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☆ A Crucial Senate Race Could Come Down to One Question: Do I Trust You?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Kellen Browning | Tailyr Irvine | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The rural dirt farmer versus the decorated Navy SEAL. The longtime Democratic incumbent in a deep-red state versus the youthful conservative handpicked by Republicans to topple him. The man who lost three fingers to a meat grinder versus the man who got shot — or maybe didn’t — in Afghanistan. Montana’s high-profile race for Senate, which could decide the balance of power in Washington, is shaping up as a fight to see whose unique biography can best earn the trust of the state’s wary voters. Republicans believe that the Democrat they are trying to defeat, Senator Jon Tester, 67, is vulnerable to attacks that he has lost touch with Montanans and become a Washington insider.

Persons: Jon Tester, Tim Sheehy Organizations: Navy, Democratic, Senate, Republicans, Republican Locations: Afghanistan, Washington

☆ Supreme Court allows second majority-Black district in Louisiana over liberal dissents
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( John Fritze | Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The ruling will have an impact beyond the Louisiana district, which likely explains the vote count, said CNN Supreme Court analyst Steve Vladeck. The Supreme Court has never defined what constitutes a “last-minute” election decision that should bar courts from weighing into such disputes. In a brief dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it was premature for the Supreme Court to intervene in the case. Louisiana came to the Supreme Court caught between two lower court orders. Two years ago, the Supreme Court allowed that map to be used in the midterm even though a lower court said it was likely illegal.

Persons: Sen, Cleo Fields, “, ”, Liz Murrill, –, Steve Vladeck, Vladeck, Purcell, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Purcell “, ” “, ” Jackson, Jackson, ” Vladeck, “ Today’s, Garret Graves, Jeff Landry’s, ” Michael McClanahan, ” Edward Greim, Paul Hurd Organizations: CNN, Democrats, Representatives, Democrat, Republican, US, CNN Supreme, Black, University of Texas School of Law, Louisiana Gov, Court, Supreme, White Republicans, White, NAACP Louisiana State Conference, “ Locations: Black, Louisiana, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Rep, Bayou, Republican Louisiana

☆ Supreme Court, for Now, Allows Louisiana Voting Map to Move Forward
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily reinstated a congressional map in Louisiana that includes a second majority-Black district, increasing the likelihood that Democrats could gain a House seat from the state in the November election. The order was unsigned, as is the Supreme Court’s custom in ruling on emergency applications. It came in response to a challenge to a lower-court decision that had blocked the map drawn by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature, deeming it a racial gerrymander. The justices said that their decision would remain in effect pending an appeal or a ruling by the Supreme Court. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan did not explain their reasoning, but Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in a dissent, wrote that she believed the court had intervened too soon.

Persons: Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson Organizations: Louisiana’s Republican, Supreme Locations: Louisiana, Black

☆ Bob Menendez: Here’s what prosecutors say bought off a US senator
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s what prosecutors say the senator and his wife got:Gold barsProsecutors say Hana and Daibes gave Menendez and his wife gold bars, which were seized by the FBI from the Menendez residence. After returning from a trip to Egypt and getting a ride home from the airport from Daibes’ driver, prosecutors say Menendez searched online for the price of a gold bar. Nadine Menendez needed a new car, apparently after hitting and killing a jaywalker in Bogota, New Jersey, in December 2018. There is a long list of actions prosecutors say Menendez undertook in exchange for all of these alleged bribes. The envelopes of cash prosecutors say bore Daibes’ fingerprints may be more difficult to explain.

Persons: CNN — Democratic Sen, Bob Menendez, Mercedes, Menendez, CNN’s Manu Raju, “, ”, Nadine, Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, Jose Uribe, Daibes, Nadine Menendez’s, Nadine Menendez, Uribe, Hana, –, …, Qataris, retry Menendez, Salomon Melgen, Melgen, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN — Democratic, Bob Menendez of New, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Capitol, FBI, Court Southern District of, Prosecutors, Court Southern District of New York Prosecutors, Court Southern District of New York, Menendez, Uribe, Mercedes, Benz, Senate Foreign Relations, US Department of Agriculture, New York, of Justice Locations: Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Egypt, Qatar, New Jersey, Daibes, Court Southern District of New York, Bogota , New Jersey, New

☆ Who Are Key Players in the Menendez Case?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Who Are Key Players in the Menendez Case? Mr. Menendez goes to trial on May 13 with two of the businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. Fred Daibes New Jersey Real Estate Developer Mr. Daibes is accused of giving Mr. Menendez furniture, gold and cash. Nadine Menendez Mr. Menendez’s Wife Ms. Menendez served as a go-between for Mr. Menendez, Egyptian intelligence officials and men who were seeking political favors from the senator, according to the indictment. Defense LawyersAdam Fee Lawyer for Robert Menendez He previously spent five years as a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District — the same office prosecuting Mr. Menendez.

Persons: Menendez, Robert Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Mr, Fred Daibes, Wael Hana, Menendez's, Daibes, Nadine Menendez Mr, Menendez’s, Ms, Jose Uribe, Uribe, Uribe's, Sidney H, Stein, Bill Clinton, Jennifer Shah, Hassan Nemazee, Damian Williams, Williams, President Biden, Sam Bankman, Fried, Juan Orlando Hernández, Christina Clark, Clark, Charles McGonigal, Catherine Ghosh, Eli Mark, Paul Monteleoni, Robert Hadden, Lara Pomerantz, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, Norman Seabrook, Daniel Richenthal, Sheldon Silver, Michael Avenatti, Adam Fee, Fee, Avi Weitzman, Lawrence Lustberg Organizations: Democrat, Robert Menendez New Jersey, Senate Foreign Relations, Jersey Real, EG, Prosecutors, United, Jose Uribe Former New, Benz, U.S, Southern, of, Democratic, Attorney, Southern District of, ex, Public, New, New York City Housing Authority, Justice Department, Southern District’s, New York State Assembly, Nike . Defense, Southern District Locations: New Jersey, Manhattan, Jersey, Egypt, Qatar, United States, Jose Uribe Former New Jersey, of New York, Southern District, Southern District of New York, Russian, New York City, Brooklyn, Columbia, New York, U.S, California

☆ Guyana: Nigel Dharamlall accused of sexual assault by another woman
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The accuser, economist Sarah Aneesah Hakh, told an online press conference held in the capital Georgetown that former Minister Nigel Dharamlall sexually assaulted her in 2020 and 2021. Hakh said the first alleged incident occurred during a business meeting when Dharamlall was Guyana’s senior minister of regional development. He has been photographed recently with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. In a March statement, Guyanese women’s rights group Red Thread criticized officials for failing the accuser. During their meeting, Hakh alleges Dharamlall tried to remove her clothes.

Persons: Sarah Aneesah Hakh, Nigel Dharamlall, Hakh, Dharamlall, ” Hakh, Irfaan Ali, Bharrat Jagdeo, “, ”, Ali, ‘, they’re Organizations: CNN, People’s Progressive Party, ” CNN, Anna Regina State House, Dharamlall, Guyanese Locations: Guyana, Georgetown, Guyanese, Cummings

At issue is a map drawn by state lawmakers that included a second majority African American district in Louisiana’s six-district congressional plan. The Supreme Court’s intervention, the groups argued Wednesday, “is needed to ensure that harm is not repeated.”The Supreme Court could allow the newly drawn congressional districts to be used in this year’s election. Throughout the process, Republican lawmakers suggested in public statements that a primary motivation was to adhere to court orders and draw a second majority Black district. The Supreme Court is already weighing a separate equal protection challenge over South Carolina’s congressional maps. Given the delay in the Supreme Court issuing its decision, the lower court has ruled that the 2024 elections can proceed under the map it previously deemed unconstitutional.

Persons: “, ”, –, Allen, Milligan, Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise, doesn’t, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Taiwan Scott Organizations: CNN, Civil, Court, White, Republicans, African American, ”, GOP, Supreme, Supreme Court, Republican, South, South Carolina State Conference of, NAACP, American Locations: Black, Louisiana, Louisiana’s, Alabama, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Taiwan, South Carolina

☆ Oil Companies Expand Offshore Drilling, Pointing to Energy Needs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Ivan Penn | More About Ivan Penn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

About 80 miles southeast of Louisiana’s coast, 100,000 metric tons of steel floats in the Gulf of Mexico, an emblem of the hopes of oil and gas companies. This hulk of metal, a deepwater platform called Appomattox and owned by Shell, collects the oil and gas that rigs tap from reservoirs thousands of feet below the seafloor. But oil companies like Shell are betting that the world will need oil and gas for decades to come. To serve that demand, they are expanding offshore oil and gas drilling into deeper and deeper waters, especially here in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore production, oil executives argue, is not only crucial to power cars, trucks and power plants but also better for the planet than drilling on land.

Organizations: Shell Locations: Louisiana’s, Gulf of Mexico, Appomattox

Discontent was simmering on Indiana University’s flagship campus long before the first tent went up in Dunn Meadow, the vast green space beside the student union in Bloomington. Earlier in the academic year, faculty members and graduate students voted no confidence in the university president. The cancellation of a Palestinian artist’s exhibition and the suspension of a pro-Palestinian student organization’s faculty sponsor drew backlash. But it was only in the last week, as a national wave of pro-Palestinian encampments reached Indiana, that a year defined by tension erupted into crisis. “These guys are not able to lead in crisis,” he said of the university’s top leaders.

Persons: —, ”, Ahmad Jeddeeni Organizations: Indiana’s, Professional Student Government Locations: Indiana, Dunn, Bloomington, Israel

☆ India election 2024: The indelible ink behind the world’s biggest election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Dhruv Tikekar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Election Commission uses indelible ink, or “voter ink”, to prevent fraud or duplicate votes. Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty ImagesMore than 960 million people are eligible to vote in India’s election, the world’s biggest. “Indelible ink serves no other purpose,” said Irfan. The company now supplies indelible ink to more than 35 countries, including to Ghana beginning in the late 1970s. However, Ghana’s election commission recently announced it would phase out the use of indelible ink, opting for biometric verification methods instead.

Persons: CNN CNN —, ”, K Mohammed Irfan, Manish Swarup, Deepika Padukone, Sujit Jaiswal, Irfan, “, Ornit Shani, Shani, ” Shani, Prakash Singh, MVPL, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Mukulika Banerjee, Rakesh Nair, Banerjee, haven’t, ‘ I’ve Organizations: CNN CNN, CNN, Getty, Universal, Bloomberg, London School of Economics, Reuters “ Locations: Neemrana, India, Mumbai, AFP, Mysuru, Karnataka, Chennai, Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, Mysore, Ghana, West Bengal

☆ Election Updates: Trump campaigns in battleground states for the first time since his trial began.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Chris Cameron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The Louisiana secretary of state has ordered that the congressional map be finalized by May 15. Even so, they said, it was evident that creating a second district with a majority of Black voters was lawmakers’ overarching objective. But in the map drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature, only one of the six congressional districts had a majority Black population. The ruling reaffirmed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had been diminished over the years by the court’s conservative majority. Critics of Tuesday’s ruling argued that the repercussions in Louisiana could extend beyond a single election, or even partisan divisions.

Persons: ”, Critics, Eric H, Holder Jr, Liz Murrill, “ I’ve, ’, David C, Joseph, Robert R, “, Carl E, Stewart, —, Tuesday’s, Ashley Shelton, Ms, Shelton Organizations: Black, U.S . Constitution, National Democratic, Republican, U.S, Supreme, . Constitution, State Legislature, Lawmakers, U.S ., Appeals, Fifth Circuit, American, Western, Western District of, Louisiana Legislature, voters, Power Coalition for Equity, Justice Locations: Louisiana, U.S ., ., Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Western District, Western District of Louisiana, Black, U.S

A flicker of hope for the weed businessFor years, the dreams of the cannabis industry looked like they might go up in smoke, with the U.S. government classifying marijuana as a drug as dangerous as heroin. But the multibillion-dollar industry now has some hope that could change. The bet is that this will give the industry a new lease on life — though it shouldn’t expect big changes immediately. Shares in Tilray, a giant in the industry, jumped 39 percent on Tuesday, while those in Canopy Growth leaped nearly 79 percent. That’s welcome news for investors in both companies: Canopy Growth’s stock is down 97 percent over the past five years, while those in Tilray are down 95 percent.

Persons: Biden Organizations: U.S, Justice Locations: Tilray

☆ India election 2024: Voters battle extreme temperatures as intense heat wave hits region
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New Delhi CNN —Indian voters are battling sweltering conditions to take part in the world’s biggest election as a severe heat wave hits parts of the country and authorities forecast a hotter-than-normal summer for the South Asian nation. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a heat wave will affect parts of south and east India until the end of the week, including four states that are voting on Friday. Climate politicsIndia, the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, often experiences heat waves during the summer months of May and June. But in recent years, they have arrived earlier and become more prolonged, with scientists linking some of these longer and more intense heat waves to the climate crisis. Last year successive heat waves hit India again, closing schools, damaging crops and putting pressure on energy supplies.

Persons: Gandhi Ray, ”, “, Noemi Cassanelli, Narendra Modi, ” Ray, Commision, Aditya Valiathan Pillai, climatologist Maximiliano Herrera Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN —, South, India Meteorological Department, IMD, CNN, National Disaster Management Authority, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, World Meteorological Organization Locations: New Delhi, India, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Baripada, Khammam, Banka district, Maharashtra, Pakistan, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Asia, Thailand, Philippines, Mekong, Vietnam

☆ Why auction houses are embracing luxury — and celebrity — fashion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Joan Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

(CNN) — There’s a lot of talk about luxury’s rising prices, but it’s at auction that fashion is selling for the most eye-popping of sums. Fashion items from the sets of TV, film and even commercials can also garner high prices. Frank Augstein/APWhile selling prices are widely publicized, auction houses maintain something akin to attorney-client privilege when it comes to the identities of their bidders. In fact, much of the archival fashion seen on stars today has passed through auction. “That dress would now sell for $10 million because of that double whammy connection of a celebrity,” said Nolan.

Persons: —, Celine, Joan Didion, Levi’s, Kurt Cobain, Elton, Burberry, ”, Nicole Kidman, Lucy Bishop, Frank Augstein, Bishop, Audrey Hepburn, Diana —, Victoria, they’re, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Michael Jackson’s, Laverne Cox, Jordan Strauss, ’, Shannon Hoey, Hoey, Dior, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, “, Meg Randell, Leigh Anne Clark —, Valentino, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Andre Leon Talley’s Birkin, Christie’s, Anna Wintour, Clark, Talley, would’ve, Andre Leon Talley's, Meghan McCarthy, Renae Plant, Diana’s, It’s, Carrie Bradshaw, Martin Nolan, Carrie Bradshaw's, Craig Blankenhorn, Barbie, Marilyn Monroe, John F, Kennedy, Nolan, Read Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, AMC, Albert Museum, York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue, USA, Plant, City, Julien’s, HBO Locations: London, Dallas, Palm Beach , Florida, California, Paris, Australia

☆ Princess Diana’s first-ever job contract up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —A work contract signed by Diana Spencer two years before she married the then-Prince of Wales is expected to fetch thousands of dollars at auction. The document was filled out in black ink by the young woman who would go on to become world famous as Princess Diana. The job contract, believed to be Princess Diana’s first, was filled out when she was just 17. The document, which is expected to sell for up to $10,000, is thought to be the late princess’ first official work contract. This contract is one of the last remaining snapshots of Diana’s life before she was thrust into the spotlight.

Persons: Diana Spencer, Prince of, Diana, Diana’s, Auctioneum, nannies, Mary Cook, Cook, Andrew Stowe, ”, ’, Stowe, “, ” Stowe, Wales, It’s Organizations: London CNN, CNN, CNN’s Royal Locations: Prince of Wales, London, ”, Paris, Kensington

☆ Ana Estrada: Peruvian woman becomes first person in country to die by euthanasia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Abel Alvarado | Jimena De La Quintana | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Peruvian woman with an uncurable disease that left her bed ridden and requiring round-the-clock care has become the first person in the country to die by euthanasia. Euthanasia is prohibited in Peru, but in February 2021, a Peruvian court ordered health authorities to “respect Estrada’s decision” to end her life through the medical procedure of euthanasia. It was the first time in the country’s history that its justice system recognized and authorized a person’s right to end their life. A psychologist by profession, Estrada suffered from polymyositis, a chronic and degenerative disease that affected her muscles, preventing her from speaking and leaving her bed ridden. “Ana’s legacy will live in the minds and hearts of many people and in the history of our country,” the family’s statement read.

Persons: Ana Estrada, “, ”, Walter Gutierrez, Estrada, ” Gutierrez, Estrada “ Organizations: CNN Locations: Peruvian, Peru, polymyositis

☆ Opinion: Mike Johnson is testing to see if the MAGA Republican fever can be broken
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Julian Zelizer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —House Speaker Mike Johnson is moving forward with a legislative package to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been beating the drums to vote Johnson, who is himself also an extreme right-wing Republican, out of office. When GOP House members adopted this lower threshold in exchange for accepting McCarthy, experts understood that the rule would create extreme instability within the Republican caucus. On July 28, 2015, Tea Party Republican Rep. Mark Meadows from North Carolina filed a motion to vacate but the House never voted on the resolution. The time of Republican speakership keeps shrinking as right-wing ousters have become increasingly common.

Persons: Julian Zelizer, Mike Johnson, MAGA, Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kevin McCarthy of, “, McCarthy, can’t, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Jim Wright, Wright, Gingrich, Bill Clinton, Gingrich’s, Robert Livingston, Dennis Hastert, John Boehner of Ohio, Jim Jordan, Mark, Boehner, ”, Paul Ryan, Ryan, Michael Kerr, Theodore Pomeroy, Republican speakership Organizations: CNN, Princeton University, New York Times, America, Twitter, CNN —, MAGA Republicans, Congress, Georgia Republican, Republican, House Republicans, Rep, GOP House, Republicans, Republican Party, GOP, Democrats, Democratic, Louisiana’s, Tea Party Republicans, Tea Party Republican Rep, Wisconsin Rep Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Russia, Iran, China, Kevin McCarthy of California, New, Illinois, Ohio, Mark Meadows, North Carolina

☆ Why is pop culture so obsessed with nuns?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

These vestal get-ups are, in fact, the latest in a long line of subversive pop culture interpretations of the lives (and loves) of nuns. More recently, Bella Hadid walked the Coperni Fall-Winter 2022 runway wearing headgear reminiscent of a nun’s habit. The “Nunsploitation” subgenre saw the transformation of nuns from icons of piety and sacrifice into harbingers of evil and sexual obsession. In lighter fare, “Sister Act 3,” a third movie in the beloved “Sister Act” series of the 1990s starring Whoopi Goldberg is currently in development. “The juxtaposition of the nun’s habit with either blatant sexuality or the cultivation of personal identity and style is shocking and grabs people’s attention,” wrote Dr. Neal.

Persons: Rihanna, Sydney Sweeney, vestal, Dior, John Galliano, Serre, Emilia Wickstead, Bella Hadid, Sydney Sweeney's, Hulton, —, Andy Warhol, Ingrid Bergman, ”, Ken Vrana, Yoshitomo Nara, Lynn S, Neal, Audrey Hepburn, Christ, Lust ”, Saint Valentine ”, Sister Gertrude, Nadia Lee Cohen, Saint Maud ”, “, Whoopi Goldberg, Suzanne Hanover, Sweeney — Organizations: CNN, Couture, Deutsch, Pew Research Center, Cannes Film Locations: Maison, Sydney, Italy, Swedish, America

☆ Disney reveals more on huge Magic Kingdom expansion, one part of a $60 billion investment
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Natasha Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Glendale, California CNN —Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the “wildest ride in the wilderness,” sits at one edge of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom park, the most visited theme park in the world. “It’s probably the largest expansion ever at Magic Kingdom,” Michael Hundgen, Walt Disney World site portfolio executive, said Tuesday during a rare media event previewing new Disney attraction designs and technology at its Walt Disney Imagineering facility in California. Disney’s 10-year investment planThe Magic Kingdom expansion is one part of a $60 billion investment Disney has said it’s planning for its parks, cruises and experiences over the next decade. But any plans for expanding the theme park footprint at the Disneyland resort would need Anaheim city approval because of zoning issues. This is really a wild experience.”Charita Carter, executive creative producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, worked on the project from its inception about four years ago.

Persons: “ It’s, ” Michael Hundgen, Walt, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Josh D'Amaro, Iger, “ it’s, Disney, ” Iger, ”, Mike Pucher, Walt Disney Imagineering Iger, Imagineers, Darth Vader, Imagineer Lanny Smoot, ” Smoot, Smoot, Christian Thompson, Stella Reese Chase, Leah Chase, Chase, “ I’m, I’ve, ” Charita Carter, Walt Disney Imagineering, Carter, “ Organizations: California CNN, Railroad, Disney, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney, Walt, CNN, Universal Orlando Resort, Universal, Comcast, Anaheim City Council, National Inventors Hall of Fame, Research, Walt Disney Imagineering Research, Disneyland’s Locations: Glendale, California, ”, Central Florida, Disney’s Florida, Florida, Anaheim, New Orleans

☆ Ugandan Court Upholds Draconian Anti-Gay Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday largely upheld a sweeping anti-gay law that President Yoweri Museveni signed last year, undermining the efforts of activists and rights groups to abolish legislation that drew worldwide condemnation and strained the East African nation’s relationship with the West. The legislation, which was signed into law by Mr. Museveni in May, calls for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in gay sex. But the law was popular in Uganda, a landlocked nation of over 48 million people, where religious and political leaders frequently inveigh against homosexuality. The fallout for Uganda will be watched closely in other African countries where anti-gay sentiment is on the rise and anti-gay legislation is under consideration, including Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and South Sudan. In February, Ghana’s Parliament passed an anti-gay law, but the country’s president said that he would not sign it until the Supreme Court ruled on its constitutionality.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Museveni Organizations: East, West, World Bank Locations: Uganda’s, Uganda, United States, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ghana’s

CNN —Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany amid a dispute over the import of hunting trophies. ”Twenty thousand elephants for Germany, this is not a joke,” Masisi told German tabloid Bild. Lenin Nolly/Sipa USA/AP/FileMasisi told Bild that Germany’s Green party could learn to cohabitate with elephants without hunting them. According to the ministry, Germany is one of the largest importers of hunting trophies in the European Union, and African hunting trophies already require import authorization under current rules. Trophy hunting does not come close to diminishing the elephant population, Masisi told broadcaster Sky News.

Persons: CNN —, Mokgweetsi Masisi, ” Masisi, –, Steffi Lemke, Lenin, Masisi, ”, Murat Ozgur Guvendik, “, ” Botswana’s, Botswana’s, Iris Throm, Mary Rice, Rice, Bild, you’d Organizations: CNN, Green, Getty, Botswana’s Ministry of Environment, Tourism, European Union, Germany’s Federal Agency for Nature, Environmental Investigation Agency, Sky News, Convention, International Trade, Fauna Locations: Germany, Berlin, Botswana, Masisi, Anadolu, Angola, Mozambique

☆ Is Guyana’s Oil a Blessing or a Curse?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Gaiutra Bahadur | Keisha Scarville | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Basjit Mahabir won’t let me in. I’m trying to persuade Mr. Mahabir to open the padlocked gate of the Wales Estate, where he guards the ramshackle remains of a factory surrounded by miles of fallow sugar cane fields. The growing and grinding of sugar on this plantation about 10 miles from Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, ended seven years ago, and parts of the complex, its weathered zinc walls the color of rust, have been sold for scrap. “My father used to manage the field lab.” Mr. Mahabir is friendly, but firm. Now the estate is slated to become part of Guyana’s latest boom, an oil rush that is reshaping the country’s future.

Persons: Basjit, Mahabir, “, ”, Mr, I’m Organizations: Wales Estate Locations: Georgetown, Guyana’s

☆ Stonebwoy draws inspiration from Bob Marley at Tuff Gong Studios to unite the Black diaspora
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The session was the Ghanaian’s first visit to Bob Marley’s iconic Tuff Gong Studio. I feel like I’m surrounded by the spirits of those who built here.”“Once upon a time, Bob Marley was probably sitting in the same spot that I am sitting in,” he added. Bob Marley performs onstage during a concert in Stockholm, Sweden, in the late 1970s. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Global CitizenUniting the Black diaspora through musicFrom Afrobeats to reggae, Stonebwoy has worked with musicians including Rick Ross, Beanie Man, Shaggy, Keri Hilson, Russ, Davido, and Angelique Kidjo, shining brightest when mentoring emerging artists. Until then, he has his eyes set on making sure the sounds of the Black diaspora continue to dominate worldwide.

Persons: CNN —, Stonebwoy, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Wyclef Jean, Bob Marley, Yohan Marley, Bob Marley’s, ”, riffing, Livingstone Etse Satekla, Ghana's Stonebwoy, ” Stonebwoy, “, Stonebwoy’s, Jemal Countess, Rick Ross, Beanie, Keri Hilson, Russ, Davido, Angelique Kidjo, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Odumodublvck Organizations: CNN, Island Music Conference, Gong, Tuff Gong, Tuff Gong Studios, Global Citizen Festival, Getty, Global Citizen, BHIM, Burniton Music Locations: Ghanaian, Jamaica, Kingston, ”, Ghana, Africa, Caribbean, West African, Stockholm, Sweden, Hulton, Accra

Soussana, a lawyer, was released in late November of 2023 as part of an exchange of hostages in Gaza who were kidnapped during the Hamas attack for Palestinian prisoners. “Amit Soussana’s courageous testimony detailing her horrific captivity is one of many harrowing accounts from hostages held by Hamas,” the Hostages Families Forum said in a statement. Sometimes, the guard would enter, sit beside her on the bed, lift her shirt and touch her, she told The New York Times. She speaks for all the victims of Hamas’ despicable sexual crimes and abuse. She speaks for all women everywhere,” according to a post on his X account commenting on The New York Times’ article.

Persons: CNN — Amit Soussana, Soussana, “ Amit Soussana’s, ”, “ Amit, Muhammad, undressed, ” Soussana, “ Muhammad groped, Amit Soussana, Alexandre Meneghini, Ayelet Levy Shachar, Naama Levy, “, Amit “, Basem Naim, Isaac Herzog Organizations: CNN, The New York Times, Families Forum, New York Times, Palestinian, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Israel, Gaza, Aza

☆ Steven Spielberg: ‘The echoes of history are unmistakable in our current climate’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Steven Spielberg had words of caution and hope on Monday while accepting an honor from the University of Southern California. Celina Biniaz, 92, one of the last living Holocaust survivors from Oskar Schindler’s List, was also honored at the event. In my grandparents’ home Cincinnati, Ohio where I lived until I was three, my grandmother, Jenny, taught English to Hungarian Holocaust survivors. In listening to them, the echoes of history are unmistakable in our current climate. These 56,000 testimonies that we have recorded are a foundation upon which bridges can be built, and we here at the USC Shoah Foundation are building those bridges.

Persons: CNN — Steven Spielberg, Spielberg, ” Spielberg, Celina Biniaz, Oskar Schindler’s, Biniaz, Schindler, —, ‘, “, Leah, Carol, Folt, I’ve, ’, Jenny, –, It’s, Hana Rychik, ” Organizations: CNN, University of Southern, USC Shoah Foundation, Los Angeles Times, Shoah Foundation, Shoah, Democratic, USC, Foundation Locations: University of Southern California, German, Auschwitz, Israel, Cincinnati , Ohio, Hungarian, California, Krakow, Europe, Gaza

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