Are you better off than four years ago? Why US voters should – but can’t – say yes

When Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election, 10 short words proved decisive. After a period in which high inflation had eroded living standards, the Republican challenger for the White House asked voters: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”The simple question that resonated so strongly with US voters 44 years ago has resurfaced in 2024 as the race between the vice-president, Kamala Harris, and the former president Donald Trump goes down to the wire.By any objective measure, the answer to the question today should be “yes”. Under Joe Biden, the US economy has created more jobs (16m) than during any four-year presidential term since the second world war. In the three years before the Covid crisis caused mass – mostly temporary – layoffs in 2020, the economy under Trump created just under 7m jobs

Boohoo boss to step down as review launched that could spark breakup

Boohoo’s chief executive is stepping down as the online fashion retailer launches a strategic review of its brands, which include Debenhams, Karen Millen and PrettyLittleThing, that could result in a breakup of the company.Shares in Boohoo fell 7% on Friday as investors reacted to news of the surprise departure of John Lyttle, who joined from Primark in 2019 and has agreed to remain in post until a successor is found.The company, which has cut jobs amid widening losses and falling sales in the face of competition from rivals such as the Chinese online fast fashion retailer Shein, also said it had agreed a new £222m debt facility with its bankers.Announcing the business review on Friday, the company said: “Given the transformation of the group, the board of directors of Boohoo Group have decided to undertake a review of options for each division to unlock and maximise shareholder value.“The board believes that the group remains fundamentally undervalued following the developments of recent years, which have created a business with five core brands, addressing a diverse global customer base

AI mediation tool may help reduce culture war rifts, say researchers

Artificial intelligence could help reduce some of the most contentious culture war divisions through a mediation process, researchers claim.Experts say a system that can create group statements that reflect majority and minority views is able to help people find common ground.Prof Chris Summerfield, a co-author of the research from the University of Oxford, who worked at Google DeepMind at the time the study was conducted, said the AI tool could have multiple purposes.“What I would like to see it used for is to give political leaders in the UK a better sense of what people in the UK really think,” he said, noting surveys gave only limited insights, while forums known as citizens’ assemblies were often costly, logistically challenging and restricted in size.Writing in the journal Science, Summerfield and colleagues from Google DeepMind report how they built the “Habermas Machine” – an AI system named after the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas

Watchdog opens investigation into anti-immigrant posts on Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta must answer “serious questions” about its handling of anti-immigration material, according to the company’s content watchdog, as it opened an investigation into two Facebook posts.The Oversight Board is investigating Meta’s decision to keep the posts online after acknowledging that it receives a significant number of complaints from users over content that shares anti-immigrant views.Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of the board and a former Danish prime minister, said it was “critical” to get the balance right between free speech and protection of vulnerable groups.“The high number of appeals we get on immigration-related content from across the EU tells us there are serious questions to ask about how the company handles issues related to this, including the use of coded speech,” she said in a statement.The first case being investigated by the board is focused on a meme posted by the administrator of a Facebook page that describes itself as the official account of Poland’s far-right coalition party Confederation

Six F1 races to go: the factors that will decide if Verstappen or Norris wins title

After a season that opened looking like it would deliver an all too familiar march to the title for Max Verstappen when the Dutchman won seven of the first 10 races, the 2024 world championship battle has been turned on its head. It is now set for a gripping run-in over the final six meetings, beginning this weekend in Austin, with several major factors that could shape the championship.The numbers remain on the side of Verstappen, he has a 52-point lead (albeit one whittled down from a high of 84 after the British GP) with six races and three sprint races in hand. Including the bonus point for fastest lap there are 180 on the table, a maximum of 26 from each race and eight in a sprint race. The onus remains on Lando Norris, who needs to outscore Verstappen by a fraction under nine points per meeting

Ascot gears up for Britain’s richest day at races with £4m on offer

If last year’s Champions Day at Ascot showed the pulling power of a sporting legend, as a sell-out crowd of 30,369 watched Frankie Dettori’s (probable) farewell to his favourite track, then the 2024 running of Britain’s richest day at the races will test the extent to which an unforgettable afternoon can keep ’em coming back.The early signs, encouragingly, are that for many of those who watched Frankie sign off with a flourish by steering the favourite to victory in the Champion Stakes, the buzz still lingers. Last year’s attendance for the only British card all year with four Group One races on the schedule was up 27% year on year, following a record low of 23,872 for the meeting in 2022, and pre-sales suggest about 28,000 will be at Ascot to watch £4m in prize money find a new home.Few potential racegoers, it seems, are unduly concerned that three of the races have switched to the tight, inner turf track, where the hurdlers will be plying their trade over the winter, rather than the historic circuit that hosts the Royal meeting in June and the King George in July.It is the third time in six years that soft ground has forced the action on the round course on to the inside track, which detracts somewhat from the spectating experience