OpenAI releases Point-E, an AI that generates 3D models | TechCrunch
The next breakthrough to take the AI world by storm might be 3D model generators. This week, OpenAI open sourced Point-E, a machine learning system that creates a 3D object given a text prompt. According to a paper published alongside the code base, Point-E can produce 3D models in one to two minutes on a single Nvidia V100 GPU.
Point-E doesn’t create 3D objects in the traditional sense. Rather, it generates point clouds, or discrete sets of data points in space that represent a 3D shape — hence the cheeky abbreviation. (The “E” in Point-E is short for “efficiency,” because it’s ostensibly faster than previous 3D object generation approaches.) Point clouds are easier to synthesize from a computational standpoint, but they don’t capture an object’s fine-grained shape or texture — a key limitation of Point-E currently.
Dispatches From The Front 