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☆ Konya: Turkey’s ancient city of whirling dervishes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Robert Iddiols | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Konya, Turkey CNN —When most people think of Turkey bucket list destinations, a few obvious ones spring to mind - Istanbul, Turquoise Coast hotspots like Bodrum or the otherworldly landscapes of Cappadocia. As well as being a renowned Islamic scholar, Rumi launched the Mevlevi Order of the Whirling Dervishes. And while they can be seen in various locations across Turkey, Konya is the beating heart of their activities. Abdullah Çetín, a photographer based in Konya, says the city and region’s history is also what puts it on the map. Murat Oner Tas/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesKonya is also a jumping off point for Lake Tuz, a large hypersaline lake that lies about two hours’ drive northeast of the city.

Persons: –, it’s, Celaleddin Rumi, Rumi, Maulana, ”, Kerem Polat, Adem Altan, Polat, “, ” Polat, Abdullah Çetín, Çetín, Murat Oner Tas, Fahri Tunç, Tunç, ’, ‘, ” Tunç, he’s Organizations: CNN, Turkey CNN, Getty, ”, Mevlana Museum, Anadolu Agency Locations: Konya, Turkey, Istanbul, Turquoise, – Konya, Adem, AFP, Sultanate of Rum, Balkh, Afghanistan, Mecca, Medina, Anatolia, mycan, Sille, Gevale, Rumi, Konya “, Lake Tuz, Salt, Tuz

☆ Discovery Dunes: Dubai’s ultra-luxury desert community is selling plots for up $50 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Leah Collins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Luxury real estate development company Discovery Land Company (DLC) has quietly launched a multi-million-dollar, ultra-luxury residential community in Dubai, where the most expensive plot of land will cost up to $50 million. Discovery Dunes will be DLC’s debut ultra-luxury residency in the Middle East. Discovery Land CompanyCustomizable comfortPerhaps the most coveted aspect of the exclusive community is its scope for customization. “The villas here at Discovery Dunes are extremely customized,” a representative of Discovery Land Company told CNN in an interview. Discovery Dunes is the latest of DLC’s ’s planned projects in the region and across the globe, including new sites in Europe, Portugal and Central America.

Persons: Tom Fazio, ”, Mike Meldman, Olson Kundig – Organizations: CNN, Discovery Land Company, Discovery, Edition, Discovery Land, “, San Locations: Dubai, ”, Discovery, Burj, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, San Diego, UAE, Burj Khalifa, Europe, Portugal, Central America

☆ I was a stay-at-home mom for 7 years. When I updated my résumé, I realized that so much of mothering applies to jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Nina Weierman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For those in the daily grind, that is probably hard to understand, but as a stay-at-home mom, there are things that I miss about having a job to go to every day. Things like getting dressed and having conversations with someone above the age of 6, for one, but also things like doing work that is validated by society. I felt like I needed to explain the gap in my resuméOnce I finished editing my résumé, I couldn't help feel the need to explain more about what I have been doing as a stay-at-home mom. Related storiesJust the term "stay-at-home" mom makes me cringe because it immediately brings up these images of a woman sitting in her house to mind. Yet here I am, just hoping someone will read between the lines on my résumé on everything that means to be "just" a mom.

Persons: —, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Mother's

☆ TikTok is becoming a new GoFundMe, with views replacing donations to help people get out of debt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read preview"We are paying off each other debt on TikTok," a creator recently declared. The creator, named Yolanda, was gushing about the "pay off each other's debt" trend that seems to have become popular on the app. More than 4,000 videos have been posted under the #payoffdebttrend hashtag on TikTok, with creators asking for help for various reasons including medical bills, student debt, and unexpected costs. The requirements for earning money on TikTok are to have at least 10,000 followers and to have amassed 100,000 video views in the previous 30 days. AdvertisementAccording to creators who previously spoke with BI in 2022, the amount TikTok pays creators varies widely from a few pennies to $17 per 1,000 views.

Persons: —, Yolanda, TikTok, Katya Varbanova, Jake Heisenburg, Heisenburg, commenter, didn't, he'd, Markia Brown, Mark Tilbury, Varbanova, it's, Brown, isn't Organizations: Service, Business, New York Federal Reserve Bank, TikTok, Facebook Locations: TikTok, Experian

☆ Biden jumps on Trump ‘unified Reich’ video that plays into a key theme of president’s reelection push
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Kyle Feldscher | Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Boston CNN —President Joe Biden and his campaign are looking to capitalize on former President Donald Trump’s posting of a video showing images of a fake newspaper article that references a “unified Reich” if he’s reelected in 2024. The video has been removed from Trump’s Truth Social account, but the Biden campaign has quickly incorporated the former president’s use of verbiage associated with Nazi Germany into messaging. Biden made Trump’s comments the focus of two closed-door campaign fundraisers Tuesday night, a video on his social media platforms and a fundraising email. It’s the language of Hitler’s Germany,” Biden told donors in Boston during a campaign reception. “Is this on his official account?” Biden asks in the video.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s, he’s, Trump, Biden, “ That’s, ” Biden, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, “ What’s, ”, Karoline Leavitt, ” “ Organizations: Boston CNN, Trump, White House Locations: Charlottesville , Virginia, Nazi Germany, Germany, Boston, Nazi, America, New York

☆ Shocking: Some AI developers didn’t listen when a woman rejected their offer
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Back in September, Scarlett Johansson, who played the hauntingly complex AI assistant in the 2013 Spike Jonze film “Her,” got a request from OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman. He wanted to hire Johansson to voice his company’s newest ChatGPT model, “Sky.” She said no. Johansson quickly lawyered up, saying Monday she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” that Altman would use a voice “so eerily similar” to her own. OpenAI was forced to confront some of those concerns late last week, after two prominent employees left the company. “Being friends with AI will be so much easier than forging bonds with human beings,” wrote Wired editor Brian Barrett in a recent essay about the movie.

Persons: CNN Business ’, you’ve, Scarlett Johansson, Spike Jonze, ”, Sam Altman, Johansson, OpenAI, Altman, Altman —, Jan Leike, OpenAI’s, Ilya Sutskever, ” Altman, “, that’s, Joaquin, Brian Barrett, — CNN’s Clare Duffy, Brian Fung Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Google Locations: New York, Silicon

☆ May’s full flower moon will light up the sky this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

May’s full moon is known as the flower moon, a reference to its appearance in late spring, when many flowering plants begin to bloom again after their winter slumber. The flower moon will begin to rise after sunset on Wednesday, reaching its highest point after midnight, per EarthSky. The flower moon played a minor role in a particularly dark period of US history. Martin Scorsese’s recent Oscar-nominated historical drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” explores a series of murders of Osage people in Oklahoma. The killings began in May 1921, the month of the flower moon.

Persons: CNN —, St, Bede, Venerable, Martin Scorsese’s, Buck Organizations: CNN, NASA, Washington Locations: Washington ,, Algonquin, Canada, United States, Plains, Dakota, Osage, Oklahoma

☆ When my husband lost his wedding ring, my son thought we were no longer married
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Liz Alterman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewOne autumn afternoon, while raking leaves, my husband, Rich, lost his wedding ring. We hoped the ring, possibly lost amid the browning landscape, would be shiny enough to catch our eyes. Our son thought we had splitWe'd been married for a decade by that point, and while it was odd to see my husband's ring finger bare after all that time, I didn't really give it much thought. AdvertisementOur middle son, Ben, a kindergartener at the time, and I were standing in the kitchen baking together months after the ring disappeared. "It's too bad Dad can't find his ring," Ben said.

Persons: —, Rich, Nat King Cole, Rich hadn't, we'd, hadn't, azaleas, we've, Ben, Wistfully Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Can Biden Win America’s Green Tech Trade War With China? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

On May 14, President Biden announced a major escalation of the country’s emerging climate trade war with China, raising existing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 100 percent — a unilateral quadrupling. A few days earlier, responding to reports of Biden’s plans, Donald Trump outdid him, promising tariffs of 200 percent should he win the 2024 election. Five years after blasting Trump for imposing tariffs on Chinese exports, Biden raised them — on aluminum, steel, lithium batteries, solar cells and semiconductors, among other products. In 2019, Chinese E.V. Nearly 60 percent of all the world’s E.V.s are now sold in China, which is home to three of the world’s four biggest E.V.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Donald Trump outdid, It’s, “, Gaia, David Autor, Tesla, BYD Organizations: Trump, Democratic Locations: China, U.S, Washington, Chinese

☆ The jury in the Trump trial faces a task unique in American history
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“The judge hates Donald Trump, just take a look, take a look at him, take a look at where he comes from. The intricate task that awaits jurorsIt’s impossible to know how jurors are interpreting the daily drama of the courtroom in any trial. Trump has denied the alleged affair with Daniels, and hush money payments are not illegal in themselves. When Cohen finally took the stand, he directly implicated Trump in the alleged scheme to buy Daniels’ silence. But he may have ended up creating a hole in the Trump defense, according to several legal experts.

Persons: there’ll, Donald Trump’s, He’s, Juan Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, Trump, It’s, he’s, —, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, “, Matthew Colangelo, they’ve, Michael Cohen, ”, Todd Blanche, Cohen, David Pecker, Pecker, Hope Hicks, Hicks, ” Hicks, ’, ” Trump, ‘, ’ ” Cohen, Trump’s, he’d, beseeched, Cohen’s, ” Blanche, Merchan, — Robert Costello, Costello Organizations: CNN, Trump, Attorney, Democrat, Republican, GOP, New York, Prosecutors, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, White House Locations: New York, Manhattan, Lake Tahoe

☆ A millennial couple bought an abandoned cottage for half the price of nearby houses. It's a major fixer-upper, but it's worth it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Maria Noyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

The couple's house is a fixer-upper in every sense of the word. Gagnier and Verma were looking for a starter home for two years before they found their fixer-upper cottage. Courtesy of Greer GagnierTheir "cozy little cottage," as Gagnier calls it, had been foreclosed. Gagnier and Verma had seen the home before because it's right down the street from the rental they currently live in. So we ran right over there and fell in love with it," Gagnier said.

Persons: Verma, Greer Gagnier, Gagnier, —

☆ Scarlett Johansson says she declined Sam Altman's offer to voice ChatGPT. Now she's lawyered up after an 'eerily similar' voice was released.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice — Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice," the blog post said. AdvertisementIn a statement provided to BI, Altman said the Sky voice is not Johansson and was not intended to be similar to hers. "We cast the voice actor behind Sky's voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky's voice in our products," Altman said. "We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn't communicate better."

Persons: —, Scarlett Johansson, OpenAI, Sam Altman's, Johansson, Altman, Sky's, Katie Notopoulos, Sam Altman Organizations: Service, Business, BI

☆ Sources say they were ‘duped’ by Egypt changing ceasefire terms for Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Alex Marquardt | Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The ceasefire agreement that Hamas ended up announcing on May 6 was not what the Qataris or the Americans believed had been submitted to Hamas for a potential final review, the sources said. “We were all duped,” one of those sources told CNN. More of Hamas’ demands were inserted into the original framework that Israel had tacitly agreed to in order to secure Hamas’ approval, the source said. After discovering the Egyptian freelancing, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani informed Israel’s intelligence service Mossad that Egypt had acted alone, two of the sources told CNN. The day before Hamas made their May 6 public announcement agreeing to the proposal, an Egyptian source told CNN that Egypt had received Hamas’ response and relayed it to the Israeli side.

Persons: Israel, Bill Burns, Burns, ”, Ahmed Abdel Khalek, Abdel Khalek, Abbas Kamel, ’, Abdel Kareem Hana, Antony Blinken, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Bill Burns Bill Clark, Biden, Yahya Sinwar doesn’t, Critics of Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Hamas, CIA, US, Biden, Military Locations: Gaza, Qatar, Israel, Egypt, Al Thani, Cairo, Washington, Rafah

☆ OpenAI's Scarlett Johansson saga reveals an 'ask forgiveness, not permission' problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewOpenAI's biggest critics have long held the view that Sam Altman's success has been built on an "ask forgiveness, not permission" strategy that could come back to haunt him. The ChatGPT maker has been embroiled in fresh controversy since Monday after Scarlett Johansson lashed out at the company over a new voice feature for its chatbot. her — Sam Altman (@sama) May 13, 2024OpenAI has responded to the criticism by pulling the Sky voice entirely. AdvertisementThough Johansson and Pichai have not filed lawsuits against OpenAI, the "ask forgiveness, not permission" strategy that critics accuse the company of has already landed it in legal hot water. Creators who suspect their work has been used to train OpenAI without their permission will probably wonder why they weren't offered an agreement in the first place.

Persons: —, Sam Altman's, Scarlett Johansson, Mr Altman, Johansson, ChatGPT, Altman, Theodore, Joaquin Phoenix, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Sundar Pichai, Pichai Organizations: Service, Business, NPR, OpenAI, YouTube, Authors, New York Times, Sony Music, Financial Times, Creators Locations: San Francisco

☆ Sundar Pichai says OpenAI might have breached YouTube's terms and conditions to train its text-to-video model Sora
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewOpenAI might've breached YouTube's terms and conditions to train its text-to-video model Sora, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai. "So you felt like they had broken your terms and conditions, or potentially, or if they had, that wouldn't have been appropriate?" Sundar Pichai says he believes OpenAI's Sora breached YouTube's terms and conditions and he is sympathetic to creators whose content is being used to train AI models pic.twitter.com/mF1D6XjYf8 — Tsarathustra (@tsarnick) May 20, 2024Earlier in the interview, Pichai revealed that YouTube was still "following up and trying to understand" how OpenAI had trained Sora. "We have terms and conditions, and we would expect people to abide by those terms and conditions when you build a product, so that's how I felt about it." AdvertisementJohansson said in a statement that she had turned down OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's offer to voice its latest GPT-4o model.

Persons: —, Sora, Sundar Pichai, Nilay Patel, Pichai, OpenAI's Sora, OpenAI, Mira Murati, Joanna Stern, Stern, Murati, I'm, Neal Mohan, Emily Chang, would've, Mohan, didn't, Scarlett Johansson, Johansson, Sam Altman's, Spike Jonze's, We’ve Organizations: Service, Business, YouTube, coy, Google, BI Locations: Amazon, ChatGPT

☆ Trump posts video referencing ‘unified Reich’ if reelected
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Colin Mccullough | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump posted a video on Monday showing images of a fake newspaper article that references a “unified Reich” if he’s reelected in 2024. The video, posted to Trump’s Truth Social account, details “what happens after Donald Trump wins” with a narrator reading hypothetical headlines like “Economy Booms!” and “Border is closed,” styled as World War I-era newspaper clippings. The term “reich” is often associated Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, who designated Germany a “Third Reich” from 1933 to 1945. Donald Trump is not playing games; he is telling America exactly what he intends to do if he regains power: rule as a dictator over a ‘unified reich,’” said Singer. Trump has previously played into antisemitic tropes, drawing broad condemnation for lashing out at Jewish Americans he says don’t support him and Israel enough.

Persons: Donald Trump, he’s, “ What’s, ”, Adolf Hitler, Karoline Leavitt, Trump, ” Biden, James Singer, ’ ”, Singer, Hitler Organizations: CNN, Trump, Biden, Jewish Locations: America, Nazi Germany, Germany, Israel, Iowa

☆ Trump's Truth Social posted a video with apparent Nazi messaging — his team says it wasn't him
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The video envisages an economic boom, the deportation of migrants, and tax cuts if Trump wins. The Trump campaign claimed the video was shared by a staffer who didn't see the reference to the "unified Reich" before posting it. President Joe Biden's campaign campaign said the post was "foreshadowing a second Trump term that says he will create a 'UNIFIED REICH,' echoing Nazi Germany." In 2016, Trump shared a quote by Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, an ally of Hitler, on X, then called Twitter. The Trump campaign at the time said that critics were "snowflakes grasping for anything" in response to the controversy.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, what's, Trump, Karoline Leavitt, Joe Biden, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, James Singer, Benito Mussolini, Hitler, Biden Organizations: Service, Trump, Business, ABC News, Associated Press Locations: America, Trump's New York, Nazi Germany, Italian, American

☆ Rio Vista, Texas: He’s one of the last surviving participants in a US program some described as ‘legalized slavery’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

This time, officials were unveiling plaques designating the former Rio Vista Bracero Reception Center in Socorro, Texas, as a National Historic Landmark. While the bracero program provided a legal pathway for guest workers, crackdowns on illegal immigration were also common during that period. Why Rio Vista is so significant – and rareThe Rio Vista site, a key hub for the program, is about a 30-minute drive from El Paso, Texas. Before its role in the bracero program, the area known as Rio Vista Farm was a poor farm and an orphanage. All of this went through Corral’s mind as he revisited Rio Vista on May 11.

Persons: Sebastian Corral’s, they’d, “, you’d, ” Corral, Lee G, Williams, Yolanda Chávez Leyva, it’s, ” Leyva, Sebastian Corral, ”, Leyva, who’s, Blanca McCreary, ” McCreary, Department of Homeland Security Leyva, Corral, —, Sehila Mota Casper, They’ve, ” Mota Casper, Kip Malone, Mota Casper, ” Victor Reta, he’s, he’d, Maria, He’d, Reagan Organizations: CNN, Corral, Historic Landmark, Mexican Farm Worker, Library, Department of Homeland, Dallas Morning News, Department of Labor, University of Texas, Rio Vista, ” Patrol, National Trust for Historic Preservation, US Public Health Service, Heritage, ” Locations: Vado , New Mexico, America, Rio, Socorro , Texas, Mexico, Hidalgo , Texas, El Paso, Rio Vista, El Paso , Texas, South Texas, Socorro, Leyva, United States, Delicias, New Mexico, ”, New Mexico , Colorado , Wyoming, Texas, Mexican, Los Angeles, California

☆ Opinion: Diddy’s apology to Cassie Ventura rings hollow
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Opinion Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”Well, now there’s a video. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”Combs added: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted now.”Here’s the thing, though: Combs had the opportunity to take full responsibility last year, when Cassie filed her claim. Resources for victims of domestic violenceNational Domestic Violence Hotline Call 1-800-799-7233 or text LOVEIS to 22522. If you, or someone you know, is being affected by domestic violence, a worldwide list of directories is provided by UN Women.

Persons: Jill Filipovic, CNN —, Cassie Ventura, “ Cassie ”, Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Combs, ” Ben Brafman, “ Mr, Ventura, “, ”, ” Combs, I’m, Cassie, Combs ’ Organizations: Twitter, CNN, US, Facebook, UN Locations: New York, ”

☆ Elon Musk waded in on Scarlett Johansson's dispute with OpenAI, and couldn't resist throwing shade at his tech rival
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewElon Musk has waded into the dispute between Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson. Musk has also started his own AI company, xAI, and launched a ChatGPT rival called Grok. AdvertisementSam Altman played into the speculation by posting the word "Her" on X, but OpenAI executives denied the likeness was intentional. However, on Monday, the company abruptly announced that "Sky," the voice used in the GPT-4o demo, would be temporarily removed.

Persons: —, Elon, Sam Altman, Scarlett Johansson, Musk, Johansson's, OpenAI, Sam Altman's, Altman, Scarlett Johansson's, chatbot, Johansson, Jan Leike Organizations: Service, Business, BI

OpenAI’s Scarlett Johansson problemWhen OpenAI unveiled the latest version of ChatGPT last week, a chatbot that can listen to spoken questions and respond verbally, many users had one question: Is that Scarlett Johansson? It’s another sign of eroding trust in OpenAI, which has taken fire from creative industries and former employees. In her statement, Johansson shed more light on the matter:Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system. Altman tried again two days before the ChatGPT product announcement, she added, but released the service before they could connect. Johansson — no stranger to waging war against big companies — suggested that she was ready to take legal action.

Persons: OpenAI’s Scarlett Johansson, OpenAI, Scarlett Johansson, ”, OpenAI —, ” Johansson, Sam Altman, Mira Murati, Johansson, Altman, Johansson —, — Locations: OpenAI

☆ Elon Musk waded in on Scarlett Johansson's dispute with OpenAI and couldn't resist throwing shade at his tech rival
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewElon Musk has waded into the dispute between Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson. Musk has also started his own AI company, xAI, and launched a ChatGPT rival named Grok. AdvertisementAltman played into the speculation by posting the word "her" on X, but OpenAI executives denied the likeness was intentional. In a statement shared with Business Insider, Altman apologized to Johansson for not communicating better but reiterated that the Sky voice wasn't intended to mimic hers.

Persons: —, Elon, Sam Altman, Scarlett Johansson, Musk, Johansson's, OpenAI, she'd, Altman, Scarlett Johansson's, chatbot, Johansson, Jan Leike, OpenAI didn't Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Opinion | Justice Alito Is a True Believer
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In a large part of American political discourse, overt cynicism is the currency of sophistication. It is a sign of political savviness, even worldliness, to know that politicians are creatures of pure self-interest, with no solid beliefs, concerns or preoccupations. For years, the savviest position was the cynical one: Their vocal opposition notwithstanding, neither Republican lawmakers nor conservative judges would actually try to overturn Roe v. Wade. And public cynicism notwithstanding, they want to do this even if it costs them votes in the short term. The same was and remains true for Republicans and abortion.

Persons: Roe, Wade, ”, William Saletan, suburbanites, pare Organizations: Republican, Democratic Party, Democratic Locations: Slate

☆ Island time: Why some resorts in the Maldives move their clocks ahead an hour
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Many resorts move their clocks at least one hour ahead of the country’s official time zone – which is five hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+5). The JW Marriott is one of four Maldives properties under the Marriott Group umbrella, alongside St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, the Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort and the Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands. Video Ad Feedback Inside one of the Maldives' most luxurious resorts 02:30 - Source: CNNSoneva, another luxury resort group with multiple properties around the Maldives, also sets the clocks at its resorts an hour ahead of Male Time. Not every island resort follows island timeVideo Ad Feedback Flying with the barefoot pilots of the Maldives 02:31 - Source: CNNNot every resort in the Maldives follows island time. “Here at Kurumba Maldives we don’t use island time and never have, simply because as the first resort in the Maldives the concept of island time didn’t exist,” says Ali Farooq, resort manager at Kurumba, which opened in 1972.

Persons: Mohit Dembla, Matteo Colombo, ”, Zhilah Vego, CNN Soneva, Soneva Jani, Jani Time, Charles Morris, “, –, Regis, Ali Farooq, Marriott’s Organizations: CNN, JW, Spa, CNN Travel, Marriott, Marriott Group, St, Regis, Westin, Ritz, Carlton Maldives, GM, ” Staff, Maldives ’, butlers, Kurumba, Velana International Locations: Maldives, Greenwich, Regis Maldives, Westin Maldives, Fari Islands, Beach, Maldivian, St, Kurumba Maldives, Kurumba, Malé

Once Mr. Trump was elected, he agreed to repay Mr. Cohen for the $130,000 hush-money deal and more. And at a meeting in Trump Tower just weeks before he was sworn in, Mr. Trump signed off on the fakery, Mr. Cohen recounted from the stand. “What, if anything, did Mr. Trump say at that time?” a prosecutor asked Mr. Cohen. There, he said, Mr. Trump’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, explained how Mr. Trump would reimburse Mr. Cohen for the payoff. To reach Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen testified, he called the candidate’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller.

Persons: Donald J, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Michael D, Cohen, Trump, Trump’s, —, Alvin L, Bragg, Cohen —, Marc F, Scholl, ”, ” Mr, Stormy Daniels, Mr, “, Michael M, Joshua Steinglass, Juan M, Merchan —, “ Trump, David Pecker, Pecker, Hope Hicks, Penny, Daniels, Allen Weisselberg, Weisselberg, Susan Hoffinger, Cohen’s, Keith Schiller, Schiller, William K, Rashbaum Organizations: Trump, Mr, Trump “, New, National Enquirer, Playboy, fixer Locations: Manhattan, New York

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