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☆ Analysis: Cohen gets a breather after bruising cross-examination as Trump looks on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Blanche took Cohen through a long list of the insults he’s unleashed at Trump since becoming estranged from his former mentor, highlighting his penchant for serial lying. He drew jurors’ attention to a social media post in which Cohen wore a T-shirt that depicted Trump in jail, as he spun a narrative of bias and obsession. A key legal conundrum is whether prosecutors have so far succeeded in validating the legal theory behind the case. That foreboding realization was exacerbated by a new posse of Trump supporters at the courthouse on Tuesday, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. While Cohen’s reluctance to offer yes-and-no answers came across at times as flippant and confrontational, he did not appear to say or do anything to torpedo the prosecution case.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Michael Cohen, don’t, Cohen, ”, Todd Blanche, president’s, didn’t, he’s, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Blanche, ” Cohen, he’d, ” Blanche, douchebag, ” Michael Moore, “, Moore, Juan Merchan, Will Trump’s, ” Shira Scheindlin, CNN’s Jake Tapper, ” Scheindlin, “ Cohen, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, Andrew McCabe, Cohen’s, ” Moore, Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, reimbursements, ’ ” Cohen Organizations: CNN, GOP, Trump, Middle, Middle District of, Louisiana Republican, Defense, FBI Locations: Ohio, Kentucky, Middle District, Middle District of Georgia, New York, Louisiana, Blanche, Manhattan

☆ Russian Disinformation Videos Smear Biden Ahead of U.S. Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Steven Lee Myers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last month, a video began circulating on social media purporting to tell the story of an internet troll farm in Kyiv targeting the American election. Speaking in English with a Slavic accent, “Olesya” offers a first-person account of how she and her colleagues initially worked in support of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Then, she says, after a visit by mysterious Americans who were “probably C.I.A.,” the group began sending messages to American audiences in support of President Biden. “We were told our new target was the United States of America, especially the upcoming elections,” the woman in the video says. U.S. officials say the video is consistent with Russian disinformation operations as internet warriors aligned with Russia appear to be honing their strategy.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, “, Donald Trump Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, United States of America, Russia

Ms. Daniels could take the stand to testify against Mr. Trump as early as this week. Her presence would let Mr. Trump’s defense lawyers attack Ms. Daniels as an extortionist and question her credibility. Nor can she testify about the plan for Mr. Trump to hide his reimbursements to Mr. Cohen by characterizing them as legal fees. Mr. Trump’s lawyers contend that he did not know that the checks he signed for Mr. Cohen were not for legal fees, and that Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump’s employees were responsible for any false records. “He has never thought that the little man, or especially women, and even more, women like me, matter,” Ms. Daniels said.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Alvin L, Bragg, Trump’s, Michael Bachner, Bachner, Dave Sanders, Stephanie Clifford, Barrett, “ I’m, Donald Trump, ” Ms, Norm, ”, Peacock, J., r. “ Organizations: Mr, The New York Times Locations: Manhattan, New York City, Baton Rouge, La, Texas, Florida, New York

☆ Why do royal fans think Meghan Markle and Buckingham Palace are in a battle over jam? Here's the drama, explained.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementSome royal fans think the Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace are in a jam — specifically strawberry. Speculation that Buckingham Palace and Meghan Markle might be battling it out via fruit preserves began on Wednesday. Buckingham Palace. AdvertisementIt didn't take long for online users to draw comparisons between Buckingham Palace and American Riviera Orchard. AdvertisementAmerican Riviera Orchard and Buckingham Palace haven't commented on the speculationRepresentatives for Markle and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: Meghan Markle's, Buckingham, —, Duchess of, Meghan Markle, Markle, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, influencers, Tracy Robbins, Delfina Blaqier, Chrissy Teigen, we've, Mindy Kaling, Tracee Ellis Ross, haven't, King Charles III, Queen Camilla Organizations: Markle, Service, Variety, Buckingham Palace, America, Business, Palace Locations: Duchess of Sussex, Buckingham, Buckingham Palace, Montecito, Orchard

☆ Microsoft warns China will use AI to try to influence US elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new report from Microsoft shows how Chinese social-media accounts have used AI. The accounts target East Asian countries but also aim to influence US elections, per the report. AdvertisementMicrosoft says in a new report that China will use AI-generated media to influence elections in East Asian countries and the US. AdvertisementMany of the Chinese social-media messages ask followers to comment about which presidential candidates they support. Microsoft said the "accounts could be operating to increase intelligence gathering around key voting demographics within the United States."

Persons: —, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: Microsoft, CCP, Service, Microsoft Threat Intelligence, National Intelligence, Chinese Communist Party, Reuters, CIA Locations: China, East, East Asia, Hawaii, Kentucky, United States, PRC

☆ Elon Musk’s X is back to giving out free blue checks. It’s no surprise they were a tough sell
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —It appears that Elon Musk has finally (mostly) given up on trying to make paid blue checks on X a thing. The return of the free blue check may be a sign that the blue check subscription business hasn’t panned out the way that Musk hoped. Musk’s purge of legacy blue checks was a messy, months-long process. And when anyone could buy a blue check, it was no longer an exclusive symbol that conferred some kind of status. Within hours of the unpaid blue checks reappearing, users were sharing advice about how to ensure they didn’t show up on their profiles.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, —, hasn’t, ”, Jason Goldman, Twitter’s, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly’s, Stephen King, LeBron James, Matt Navarra, ” Goldman, X, “ Dear Elon Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Nintendo, Elon Locations: New York

So we have to talk about the drama that has been playing out in the past week between OpenAI and Elon Musk. According to OpenAI, Elon Musk wanted majority, equity, initial board control, and to be CEO of this new for-profit subsidiary. It’s basically —casey newtonIt’s like, I’m going to find a way to follow your rule, but in the worst way possible. Like, working was one I thought that, oh, I’m going to work in this all the time. kevin roose[LAUGHS]: Well, I thought, like, I’m going to take some spatial videos.

Persons: casey newton Casey, kevin roose, casey newton, Kevin, casey newton What’s, Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, OpenAI, Will, Joanna Stern, Casey, it’s, kevin roose I’m, Elon Musk, It’s, casey newton Let’s, Elon, he’s, I’ve, casey newton What’d, there’s, you’ve, we’re, GPT, Sam Altman’s, that’s, AGI, Annie “, Sam Altman, who’s, isn’t, “, we’ve, ” casey newton Go, He’s, Ilya Sutskever, Greg Brockman, Ilya, casey newton Yes, Tesla, casey newton Well, they’ll, casey newton Oh, kevin roose It’s, don’t, kevin roose Will, casey newton Right, casey newton Mhm, kevin roose They’re, Microsoft’s Bing, Microsoft Bing, Bing, Apple, Europe — casey newton, Charles Duhigg, John Gruber, they’ve, casey newton It’d, — casey newton, they’re, They’ve, you’ll, Apple’s, casey newton It’s, I’ll, casey newton Sure, GDPR, you’re, kevin roose Really, let’s, kevin roose Casey, kevin roose —, Jonah Stern, casey newton Wow, Joanna, Let’s, kevin roose Joanna Stern, joanna, casey newton Hi, kevin roose Long, joanna stern, —, kevin roose We’re, Kara Swisher, kevin roose Don’t, I’m, casey newton Don’t, casey newton That’s, Neil Patel, Um, kevin roose That’s, kevin roose Sure, casey newton Great, KEVIN, IV, wearables, Fitbits, kevin roose Oh, hadn’t, casey newton —, casey newton I’ve, Joe Rogan Organizations: The New York Times, Elon, Apple’s, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Google’s, Facebook, Tesla, Big, European Union, Digital Services, Giants, Apple, Digital Markets, EU, Bloomberg, Digital, Spotify, General, Apple Vision Pro, Street, Apple Vision, Vision, New York Times, “, Housewives, Club, Ray, Tesla Chargers, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, Sony Locations: Los Angeles, Europe, what’s, Elon, OpenAI, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Reddit, American, America, California, Florida, United, Mars, The

☆ Opinion: Biden gave the speech of his life
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Opinion Cnn Contributors | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +29 min

CNN —CNN Opinion asked political and policy contributors to weigh in on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. David Gergen: Biden just rewrote the presidential racePresident Joe Biden not only delivered perhaps the best speech of his life last night; he may have also changed the race itself. Roxanne Jones: Biden finally sounds like he’s ready to fightPresident Joe Biden finally has my attention. At the end of his speech, Biden reminded voters that he “grew up among working people” in Scranton. In his State of the Union speech, Biden had to answer the mail on all of these.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, David Gergen, Biden, Joe Biden, —, Carrie Sheffield, Carrie Sheffield Barry Morgenstein, Donald Trump’s, pandered, Sophia A, Nelson, Trump, Sen, Andrew, ”, Donald Trump, Harris, Daniel McCarthy, Trump President Joe Biden, Daniel McCarthy Biden, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, wasn’t, he’s, haven’t, Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, Bernie Sanders, Nikki Haley, Trump couldn’t, Reagan, Roxanne Jones, ” Biden, Smart, Jill Filipovic, Mike Johnson, David A, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” David A, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, SubStack’s, Paul Sracic, It’s, White, Paul Sracic Arne Hoel It’s, Hillary Clinton, Joe, ” Paul Sracic, Raul A, Reyes, ” Raul A, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s, Laken Riley, Mark Zandi, Mark Zandi Moody's, Ana Marie Cox, Ana Marie Cox Faith Fonseca, Biden’s, Dobbs, Roe, Wade, Peter Bergen, George W, Bush, Vladimir Putin’s, –, beefed, Gazans Organizations: CNN, David Gergen CNN, Union, Harvard Kennedy School, Gallup, NATO, Democratic, Republicans, Trump, Independent Women’s, United States Senate, Biden, Congressional, Trump President, South Carolina Gov, GOP, Republican, Conservative, The Spectator, Syndicate, Big Pharma, Companies, American, Democrats, Twitter, NATO —, Israel, New York Times, CBS News, Democratic Party, United Auto Workers, Youngstown State University, Hudson Institute, Reyes CNN, Border Patrol, Georgia, ” Progressives, Pew Research Center, White, USA, Moody’s Analytics, Ana Marie Cox Faith, Jackson, Peter Bergen CNN, US Senate, New, Arizona State University Locations: Joe Biden’s State, America, United States, State, Gaza, Israel, New York, Ukraine, ”, American, China, Iran, Europe, Asia, Chicago, Scranton , Pennsylvania, Belvidere , Illinois, Scranton, Claymont , Delaware, Delaware, Ohio, Washington , DC, Georgia, Alabama, Austin, Iraq, New America

☆ Sam Altman is done playing nice with Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewWhen it comes to OpenAI, Elon Musk is not afraid to go for the jugular. He addressed his personal relationship with Musk directly in a memo sent to employees shortly after the lawsuit was filed. Though he said he'd considered Musk a personal hero, he expressed disappointment that Musk wasn't on OpenAI's side. AdvertisementThe Journal reported cited people close to Musk, who said Musk was jealous of OpenAI's success in the AI race. Representatives for Musk and Altman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI, execs, we've, Lex Fridman, Musk, Kara Swisher, he'd Organizations: Service, OpenAI, Business, Microsoft, Elon, Street Journal, Musk Locations: Elon

☆ Sam Altman appeared to troll Elon Musk by dredging up a years-old Twitter post
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI last week. AdvertisementSam Altman seemed keen to attract Elon Musk's attention by resurfacing an old conversation with the owner of X. Altman wrote "anytime" next to a salute emoji in the conversation thread, in which he had previously praised Musk and Tesla. Be the person on the side of the climate and innovation, not the person hoping to make money on puts," Altman wrote in 2019. OpenAI was founded by Altman, Musk, CTO Greg Brockman, and several other engineers and scientists as a nonprofit, its website said.

Persons: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, Musk, —, Elon, Sam, Greg Brockman, Musk's, Jason Kwon, Axios, Kwon, ChatGPT, OpenAI didn't Organizations: Service, Twitter, Tesla, Elon, Microsoft, Bloomberg, Enterprise

☆ This husband and wife are the biggest trolls on TikTok — and it pays
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Christi Fritz and her husband have gone viral on TikTok for cutting the soles off their shoes to go barefoot. Advertisement"My husband and I have removed the bottoms of all our shoes," Christi Fritz says in a voiceover of their most viral TikTok video, with 56 million views. "We decided to start walking barefoot," Christi explains. ("Grounding" or "earthing" is a Gwenyth Paltrow-endorsed practice meant to commune with nature by walking barefoot on the soil. In a follow-up to their viral barefoot video, the Fritzes stroll down the streets of downtown Cleveland barefoot and into the public library.

Persons: Christi Fritz, —, Seth Fritz, Christi, Paltrow, ike, y oung, ideo, ealth, iral Organizations: Service, ritz, ust

He has a nickname for Senator Tim Scott: Senator Judas. (Ms. Haley appointed Mr. Scott to the Senate in 2012 when she was governor of South Carolina, and Mr. Scott is now a key surrogate in their home state for Mr. In the early months of his mother’s campaign, Mr. Haley was relatively neutral, largely re-sharing posts from or positive commentary about the Haley campaign. But Mr. Haley, a senior at Villanova University, has been game to engage, hitting back at her rivals on social media platforms with memes and quips. In Gilbert, he recalled how Ms. Haley, during her run for governor, used to offer him and his sister a quarter for every hand they shook.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald J, Trump, Nalin Haley, Mr, Haley, Tim Scott, Judas, Vivek Ramaswamy, Pennywise, Ms, you’s ”, “ Nalin, ”, Gilbert, S.C, “, Scott, Nathan Brand, “ You’d, Frances, Scott’s, Frances Scott, Ramaswamy, Haley’s, Ramaswamy’s, Tricia McLaughlin, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis “, MAGA, MAGA ’ cuz he’s, I’m, Jazmine Ulloa Organizations: Republican, Trump, Senate, Mr, Iowa State Fair, Villanova University, Gov, New York Times Locations: New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa, Summerville, S.C, Florida, Elgin

☆ Review: In ‘Russian Troll Farm,’ You Can’t Stop the Memes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

No one misses the early days and dark theaters of the Covid pandemic, but the emergency workaround of streaming content was good for a few things anyway. People who formerly could not afford admission suddenly could, since much of it was free, and artists from anywhere could now be seen everywhere, with just a Wi-Fi connection. That’s how I first encountered “Russian Troll Farm,” a play by Sarah Gancher intended for the stage but that had its debut, in 2020, as an online co-production of three far-flung institutions: TheaterWorks Hartford, TheaterSquared in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Brooklyn-based Civilians. At the time, I found its subject and form beautifully realized and ideally matched — the subject being online interference in the 2016 presidential election by a Russian internet agency. But the production of “Russian Troll Farm” that opened on Thursday at the Vineyard Theater is an entirely different, and in some ways disappointing, experience.

Persons: Sarah Gancher, ”, “, Darko Tresnjak, Taylor Swift, Biden, Gancher, Russia —, Trumpism, Hillary Clinton Organizations: Vineyard, Internet Research Agency Locations: Hartford, TheaterSquared, Fayetteville, Ark, Brooklyn, Russian, St . Petersburg, Russia

☆ A CEO is facing backlash after an influencer said he used his company's Instagram account to attack her
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementA paper entrepreneur has faced backlash and seen his company's reviews tank after he left critical comments on an influencer's Instagram page using his official business account. "Must be a tough life living life on easy mode," it said. She then assumed it had been hacked, so she emailed the company's CEO, Brandon Howard, to let him know. #fypp ♬ Aesthetic - Tollan KimAccording to Sudan, Howard responded to her email, but not in the way she expected. Sudan told BI since her final video, Howard has tried to remediate the situation through her own workplace by reaching out to her boss.

Persons: influencer, —, she'd, Brandon Howard, Kim, Howard, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Company, BI Locations: Sudan, ParchmentPaper.com, California

☆ What is catfishing and what can you do if you are catfished?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Sen Nguyen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole. A 2019 study found that young LGBTQ+ men in rural America experiencing catfishing on dating apps felt angry and fearful. She also emphasized the need to recognize today’s loneliness epidemic, which “leads people to perhaps be more susceptible to catfishing scams,” she said. Catfishing is not explicitly a crime, but the actions that often accompany catfishing, such as extortion for money, gifts or sexual images are crimes in many places. In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole.

Persons: CNN —, Nev Schulman, “ Megan ”, Schulman, Evita, scammers, Catfishing, Snapchat, ”, Ngo Minh Hieu, Chong, Hieu, Wang, “, It’s, Fangzhou Wang, ” Wang, Maryna, WeChat Organizations: CNN, Cybersmile Foundation, Federation University, Fraud Intelligence, INTERPOL, Research, US Federal Trade Commission, SMS, University of Texas, Arlington, Getty, Facebook, UNICEF Locations: Alaska, Australia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, France, Germany, India, cryptocurrency, Vietnamese, America, catfishing, China, Cybersecurity, Australian

☆ It’s not just Taylor Swift: AI-generated porn is targeting women and kids all over the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It affects everybody.”But while the practice isn’t new, Swift being targeted could bring more attention to the growing issues around AI-generated imagery. Her enormous contingent of loyal “Swifties” expressed their outrage on social media this week, bringing the issue to the forefront. … It’s a reckoning moment.”‘Nefarious reasons without enough guardrails’The fake images of Taylor Swift predominantly spread on social media site X, previously known as Twitter. Although it reportedly took 17 hours for X to take down the photos, many manipulated images remain posted on social media sites. Other social media companies also have reduced their content moderations teams.

Persons: megastar Taylor Swift, “ It’s, ”, Danielle Citron, “, We’ve, Swift, “ Swifties ”, Taylor Swift, ” Citron, …, there’s, Ben Decker, Decker, Karine Jean, Pierre, Francesca Mani, Raymond González, Anita ”, David Jones, Jones, Betsy Kline Organizations: CNN, University of Virginia School of Law, Ticketmaster, Twitter, Meta, White, Westfield High School, Westfield, Communications Locations: New Jersey, Spain, unmoderated

☆ Biden needles Trump in hopes of pushing him off message
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | Alayna Treene | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Biden is “not doing it just for the sake of making Donald Trump mad or for the satisfaction of punching him in the nose. “Loser” is at the top of the Biden campaign lists of attacks. “It is Donald Trump who continues to deny the truth about the 2020 election. He lost that one,” said senior Biden campaign adviser T.J. Ducklo. “The joke’s on Donald Trump.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Emanuel, Biden, Donald Trump –, ”, “ he’s, Herbert Hoover ”, Trump’s, “, I’m, ” Biden, Trump, Kate Bedingfield, She’s, It’s, Joe Biden, T.J, they’ve, Hoover, Nikki Haley, Nancy Pelosi –, that’s, Nancy Pelosi, Donald, you’ve, Ducklo, ” Ducklo, ” Trump, “ Joe Biden can’t, he’s, Steven Cheung, Michelle Obama’s, Gavin Newsom, didn’t, ” Bedingfield, “ It’s, ” George Conway, who’s, Donald ”, Omar Cornute, Louis, –, Herbert Hoover, ” Cornute, Robert Garcia, “ Donald Trump, Garcia Organizations: CNN, Emanuel AME, Republican, Trump, Biden, Democratic, White House, South Carolina Gov, Fox, gaslight, “, California Gov, Republicans, United Auto Workers, California Democrat Locations: Carolina, Trump’s Iowa, Iowa, Pennsylvania, America, Washington, California

☆ Explicit, AI-generated Taylor Swift images spread quickly on social media
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Pornographic, AI-generated images of the world’s most famous star spread across social media this week, underscoring the damaging potential posed by mainstream artificial intelligence technology: its ability to create convincingly real and damaging images. The fake images of Taylor Swift were predominantly circulating on social media site X, previously known as Twitter. The photos – which show the singer in sexually suggestive and explicit positions – were viewed tens of millions of times before being removed from social platforms. “The social media companies don’t really have effective plans in place to necessarily monitor the content,” he said. Swift’s enormous contingent of loyal “Swifties” expressed their outrage on social media this week, bringing the issue to the forefront.

Persons: Taylor Swift, ” Ben Decker, Decker, ”, Swift, “ Swifties ”, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, CNN, Meta, Ticketmaster, Swift . Nine Locations: New York, United States, unmoderated

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon on Friday granted James Cromitie, 58, compassionate release from prison six months after she ordered the release of his three co-defendants, known as the Newburgh Four, for similar reasons. The four men from the small river city 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of New York City were convicted of terrorism charges in 2010. The New York-based judge ordered Cromitie’s sentence to be reduced to time served plus 90 days. Critics have accused federal agents of entrapping a group men who were down on their luck after doing prison time. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesIn a scathing ruling, McMahon wrote that the FBI invented the conspiracy and identified the targets.

Persons: Colleen McMahon, James Cromitie, Cromitie, Critics, McMahon, “, ’, Shaheed Hussain, ”, ” Hussain, Hussain, Nauman Hussain, Kerry Lawrence, “ I’m, ” Lawrence, McMahon didn’t Organizations: National Guard, Newburgh, Prosecutors, Air National Guard, Bronx ., FBI, U.S Locations: York, U.S, New York City, New York, Newburgh, Bronx, Albany , New York, Schoharie , New York

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande and 21 Savage Kick Off 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande and 21 Savage Kick Off 2024 Pop’s premier troll returns while one of its biggest voices turns her attention to gossip, and the first blockbuster rap album of the year arrives. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Pat Gunther. Editing by Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Nas X, Ariana Grande, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Pat Gunther, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

☆ Why Princess Poppy was dressed as a green troll at the Emmy Awards
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

There are looks, there are looks, and then there’s whatever Princess Poppy was serving at the 2024 Emmy Awards. RuPaul took the moment to advocate for LGBTQ rights in a speech so earnest one hardly noticed the green troll standing in the background. As for Princess Poppy, she’s had a mixed relationship with fame since being voted off Season 15 of the show last year. “I’m obsessed with Princess Poppy,” one X user said alongside a video of the drag queen dancing in full troll look during the event. “Princess Poppy you will always be famous,” one fan wrote.

Persons: Poppy, Don’t, Li Shen Ooi, Bryn, “, ”, Sasha Colby, Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, Irene Dubois, Robin Fierce, Jax, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Aura Mayari, Salina EsTitties, Neilson Barnard, RuPaul, Princess Poppy, she’s, wasn’t, didn’t, “ I’m Organizations: Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, Times, Getty, CNN Locations: Spice, Sugar, Malaysia, Salina

☆ eBay must pay $3 million after its employees sent live spiders and cockroaches to a couple as part of a harassment campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million fine after its employees waged a harassment campaign against a Massachusetts couple. The employees sent live spiders, cockroaches, and a bloody pig mask to the couple. AdvertisementOnline retailer eBay Inc. will pay a $3 million fine to resolve criminal charges over a harassment campaign waged by employees who sent live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items to the home of a Massachusetts couple, according to court papers filed Thursday. The couple produced an online newsletter called EcommerceBytes that upset eBay executives with its coverage. Wenig, who stepped down as CEO in 2019, was not criminally charged in the case and has denied having any knowledge of the harassment campaign or ever telling anyone to do anything illegal.

Persons: —, David, Ina Steiner, Josh Levy, Devin Wenig, Wenig, James Baugh, Baugh, David Harville, Harville Organizations: eBay, Service, eBay Inc, Justice Department, EBay, Associated Press, Communist Party of Locations: Massachusetts, California, United States, Boston, Wenig

☆ Opinion: There’s a lot of good news for Nikki Haley. But here’s the bad news.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( David Axelrod | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Republican presidential debates have so far produced two big winners – one who will be center stage Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the fourth GOP matchup, and another who won’t be there at all. The good news for Haley is that she is now running neck-and-neck for second place with the formerly formidable Florida Gov. In skipping the debates, Trump wagered that without his oversized presence, his opponents would primarily train their fire on each other. With Trump absent, Haley, who thus far has mostly eluded frontal attacks, is more likely to get frontrunner treatment from her rivals on Wednesday night. Chris Christie, the most outspoken critic of Trump in the Republican field, also hopes to make New Hampshire a breakthrough moment.

Persons: David Axelrod, ”, Barack Obama, Obama, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Haley, Ron DeSantis, Trump, DeSantis, Sen, Tim Scott of, Charles Koch, Chris Christie, Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, parry, Mike Pence, Doug Burgum, Ronna McDaniel, McDaniel, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, GOP, UN, South, Republican, Florida Gov, Trump, University of Alabama, Hawkeye State, New, New Jersey Gov, North Dakota Gov, Republican Party Locations: Tuscaloosa , Alabama, South Carolina, Iowa, Hawkeye, New Hampshire, DeSantis, Tim Scott of South Carolina, New Jersey

☆ John Fetterman defends giving money to George Santos on Cameo: 'Get over it'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. John Fetterman paid George Santos $343 for a Cameo video trolling Sen. Bob Menendez. He's not the only Democrat giving Santos money for Cameo, and some say it's wrong. In the Cameo video, Santos urges "Bobby from New Jersey" to "stand your ground" and not "get bogged down by all the haters out there." "I don't think Mr. Clickbait's donors would appreciate him enriching George Santos," Menendez told NBC News. AdvertisementThe Pennsylvania senator isn't the only Democrat who's forked money over to Santos since he fired up a Cameo account on Monday.

Persons: Sen, John Fetterman, George Santos, Bob Menendez, He's, Santos, —, Fetterman, Democratic Sen, Bobby, Menendez, @BobMenendezNJ, y8iX55EyNi, I'm, isn't, who's, Bernie Moreno Organizations: Service, Republican Rep, George Santos of New, Democratic, Bob Menendez of New, NBC, Santos, The Ohio Democratic Party, Republican Senate Locations: Pennsylvania, George Santos of, Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, New Jersey, Jersey

☆ John Fetterman paid George Santos $343 for a Cameo to troll Bob Mendendez
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Taylor Berman | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

John Fetterman bought a video from Santos to troll Bob Menendez, who is under investigation for bribery. Now he's made history again, as the first former congressperson to be used by Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to troll Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey via Cameo. "I thought my ethically-challenged colleague @BobMenendezNJ could use some encouragement given his substantial legal problems," Fetterman wrote on X. An attached video shows Santos giving advice to "Bobby from Jersey" about how to stay strong. AdvertisementA Fetterman spokesman told Business Insider that Santos posted the Cameo just 16 minutes after it was requested.

Persons: George Santos, John Fetterman, Santos, Bob Menendez, —, he's, Sen, John Fetterman of, @BobMenendezNJ, Fetterman, Bobby, y8iX55EyNi, Menendez Organizations: Service, Bob Menendez of New, Democratic Locations: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Jersey

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