Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

President Donald Trump stunned markets Wednesday by announcing 100% tariffs on imported semiconductor chips — but major chip stocks rallied.Taiwanese chip giant TSMC’s stock closed 4.9% higher. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics ended 2.5% higher while SK Hynix reversed losses of over 3% in early trade to close 1.4% up.The rebound came as investors digested news that companies investing in US manufacturing would be exempt. TSMC already operates plants in the US, and both South Korean firms have committed to major US investments.The Trump administration has not released specifics on the tariffs, including when they could come.”The good news for…

Tired: still being on your family phone plan well into your 30s. Wired: hopping onto a plan with your chosen family — your friends. You still get the financial advantage of sharing a joint subscription without the embarrassment of your mom floating the cost of your excessive TikTok habit. Let’s assume your friends are trustworthy enough to keep up on their part of the monthly payment, of course.Americans are drowning in subscriptions. From phone plans to streaming services, fitness apps, and media, consumers are performing what feels like a constant balancing act of sign-ups (and cancellations). While many of these…

Lesley Mathis knows what her daughter said was wrong. But she never expected the 13-year-old girl would get arrested for it.The teenage girl made an offensive joke while chatting online with her classmates, triggering the school’s surveillance software.Before the morning was even over, the Tennessee eighth grader was under arrest. She was interrogated, strip-searched and spent the night in a jail cell, her mother says.Earlier in the day, her friends had teased the teen about her tanned complexion and called her “Mexican,” even though she’s not. When a friend asked what she was planning for Thursday, she wrote: “on Thursday…

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) — The U.S. was knocked off the top spot in FIFA’s latest women’s rankings by world champion Spain. Spain regained the No. 1 position despite losing to England in the final of the European Championship last month. The U.S. held the top position since August last year after winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Spain was No. 1 from December 2023 to June last year after its World Cup triumph. The latest rankings were released by world governing body FIFA on Thursday.England, which has won back-to-back Euros and lost to Spain in the final at the 2023…

Startups are told to run like Airbnb, go full “founder mode,” and follow OKRs — Objective and Key Results. But Immad Akhund, an angel investor since 2016, said copying Silicon Valley playbooks can backfire.It’s “very easy” to try to copy and paste a Brian Chesky axiom to your situation, Akhund said on an episode of the “In Depth” podcast published Wednesday. “That never works,” he added. “The lessons work in their particular way for that particular situation, and you have to adapt them to your situation,” he said.Akhund said the key is to understand the framework and context that made…

There’s a reason Duolingo’s meme-loving, sassy green owl has been blander lately.Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn said the company has been playing it safe online after his post on mandatory AI usage received harsh social media backlash. The post outlined how Duolingo was going to mandate AI usage and use it as an indicator for hiring and performance review decisions.”The most important thing is we wanted to make the sentiment on our social media positive,” von Ahn said on the company’s earnings call on Thursday. He added: “We still are not posting the extremely edgy things that are more likely…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The glasses haven’t gone anywhere. And they aren’t going anywhere. The same goes for Stephen Nedoroscik’s hair, which remains a bit of a floppy, curly brown mess.Nor, insists the gymnast who became forever known as “Pommel Horse Guy” after winning a pair of bronze medals in Paris, has his devotion to the discipline that made him one of the breakout stars of the 2024 Olympics faded in the least.While Nedoroscik leaned into the fame, most notably a long run on “Dancing With the Stars” last fall, followed immediately by a stint co-hosting the show’s national tour,…

ESPN’s much-discussed streaming service finally has its launch date.The network announced Wednesday that its direct-to-consumer service and enhanced app will debut Aug. 21. The announcement coincided with Disney’s quarterly earning report.This week’s expanded deals with the NFL and a new partnership with WWE provides ESPN the more inventory and offerings, which it hopes will bolster the company in a landscape that is divided among cable, satellite and streaming.Will the ESPN service result in more subscribers?According to Nielsen, streaming usage surpassed broadcast and cable combined in U.S. television usage for the first time. Streaming was at 44.8% compared to linear’s 44.2%.…

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian authorities have banned 25 books in Kashmir that they say propagate “false narratives” and “secessionism” in the disputed region, where strict controls on the media have escalated in recent years.The ban threatens people with prison time for selling or owning these works by authors such as Booker Prize-winning novelist and activist Arundhati Roy, constitutional expert A.G. Noorani, and noted academicians and historians like Sumantra Bose, Christopher Snedden and Victoria Schofield. Threat of prison timeThe order was issued on Tuesday by the region’s Home Department, which is under the direct control of Lt. Gov. Manoj Sinha,…

Adults and children in the United States are getting more than 50% of their total calories from ultra-processed foods, according to a new federal report released early Thursday.Among Americans aged 1 and older, an average of 55% of their total calories came from ultra-processed foods, according to results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between August 2021 and August 2023 and run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Children aged 18 and younger consumed a higher percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods at 61.9% compared to 53% for adults aged 19 and older.MORE: How eating…