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☆ White House counts jobs report as a win, though inflation path – and interest rate cuts – far from certain ahead of November
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Kayla Tausche | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Within the walls of the White House, it was seen the same way, stoking relief among officials, who said the data hewed near the team’s own targets for ideal job creation. In the wake of the latest jobs report, many market participants are now expecting the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in September, potentially easing a source of consternation for voters. Mark Zandi, an economist at Moody’s cited frequently by the White House, said certain psychological thresholds will remain important as the election approaches. In the meantime, White House officials continue to watch the data carefully and refrain from declaring victory until it bears out the trajectory the Biden administration wants to see. “The best measure of inflation is inflation,” the official told CNN.

Persons: Joe Biden, Ron Klain, “, Mark Zandi, Moody’s, ” Zandi, Biden “, ” Biden, Mandel Ngan, – Biden, Biden Organizations: CNN, Federal Reserve, White, Biden, Democratic, Reserve, Wilmington Convention, Getty Locations: Wilmington, Wilmington , North Carolina, AFP

☆ Republicans Call on NPR’s C.E.O. to Testify About Political Bias
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NPR declined to comment, but Ms. Maher may have a scheduling conflict. According to an agenda of NPR’s upcoming board of directors meeting, Ms. Maher is scheduled to convene with NPR’s board all day on May 8. Mr. Berliner’s essay has generated vociferous pushback from many employees at NPR, who say that many of his points were factually inaccurate. In one post, from 2018, Ms. Maher called Mr. Trump a “racist”; another from 2020 showed her wearing a hat with the logo of the Biden campaign. NPR has said that Ms. Maher, the former chief executive of Wikimedia, wasn’t working in news at the time she made the posts, and added that she was exercising her First Amendment right to free expression.

Persons: Maher, Uri Berliner, Berliner, Hunter, Tony Cavin, NPR’s, Robert S, Mueller III, hewed, Donald J, Trump, Biden Organizations: NPR, Trump, Wikimedia

☆ Judge Blocks Trump’s Lawyers From Naming Witnesses in Documents Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Alan Feuer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a 24-page ruling, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, told Mr. Trump’s lawyers to refer to the witnesses in their filing with a pseudonym or a categorical description — say, John Smith or F.B.I. The special counsel, Jack Smith, had expressed a deep concern over witness safety, an issue that has touched on several of Mr. Trump’s criminal cases. Judge Cannon’s decision, reversing her initial ruling on the matter, was noteworthy, if only for the way it hewed to standard practice. After making a series of unorthodox rulings and allowing the case to become bogged down by a logjam of unresolved legal issues, the judge has come under intense scrutiny. Each of her decisions has been studied closely by legal experts for any indication of how she plans to proceed with other matters.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Aileen M, Cannon, John Smith, Jack Smith, ”, Trump, “, Cannon’s Organizations: “ Trump

☆ Opinion | American Jews, Liberalism and Zionism
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “American Jews in the Age of Palestine,” by Peter Beinart (Opinion guest essay, March 24):There is a fundamental flaw in the article. Zionism does not require backing the Israeli government; it does assume backing for the State of Israel. It is a choice to support what many of us believe to be Jewish values, with the domination of the Palestinians being un-Jewish. Yes, there is a rupture between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Jewish diaspora, but that does not translate to a rupture with Israel, at least not yet. Since 1913, the ADL has hewed to a strictly nonpartisan strategy in calling out antisemitism — whether it emanates from the far left or the extreme right, or anywhere in between.

Persons: Peter Beinart, Benjamin Netanyahu, Steven Goldberg Brooklyn, ‘, ” Organizations: State, Defamation, “ Republicans, ADL Locations: Palestine, Israel

☆ Trump uses the slow legal system to his advantage. The Supreme Court is helping
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The justices’ intervention in the case, Trump v. United States, also marks another milestone in the fraught relationship between the court and the former president. And in fighting special counsel Jack Smith’s case, the Supreme Court has become an ally of sorts, despite the expedited schedule. That Supreme Court ruling was expected to come soon. First Trump trial is in less than a monthFor now it appears that Trump’s first criminal trial will be in New York on March 25. Posted Trump, “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”But that’s not today.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Jack Smith’s, hewed, ’ Trump, Smith, ”, Tanya Chutkan, Smith’s, Trump’s, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels Organizations: CNN, Trump, ., DC Circuit, Capitol, US, DC, Circuit, Appeals, Trump v ., “, Colorado Supreme, Manhattan, Attorney Locations: . United States, Washington ,, ‘, Trump v, Trump v . United States, Colorado, New York, Florida, Fort Pierce

In 1950, a young Black man traveled north from Washington to New York City. He was stunningly handsome and on the shorter side; his cheekbones sat high in a face hewed for the screen. Against all odds, the 19-year-old Louis Johnson had been accepted into the School of American Ballet; later on, he would describe himself as the “first Black Black” student there. Or as Thomas DeFrantz, a professor of African and African American studies, dance and theater, put it, the few Black students who had previously been enrolled at the School of American Ballet were “what we call fluorescent beige.”

Persons: cheekbones, Louis Johnson, Thomas DeFrantz Organizations: School of American Ballet, Black Locations: Washington, New York City

Manhattan prosecutors on Monday asked the judge overseeing the criminal case against Donald J. Trump to prohibit the former president from attacking witnesses or exposing jurors’ identities. The requests, made in filings by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, noted Mr. Trump’s “longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him.”In outlining a narrowly crafted gag order, the office hewed closely to the terms of a similar order upheld by a federal appeals court in Washington in another of Mr. Trump’s criminal cases. The gag order in the Manhattan case, if the judge approves it, would bar Mr. Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses concerning their role in the case. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, also asked that Mr. Trump be barred from commenting on prosecutors on the case — other than Mr. Bragg himself — as well as court staff members.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Alvin L, Bragg, — Organizations: Monday Locations: Manhattan, Washington

Haley, Trump's former U.N. ambassador and his last major rival in the GOP presidential race, has been condemning Trump's remarks for days about her husband Michael Haley, who is deployed in Africa with the National Guard. Biden has also excoriated Trump for his remarks about NATO, calling them “dangerous," “un-American,” and “shocking." Both Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, face widespread questions among voters about their age and readiness for a second term. They have something in common.”Though Haley has had more campaign appearances lately than Trump, she did not appear at any events Wednesday. “You’re a much better candidate for me than you were for yourself,” Trump told Scott.

Persons: Donald Trump, Russia “, they’re, we’re, Trump, Nikki Haley’s, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Biden, ” Trump, Haley, Trump's, Michael Haley, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, he's, excoriated Trump, ”, Nancy Pelosi, I’m, Nikki, Pelosi, didn't, Tricky Nikki, “, Don Bolduc, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Scott, Nalin, “ Sen, Judas, Jesus Christ Organizations: White, NATO, GOP, National Guard, U.S ., Trump, New Hampshire Senate, SFA Inc, South Carolina, U.S . Senate Locations: CHARLESTON, S.C, Russia, South Carolina, Africa, Ukraine, U.S, New Hampshire, Trump’s, South

☆ Test Yourself: Which Faces Were Made by A.I.?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Stuart A. Thompson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Test Yourself: Which Faces Were Made by A.I.? Research published across multiple studies found that faces of white people created by A.I. 90% got it wrong Real90% got it wrong A.I. 89% got it wrong Top photos identified as “A.I.” Real90% got it wrong Real86% got it wrong Real84% got it wrong A.I. The images in the study came from StyleGAN2, an image model trained on a public repository of photographs containing 69 percent white faces.

Persons: Taylor Swift, ”, Amy Dawel, Dawel Organizations: Australian National University, telltale Locations: ”, StyleGAN2

The Week in Cartoons Jan 8-12 View All 21 ImagesBut without that assurance from Trump’s lawyers, Engoron said he would not be allowed to speak. Yet on Thursday, Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise asked Engoron if Trump could have permission to address the court anyway. Engoron, turning to Trump, asked, “Do you promise to just comment on the facts and the law?” But Trump dove right in, without even responding to the judge’s question. “What’s happened here, sir, is a fraud on me. They want to make sure that I don't win again, and this is partially election interference.”“I know this is boring to you.”“You have your own agenda,” Trump sneered at Engoron, before the judge shut him down and at which point Trump turned and walked out of the courtroom.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, wasn’t, Judge Arthur Engoron, Engoron, Trump’s, Chris Kise, Trump, Letitia James, Kise, They're, I’ve, ”, James, “, ” Trump Organizations: Trump, New York Locations: Engoron

☆ The ‘Squid Game’ Reality Show’s Biggest Challenge: Faking Murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Jacob Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

More Netflix viewers watched dubbed versions of the South Korean drama “Squid Game” than subtitled versions. WSJ met one of the show’s English-language voice actors during its first season to see how dubbing foreign content is fueling the streaming giant’s growth. Photo Illustration: Sharon ShiWhen producers set out to adapt the megahit South Korean thriller “Squid Game” into a Netflix reality show, they hewed close to the sinister source material. So is the barbaric game of “red light, green light.” As are the ubiquitous masked guards and the pine-green tracksuits. Even the $4.56 million prize pot on “Squid Game: The Challenge,” which is said to be the biggest reality TV show prize in history, echoes the original’s 45.6 billion won.

Persons: Sharon Shi, M.C, Escher Organizations: Netflix

☆ The Genius Behind Hollywood’s Most Indelible Sets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Noah Gallagher Shannon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Bringing this moment of cultural collision back to life would represent as sweeping a challenge as Fisk had ever faced. The sets would represent a kind of culmination of Fisk’s careerlong obsession with reclaiming the rough contours of American history. On set, Malick refers to Fisk as “my eyes.”Fisk has a background in the fine arts, but he considers himself more strictly speaking a “worker” — the conduit of someone else’s vision. (Noirs of the 1940s are crosshatched with shadows partly to conceal threadbare sets.) In early Hollywood, most were painters, hired to illustrate literal backdrops on massive rolls of canvas hung behind the actors.

Persons: Fisk, Scorsese, derrick, Terrence Malick, Sissy Spacek —, Malick, ” Fisk, ”, unvarnished, David O, Selznick, William Cameron Menzies Organizations: Canadian Rockies Locations: Hollywood, French

☆ Supreme Court charts rightward path in new term
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

People line up in the rain outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington April 29, 2014. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose staunch conservatism rivals that of the Supreme Court. The justices this term could hear five or more appeals of 5th Circuit rulings. The cases test whether the Supreme Court will go as far as the 5th Circuit. "My instinct is that the Supreme Court will not go this far in most of these cases," Chemerinsky said.

Persons: Gary Cameron, Joe Biden's, Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump's, Erwin Chemerinsky, Chemerinsky, Roman Martinez, John Roberts, pare, Martinez, Steve Schwinn, Schwinn, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Rights, Financial Protection Bureau, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Democratic, New, Circuit, Republican, University of California Berkeley Law, Constitution, Congress, University of Illinois, Thomson Locations: Washington, New Orleans, U.S, University of Illinois Chicago, Texas, New York

☆ Guns, agency power cases loom as US Supreme Court charts rightward path
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

People line up in the rain outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington April 29, 2014. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose staunch conservatism rivals that of the Supreme Court. The cases test whether the Supreme Court will go as far as the 5th Circuit. "My instinct is that the Supreme Court will not go this far in most of these cases," Chemerinsky said. "I think the 5th Circuit has taken positions that the most conservative justices will accept, but I would be surprised to see a majority for these positions."

This will be the first time that substantive arguments will be made in court about the four criminal cases brought against Trump this year. While he may still face an uphill battle to move his case, Meadows is “uniquely situated” in Willis’ case, said Steve Vladeck, a CNN analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law. The orders the judge has already issued have hewed tightly to the relevant statutes and case law, and he has moved the proceedings along efficiently. According to the grand jury indictment, Meadows arranged a call between Trump and Watson, and texted Watson himself to offer Trump campaign funding toward speeding up a ballot review in Fulton County. Willis also subpoenaed two lawyers who were on the Trump-Raffensperger phone call on Trump’s behalf: Kurt Hilbert and Alex Kaufman.

Persons: Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, Fulton, Willis, Trump, Brad Raffensperger, Meadows, David Shafer, Cathy Latham, Willis ’, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, Steve Jones, Jones, absented, ”, Lee Kovarsky, ” Kovarsky, Obama, Vladeck, Frances Watson, Watson, texted Watson, Kurt Hilbert, Alex Kaufman, “, Elliot Williams, ’ Organizations: CNN, White, Trump, Georgia, Georgia Republican, University of Texas School of Law, Meadows, Staff, University of Texas, Justice Department Locations: Fulton County, Georgia, Meadows, Trump’s New York, Manhattan, Atlanta

If Mr. DeSantis ends up doing so, Mr. Christie said he had one piece of advice: “Get the hell out of the race.”In an interview this month during his surprise visit to Ukraine, Mr. Christie said he was not particularly bothered by the prospect of a debate without Mr. Trump. One, he’s afraid to be on the same debate stage and defend his record. And two, you know, this is a guy who, by not showing up, just gives me more time. Either way, I win.”Mr. Christie and his advisers see the debate as a forum built to the former governor’s strengths. He has been heavily focused on the debate, bringing it up in casual conversations with both advisers and political acquaintances as he takes the temperature of the race.

Persons: DeSantis, Christie, “, Trump, ”, he’s, ” Mr Locations: Ukraine, New Jersey

☆ $1.2 Million Homes in Vermont, New York and Ohio
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Angela Serratore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is a 10-minute drive from a public library, a farmers’ market and a diner in the center of town. Dartmouth College is less than half an hour away, in Hanover, N.H. Montpelier, the Vermont state capital, is about an hour’s drive. Driving to Boston, Albany, N.Y., or Hartford, Conn., takes about two and a half hours. New York City is about four and a half hours away. Size: 4,680 square feetPrice per square foot: $256Indoors: A long driveway runs from the street to the center of the property and the detached garage.

Organizations: Dartmouth, New Locations: Hartland, Vt, Quechee, Woodstock , Vt, Hanover, N.H, Montpelier, Vermont, Boston, Albany, N.Y, Hartford, Conn, New York City, Montreal, bookshelves

☆ Jack Smith’s Experience in The Hague and the Trump Investigations - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Gary J. Bass | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Although part of Kosovo’s legal system, the institution is headquartered in The Hague and staffed by international judges and personnel — which is how Mr. Smith, a U.S. citizen, wound up serving as its specialist prosecutor. It is always difficult and risky to prosecute national leaders with some popularity among their people. Even so, the Truman administration quietly undercut that pledge of unconditional surrender for Emperor Hirohito, fearing that the Japanese might fight on if he was prosecuted as a war criminal. The Truman administration left the emperor securely in the Imperial Palace while his prime ministers and generals were tried and convicted by an Allied international military tribunal in Tokyo. At an earlier point in his career, from 2008 to 2010, Mr. Smith worked as the investigation coordinator in the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court, the permanent international war crimes tribunal based in The Hague.

Persons: Smith hewed, Smith, Hashim Thaci, Trump, Thaci, Augusto Pinochet’s, Truman, Emperor Hirohito, John Bolton, ”, Mike Pompeo Organizations: United Nations, Kosovo, Chambers, White, Kosovo Liberation Army, Allied, Criminal Court Locations: Nuremberg, Tokyo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Serbia, The Hague, U.S, Kosovo, Chile, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Imperial, Afghanistan, Zambia

While recent inflation data was encouraging, he said, "one data point does not make a trend." Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics'STRANGE BUSINESS CYCLE'Until the Fed declares its inflation war at an end, however, economists and market analysts say risks to a benign outcome will remain. "At 3.5%, July won't be the last time the Fed hikes," Furman said in an interview. Ed Al-Hussainy, senior rates analyst at Columbia Threadneedle, meanwhile, is skeptical that the impact of rapid rate hikes has already been absorbed. "To say we have the same economy with real rates at negative 2% as we do at positive 2%, I don't buy it."

Persons: Jerome Powell, Christopher Waller, Waller, Thomas Barkin, Nick Bunker, Jason Furman, Obama, Furman, Ed Al, Columbia Threadneedle, Raphael Bostic, Austan Goolsbee, shouldn't, Goolsbee, Howard Schneider, Dan Burns, Paul Simao Organizations: Federal Reserve, Reuters Graphics, Richmond Fed, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Fed, Harvard University, White, Columbia, Atlanta Fed, Chicago Fed, CNBC, Thomson Locations: U.S

Art of Craft is a series about specialists whose work rises to the level of art. Are blacksmiths going extinct in America? Not according to Craig Kaviar, a prominent practitioner of the craft who is based in Louisville, Ky. If anything, he said, “there’s been a revival.”The industrial revolution rendered a lot of traditional blacksmith work — making hammers, nails, axes, shovels and more — obsolete. But blacksmiths like Mr. Kaviar, 69, have found success creating so-called “functional art.” Mr. Kaviar, for instance, is regionally known for making handrails forged with leaves and birds that have a rough-hewed, borderline macabre design evocative of the work of sculptors like Louise Bourgeois.

☆ Frank Ocean Shows Us a More Human Way to Perform
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Jenn Pelly | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Frank Ocean was constructing an ice-skating rink in the Sonoran desert. Nor did I really believe that I would be able to watch Ocean’s set — his first major public performance since 2017 — on an officially sanctioned livestream. Enigma has always been a tenet of Ocean’s public persona. We were all in it, waiting in the Frank Ocean IG Live, together. Fortunately, I soon found @Morgandoesntcare, a young musician from North Carolina who facilitated the guerrilla video stream that brought Ocean’s set to the masses, reaching 130,000 viewers.

☆ Did the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Gasp) Get It Right?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Dear listeners,I don’t have much reverence for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — a shadowy and arbitrary institution founded by record executives and music industry influencers who have historically hewed to a pretty narrow definition of rock ’n’ roll. However, this year’s inductees, which were announced earlier this week, represent one of the strongest classes in recent memory. “Rock ’n’ roll is not an instrument; rock ’n’ roll is not even a style of music,” he said. “Rock ’n’ roll is a spirit. Rock ’n’ roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life.”

☆ How ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ Defied Top 40 Logic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Lightfoot read the article. 2, one notch behind Mr. Lightfoot’s only No. Yet unlike songs that use a real-life story as the basis for embellishment, Mr. Lightfoot’s ballad hewed precisely to the real-life details. The weight of the ore, for example — “26,000 tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty” — was accurate. Decades later, Mr. Lightfoot changed the lyrics slightly after investigations into the accident revealed that waves, not crew error, had led to the shipwreck.

☆ New EU debt rules have way to avoid past mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

BRUSSELS, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union’s new set of fiscal rules need to answer two simple questions: will they help the bloc’s economy grow? The fiscal rules are at the crossroads of the EU’s monetary union and budgetary sovereignty. Past rounds of budget rules have carried the threat of top-level sanctions but the enforcers could not follow through. EU countries need to encourage scale-up financing and allow more cross-border cooperation. New rules need to put the future ahead of philosophy to have a chance to work.

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