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☆ Threats to protesters in Emmett Till rally prompt cancelation of Christmas parade in Kentucky
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Mirna Alsharif | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A Christmas parade planned for Saturday in Kentucky has been canceled after authorities received threats directed at protesters of an Emmett Till rally on the same day. The annual Jaycees Christmas Parade in Bowling Green, Kentucky was canceled out of an "abundance of caution," according to a statement. The Mistletoe Market, also in Bowling Green, was canceled on Saturday as well. Carolyn Bryant Donham, now 89, lives in Bowling Green, according to the outlet. "Late this evening, we learned of a threat to these protesters," said Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower.

☆ Mississippi man who burned cross to intimidate Black neighbors pleads guilty to hate crime
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Mississippi man pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after he burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors. Cross-burning was used in the Jim Crow era by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups as a form of racial intimidation of Black people. "Cox admitted that he burned the cross because of the victims’ race and because they were occupying a home next to his," the release stated. "Burning a cross invokes the long and painful history, particularly in Mississippi, of intimidation and impending physical violence against Black people," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who use racially-motivated violence to drive people away from their homes or communities."

☆ A Central Bank That Raised Rates Early Now Talks Up Recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Stuart Condie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SYDNEY—New Zealand’s central bank was among the first in the developed world to raise interest rates to restrain a surge in inflation. Fourteen months on and the bank says it is now trying to cause a recession to bring prices under control. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s hard-line approach shows how difficult it can be for policy makers to tame inflation once it has become entrenched. It comes as the Federal Reserve and other central banks adopt a different strategy by pivoting toward smaller interest-rate rises, partly because they fear crashing their economies if they act too aggressively.

☆ Nebraska man gets prison for leaving noose for coworker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

— A former employee at the Oriental Trading Co. has been sentenced to prison for leaving a noose on a floor scrubber that a Black colleague was set to use. The Nebraska U.S. Attorney’s office said Bruce Quinn, 66, was sentenced Friday to four months in prison and one year of supervised release for leaving the noose for his coworker to find. He pleaded guilty in September to a federal civil rights violation. Prosecutors said a 63-year-old Black man who worked for Oriental Trading found the noose made out of orange twine sitting on the seat of the equipment in June 2020. “Federal courts have long recognized the noose as one of the most vile symbols in American history,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

☆ Archegos' Bill Hwang says prosecutor misconduct justifies indictment's dismissal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Bill Hwang is seeking the dismissal of his U.S. fraud indictment over the collapse of his once-$36 billion Archegos Capital Management LP, saying prosecutors committed misconduct by sandbagging him when building their case. In a separate filing, Hwang and co-defendant Patrick Halligan, Archegos' former chief financial officer, said their indictment should be dismissed because Archegos' trading activity was "entirely lawful," using methods that are "clearly permitted by the existing regulatory structure." These discussions, the last occurring two days before Hwang's April 27 arrest, "revealed what has now become (as prosecutors doubtless knew it would) his defense strategy," Hwang's lawyers said. Hwang also wants U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who oversees the case, to hold a hearing to determine the extent of any taint. The case is U.S. v. Hwang et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Balenciaga’s creative director apologizes for 'wrong artistic choice of concept'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia apologized for what he said was a "wrong artistic choice of concept" after the luxury fashion brand was criticized over an advertising campaign that featured young children posing with teddy bears that appeared to be dressed in BDSM costumes. "It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them," he said in an Instagram post on Friday. Many people slammed the holiday campaign as inappropriate and harmful to children. In another Balenciaga ad, there was an excerpt from a 2008 Supreme Court case that upheld federal statutes about pornography that includes minors. Kim Kardashian, who often works with the company, said in a series of tweets that she was "disgusted and outraged" over the ad.

☆ Threat of Rail Strike Reveals Persistent Supply-Chain Risks to U.S. Economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( David Harrison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Even before the latest labor strife, freight rail customers complained that low staffing levels had hampered rail service, leading to scrutiny from federal regulators. The threat of a railroad strike this month exposed the vulnerability of U.S. transportation networks and revealed potential new risks of supply-chain disruptions just as pandemic-era bottlenecks were fading. President Biden signed into law a bill Friday compelling freight railroads and their workers’ unions to accept a labor agreement, averting a strike that might have disrupted a logistical linchpin of the economy. Even with the dispute resolved, the episode brought about a heightened awareness that supply hiccups could become an ongoing feature of business life in America.

Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. Alliance Defending Freedom, which also represented Phillips, has had success arguing religious rights cases at the Supreme Court in recent years. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020, to the surprise of many court-watchers, ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

☆ Texas man charged with threatening Boston doctor who provides transgender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Texas man was arrested Friday and charged with threatening to kill a Boston doctor who provides care to transgender people, federal prosecutors said. The threats on Aug. 31 targeting a doctor affiliated with a Boston healthcare education center came after “inaccurate information spread online” about Boston Children’s Hospital and transgender care, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said. Boston’s Children Hospital is home to the Gender Multispecialty Service, which provides care to transgender and gender-diverse adolescents. Several children’s hospitals, most notably Boston Children’s, were targeted by of a far-right harassment campaign, led by led by anti-trans influencers with millions of collective followers. The FBI in court documents called it a sustained campaign that falsely alleged pedophilia or "grooming" against Boston Children's Hospital, and there have been death threats and threats of mass casualty attacks.

☆ Where Did Young Male Workers Go?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Labor Department’s November jobs report on Friday certainly didn’t make the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation task any easier. Strong job and wage growth suggests demand for workers still exceeds the supply, and inflation is still too high. Employers added 263,000 jobs last month though gains were revised down by 23,000 during the previous two. Private payrolls increased by 221,000 with hiring broad-based, including in leisure and hospitality (88,000), healthcare (45,000), construction (20,000), media and tech (19,000), manufacturing (14,000) and real estate (13,000). There’s no sign of a recession in this jobs data.

☆ Elon Musk promotes release of internal Twitter documents rehashing platform’s block of Hunter Biden story
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The controversy involving Twitter and Hunter Biden dates to October 2020, weeks before the presidential election between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump. Taibbi wrote that he has seen no evidence that there was government involvement in Twitter’s move to block the New York Post story. Shortly after the New York Post published the article, Twitter pointed to concerns about hacked materials as the reason for blocking the story. Zuckerberg cited warnings from the FBI about election-related threats, though none about Hunter Biden in particular. Hunter Biden has said that federal prosecutors in Delaware are investigating his taxes.

In a filing on Friday afternoon in Manhattan federal court, Unilever said Ben & Jerry's board "is no ordinary board." Ben & Jerry's could not immediately be reached for comment. In August, a judge rejected Ben & Jerry's bid to immediately halt such sales. Last month, Ben & Jerry's board renounced the sale of its ice cream by Zinger, saying his products "should not be confused with the products" made by Ben & Jerry's. "The sale of products bearing any Ben & Jerry's insignia in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is against our values," the board said.

☆ The difference between this comeback and the market's last failed bear market bounce
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A 17% S & P 500 surge off a new bear-market low in a market drenched in stagflation panic? On a purely technical, tape-reading basis, the S & P 500 this trip has in fact now closed above its 200-day average, whereas it merely touched that threshold in August. The equal-weighted version of the S & P 500 is down only 8.5% this year and a mere 2% off its August peak, compared to 14.5% and 5% for the standard market-cap-weighted S & P, more evidence that the "typical stock" is holding up better than the biggest ones. This time, stocks began falling two months before the first Fed rate hike. Wall Street strategists, meantime, are collectively projecting a modest drop in the S & P 500 for 2023, the first time since at least 1999 when the consensus failed to target annual gains.

☆ From Bank of America to Morgan Stanley, Wall Street giants are expecting stocks to crash more than 20% next year. Here's what they've been saying.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Three major Wall Street banks expect the S&P 500 to tank over 20% at some point next year. Here's what Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank say about what could drag stocks lower. For Bank of America, a Federal Reserve-induced liquidity crisis could put pressure on the S&P 500 stock index. Here's where the S&P 500 is headed, and why, according to the major banks. He added lower earnings will cause intense pain for larger-cap stocks, and not just tech stocks.

Average 30-year fixed mortgage rates have dropped below 6% for the first time since late September. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage calculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates would impact your monthly payments. 30-year fixed mortgage ratesThe current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.49%, according to Freddie Mac. 15-year fixed mortgage ratesThe average 15-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.76%, a decrease from the prior week, according to Freddie Mac data. Mortgage rates started ticking up from historic lows in the second half of 2021 and have increased significantly so far in 2022.

Knitowski borrowed $375,000 from crypto lender Celsius over several years and posted $1.5 million in bitcoin as collateral. Knitowski and thousands of other loan holders had more than $812 million in collateral locked on the platform, and bankruptcy records show Celsius failed to return collateral to borrowers even after they repaid their loans. Adler said he's representing a group of 75 borrowers who have approximately $100 million in digital assets on Celsius' platform. In the crypto world, a borrower can ask for a loan and pledge bitcoin as collateral. The crypto platform also failed to provide borrowers with a complete federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosure, according to former employees and an email sent to customers on July 4.

☆ 9 million student-loan borrowers got an email in November with the wrong subject line informing them their debt relief has been approved. Corrections are coming.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

9 million student-loan borrowers received an email in late November with a subject line that their debt relief had been approved. It should have stated the applications had been received, not approved — an error made by an Education Department contractor. However, that subject line was incorrect, Insider has learned — it was simply supposed to inform borrowers that their applications had been received with the subject line: "Update on Student Loan Debt Relief." The department has previously indicated that 26 million student-loan borrowers had already submitted applications for debt relief. "Our student debt relief program is necessary to help 40M eligible Americans struggling under the burden of student loan debt recover from the pandemic," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

☆ Parking lots are becoming as important as cars in climate change efforts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The parking lots where EVs recharge are a growing focus of construction efforts linked to climate change and carbon reduction. A law approved in France last month requires that parking lots with 80 or more spaces be covered by solar panels within the next five years. For the biggest parking lots, those with more than 400 spaces, three years has been granted to have at least half of the parking lot's surface area covered by solar. Similar renewable energy design ideas are expected to gain more market share in the U.S. if not necessarily through a federal mandate. The cost to install solar has dropped by more than 60% over the past decade, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration is mulling a proposal from Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to repeal the U.S. military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the White House said on Saturday. But the White House said Biden had agreed only to consider the idea. "Leader McCarthy raised this with the president and the president told him he would consider it," said White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton. McCarthy presented the vaccine mandate deal as a sign of how he would lead the House as speaker. He also rebutted conservative criticism over his attendance at a White House state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron.

☆ Mother takes Pornhub parent company to court over 'traumatizing' rape videos of her teenage son uploaded to the site
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A mother is taking MindGeek, who owns Pornhub, to court after a man was convicted of raping her son, filming the content, and uploading it to the site. Her lawyer told Insider that the videos uploaded to the site were "clearly" of a minor. In a statement to Insider, MindGeek said, "MindGeek is aware that a lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Alabama. As well as owning Pornhub, MindGeek owns a number of other adult entertainment sites, including xHamster, RedTube, and YouPorn. In December 2020, an allegation that Pornhub hosts videos depicting child pornography sparked both Visa and Mastercard to launch investigations into the site and drop ties with the company.

☆ More Foreclosures, Easier Mortgages Would Help Fix America's Housing Market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

These standards are based on factors including the borrower's financial stability and the state of the housing market and economy. Finding the right size for the credit box is much easier said than done. A tidal wave of foreclosures followed, plunging the US housing market — and the global economy — into chaos. Even just stabilizing the credit box over time could also help smooth out some of the boom-and-bust cycles that have come to define the housing market. "If we do not address this intrinsic cyclicality, the housing market will continue to experience boom-bust cycles, leaving destruction in their wake," the paper said.

☆ Indian state will proceed 'no matter what' with protest-hit Adani port-minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Munsif Vengattil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police officers stand guard near the barricades during a protest rally by the supporters of the proposed Vizhinjam port project in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 30, 2022. The local fishing community, led by Catholic priests, has blocked construction of Vizhinjam port by Adani Group for almost four months, erecting a makeshift shelter at the port's entrance. The protesters say the huge project causes coastal erosion that has undermined their livelihoods, calling for a complete halt on the construction. "We want to complete the port project no matter what. "The possibilities being opened up by Vizhinjam port are unmatched by any other in India," Devarkovil said.

That red-hot labor market might mean more economic woes later on as the Federal Reserve steps in. "Big picture here is that the labor market still has a lot of resilience," Nick Bunker, the economic-research director at Indeed Hiring Lab, told Insider. With the thriving labor market, Bunker said "the risk of an imminent recession is relatively low." While the job market is still hot, it's not growing at the same breakneck speed as it was last year. "I don't think this report changes the Fed's view of where the labor market is today," Zhao said.

Try to avoid taking on new debt you don't need, like a house or car. Look critically at smaller expenses, too — there's no reason to keep paying for things you don't use. Although you typically need a job and financial security to buy a home, it does not make a purchase of this magnitude recession-proof. Excess groceriesA lot of consumers impulse buy at the grocery store, but during a recession when you need to control your spending, it's important to grocery shop with a plan. During a recession, it's important to pay attention to spending and be wary of making unnecessary and expensive purchases.

☆ Australia's PM says he's not in group of Australian MPs to visit Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends the APEC Leader's Dialogue with APEC Business Advisory Council during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. The group, which includes Australia's governing Labor Party and opposition Liberal-National coalition MPs, will fly to Taiwan on Sunday and is the first delegation of its type to visit there since 2019, The Australian newspaper reported on Saturday. Albanese on Saturday described the trip as a "backbench" visit to Taiwan, not a government-led one. "There remains a bipartisan position when it comes to China and when it comes to support for the status quo on Taiwan," Albanese told reporters in the town of Renmark, in South Australia state. The group will reportedly meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, with the visit having support from Taiwan's foreign ministry.

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