All posts tagged: general

Kushner and Netanyahu agree U.S. general should oversee Hamas ‘demilitarization,’ source says

Kushner and Netanyahu agree U.S. general should oversee Hamas ‘demilitarization,’ source says

Published by Sam Flores

But many in Israel do not want to proceed with the Trump-backed plan. Powerful National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir condemned efforts to advance the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Speaking on a podcast hosted by Rom Braslavski, who was one of the last living hostages released from captivity after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, he called for the “targeted” killing of “30 or 40” people in Gaza every night. Israel’s near-daily strikes have killed around 1,200 people in Gaza since the ceasefire began, according to the health ministry in the enclave. The Israeli military says it is targeting Hamas militants. At least four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza in that same time, according to Reuters. “It’s no secret that I disagreed with the prime minister,” Ben-Gvir said on a podcast hosted by Rom Braslavski — one of the last living hostages released from captivity after the Hamas-led attack in 2023. “I think we need to carry out targeted killings in Gaza — take out 30 or 40 every night.” “Not just …

Nigel Farage Falls To Lowest Approval Rating Since The General Election

Nigel Farage Falls To Lowest Approval Rating Since The General Election

Published by Sam Flores

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage attends a press conference on the economy and renewable energy, in London, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.  Nigel Farage’s approval rating has plummeted to its lowest level since the 2024 general election, according to a new poll. More in Common put the Reform UK leader on -32, which is a drop of approximately 10 points in just a fortnight. It follows a wider trend suggesting the right-wing party is declining in popularity despite having led in the opinion polls for more than a year. The think tank also found new prime minister Andy Burnham is now at +19 after a two-week policy blitz. That rating is higher than the +11 Keir Starmer achieved just after he was voted into office in July 2024 – though he dropped to -49 late last year. Meanwhile, the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is on 0 while her Lib Dem counterpart Ed Davey sits at -11. Green leader Zack Polanski is on -24, having taken a sharp downward turn in recent weeks. More in Common’s UK …

Nearly 736,000 Pillsbury rolls recalled by General Mills over glass contamination concerns

Nearly 736,000 Pillsbury rolls recalled by General Mills over glass contamination concerns

Published by Daniella Wilson

Pillsbury bread rolls have been recalled by General Mills over potential glass contamination. The recall, initiated in June, has affected nearly 736,000 total rolls. According to a July notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, two Pillsbury products have been affected by the recall: Hard Roll Dough and Kaiser Roll Dough. Over 3,000 cases of the 180-count Hard Roll Dough were impacted, while 1,260 cases of the 144-count Kaiser Roll Dough were affected. The rolls were sold in large quantities, intended for businesses rather than individual consumers, based on a description on the General Mills website. The FDA’s notice said the recall was initiated due to “potential foreign material (glass).” Further details weren’t immediately available. Pillsbury bread rolls have been affected by a recall (Pillsbury) Affected rolls were shipped to Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. A General Mills — which owns brands including Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Nature Valley — spokesperson told The …

Warner Bros.-Paramount Merger Opponents React to Attorney General Suit

Warner Bros.-Paramount Merger Opponents React to Attorney General Suit

Published by Daniella Wilson

Cinema United and other organizations that have opposed Paramount’s attempted mega-merger with Warner Bros. Discovery applauded the move by 12 state attorneys general on Monday to sue to block the $111 billion deal. Cinema United, the trade organization that advocates on behalf of movie theaters across the country and internationally, took a victory lap on the challenge to a deal it vociferously opposed, arguing that small businesses across the country would suffer. “The ramifications of further movie studio consolidation will be significant and lasting, not just in Hollywood, but on Main Streets across this nation where local movie theaters serve as cultural and financial cornerstones for communities of all sizes,” president and CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement. Cinema United has long opposed a mega-merger of another major Hollywood entity with Warner Bros., claiming that such a transaction would concentrate too much power in the hands of a single distributor. The group is not only concerned about bargaining power, but about the diversity and number of films that would be released each year were …

Another Top General Is Out at the Pentagon

Another Top General Is Out at the Pentagon

Published by Sam Flores

General Chris “C. D.” Donahue was the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal. As the head of Army forces in Europe and Africa, he has helped bolster Ukraine in its fight to repel the Russian invasion. Now Donahue has become the latest casualty in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s purge of the military’s senior ranks. Donahue’s abrupt departure, after just 18 months in his role, is another sign of the upheaval. He was widely seen as one of the Army’s rising stars—a legendary Delta Force leader who was considered a top candidate for Army chief of staff or even chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—having distinguished himself in wars of the past two decades. But Hegseth has sought to oust anyone who doesn’t fit his idea of a military leader, including those involved in the calamitous American exit from Kabul under President Biden—no matter how well they performed there. Donahue is expected to announce as soon as tomorrow that he will be relinquishing his post later this summer, two people …

General Catalyst just led a M bet on India’s travel payments market

General Catalyst just led a $63M bet on India’s travel payments market

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Scapia, an Indian startup that combines travel booking with co-branded credit cards and mobile payments, has raised $63 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst, with existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47 also participating. The deal comes despite a broader slowdown in fintech dealmaking. The all-equity round values assigns the startup a post-money valuation of more than $500 million, according to a source familiar with the matter, more than doubling its valuation from around $200 million in April 2025. The four-year-old outfit has raised $126 million to date from investors. That General Catalyst, one of the most prominent U.S. venture firms, is leading the round suggests that India’s travel-focused fintech market is drawing serious attention well beyond its home region. The funding comes as investors globally grow more selective in fintech bets after years of aggressive funding. In India, fintech funding remained largely flat in Q1 2026, while the number of deals fell by more than half from a year earlier as investors concentrated capital into fewer, larger deals, per a recent …

General Catalyst posted VC rage bait and it worked, especially on a16z

General Catalyst posted VC rage bait and it worked, especially on a16z

Published by Miika Tikkanen

One of the most entertaining moments in VC this week was a piece of rage-bait marketing from General Catalyst. In a now-viral post on X that parodies the old Mac vs. PC commercials, the venture firm — better known as GC — posted a “VC vs GC” video on Wednesday. The VC was played by a tall actor in a baggy shirt and vest with a distinctly large, bald head — an apparent dig at Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen. (But the real Andreessen never looks that disheveled). The GC character was played by a man with a thick head of dark hair, white kicks, and a tendency to stare deeply into the camera. He was clearly supposed to represent actor Justin Long’s cooler, “hipper” Mac character from the original commercials, in contrast to John Hodgman’s straight-laced “square” PC persona. GC asks VC about his robotic dog. VC explains, “This is Woof AI” and then extols the virtues of the artificial companion (you don’t need to walk it or break the news to the kids …

Musely secures 0M from General Catalyst without giving up equity

Musely secures $360M from General Catalyst without giving up equity

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Musely, a direct-to-consumer telemedicine platform, has secured over $360 million in non-dilutive capital from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF). The company specializes in compounded treatments for skin, hair, and menopause care. Musely co-founder and CEO Jack Jia told TechCrunch that when CVF investors reached out to him last year, he wasn’t looking to raise capital. That’s because Musely, which was founded in 2014 as a wellness community before pivoting to prescription skincare in 2019, has been cash flow positive for years, he said. Jia didn’t want to reduce his ownership in the company by selling off a chunk of it to VCs. They frequently approached him about a potential round and he consistently turned them down, he said. But unlike traditional venture capital, CVF wasn’t looking to take an equity stake, nor was it offering a loan that would carry interest rate charges. Instead, CVF’s alternative financing is similar to a tiny revenue-share agreement: Companies with predictable revenue streams borrow capital, and then repay the funds along with a fixed, capped percentage of revenue …