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☆ Psychedelics, darkness retreats and ‘Pat McAfee Show’: How Aaron Rodgers became a divisive figure – while barely playing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“I do not believe at all that he’s divisive in the Jets locker room and within their own building. While on the field he’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory, some of Rodgers’ behavior away from the sport shows a different side to the man. As Rodgers ran onto the field, carrying an American flag and with AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ booming out, Jets fans went wild. Rodgers’ arrival in New York during the offseason had looked like a masterstroke, on and off the field for the Jets franchise. But after missing out on nearly the whole season through injury, Rodgers’ season-ending media conference last week ended with him stressing winning.

Persons: Aaron Rodgers, psychedelics –, Jimmy Kimmel, he’d, Nancy Armour, Rodgers, Pat McAfee, McAfee, Kimmel, Jeffrey Epstein’s, Kimmel doesn’t, Epstein, Joe Douglas, Hymie Elhai, Christopher Johnson, Woody Johnson, Robert Saleh, Elsa, ESPN’s Rich Cimini, ” Cimini, “, ”, – Rodgers, –, Vince Lombardi, Brian Snyder, it’s, ’ ” Rodgers, ” Rodgers, Anthony Fauci, psychedelics, Cimini, Rodgers ’, Stacy Revere, I’ve, ender, doesn’t, ” Kimmel, …, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Pat McAfee’s, Achilles, ’, Jemele Hill, Getty, wouldn’t, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick Organizations: CNN, USA, Rodgers, Jets, CNN Sport, “, of Fame, Packers, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Reuters, White, FDA, CDC, ESPN, Carolina Panthers, Lambeau, Getty, MetLife, Buffalo Bills Locations: New York, Arlington , Texas, East

☆ It's not just Mike Johnson: Porn-tracking software is actually pretty common on the religious right
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Speaker Johnson and his son use software that notifies one of them if the other watches porn. It's actually rather common in religious circles, and there are several different apps for it. There are several different apps — known as "accountability" software — that allow for this sort of monitoring, including Covenant Eyes, Accountable2You, and EverAccountable. Speaker Johnson uses Covenant Eyes, and says in the unearthed clip that he has an accountability partnership with his then-17-year-old son. According to WIRED, the accountability software industry has ballooned into a "multimillion-dollar ecosystem" and includes hundreds of thousands, if not millions of users around the country.

Persons: Johnson, It's, —, Mike Johnson, that's, Stone, Lamar Odom, — he's, it's, Jesus —, Christopher Johnson, who's, Christian, Johnson's, Michael Holm, Holm Organizations: Service, Twitter, Capitol, WIRED, NBA, Southern Baptist Church, Ohio State University, National Security Agency Locations: Louisiana, Washington, DC, Columbus

CNN —China appears to have suspended its surveillance balloon program following a major diplomatic incident earlier this year, when one of the country’s high-altitude spy balloons transited the United States, multiple sources familiar with US intelligence assessments told CNN. The apparent suspension of the program comes as both the US and China have sought to stabilize an increasingly tense relationship. The US assessed at the time that the spy balloon was part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, CNN has previously reported. “We believe that (the balloon) did not collect while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States, and certainly the efforts that we made contributed,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. The more sensitive radar systems led the US military to spot more unidentified objects in US airspace, however, leading to three additional shootdowns of unidentified high-altitude objects in the weeks following the Chinese balloon incident.

Persons: Liu Pengyu, majeure, ” Liu, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi “, Xi, ”, Biden, Antony Blinken, Nancy Pelosi, enraging Xi, Christopher Johnson, Johnson, ’ ” Johnson, Pat Ryder Ryder, Trump, Glen VanHerck Organizations: CNN, Communist Party, US, Economic Cooperation, CIA, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Foreign Ministry, FBI, Pentagon, Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command Locations: China, United States, American, Beijing, Taiwan, Hainan, Alaska, Canada, Idaho, Montana, Asia, San Francisco, United

☆ SEC punts on whether syndicated loans are securities, in closely watched appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Law firm alerts have gone so far as to call the appeal an “existential threat” to the entire syndicated loan market. The SEC later added to the suspense by requesting two more extensions from the 2nd Circuit, noting the complexity of the issue. On the other hand, any remaining uncertainty will be resolved as soon as the 2nd Circuit issues a ruling. But it’s a good bet that the trustee's lawyers from McKool will urge the 2nd Circuit to read the SEC’s silence as proof of the complexity of the issue. An earlier version incorrectly reported that Judge Michael Park was part of the 2nd Circuit panel that heard oral argument.)

Persons: Cromwell, JPMorgan Chase, Marc Kirschner, Paul Gardephe, Manhattan, Gardephe, McKool Smith, Jose Cabranes, Joseph Bianco, Myrna Perez, ”, Malcolm Stewart, Christopher Johnson, McKool, SEC wouldn’t, Michael Park, Alison Frankel, Leigh Jones Organizations: Sullivan, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, Circuit, SEC, 2nd, JPMorgan, Millennium, U.S . Justice Department, District, Trading Association, Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, Justice Department, U.S . Treasury Department, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S .

☆ As China's intelligence capabilities grow, spying becomes an increasing flashpoint in ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

They underscore how intelligence gathering – an activity meant to go on without detection, out of the public eye – is becoming an increasingly prominent flashpoint in the US-China relationship. That pushes intelligence gathering itself to become “another factor that is complicating US-China relations,” he said. That’s especially the case, experts say, as China continues to expand its own intelligence gathering capabilities – catching up in an area where the US has traditionally had an edge. Other arms of the Communist Party apparatus also play a role in activities beyond conventional intelligence gathering, experts say. Heightened concern and awareness about Chinese intelligence gathering – or the potential for it – has exploded in the US in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bill Burns, ”, Lyle Morris, Christopher Johnson, “, there’s, they’ve, Johnson, Xi Jinping, That’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Xi, Hector Retamal, –, TikTok –, Edward Snowden, ’, Shou Zi Chew, Jabin, John Delury, John T, Downey, Delury Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US, White House, CIA, CNN, Asia Society, Center for, Central Intelligence Agency, China, Group, U.S . Navy, AP, Guilford College, People’s Liberation Army, Ministry of State Security, Communist Party, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, The New York Times, Huawei, TikTok, Tiktok, US Justice Department, China Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Agency, US Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, China ”, Energy, Commerce, Capitol, Washington Post, Subversion Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Beijing, American, Cuba, US, Center for China, South, Russia, AFP, Washington, USA, South China, Washington , DC

And while Musk has mentioned the trip in two posts since leaving, he didn't tweet once while in China. That said, after three years of harsh COVID curbs that hampered entry into China, foreign CEOs appear eager to get the lay of the land. Sixty-seven foreign business leaders attended the high-profile China Development Forum this year, although that is still 20 fewer than in 2019. The few known comments by foreign CEOs whilst they were in China have been in line with Biden's stance that he is not seeking to decouple the world's two largest economies. The foreign ministry quoted Musk as saying he was opposed to a decoupling of the U.S. and China economies which he described as "conjoined twins".

Persons: Elon Musk, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Musk, Goldman's Solomon, wariness, Xi, Noah Fraser, Tesla, Goldman, Joe Biden, Tim Cook, Patrick Gelsinger, Mary Barra, Stephen Schwarzman, Jamie Dimon, Christopher Johnson, JPMorgan's Dimon, Daniel Russel, Brenda Goh, Joe Cash, Selena Li, Zhang Yan, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Media, Twitter, Canada China Business Council, EU Chamber of Commerce, U.S . Department of Commerce, U.S, flashpoints, General Motors, China, China Strategies, U.S ., JPMorgan, Blackstone, Intel, JPMorgan Global China Summit, Asia Society Policy Institute, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, China, Shanghai, U.S, Washington, Beijing, Blackstone's, East, Hong Kong

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