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☆ Boeing whistleblower: ‘They are putting out defective airplanes’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Chris Isidore | Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington DC CNN —Boeing’s already battered reputation took another hit at two Senate committee hearings Wednesday on Capitol Hill, with witnesses questioning how the company builds airplanes and the safety of those planes. Boeing did not have any witnesses at either hearing Wednesday, but at a briefing earlier this week it defended the standards used to build planes. Boeing recently said it has searched for records but believes its employees did not document the work. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/SipaHe said that since the hearing was announced, his committee has heard from other whistleblowers inside of Boeing. “What I don’t want this committee to do is to scare the you-know-what out of the American public,” he said.

Persons: Washington DC CNN — Boeing’s, Sam Salehpour, he’s, ”, Salehpour, “, don’t, …, Ed Pierson, Max, Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal, Bill Clark, ” Blumenthal, Republican Sen, Ron Johnson Organizations: Washington DC CNN, Capitol, Boeing, The Foundation for Aviation Safety, National Transportation Safety, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Air, Democratic, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Senate Homeland Security, Governmental, Republican Locations: Richard Blumenthal of, Dirksen, nonunion South Carolina, Alaska, Wisconsin

☆ O.J. Simpson helped create the America we live in today
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Many Black Americans cheered, pumped their fists and exchanged high-fives, while many White Americans gasped in disbelief and anger. Some say America is a nation of immigrants who bolster the economy and reinvigorate the country. Kent Nishimura/Getty ImagesPoliticians have adopted the Simpson trial playbookThere was a surreal moment during the Simpson trial that could have been easily missed. Critics say Simpson spent years running away from his Blackness with as much vigor as he eluded NFL defenders. Simpson may have died this week, but he helped give birth to the America we now live in.

Persons: O.J, Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson, Ronald Goldman, Ford Bronco, Elise Amendola, what’s, Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump, Conway, Sean Spicer, Kent Nishimura, “ I’m, Johnnie Cochran, Simpson’s, Al Sharpton, Brother Simpson, Johnnie, ” Sharpton, “, ” , White, Trump, Paul Blumenthal, “ Donald Trump, ” Blumenthal, Jabin, Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes, “ Trump, ’, ” Obama, John Blake, ” Organizations: CNN, White Americans, of Fame NFL, America —, O.J, NBC, Getty, NFL, White, Trump, Fulton County Sheriff's, Republican, Trump National Doral, Washington Post Locations: America, Los Angeles, Washington , DC, ”, Fulton County , Georgia, Fulton County, U.S, Doral , Florida

Senate Democrats are discussing the possibility of attaching conditions to future Israel military aid amid humanitarian concerns in Gaza resulting from the country’s aggressive prosecution of its war against Hamas. “I do think that Israel needs to be more careful in the way it is conducting these operations,” Murphy added. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania told reporters he doesn’t support restrictions, saying that Hamas has to be “eliminated,” necessitating that there be no conditions on military aid to Israel. Senate Republicans were likewise largely opposed to conditions on aid to Israel, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called the idea “ridiculous.”“Our relationship with Israel is the closest national security relationship we have with any country in the world,” McConnell said. “We all support Israel.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Chuck Schumer, ”, Sen, Chris Coons, Bernie Sanders, Netanyahu’s, ” Sanders, Chris Murphy, ” Murphy, Joe Biden, Richard Blumenthal, who’s, ” Blumenthal, John Fetterman of, “, ” Fetterman, Mitch McConnell, ” McConnell, Israel –, “ We’ve, ” Sen, Peter Welch, we’re Organizations: CNN, Senate Republicans, Vermont Democrat, Israel Locations: Israel, Gaza, Chris Coons of Delaware, Vermont, Connecticut, U.S, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

☆ Senate subcommittee issues subpoena to Live Nation and Ticketmaster after Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | Morgan Rimmer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“Live Nation has egregiously stonewalled my Subcommittee’s inquiry into its abusive consumer practices—making the subpoena necessary,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, who chairs the subcommittee. Ticketmaster has drawn the ire of Congress since its botched handling of presale tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Pre-sale tickets for “The Eras Tour” frustrated Swift fans across the country in a debacle that stayed in the headlines for weeks. Lawmakers grilled a top executive of Live Nation in January in a three-hour hearing. “I want to congratulate and thank you for an absolutely stunning achievement,” Blumenthal said to Live Nation president and CFO Joe Berchtold during the January hearing.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Bruce Spingsteen, ”, Sen, Richard Blumenthal, Taylor, Swift, “, couldn’t, ” Blumenthal, Joe Berchtold, ” Berchtold, concertgoers, – CNN’s Samantha Kelly, Jennifer Korn, Camila Bernal Organizations: New, New York CNN, Investigations, Nation, Ticketmaster, Democrat, Capital One, Live Nation, Democrats Locations: New York, Los Angeles

☆ Meta ignored warnings on Instagram’s harm to teens, whistleblower says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —Meta’s top executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ignored warnings for years about harms to teens on its platforms such as Instagram, a company whistleblower told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. Meanwhile, both parties have united behind blaming Meta for contributing to a nationwide mental health crisis. Bejar’s research “is basically a smoking gun,” Haugen told CNN in an interview Tuesday. “Every day countless people inside and outside of Meta are working on how to help keep young people safe online,” said Meta spokesman Andy Stone in a statement. He said everyday Americans understand “the harm being done” and compared it to harms from smoking.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Arturo Bejar, Bejar, Zuckerberg, Bejar’s, ” Bejar, Frances Haugen, Instagram, ” Haugen, “, Sheryl Sandberg, ”, Andy Stone, Stone, Connecticut Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal ., Josh Hawley, Tennessee Republican Sen, Marsha Blackburn, Adam Mosseri, Sandberg, Chris Cox, Mosseri, ” Blackburn, Louisiana Republican Sen, John Kennedy, we’re, ” Meta, Blumenthal, Cox, Haugen, Hawley, ” Blumenthal, ” CNN’s Samantha Kelly Organizations: Washington CNN, Washington CNN — Meta’s, Facebook, Wall, Meta, CNN, Connecticut Democratic, Big Tech, Tennessee Republican, Louisiana Republican, Wall Street, “ Big Tech, Tobacco Locations: Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal . Missouri, Instagram

The surprise deal, which would join the venerable PGA Tour and a rival Saudi-funded golf start-up, LIV, was announced in June. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund, or PIF, is controlled by the Saudi government. The Saudi Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoena, which names the Public Investment Fund's New York-based U.S. subsidiary, USSA International. This summer's announcement of the PGA-Saudi golf deal ended a legal battle between the two rivals. Blumenthal said available public records indicate the Saudi sovereign wealth fund has expanded its investments in the United States from $2 billion in 2018 to $35 billion now.

Persons: Sen, Richard Blumenthal's, al, LIV, ” Blumenthal, Blumenthal, “, ”, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Organizations: WASHINGTON, Saudi, PGA, Connecticut, Senate, PGA Tour, Public Investment Fund, Public Investment, United, Saudi Embassy, USSA, Crown Locations: United States, Saudi, York, San Francisco, Saudi Arabia

But he’s hoping that they will give senators some realistic direction as he tries to do what Congress hasn't done for many years — pass meaningful regulation of the tech industry. “It’s going to be a fascinating group because they have different points of view,” Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the forum. Many members of Congress agree that legislation will probably be needed in response to the quick escalation of artificial intelligence tools in government, business and daily life. In the United States, most major tech companies have expressed support for AI regulations, though they don’t necessarily agree on what that means. Blumenthal’s framework calls for a new “licensing regime” that would require tech companies to seek licenses for high-risk AI systems.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Schumer, Republican Sen, Mike Rounds, “ It’s, ” Schumer, ” Rounds, “, ”, Mark Warner, Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich of, Todd Young, Indiana —, Sam Altman, Forrester, Sen, Young, ” Young, “ We’ve, Dana Rao, We’ve, Richard Blumenthal, Conn, Josh Hawley, ” Blumenthal, ___ O'Brien, Ali Swenson, Kelvin Chan Organizations: WASHINGTON, Capitol, Microsoft, Republican, Associated Press, AP, Democratic, European Union, Adobe Locations: South Dakota, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Indiana, U.S, United States, Europe, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Providence , Rhode Island, New York, London

☆ PGA officials say they had no choice but to reach deal with the Saudis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Two top officials of the PGA Tour said the sport’s governing body had no choice but to reach a truce in its yearlong battle with LIV Golf and try to reach a merger with the Saudi-funded tour. But Ron Price, the chief operating officer of the PGA Tour, and Jimmy Dunne, a board member of the tour’s governing body, both said that the framework of the planned merger was the best chance to allow the PGA Tour to keep some measure of control over the sport. He pointed out that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which is funding LIV Golf, has 500 times the financial resources as the PGA Tour. “It would be grossly unfair to expect the PGA Tour to bear the full burden of holding Saudi Arabia accountable. The committee released a 276 page report with details of the legal battle and the negotiations between LIV and the PGA Tour.

Persons: LIV Golf, “, ”, Richard Blumenthal, Ron Price, Jimmy Dunne, Sen, ” Dunne, LIV, Price, Ron Johnson of, it’s, ” Johnson, Blumenthal, Roger Devlin, Dunne, ” Blumenthal, “ It’s, … Organizations: New, New York CNN, PGA Tour, Saudi, PGA, Connecticut Democrat, Republican, Saudi Public Investment Fund, Saudi Public Investment, ” Locations: New York, Saudi, American, Connecticut, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Saudi Arabia, British, “

☆ US senator introduces bill to create a federal agency to regulate AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified in front of Congress and proposed creating a new federal agency to regulate artificial intelligence, a US senator has introduced a bill to do just that. On Thursday, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet unveiled an updated version of legislation he introduced last year that would establish a Federal Digital Platform Commission. And for the most significant platforms — companies the bill calls “systemically important” — the bill would create requirements for algorithmic audits and public risk assessments of the harms their tools could cause. The debate over whether the US government should establish a separate federal agency to police AI tools may become a significant focus of those efforts following Altman’s testimony this week. Altman suggested in a Senate hearing on Tuesday that such an agency could restrict how AI is developed through licenses or credentialing for AI companies.

☆ How the CEO behind ChatGPT won over Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It was a pivotal moment for the AI industry. He agreed that large-scale manipulation and deception using AI tools are among the technology’s biggest potential flaws. On Tuesday, they seemed ready — or even relieved — to be dealing with another area of the technology industry. The AI industry’s biggest players and aspirants include some of the same tech giants Congress has sharply criticized, including Google and Meta. Here too, Altman deftly seized an opportunity to curry favor with lawmakers by emphasizing distinctions between his industry and the social media industry.

☆ Senators unveil bipartisan legislation to ban kids under 13 from joining social media platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The proposed legislation by a bipartisan group of US senators aims to address what policymakers, mental health advocates and critics of tech platforms say is a mental health crisis fueled by social media. “Social media companies have stumbled onto a stubborn, devastating fact,” Schatz said. But it would represent a potentially vast expansion of the government’s role in regulating websites where age verification is a requirement. Tech companies could still develop their own in-house age verification technology or hire third party companies to perform the verification, lawmakers said. Violations of the proposed law could mean millions of dollars in Federal Trade Commission fines for social media companies.

☆ Senators warn Big Tech on Section 230: ‘Reform is coming’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —US senators said Wednesday that bipartisan support is growing for revising a federal immunity law for tech platforms and websites known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a warning aimed squarely at large social media platforms. “Here’s a message to Big Tech: Reform is coming,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chaired a technology subcommittee hearing to consider changes to the law. “I can’t predict it’ll be in the next couple of weeks, or the next couple of months,” Blumenthal said. The case could have major repercussions for how social media sites rank, present and promote content online. Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, a vocal tech industry critic, acknowledged that the effort to revise Section 230 has been “very slow.”“As a Republican, I would love to blame that on my Democrat colleagues,” Hawley said.

☆ Senators blast Big Tech companies over kids’ safety amid renewed push for legislation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Senators from both parties blasted Big Tech on Tuesday and called for the passage of federal legislation to regulate tech platforms in the midst of a mental health crisis among young Americans. But Durbin hinted at a possible future hearing involving Big Tech representatives, saying “don’t worry, they’ll have their chance” as the committee invites them to weigh in on legislative proposals. The hearing comes amid renewed attention on the impact social networks are having on their youngest users. In his State of the Union address last week, President Joe Biden called for Congress to pass legislation to protect kids’ privacy and safety online. On Tuesday, senators promoted several new and existing pieces of legislation in the works to address different potential online harms.

☆ Ticketmaster under fire: 6 takeaways from hearing over Taylor Swift concert fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The venues controlled by Live Nation set fees that are “consistent with the other venues in the marketplace,” he said. Entertainment industry pushes back at Ticketmaster’s dominanceMembers of the entertainment industry and one rival spoke out against Ticketmaster’s dominance in the industry. Andrew Harnik/APClyde Lawrence, a singer-songwriter on the witness panel, explained how the company acts as a promoter, a venue and the ticketing company, which eats into performing artists’ revenues. Artists, he said, have no leverage over Live Nation. Lawmaker says Ticketmaster merger should ‘be on the table’Lawmakers repeatedly questioned the US government’s past handling of the Live Nation merger with Ticketmaster.

Come next year, Democrats will have unilateral subpoena power in many committees to compel investigative targets to provide documents and testimony — without needing GOP support. “Our committees will have greater oversight ability, subpoena power. Subpoena power can deal with corporate corruption and inequities, and other problems throughout the country,” he said. “And if using subpoena power becomes necessary, then that’s something we can do.”Other Democrats floated industries that could be the targets of the party's subpoena powers. “But having subpoena power for CEOs and billionaires who think they don’t have to come to Congress to explain themselves will be very valuable.”

☆ America's cars and trucks are getting bigger, and so are their front blind zones. Children are paying the price.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Headshot_Small.Png | Adiel Kaplan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

Front cameras could help prevent these deaths, safety experts say. On Monday, he announced legislation that would make front blind zone safety features mandatory for motor vehicles. After Congress passed a law to improve rear blind zone safety nearly 15 years ago, it took a decade — rulemaking, regulatory delays and a multiyear rollout — before it fully went into effect. Blumenthal’s bill directs regulators to determine what technology, such as cameras or sensors, to require to make front blind zones safer, much like the rear blind zone law did. But she believes the best way to prevent future tragedies is widespread use of blind zone cameras.

☆ Saudis aren’t weaponizing oil like Americans claim, top official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Experts also fear that continued high oil prices could make it more difficult for the US to tamp down inflation, which has already skyrocketed this year. “Saudi Arabia is taking the side of trying to ensure the stability of the oil markets.”“Saudi Arabia does not politicize oil. Saudi officials have insisted that the production cut is being done to protect the country’s economic interests. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Wednesday called for immediate action on his bill that would stop US arm sales to Saudi Arabia. When asked about growing calls in Washington to limit ties with Saudi Arabia, al-Jubeir said he hoped that such talk was motivated by domestic politics ahead of the midterms.

☆ Saudi Arabia and OPEC risk causing a US recession, Sen. Blumenthal says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal isn’t buying that argument from Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and is leading the push to punish the kingdom. Blumenthal and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna announced legislation on Tuesday to stop all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia for one year. Blumenthal said he hopes the legislation will lead to a “rebalancing” of the “one-sided” relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia gets arms, it gets paid for oil and then basically turns around and betrays us,” he said. More immediately, Blumenthal said the goal is to get OPEC+ to reverse its decision to slash oil production beginning next month.

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