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Happy Friday,
ChatGPT made its way into at least one courtroom earlier this year when a lawyer in a personal injury suit used the generative AI tool to prepare a legal filing.
The problem? ChatGPT created six fake cases to show precedent, which the lawyer then presented to the court. The lawyer said he “did not understand it was not a search engine.” The judge is considering sanctions.
BREAKING NEWS
Former president Donald Trump said he had been indicted in the Justice Department’s long-running probe of his handling of classified documents, and was ordered to appear in court next week. The New York Times reported Trump was charged with seven criminal counts, making him the first president to be charged with a federal crime.
Reduced visibility due to smoke from Canadian wildfires disrupted air travel, with the Federal Aviation Administration pausing flights Thursday morning into New York’s LaGuardia and nearby Newark airports and Philadelphia International Airport. United Airlines issued a travel advisory for 24 Northeast airports.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
The number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose to its highest level since October 2021 as major companies slash their workforces.
Inflation is driving consumers to look for ways to save money, and that buoyed Walmart to reclaim its title as the world’s largest retailer on Forbes’ Global 2000 list. Meanwhile, Amazon, which fell from the No. 1 spot, found itself with too many warehouses and workers after the pandemic as sales slowed.
MORE FORBES 2000: Google parent Alphabet became the largest tech firm, Disney stayed in the top 100 despite a tumultuous year, Marriott jumped in the rankings as travel came roaring back and Nestlé continued its more than a decade-long streak as the largest food company.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
After going back and forth with LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, Tesla CEO Elon Musk ended Thursday as the world’s richest person for the first time in six months. Tesla’s stock hit its highest value this year after 10 straight days of gains, propelling Musk’s net worth to $220.2 billion.
TECH + INNOVATION
A group of tech executives including Elon Musk and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are boosting the campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. against President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination — despite the Kennedy family scion’s history of promoting vaccine skepticism and a string of other conspiracies.
MONEY + POLITICS
The Supreme Court struck down Alabama’s redrawn congressional map as racially discriminatory, a move that preserves the Voting Rights Act’s protections against diluting Black residents’ votes. The case has implications for other states where redistricting maps are being challenged and could affect the balance of power in the House in upcoming elections.
Donald Trump’s properties charged his Department of Defense nearly $1 million in the first three years of his presidency, newly-released documents show, an amount that appears far greater than previously reported. “As president, Trump’s refusal to divest from his businesses created an environment rife with the potential for abuse,” said Heather Sawyer, executive director of ethics watchdog American Oversight.
SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
The Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which is set to merge with the PGA Tour, has turbocharged the earnings of golf’s top players. Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, who defected to LIV, are the highest-paid golfers, each earning more than $100 million.
DAILY COVER STORY
Inside Costco’s Billion-Dollar Bet On $4.99 Rotisserie Chickens
TOPLINE Miles from the nearest Costco Wholesale store, probes in a Nebraska slaughterhouse inject a sweet and salty marinade into the meat that will eventually become the retailer’s iconic $4.99 rotisserie chickens.
To ensure a steady supply of the customer favorite amid industry turmoil, Costco has spent an estimated $1 billion to construct this state-of-the-art plant—which ships 1 million chickens a week—and build out its own network of chicken farmers. That bill, paid over the past eight years, has helped Costco become the only retailer to own a chicken slaughterhouse.
“We’ve trussed, we’ve marinated it, we’ve done all that,” says Walt Shafer, chief operating officer of Costco subsidiary Lincoln Premium Processing, who after 45 years in the chicken industry was tasked with building the plant and its grower network from scratch. “Not only is it a super buy for the consumer, it’s become the center of the store, literally, and a centerpiece for Costco. It’s why we’re here. That’s why we exist.”
Under Lincoln Premium Processing, Costco has secured around 100 million of the 400 million chickens it’s estimated to sell annually.
Launching the facility hasn’t been without its obstacles in a state known more for beef—from an increasing call to ban new factory farms to the avian flu. But Lincoln Premium has set out to do things differently, like changing the typical relationship between slaughterhouse and farmer, to try to make what Shafer hopes will be “the best poultry complex in the U.S.”
WHY IT MATTERS The publicly traded company is trying to shore up its own supply of rotisserie hens at a time when chicken prices have tanked, most of the industry’s processors are reeling from price-fixing settlements and an unprecedented outbreak of avian flu has killed nearly 59 million birds nationwide. Through all the industry turmoil, Costco is counting on the sweet and salty perfume of the packaged birds to remain a popular draw.
MORE John R. Tyson’s Settlement With Prosecutor Kicks Off What Could Be A Rough Year For Tyson Foods
FACTS AND COMMENTS
Deaths from drug overdose are on the rise, in large part due to the spread and wider availability of opioids. The White House warned that without intervention, those numbers could continue to climb:
109,000: Estimated number of Americans who died of a drug overdose last year, per the CDC
165,000: Projected number of opioid deaths annually by 2025, according to the White House
Every 5 Minutes: Someone in the U.S. dies from an overdose
STRATEGY AND SUCCESS
Checking in on a job application can feel like reaching out aimlessly into the dark, but in today’s strong job market that keeps recruiters busy, job seekers should follow up with companies about the status of their application—typically about one to two weeks after applying. Be professional, confident and empathetic, and address your note to a specific person, if possible.
VIDEO
QUIZ
Which meme stock crashed Thursday and had its worst day in two years after announcing the termination of its CEO?
A. AMC
B. Blackberry
C. Nokia
D. GameStop
Check your answer.
ACROSS THE NEWSROOM
BEYOND THE NEWSROOM
- The 2023 Forbes Iconoclast Summit will convene the world’s most iconic visionaries, financial titans, pioneering technologists and key executives—including Mellody Hobson and Ray Dalio—for conversations on the most critical issues impacting our economy and markets today. Join us in New York City on June 12.
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