Social media giant Meta took in record revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 with the help of a rebound in digital advertising‚ making an impressive $40.1 billion. This as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has endured heavy accusations from federal authorities over alleged child abuse and exploitation happening through the use of Meta platforms.The company managed to hit average revenue expectations‚ which were set at around $39 billion.As well‚ despite a round of layoffs in the previous year‚ Meta soared and was able to triple its net income‚ hitting $14 billion‚ an increase of 201% over 2022. Sales in Q4 were up 25% over 2022.Meta has seemingly managed to tackle the issue that the brand's platforms have struggled with at their peak: adding new users. Meta reportedly increased users across its platforms by 6% year over year closing out 2023‚ totaling 3.98 billion users‚ Variety noted.In addition to Facebook‚ Instagram‚ WhatsApp‚ and Messenger‚ even Threads — the company's answer to Twitter/X — allegedly hosted 130 million active monthly users.Shares have reached all-time highs at more than $465 per share at the time of this writing‚ as Meta's board declared that they intended to pay cash dividends on a quarterly basis moving forward."We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow‚" Zuckerberg said. "We’ve made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse."The announcement comes as Zuckerberg/Meta and other social media companies took a hammering at a Senate committee hearing titled "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis."Along with representatives from platforms like TikTok‚ Zuckerberg took a metaphorical beating surrounding his company's response to alleged child abuse that has been facilitated by bad actors through its platforms.Senator Ted Cruz questioned the CEO about a warning screen for child abuse search results on Instagram where users could simply bypass it in order to see the results. Zuckerberg argued that it was better to offer resources to anyone who was searching such terms and offered the explanation that the company still allowed users to see results because the search function may have improperly labeled the user's search. Sen. Ted Cruz questions Mark Zuckerberg in a heated exchange over an Instagram warning screen for potential child sexual abuse content‚ telling Zuckerberg: "Your company and every social media company needs to do much more to protect children." https://t.co/TT0bmdRoRb — (@) Zuckerberg also took the opportunity to apologize to families in attendance who had lost children due to child exploitation schemes on social media."I’m sorry for everything you have all been through‚" the CEO said‚ after Senator Josh Hawley asked him if he'd like to apologize. "No one should go through the things that your families have suffered‚ and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer‚" he added‚ according to the Guardian. Meta recently announced that it would take action in order to hide content from teens on Facebook and Instagram that talks about suicide‚ self-harm‚ and eating disorders.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Volvo Cars announced Thursday that it will no longer fund the electric vehicle sports car brand Polestar Automotive‚ the New York Post reported.After the company announced it was pulling funding from the subsidiary‚ Volvo's stock surged over 30%. Polestar may be turned over to China-based Geely Holding‚ Volvo's largest shareholder. CNBC reported that Geely currently holds a 78.65% stake in Polestar."Volvo Cars is evaluating a potential adjustment to its shareholding in Polestar‚ which may result in Geely Sweden Holdings becoming a significant new shareholder‚" the Swedish automaker said in a Thursday press release.The company is focused on "developing and concentrating its resources on its own ambitious journey‚ including its own in-house electric vehicles.""Polestar is entering an exciting phase with a strengthened business plan and positioned for future growth‚" Volvo added.Volvo CEO Jim Rowan told CNBC that the decision to cut funding was a "natural evolution" in the relationship between the automakers."Obviously‚ we spun out Polestar as a separate company a long time ago‚ and since then we've been incubating and working with Polestar for a number of years‚" Rowan stated. "Now‚ Polestar ... they have got a very exciting future ahead of them‚ they've moved from being a one-car company to a three-car company‚ they've got two brand-new cars coming out very shortly‚ in fact in the first half of this year‚ and that's going to take them to a new growth trajectory."Despite the EV market appearing to cool off‚ Volvo is still aiming for its entire fleet to be fully electric by 2030. Its EV sales increased 70% in 2023.In a Thursday press release from Polestar‚ the struggling start-up welcomed Geely Sweden Holding as its "potential direct new shareholder.""Volvo Cars is evaluating a potential adjustment to its shareholding in Polestar including a distribution of shares to its shareholders‚ with Geely Sweden Holding being the primary recipient. Volvo Cars will remain a strategic partner in areas across R&;D‚ manufacturing‚ after sales and commercial‚" Polestar explained.Since the EV automaker's debut‚ its stock has dropped 80%. Earlier this month‚ Polestar announced that it plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 15%‚ citing "challenging market conditions."The automaker's CEO‚ Thomas Ingenlath‚ said‚ "With our growing lineup of exclusive‚ performance cars‚ Polestar is in one of the most promising phases of its development. We have successfully ramped up production and started sales in China‚ Europe‚ and Australia of Polestar 4‚ and Polestar 3 is expected to start first customer deliveries this summer. We look forward to continued cooperation with Volvo Cars as well as benefiting from even greater synergies with Geely on future orientated technologies."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Taylor Swift is all the buzz right now‚ and for once‚ it’s not her latest release or her latest break up that have people talking. Rather‚ it's the question of whether the super star will be used as a political tool in Biden’s campaign. While Allie Beth Stuckey admits that Taylor Swift is “extremely influential‚” she doesn’t think the musician “is going to convince anyone‚ or at least very many people‚ to vote Democrat who weren’t going to already.” “There have been a lot of influential celebrities out there who have tried to sway elections‚ and it just hasn't worked‚” says Allie. On the subject of a potential baby boom‚ many have predicted that Swift will “encourage women into this stable‚ domesticated life of having kids.” “Maybe‚” says Allie‚ adding that such a scenario would be “a positive development.” However‚ there’s also the possibility that Swift “will convince women that having a long series of seemingly toxic‚ unhealthy‚ long-term relationships until you find the rich man of your dreams when you're 34 ... is normal and good.” “But it’s not. That’s not a goal to aspire to‚” says Allie. “I don't think she's harmless‚ but I also don't think she's as harmful as some people make her out to be.” “She’s not the person on whom the Western world will rise and fall‚ but she's also not a great role model for young girls.” To hear more of Allie’s analysis regarding the extent to which Taylor Swift influences the public‚ watch the clip below. Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture‚ news‚ and theology from a Christian‚ conservative perspective‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

It’s the Frank Drebin election. Nothing to see here‚ folks‚ please disperse. The MSNBC talking head Stephanie Ruhle explained this week why Republicans are pretending to care about the border: “This is a strong economy. That’s one of the reasons you see them pivoting so hard to immigration.” All these mean liars are just acting like the country is something less than completely perfect‚ in a desperate effort to smear the brilliant Joe Biden. It’s all fake‚ you see. The mean Republicans have been trying to pretend that the economy is bad‚ but they can’t go on doing that‚ because the American economy is so ridiculously strong and successful that no one will listen to them. So right-wing politicians are “pivoting” to another made-up issue‚ dishonestly playacting like illegal immigration is a problem so they can have something to run on in an election year. How cynical of Republicans to pretend about all of those completely fake things! There’s a lot of this going around. Take a look at an equally lazy effort from Paul Krugman if you feel the need. The American economy is “almost miraculously strong‚” illegal immigration isn't much of a problem anywhere‚ the COVID-19 vaccines work so perfectly that only right-wing anti-vaxxers ever get sick any more‚ and “the anxiety driving MAGA isn’t driven by reality.” All these mean liars are just acting like the country is something less than completely perfect‚ in a desperate effort to smear the brilliant Joe Biden‚ the most stunningly successful leader in the history of the universe. The nightly news broadcast in Pyongyang is more subtle than this. And North Korea will at least kill you in remarkably ugly ways if you don’t pretend to always worship the government‚ so they have a better excuse. The shamelessness level of the American “mainstream” news media can no longer be measured — it’s so far off the charts that it’s punching holes in the roof‚ and Krugman should probably carry an umbrella indoors. Here in the physical world outside Paul Krugman’s head‚ an endless flood of illegal immigrants is challenging the deepest of the deep-blue zones. Here’s a months-old headline from Krugman's newspaper about New York City Mayor Eric Adams: “In Escalation‚ Adams Says Migrant Crisis ‘Will Destroy New York City.’” What a right-winger this Adams person is‚ right? Here’s a more recent headline from CNN about another city with a Democrat for a mayor: “Denver nears its breaking point as migrants and the cold pile in.” Here’s the news from Chicago‚ where the current Democratic mayor is somehow well to the left of the last Democratic mayor: “No help: The federal immigration deal won’t fix the migrant crisis in Chicago — and it’s unlikely to pass Congress anyway." Strange‚ isn’t it‚ how many liberal news organizations and Democratic mayors are warning of a migrant crisis while MSNBC anchors and the opinion pages of the New York Times warn that Republicans are inventing a fake crisis? It’s almost like the whole thing is actually real and a thin layer of allegedly elite professional journalists are just nakedly lying to cover for the political party they favor. Similarly‚ Americans are experiencing record-high credit card debt and dangerously high credit card delinquencies just as Paul Krugman says the economy is stunningly strong and nearly everyone is living in comfort. You might almost get the impression that Krugman is capable of being wrong. Almost. If it's hard to imagine why they're bothering to do this‚ consider this recent poll of the top 1% of earners in the American economy. The world looks good to them. The economy feels strong at the top‚ and Joe Biden must be successful. “Elites are much keener on the U.S. government than others. Fully 70 percent of them trust federal officials to ‘do the right thing most of the time’ — more than twice the nationwide average.” They think people will believe a set of absurd claims that look plausible from where they sit. The economy is strong to people on television. The rest of us are stuck with nine more months of gaslighting about the fake migrant crisis and the magnificent economy. But take heart! You’re watching a bonfire. People who shouldn’t be believed are scraping up the last thin shreds of their credibility and burning it all‚ and they don't seem to have the capacity to notice what they’re doing to themselves. Or‚ rather‚ they don’t seem to have the capacity to notice anything at all.

With all the inevitability we’re supposed to expect from progress‚ Neuralink has finally implanted its brain chip inside a living human being. The first product from the brain-hacking firm‚ dubbed Telepathy‚ “enables control of your phone or computer‚ and through them almost any device‚ just by thinking‚” Elon Musk enthused on X.“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer‚” he posted. “That is the goal.”Followers of the sordid Jeffrey Epstein saga would be hard-pressed to imagine a scene not so buffed up with marketing naïveté: the genius who frequented Epstein’s island enjoying a hi-tech twist on the nude-dwarves-at-the-chalkboard scenarios he favored. Moving on to Epstein’s use cases for the technology‚ the world-weary imagination can run wild.Break eggs to make an omelet? Our moral logic is now trending toward making monsters to become gods. What could go wrong?Technology can’t eat the world unless it eats us along with it‚ from the inside out. Getting billions to like tech the more it parasitically feeds off of our personal interior is the ultimate marketing challenge — one that demands an ever more cartoonishly “inspiring” and “innocent” idealism abstracted away from the unhealthy reality.But it is idealism at an ever higher price. Sure‚ the biotechnological mutilation of children may seem abhorrent today‚ but the advances we unlock through early efforts like these will unleash untold benefits for billions‚ no‚ trillions of future superhumanoids! Welcome the latest tech into your mind and body‚ and you yourself might just live long enough to join their ranks!Break eggs to make an omelet? Our moral logic is now trending toward making monsters to become gods. What could go wrong?The technology of spiritual warfare Well‚ the tech worshippers have a certain point when they suggest the alternative is “stagnation‚” a state of affairs in which humans lacking any new improvements or constructs turn their perversity and wickedness toward destruction for its own sake‚ not for the sake of something higher.But that only brings us back around to the difficulty we can’t innovate our way out of without destroying our humanity. No increase in power or technique can substitute for or replace the purity of heart‚ which must be won the hard way through the most humble and long-suffering of spiritual disciplines. No matter how we disfigure ourselves trying to escape that obligation‚ the lesson of our millennia of sorrows is clear: Even the most otherwise excellent and enhanced fall immeasurably short of the glory they yearn for if what is on the inside‚ forever beyond the reach of technology‚ is rotten and foul —or even simply cold and hard. Well‚ we’ll take our chances‚ some technologists are apt to say; we’ll do us‚ you do you‚ and we’ll see who comes out ahead. Yet such a stark divide between material technique and spiritual practice is an absurd and devilish regression. Technology at any stage of development turns against us to the degree we turn against our spiritual responsibilities to and for ourselves. And to the degree we take these responsibilities to heart‚ we can wisely guide innovation to serve our bodies and souls well. In such a truly enlightened condition‚ we can‚ as they say‚ “have nice things.” Not that‚ in this higher state‚ we would care about them. Perhaps that suggests the ultimate test for the quality of a technology‚ one far more honest and valuable than the salesman-speak of the would-be manufacturer of a superhuman new age.

Law enforcement believes four of the migrants accused of attacking New York City police officers fled after they were released from jail.Over the weekend‚ a mob of migrants were captured on surveillance camera beating two NYPD officers outside a migrant shelter in Times Square. Police have arrested seven male migrants‚ all between the ages of 19 and 24‚ for assaulting the officers. Despite the nature of the allegations‚ six of the migrants were released from jail without bail.Upon their release from custody‚ the migrants showed zero remorse for their alleged participation in the attack‚ flipping off news cameras. — (@) Now‚ police believe four of the migrants have fled the state.CNN reported:But four of the suspects were released‚ given bus tickets by a faith-based charity and are en-route to Calexico‚ a California town on the US-Mexican border‚ according to a senior law enforcement official. Details about which suspects were on the bus were not immediately available‚ but the source told CNN the four migrant men‚ who were staying in a New York City shelter‚ used false names with the organization that purchased the bus tickets for them.The New York Post and New York Daily News corroborated the report‚ all citing law enforcement sources.A spokesman for the Office of Court Administration‚ Al Baker‚ confirmed that officials do not know the whereabouts of the defendants."The Court is not aware of the defendants' whereabouts but they are obligated to return to Court on their scheduled dates‚" Al Baker told the Post.Sources‚ moreover‚ told CNN that police "have no legal authority to chase them or attempt to stop them" because prosecutors requested the migrants be released without bail and on their own recognizance. One source admitted to CNN that it "seem unlikely" the defendants will return for their forthcoming court date "given the circumstances around their departure."If the defendants miss their court date‚ a judge will issue warrants for their arrest.That Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) seemingly went easy on purportedly violent offenders who have now reportedly fled the Big Apple is causing yet another controversy for the far-left prosecutor.New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said believes the migrants should not have been released from jail‚ and Gov. Kathy Hochul said the migrants need to be deported.NYPD chief of patrol John Chell‚ meanwhile‚ said this incident demonstrates why the entire criminal justice system needs to be re-examined."This was a bail eligible offense. Why bail wasn't asked for‚ we don't have an answer for that‚ but the judge also had an opportunity to step in and remand them to Rikers — now these four are on a bus; the whole system needs to be looked at‚" he said. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The series launched the 1970s trend of live rock music on late night TV with its pilot in 1972 + boosted the career of Wolfman Jack. Check out the guests and some great clips The post Remembering ‘The Midnight Special’ appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

Smartphones‚ social media‚ and their effects strain the case for techno-optimism.

Our government should recognize the app for what it is — a threat to American democracy — and deal with it accordingly.

Willis is accused of hiring her ex-boyfriend to prosecute Trump despite his lack of experience.