Author: Team_Benjamin Franklin Institute

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In today’s digital-first retail environment, smaller brands often face an uphill battle when competing with industry giants’ massive marketing budgets. Advertising costs on most platforms continue to escalate, making it difficult for smaller ecommerce business owners to drive sales and scale cost-effectively.One effective and cost-effective strategy that empowers upstart brands to drive sales without the hefty upfront costs associated with traditional advertising is affiliate marketing. In this model, online retailers partner with website publishers that feature content and have an audience that is also relevant to the online retailer. The retailer only…

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The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, accusing him of war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine. Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, are both wanted by the ICC for unlawfully deporting and transporting Ukrainian children to Russia.The arrest warrants mark the first international charges to be brought since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the first against a leader of a country with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.“This is an important moment in the process of justice,” the ICC president, Judge Piotr Hofmański, said…

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Alphabet’s Google proposed new limits to revenue-sharing agreements with companies including Apple which make Google’s search engine the default on their devices and browsers.The suggestions stem from the US search giant’s ongoing antitrust battle over its online search business.In August, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google illegally crushed its competition in search – a decision the company vowed to appeal.In a legal filing submitted Friday, Google said it should be allowed to continue entering into those contracts with other companies while widening the options it offers.These options include allowing different default search engines to be assigned to different…

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Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The World Bank has raised its near-term economic forecasts for China while repeating calls for President Xi Jinping to pursue deep reforms to address lagging confidence and structural problems in the world’s second-biggest economy.The multilateral lender said on Thursday that it had revised its forecast for China’s GDP growth next year upwards by 0.4 percentage points to 4.5 per cent, reflecting a series of policy-easing measures announced by Beijing over the past three months as well as the strength of the country’s…

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Credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg via Wikimedia Commons In the final hours of the season’s Christmas shopping madness, there’s a good chance many Americans are breaking out credit cards to pay for last-minute gifts, holiday meals or travel expenses. A recent WalletHub study revealed nearly half of Americans are still paying off debt from last Christmas, even as they pile onto that debt for this year’s holiday season. “The fact that people are still paying off debt from last holiday season makes you wonder if they are going to fall into that trap again or are they cutting back because of last year’s debt,”…

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In December, scientists said global warming had helped intensify Cyclone Chino to a Category 4 storm as it collided head-on with Mayotte, devastating France’s poorest overseas territory. DROUGHTS AND WILDFIRES Some regions may be wetter as climate change shifts rainfall patterns, but others are becoming drier and more vulnerable to drought. The Americas suffered severe drought in 2024 and wildfires torched millions of hectares in the western United States, Canada, and the Amazon basin – usually one of Earth’s wettest places. Between January and September, more than 400,000 fires were recorded across South America, shrouding the continent in choking smoke.…

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The actor sued his ex-wife for defamation after she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post.As part of his defense, Johnny Depp testified during the trial, a move his lawyers were reportedly worried about due to fears he might lose his temper on the stand.Article continues below advertisementJohnny Depp’s Lawyers Were ‘Concerned’ He Could ‘Lose His Temper’MEGASpeaking on A&E’s “Interrogation Raw: Celebrity Under Oath,” two lawyers who helped Johnny Depp win his defamation case against Amber Heard admitted they were initially scared they had made the wrong decision by…

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Parker Solar Probe is operating normally after passing just 6.1 million kilometres above the Sun’s surface, NASA says.The United States space agency has confirmed its Parker Solar Probe is safe after making the closest approach to the Sun ever recorded by a human-made object. The probe passed just 6.1 million kilometres (3.8 million miles) above the Sun’s surface on December 24, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said early on Friday. It flew into the Sun’s outer atmosphere — known as the corona — “at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour [692km/h] — faster than any human-made object has…

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The New York Yankees have another area to add to their offseason shopping list.The Detroit Tigers announced they signed second baseman Gleyber Torres to a one-year contract. Jesse Rogers from ESPN reported that the contract is worth $15 million.Torres shook off a slow start to put together a respectable showing in 2024. He produced a .257/.330/.378 batting line in his 665 plate appearances, hitting 15 homers and 26 doubles. He took over as the Yankees’ leadoff hitter down the stretch, his bat catching fire as he helped lead the Yankees to the World Series. The Yankees had an extensive shopping…

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Bottlenose dolphins have teeth unlike those of many other mammalsJeff Mondragon/Alamy Stock Photo A study of dolphin jaw anatomy suggests their teeth might act as antennae for sound waves, potentially helping to explain how they hear and use echolocation underwater. “Our findings support the hypothesis that dolphins utilise their teeth as part of an advanced sound reception system,” says Ryo Kodera at Tsurumi University in Japan. “This finding provides insight into how dentition may be helpful for dolphins’ underwater life.” Scientists have long known that dolphins and other… Source link

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