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☆ Too busy for hush money? Trump debuts longshot 'multi-tasking' defense during testimony by longtime assistant Rhona Graff
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The now-retired assistant, Rhona Graff, told jurors that Trump was prone to "multi-tasking" and sometimes would be on the phone at the same time he signed checks. The testimony was elicited during Graff's cross-examination by Trump attorney Susan Necheles. Related storiesThe nine checks are the only records bearing Trump's signature out of 34 checks, invoices, and business-ledger records he allegedly falsified. After Trump signed each check, it would be FedExed back to the Trump Organization's Trump Tower headquarters, scanned into the company records, and then cut and mailed to Cohen. — respectful boss to me," Graff told jurors of working alongside Trump in the Trump Organization headquarters on the 25th-floor of Trump Tower.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Rhona Graff, Trump, Trump's, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Susan Necheles, Necheles, Graff, Susan Hoffinger, Juan Merchan, Cohen, Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Daniels, Karen McDougal, McDougal, Playboy Bunny Organizations: Service, Business, GOP, Manhattan, Trump, Court, Trump Organization, White, Prosecutors, Trump Tower Locations: New York, Trump

☆ A UPenn student started a YouTube channel. In weeks, her face was stolen on China's social media.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

That message included a link to a video on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform rapidly gaining steam in China. The student started her self-empowerment channel in November and has so far published eight videos and seven YouTube Shorts. The Xiaohongshu deepfakes of other YouTubers do the same. In a matter of about 10 minutes, BI found deepfake videos of at least five caucasian women on Xiaohongshu. But at least one Chinese deepfake version of Blakely has a different agenda to share on Xiaohongshu.

Persons: —, Olga Loiek, Loiek, Vladimir Putin, Loeik, Weibo, someone's, Lyu Siwei, it's, Haibing Lu, they've, Xiaohongshu, Natasha, she's, Annie, Sophia Elena, Katyusha, China, Lana Blakely, Blakely, Elizabeth Filips, Serbia, Filips, Lyu, Vincent Conitzer, Conitzer, Lu, Lyu who's, he's, Roy, Ari Lightman, she'll Organizations: Service, Business, Kremlin, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Media, University at Buffalo, Santa Clara University, University of Pennsylvania, BI, Russia, Institute for, Oxford University, Social, Carnegie Mellon University Locations: Munich, China, Moscow, Ukraine, Santa, China's Heilongjiang, Germany, Xiaohongshu, Russian, Russia, Stockholm, Xiaohongshu London, Pakistan

☆ A complete timeline of Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin's relationship
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Dakota Johnson, left at the LA premiere of "Madame Web" in February 2024. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP; Matt Jelonek/WireImageWhen asked about what makes musicians attractive, Johnson said, "I think it's talent. Johnson said that she loves watching Martin perform onstage. I'm watching my most favorite being do his most favorite thing." Johnson also spoke glowingly about being a stepmom to Martin's children, whom he shares with Paltrow.

Persons: Johnson, Dakota Johnson, Chris Martin, Jordan Strauss, Matt Jelonek, Martin, Paltrow, I'm Organizations: LA, Coldplay Locations: Perth, Australia

☆ Opinion | The Mystery of White Rural Rage
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Will technological progress lead to mass unemployment? People have been asking that question for two centuries, and the actual answer has always ended up being no. It’s a big part of what has happened to rural America. This process and its effects are laid out in devastating, terrifying and baffling detail in “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy,” a new book by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman. Technology is the main driver of rural decline, Schaller and Waldman argue.

Persons: ”, Tom Schaller, Paul Waldman, Schaller, Waldman Organizations: Democracy, Technology Locations: America

☆ Are Chelsea and Jimmy still together? The 'Love Is Blind' season 6 couple is messy AF
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the first six episodes of "Love Is Blind" season six. AdvertisementMuch of the drama in the first half of "Love Is Blind" season six revolves around a love quadrangle. But let's do some digging to see where Chelsea and Jimmy ended up after filming "Love Is Blind." Are Jimmy and Chelsea from 'Love Is Blind' still together after the show? The next three episodes of "Love Is Blind" season six will air on February 21.

Persons: Jimmy, Jessica, —, Jimmy Presnell, Chelsea Blackwell, Jessica Vestal, Trevor Sova, Jess, Trevor, Chelsea, Megan Fox, Amber Desiree, Smith, That's, glowingly, Trevor's bromance Organizations: Chelsea, Service Locations: Chelsea, Dominican Republic, New York City

☆ People are moving to Canada dreaming of a utopia with free healthcare and more tolerance. But the reality is Canada has its own set of problems.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Jordan Pandy | Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Two Americans who moved to Canada told Business Insider they did so to escape polarized and divisive politics, inadequate healthcare, and to feel safer in their communities. A lot of the characteristics Ouellet was looking for in New Zealand, he said, he found in British Columbia. Advertisement"In British Columbia, the regulations for being able to own a gun are extremely tight," he said. He added that there is still an opioid crisis in British Columbia, but it's not as striking as it is in Portland. Ouellet has no regrets about moving to British Columbia, but Canada's housing crisis sidelined his dreams of homeownership.

Persons: —, Rae Johnson, Johnson, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, wasn't, Joe Biden, Roe, Wade, Michael Niren, couldn't, Niren, United States —, Canada Chris Ouellet, Ouellet, hasn't, it's, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, Ministry of Health Locations: Canada, Los Angeles, California, United States, American, Portland , Oregon, Victoria, British Columbia, Wellington , New Zealand, New Zealand, Pacific Northwest, Portland, Chicago

☆ Trump ally Kari Lake to launch US Senate bid in Arizona
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Arizona Republican Kari Lake, a far-right ally of Donald Trump, on Tuesday is expected to announce her candidacy for her party's U.S. Senate nomination, in what could be a highly competitive three-way general election race in November 2024. Arizona is one of eight competitive seats Democrats will be defending in 2024 as they try to protect their narrow 51-49 Senate majority. Lake is closely aligned with Trump, who so far leads the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Arizona shares around 370 miles (600 km) of its border with Mexico and immigration is sure to be one of the main topics in the Senate race. "There is an invasion at the Arizona border RIGHT NOW.

Persons: Kari Lake, Evelyn Hockstein, Arizona Republican Kari Lake, Donald Trump, Kyrsten Sinema, Sinema, Representative Ruben Gallego, Katie Hobbs, Trump's, Trump, Ruben Gallego, Mark Lamb, Brian Wright, Richard Cowan, Scott Malone, Grant McCool Organizations: Conservative Political, Gaylord National Convention Center, REUTERS, Rights, Arizona Republican, Senate, Democratic, Democratic U.S, Representative, Iraq, Fox, Republican, Thomson Locations: Arizona, National Harbor , Maryland, U.S, . Arizona, Scottsdale . Lake, Phoenix, Mexico, Pinal County, Tucson

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — If you listen to the African leaders addressing the U.N. General Assembly this year, the message is emphatic and unanimous: The continent is done being a victim of a post-World War II order. It is a global power in itself and must be partnered with — not sidelined. There’s also a new boldness that comes with the African Union’s G20 seat. With the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations, it is understandable that African leaders increasingly demand a bigger voice in multilateral institutions, said Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group. As African leaders spoke glowingly about the continent as a force on the global stage, some at home said the leaders must begin by delivering the dividends of democracy to their people.

Persons: —, There’s, William Ruto, Nana Akufo, Addo, Africa’s, Cyril Ramaphosa of, ”, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Murithi Mutiga, Rashid Abdi, Horn of, ” Abdi, Felix, Antoine Tshisekedi, Filipe Nyusi, Nyusi, Ibrahim Mayaki, Mayaki, Grace Agbu, Mamadi Doumbouya Organizations: General Assembly, Kenyan, United Nations, Crisis, African Development Bank, Gulf, Slave Trade, SEAT, Economic Cooperation, Development, Democratic, Africa Center, ” Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Horn of Africa, Nairobi, Europe, United States, Paris, Democratic Republic of, Congo, New York, Nigeria’s, Abuja, “, ”

☆ Biden’s Fight With Harvard Is a Political Winner and Policy ‘Band-Aid’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | More About Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

People involved in the campaign to make higher education more equitable and accessible described the question of legacy admissions as limited to a few applicants to elite universities. At less competitive schools, often state universities, legacy students are recruited and celebrated. is in my blood.”Liz King, the senior program director for education at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said the Education Department’s civil rights office had been obligated to begin an inquiry about Harvard’s legacy admissions process after receiving a complaint about it. She said she hoped the Biden administration would not limit its higher education investigation to legacy admissions, but instead look broadly at a system she described as discriminatory for students and applicants of color. “What we need is equal access in higher education.”

Persons: ”, ” Liz King, Biden, King Organizations: Harvard, University of Delaware, ”, Leadership Conference, Civil, Human, Education, Wesleyan University

☆ Buddhist Art From India: Where the Natural Meets the Supernatural
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Holland Cotter | More About Holland Cotter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Several free-standing Indian figures turn the show’s final gallery, teasingly titled “The Buddha Revealed,” into a kind of chapel. And it is visually clear that a page has turned, both in the exhibition’s narrative, and in the history of Buddhism itself. By the time the latest of these single-figure icons was made in the late fifth to sixth century C.E., the map of Buddhism was changing. If you didn’t know of this fate it would be hard to guess it from the glowingly vital, all but palpitating early Indian Buddhist art in the Met show. Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 B.C.E.

Organizations: Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, ., Islam, New, Art

☆ Their Crypto Company Collapsed. They Went to Bali.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( David Yaffe-Bellany | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Zhu said he was tuning out the criticism. “At least these people like me.”This month, Open Exchange unveiled its own cryptocurrency, called OX, like the animal. “Nothing compares to the energy of a startup.”Privately, Mr. Davies has been encouraging Three Arrows’ creditors to trade their bankruptcy claims on Open Exchange. By the end of the meal, Mr. Davies was rattling off business ideas. For a while, he and Mr. Zhu considered making a film about Do Kwon and the collapse of Luna.

Persons: Zhu, John F, Kennedy, “, ”, “ I’m, ” Mr, Davies, Privately, Els Pescadors, Kwon Organizations: Twitter, “, Exchange, Arrows, Open, Sundance Locations: Singapore, Barcelona, Dubai

Notably, Trump refused to plant a flag in the sand on a potential federal abortion ban. Trump is vague on federal abortion banTrump repeatedly ducked questions about whether he would sign into law a federal abortion ban, as well as after how many weeks into a pregnancy abortion should be made illegal. He touted the Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade’s federal abortion rights as “such a great victory” – and one made possible by his appointment of three conservative justices. But Trump also recognized splits within the GOP over whether to impose a federal abortion ban, and what the conditions of such a ban should be. “We now have a great negotiating ability, and I think we’re going to be able to get something done,” Trump said.

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - Burger King is banking on its viral "Whopper Whopper" jingle to lift sales as part of the flagging fast-food chain's turnaround plan, as broader economic uncertainty pushed two big franchisees into bankruptcy. "I'm optimistic about the trajectory of sales in 2023," said U.S. and Canada Burger King president Tom Curtis in an interview, adding that the jingle's fervent success was "unanticipated." Unlike other fast-food chains like Subway that are consolidating restaurant ownership among fewer franchisees, Burger King is expanding the number of owners in its system. This year, two large U.S. Burger King franchisees that run more than 200 locations across at least 10 states have filed for bankruptcy, citing poor sales atop surging costs for labor and goods. "We don't want to diminish the importance of this crisis, but we also will leverage it to bring in new operators," Curtis said.

☆ Michael Cohen and the Manhattan DA's Trump probe: It's complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

There are no security guards or obscuring metal gates when Cohen arrives for his weekly Trump probe sit-downs — just a dozen or so news cameras. "No," Cohen told The Daily Beast last April. By Bragg's sixth week on the job, the new DA, who'd never even met Cohen, told Pomerantz he "could not see a world" in which Cohen could be called as a DA witness. "Alvin Bragg is operating at Alvin Bragg's pace," Cohen told MSNBC on another appearance, after that 16th meeting. "The district attorney, and the team, I find them to be incredibly, incredibly competent and decent people," Cohen told Insider.

☆ Herschel Walker didn't call Raphael Warnock to concede the Georgia Senate race, leaving the task to a staffer: AJC
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Herschel Walker didn't personally call Raphael Warnock to concede the Georgia Senate race, per the AJC. Warnock defeated Walker in the runoff election, giving Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate. With nearly all votes in statewide, Warnock leads Walker 51.4%-48.6%. In the November general election, Warnock led Walker 49.4%-48.5%, but because no candidate reached the 50% threshold, a December runoff election was triggered, which gave the candidates four additional weeks to campaign across the state. I want you to believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and believe in our elected officials.

☆ Bono Is Still Trying to Figure Out U2 and Himself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +28 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk Bono Is Still Trying to Figure Out U2 and HimselfThere are different Bonos to different people, including the man himself. You say, “But you’re U2 — you don’t need that.” What’s interesting is that we want that. But I also wrote the book to try to figure out what was going on with U2. They sound like U2 songs. Do they sound like U2 songs?

☆ I’ve been following a woman around the internet. Turns out she was created by artificial intelligence.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Evan Ratliff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Even in their first efforts, the GAN images were quickly on par with those made by any other, less intelligent software. You can find the results on the Generated Photos site, where you can filter by ethnicity, age, sex, eye color, and other attributes. Generated Photos' GANs tend to match conventional beauty standards, a product of the models that have been fed to the software. I'm not sure anyone would be surprised to find fake images accompanying testimonials on an Estonian bitcoin exchange or an online CBD seller. Are they real people deploying fake images, or fake people deploying fake images?

☆ Obama says conservative media 'has a lock' on molding GOP candidates: 'People will vote for DeSantis even if I'm not sure that they would really have a great time' with him
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former President Obama recently compared a big difference in how the two parties vet candidates. While on "Pod Save America," Obama said DeSantis can win votes via a conservative media ecosystem. Obama spoke of John Fetterman's relatability, while opining that DeSantis' demeanor was dissimilar. "Those qualities don't seem to always apply to successful Republican candidates," Obama told hosts Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor, all former Obama staffers. The dominant narratives there are so powerful that people will vote for DeSantis even if I'm not sure that they would really have a great time."

☆ Amazon's head of sports video is riding the success of 'Thursday Night Football' and setting her sights on deals with the NBA, college sports, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon's VP of global sports video spoke Wednesday on "The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast." The exec described how "Thursday Night Football" is attracting a younger demographic to the NFL. She also said Amazon is targeting deals with more "marquee sports partners," like the NBA. Amazon VP of global sports video Marie Donoghue. She mentioned interest in college sports and the NBA, whose current rights deals with Disney and TNT expire after the 2024-25 season.

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