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☆ Opinion: Why Julian Assange’s fate matters
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Opinion Alan Rusbridger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A determined American journalist, let’s call her Gillian, is sleuthing away at a story about India’s nuclear weapons program. Though Gillian is based in London, when she finally gets to publish her story, the Indian government is bent on revenge. Is Washington going to stand idly by and meekly accept the possibility of an American journalist languishing in an Indian jail? The clue is in the inverted commas around “journalist.” To my mind, Julian Assange is in some ways recognizably a journalist. However, to many journalists Assange is not a proper “journalist,” and they can’t really see what his fate has to do with theirs.

Persons: Alan Rusbridger, Read, let’s, Gillian, Alan Rusbridger Simone Padovani, meekly, Julian, He’s, ”, —, there’s, Julian Assange, Assange, Stephanie Lecocq, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, El País, Der Spiegel —, Chelsea Manning, Sarah Ellison, ” Clinton, Manning, Barack Obama’s, Iraq —, ’, It’s, John Podesta, Richard Nixon, Daniel Ellsberg —, Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg, Wally Fong, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden Organizations: Prospect Magazine, CNN, Guardian, WikiLeaks, Court, la Republique, Reuters, New York Times, US Army, Apache, US, Washington Post, The New York Times, Pentagon, Australian Locations: American, London, Delhi, Washington, la, Paris, Kenya, Iran, El, Le, Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Los Angeles

☆ China Is Way Ahead in Green Energy. Here’s Why That’s Risky for the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The world’s two most powerful countries, the United States and China, are meeting this week in Washington to talk about climate change. In an ideal world, where the clean energy transition was the top priority, they would be on friendlier terms. Maybe affordable Chinese-made electric vehicles would be widely sold in America, instead of being viewed as an economic threat. Instead, in the not-ideal real world, the United States is balancing two competing goals. Its concern is that Chinese dominance of the global market for these essential technologies would harm the U.S. economy and national security.

Persons: Biden, John Podesta, Liu Zhenmin Locations: United States, China, Washington, America, Nevada, Beijing

☆ White House will 'make sure gas prices remain affordable' heading into summer, Biden advisor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden's top economic advisor said Thursday that the White House will "make sure gas prices remain affordable" when asked whether the administration would consider tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We'll continue to monitor closely and want to make sure that those gas prices remain in current ranges," Brainard said. U.S. crude oil hit a high of $87.67 per barrel this year before pulling back to around $83 a barrel. The White House is keeping a close eye on "geostrategic risk" in the Middle East, Brainard said. Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global, said oil prices above $90 presents a problem for the broader market.

Persons: Lael Brainard, Joe Biden's, Brainard, Biden, Lloyd Austin, John Podesta, Tuesday Biden, –, Daniel Yergin, It's, Yergin, CNBC's Organizations: AAA, Summit, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, JPMorgan, Brent, P Global Locations: East, Eastern Europe, Israel, Ukraine, Iran

John Podesta Will Take Over for John Kerry as the US Special Climate Change Envoy, AP Source SaysWhite House senior adviser John Podesta will replace John Kerry as U.S. special climate change envoy, according to a person familiar with the appointment

Persons: John Podesta Will, John Kerry, John Podesta Organizations: White House

☆ John Podesta will take over for John Kerry as the U.S. special climate change envoy, AP source says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

John Podesta, senior advisor to the President for clean energy innovation, listens during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. White House senior adviser John Podesta will replace John Kerry as U.S. special climate change envoy, a person familiar with the appointment said Wednesday. Kerry announced earlier this month that he would step down from the top climate job to work on President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. Podesta would start when Kerry departs, the person said. Podesta was a behind-the-scenes veteran on climate in past Democratic administrations and was brought back to the White House last year to put into place an ambitious U.S. climate program newly revived by $375 billion from Congress.

Persons: John Podesta, James S, John Kerry, Kerry, Joe Biden's, Podesta, Biden Organizations: Brady, White, White House, Associated Press, Washington Post, Democratic Locations: Washington ,, U.S

☆ John Podesta will take over for John Kerry as top US climate diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —John Podesta, a senior White House adviser focused on clean energy and climate, will take over as US climate diplomat after John Kerry steps down this spring, according to a source familiar with the move. Podesta first came to the Biden White House in September 2022, when he was tasked with implementing the climate measures in the Inflation Reduction Act. Podesta also previously served as a top climate adviser to former President Barack Obama, where he was involved both in domestic and international climate policy. Podesta will inherit a more favorable international climate landscape than Kerry did when he took the role in 2021. And Kerry prioritized restarting international climate talks between the US and China, after China abruptly halted cooperation over other geopolitical issues.

Persons: CNN — John Podesta, John Kerry, Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s, Biden, Barack Obama, integrally, Kerry, Jeff Zients, John Podesta, ” Zients, “ John, –, ” Kerry, ”, “, “ We’ve, Biden’s, John, “ He’s, Donald Trump, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, White, Democratic, White House, State Department, Biden White House, Obama, Dubai . White, COP28 Locations: Paris, Dubai ., Glasgow, Sharm el, Dubai, China

☆ Biden Picks John Podesta to Be His New Global Climate Representative
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Lisa Friedman | Coral Davenport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden has tapped John Podesta, his adviser on clean energy and a seasoned political strategist, to succeed John Kerry as his global representative on climate, the White House confirmed on Wednesday. Mr. Podesta, 75, will take on that international role in addition to his current White House job overseeing $370 billion in spending on clean energy projects under the landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Mr. Kerry, 80, has told the White House that he intends to step down by the spring but has not given a specific date. Mr. Podesta will take on the role in a slightly different capacity because, under a recently passed law, the job of special envoy would require Senate confirmation. Jeffrey Zients, Mr. Biden’s chief of staff, called Mr. Podesta “a fierce champion for bold climate action.”

Persons: Biden, John Podesta, John Kerry, Mr . Podesta, Kerry, Mr, Podesta, Jeffrey Zients, Biden’s, Podesta “ Organizations: White House, House, White

Kerry and Xie paved the way for progress at international summits that could have otherwise stagnated. The annual U.N. climate summit was being held in Copenhagen later that year, and Kerry was eager to talk about it with Chinese officials. Stern said the deal “ricocheted around the climate world" and convinced countries that “we can actually get this done.”The importance of the deal became evident one month later. It was the relationship with China, Kerry said afterward, that helped “change the paradigm.”——-The warm feelings were short-lived. Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, and he promptly withdrew the U.S. from the Paris agreement after taking office.

Persons: John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Kerry, Xie, Mao Zedong's, Christiana Figueres, ”, Li Shuo, ” —, George W, Bush, Barack Obama's, Obama, Todd Stern, ” Stern, “, Xi Jinping, Stern, Figueres, ” Xie, —, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Xi, hadn’t, Trump, Biden, Jonathan Pershing, Nancy Pelosi, John, John Podesta, Podesta, ___ Read, Chris Megerian, Seth Borenstein Organizations: WASHINGTON, United, Communist Party, U.S, Asia Society, Greenpeace, Senate Foreign Relations, International, Trump, William, Flora Hewlett Foundation, Associated Press Locations: United Nations, Dubai, Paris, England, Vietnam, China, Copenhagen, Lima, Glasgow, Sunnylands, Beijing, Christiana, U.S, “, Lima , Peru, South, Taiwan, COVID, Egypt, California, Arab Emirates, AP.org

☆ New US rules on Chinese batteries could push up price of electric cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —The US government has announced new regulations that aim to keep Chinese batteries out of cars sold in the United States, a move that could push up the price of electric vehicles for American drivers. China is the world’s leader in EV battery production, dominating almost “every stage of the EV battery supply chain,” according to a 2023 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Tesla is a longtime customer of China’s CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker. Doubling downThe new measures add to existing efforts by Washington to redirect auto manufacturing to the United States. “Financial incentives play an important role in the widespread adoption of electric vehicles,” researchers at George Washington University found in a 2022 study.

Persons: Biden, ” John Podesta, “, John Bozzella, ”, Tesla, China’s CATL, CATL, Jeff Kowalsky Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, EV, International Energy Agency, US Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Energy, Treasury, Officials, IEA, “, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, Ford, Getty, George Washington University, ” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, America, Michigan, Washington, North America, Dearborn , Michigan, AFP, Europe, Beijing

Signing on to the pledge were major national oil companies such as Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras and Sonangol, from Angola, and multi-nationals like Shell, TotalEnergies and BP. The pledge is a “smokescreen to hide the reality that we need to phase out oil, gas and coal,” said a letter signed by more than 300 civil society groups. Still, Mena said that self-reporting didn't go far enough to push oil and gas companies to make changes. Earlier this year, European Union negotiators reached a deal to reduce methane emissions from the energy industry across the 27-member bloc. In his speech, al-Jaber said oil and gas companies needed to do more to research solutions to Scope 3 emissions.

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, ”, Jean Su, Fred Krupp, Bill Hare, Hare, Marcelo Mena, Mena, John Podesta, Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Associated Press, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras, Sonangol, Shell, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental, Environmental Defense Fund, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, European Union, Gas, United Arab, Aramco, AP Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, United Nations, Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Angola, COP28, al, fracking, philanthropies, Chile, U.S, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia

"Since then, the United States has turned ambition into action." On the sidelines of the conference, the United States also unveiled new measures to curb emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas operations. That awkward coincidence underscores one of COP28's most contentious questions: Can the world's response to climate change involve continuing use of fossil fuels? Harris told the conference that the United States supports phasing out of "unabated coal" use, but she did not mention other fossil fuels. "We're in a context in which we need to reduce production of fossil fuels and ... we need to be on a path of lower consumption.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Harris, haven't, aren't, Catherine Abreu, John Podesta, Richard Valdmanis, Valerie Volcovici, Sarah McFarlane, Simon Jessop, Katy Daigle, Kevin Liffey, Diane Craft Organizations: Climate Fund, OPEC, United, UAE, Saturday, Exxon Mobil, Saudi Arabia's Aramco, Oil, Climate Initiative, Reuters, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, United States, Dubai, COP26, America, China, Texas, New Mexico, United Arab Emirates, U.S, Saudi, Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will join the U.S. delegation to Dubai for the annual United Nations conference on climate change, the White House said Wednesday. This weekend's trip for COP28 appears to have been hastily arranged, since her staff recently said she had no plans to attend. White House officials did not explain the change in plans, but the announcement comes after criticism of Joe Biden's decision to skip the summit. The White House said Biden spoke Wednesday with President Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting COP28. Her trip will be closely watched for reasons other than climate change.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's, He’s, Biden, Mohamed bin Zayed, Harris, ”, Antony Blinken, John Kerry, Ali Zaidi, John Podesta, Jordan Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, U.S, United Nations, White, United Arab Emirates, ”, The Associated Locations: Dubai, COP28, Africa, Washington, Arab, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian

The White House said it was sending a climate team, including Special Envoy John Kerry, climate adviser Ali Zaidi and clean energy adviser John Podesta. Biden has called climate change the “ultimate threat to humanity.”Earlier this month, he released an assessment on the state of climate change in America and said the issue was impacting all regions in the U.S. “Not just some, all,” he said. “Anyone who willfully denies the impact of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future,” he said. Under his tenure, the U.S. passed the Inflation Reduction Act, America’s most significant response to climate change, and pushed toward more clean energy manufacturing. The act aims to spur clean energy on a scale that will bend the arc of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Persons: Joe Biden, John Kerry, Ali Zaidi, John Podesta, “, ”, Angelo Fernández Hernández, ” Biden, It's, al, Jaber, Biden Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, United Nations, “ Conference, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co Locations: Dubai, Africa, Ukraine, Israel, Eastern Europe, Abu Dhabi, America, U.S

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden is not expected to attend the opening of the global climate summit in Dubai this week, according to a White House schedule of the president’s events. Since taking office, Biden has attended the annual UN climate summit in person in 2021 and 2022. The move has the potential to frustrate climate advocates both at home and abroad, though some activists and small island nations have called into question the effectiveness of the annual international climate summit process. O’Hanlon said Sunrise Movement also has critiques of the international climate summit itself – which is itself embroiled in controversy as it is being hosted by the oil-rich United Arab Emirates this year. A July Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that 57% of Americans disapprove of the way Biden has handled climate policy, including 59% of voters 18-29 years old.

Persons: Joe Biden, John Kerry, Ali Zaidi, Biden, John Kirby, haven’t, Tom Evans, “ It’s, he’s, ” Evans, ”, Greta Thunberg, greenwashing ”, “ Biden, Stevie O’Hanlon, O’Hanlon, ” O’Hanlon, –, Donald Trump, John Podesta, Xi Jinping Organizations: Washington CNN, White, National Security, CNN, Sunrise Movement, Sunrise, United, Washington Post, University of Maryland, Republican, U.S, National Locations: Dubai, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Washington, China

☆ National Climate Assessment: 5 takeaways on the US climate report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Climate change is affecting every aspect of our lives,” Hayhoe told CNN. Here are five significant takeaways from the federal government’s sweeping climate report. Climate change doesn’t cause things like hurricanes or wildfires, but it can make them more intense or more frequent. And hotter and drier conditions from climate change can help vegetation and trees become tinderboxes, turning wildfires into megafires that spin out of control. But it’s not happening nearly fast enough to stabilize the planet’s warming or meet the United States’ international climate commitments, the report explains.

Persons: Katharine Hayhoe, ” Hayhoe, we’re, Rick Curtis, Hilary Swift, Joe Biden, ”, John Podesta, Ethan Swope, Biden, West Virginia –, Scott Brauer, Dave White, White, ” White Organizations: CNN, UN, Texas Tech University, New York Times, ” White, United States, Bloomberg, Getty, Arizona State University, Rockies Locations: Barre , Vermont, Maricopa County, Vermont, Maui, Gulf, Aguanga , California, California, Florida , Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, West Virginia, rainstorms, China, India, Barnstable , Massachusetts, Southwest, California’s Sierra Nevada, West

☆ New York throws support behind offshore wind with three project awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The announcement, which the state billed as the nation's largest ever investment in offshore wind, comes less than two weeks after New York regulators rejected requests by three offshore wind developers to renegotiate their contracts because of soaring costs. In response, Governor Kathy Hochul pledged to support renewable energy projects to meet the state's climate change goals. The Biden administration, which has made offshore wind development a cornerstone of its plan to decarbonize the nation's power grid, applauded the move. New York is also committing $300 million to the development of offshore wind component manufacturing facilities planned by GE Vernova (GE.N). New York Offshore Wind Alliance Director Fred Zalcman said the announcement "will go a long way towards instilling confidence in a market that has recently faced tremendous headwinds."

Persons: Kathy Hochul, France's TotalEnergies, Germany's, Hochul, Biden, John Podesta, Fred Zalcman, Nichola Groom, Bill Berkrot, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: New York, Denmark's, Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, White House, Power, Corio, Grid, Excelsior, GE Vernova, Offshore Wind Alliance, Thomson Locations: New, York, Denmark's Copenhagen, New York, America, RWE, . New

☆ US solar company Suniva to restart idled factory thanks to Biden climate law
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The company is the latest to commit to new U.S. solar production capacity since passage last year of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which subsidizes domestic manufacturing of clean energy equipment. "Solar cells can succeed in this market. Suniva will begin producing solar cells, the building blocks of solar panels, at its Norcross, Georgia, facility in the spring of next year, the company said. OIC also committed capital this year to Canadian solar manufacturer Heliene for a new U.S. cell and panel factory in Minnesota. But he credits subsidies contained in the IRA for finally enabling Suniva to produce solar cells again.

Persons: Joe Biden, Brian Snyder, Joe Biden's, Matt, Suniva, Card, Trump, Biden, Suniva's Card, John Podesta, Bidenomics, Nichola, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Democratic, Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative, REUTERS, Reuters, Orion Infrastructure Capital, Lion, White House, Thomson Locations: Plymouth, Plymouth , New Hampshire, U.S, Georgia, China, Norcross , Georgia, New York, Minnesota, Lion Point, America, KS

☆ Joe Biden has a decision to make about Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

A small group of lawyers and media executives gathered in a well-appointed back room to listen to Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother. In the case of Vault 7, WikiLeaks' source turned out to be a disgruntled former C.I.A employee. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn New York, Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother, declined to rule out the possibility of a plea deal. Every time the Australian government raises this issue, the Chinese government puts out a statement about Julian Assange. Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, right, was part of a delegation of Australian officials in the US to press for the release of Julian Assange.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, Gabriel Shipton, Tucker Carlson, Tucker, Shipton, he'd, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, Monique Ryan, Albanese, Mike Pompeo, Caroline Kennedy, Der Spiegel, El Pais, David Hicks, Julian, John Shipton, Assange's, John, Gabriel, Brett Assange, Peter Whish, Wilson, We've, Robert Carr, Chelsea Manning's, Obama, We're, Cheng Lei, —, Chelsea Manning, Manning, What's, Julian Assange's, John MacDougall, …, they'd, he's, John Young, Laura Poitras's, Mueller, Robert Mueller's, John Podesta's, Bernie Sanders, John Koeltl, They've, Donald, Trump, we've, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, He's, I'm, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, I've, Putin, exfiltrate Assange, Julian wasn't, Dana Rohrabacher, Rohrabacher, Jennifer Robinson, Tracey Nearmy, we'd, Marjorie Taylor, Greene, Antony Blinken, Biden, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, WikiLeaks, Washington Post, Washington, DOJ, The Washington, Australia's Labor Party, New, Biden, Senate Intelligence, Justice Department, New York Times, Guardian, Chelsea, Pentagon, Getty, Justice, The State Department, Laura Poitras's WikiLeaks, State Department, DNC, Democratic, Committee, Democratic National Convention, of, Russian Federation, Novaya Gazeta, Trump, CIA, The Justice Locations: New York, London, Assange's, Pacific, Ecuadorian, Washington, Russia, Australia, Shipton, Brig, Chelsea, Iraq, Australian, China, American, Moscow, Getty Shipton, … Shipton, Cryptome, There's, Southern, of New York, Russian, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Panama, schwartz79@protonmail.com

BOSTON (AP) — A wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for his role in a nearly $100 million stock market cheating scheme that relied on secret earnings information stolen through the hacking of U.S. computer networks. Prosecutors had sought 14 years in prison, saying a stiff punishment was crucial to send a message to overseas cybercriminals. They then broke into the vendors’ computer systems to get filings before they became public, prosecutors said. Klyushin owned a Moscow-based information technology company that purported to provide services to detect vulnerabilities in computer systems. It counted among its clients the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ministry of Defense, according to prosecutors.

Persons: —, Vladislav Klyushin, Tesla, he's, Klyushin, who’s, ”, Prosecutors, Seth Kosto, ” Kosto, Maksim Nemtsev, Vladimir Putin, Klyushin's, Ivan Ermakov, Hilary Clinton’s, John Podesta, Ermakov Organizations: BOSTON, Kremlin, Authorities, Microsoft, U.S, Prosecutors, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ministry of Defense, Democratic Party, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Locations: Russian, Moscow, Boston, U.S, Switzerland, Russia

☆ Moderation on a popular AI image generator can be easily circumvented to create images that drive conspiracy theories, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For example, researchers said it's possible for users to use code words to create violent images of political figures. A new report shared with Bloomberg finds that users can easily circumvent filters on a popular AI image generator to create images that perpetuate misinformation. Midjourney, a generative AI platform, allows users to create images with certain guidelines. The terms also ban users from using the service to create images for political campaigns. He was caught in part because one of those campaign images featured a woman with three arms.

Persons: Midjourney, Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Anthony Furey Organizations: Bloomberg, Center, News, Toronto Locations: Washington

It would also limit the need for environmental reviews for projects that federal agencies deem to have significant and long-lasting positive impacts. NEPA is a bedrock environmental law that requires environmental reviews for major projects, and is a frequent focus of litigation that can delay projects for years. The White House said the proposed rule "would fully implement and build upon new permitting efficiencies" directed by Congress in this year's debt ceiling law. The rule would build on initial work to reform the NEPA process finalized last year, when the White House reversed a Trump administration overhaul of the process. Last year's changes required federal agencies to consider the “direct,” “indirect,” and “cumulative” impacts of proposed projects or actions, including a full evaluation of climate impacts.

Persons: John Podesta, Joe Biden’s, ” Podesta, Kevin Cramer, Ben, Clark Mindock Organizations: Council, Environmental, White House, NEPA, Congress, Trump, Republican, Senate Environment, Public, Committee, Sierra Club, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Microsoft under European antitrust investigation over Teams
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —European officials are investigating whether Microsoft’s practice of bundling its Teams software with Office 365 is anticompetitive, the European Commission said Thursday. The EU probe follows a formal complaint by Microsoft’s rival, the Salesforce-owned Slack, in 2020, alleging that Microsoft has illegally circumvented competition. By packaging Teams together with its “well-entrenched” productivity suite, including apps such as Word and Outlook, Microsoft could be effectively blocking customers from seeking out rival collaboration tools, the Commission said. “We respect the European Commission’s work on this case and take our own responsibilities very seriously,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. We first need to identify indeed if there is a breach of antitrust considerations.”The in-depth investigation reflects rising EU antitrust scrutiny for Microsoft, which was last fined on a competition violation in 2013 for not honoring a commitment to give European consumers a choice in web browsers.

Persons: Slack, ”, “, Arianna Podesta, Slack’s, Jonathan Prince Organizations: Washington CNN, European Commission, EU, Microsoft, Antitrust

☆ Prosecutors say a Jan. 6 defendant targeted Obama's DC home after Trump posted its address on Truth social
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Prosecutors say a January 6 defendant began live streaming outside of Obama's purported DC residence before his arrest. Prosecutors say Taranto reshared Obama's purported address from a post by Trump. According to prosecutors, Taylor Taranto reshared Trump's post on his own Truth social account. Trump shared Obama's purported address in a post that republished a 2017 newsletter in the late-conservative Phyllis Schlafly's name about Trump's first 100 days in office. After sharing that Trump post, Taranto then began live streaming as he drove through the wealthy Kalorama neighborhood of Washington D.C.

Persons: Taylor Taranto, Prosecutors, Taranto reshared Obama's, —, Barack Obama's, Donald Trump, Taylor Taranto reshared, Trump, Phyllis Schlafly's, Obamas, Taranto, Obama, John Podesta's, Kevin McCarthy's, Jamie Raskin Organizations: Trump, Service, Taylor Taranto reshared Trump's, White, Washington D.C, Prosecutors, White House, Washington , D.C, Maryland Democrat Locations: Obama's, Taranto, DC, Washington, Kalorama, Pasco, Washington State, Washington ,, Maryland

☆ The D.N.C. Has a Primary Problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Ross Barkan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

With Clyburn’s blessing, he became chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “People thought early on, Oh, God, Jaime’s the chair of the D.N.C., so therefore he’s going to put his finger on the scale for South Carolina. “National Geographic said that 90 percent of African Americans can trace one of their ancestors to South Carolina. In our primary, 50 to 60 percent of the people who vote in the Democratic primary will be Black folks. A first-in-the-nation South Carolina primary lends Black moderates, a pivotal Democratic constituency, the kind of clout that many believe they deserve.

Persons: Jaime Harrison, Harrison, Kyrsten, Biden, Jim Clyburn, Ron Brown, Brown, Lindsey Graham, Clyburn, South Carolina —, ” Harrison, it’s, hasn’t Organizations: Democratic National Committee, Democratic, South Carolina, Biden, Podesta, South Carolina Democratic Party, Geographic, Democratic Party Locations: South Carolina, New Hampshire, Montana , Ohio, West Virginia, Arizona, D.N.C, South, Southern, Carolina, Hampshirites, America, Iowa

☆ Feds pave the way for cities and nonprofits to get climate-bill tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"For the first time, tax-exempt entities will be able to receive a payment equal to the full value of the tax credit for building qualifying clean energy projects," Podesta said. "That's a game-changer for our ability to spread the benefits of clean energy to every community in America." "The Inflation Reduction Act's biggest tools are tax credits, which provide an unprecedent 10 years of policy certainty for the clean energy sector," Podesta said. Conventionally, states, territories, tribes, local governments and nonprofits have not been not eligible for tax credits, because they do not derive profits from which to deduct the value of a tax credit. Taken together, the two bits of guidance stand to grease the flywheel of climate tech investment already being spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Persons: Podesta, John Podesta, Joe Biden, what's, Wally Adeyemo, Adeyemo, Michelle Moore, Moore Organizations: US Department of Energy, U.S . Department of, Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Biden, Washington DC, White, IRS, of, Washington , D.C Locations: Medicine Bow , Wyoming, America, Washington, USA, Washington ,, U.S, Baltimore, of Refuge, , Maryland , Illinois, Georgia, New York

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