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☆ Damaging hacks expose the weak underbelly of America’s health care system
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —A pair of recent ransomware attacks crippled computer systems at two major American health care firms, disrupting patient care and exposing fundamental weaknesses in the US health care system’s defenses against hackers. Health care lags other industries such as big financial institutions and energy providers when it comes to IT security, according to some experts. The two ransomware attacks hit different nerves of the health care system. Momentum is also growing on Capitol Hill to force health care organizations to meet basic cybersecurity standards. More broadly, the Justice Department last week announced a task force to examine “health care monopolies and collusion” that will guide the department’s approach to “civil and criminal enforcement in health care markets,” where warranted.

Persons: cybersecurity, ” Joshua Corman, Sen, Ron Wyden, ”, cybercriminals, Biden, Anne Neuberger, Mark Warner, ” Carter Groome, Corman, ‘, ” Sen, Marsha Blackburn, Andrew Organizations: Washington CNN, Biden, “ Industry, CNN, Oregon Democrat, ransomware, Change Healthcare, White House, American Hospital Association, Department of Health, Human Services, Virginia Democrat, Healthcare, cybersecurity, Health, Cavalry, UnitedHealth, Optum, Tennessee Republican, Justice Department, UnitedHealth Group, Wall Street, Department Locations: St, Louis, United States, Virginia, Tennessee

☆ Meet Mona Patel, the tech entrepreneur and philanthropist who stole the show at the Met Gala
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Samantha Grindell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewOn Monday night, the biggest fashion event of the year took place in New York City: the Met Gala . AdvertisementBut few made as many waves as Mona Patel, an entrepreneur who wore a custom Iris van Herpen gown to her first Met Gala. Mona Patel attends the 2024 Met Gala. Mona Patel turned heads at the 2024 Met GalaThanks to the dramatic ensemble she wore to make her Met Gala debut, Patel was among the most talked-about attendees of the event. Mona Patel at the 2024 Met Gala.

Persons: —, Mona Patel, Iris van Herpen, Patel, Sean Zanni, Vogue, Anna Wintour, Emma, John Shearer, Casey Curran, Mike Coppola, Chris Martin, Edgar Martin, Sidney Jamila, Roach — Zendaya's, Roach Organizations: Service, Metropolitan Museum, Art's Costume, Business, Rutgers University, Haute Mona, Forbes, LinkedIn, Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, MIT Sloan School of Management, CareFirst, Couture, Vogue India Locations: New York City, India, Florida, Mumbai

☆ Journalist sounds alarm on dangers of propaganda, calling it ‘one of the worst crises for American democracy this century’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“I think it is at the center of one of the worst crises for American democracy this century, certainly in recent decades,” Applebaum told me by phone Tuesday. “They don’t believe journalists. They don’t believe independent ombudsman. They don’t believe institutions or science. It is not possible to understand why Trump continues to hold a firm grip over the Republican Party without understanding the propaganda machine at his disposal.

Persons: CNN — Anne Applebaum, ”, Donald Trump, Applebaum, authoritarians —, ” Applebaum, Vladimir Putin’s, Vladimir Putin’s Russia “, Trump, Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Steve Bannon, “, it’s, Steve Bannon’s, that’s, David Muir, Lester Holt, Norah O’Donnell, Carlson, MAGA Organizations: CNN, Trump, Putin, Sputnik, MAGA Media, New York Times, Washington, Fox News, Republican Party Locations: U.S, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Ukraine

☆ These are JPMorgan's top stock picks for clients heading into May
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan spotlighted a fresh set of stocks, reflecting its analysts' top picks as May begins, including Caterpillar , Bank of America and TJX Companies . The firm's focus list includes its top equity ideas targeted around growth, income, value and short strategies. Nicholas Rosato, head of JPMorgan's North American Equity Research, said all the stocks on the list have an overweight rating. Here are some of the top picks: United Airlines shares are up about 25% in 2024, fueled largely by a strong second-quarter earnings forecast . No longer included in this month's focus list are CMS Energy and Prologis , both of which are still rated overweight by JPMorgan.

Persons: Nicholas Rosato, Morgan Stanley, Ravi Shanker, Jay Sole, Rosato Organizations: JPMorgan, Caterpillar, Bank of America, TJX Companies, North American Equity Research, United Airlines, Boeing, Investors, UBS, CMS Energy, Prologis, CMS Locations: Thursday's, Maxx

☆ Nike's high-cut body suit for Team USA highlights the weird differences between men's and women's Olympic outfits
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A Team USA bodysuit is reigniting a conversation about the design of women's athletic outfits. Following the reveal of the showy unitard, athletes quipped that they would definitely need a thorough wax to wear the women's piece. Jordana Katcher, Nike's vice president for global sports apparel, also told the Post that several women athletes had requested the unitard specifically. Black women athletes are often hyper-sexualized or painted as angry or evil. Women athletes in sports like gymnastics, volleyball, and track and field are sometimes expected to wear bikini bottoms or short leotards.

Persons: Lauren Fleshman, —, Tara Davis, Woodhall, Anna Cockrell, Stephanie Lecocq, Jordana, Queen Harrison, Claye —, Harrison, Claye, Marc Atkins, Fleshman, Naomi Osaka, Sha'Carri Richardson, Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Reese, Emmanuel Acho, Katie Moon, Voss, FABRICE COFFRINI, Organizations: Service, USA, Olympic, Washington Post, Reuters Nike, Nike, Business, Team USA, British, Getty, New York Times, BBC, International Handball Federation, Tokyo Locations: Washington, AFP, Norwegian

☆ How to nominate an up-and-coming analyst for Business Insider's rising stars of equity research
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Michelle Abrego | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Business Insider is seeking nominations for the top equity research analysts aged 35 and under. We want to hear from you about people who have stood out in the world of sell-side equity research. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementWe're looking to highlight the best up-and-comers in sell-side equity research — and we need your help to find them.

Persons: — Organizations: Service

The American plane maker has been under intense pressure since early January, when a panel blew off a brand-new Alaska Airlines 737 Max midflight. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesTHE CRASHESThe bulk of criticism and investigations swirling around Boeing today center on the company's Max jets. Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a Justice Department investigation, admitting that employees misled regulators about the safety of the 737 Max. Last year, Boeing reported a problem with fittings on Max jets where the fuselage meets the vertical section of the tail. Also under investigation is what prompted the emergency landing in Wichita, Kansas, of a Denver-bound United Airlines flight in December.

Persons: Max midflight, That's, Max, shakeups, David Calhoun, Calhoun, —, “ Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Airbus, Indonesia’s, Ethiopian Airlines, Department, MORE, FBI, FAA, Spirit, United Airlines Boeing, Max, Passengers, National Transportation Safety, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, NTSB Locations: Arlington , Virginia, Addis Ababa, Oregon, Wichita , Kansas, Newark , New Jersey, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, —

☆ James and Jennifer Crumbley were both found guilty. But they took different paths to get there
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Now, James Crumbley is on trial 06:15 - Source: CNNThe major difference in the trials was Jennifer Crumbley’s decision to testify in her own defense, while James Crumbley did not. On the stand, Jennifer Crumbley pushed blame onto her son, her husband and the school, and she expressed no regret for her actions. James Crumbley, meanwhile, declined to testify. Smith released a statement Thursday saying she and Jennifer Crumbley will not be doing interviews at this time. On the stand, Jennifer Crumbley testified she believed these texts were Ethan “messing around” as part of an ongoing joke about their house being haunted.

Persons: James Crumbley’s, Ethan, Jennifer, James, CNN’s Jean Casarez, Karen McDonald, “, ” McDonald, ”, James Crumbley, Jennifer Crumbley’s, Jennifer Crumbley, “ I’ve, Shannon Smith, Cheryl Matthews, “ That’s, ” James, Mariell Lehman, Smith, ” Smith, Lehman, can’t, Lol I’m, James ’, messaged, Ethan “, Edward Wagrowski, SIG Sauer, Derringer Organizations: CNN, Oxford High School, Sauer, SIG, WXYZ Locations: Michigan, Oakland County

☆ To get $9 million in pandemic aid, Lil Wayne pledged to operate a 'drug-free workplace.' The feds believed him.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Lil Wayne loves weed. But in 2021, Lil Wayne — whose real name Dwayne Carter — told the government that his touring company was a "drug-free" workplace. No one at the Small Business Administration appeared to question it, and the government cut a $8.9 million check to Lil Wayne's company Young Money Touring Inc. Representatives for Beach House didn't respond to a request for comment, nor did press contacts for Lil Wayne or Post Malone. The feds could claw the money backThe SBA told grant applicants that they could be sued or even prosecuted for lying.

Persons: Malone, Lil Wayne, —, Lil Wayne —, Dwayne Carter —, Lil Wayne's, Post Malone, Post, Joe Rogan's, they're, Carter, , Harold Pollack, Josh Schiller, Schiller, Dan Meyer, Andrew Preble, should've, Day Organizations: Service, Small Business Administration, Inc, Austin Post, Post, SBA, Touring Inc, University of Chicago, Elon, SpaceX, Beach House, NME, Beach Locations: people's, San Francisco, Angeles, New Orleans

☆ Sean Hannity and right-wing media claimed the ‘Biden crime family’ took millions in bribes. Their narrative just fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But MAGA Media personalities like Sean Hannity quickly shifted into hyperdrive last year when a supposedly “highly credible” FBI informant claimed to have smoking gun evidence of the conspiracy. The emergence of a confidential FBI informant coursed through right-wing media, where talking heads and outlets spotlighted the claims as damning evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Those actions were then celebrated in right-wing media. The charges dealt a blow to the narrative Fox News had championed on its air and Republicans had pressed in Congress. The stunning demise of the claim is just the latest in a larger pattern from Fox News and the broader right-wing media ecosystem in which it operates.

Persons: New York CNN — “, Biden, Joe Biden —, Hunter, MAGA, Sean Hannity, James Comer, Jim Jordan, Hannity, Comer, Alexander Smirnov, Harry Reid, David Weiss, Donald Trump, Smirnov, “, Joe Biden, Weiss, It’s Organizations: New York CNN, GOP, Fox News, incredulity, FBI, Media, Harry, Harry Reid International, Burisma, Fox, Republicans, “, MAGA Media Locations: New York, Ukrainian, hyperdrive, stoke, Las Vegas

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump 's unprecedented tangle of overlapping trials was on full display Thursday with simultaneous court hearings in New York and Georgia. Tuesday's hearings previewed what a general election campaign will look like as Trump flies back and forth from courtrooms and campaign rallies and blurs the lines between the two. JUGGLING ACTThe New York trial will last about six weeks, according to Merchan. Asked how he planned to balance the campaign trail with the trial, Trump told reporters he'll campaign in the evening. Throughout his campaign, Trump has kept a far lighter campaign schedule than most of his Republican rivals.

Persons: — Donald Trump, Trump, Fani Willis, Willis, you’re, Todd Blanche, Judge Juan Merchan, Blanche, Trump's, politicization, ” Blanche, Merchan, “ We’ll, that's, he's, Nikki Haley, E, Jean Carroll, “ Fani Willis ”, Wade, Nathan Wade, “, Ashleigh Merchant, Michael Roman, ” Wade, Olivia Perez, “ Nikki, ___ Gomez Licon, Michael R, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz, Kate Brumback Organizations: Trump, New, Republican, Twitter, THE, AS, GOP, Associated Press Locations: New York, Georgia, In Manhattan, Atlanta, Fulton County, Manhattan, Washington, South Carolina, York, ”, Florida, Texas, Miami, Sisak

☆ Germany Hits 2% NATO Target for First Time Since 1992, Reports Dpa
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The German government is allocating the equivalent of $73.41 billion for defence spending in the current year, dpa reported. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had this week stated that Germany would meet the NATO target, but the government has not divulged precise figures so far. NATO defence ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Thursday. A separate meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, hosted by the United States, takes place on Wednesday. Scholz's government has spotlighted its rising defence spending at an uncertain time for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Donald Trump, Boris Pistorius, Trump, Pistorius, Trump's, Alex Ratz, Matthias Williams, Miranda Murray, Ros Russell Organizations: BERLIN, NATO, dpa, Ukraine Defence Contact, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Former, WELT, German, America Locations: Germany, Ukraine, Brussels, United States

He served as mayor of Solo city, where he was born to a working-class family in illegally built shacks along a river, then became governor of the capital, Jakarta, before clinching his first presidential term. Widodo was the first Indonesian president to emerge outside the political and military elite. But critics say he thrived on political compromises, became beholden to political party supporters and accommodated ex-generals who served under the late authoritarian leader Suharto. Under Widodo, Indonesia saw a period of remarkable growth averaging 5% annually, except in 2020, when the economy contracted due to the coronavirus pandemic. His economic roadmap, called “Golden Indonesia 2045,” projects Indonesia becoming one of the world’s top five economies with GDP of up to $9 trillion, exactly a century after it won independence from Dutch colonizers.

Persons: Widodo —, Barack Obama —, Widodo, Suharto, Prabowo Subianto, ” Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo’s, —, Metallica, Subianto, we’ve, ”, Dwi Mustikarini, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Xi Jingping, Jim Gomez Organizations: White, Bloomberg Television, Associated Press Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Borneo, Southeast Asia, Solo, Jakarta, Surakarta, Central Java, Widodo's, New York, Widodo, Kyiv, Moscow, China

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Victoria Monét and Coco Jones brought smooth R&B and studied choreography, Noah Kahan and Gracie Abrams — friends up for the same Grammy — dueted their introspective folk, and Jelly Roll brought out Lainey Wilson. Ice Spice performed her new single from her forthcoming debut LP “Y2K.”Those artists — save for Wilson — make up the bulk of the 2024 Grammys ' best new artist nominees and were the headliners of Spotify's annual pre-Grammy party, held Thursday at Paramount Studios. While the lineup leaned heavy on those competing for the coveted best new artist Grammy Award, nominee Fred Again... did not perform. Noah Kahan emerged shortly after, like the most charismatic guy at your local open mic. “I'm Noah Kahan and we are Mumford and Sons,” he introduced his folky band — with the second banjo of the night.

Persons: Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Gracie Abrams, —, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Spice, Wilson —, Fred Again, Diplo, Ross Lynch, Michael Trotter Jr, Coco Jones —, “, ”, Victoria Monét —, “ I'm Noah Kahan, Mumford, — Abrams Organizations: ANGELES, Paramount Studios, Treaty, “ Locations: New York City

☆ Letting children play rugby amounts to child abuse, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Allowing children to play impact sports, such as rugby or boxing, amounts to a form of child abuse, researchers from three British universities said in a new study. “The child’s brain doesn’t know or care how it was traumatized,” study lead author Eric Anderson, Professor of Sport at the University of Winchester, told CNN. And so we need to stop parents from hitting children in the head as punishment. The study argues that children cannot consent to taking part in highly dangerous activities such as impact sports, nor can adults give informed consent on their behalf. “If we were to invent sports from the get-go today, we wouldn’t be inventing sports that had children hitting their brains,” Anderson said.

Persons: “, Eric Anderson, ” “ It’s, Gary Turner, ”, Keith Parry, ” Anderson Organizations: London CNN, Philosophy, of Sport Association, University of Winchester, Bournemouth University, Nottingham Trent University, Rugby Football Union, RFU, CNN, England Boxing, Sport, United Nations Convention, Department for Sport, Management, University of Bournemouth, soccer’s Football, Athletics, Grassroots Sport Locations: British, England

NEW YORK (AP) — Target says it will stop selling a product dedicated to Civil Rights icons after a now-viral TikTok spotlighted some significant errors. In a video posted earlier this week, Las Vegas high school teacher Tierra Espy displayed how three Civil Rights icons — Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. “These need to be pulled off the shelves immediately,” Espy, who uses the TikTok handle @issatete, says in her Tuesday video. But when she opened the product at home, she quickly found the egregious errors and shared them online. Espy added that she appreciated the support from fellow TikTok users who helped make sure the errors didn’t go unnoticed.

Persons: — Carter G, Woodson, W.E.B, DuBois, Booker T, Washington —, “, We’ve, ” Organizations: Las, U.S, Associated Press, Target, Google Locations: Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Ohio

The state’s illegal market had flourished for decades, anchored in the storied “Emerald Triangle” region in the northern end of the state. Dicus said in 2023 his department served 411 search warrants for illegal marijuana grow sites countywide and recovered $370 million. “The reality is that Proposition 64, in the fine print, took illicit marijuana and moved it from a felony to a misdemeanor. In 2020, seven people were fatally shot at an illegal marijuana growing operation in a rural town in neighboring Riverside County. “We've invited organized crime to come back into California and compete for an illicit market.”

Persons: ”, Jerred Kiloh, “, Kiloh, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus, Gavin Newsom, Dicus, we’ve, ” Dicus, Griffen Thorne, ” Kiloh, “ We've Organizations: ANGELES, United Cannabis Business Association, Authorities, El Mirage, San Bernardino County Sheriff, ” Democratic, Cannabis Locations: California, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, Riverside County

☆ Congress hasn’t been able to make social media safer. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This has been true since the early 2010s, when tech companies began realizing the benefits of influencing policymakers on issues including net neutrality and privacy. This week, Microsoft announced its support for the Kids Online Safety Act, a leading social media bill. Even when lawmakers can agree on what the problem is, they often disagree on how to solve it, creating a smorgasbord of half a dozen or more social media bills floating around Congress. That would be a huge down payment on a future social media law, said Balkam. But even that proposal is still subject to many of the same dynamics that make social media regulation hard.

Persons: Washington CNN —, ”, Danny Weiss, Ben Thompson, Adam Kovacevich, “ That’s, hasn’t, Republican stonewalling, Weiss, Kovacevich, ” Kovacevich, I’m, ” Weiss, Chuck Schumer, Mike Johnson, Schumer, Nancy Pelosi’s, “, Johnson didn’t, Evan Greer Organizations: Washington CNN, Big Tech, Tech, Sense, Microsoft, Kids, LinkedIn, of, Republican, CNN Locations: Washington, United States

☆ In Angola, a Former Cold War Rival, Blinken Touts U.S. Investments
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken wrapped up a four-nation tour through Africa on Thursday with a visit to Angola, an oil-rich former Cold War battleground that has become the site of a struggle for 21st-century economic influence. During his visit to the coastal capital, Luanda, Mr. Blinken spotlighted major American investments in Angola, including more than $900 million for solar energy projects and $250 million to upgrade a rail corridor that carries critical minerals, including cobalt and copper, from central Africa to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito. Those solar investments help to advance President Biden’s climate agenda while the transportation improvements further his goal of diversifying American supply chains — in part to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese control of the vital ingredients for a modern economy. Just over 20 years since the end of Angola’s civil war, which left perhaps as many as one million people dead, the country has rebuilt, modernized and developed friendly relations with Washington, which once funded rebels against a government backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken Organizations: Mr Locations: Africa, Angola, Luanda, Lobito, Washington, Soviet Union, Cuba

☆ These are the 30 best investments to make now as US stocks rally to record highs, according to bullish strategists at 3 large investment firms
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lerner noted that such occurrences are correlated with near-term pain as well as sizable forward returns. Another encouraging omen for US stocks is their successful track record in the second year of a bull market, as Belski noted last fall. Furthermore, since the financial crisis, Belski noted that stocks fell in the first month eight times but have ended the year in the green in six of those years. BMO Capital Markets30 investments to make during a rallyIn addition to sharing market commentary, strategists at BMO, Truist, and UBS outlined investment ideas as stocks enter uncharted territory. UBS spotlighted high-quality stocks with healthy balance sheets and sound earnings that drive profitability, especially since economic growth is slowing.

Persons: Solita Marcelli, Keith Lerner, Brian Belski, Lerner, Belski, who've Organizations: Business, BMO, Truist, UBS, BMO Capital Markets, BMO Capital, UBS spotlighted Locations: Swiss, Europe

Former President Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial turned Tuesday to one of the topics that has vexed him most — the value of his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. A Palm Beach luxury real estate broker played a glimmering video of the historic estate and testified that he'd value it at over $1 billion as of 2021. Political Cartoons View All 1277 ImagesMar-a-Lago also is a key element of the current New York civil case and Trump's vehement frustration with it. The attorney general, a Democrat, maintains that Trump should have valued Mar-a-Lago the same way the county does, based on its club income. “Anybody who buys it … would just step into the shoes of President Trump,” defense attorney Christopher Kise said.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Trump, “, Lawrence Moens, Jack Smith, Lago, Letitia James ’, Judge Arthur Engoron, Jeffrey McConney, James, John Shubin, ”, Shubin, Christopher Kise Organizations: Republican, Mar, Trump, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Trust, Democrat, Associated Press Locations: Lago, Palm Beach , Florida, Florida, New York, York, Beach, Miami, Palm Beach

☆ Thomas Randele makes deathbed confession: He was 1969 bank robber Ted Conrad
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

More than 50 years earlier, when he was 20 years old, he’d robbed an Ohio bank of $215,000. A day or so after her father’s shocking revelation, Ashley told CNN she pulled her mother Kathy aside and told her. Theodore "Ted" Conrad was an unassuming bank teller when he strolled out of an Ohio bank with more than $200,000. And I also wanted to learn about Ted Conrad, the bank robber, and Tom Randele, my dad,” she told CNN. Someone had sent his obituary to a crime reporter in Ohio with a note saying the deceased man was likely Conrad, Ashley Randele said.

Persons: CNN — Thomas Randele, he’d, Thomas Randele, Theodore Conrad, Ashley Randele, “ I’m, Ted Conrad, ’ ”, Thomas, “, ‘, they’re, Ashley, Kathy, ” Ashley Randele, Kathy Randele, ”, Steve McQueen, D.B, Cooper, Conrad, —, Theodore, Ted, Ross Anthony Willis, spotlighted, Thomas Crown, Pierce Brosnan, He’d, didn’t, ” Randele, Carl B, Ken Blaze, she’d, Tom Randele, Randele, Pete Elliott, Elliott, John Elliott, Robin Hood Organizations: CNN, National Bank, Fairfax Media, Stokes, Courthouse, Randele Locations: Boston, Ohio, ’, Lynnfield , Massachusetts, Cleveland, Pacific Northwest, Washington ,, Los Angeles, California, Hawaii , Texas, Oregon, Massachusetts, France, United States, Lynnfield

☆ US, European officials crack down on crypto service accused of laundering money for North Korean leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —The US Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned a cryptocurrency service accused of helping launder millions of dollars for the North Korean regime. The FBI and European law enforcement agencies have also seized the website of the crypto service, known as Sinbad, according to a notice that appeared on the website Wednesday. Analysts say North Korea has leaned heavily on mixers to move money amid greater scrutiny from law enforcement agencies from the US, South Korea and elsewhere. The North Korean regime has also used thousands of IT workers working overseas, sometimes posing as other foreign nationals, to quietly raise revenue, according to US officials and North Korea experts. “The laundering tactics of North Korean cyber criminals continued to evolve,” Nick Carlsen, who was an FBI intelligence analyst focused on North Korea until 2021, told CNN.

Persons: Joe Biden, Sinbad, Nick Carlsen, Carlsen, “, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, US Treasury Department, Wednesday, North, FBI, cyberattacks, White House, US, CNN, US Treasury, Treasury, TRM Locations: launder, Korea, South Korea, cryptocurrency, North Korea, North Korean, North Koreans, Korean, Koreans

☆ New Video Suggests Israeli-Russian Academic Kidnapped in Iraq Is Alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | More About Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Ms. Tsurkov was kidnapped in late March after having coffee in a Baghdad cafe. Ms. Tsurkov went to Iraq in January to do academic research. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations; Iraq deems Israel a hostile state and has banned all contact with it. In the video, Ms. Tsurkov, who speaks in Hebrew throughout, is shown alone, seated on a couch. At the end of the video, Ms. Tsurkov speaks directly to her family, pleading with them to help win her release.

Persons: Elizabeth Tsurkov, Tsurkov, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, “, ”, Netanyahu, Sara, Yair, Iraq “, ” Ms, Rina, Arkady, Emma, Avital, David, ” Falih Hassan Organizations: Princeton University, Al, Hezbollah —, Kataib Hezbollah, New York Times, ”, New Lines Institute, Strategy Locations: Iraqi, Israeli, Russian, Baghdad, Al Rabiaa, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, Syrian, United States

☆ MrBeast: American YouTuber builds 100 wells in Africa, attracting praise – and some criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —American YouTuber MrBeast’s latest video, in which he says he built 100 wells across Africa, has drawn a complex response online since it was published on Saturday. Some Kenyan activists and journalists said he has spotlighted the failures of the Kenyan government, while MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, anticipates that he will be “canceled” following the reaction. The new wells will provide clean drinking water for up to 500,000 people in Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, Donaldson said, while an accompanying fundraiser to support local water aid organizations had raised more than $300,000 by Monday morning. Donaldson is the most popular individual creator on YouTube, with more than 200 million subscribers. He has become known for his philanthropy, posting videos in which he sponsored 1,000 blind people’s cataract surgery and bought prosthetic limbs for 2,000 amputees.

Persons: MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, Boniface Mwangi, Ferdinand Omondi, ”, I’m, Francis Gaitho Organizations: CNN, Kenyan, ” CNN, YouTube Locations: Africa, Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Zimbabwe

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