HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company's collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work and wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but "We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company's website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory claiming all birds are actually government surveillance drones. Peters said she and some other former employees are upset and think the relaunch was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, 74, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. But Sherron Watkins, Enron’s former vice president of corporate development and the main whistleblower who helped uncover the scandal, said she didn’t have a problem with the joke because comedy “usually helps us focus on an uncomfortable historical event that we’d rather ignore.” “I think we use prior scandals to try to teach new generations what can go wrong with big companies,” said Watkins, who still speaks at colleges and conferences about the Enron scandal. This story was corrected to fix the spelling of Ken Lay’s first name, which had been misspelled “Key.” Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70
Judith Graham | (TNS) KFF Health News Carolyn Dickens, 76, was sitting at her dining room table, struggling to catch her breath as her physician looked on with concern. “What’s going on with your breathing?” asked Peter Gliatto, director of Mount Sinai’s Visiting Doctors Program. “I don’t know,” she answered, so softly it was hard to hear. “Going from here to the bathroom or the door, I get really winded. I don’t know when it’s going to be my last breath.” Dickens, a lung cancer survivor, lives in central Harlem, barely getting by. She has serious lung disease and high blood pressure and suffers regular fainting spells. In the past year, she’s fallen several times and dropped to 85 pounds, a dangerously low weight. And she lives alone, without any help — a highly perilous situation. This is almost surely an undercount, since the data is from more than a dozen years ago. It’s a population whose numbers far exceed those living in nursing homes — about 1.2 million — and yet it receives much less attention from policymakers, legislators, and academics who study aging. Consider some eye-opening statistics about completely homebound seniors from a study published in 2020 in JAMA Internal Medicine : Nearly 40% have five or more chronic medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease. Almost 30% are believed to have “probable dementia.” Seventy-seven percent have difficulty with at least one daily task such as bathing or dressing. Almost 40% live by themselves. That “on my own” status magnifies these individuals’ already considerable vulnerability, something that became acutely obvious during the covid-19 outbreak, when the number of sick and disabled seniors confined to their homes doubled. “People who are homebound, like other individuals who are seriously ill, rely on other people for so much,” said Katherine Ornstein, director of the Center for Equity in Aging at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. “If they don’t have someone there with them, they’re at risk of not having food, not having access to health care, not living in a safe environment.” Related Articles Weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy are all the rage. Are they safe for kids? Rural governments often fail to communicate with residents who aren’t proficient in English Some breast cancer patients can avoid certain surgeries, studies suggest Who gets obesity drugs covered by insurance? In North Carolina, it helps if you’re on Medicaid How the FDA allows companies to add secret ingredients to our food Research has shown that older homebound adults are less likely to receive regular primary care than other seniors. They’re also more likely to end up in the hospital with medical crises that might have been prevented if someone had been checking on them. To better understand the experiences of these seniors, I accompanied Gliatto on some home visits in New York City. Mount Sinai’s Visiting Doctors Program, established in 1995, is one of the oldest in the nation. Only 12% of older U.S. adults who rarely or never leave home have access to this kind of home-based primary care. Gliatto and his staff — seven part-time doctors, three nurse practitioners, two nurses, two social workers, and three administrative staffers — serve about 1,000 patients in Manhattan each year. These patients have complicated needs and require high levels of assistance. In recent years, Gliatto has had to cut staff as Mount Sinai has reduced its financial contribution to the program. It doesn’t turn a profit, because reimbursement for services is low and expenses are high. First, Gliatto stopped in to see Sandra Pettway, 79, who never married or had children and has lived by herself in a two-bedroom Harlem apartment for 30 years. Pettway has severe spinal problems and back pain, as well as Type 2 diabetes and depression. She has difficulty moving around and rarely leaves her apartment. “Since the pandemic, it’s been awfully lonely,” she told me. When I asked who checks in on her, Pettway mentioned her next-door neighbor. There’s no one else she sees regularly. Pettway told the doctor she was increasingly apprehensive about an upcoming spinal surgery. He reassured her that Medicare would cover in-home nursing care, aides, and physical therapy services. “Someone will be with you, at least for six weeks,” he said. Left unsaid: Afterward, she would be on her own. (The surgery in April went well, Gliatto reported later.) The doctor listened carefully as Pettway talked about her memory lapses. “I can remember when I was a year old, but I can’t remember 10 minutes ago,” she said. He told her that he thought she was managing well but that he would arrange testing if there was further evidence of cognitive decline. For now, he said, he’s not particularly worried about her ability to manage on her own. Several blocks away, Gliatto visited Dickens, who has lived in her one-bedroom Harlem apartment for 31 years. Dickens told me she hasn’t seen other people regularly since her sister, who used to help her out, had a stroke. Most of the neighbors she knew well have died. Her only other close relative is a niece in the Bronx whom she sees about once a month. Dickens worked with special-education students for decades in New York City’s public schools. Now she lives on a small pension and Social Security — too much to qualify for Medicaid. (Medicaid, the program for low-income people, will pay for aides in the home. Medicare, which covers people over age 65, does not.) Like Pettway, she has only a small fixed income, so she can’t afford in-home help. Every Friday, God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that prepares medically tailored meals for sick people, delivers a week’s worth of frozen breakfasts and dinners that Dickens reheats in the microwave. She almost never goes out. When she has energy, she tries to do a bit of cleaning. Without the ongoing attention from Gliatto, Dickens doesn’t know what she’d do. “Having to get up and go out, you know, putting on your clothes, it’s a task,” she said. “And I have the fear of falling.” The next day, Gliatto visited Marianne Gluck Morrison, 73, a former survey researcher for New York City’s personnel department, in her cluttered Greenwich Village apartment. Morrison, who doesn’t have any siblings or children, was widowed in 2010 and has lived alone since. Morrison said she’d been feeling dizzy over the past few weeks, and Gliatto gave her a basic neurological exam, asking her to follow his fingers with her eyes and touch her fingers to her nose. “I think your problem is with your ear, not your brain,” he told her, describing symptoms of vertigo. Because she had severe wounds on her feet related to Type 2 diabetes, Morrison had been getting home health care for several weeks through Medicare. But those services — help from aides, nurses, and physical therapists — were due to expire in two weeks. “I don’t know what I’ll do then, probably just spend a lot of time in bed,” Morrison told me. Among her other medical conditions: congestive heart failure, osteoarthritis, an irregular heartbeat, chronic kidney disease, and depression. Morrison hasn’t left her apartment since November 2023, when she returned home after a hospitalization and several months at a rehabilitation center. Climbing the three steps that lead up into her apartment building is simply too hard. “It’s hard to be by myself so much of the time. It’s lonely,” she told me. “I would love to have people see me in the house. But at this point, because of the clutter, I can’t do it.” When I asked Morrison who she feels she can count on, she listed Gliatto and a mental health therapist from Henry Street Settlement, a social services organization. She has one close friend she speaks with on the phone most nights. “The problem is I’ve lost eight to nine friends in the last 15 years,” she said, sighing heavily. “They’ve died or moved away.” Bruce Leff, director of the Center for Transformative Geriatric Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is a leading advocate of home-based medical care. “It’s kind of amazing how people find ways to get by,” he said when I asked him about homebound older adults who live alone. “There’s a significant degree of frailty and vulnerability, but there is also substantial resilience.” With the rapid expansion of the aging population in the years ahead, Leff is convinced that more kinds of care will move into the home, everything from rehab services to palliative care to hospital-level services. “It will simply be impossible to build enough hospitals and health facilities to meet the demand from an aging population,” he said. But that will be challenging for homebound older adults who are on their own. Without on-site family caregivers, there may be no one around to help manage this home-based care. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home was broken into during Monday Night Football in the latest home invasion of a pro athlete in the U.S., authorities said Tuesday. No one was injured in the break-in, but the home was ransacked, according to a report provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies weren’t immediately able to determine what items were stolen. A person who is employed by Burrow arrived at the Anderson Township home Monday night to find a shattered bedroom window and the home in disarray. The person called their mother, and then 911 was contacted, according to the report. Deputies reached out to neighbors in an attempt to piece together surveillance footage. “Our investigators are exploring every avenue,” public information officer Kyla Woods said. The homes of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were broken into in October. In the NBA, Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis had his home broken into Nov. 2 and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr.’s home was burglarized on Sept. 15 while he was at a Minnesota Vikings game. Portis had offered a $40,000 reward for information. Both the NFL and NBA issued security alerts to players after those break-ins, urging them to take additional precautions to secure their homes. In league memos previously obtained by The Associated Press, the NFL said homes of professional athletes across multiple sports have become “increasingly targeted for burglaries by organized and skilled groups.” And the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Some of the burglary groups have conducted extensive surveillance on targets, including attempted home deliveries and posing as grounds maintenance or joggers in the neighborhood, according to officials.
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On Monday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had a conversation with Bangladesh's interim government Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus. They highlighted a mutual commitment to protecting human rights for all citizens, as per a press release from the US government. Sullivan expressed gratitude for Yunus's leadership during such challenging times for Bangladesh. The US official reassured Yunus that the United States remains committed to supporting a stable, prosperous, and democratic Bangladesh. This comes after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India amidst escalating anti-government protests, leading to violence against minorities in Bangladesh. Moreover, the White House emphasized President Joe Biden's focus on Bangladesh's situation. While ensuring the interim government's accountability for minority protection, Bangladesh is seeking Hasina's extradition from India, potentially straining bilateral ties with New Delhi. (With inputs from agencies.)None
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The world’s wealthiest people have several things in common, but one of the most prominent is that the 10 richest have more than $100 billion to their name. The very top have more than $200 billion. These amounts don’t consist of cash sitting in a bank but are mainly investments, often of some of the largest publicly traded companies , which even the general public can invest in. These billionaires reached their lofty heights through hard work, great ideas, serendipity and plenty of careful planning with wise financial advisers along the way. Here are the world’s 10 richest people and some of their key investments, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index , as of Nov. 13. 1. Elon Musk: $320 billion Elon Musk is one of the most controversial business figures, but what’s not under dispute is his wealth. Born in South Africa, Musk built Tesla into a leading player in the electric vehicle market, and is pushing space travel with his SpaceX venture. Musk made a small fortune as an early shareholder of PayPal, and more recently purchased Twitter, which he renamed X. Musk has courted controversy in recent years, using drugs during a broadcast interview with top podcaster Joe Rogan and becoming more active politically, besides a range of other political pronouncements on X. 2. Jeff Bezos: $235 billion As the founder of Amazon , Jeff Bezos became something of a household name in the dot-com boom of 1999-2000, but his wealth really took off after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In the decade that followed, Amazon expanded into web services, logistics and shipping and more. Bezos purchased the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million and founded Blue Origin, an aerospace company that is commercializing space travel. He’s also a noted philanthropist, founding the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 with a donation of $10 billion and has said that he will give away most of his fortune. 3. Mark Zuckerberg: $205 billion Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of Meta Platforms , the company previously known as Facebook. The youngest member of this list, Zuckerberg began Facebook out of his dorm room at Harvard and quickly expanded it over the ensuing years. 4. Larry Ellison: $203 billion Larry Ellison co-founded software company Oracle and ran it for decades before becoming its chief technology officer and executive chairman. Ellison also owns nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lana’i. 5. Bernard Arnault: $164 billion Bernard Arnault founded LVMH, a company that acquired various French fashion brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Moët and Hennessy. The luxury conglomerate acquired Tiffany more recently, and is among the largest companies in Europe by market capitalization . 6. Bill Gates: $162 billion Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and has long been among the wealthiest people as his software company continued to expand over decades. Gates is also known for his philanthropic endeavors, namely at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a private charitable foundation. 7. Larry Page: $161 billion Larry Page co-founded Google — subsequently renamed Alphabet — with another member of this list (No. 8). He headed up the company from 1997 to 2001 and then again from 2011 to 2019. 8. Sergey Brin: $151 billion Along with Page, Sergey Brin co-founded Google and served as the company’s president for many years until stepping down in 2019. He and Page literally developed Google in a Silicon Valley garage. 9. Warren Buffett: $148 billion Warren Buffett , long known as the Oracle of Omaha for his prophetic investment acumen, has been investing since he was a boy. He has been the head of Berkshire Hathaway , an investing conglomerate, for nearly 60 years. Berkshire owns massive stakes in a number of America’s largest businesses, including Apple , Coca-Cola and many more. His company’s annual meeting attracts tens of thousands of investors and has been called the “Woodstock of Capitalism.” 10. Steve Ballmer: $148 billion Steve Ballmer also made his fortune through Microsoft and was one of the company’s earliest executives. He eventually led the company from 2000 to 2014, and subsequently co-purchased the Los Angeles Clippers, a pro basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association. How can you build your fortune? This list offers a handful of takeaways for people who are looking to build their own wealth. First, all these individuals own stock . Their immense wealth is built upon owning massively successful companies that are among the leaders in their respective industries. They have significant ownership stakes in these businesses. While they’ve generally worked in their businesses, their real wealth comes from the ownership of those companies. Second, because these companies are publicly traded, individual investors — anyone in the general public — can also take a stake in them. Many people have become millionaires and multi-millionaires by riding the coattails of these individuals and owning stock in their companies. It’s easy to get started with one of the best brokers for beginners , and if you’re looking for strong investments, a financial adviser can also help you find those that meet your needs . Third, these billionaires have built their wealth over decades; they’re not overnight lottery winners. Unquestionably they had some advantages — some were in the right place at the right time — but they all owned growing assets and then used time to compound their returns. And time is something that individuals have whether they’re rich or poor, well-placed or not.1 2 Jaipur: Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma reviewed the development of Unity Mall in Jaipur, aimed at promoting ‘Make in India' products and the ‘ One District One Product ' initiative. The Union finance ministry already approved the project under a special assistance scheme and sanctioned Rs 100 crore, 50% of the Rs 200 crore allocation, for its construction. The CM also took stock of the plan for setting up the Rajasthan Mandapam , to be built over 40,000 sq mtr, on the lines of the Bharat Mandapam convention centre in New Delhi. While Rajasthan Mandapam, the bigger of the two, has some more loose ends to be tied up, groundwork for the Unity Mall is almost complete to start construction of the project. A senior official of the industry department said they expedited the development of the Unity Mall by getting detailed project reports approved. Ajitabh Sharma, principal secretary (industries), said, "The bidding process for awarding the contract for construction will be completed by Jan next year. We have laid out a roadmap to start construction of the facility by Feb 2025." Sharma said recently the department introduced the OPOP policy, and the Unity Mall will play a catalysing role in promoting the unique products of each district, while creating new streams of livelihood opportunities for local producers and artisans. Planned over 15,000 sq mtr in the RIICO Fintech Park near Jaipur airport, the Unity Mall will have shops for every ODOP, GI (geographical indication), and other state products. The facility will house a common training centre, classrooms, seminar halls, business meeting halls, and an open-air theatre for promotional activities. Inderjeet Singh, MD of RIICO, which is the nodal agency for developing the facility, said, "After engaging NBCC as project management consultant (PMC) for the project last month, we issued administrative and financial sanction of Rs 202 crore last week. The pre-bid meeting with bidders has also been completed. RIICO fast-tracked the process to start construction as early as Feb 2025." Designed to have four floors and close to 200 facilities, the project was announced in the Budget 2024-25. Besides the two projects, the chief minister also discussed plans for developing the 100-acre land at Fintech Park in a way that can enhance the state's high-end services prowess. While officials were tight-lipped about the third project, the possibility of developing a Global Capability Centre (GCC) cannot be ruled out. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes.