Short sea shipping; Duffy signs English language EO; fraud as a business model
On Episode 841 of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, Dooner is coming to you live from FreightWaves' Domestic Supply Chain Summit. We're kicking things off with coverage from Austin, Texas, where DOT Secretary Sean Duffy officially signed the English language proficiency executive order. We'll find out why both truckers and trucking associations cheered this critical move toward road safety.
Can you say 'short sea shipping' five times fast? OpenTug CEO and co-founder Jason Aristides barges right in and gives us a crash course on the power of inland waterways. We'll find out the crucial role they play in domestic supply chains and learn why tariff turmoil could cause demand to grow.
Freight fraud as a business model? Overhaul's Danny Ramon talks about the latest on freight fraud and why it has become so attractive for bad actors. He also shares a Memorial Day cargo alert.
Plus, Armenian cargo theft ring busted in Southern California; and thieves target Apple products on Pennsylvania highway. Catch new shows live at noon EDT Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube, or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player and at 5 p.m. Eastern on SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking Channel 146.
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The post Short sea shipping; Duffy signs English language EO; fraud as a business model | WHAT THE TRUCK?!? appeared first on FreightWaves.
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Netflix, Martha Stewart, T.O.P And Lil Yachty Welcome You To The K-Era
Lil Yachty, Martha Stewart and T.O.P appear in Netflix's new K-content campaign. Let's face it—a collaboration between lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart and South Korean rapper and actor T.O.P was something no one saw coming, but that's precisely what happened when Netflix revealed its latest ad for Korean content. The two-minute video on Netflix's YouTube channel also features American rapper Lil Yachty, himself a longtime K-culture fan who famously paid tribute to the iconic K-pop boy band BIGBANG (of which T.O.P is a former member) in 2016 by freestyling to their songs. (And seeing as how T.O.P is clearly his favorite BIGBANG member based on that clip, it was probably only a matter of time before he and the real T.O.P found themselves in the same video.) In Netflix's promotional clip, Stewart is caught crying while watching the hit K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines. When told that she doesn't speak Korean, Stewart responds, 'I don't, it speaks to me.' Stewart is later seen actively engaging with and taking cues from other blockbuster Korean shows like Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead and Physical: 100. She also chats with Lil Yachty about Single's Inferno while wearing a snail mucin sheet mask on her face—one of (many) items popularized by the ever-growing K-beauty trend. T.O.P (real name Choi Seung-hyun), who plays Thanos in Squid Game season 2, appears in Stewart's dressing room in the latter half of the video and flashes her the classic Korean 'finger heart' sign. At this point, the camera cuts to a barrage of additional K-culture references found throughout the room, from the song 'Like Jennie' by BLACKPINK member Jennie blasting from a speaker to a tray filled with Korean snacks and beverages to Stewart wearing an Extraordinary Attorney Woo T-shirt. 'I've seen this before… You're in deep on K-content. Don't worry, she'll be fine,' T.O.P remarks, at least according to the English subtitles. (A more literal translation of what he actually says would be something like: 'Oh, I see you're hooked on not only K-content but Korean culture as well. Don't worry, that happens to everyone.') He then makes his exit with the now-iconic 'Skrrt!'—which all three stars repeat at the very end while dressed in Squid Game tracksuits. Social media reactions to the unexpected collab have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, with many users praising Netflix for the surprise video and gushing over T.O.P's appearance in the clip. Some of the user comments on the "Welcome to Your K-Era" video on Netflix's YouTube channel More user comments on Netflix's new K-content promotional video Commenter on YouTube references the 2016 BIGBANG tribute video in which Lil Yachty raps and talks to ... More cardboard cutouts of BIGBANG members. Screenshot of a post on X Netflix's slogan for its 'Welcome to Your K-Era' campaign is 'You Don't Have to Speak It to Love It' (for anyone who's interested, a more literal translation of the Korean phrase would be: 'Even if you don't know the language, you know the feeling!'), acknowledging the power of K-content to resonate with audiences across the globe despite the language barrier. That said, as an aside, it should be noted that the Korean language is also experiencing a worldwide boom these days. For instance, a recent study by the Modern Language Association found that out of the 15 most commonly taught foreign languages at U.S. colleges and universities, Korean was the only language to show remarkable growth between 2016 and 2021—a whopping 38.3% increase in enrollment over that five-year period. Biblical Hebrew and American Sign Language were the only other languages that showed increased enrollment—9.1% and 0.8% respectively—while all other foreign languages showed a marked decline in enrollment over that time period. To feed your K-content obsession—and perhaps help you improve your Korean listening comprehension skills—Netflix now has a 'Welcome to Your K-Era' panel on its interface, which serves as a one-stop shop to find all your favorite Korean films and shows on Netflix. (Tip for those new to Korean movies and shows: ALWAYS watch them subbed, NEVER dubbed!) Residents of Los Angeles, California might have also seen these Netflix billboards along Sunset Boulevard featuring Korean-only captions, often superimposed on ads for popular Netflix Korean shows: Billboard in LA with Netflix's new K-content slogan "You Don't Have to Speak It to Love It" written ... More in Korean (a more literal translation would be: "Even if you don't know the language, you know the feeling!") 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That weekend, Tudum coincided with other events in Los Angeles that celebrated K-culture, including an epic sold-out concert by K-pop boy band Stray Kids (whose global fanbase is predominantly non-Korean), a concert by Korean singing legend Baek Ji-young, and 88rising's annual Head in the Clouds music festival, which saw many K-indie and K-pop artists take the stage at the Rose Bowl, including BIGBANG's leader G-Dragon (dubbed by many fans as the 'King of K-pop') and iconic K-pop girl group 2NE1. As I've mentioned before, it's a K-content world, and we're all just living in it. And Netflix is one of the players leading the Korean Wave, known as 'Hallyu" (한류) in Korean.


Entrepreneur
an hour ago
- Entrepreneur
Google CEO Sundar Pichai Is 'Vibe Coding' a Website for Fun
Vibe coding is the process of prompting AI to write code, instead of doing it manually. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai disclosed that he has been "vibe coding," or using AI to code for him through prompts, to build a webpage. Pichai said on Wednesday at Bloomberg Tech in San Francisco that he had been experimenting with AI coding assistants Cursor and Replit, both of which are advertised as able to create code from text prompts, to build a new webpage. Related: Here's How Much a Typical Google Employee Makes in a Year "I've just been messing around — either with Cursor or I vibe coded with Replit — trying to build a custom webpage with all the sources of information I wanted in one place," Pichai said, per Business Insider. Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Pichai said that he had "partially" completed the webpage, and that coding had "come a long way" from its early days. Vibe coding is a term coined by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy. In a post on X in February, Karpathy described how AI tools are getting good enough that software developers can "forget that the code even exists." Instead, they can ask for AI to code on their behalf and create a project or web app without writing a line of code themselves. There's a new kind of coding I call "vibe coding", where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists. It's possible because the LLMs (e.g. Cursor Composer w Sonnet) are getting too good. Also I just talk to Composer with SuperWhisper… — Andrej Karpathy (@karpathy) February 2, 2025 The rise of vibe coding has led AI coding assistants to explode in popularity. One AI coding tool, Cursor, became the fastest-growing software app to reach $100 million in annual revenue in January. Almost all of Cursor's revenue comes from 360,000 individual subscribers, not big enterprises. However, that balance could change: As of earlier this week, Amazon is reportedly in talks to adopt Cursor for its employees. Another coding tool, Replit, says it has enabled users to make more than two million apps in six months. The company has 34 million global users as of November. Related: This AI Startup Spent $0 on Marketing. Its Revenue Just Hit $200 Million. Noncoders are using vibe coding to bring their ideas to life. Lenard Flören, a 28-year-old art director with no prior coding experience, told NBC News last month that he used AI tools to vibe code a personalized workout tracking app. Harvard University neuroscience student, Rishab Jain, 20, told the outlet that he used Replit to vibe code an app that translates ancient texts into English. Instead of downloading someone else's app and paying a subscription fee, "now you can just make it," Jain said. Popular vibe coding tools offer a free entry point into vibe coding, as well as subscription plans. Replit has a free tier, a $20 a month core level with expanded capabilities, such as unlimited private and public apps, and a $35 per user, per month teams subscription. Cursor also has a free tier, a $20 per month pro level, and a $40 per user, per month, business subscription. Despite the existence of vibe coding, Pichai still thinks that human software engineers are necessary. At Bloomberg Tech on Wednesday, Pichai said that Google will keep hiring human engineers and growing its engineering workforce "even into next year" because a bigger workforce "allows us to do more." "I just view this [AI] as making engineers dramatically more productive," he said. Alphabet is the fifth most valuable company in the world with a market cap of $2 trillion.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Landlord lobby will boost Cuomo with $2.5M spend
NEW YORK — A super PAC representing landlords plans to spend $2.5 million to boost mayoral front-runner Andrew Cuomo as he tries to hold off Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who's pledged to freeze the rent on rent-regulated apartments every year as mayor. 'In this two person race, Andrew Cuomo is the best candidate to increase the supply of housing. The alternative choice is unacceptable and will decimate the housing stock,' NYAA CEO Kenny Burgos said in a statement. The organization, which primarily represents operators of rent-regulated apartment buildings, plans to run ads in English and Spanish on broadcast and cable television, radio and the web — 'we're doing the whole shebang,' Burgos said. The advertisements aren't ready yet, he said, but they'll put a positive sheen on the former governor's housing plans, rather than attack Mamdani. Any spending will have to come soon as the race enters its final stretch. The Democratic primary is June 24, and early voting begins June 14. The $2.5 million spend by the super PAC Housing for All is fully funded by the New York Apartment Association, a membership organization created last year through the merger of the Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program. NYAA serves as the interest group for multifamily residential owners in New York and actively lobbies the mayoral administration and the Rent Guidelines Board, which determines rent increases for the city's roughly one million regulated apartments. The plan makes NYAA the single largest donor on behalf of Cuomo in the race so far. Another pro-Cuomo super PAC, Fix the City, has raised nearly $11 million, with much of the total coming from real estate interests. Its single largest contribution was $1 million from food delivery company DoorDash. 'Wow. They say they don't have any money!' Mamdani said, laughing, when asked about the Apartment Association's spending — referring to the organization's advocacy for rent increases it says are necessary to fund the upkeep of buildings and apartments. 'I would expect nothing less from a group that represents the landlords of those rent-stabilized units. Because ultimately, I'm running to freeze the rent, he's running to raise it,' Mamdani said, referring to Cuomo. 'So from their perspective, this is the candidate, rightfully, they've assessed, who will continue to increase their profits. I'm the one that is running for the tenants in those same units.' Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the campaign wasn't aware of the spend and referred POLITICO to Cuomo's comments at the debate Wednesday, after Mamdani said the former governor would be compromised by DoorDash's donations. I work 'for the people of the city of New York,' Cuomo said. 'I don't care who gave me what. I do what is right.' The city's real estate industry has lined up behind Cuomo, though with some reluctance, POLITICO reported. Burgos praised Cuomo on the NYAA's podcast this week for his housing plan to build or preserve 500,000 units in the next decade by focusing on upzoning denser, transit-rich neighborhoods. And he criticized Mamdani for his plan to build 200,000 units of social housing with union labor, saying he was being unrealistic about how much it would cost. Burgos also slammed Mamdani — his high school classmate at Bronx Science — for leading the charge on a rent freeze. 'Our estimates are that roughly 5,000 rent-stabilized buildings, housing more than a quarter of rent-stabilized tenants, are functionally bankrupt,' he said. 'A rent freeze would all but guarantee the demise of this housing stock.' The Rent Guidelines Board, whose members are appointed by the mayor, has proposed a rent increase between 1.75 and 4.75 percent for one-year leases and will take a final vote on the proposal June 30. In his housing plan, Cuomo said that calling for a rent freeze is 'politically convenient,' but that landlords need 'rent increases that reflect their costs.' NYAA's super PAC, Housing for All, previously announced plans to spend in New York City Council primaries as well, though it hasn't reported any action yet.