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☆ Mohammad Rasoulof: Iran sentences renowned director to 8 years in prison and flogging, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A court in Iran has sentenced acclaimed movie director Mohammad Rasoulof to eight years in prison and flogging for national security crimes, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The writer-director’s latest work, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is due to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France next week. According to Paknia, some also alleged they were asked by officials to tell Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival. “Once again, the judiciary’s verdict against Mohammad Rasoulof proved that the law is only a playground for stubbornness and revenge in the legal system contaminated by government jurisprudence,” it said. “Independent and freedom-loving cinematographers condemn the invalid judgment of the judiciary against Mohammad Rasoulof and stand by him and all the artists who make fun of government censorship.”

Persons: CNN —, Mohammad Rasoulof, Babak Paknia, Paknia, Rasoulof, ”, HRW, “ Organizations: CNN, Cannes, Cannes Film, Human Rights Watch, Association Locations: Iran, France, Cannes

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin to be sworn in for the fifth time ahead of government reshuffle; West boycotts inauguration
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) and Presidential Regiment's officers seen during an awards ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace on June 12, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. Vladimir Putin is set to be sworn in as Russia's president for the fifth time in his political career. Putin's allies heaped praise on the strongman leader ahead of the inauguration ceremony in the Kremlin on Tuesday, saying society is consolidated around the president, who first took office 24 years ago. The Russian government will resign after the ceremony and a reshuffle will take place in the next few days and weeks. Western nations are boycotting the ceremony in light of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, with the U.S. and U.K. among those refusing to send diplomats to the inauguration.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin's, — Organizations: Presidential, U.S Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Russian, Ukraine

☆ China’s booming electric vehicle companies eye U.S. competitors they see as ‘not ready’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Janis Mackey Frayer | Jennifer Jett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Despite lower price tags, Chinese EVs often have more powerful batteries and more advanced technology. The competition among hundreds of Chinese EV makers has spurred rapid innovation. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who made a surprise visit to Beijing last week, has said that without trade barriers Chinese EV makers would "demolish" their competitors. Chinese EVs tend to be smaller, cheaper and more accessible to the masses — BYD's Seagull, a small all-electric hatchback, starts at less than $10,000. It would take time to set up a sales and distribution network, Fields said, and Chinese EV makers could face a perception issue among American consumers.

Persons: They're, Stella Li, America's Tesla, Tesla, BYD, Mark Fields, Elon Musk, Musk, Fields, they've, Li, Biden, Musk's, That's Organizations: Alliance for American Manufacturing, U.S, BYD, NBC News, Western, Communist Party, Ford, International Energy Agency, Western automakers, United States, Lawmakers, World Trade Organization, European, Rhodium Group, EV, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Locations: China, EVs, U.S, BYD Americas, BYD, Shenzhen, United States, Beijing, Europe, United, Union, Chinese, Mexico, South Korea, Japan

☆ Warren Buffett says one question posed by AI has stumped economists for a century
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Michelle Castillo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Calling AI profound, Buffet said that the technology is like a "genie" — once it gets let out of the bottle, it could have disastrous effects. It's a question, he said, that has riddled the best economists for a century. Warren Buffett is the first to admit he doesn't know much about artificial intelligence. This rebound has led to questions from corporate executives about factors that could be at play, from AI to return-to-office mandates. "Every company is looking at AI and deciding where it will help them," he said during a recent interview on CNBC's "Money Movers."

Persons: Buffett, Buffet, Warren Buffett, it's, couldn't, John Maynard Keynes, Keynes, Gary Cohn, Cohn, Dev Ittycheria, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Robert Solow, Berkshire Hathaway Organizations: Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire, IBM, National Economic, CNBC, Nvidia, McKinsey, Harvard Business Locations: Omaha, Berkshire

☆ TikTok sues to block prospective US app ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

If it loses, TikTok could be banned from US app stores unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the app to a non-Chinese entity by mid-January 2025. But Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, an advocate for the TikTok legislation, said in remarks on the Senate floor in April that the briefings provided critical insight into the risk TikTok poses. US policymakers have described the law at issue as a forced divestiture of TikTok, not an outright app ban. Some US officials have been trying to ban TikTok from the United States since 2020, when former President Donald Trump moved to block the app by executive order. (Trump has since reversed his position, saying a TikTok ban would only help Meta, a company Trump blames for his 2020 election defeat.)

Persons: Washington CNN — TikTok, Joe Biden, TikTok, Bytedance, “, didn’t, Virginia Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, Warner, they’ve, They’ve, ”, Tuesday’s, ByteDance, TikTok’s, Berman, Evelyn Douek, Biden, Gautam Hans, Hans said, Jennifer Huddleston, Donald Trump, Trump, Douek, ” Douek Organizations: Washington CNN, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Justice Department, Oracle, Foreign Investment, Republican, Democrat, Virginia Democratic, Senate, Stanford University, Cornell University . Still, Apple, Google, Cato Institute, European Commission, Trump Locations: China, United States, TikTok, Israel, Ukraine, Montana, Canada, United Kingdom, India

☆ Biden faces widening partisan split over Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

CNN —President Joe Biden is facing more critical moments this week that will test his fraught relationship with his base over Israel’s war in Gaza and potentially widen the partisan split about the Jewish state that has been building for years. Against this backdrop, partisan polarization about Israel among American voters was already widening years before the brutal Hamas attack last October and the devastating Israeli response it triggered. An array of polls this spring show how the war in Gaza has hardened this partisan split. Nearly half of Democrats, but only a little over one-fifth of Republicans in the CBS poll, said the US should pressure Israel to stop the fighting. “Biden has a Democratic caucus that is putting a lot of faith in this process,” she said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Long, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “, ”, Aaron David Miller, Biden, Harry Truman, Lyndon B, Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, Reagan, George W, Donald Trump, Clinton, Barack Obama, Republicans —, Obama, Israel, Biden —, Gallup, Trump, That’s, Chuck Schumer, Mike Johnson, Biden’s, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Waleed Shahid, Shahid, David, it’s Goliath, David ”, Miller, “ Biden, ’ ”, Ben Rhodes, ” Biden, “ We’re, Saudi Arabia — “, Mark Mellman, Schumer, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Israel’s, Chris Murphy of, Chris Van Hollen, Chris Coons, Tim Kaine, Virginia, Van Hollen, Amanda Klasing, — Organizations: CNN, Israel, Republican, Democratic, Gallup Organization, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Holocaust Memorial, GOP, Whites, Republican Party, Republicans, Gallup, Trump, Chicago Council, Global Affairs, Quinnipiac University, CBS, Liberal, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, National Security Council, Amnesty International, Amnesty Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Iran, Quinnipiac, Washington, New York, Missouri, Yom Kippur, Saudi Arabia, Sens, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Rafah

CNN —Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he “cannot accept” Hamas’ demands to end the war in Gaza as the two sides traded blame amid fresh ceasefire talks that showed little sign of a breakthrough. But the latest comments from Israel and Hamas show how far apart the two remain. He said Hamas’s demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza was out of the question. Most recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held another round of high-stakes talks in Israel on Wednesday. Following the rocket barrage, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) blamed Hamas aid not reaching the besieged strip.

Persons: CNN —, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Ismail Haniyeh, Israel, Vahid, Haniyeh, ” Netanyahu, ”, Antony Blinken, Yoav Gallant, ” Galant, ” Gallant, COGAT Organizations: CNN, CNN — Israel’s, Sunday, US, Israeli, ”, Defense Ministry, IDF, Israel Defense Forces, Brigades Locations: Gaza, Cairo, Israel, Egypt, ”, The State, “ Israel, Rafah, Gazan, Kerem Shalom, Territories

☆ How previous investing mistakes are shaping my thinking on the latest stock gone wrong
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

Three times a day we would gather "off the desk," and I would have to defend every stock we owned. First, there's the obvious mistakes that we have made: Bausch Health and Foot Locker . To signify the changes, he renamed it Bausch Health in 2018, after the eye-care company Valeant bought for $8.7 billion five years earlier. We thought the IPO market would come back, and Bausch Health would win the lawsuit and all would be back on track. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Jeff Marks, Karen Cramer, Cramer, Karen, Max Palevsky, It's, Joseph Papa, Clint Eastwood, Papa, Jim Cramer, Valeant, Bausch, Locker, Mary Dillon, Dillon, Wall, Emerson, Cristiano Amon, Laxman Narasimhan, Howard Schultz, Narasimhan, Benckiser, Kevin Johnson, Schultz, Johnson, it's, —, Foot Locker, Jim Cramer's, Jim Organizations: Cramer &, Intel, Charitable Trust, Co, Starbucks, Bausch Health, Pharmaceuticals, Perrigo, Health, Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Former, Emerson Electric, Qualcomm, National, Eaton Corp, Broadcom, Palestine, PepsiCo, Nestle, Elliott Management, Emerson, CNBC, Getty Locations: China, —, Israel, U.S, BHC, FL, Jinan, East China's Shandong province

☆ Autos analysts pick who can survive China’s cut-throat EV market
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Investment analysts are coalescing around a few potential winners in China's car market after a 10-day auto show in Beijing put the ferocious competition on full display. "This year, we notice[d] a meaningful amount of foreign visitors who are Chinese brands' overseas dealers or importers," JPMorgan analysts said. Open to the public After two days of restricting access only to business and media, the Beijing auto show opened to the general public. Jefferies' analysts estimate the policy could boost China's passenger vehicle sales by 1 million units this year, evenly split between electric and gas-powered models. The analysts highlighted their Chinese car stock picks as Leapmotor, Geely and BYD, all rated buy and listed in Hong Kong.

Persons: Nick Lai, BYD, Tesla, hasn't, Elon Musk, Nezha, Asensing, Zhang Haizhou, Morgan, Lei Jun, Xiaomi, Jefferies, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Leapmotor, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Asia Pacific, JPMorgan, Porsche, Apple Vision, Brands, Mazda, Auto, Morgan Stanley Asia Pacific, EV, Bank of America, Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Volkswagen, VW, Toyota Locations: Beijing, China, Asia, Europe, Nio, Zhejiang, Hong Kong

☆ Inside Rep. Rob Menendez's fight to be more than a 'nepo baby'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

"I don't have the capacity to think through, well, what if, what if, what if," Menendez told me. Mayor Bhalla told me that he began contemplating his primary challenge shortly after the elder Menendez was first indicted in September. AdvertisementSitting in his recently opened campaign office, the mayor told me that the most important facet of his candidacy was his fight against New Jersey's party boss-driven political culture. "Everything here is a headline or a deadline driving the process," Councilman Paul Presinzano said of Mayor Bhalla. Menendez looks on as Bhalla's opening remarks at a Jersey City candidate forum are filmed by a cameraman.

Persons: Rob Menendez —, Sen, Bob Menendez —, Ravi Bhalla, Menendez, —, Rob Menendez, Bob Menendez, who's, that's, frat bro, I've, Stephen Chernin, he's, father's, Phil Murphy, Bhalla, Pete Buttigieg, outraise Menendez, Ted Shaffrey Bhalla, Menendez —, there's, They're, Andy Kim, Tammy Murphy, James Solomon, you've, hasn't, bossism, Anna Moneymaker, deriding, didn't, I'm, wasn't, we're, It's, Sam Bankman, rZ6H2IB4N0, — Rob Menendez, @RobMenendez4NJ, Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, Kim, Fisher, Paul Presinzano, Union City —, Donald Trump, Bryan Metzger, Rob's, Tammy Murphy's, He's, Cory Booker, Rob Menendez Bhalla, Steve Fulop —, corruptly Organizations: Hoboken, Service, Nike Air Force, Gov, Port Authority of New, New Jersey ., Sikh American, Congress, South, AP, New, Democratic Rep, First, Jersey City, Getty, Lipton Tea Company, House Transportation, Infrastructure, Union City, Homeland Security, Democratic, House Democratic, Facebook Locations: New Jersey, Manhattan, Jersey, Hoboken, Port Authority of New York, he's, Jersey City, Washington ,, Washington and NJ, Menendez's, Union City

For the first time in the history of the United States, billionaires had a lower effective tax rate than working-class Americans. Opinion Guest Essay Make Billionaires Pay (Their Taxes)Until recently, it was hard to know just how good the superrich are at avoiding taxes. Let’s agree that billionaires should pay income taxes equivalent to a small portion — say, 2 percent — of their wealth each year. Billionaires who already pay the baseline amount of income tax would have no extra tax to pay. The idea that billionaires should pay a minimum amount of income tax is not a radical idea.

Persons: Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman, we’ve, Demetrio Guzzardi, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Arnault’s, Arnault, Reagan, Critics, haven’t, Biden Organizations: Government, Social Security, European Economic Association, Institut des Politiques, Economic, Amazon, Elon, Twitter, Shepard, Getty, Trump, Internal, Abaca, New York, Facebook Locations: United States, Netherlands, States Netherlands Italy France, Italy, France, Tesla, LVMH, America, Europe, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, U.S, Brazil, South Africa, Spain

☆ Turkey halts trade with Israel over Gaza war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Turkey has halted all import and export transactions with Israel in protest over the war in Gaza. “All import and export transactions related to Israel, including all products, have been stopped,” Turkey’s trade ministry said in a statement Thursday. Thursday’s measures by Turkey follow the introduction last month of restrictions on its exports to Israel after the Turkish foreign minister accused Israel of denying a request to airdrop aid to Gaza. Turkey is one of the biggest donors of aid to Gaza, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 34,600 Palestinians as of May 1, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health.

Persons: “, ”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israel Katz, Katz, Israel, Turkey’s, Eyad Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hamas, territory’s Ministry of Health Locations: Turkey, Israel, Gaza, “ Turkey, “ Israel, Territories, Republic of Turkey, Gaziantep

☆ A mortgage advisor shares how to get the 3.5% down payment on an FHA loan fully covered — and the 3 best strategies real-estate investors can use to maximize leverage from government loans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This was achieved by allowing first-time buyers to purchase a home with a smaller down payment — as low as 3.5%. The program is still around, and it's often a great way for real-estate investors to get started. Advertisement3 ways to make the most of government loan programsWelgan also shared two strategies that real-estate investors can use to maximize the leverage offered through government loans. Buyers can now purchase up to a four-unit property with a down payment of as little as 5%. "That's been a game changer for real-estate investors," Welgan said.

Persons: —, Jeff Welgan, Fannie Mae, Buyers, Welgan, Fannie Mae's, That's, ADUs, Dave Meyer, Fannie, I've Organizations: Service, Act, Business, Federal National Mortgage Association, Mortgage, Urban Locations: Los Angeles County , California, Michigan, California

☆ Russia's economic survival hinges on prolonging the Ukraine war, think tank expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia needs to keep its war with Ukraine going or risk an economic hard landing, Elina Ribakova wrote for the Financial Times. The country's military industry has been a major driver of structural economic strength during the war. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . But while this may look good on paper, the country is actually at risk of a hard landing if war efforts cease, Elina Ribakova said. For decades," Ribakova wrote.

Persons: Elina Ribakova, Ribakova, —, Vladimir Putin, That's Organizations: Financial Times, Service, Financial, International Monetary Fund, Peterson Institute for International Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow

☆ The Fed could make a big change today. We’re not talking about interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy decision will likely be pretty boring for investors — officials are widely expected to keep interest rates the same, just as they have since July 2023. They think that the Fed may curtail its quantitative tightening (QT) program — that’s the selling off of its assets to decrease money supply and increase interest rates — by as much as half. Those purchases ended up pushing down interest rates in certain parts of the economy, like housing and auto sales. That led to a “repo crisis”, where the interest rates for overnight loans between banks spiked unusually high. That’s because a taper should send bond prices higher, and interest rates lower.

Persons: there’s, Jamie Dimon, Jerome Powell doesn’t, Krishna Guha, Marco Casiraghi, ”, Bill Adams, Biden, reclassify, General Merrick Garland, Xochitl Hinojosa, “, Nancy Mace, Earl Blumenauer, ” Read, Zhao, Allison Morrow, ” Binance Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Fed, JPMorgan Chase, Comerica Bank, Bank of America, CNN, US Department of Justice, Federal Register, Congress, Associated Press, Republican, CZ, Binance, Bloomberg Locations: New York, South Carolina, Oregon, Seattle

☆ Donald Trump explains his militaristic plan to deport 15-20 million people
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Trump repeated false claims that many migrants are former prisoners or have been institutionalized in their home countries. John Moore/Getty ImagesTrump promised mass deportation in 2016 tooWhile he did not employ an Eisenhower-like effort the first time he was president, Trump is bringing the pledge back. Trump told Time he would target between 15 million and 20 million people who he said are undocumented in the US. Pew Research Center estimated the number of undocumented migrants in the US was around 10.5 million in 2021. As of 2021, it estimated about 3% of the US population and about 22% of the foreign-born population were undocumented.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “, ”, ’, Eisenhower, John Moore, Getty Images Trump, Joe Biden, ” Trump, Stephen Miller, We’re Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Historians, Getty Images, Eisenhower, Trump, Pew Research Center, National Guard, Guard, The New York Times, Supreme Locations: reclassifying, Mexico, Rio, El Paso , Texas, China

☆ After Meta’s ‘year of efficiency,’ industry leaders root for year of innovation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Rachel Curry | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

With many companies maintaining the "efficiency" mindset, and hiring for tech jobs remaining low, according to the iCIMS Insights April 2024 Workforce Report, innovation is at risk. Madan says companies tend to act based on fear of missing out, but this behavior can stall technological innovation. This process can be messy, which is why experts say any conversation centered around efficiency must also include innovation. Digital transformation is a core pillar of business strategy for 84% of technology and business leaders, according to the TEKsystems report. On the innovation front, he added, "The best organizations are the ones that synthesize human input with AI collaboration."

Persons: It's, Mark Zuckerberg, Ricardo Madan, they've, Zuckerberg, Madan, Chris Duffey, Duffey, Duffy Organizations: Meta, IBM, Tech, Adobe, Google, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: Menlo Park, Meta, California, TEKsystems, U.S

☆ What the First Amendment Means for Campus Protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Alan Blinder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Follow our live coverage of the college protests at U.C.L.A. But many legal scholars, along with university lawyers and administrators, believe at least some of those free-speech assertions muddle, misstate, test or even flout the amendment, which is meant to guard against state suppression. Whose interpretation and principles prevail, whether in the courts or among the administrators in charge of meting out discipline, will do much to determine whether protesters face punishments for campus turmoil. The First Amendment doesn’t automatically apply at private schools. Public universities, as arms of government, must yield to the First Amendment and how the courts interpret its decree that there shall be no law “abridging the freedom of speech” or “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”

Persons: “, ” Organizations: Protesters, Public Locations: U.C.L.A

☆ Air Force preparing new charges against airman who leaked classified info on Discord
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US Air Force is preparing new charges within the military justice system against the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year to posting a trove of highly classified intelligence reports and other documents on social media, according to an Air Force spokesperson. But after “close coordination” with the Justice Department, the Air Force has“determined that separate and distinct charges” should be referred against Teixeira “for alleged misconduct related to his military duties,” the spokesperson said. The Air Force will hold a first hearing to review evidence on May 14 at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, the spokesperson said. Prosecutors alleged that while working at a Cape Cod airbase, Teixeira posted messages that included classified information in a Discord chat room called “Thug Shaker Central” before eventually posting photos of documents marked as classified. The documents, some of which were reviewed by CNN, included a wide range of highly classified information, such as blunt assessments on the state of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Teixeira “, Teixeira, “, ”, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz Organizations: CNN, US Air Force, Massachusetts Air National, Air Force, Prosecutors, Justice Department, Department of Justice, United States Air Force, Military, The Air Force, Hanscom Air Force Base Locations: Massachusetts, Russia, Ukraine, States

☆ Biden replaces Obama-era infrastructure protections to defend against Chinese cyberthreats
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Biden's new policy is largely a rewrite of the Obama administration's rule to safeguard U.S. critical infrastructure called the Presidential Policy Directive, or PPD-21, which was published in 2013. The effort to redraft that Obama-era infrastructure policy began over a year ago, in part to modernize it and keep up with hackers who have benefited from over a decade of technological advancement. The Biden administration has warned China not to help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, or else the U.S. would be ready to act with sanctions. "We're aware now of the serious Chinese threat to our critical infrastructure, specifically prepositioning to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis," a senior administration official said. "The presidential policy directive that was created in 2013 didn't mention anything about CISA's role because we weren't created yet," a senior administration official said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Obama, cyberattacks, Christopher Wray, congressmembers, Wray, Biden's, Biden Organizations: White, Washington , D.C, Directive, FBI, Taiwan, of Homeland Security, Infrastructure Security Agency Locations: Washington ,, China, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Taiwan

☆ Supreme Court Allows, for Now, Texas Law Restricting Access to Porn
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to block a Texas law that seeks to limit minors’ access to pornography on the internet by requiring age verification measures like the submission of government-issued IDs. A petition seeking review of an appeals court’s ruling upholding the law remains pending. A trade group, companies that produce sexual materials and a performer challenged the law, saying that it violates the First Amendment right of adults. The law does not allow companies to retain information their users submit. But the challengers said adults would be wary of supplying personal information for fear of identity theft, tracking and extortion.

Locations: Texas

☆ Haiti crisis: Transitional government names new council president, proposes interim prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Hira Humayun | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A transitional council responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leadership has named one of its members as council president and proposed a new interim prime minister amid efforts to control the gang violence in the Caribbean nation. The council, which is responsible for paving the way for elections and addressing the country’s deteriorating security situation, on Tuesday named Edgard Leblanc Fils as its president and proposed former sports minister Fritz Bélizaire as new interim prime minister. It is tasked with the responsibility of naming a new prime minister and cabinet. The country’s former prime minister, Ariel Henry, resigned last week as the council was sworn in and the former finance minister, Michael Patrick Boisvert, has been filling the role on a temporary basis. One of the gangs’ leaders, Vitel’homme Innocent, told CNN recently that if the gangs do not get a seat, they would try other means.

Persons: Haiti’s, Edgard Leblanc Fils, Fritz Bélizaire, Ariel Henry, Michael Patrick Boisvert, Vitel’homme Innocent Organizations: CNN, Caribbean, UN Locations: Caribbean, Haiti

☆ Middle East Crisis U.N. Court to Issue Decision on Arms Sales to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Marlise Simons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Members of Germany’s delegation during hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in early April. The judges are set to issue an interim decision in a case brought by Nicaragua against Germany. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel and second only to the United States in providing it with arms. Unlike Germany, which has given the court full jurisdiction, the United States has shielded itself and has to consent to a case. It has protected itself even further from the Genocide Convention, signing the convention but exempting itself from any obligations, such as intervening to stop a genocide or paying reparations if it were found to be complicit.

Persons: Israel, ” Israel Organizations: Germany’s, International Court of Justice, Court, Justice, United Nations ’, Hamas Locations: The Hague, Israel, Gaza, Nicaragua, Germany, Europe, United States, ”, South Africa, Geneva

☆ Goldman Environmental Prize: This saltwater lagoon is legally a person. Here’s why that could help it survive
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Mar Menor, Europe’s biggest saltwater lagoon, sits on the coast of southeastern Spain. Three years later, following an intense campaign, Mar Menor became the first ecosystem in Europe to be designated legal personhood rights. Today, Vicente was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize – an annual award given to six grassroots environmental leaders, each working in a different continent. Teresa Vicente, 61, has been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her successful campaign to grant Mar Menor legal personhood rights. “Right now, Mar Menor is in intensive care,” she says.

Persons: CNN —, Teresa Vicente, Mar Menor, Vicente, Jose Guerrero, “, ”, Jose Miguel Fernandez, Menor Organizations: CNN, University of Murcia, Goldman, Mar, Goldman Environmental, University of Reading’s Centre of Justice, AFP Locations: Spain, Europe, AFP, Murcia, Colombia, New, Whanganui, Spain’s

☆ Germany far-right trial: Nine accused of plotting to overthrow government go on trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Inke Kappeler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Nine suspected members of a German far-right group accused of plotting to overthrow the government and install a minor royal as leader went on trial at a high-security courtroom in Stuttgart on Monday. The plot to overthrow the government and install martial law was exposed in 2022. Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss is a descendant of the House of Reuss, the former ruling family of parts of eastern Germany. Two of the defendants are accused of violating the Weapons and War Weapons Control Act. “One of these two defendants is also accused of attempted murder, dangerous bodily harm, resisting and assaulting law enforcement officers,“ according to the court.

Persons: Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, —, Frank, Walter Steinmeier, of Reuss, “, General Organizations: CNN, Monday, Prosecutors, Bundestag —, Stuttgart Higher, Federal Public, Control Locations: Stuttgart, Germany, Frankfurt, Munich, German

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