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☆ Saudi women’s rights activist sentenced to 11 years in jail, rights groups say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Radina Gigova | Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Human rights groups are calling for the release of a Saudi woman, who they say has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women’s rights and for the way she dressed. Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, was sentenced during a “secret hearing” before the kingdom’s Specialized Criminal Court on January 9, 2024, Amnesty International and the London-based Saudi rights organization ALQST said in a joint statement Tuesday. Saudi Arabia’s authorities “must immediately and unconditionally” release Manahel al-Otaibi, as the decision to imprison her “directly contradicts the authorities’ narrative of reform and women’s empowerment,” Amnesty and ALQST said. “Manahel’s conviction and 11-year sentence is an appalling and cruel injustice,” said Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Saudi Arabia. Al-Otaibi’s sentencing comes “amid an intensified crackdown on free speech in Saudi Arabia, including online expression,” the groups said.

Persons: Manahel, ”, ALQST, Otaibi “, Al, Fawzia, “, Bissan Fakih, Otaibi, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Organizations: CNN, Amnesty International, Saudi, United Nations, UN, Amnesty, Human Rights Locations: Saudi, London, Geneva, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

☆ Opinion: Melania’s complicated ‘stand by your man’ routine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Opinion Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The days of women standing up next to their philandering husbands should be well in the rear view. Melania’s decision to stay married to Donald despite very public evidence of an affair is her choice to make. (Her decision to stay married to a man who very publicly cheated on his first wife, is virulently misogynistic and has stoked hatred of immigrants tells us something else about her character.) Former First Lady Melania Trump stands alongside her husband, former President Donald Trump at a fundraising event in Palm Beach, Florida on April 6, 2024. Would Donald stay married to Melania if she faced multiple very public affair accusations?

Persons: Jill Filipovic, Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, Melania, Barron, Trump, Karen McDougal, Daniels, McDougal, Donald, Lady Melania Trump, Alon Skuy, Bill Clinton, Idaho Sen, Larry Craig, Craig, Eliot Spitzer, Silda Wall Spitzer, stoically, Abedin, Anthony Weiner, Former Louisiana Sen, David Vitter, Wendy, presser, ” premised, –, Chip Somodevilla, She’s Organizations: Twitter, CNN, Republican, Former New York Gov, York, Former Louisiana, Rochester Opera House Locations: New York, Manhattan, Palm Beach , Florida, Idaho, Paris, Rochester , New Hampshire

☆ How Big Tech Companies Sabotage New Startups — From the Inside
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

They don't replace the tech giants — they just get bought by the tech giants. A new paper by two leading scholars suggests that these days, Big Tech doesn't have to resort to buyouts to crush aspiring startups. At this point, Big Tech looks at promising startups the way evil alien empires in science fiction look at helpless planets. The data that Big Tech shares — or doesn't share — can play an instrumental role in shaping a startup's work. Finally, the big companies use their clout on Capitol Hill in an effort to impose stricter regulations on the startups they're ostensibly trying to help.

Persons: that's, That's, Joe Biden, Mark Lemley, Matt Wansley, they're, Wansley, Who, Lemley, Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, Barbara Ortutay, Florian Ederer, Elon Musk, OpenAI, Marc Andreessen, watchdogs, Ederer, Anthropic, Adam Rogers Organizations: Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Big Tech, Stanford University, Cardozo School of Law, Google, Facebook, Star, Yale, London Business School, Tech, Boston University, titans, IBM, Dells, Business Locations: Silicon Valley, —

☆ How corporate PAC money could end up in the personal coffers of Sens. JD Vance and Markwayne Mullin
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

At the same time, they've been taking tens of thousands of dollars in corporate PAC money — some of which may be ending up directly in the senators' bank accounts. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Between the 2022 election and the end of 2023, Vance has used $78,000 in corporate PAC contributions to repay campaign debts, while Mullin has done the same with $45,000 in corporate cash. Mullin did the same with 19 corporate PACs, including ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobile, and GlaxoSmithKline. He also promised not to take corporate PAC money during the GOP primary, only to reserve that pledge during the general election against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who did accept corporate PAC money.

Persons: —, JD Vance, Markwayne Mullin, they've, Vance, Mullin, Sen, Ted Cruz, Elena Kagan, Cruz, Jordan Libowitz, Republican Sen, Ron Johnson of, Ron Johnson, Shawn Thew, who's, Tim Ryan, didn't, Vance's, Saurav Ghosh, Ghosh Organizations: Service, Sens, Indiana, Business, Texas Republican, Finance, FEC, Citizen, Washington, Capitol, Republican, Getty, Pro, Comcast, Intel, General Motors, Walmart —, ConocoPhillips, GlaxoSmithKline, GOP, Democratic Rep Locations: Ohio, Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, AFP, Oklahoma, The Ohio, ExxonMobile

☆ NBC’s Ronna McDaniel Hire Wasn’t Politics, or TV, as Usual
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( James Poniewozik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the past week the best drama on NBC — apologies to Dick Wolf — has been in the news department. On Friday, NBC News announced that it was hiring Ronna McDaniel, the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, as a political analyst. By Sunday morning, Kristen Welker was grilling Ms. McDaniel on “Meet the Press,” after which the former host Chuck Todd told his successor on-air that their bosses “owe you an apology.” By Monday morning, the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” condemned the hire. This kind of full-on, on-air revolt was something else — because Ms. McDaniel’s hiring was something else. The fiasco at NBC was in part a sign of how media outlets are struggling to cover politics in unusual times.

Persons: Dick Wolf —, Ronna McDaniel, Kristen Welker, McDaniel, Chuck Todd, “, ”, Joe ”, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Organizations: NBC, NBC News, Republican National Committee, “, Press Locations: MSNBC’s

☆ Runaway government debt could sink markets and slam the economy, 2 watchdogs warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US government's ballooning interest payments are eating a hole in its budget, they said. "We are headed toward record spending levels, record deficit levels, record debt levels, record interest payments — the list goes and on," Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told Fox Business this week. While the US isn't at imminent risk of that kind of chaos, bond markets could "snap back" if the government's interest payments soar to $1 trillion in 2026 as expected, Swagel said. AdvertisementHowever, she noted that some experts on Wall Street were "incredibly worried" about the national debt and interest payments. DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach has also sounded the alarm on debt payments.

Persons: —, MacGuineas, Philip Swagel, Liz Truss, Swagel, bitcoin, Jim Rogers, George Soros, He's, Jeffrey Gundlach Organizations: Investors, Service, Federal Budget, Fox Business, Congressional, Office, Financial Times, Bank of, CBO, Wall, DoubleLine

☆ Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled his deal with X after ‘tense’ interview
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Don Lemon’s partnership with Elon Musk went down in flames Wednesday, hours after the former CNN anchor conducted an interview with the erratic billionaire for the debut episode of his new independent web-based show. But a spokesperson for Lemon told CNN that the media personality expects Musk to honor the financial terms of the agreement. “Don has a deal with X and expects to be paid for it,” the spokesperson said. “If we have to go to court we will.”Musk has claimed to believe in free speech absolutism, but he has repeatedly taken steps to limit the speech of critics. And I own this one as well.”This story has been updated with a statement posted by X.

Persons: Don Lemon’s, Elon Musk, “ Elon, ” Lemon, Musk, Don Lemon, ”, Lemon, X, “ Don, ” Musk, “, Nikki Haley Organizations: New, New York CNN, Elon, CNN, X, watchdogs, GOP Locations: New York

☆ Iran announces record low election turnout despite calls on voters to participate
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It is unclear if the announced 41% turnout will sink further in the coming days, with some candidates in the parliamentary election going to a runoff. Iran’s last parliamentary election in 2020 saw a turnout of 42.57%, and its last presidential election in 2021 had a turnout of 48.8% – both were the lowest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Some 15,000 candidates competed last week for the 290-seat parliamentary election, and 144 ran for the 88 seats of the Assembly of Experts. Some 25 million people cast their ballots out of Iran's 61 million eligible voters. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and former Revolutionary Guards air force commander, seemed to lose some votes, coming fourth in this year’s election after his popularity peaked in the 2020 parliamentary election.

Persons: IRNA, ”, Alex Vatanka, Mahsa, Iran’s, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Beris, Mohammad Khatami, Azar Mansouri, “, Khatami, Khamenei, ” Vatanka, watchdogs, –, Hassan Rouhani, Atta Kenare, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Ghalibaf’s, ” Sanam Vakil, Vakil, ” Vakil Organizations: CNN, Middle East Institute, “, Saturday, Experts, Getty, Iran’s Guardian, Revolutionary Guards, North Africa, Chatham House Locations: Iran, Washington , DC, Fars, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Tehran, AFP, East, London

☆ ‘A show and propaganda:’ Iran braces for low-turnout election amid silenced dissent, tumbling economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“No, I will not vote,” a 23-year-old Iranian woman told CNN from Tehran. Authorities are nonetheless eager to bring people to the polls, trying to inspire a sense of duty and resistance among Iranians amid Israel’s war in Gaza. Pedestrians pass by a poster featuring Ayatollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic (right) and Ayatollah Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader (left) on February 24 in Tehran, Iran. Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty ImagesOther officials have directly cited the Gaza war to rally voters ahead of the polling day. An election poster for a female parliamentary candidate apparently plays on the 'Woman-Life-Freedom' protest slogan, replacing it with 'Woman-Wisdom-Greatness' in Isfahan, Iran on February 24.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mahsa, “, ”, Khamenei, ” Khamenei, Khomeini, Ayatollah Khamenei, Hossein Beris, Hamidreza, Alex Vatanka, Foad, ” Izadi, ISNA, Hassan Moslemi Naeini, Morteza, ” Iran’s, hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, Holly Dagres, Jamshid Jamshidi, –, Hassan Rouhani, ” Hengaw, Pedram Soltani Organizations: CNN, Experts, Authorities, Islamic, Getty, Middle East Institute, University of Tehran’s, World Studies, Center for Education, Culture, Research, Atlantic Council, University of Oxford, UN, CNN International, Iran’s Guardian, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Army Locations: Iran, Tehran, “, Gaza, Islamic Republic, Tehran Times, Washington , DC, Israel, Isfahan, Norway, Sanandaj, Jordan

☆ An abrupt exit at a Goldman Sachs-backed crypto bank spotlights the industry's tug-of-war with regulators
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Read previewWhen the chief executive of cryptocurrency startup Anchorage Digital posted a message in the company's "announcements" Slack channel in late November about an executive's departure, employees started buzzing. Just over a year after it received the charter, the OCC issued a consent order against Anchorage in April 2022. Regulators are aggressively scrutinizing crypto players and prioritizing monitoring crypto compliance. Regulators' viewThe OCC is now led by Michael Hsu, the former Federal Reserve regulator and self-described crypto skeptic who has viewed crypto companies' regulatory compliance in some areas as inadequate. A crypto bank would face risks in safeguarding digital assets in its custody, maintaining appropriate hedges in crypto-lending, and adhering to capital requirements specific to crypto assets, said Kim, who studies crypto and blockchain technology.

Persons: —, Georgia Quinn, Nathan McCauley's, McCauley, Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, Quinn, Brian Brooks, CoinDesk, Oliver Wyman, FTI, Brooks, Michael Hsu, Hsu, Evelyn Hockstein, Mark duBose, Seoyoung Kim, University's, Kim, Diogo Mónica, Axel Springer, Mark McCombe, Max Levchin, BNY, Seyfarth Shaw, Ellenoff Grossman, it's Organizations: Service, Anchorage, Business, Citadel Securities, Apollo Global Management, Visa, OCC, Regulators, Securities, Exchange, IBM, KPMG, Anchorage Digital Bank National Association, Federal Reserve, Reuters, Business Insider, Santander Bank, University's Leavey School of Business, KKR, BlackRock, BNY Mellon Locations: Anchorage, United States, Santa, San Francisco, Portugal

Tech executives from Adobe, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok gathered at the Munich Security Conference to announce a new voluntary framework for how they will respond to AI-generated deepfakes that deliberately trick voters. Thirteen other companies — including IBM and Elon Musk's X — are also signing on to the accord. Instead, the accord outlines methods they will use to try to detect and label deceptive AI content when it is created or distributed on their platforms. That pressure is heightened in the U.S., where Congress has yet to pass laws regulating AI in politics, leaving AI companies to largely govern themselves. Many social media companies already have policies in place to deter deceptive posts about electoral processes — AI-generated or not.

Persons: TikTok, Elon Musk's, ”, Nick Clegg, ” Clegg, Joe Biden’s, Suharto, Jeff Allen, McAfee, —, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: . Tech, Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Munich Security, IBM, Elon, Facebook, “, Federal Communications Commission, Integrity Institute, Arm Holdings, Twitter, Associated Press, AP Locations: U.S, San Francisco

☆ More than 400 personnel take part in Ukraine aid oversight, US watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —More than 400 personnel take part in the oversight of Ukraine aid, according to a new report from a US government watchdog, underscoring the massive effort to manage billions of dollars in US assistance. In total, the report said there are more than 400 personnel working across the US, Germany, Ukraine and Europe to audit and evaluate US assistance to Ukraine. The report comes as some Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have demanded more oversight over Ukraine aid before they agree to any additional funding. The State Department watchdog has more than 100 staff members working on Ukraine oversight, three of whom are in Kyiv. The USAID watchdog has another 80 personnel working on Ukraine.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, – Organizations: CNN, Defense Department, State Department, United States Agency for International, Representatives, Ukrainian, Operation Atlantic, NATO, The Defense Department Office, The State Department, USAID, Ukraine – Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Ukrainian, Germany, Russia, Crimea, Kyiv, Romania, North Korea, Iran

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for an independent investigation into allegations of vote-rigging in Serbia and demanded that EU funds be cut off if the authorities in Belgrade fail to cooperate with the inquiry or are found to be implicated in election irregularities. The governing Serbian Progressive party of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić won the Dec. 17 parliamentary and municipal elections, securing 129 seats in the 250-seat assembly. The opposition Serbia Against Violence coalition finished a distant second with 65 seats. The resolution has angered Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. Vučić’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his failure to enforce EU sanctions on Moscow have dismayed many.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, watchdogs, “, ”, Ana Brnabić, ” Brnabić, Vladimir Putin, ___ Dusan Stojanovic Organizations: —, Union, Serbian Progressive, Serbian, Violence, Organization for Security, Cooperation, Parliamentary, of Europe, Serbia’s National Assembly Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Belgrade, Europe, Strasbourg, France, Moscow

☆ Serbia's Parliament Convenes as Opposition Protests Vote Result
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

On Dec. 17, President Aleksandar Vucic's populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) secured nearly 47% of the votes in the parliamentary election and the opposition alliance Serbia Against Violence (SPN) almost 24%. At the opening session, opposition lawmakers blew whistles and waved banners reading "Election fraud" and "You stole elections", trading insults with their SNS counterparts. Radomir Lazovic, an opposition lawmaker, said plainclothed police and the parliament's security detail had stepped up checks at the parliament building to intimidate the opposition. Since the election, the SPN, other opposition parties and civil society groups have staged protests to demand a rerun of the vote. Serbia's opposition and rights watchdogs accuse Vucic and the SNS of stifling media freedoms, violence against opponents, corruption, and ties with organised crime.

Persons: Aleksandar Vucic's, Radomir Lazovic, Marinika, Vucic, Aleksandar Vasovic, Ros Russell Organizations: BELGRADE, Reuters, Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, European Union Locations: Serbia

☆ Serbian Journalists Protest Acquittal of Suspects in 1999 Killing of Colleague
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Dozens of Serbian journalists and rights activists protested peacefully in Belgrade on Monday against the acquittal of four men who had previously been sentenced over the 1999 killing of opposition journalist and newspaper publisher Slavko Curuvija. The Belgrade-based Appellate Court announced the acquittal last week of four State Security operatives, including Radomir Markovic, the former head of the agency. The protesters carried a banner reading "You killed justice, but truth lives on," which they left in front of the building housing the Appellate Court in downtown Belgrade. Dusko Milenkovic, the head of the Appellate Court, said the court had concluded that the prosecution "did not provide enough evidence to prove the indictment." The Supreme Court has the power to overturn the Appellate Court's decision and order a retrial.

Persons: Slavko Curuvija, Radomir Markovic, Curuvija, Slobodan Milosevic's, Markovic, Dusko Milenkovic, Ivan Stambolic, Vuk Draskovic, Aleksandar Vasovic, Timothy Heritage Organizations: BELGRADE, Reuters, State Security, Journalists ' Association of Serbia, Milosevic, NATO, Serbia Locations: Belgrade, Curuvija, Kosovo

☆ A Goldman Sachs-backed electricity firm is making a play to reach more Americans’ homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

That covers energy networks, mostly in the Northeast, that provide electricity for 190 million Americans, according to federal data. It also gets Goldman into an industry, albeit through an intermediary, that critics have called a hotbed of consumer abuse. The startup, which began offering retail energy plans to Texans in 2021, avoids the teaser rates and hidden fees of rivals, it has said. "Many of those companies operate businesses that serve retail customers. Private equity firms have transformed the energy landscape in the nation's largest power markets.

Persons: Omar Marques, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, watchdogs, James Bride, Marcus, David Solomon, Dennis Wamsted, Tyson Slocum Organizations: Lightrocket, Getty, Energy, CNBC, Texans, U.S . Energy Information Administration, New, Institute for Energy Economics, Utilities, Federal Energy Regulatory, Street, Public Citizen Locations: Texas, Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland

☆ Opinion: UNWRA’s day of reckoning is near
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Opinion Michael Bociurkiw | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Editor’s Note: Michael Bociurkiw (@WorldAffairsPro) is a global affairs analyst and former UNICEF spokesperson for Gaza and the West Bank. But UNRWA funding differs from other UN agencies such as UNICEF, in that it’s mostly dependent on government funding. And that’s why countries pulling funding — as they have done this past week — is such a potentially fatal blow to its operations. Tiny Jordan already hosts at least 2 million Palestinians, including many from Gaza who arrived decades ago. Note: This op-ed has been updated to reflect the latest number of UNRWA employees Israel alleges were associated with Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Persons: Michael Bociurkiw, Read, Michael Bociurkiw Chrystia Chudczak, Khan Younis, Mohammed Talatene, Israel —, there’s, Abed Zagout, Tiny Jordan, Ashraf Amra Organizations: UNICEF, West Bank, CNN, United Nations, UNICEF —, Toyota, Cruisers, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israel Defense Forces, UNRWA, West, UN, Assembly, Palestinian Authority, UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Getty, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, East, Children’s, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Philadelphia, City, Canada, Germany, Rafa, Anadolu, Egypt, Qatar, Deir al Balah

☆ From Opposite Sides of War, a Hunt for Elusive Facts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | Sheera Frenkel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The first reports of the Hamas attack were already fusing with rumors, sweeping into social media feeds and private chat groups in an emotionally charged and largely unverified mass. Mr. Schatz, one of the best-known disinformation researchers and fact checkers in Israel, rushed back home to his computer, knowing he had little time to stop the false claims from metastasizing. In a way, he was already too late. Since the initial attack, disinformation watchdogs in the region have been overwhelmed by unfounded narratives, manipulated media and conspiracy theories. The content has spread in enormous volumes at great speed: video game clips and old news reports masquerading as current footage, attempts to disavow authentic photos as artificially generated, inaccurate translations and false accusations distributed in multiple languages.

Persons: . Schatz Locations: Israel, metastasizing

☆ We Asked A.I. to Create the Joker. It Generated a Copyrighted Image.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Stuart A. Thompson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

It Generated a Copyrighted Image. image generator, to create an image of Joaquin Phoenix from “The Joker.” In seconds, the system made an image nearly identical to a frame from the 2019 film. Reid Southen Create an image of Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie, 2019, screenshot from a movie, movie scene Midjourney’s response Generated by A.I. Mr. Southen Create an image of Dune movie screencap, 2021, Dune movie trailer Midjourney’s response Generated by A.I. Mr. Southen Create an image of “The Last of Us 2,” Ellie with guitar in front of tree Midjourney’s response Generated by A.I.

Persons: Reid Southen, Midjourney, Joaquin Phoenix, ”, Southen’s, “ Joaquin Phoenix, Sega’s, Woody, watchdogs, Sarah Silverman, John Grisham, OpenAI, Southen, Keith Kupferschmid, Kupferschmid, Ellie, Gary Marcus, “ Marcus, ChatGPT, SpongeBob, chatbot, Kathryn Conrad, Marcus, Microsoft Bing, Mario, Conrad Organizations: Warner Bros, Marvel, The New York Times, Times, Microsoft, Copyright Alliance, New York University, Viacom, University of Kansas, Nintendo Locations: Michigan, A.I, Italian

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon-owned Ring will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates. In a blog post on Wednesday, Ring said it will sunset the “Request for Assistance” tool, which allows police departments and other public safety agencies to request and receive video captured by the doorbell cameras through Ring’s Neighbors app. Eric Kuhn, the head of Neighbors, said in the announcement that law enforcement agencies will still be able to make public posts in the Neighbors app. In a bid to increase transparency, Ring changed its policy in 2021 to make police requests publicly visible through its Neighbors app. Ring also maintains the right to share footage without user consent in limited circumstances.

Persons: Ring, Eric Kuhn, ” Kuhn, Matthew Guariglia Organizations: . Police, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Guariglia

☆ Alibaba co-founders buy more than $200 million worth of shares, sending stock up
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and chairman Joe Tsai, in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. An entity linked to Tsai's family office, Blue Pool, acquired nearly 2 million Alibaba depository shares worth $152 million in the fourth quarter, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing. Separately, sources familiar with the matter told the Times that Ma acquired $50 million worth of Alibaba's Hong Kong stock during the same period. Around the same time the spinoff was canceled, Ma in a regulatory filing said that he would sell 10 million shares worth $870 million. Alibaba shares are down roughly 21% since the cancelled spin-off.

Persons: Alibaba, Jack Ma, Joe Tsai, Ma, Tsai Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, New York Times, Times, Depository, Brooklyn Nets, Ant, CNBC Locations: New York, U.S, Hong Kong

☆ Global regulators propose tougher scrutiny of voluntary carbon markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A global securities watchdog proposed 21 safety measures on Sunday to improve integrity, transparency and enforcement in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) in a sector of growing importance to efforts to combat climate change. VCMs cover pollution-reducing projects, such as reforestation, renewable energy, biogas and solar power, that generate carbon credits companies buy to offset their emissions and meet net-zero targets. National regulators could require companies to disclose their use of carbon credits, and platforms that trade credits to have better anti-fraud and market manipulation safeguards, IOSCO said. VCMs are separate from government-regulated carbon markets, such as the emissions trading scheme in the European Union, the world's largest. Good practice could include "comprehensive disclosures on the project development process, verification and auditing methodologies, and the entities responsible for measurement, reporting, and verification," IOSCO said.

Persons: Rodrigo Buenaventura, IOSCO, Morgan Stanley, Huw Jones, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Sunday, European Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Asia, Europe, Latin America, United States, Dubai

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

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

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

☆ Private-asset binge exposes insurance to new risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The concept is not new: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) has used its insurance premiums to help fund everything from railways to cowboy-boot makers. The prospect of insurance companies buying risky loans or private equity investments has raised eyebrows. Many private credit assets, for example, rely on so-called private letter ratings based on confidential data. Given the private nature of private credit, it’s hard to see from the outside how big these risks are, or where they lurk. Besides, even if the share of life insurance assets that are mis-rated or undercapitalized is tiny, smaller insurers could carry more concentrated risk.

Persons: Blackstone, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Fitch, Kroll, Egan, Jones, DBRS Morningstar, Banks, SVB, Jonathan Guilford, Neil Unmack, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Apollo Global Management, KKR, Global Atlantic, Investments, National Association of Insurance, England’s Everton FC, Rivals, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Athene, P Global, Insurance, SVB, Thomson Locations: Global, Delaware , New York, Iowa, New York, London

Figurines are seen in front of displayed Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Adobe (ADBE.O) will aim to counter EU antitrust charges that its proposed $20 billion acquisition of cloud-based designer platform Figma hurts competition at a closed hearing on Dec. 8, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The European Commission two weeks ago warned that the deal may reduce competition in the global market for the supply of interactive product design software where market leader Figma competes with Adobe. It said the acquisition would eliminate Figma as a competitor in the supply of vector editing tools and supply of raster editing tools and reinforce Photoshop maker Adobe's dominance. The EU antitrust enforcer, which is due to decide on the deal by Feb. 5, declined to comment.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Figma, Dana Rao, Foo Yun, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Commission, Adobe, Rivals, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS, EU, Britain

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