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☆ In Serbia, Xi Underlines Close Ties With Ally That Shares Wariness of U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China and Serbia on Wednesday proclaimed an “ironclad friendship” during a visit to Belgrade by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, underlining the close political and economic ties between two countries that share a wariness of the United States. Mr. Xi arrived in Serbia late Tuesday — the 25th anniversary of a mistaken 1999 airstrike involving the U.S. Air Force during the Kosovo war that destroyed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the Serbian capital. Three Chinese journalists were killed in the strike. “This we should never forget,” Mr. Xi said in a statement published on Tuesday by Politika, a Serbian newspaper, recalling that “25 years ago today, NATO flagrantly bombed the Chinese Embassy.” He said that China’s friendship with Serbia had been “forged with the blood of our compatriots” and “will stay in the shared memory of the Chinese and Serbian peoples.”Mr. Xi appeared briefly on Wednesday morning with the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, before a cheering crowd gathered in front of the Palace of Serbia, the former headquarters of the now defunct government of Yugoslavia that now houses Serbian government offices.

Persons: Xi, Mr, ”, “, Aleksandar Vucic Organizations: Wednesday, U.S . Air Force, Embassy, Politika, NATO flagrantly, Serbian Locations: China, Serbia, Belgrade, United States, Kosovo, Serbian, Yugoslavia

☆ Georgia appeals court says it will consider Trump’s effort to disqualify DA Fani Willis from election subversion case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Devan Cole | Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Georgia Court of Appeals will consider an effort by Donald Trump and his co-defendants to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the 2020 election subversion case. In a brief order Wednesday, the court said it will hear the appeal from Trump and others challenging the ruling from Judge Scott McAfee that allowed Willis to remain on the case. No trial date has been set in the sprawling election subversion conspiracy case against Trump, and the decision to consider the appeal is another sign that pre-trial efforts to delay a trial are succeeding. Tuesday, a federal judge in Florida indefinitely postponed Trump’s trial on mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Willis testified that she paid Wade back for the expenses in cash.

Persons: Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Trump, Scott McAfee, Willis, Willis ’, Steve Sadow, “, Fulton County DA Willis, ”, Nathan Wade, Wade, McAfee, Weeks, McAfee’s, Willis “, flagrantly Organizations: CNN, Trump, Appeals, Fulton County Locations: Georgia, Florida, Lago, Fulton

☆ News organizations post open letter urging Biden and Trump to debate ahead of 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A dozen of the nation’s biggest news organizations posted an open letter Sunday, urging President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to participate in televised debates ahead of the 2024 election. C-SPAN joins other major news organizations to urge the presumptive presidential nominees to publicly commit to participate in general election debates prior to November's election. Biden has not publicly committed to debating Trump, although he has not ruled it out. The Commission on Presidential Debates has scheduled three presidential debates for September and October in Texas, Virginia and Utah. Biden responded to Trump’s calls for earlier debates in February, telling reporters: “If I were him, I’d want him to debate me, too.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, ”, Biden, Trump, ” Biden, ” Trump, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, I’d, He’s, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, SPAN, Fox News, NBC, Univision, NPR, PBS, USA, Republican National, Republican Party, Trump Locations: Texas , Virginia, Utah

☆ TV networks prepare letter to Biden and Trump campaigns urging them to commit to 2024 election debates
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Five of the major US television networks have banded together to draft a letter urging President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to participating in televised debates ahead of the 2024 election. Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair for the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, told CNN he has not yet seen the letter. Biden has not publicly committed to debating Trump, although he has not ruled it out. Trump has posted on social media that he will debate “anytime, anywhere anyplace” despite the Republican National Committee voting unanimously in 2022 to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates. “If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the TV networks stated in the letter.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, “, Frank Fahrenkopf, Biden, Trump, ” Biden, Trump’s, ” Organizations: CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News, The New York Times, Republican National, Republican Party, Trump

CNN —Former President Donald Trump and several of his co-defendants in the Georgia election subversion case are appealing a judge’s ruling that let Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis remain on the election subversion case. The defense attorneys on Friday asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Scott McAfee’s initial decision that allowed Willis and her office continue to pursue the case but only if Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship, resigned. While Wade has since left the case, defense attorneys still want the appellate court to disqualify the entire Fulton County DA’s office. “DA Willis has covered herself and her office in scandal and disrepute, as she has squandered her credibility and repeatedly and flagrantly violated the heightened ethical standards demanded of her position,” the appeal states. However, the judge added, “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly.”The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

Persons: Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Judge Scott McAfee’s, Willis, Nathan Wade, Wade, Trump, “ DA Willis, flagrantly, McAfee, ” McAfee, CNN’s Devan Cole Organizations: CNN, Trump Locations: Georgia, Fulton, Fulton County

☆ Federal judge in Texas says agency created to help minority-owned businesses must provide assistance to all races
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —A federal judge in Texas said Tuesday that a US Commerce Department agency intended to help minority-owned businesses must offer assistance to all individuals, regardless of race, agreeing with White business owners who claimed that its policies were unconstitutional. Because they aren’t on the Agency’s magic list, the Agency presumes they aren’t disadvantaged,” Pittman wrote. Time’s up.”The MBDA is one of the only federal agencies focused exclusively on developing and advocating for minority-owned businesses. In recent years, conservatives have increasingly turned to federal courts in Texas to challenge certain federal programs and actions. “To the extent the MBDA offers services pursuant to an unconstitutional presumption, that’s fifty-five years too many,” Pittman said in his latest ruling.

Persons: Mark Pittman, Donald Trump, Pittman, …, ” Pittman, ”, Nixon, “, ’ ”, MBDA Organizations: Washington CNN, US Commerce Department, US, Minority Business Development Agency, Latino, Agency, US Department of Commerce, Fort, Northern, Northern District of, Biden, “, Centers Locations: Texas, Asian, Fort Worth, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, SFFA

Justice Department prosecutors had recommended sentencing McGonigal to a prison term of two years and six months for the Washington case alone. McGonigal was scheduled to report to prison next month to begin serving his sentence in the New York case. McGonigal was separately charged with concealing his ties to the former Albanian official, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was living in New Jersey. McGonigal pleaded guilty last September to concealing material facts, a charge punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years. McGonigal didn't need more prison time beyond his 50-month sentence in New York “to serve the ends of justice,” Ducharme argued.

Persons: —, Charles McGonigal, Colleen Kollar, McGonigal, ”, Kollar, “, Oleg Deripaska, didn't, McGonigle, Elizabeth Aloi, Seth Ducharme, ” Ducharme Organizations: WASHINGTON, FBI, U.S, Justice Department, Albanian Locations: New York, U.S, Albanian, Washington ,, Washington, Russia, Crimea, New Jersey, Albania, Russian, Europe

☆ The end of workplace loyalty
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Do that, and you generate the kind of trust and loyalty that leads to high productivity and low turnover. A world in which the psychological contract is profoundly broken. In the three decades following World War II, as Rick Wartzman documents in his book " The End of Loyalty ," a booming economy made American companies rich. Today, disillusioned workers might assume that the norm of workplace loyalty was nothing but a capitalistic ruse, a way for companies to exploit their employees. But the new loyalty would recognize that employees have to uphold their end of the bargain.

Persons: I've, Gen Xers, Gen Zers, they'll, Rick Wartzman, Wartzman, Denise Rousseau, Rousseau, who's, Mark, —, it's, I'm, he's, quitters, Nick Bloom, Stanford University who's, Anthony Klotz, Klotz, they're, It's, Aki Ito Organizations: Companies, Kodak, GE, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, University College London, Employers, Business

☆ SEC approves bitcoin ETFs for some investment firms
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin. The SEC had a deadline of January 10 to offer a decision for just one of the 11 firms that applied to offer bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs, like bitcoin, carry risks for investorsFor those considering jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon, it’s important to note that the price of a bitcoin will be just as volatile whether you invest in it directly yourself or through an ETF. Those sentiments have been echoed by many financial advisers and the investor watchdog group Better Markets, which strongly opposed the SEC’s approval of bitcoin ETFs. The full list of companies that got SEC approval to launch bitcoin ETFs are: Ark Invest together with 21 Shares; Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Hashdex, Invesco, WisdomTree, Valkyrie and VanEck.

Persons: Gary Gensler, bitcoin, ”, Gensler, Dennis Kelleher, “, Sheila Warren, Franklin Templeton Organizations: New, New York CNN, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, FBI, Investments, Better, Street, Crypto, Innovation, Fidelity Locations: New York, BlackRock

☆ DeSantis board accuses Disney of controlling previous one with gifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It found the board was "inverted to serve Disney," which held voting control of the prior board of supervisors. The Central Florida Oversight Board will meet Wednesday to vote whether to accept the report, which was prepared for the board by a group of experts. In what Disney described as retaliation, the Florida legislature in February replaced the old board with a new Central Florida Oversight District, whose five supervisors are handpicked by DeSantis. In April, Disney sued Florida in federal court, claiming DeSantis and his allies of "weaponizing" state government to punish Disney for exercising its free speech rights. The DeSantis-appointed oversight board counter-sued in state court, seeking to void the "backroom deals" favorable to the entertainment giant.

Persons: Octavio Jones, Ron DeSantis, Walt Disney's, Disney, DeSantis, flagrantly, John Classe, Dawn Chmielewski, Ken Li, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Walt Disney, REUTERS, Walt, Disney, DeSantis, Central, Central Florida Tourism, Florida Oversight, Reuters, American Express, Florida, Thomson Locations: Orlando , Florida, U.S, Florida, Reedy, Central Florida, New York

☆ George Santos Reveals One Truth: It’s Easy to Abuse Campaign Finance Laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Rebecca Davis O Brien | More About Rebecca Davis O Brien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Perhaps no federal officeholder in modern American history has been accused of ignoring, testing or breaking as many aspects of campaign finance law so flagrantly, in such a short span of time, as George Santos has. But his case, while sensational, illustrates the profound weaknesses of the system, and its potential for abuse. For years, campaign finance laws have eroded, while the watchdogs responsible for their oversight have been weakened by limited powers, underfunding and political stalemate. “He is an extreme example of something that is happening all the time in campaign finance,” said Saurav Ghosh, a former Federal Election Commission enforcement lawyer who is now the director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group. Mr. Santos, he suggested, was able to take advantage of “the overall under-regulation of money that is raised and spent on election influence.”

Persons: George Santos, Santos, ”, Saurav Ghosh Organizations: Commission

☆ Melissa Barrera speaks out after ‘Scream VII’ departure: ‘Silence is not an option’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Lisa France | Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A spokesperson for Spyglass, the company behind the “Scream” franchise, issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter about Barrerra’s departure. CNN has reached out to representatives for both Barrera and Spyglass for additional comment. On Wednesday, Barrera posted a statement on the Instagram stories portion of her account. “I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter in both 2022’s “Scream” and this year’s “Scream VI.”

Persons: CNN — Melissa Barrera, ”, “, Barrera, Spyglass, Sam Carpenter Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Spyglass, Hollywood, Wednesday Locations: Israel, Mexicana

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon and “Scream” star Melissa Barrera were each dropped by Hollywood companies after making comments on the Israel-Hamas war that some deemed antisemitic. Jenna Ortega, who played Barrera’s sister in the two previous “Scream” films, is reportedly not returning, Deadline reported Wednesday. A spokesperson for Ortega didn’t immediately respond to queries. Political Cartoons View All 1265 ImagesA spokesman for the United Talent Agency said Sarandon, the five-time Oscar nominee, is no longer represented by the agency. Israel and Hamas on Wednesday agreed to a four-day cease-fire in the war in Gaza.

Persons: — Oscar, Susan Sarandon, Melissa Barrera, ”, “, Spyglass, Barrera didn't, Jenna Ortega, Ortega, Ortega didn’t, Sarandon, Oscar, she's, Maha Dakhil, Israel, Dakhil Organizations: Hollywood, Spyglass Media Group, United Talent Agency, UTA, New York Post, The, Writers Guild of America, Creative Arts Agency, Hamas Locations: Israel, “, Gaza, New York, Palestine

☆ Chaos in House GOP intensifies with Scalise’s speakership bid in peril
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

GOP lawmakers did select Steve Scalise as their nominee for the job that is second in the line of presidential succession on Wednesday. The worsening debacle in the House follows the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week by eight Republicans voting with Democrats. But some GOP leaders are irritated that the jockeying is distracting from the imperative to find a speaker. He was still well short of the 217 votes – a majority of the current House – needed to claim the speakership on the floor. “He has no path to 217,” one top House Republican said on condition of anonymity.

Persons: Steve Scalise, Scalise, CNN’s Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona, Steve, ”, Jim Jordan, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Tom Emmer, Kevin Hern, Byron Donalds of, ” Scalise, –, grandstanding, Donald Trump, Michael McCaul, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, “, Xi, Putin, Matt Gaetz, – it’s, holdouts, Joe Biden, Marjorie Taylor Greene –, Trump, Jordan, Scalise –, ” Greene, Nancy Mace, David Duke, Mace, CNN’s Jake Tapper, Lauren Boebert, ” Boebert, …, Mike Lawler, Laura Blessing Organizations: CNN, The House Republican Party, Louisiana Republican, Republican, GOP, Ohio Republican, Texas, Foreign Affairs, Georgia, ” South Carolina Rep, Scalise, Ku Klux, ”, Republicans, New York Rep, Senate, Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute Locations: Wednesday’s, Washington, –, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Byron Donalds of Florida, Jordan, Israel, Florida, ”, Colorado

☆ Sex, Signal messages and sabotage: SBF's top execs and Bahamas roommates tell all in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

"Sam Bankman-Fried," he said. Wang said that in response to the reporting an emergency meeting was called between Bankman-Fried, Wang and Singh, to discuss shutting down Alameda. On Nov. 12, after FTX declared bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried asked Wang to drive with him to the Bahamas Securities Commission for a meeting. Yedidia said Bankman-Fried had told him, before he began working in the Bahamas in 2019, that he and Ellison had sex. Bankman-Fried asked Yedidia if it was a good idea for them to date, to which Yedidia said no.

Persons: Adam Yedidia, Sam Bankman, Jane Rosenberg, —, Gary Wang, Nicolas Roos, Wang, FTX, Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison, Mr, Roos, Ellison, Fried, Reuters Wang, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Singh, Yedidia, Bankman, Sam, Christian Everdell, he's, I'm, Matt Huang, Yuki Iwamura, Huang, Dawn Giel Organizations: Federal Court, Reuters, MIT, U.S, Alameda Research, District, Prosecutors, Bahamas Securities Commission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Google, Alameda, United, Paradigm, FTX, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: FTX, New York City, Bahamas, Manhattan, U.S, Alameda, Bahamian, New York, China, Minnesota, FTX's Hong Kong, Nassau, Bankman

☆ FTX co-founder admits he and Sam Bankman-Fried committed fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A key witness for prosecutors in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried testified that both he and Bankman-Fried committed multiple financial crimes related to their oversight of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried, told jurors — in compliance with an earlier plea deal — that he was guilty of wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud, and that he committed those crimes under the direction of Bankman-Fried. Alameda’s ‘unlimited’ slush fundUnlike regular customers of FTX — a platform for individual investors and institutions to trade crypto — Alameda was allowed to run a negative balance and make “unlimited withdrawals” from FTX customers, Wang said. In response, “Sam said something like, ‘We were bulletproof last year; we’re not bulletproof this year,’” Yedidia told the jury. The $8 billion represented the money that FTX customers would be owed if they decided to withdraw their deposits, Yedidia said.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Gary Wang, Wang, FTX, haven’t, Mark Cohen, Nicolas Roos, ” Wang, empaneled, ‘, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, SBF, “ Sam, ’ ” Yedidia, “, Sam, ” Yedidia, MIT undergrads, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Alameda Research, Prosecutors, MIT Locations: New York, Alameda, FTX

☆ Former FTX developer says he confronted an 'anxious' Sam Bankman-Fried on Bahamas paddleball court while trying to fix bug that led to $8 billion hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"The numbers seemed large to me," Yedidia testified Thursday in a federal court in downtown Manhattan. In a hut between paddleball courts, Yedidia expressed his concern to Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, who also controlled Alameda Research. AdvertisementAdvertisementA Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of crypto currency exchange FTX in a courtroom last year. AdvertisementAdvertisementFormer FTX developer Adam Yedidia leaves after testifying during the trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City. In the Bahamas, top employees and their significant others in both companies shared a $35 million penthouse apartment that Alameda Research paid for.

Persons: Fried, Adam Yedidia, —, Yedidia, FTX, Sam Bankman, Yadidia, Bankman, Jane Rosenberg, Reuters Yedidia, Caroline Ellison, Michael M, Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Singh, Sam, Caroline, I'm Organizations: Alameda Research, Alameda, Service, MIT, rockstar, Reuters, Bankman, Manhattan Federal, FTX, United Arab Locations: Bahamas, Alameda, Manhattan, FTX, Alameda FTX, Bankman, New York City, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

☆ Opinion | The U.S. Is Pulling Back From China. How Far Is Too Far?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Many Americans, even once-ardent proponents of globalization, have soured on trade with China. But there is a growing danger that as the United States tries to address its difficulties with China, it will pull back too far, severing economic ties that benefit American families and contribute to global peace and prosperity. Soybean farmers in the Upper Midwest sold a record $16.4 billion of their beans to China, mostly for pig feed. Hundreds of millions of Chinese have come out of poverty thanks to global trade, and have become consumers of U.S. goods and services. Amid the harsh talk, the dollar value of American trade with China — Americans buying Chinese products and the Chinese buying American products — rose to a record in 2022.

Persons: flagrantly, Ukraine —, Mike Gallagher, ”, Jon Mills, Alexandra Stevenson Organizations: United States, Wisconsin Republican, Strategic, Chinese Communist Party, The Washington Post, Intel, Cummins, China — Locations: China, United, United States, Ukraine, Washington, The, Upper Midwest, America, U.S, Indiana

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter files data-scraping lawsuit against unknown defendants
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's X Corp., the parent company of Twitter, filed a lawsuit against four unknown entities last week over data scraping on Twitter. Data scraping is when automated programs scour publicly accessible websites to collect data, which can later be used for a wide range of purposes, including training artificial intelligence large language models, targeting online advertisements and much more. The ruling reaffirmed the appeals court's decision, finding that scraping public data does not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. "Corp. has also limited access to Tweets for users who are not signed in to registered Twitter account." "By unlawfully scaping data, Defendants flagrantly ignore not only Corp.'s Terms of Service, but also the privacy preferences of Twitter users," the filing stated.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Elon, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: Twitter, Viva Technology, Porte de, Elon Musk's X Corp, X Corp, U.S, Ninth Circuit, LinkedIn, Corp, " Corp Locations: Paris, Texas, Dallas County , Texas, U.S

☆ Live updates: Russia aims to regulate Wagner as Ukraine claims battlefield gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks in this screengrab from a video released on June 24. The Western stakes in the Ukraine war rose significantly as a result. A mutinous weekend that saw mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin flagrantly mock the Kremlin before aborting his march on Moscow evoked Russia’s blood-soaked history of revolutions and coups. The Kremlin strongman seemed to blink at a military confrontation with Prigozhin’s Wagner Group fighters — in an act that might preserve his grip on power. There’s now no doubt that the war Putin unleashed to wipe Ukraine off the map poses an existential threat to his political survival.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin flagrantly, Prigozhin’s Wagner, —, Putin, There’s, Oz, Ukraine John Herbst, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “ Putin, Prigozhin’s, Moscow’s, Read Organizations: Concord, Reuters, White, Kremlin, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, Belarus, Russian

☆ Analysis: Vladimir Putin's humiliation will require the West to reexamine its balancing act to save Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —The world just got a hint of a tantalizing but possibly even more dangerous future without Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Western stakes in the Ukraine war rose significantly as a result. There’s now no doubt that the war Putin unleashed to wipe Ukraine off the map poses an existential threat to his political survival. This would be good news for the West, which has bankrolled and armed the country’s fight for its life. After this weekend, this new reality will require the West to once again examine its balancing act to save Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin flagrantly, Prigozhin’s Wagner, –, Putin, There’s, Oz, Ukraine John Herbst, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “ Putin, Prigozhin’s, Moscow’s, Prigozhin –, Africa –, Prigozhin, he’s, CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Biden, ”, David Petraeus, Petraeus, “, Ramzan Kadyrov, Wagner, Robert English, Alexei Navalny, Alexander Lukashenko, “ It’s, Antony Blinken, placated –, Blinken, Will Hurd, ” Hurd, Hurd –, Donald Trump –, Trump Organizations: CNN, White, Kremlin, NATO, Western, Russian Federation, Union, CIA, Internet Research Agency, School of International Relations, University of Southern, Belarusian, ”, Republican, GOP, Moscow Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, Belarus, Russian, Russia, Syria, Africa, France, Britain, Germany, Washington, “ State, University of Southern California, NATO, Crimea, Texas

☆ Opinion | I Won’t Let Donald Trump Invade My Brain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the decades, I’ve built up certain expectations about how the world works and how people behave. And yet I’ve found that Donald Trump has confounded me at every turn. I was shocked at how thuggishly Trump behaved in that first debate with Joe Biden in 2020. As the Jan. 6 committee hearings progressed, I was stunned to find out just how aggressively Trump had worked to overthrow the election. And yet I can’t quite feel ashamed of my perpetual naïveté toward Donald Trump.

Persons: I’ve, Donald Trump, thuggishly Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, flagrantly

☆ Paramount fires back at Warner Bros. Discovery in 'South Park' streaming lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Discovery in a lawsuit over the streaming rights for the comedic cartoon, and is seeking more than $50 million in unpaid fees. Warner alleged Paramount withheld specials and other related "South Park" content as its own fledgling streaming service, Paramount+, was lifting off. Discovery's argument that Paramount Global was required to deliver additional South Park content is baseless and wholly unsupported by the parties' agreement. Warner said in the earlier filing that during the bidding process for the streaming rights Paramount had allegedly asked if they could share the rights for Paramount+. The company added that Warner's HBO Max – which is being relaunched as Max – continues to feature the entire "South Park" library.

☆ U.S. CFPB's bid to curb late credit card fees faces strong opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Niket Nishant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Fitch identified Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), Capital One Financial (COF.N), Synchrony Financial (SYF.N) and Bread Financial Holdings (BFH.N) among those at risk. Credit card companies typically rely on late fees to act as a bulwark against spending volumes tapering off when the economic environment is tough. If the CFPB's rule is implemented in its current form, it could reduce those fees by as much as 75% annually, the agency said. Michael Taiano, senior analyst at Fitch Ratings, said card companies could potentially resort to legal action to delay enforcement of these rules. "They could also respond by introducing other fees, like statement charges, which would charge a customer every time they request a statement," Taiano said.

☆ DeSantis accuses congressional Republicans of 'flagrantly' ignoring voters on immigration, leading to Trump election: Book
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

DeSantis criticized congressional Republicans over the issue of immigration in his new book. Ron DeSantis reserves some of his most scathing criticism of congressional Republicans for how the party has handled the issue of immigration. The election was largely decided on the issue of immigration, with Brat accusing his opponent of being too soft on the issue. DeSantis has publicly criticized his own party on illegal immigration before, saying they were too much talk and not enough action. Hispanic voters in Florida went overwhelmingly for DeSantis during his reelection in November — by 14% — over Democratic challenger former Rep. Charlie Crist.

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