China Rocked by Cooking Oil Contamination Scandal | BBC News

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The Chinese government has said it is launching an investigation into allegations that fuel tankers have been used to transport cooking oil after carrying toxic chemicals without being cleaned properly between loads.

The controversy has spread online as social media users express concerns about potential food contamination.

Tankers used for transporting fuel were found to be carrying food products, like cooking oil and syrup, and were not decontaminated correctly, according to state-run Beijing News.

Transporting cooking oil in contaminated fuel trucks was said to have been so widespread it was considered an “open secret” in the industry, according to one driver quoted by the newspaper.

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Uber for Teens has reignited an old debate over fingerprinting drivers | TechCrunch

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Seven years ago, Uber and Lyft blocked an effort to require ride-hailing app drivers to get fingerprinted in California. But by launching Uber for Teens earlier this year, the company inadvertently resurfaced the issue.

Now a broader debate is underway as startups, Uber, and California regulators hash out when a transportation service should be required to fingerprint its drivers.

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Whataburger app becomes unlikely power outage map after Houston hurricane | TechCrunch

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Fast-food chain Whataburger’s app has gone viral in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which left around 1.8 million utility customers in Houston, Texas without power. Hundreds of thousands of those people may remain without power for days as Houston anticipates a heat wave, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s.

Amid frustrations with the local utility company CounterPoint Energy, which doesn’t offer an app, some Houstonians got creative with their attempts to track the power outages. They turned to the Whataburger app instead.

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Why I Choose to Publicly Share My Startup’s Business Data on LinkedIn — And Why You Should Do the Same. | Entrepreneur

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LinkedIn is a wacky place. Next to business updates from the world’s largest companies, you’ll find posts like “Today, I proposed to my fiance. Here’s what it taught me about B2B sales.” Insightful recaps from industry conferences are juxtaposed with generic, AI-generated thought leadership boosted by engagement pods. And don’t get me started on the endless barrage of irrelevant cold pitches.

Still, if you’re an entrepreneur, LinkedIn is the place to be. Its unique business-oriented nature sets it apart from other social media platforms, offering an unparalleled opportunity to communicate with your customers, business partners and potential team members.

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Sam’s Club Is Changing a Beloved Free Perk, Members Unhappy | Entrepreneur

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Costco’s rival, Sam’s Club, is taking away a long-beloved free perk — and members are taking to social media to share how they feel about it.

The wholesale retailer emailed club members ahead of the holiday weekend and revealed that starting August 19, free shipping would no longer apply to Plus members’ orders, just orders over $50 or more.

So instead of having their goods delivered for free, members who make purchases under $50 will have to pay an $8 flat rate. Some category exclusions still apply, the company said.

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This is likely the biggest password leak ever: nearly 10 billion credentials exposed | Mashable

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Cybersecurity researchers are calling it the largest password compilation leak of all time.

On July 4, a newly registered user on a popular hacking forum posted a file containing nearly 10 billion compromised passwords in plaintext. The post was first noticed by researchers at Cybernews.

“Xmas came early this year,” user “ObamaCare” wrote on the forum. “I present to you a new rockyou2024 password list with over 9.9 billion passwords!”

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Apple approves Epic Games Store in Europe, but not without some drama first | Mashable

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The Epic Games Store is coming to Apple devices in Europe, but as usual, it couldn’t just happen without some minor fighting between Apple and Epic first.

Apple announced the EGS would get the green light in Europe on Friday, per Reuters. However, that only came after Epic took to X to publicly accuse Apple of slow-rolling the submission by rejecting the app for seemingly trivial reasons. For instance, Epic said Apple’s regulations found that the EGS app’s “Install” button was too similar to Apple’s “Get” button.

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Drug store chains pushed out independent pharmacies. Here’s why they’re now closing too | CNN Business

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Walgreens said Thursday that it plans to close a “significant” number of its roughly 8,600 stores in the United States. Around 25% of Walgreens’ stores aren’t profitable, and the chain will look to close stores that are right by one another or struggling to hold down theft, CEO Tim Wentworth said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Walgreens and other retailers have been hit by shoplifting and resorted to locking up items or closing high-theft stores since the pandemic, but Walgreens’ problems are much deeper, including competition and failed growth strategies. Walgreens admitted last year it “cried too much” over the business impact of shoplifting.

The latest closures are part of a larger downturn, not just for Walgreens, but for other drug store chains, too, after years of expansion. Walgreens said in 2019 it would close 200 stores and last year announced an additional 150 store closures.

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Tesla sales fall again as more automakers crowd electric vehicle market | CNN Business

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Tesla sales fell for the second straight quarter. It marks the first time in the company’s history that sales declined from the previous year for two quarters in a row.

Tesla’s sales for the quarter came in at nearly 444,000 cars, down about 5% from a year ago. That’s less than the 8.5% drop the company saw in the first quarter. But Tesla, and its share price that has made CEO Elon Musk one of the wealthiest people in the world, has been built on a history of growing auto sales.

The drop in sales demonstrates the increased competition within the market for electric vehicles. While overall sales of EVs continue to grow, the pace of industrywide growth has proved to be less than expected, resulting in investors clamoring for each car sold to be more profitable than before.

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Why do people feel like they’re being watched, even when no one is there? | Live Science

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You’re alone and suddenly have the sneaking suspicion that someone’s there. Maybe you watched a scary movie or read the latest thriller novel and wonder if there’s a killer lurking in your room. You look around and open the closet door, but no one’s there. So why does your mind make you feel as if you were being watched?

According to Leslie Dobson, a clinical and forensic psychologist, there are a number of reasons why someone may feel as if they are being watched. These causes span a broad spectrum, including exposure to scary books, movies or news; hypervigilance following a stressful or traumatic event; and serious mental health conditions.

“In more extreme cases, a person may experience paranoia and hypervigilance, often related to an underlying mental health condition or physical brain ailment,” Dobson said in a written message.

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