レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general sued Ticketmaster and its parent company, saying they are forcing consumers to pay more to see live events through a variety of illegal tactics.

The FTC said Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, have deceived artists and consumers by advertising lower ticket prices than what consumers must pay and falsely claiming to impose strict limits on the number of tickets consumers can buy for an event.

In reality, the FTC said, Ticketmaster coordinates with ticket brokers who bypass those ticket limits. The FTC said brokers use fake accounts to buy up millions of dollars' worth of tickets and then sell them at a substantial markup on Ticketmaster's platform. Ticketmaster benefits from the additional fees it collects from those sales, the FTC said.

Ticketmaster controls 80% or more of major U.S. concert venues' primary ticketing, according to the FTC. Consumers spent more than $82.6 billion buying tickets from Ticketmaster between 2019 and 2024, the agency added.

American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us. It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician's show, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Joining the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

Ticketmaster has been in lawmakers' sights since 2022, when it spectacularly botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. The company's site was overwhelmed by fans and attacks from brokers' bots, which were scooping up tickets to sell on secondary sites. Senators grilled Live Nation in a 2023 hearing.

But reform in the industry has been slow. The Biden administration took action with a ban on junk fees, requiring Ticketmaster to display the full price of a ticket as soon as consumers begin shopping. That rule went into effect in May.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Ford is moving its headquarters (HQ) for the first time in seven decades. The company's current headquarters, colloquially called “The Glass House,” opened in 1956. The carmaker is relocating to a newly constructed building 3 miles away in its longtime home of 1 American Road in Dearborn, Michigan, in November.

The new 2.1-million-square-foot structure will formally be called “Ford World Headquarters” when it opens in November. It is part of a larger campus that will take the name of the current HQ: Henry Ford II World Center. Henry Ford II was the grandson of company founder Henry Ford and the uncle of Bill Ford, the automaker's current executive chairman.

“When we move to the new headquarters, the 1 American Road address will move with it, because we're going to continue to develop products for the next century,” says Ted Ryan, Ford’s heritage and brand manager.

The new HQ is 5–10 minutes away and is designed to enhance collaboration and innovation by co-locating corporate leadership with design and engineering teams. It places 14,000 employees within a 15-minute walk of the main building. It will feature six design studios, a 160,000-square-foot food hall accessible to all Ford employees, wellness rooms, mothers’ rooms and 300-plus tech-enabled meeting rooms.

Ford’s new home base is situated on the site of the former Product Development Center. When it was dedicated in 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower joined the celebration live through one of the first-ever uses of closed-circuit television.

Some of the most well-known American vehicles were born there, including the Mustang, Thunderbird and F-Series trucks. “There have been multiple Ford family members who, as they walk in and they see the blue oval with ‘Ford’ on the side of the building, they're really walking into their family home,” Ryan says.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

From surfing the waves to paddling along the powerful Fitzroy River, people in Queensland, Australia are discovering creative ways to keep active as they grow older.

While physical activity is key to maintaining good health, experts highlight that the social connections formed by exercising with friends are equally vital for overall well-being.

Every week, the “Gold Coast Granny Grommets” meet to surf waves and age gracefully. “We've got a group of about five of us that come every week without fail and get in the cold water regardless of the temperature,” says surfer Caroline Holliday.

Surfing in their sixties, they understand the benefit of being active.

“I think you have to make it a priority every day. So, for me, I train every day in some way or other, and this is just a really good, fun way of doing it,” explains surfer Lesley Vick.

“Having that connection is very, very important. It probably outweighs the physical, though that’s really important too,” says Holliday.

Beyond the clear physical advantages, researchers suggest that working out in a group can play a crucial role in encouraging older adults to maintain long-term activity and can also help prevent feelings of loneliness.

“The social support and being with others increases our mood and our mental health as well. So, it ticks two boxes if you can get out, get active and get active with others,” says Dr. Stephanie Alley of Central Queensland University.

These friends from Rockhampton have taken up rowing to stay fit in their sixties. “It's very hard to injure yourself, and as you get older, that's really important,” says rower Stuart Kininmonth.

But for the Fitzroy Fossils, it’s not just about staying physically fit. “The beauty of rowing in a boat, it's a team sport, so you get the opportunity to be with people, you’re doing something that's a collective endeavor,” concludes rower Simon Irwin.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A top Google scientist and 2024 Nobel laureate said that the most important skill for the next generation will be learning how to learn to keep pace with change as artificial intelligence transforms education and the workplace.

Speaking at an ancient Roman theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind, said rapid technological change demands a new approach to learning and skill development.

It's very hard to predict the future, like 10 years from now, in normal cases. It's even harder today, given how fast AI is changing, even week by week, Hassabis told the audience. The only thing you can say for certain is that huge change is coming.

The neuroscientist and former chess prodigy said artificial general intelligence—a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can—could arrive within a decade. This, he said, will bring dramatic advances and a possible future of radical abundance despite acknowledged risks.

Hassabis emphasized the need for meta-skills, such as understanding how to learn and optimizing one's approach to new subjects, alongside traditional disciplines like math, science and humanities. One thing we'll know for sure is you're going to have to continually learn ... throughout your career, he said.

The DeepMind co-founder, who established the London-based research lab in 2010 before Google acquired it four years later, shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing AI systems that accurately predict protein folding—a breakthrough for medicine and drug discovery.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined Hassabis at the Athens event after discussing ways to expand AI use in government services. Mitsotakis warned that the continued growth of huge tech companies could create great global financial inequality.

Unless people actually see benefits, personal benefits, to this (AI) revolution, they will tend to become very skeptical, he said. And if they see ... obscene wealth being created within very few companies, this is a recipe for significant social unrest.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Stephen Curry is going down memory lane, though he still has eyes on what’s next.

Curry's book Shot Ready was released in September, and the immediate reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Amazon quickly had it ranked among its top 10 current best-sellers and atop its sports book charts.

Over more than 400 pages and with more than 100 photographs, many of them of the behind-the-scenes variety, the Golden State Warriors star guard—a four-time NBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist and the league's career 3-point leader—said he's simply trying to give fans a new look inside his mind and at his process.

“We wanted to have something tangible, not just from a sports perspective but from a life perspective and show all the different highs and lows that I’ve been through and what people have instilled in me,” Curry said. “It just made sense, especially while I’m still under the bright lights on the court playing. It’s a moment of reflection. But also for me, it's a moment to motivate me to keep going and get everything else I can out of this game.”

The book is the latest part of Curry's burgeoning empire. He has his Curry Brand with Under Armour, has a multimedia company, is now in the bourbon business, recently announced plans for a restaurant, is trying to grow the game of golf by making it more accessible, and has a nonprofit with his wife, Ayesha Curry, dedicated largely to providing meals and educational opportunities to children in need.

“I think I’m just going deeper into the things that are exciting and I’m passionate about,” Curry said. “I’m passionate about sharing all of that with anybody who'll listen. I feel like it’s going deeper and it’s a part of just being able to extend the platform and the opportunity to things that matter to me.”

“Success may not always look the way you expect, but it’s attainable for all of us when the rigor of our preparation and the depth of our belief meet the urgency of the moment,” Curry wrote. “That’s what it means to be shot ready.”

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Albania's prime minister tapped an artificial intelligence-generated minister to tackle corruption and promote transparency and innovation in his new Cabinet.

Officially named Diella—the female form of the word for sun in the Albanian language—the new AI minister is a virtual entity. Diella will be a member of the Cabinet who is not present physically but has been created virtually, Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a post on Facebook.

Rama said the AI-generated bot would help ensure that public tenders will be 100% free of corruption and would help the government work faster and with full transparency. Diella uses AI's up-to-date models and techniques to guarantee accuracy in offering the duties it is charged with, according to Albania's National Agency for Information Society's website.

Diella, depicted as a figure in a traditional Albanian folk costume, was created earlier this year, in cooperation with Microsoft, as a virtual assistant on the e-Albania public service platform, where she has helped users navigate the site and get access to about 1 million digital inquiries and documents.

Diella will also help local authorities to speed up and adapt to the bloc's working trend.

Albanian President Bajram Begaj has mandated Rama with the formation of the new government. Analysts say that gives the prime minister authority for the creation and functioning of AI-generated Diella. Asked by journalists whether that violates the constitution, Begaj stopped short of describing Diella's role as a ministerial post.

Lawmakers will vote on the new Cabinet, but it was unclear whether Rama will ask for a vote on Diella's virtual post. Legal experts say more work may be needed to establish Diella's official status. The Democrats' parliamentary group leader Gazmend Bardhi said he considered Diella's ministerial status unconstitutional.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Volleyball, basketball, ping pong, dancing rehearsals or simple chats. Dozens of teens are rediscovering how to reconnect to the real world after a school in Santiago, Chile, implemented a pioneering program in the country that blocks cell phone signals.

Now, instead of compulsively scrolling through their Instagram feeds or sharing choreographed TikTok dances, students spend time at the library, the café or along the several courts of Lo Barnechea Bicentenario school.

“Breaks are very lively now,” the school’s principal, Humberto Garrido, told The Associated Press.

In order to stimulate bonding among youngsters, the school also put in place a “comprehensive plan that also includes more games in the courtyard, board games in the library, soccer, tennis, basketball, and even championships,” he said.

The program—the first ever put in place in Chile and one of the first in South America—was implemented in August, a bid by the Lo Barnechea mayor’s office to address student well-being in times of hyperconnectivity and help them rediscover real-world connections.

For now, the initiative is being tested only at Lo Barnechea Bicentenario school and applies to eighth-grade students, ages 13 or 14. However, the measure will soon be extended to all grades and gradually implemented in other district schools over the next year.

On a recent cold, sunny day at the end of winter in Chile, dozens of students patiently lined up before putting their smartphones inside a black case designed to jam signal detection through a blocking magnet that can only be deactivated by the school’s inspectors. They are still able to keep their devices, but are only allowed to text, call or scroll again after school is over.

The first few days of the digital detox demanded some adaptation, but just a few weeks after its launch, the program has been well received by students, teachers and parents.

“I feel freer, I spend more time at recess, I spend more time with my classmates. I play a lot, I play a lot more sports. Before, I used to spend time on my phone, watching TikTok and Instagram,” said 14-year-old José David.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Used condominium prices in the Tokyo metropolitan area have hit an all-time high, a trend driven by a combination of factors, including a shortage of new properties and ongoing low interest rates. In this environment, real estate investment is gaining attention as a stable way to build wealth.

Real estate investment is attractive because it could provide stable returns and capital gains with less volatility than the stock market. However, it also comes with its own unique risks. Potential owners face challenges such as vacancy risk, unexpected repair costs, and low liquidity, which means it can be difficult to sell a property quickly for cash. The market is also sensitive to changes in interest rates, and traditional real estate investing requires significant effort and expert knowledge.

To ease these challenges, new technology-based services are making it easier for beginners to enter the market. One such platform, RENOSY, offers all-in-one support, from finding and buying a property to managing it. A key feature is its AI-powered tool that analyzes data to suggest properties that fit a user's criteria, which is expected to mitigate investment risk. The service's reliability is also backed by the company being publicly traded, which provides transparency and a proven track record.

Of course, real estate is not the only path. For those seeking a different approach, financial products like stocks and mutual funds offer a compelling alternative. In direct contrast to the challenges of property investment, they provide high liquidity and a much lower barrier to entry. However, this flexibility often comes with greater day-to-day market volatility, a key difference from the tangible stability of real estate.

Ultimately, the best way to build assets depends on a person's financial goals and their risk tolerance. Whether someone chooses the stability of property, now more accessible through technology, or the growth potential of other investments requires carefully weighing the pros and cons of each option.

This article was created in collaboration with GA technologies.

Braxton Kimura dreads eating at restaurants. The California teenager is severely allergic to peanuts, shellfish and most tree nuts. Consuming even a tiny amount could send him to the emergency room. “Eating out is definitely really dangerous. It’s something that I try to avoid,” Kimura, 17, said at his home in San Jose. “When dining out, obviously, I always bring my EpiPens, and I’m really nervous all the time.”

Restaurant dining in California could soon become less stressful for Braxton and the growing number of Americans with severe food allergies. State lawmakers are set to vote on legislation that would make California the first U.S. state to require restaurants to disclose whether a menu item contains any of the nine most common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, sesame and soybeans.

Restaurants could post the allergen information on physical menus, an allergen chart, allergen-specific menus or other printed materials. They can also post a QR code to access a digital menu that lists allergens.

In September, the Legislature is expected to vote on Senate Bill 68, known as the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act (ADDE). If approved and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the new law would take effect on July 1, 2026.

Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) introduced the bill earlier this year. Menjivar, who is severely allergic to most nuts and fruits, said she’s had to go to the hospital multiple times for anaphylaxis—a life-threatening allergic reaction—because she accidentally consumed an allergen.

The Southern California lawmaker got the idea for the legislation last year while traveling in Europe, which has required restaurants to disclose food allergens since 2014. The bill has the backing of numerous groups representing medical practitioners and people who suffer from asthma and allergies.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As an ominous storm approached Buddy Anthony’s one-story brick home, he took shelter in his new Ford F-250 pickup truck parked underneath a nearby carport.

Seconds later, a tornado tore apart Anthony's home and damaged the truck while lifting it partly in the air. Anthony emerged unhurt. But he had to replace his vehicle with a used truck that became his home—the spot where he slept for weeks while waiting for President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration so that federal money would be freed for individuals reeling from loss.

Disaster survivors such as Anthony are having to wait longer to get aid from the federal government, according to a new Associated Press (AP) analysis of decades of data. On average, it took less than two weeks for a governor's request for a presidential disaster declaration to be granted in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties. It's taking more than a month, on average, during Trump's current term, the AP found.

The delays mean individuals must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in disaster declarations can also hamper recovery efforts by local officials who are uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure.

Mississippi’s governor requested a federal disaster declaration on April 1. Trump granted that request 50 days later, on May 21, while approving aid for both individuals and public entities.

On that same day, Trump also approved eight other major disaster declarations for storms, floods or fires in seven other states. In most cases, more than a month had passed since the requests and about two months since the date of those disasters.

“We couldn’t figure out why the president took so long to help people in this country,” said Jayess resident Dana Grimes.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.