DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Omicron subvariants are resistant to key antibody treatments, putting people with weak immune systems at risk of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Emerging omicron subvariants are resistant to key antibody treatments for HIV patients, kidney transplant recipients and other immunocompromised people, making them particularly vulnerable to Covid this winter, the White House warned this week. While this may be true for the general population, it is not the case for people with weak immune systems. Evusheld is an antibody cocktail authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent Covid in people ages 12 and older who have moderately or severely compromised immune systems. Evusheld, made by AstraZeneca , has helped fill a gap in protection for those with weak immune systems who cannot mount a strong response to the vaccines. Jha acknowledged at the White House on Tuesday that the U.S. has dwindling treatment and prevention options for people with weak immune systems as Covid evolves.

☆ Republicans and Democrats find sympathy for John Fetterman after his post-stroke debate performance: 'Certainly not gonna slam a man who's had a health challenge'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"But he needed way more time to be able to process effectively," McFarland, the chair of Lehigh County's Democratic Committee, told Insider on Wednesday. During the one-hour showdown against his Republican rival Mehmet Oz, Fetterman at times struggled to get his message across clearly, speaking haltingly and stumbling on his words. James Carter, a 71-year-old Democratic voter, told Insider that Fetterman is simply not getting enough credit. "I kind of felt bad," Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania's state treasurer, told Insider. "I don't even think that John Fetterman should be running," Beth Gdowik, a 59-year-old voter from the Lehigh Valley area, told Insider.

☆ Pennsylvania Democrats defend John Fetterman after his post-stroke debate performance: 'Oz looked like such a smirky schmuck'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Democrats in Pennsylvania have continued to defend John Fetterman after his debate performance. John Fetterman make his case to voters in Pennsylvania's Senate debate on Tuesday evening, one thing became clear to her: time was not on his side. During the one-hour showdown against his Republican rival Mehmet Oz, Fetterman at times struggled to get his message across clearly, speaking haltingly and stumbling on his words. James Carter, a 71-year-old Democratic voter, told Insider that Fetterman is simply not getting enough credit. Some Republicans hope Tuesday's debate, the first and only one before Election Day, would push Oz ahead in the polls.

☆ Top Arizona election official refers more cases of potential voter intimidation to law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has referred six reports of possible voter intimidation to law enforcement in the past week, as well as an allegation of harassment of an election worker, her office said Monday. The cases were referred to the state attorney general’s office and the U.S. Justice Department for further investigation. Early voting got underway Oct. 12 in the battleground state, where Hobbs is the Democratic nominee for governor. Hobbs’ office said it also referred a report of election worker harassment to law enforcement Saturday. The case is being pursued by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was launched in June 2021.

☆ South Korea, U.S. in 'intense conversation' over EV tax credits, trade ambassador says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SAVANNAH, Ga. – South Korean officials are working closely with the U.S. government to adjust restrictive regulations on electric vehicles under the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, according to the county's trade ambassador Tuesday. "We are in very intense conversation at the moment," Cho said Tuesday following the groundbreaking of a $5.5 billion electric vehicle plant by Hyundai Motor Group near Savannah, Georgia. Under the IRA, plug-in electric vehicles much be produced in North America to qualify for the tax incentives. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves during the event on Tuesday called South Korea a strong trade partner, but did not comment on the Inflation Reduction Act. Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke with Korea's Minister for Trade Ahn Dukgeun about the IRA.

A voter casts their ballot in the Pennsylvania primary elections at Congregation Beth Or in Ambler, Pennsylvania, U.S. May 17, 2022. The alleged security breach came to light last month when Fulton County sued election equipment maker Dominion Voting Systems, citing purported security flaws discovered in Speckin's analysis of six hard drives from the machines. In a Pennsylvania Supreme Court filing on Tuesday, lawyers for the Secretary of the Commonwealth had asked the court to hold Fulton County officials, including Republican Commissioners Stuart Ulsh and Randy Bunch, in civil contempt for the breach. The lawyers said county officials "openly thumbed their noses at a clear and direct order of this Court" by allowing Speckin, a Michigan-based company, access to the machines. Stefanie Lambert, a Detroit-based attorney representing the county, did not immediately respond to a query about the special master appointment.

A voter casts their ballot in the Pennsylvania primary elections at Congregation Beth Or in Ambler, Pennsylvania, U.S. May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah Beier/File PhotoOct 21 (Reuters) - A rural Pennsylvania county violated a court order when it allowed a forensics company to examine voting equipment in July, marking the county's second security breach of the machines, the state's top election official alleged in a court filing. The latest alleged breach came to light last month when Fulton County filed a lawsuit against election equipment maker Dominion Voting Systems, citing purported issues discovered in an examination of the equipment by Speckin Forensics LLC. She pointed to alleged security flaws highlighted in Speckin's report, and noted that the county has sued Dominion and no longer uses its machines. Petitioners have now twice breached the security of this voting system by turning its components over to unauthorized third parties," lawyers for the state wrote in the filing.

☆ A 19th-century shipwreck and human remains were uncovered as the Mississippi River recedes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Drought has unearthed a sunken 19th-century shipwreck and human remains in the Mississippi River. In early October, low water levels revealed the old sunken ship along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A shipwreck is exposed along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, due to low water levels, on October 18, 2022. On Saturday, a woman found human remains while searching for rocks with her family on the banks of the drought-stricken river. The discovery in Mississippi comes after multiple sets of human remains surfaced in recent months in Nevada's Lake Mead — the country's largest reservoir.

☆ Photos show the Mississippi River is so low that it's grounding barges, disrupting the supply chain, and revealing a 19th-century shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Mississippi River is receding to historic lows amid drought across the Midwest. A barge tow floats past the exposed banks of the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Louisiana, on October 11, 2022. Drought is drying the Mississippi River to record lowsA passenger paddle wheeler passes between the river bridges in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on October 11, 2022. Rogelio V. Solis/AP PhotoJust a few months ago, the Mississippi River basin was flooding. In early October, low water levels revealed the old sunken ship along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

☆ A mechanic who says he was fired after refusing to 'forgive and forget' a colleague's use of a racist slur is suing a Georgia county
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A mechanic said he was fired by a Georgia county after refusing to forgive the use of a racist slur. Loyal told his brother-in-law, Bobby Turner, about the incident, upsetting Puryear. Both men were fired by the county for misconduct two weeks after Loyal's initial complaint, per the filing. "No employee should have to endure racial harassment or retaliation in the workplace, especially racial slurs," said assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's civil rights division. "Punishing employees for reporting harassment and discrimination to their supervisors is illegal and undermines the basic statutory protections designed to identify and root out racial harassment in workplaces across the country."

The widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election as alleged by Trump and his supporters was never proven. Election officials in three other states -- North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada -- reported similar incidents. In 16 North Carolina counties alone, officials noted unusually aggressive observers during May's primary elections, according to a state election board survey. When told to stop, they said they were following guidance from a Republican Party lawyer, said Henderson County Election Director Karen Hebb. As head of the Election Integrity Network, Mitchell is training election observers and is trying to build grassroots networks of conservatives ahead of the midterms.

Earlier in the day the British central bank said it would continue to buy bonds this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.56% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.97%. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) lost 2.28% after hitting an April 2020 low and were set for a near-30% tumble year-to-date, their biggest decline since 2008. read moreGILT RESPITEBonds globally have been sideswiped by the rout in UK government bonds, known as gilts, pushing yields on U.S. Treasuries up sharply. Bond market trading was volatile with longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields hitting multi-year highs.

☆ U.S. dollar rises, yen not far from 24-year trough that prompted intervention
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I can see it propelling the dollar higher still, even though people think it's a crowded trade. Overall, dollar sentiment remained positive as worries about rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions unsettled investors, while the yen hovered near the level that prompted last month's intervention. In afternoon trading, the U.S. dollar index rose 0.2% to 113.25, not far from a 20-year high of 114.78 it touched late last month. The dollar touched a three-week high against the yen of 145.895 , just shy of the 24-year peak of 145.90 hit before the Japanese government stepped in to prop it up three weeks ago. Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar hit a 2-1/2-year low of $0.6248 and was last down 0.4% at US$0.6270.

☆ Bank of England's Bailey tells pension funds they have 3 days to rebalance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told pension fund managers to finish rebalancing their positions by Friday when the British central bank is due to end its emergency support programme for the county's fragile bond market. We think the rebalancing must be done," Bailey said at an event organised by the Institute of International Finance in Washington on Tuesday. "And my message to the funds involved and all the firms involved managing those funds: You've got three days left now. But Bailey stressed that the programme was part of the BoE's financial stability operations, not a monetary policy tool, and had to be temporary. "Things seemed calmer again today," Bailey said, referring to conditions in the gilt market.

A small group of Los Angeles city leaders faced shame and castigation after an audio recording of racist remarks at a private meeting surfaced Sunday. The most egregious remarks were uttered by City Council President Nury Martinez, who seemed to verify the 2021 recording by apologizing to constituents. Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León and City Council President Nury Martinez confer at council meeting on Oct. 4. Martinez and de León and other Latino council members apologized Sunday after The Los Angeles Times reported that they had been taped making racist comments in a private meeting. The three issued a joint statement Sunday night that called past City Council support for Black Lives Matter "a facade."

☆ Michigan election worker charged with tampering with voting equipment
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - An election worker in a western Michigan town has been charged with two felonies after allegedly inserting a flash drive into a computer containing confidential voter registration data during an election in August, local officials said on Wednesday. At the Aug. 2 primary, an election worker was seen inserting a USB drive into the computer used to administer the election at a precinct in Gaines Township in Kent County, according to a statement by county clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons. Chris Becker, the county's prosecuting attorney, said he had charged the election worker, James Donald Holkeboer, with falsifying election records and using a computer to commit a crime. The election worker was seen by a witness at a precinct in Gaines Township inserting a USB drive into the Electronic Poll Book, the computer used to administer the election. A spokesperson for Michigan's Secretary of State said the breached equipment in Gaines Township has been decommissioned and will not be used in the November general election.

Share this -Link copiedFloridians are livestreaming Hurricane Ian on TikTok Floridians are giving TikTok users a front-row seat to Hurricane Ian. Storm surge map, they didn’t have a color for 12 to 15 feet," he said about the historic levels of storm surge expected near where Ian is expected to make landfall. Share this -Link copiedA view of Hurricane Ian from the International Space Station A view of Hurricane Ian from the International Space Station, on Monday. Share this -Link copiedSatellite images show Hurricane Ian approaching Florida Hurricane Ian over the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday. Share this -Link copiedIan expected to strengthen until making landfall, officials say Hurricane Ian is still forecast to strengthen until the hurricane makes landfall in Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.

☆ DeSantis-appointed Florida official resigns after photo emerges appearing to show him in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A widely circulated photo appears to show Jeffery Moore in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Moore resigned from his post on the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners last week. Sheriff Morris Young told Politico that Moore didn't deny it was him in the photo when questioned. Ron DeSantis abruptly resigned on Friday after a photo that appeared to show him in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood surfaced. Refuted nothing when I showed him the pictures," Young told Politico.

☆ Georgia to replace voting machines in a county after 'unauthorized access'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGeorgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger gives an afternoon update on the Georgia Primary Election at the election command center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. May 24, 2022. The step comes after video surveillance footage made public recently showed outsiders accessing Coffee County voting machines and copying sensitive software and data. "But the current election officials in Coffee County have to move forward with the 2022 election, and they should be able to do so without this distraction," he said. Separately in Georgia, a grand jury in the Fulton County is probing efforts by Trump to overturn the former president's 2020 election defeat. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Georgia county validates thousands of voters challenged by Trump allies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A polling station is pictured during the primary election in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dustin Chambers/File PhotoSept 21 (Reuters) - A Georgia county has validated 15,000 to 20,000 registered voters whose status was challenged ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election, officials said on Wednesday, leaving another 16,000 pending cases to resolve, according to the group leading the challenge. Supported by prominent allies of the former president, VoterGA has contested 37,000 voter registrations in the county of about 562,000 active voters. Trump's claims have been rejected by multiple courts, state reviews and members of his former administration. The American Project announced in August it would sponsor lawsuits related to claims about the 2020 election in Georgia, including several involving VoterGA and Favorito.

☆ Embattled Los Angeles Sheriff spares with his opponent over law enforcement gangs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Los Angeles Sheriff's candidates took the stage in a heated hourlong debate on Wednesday night. Sheriff Alex Villanueva and his opponent, former police chief Robert Luna discussed law enforcement gangs. The debate was between the two candidates for Sheriff, the incumbent Villanueva, and challenger former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna. The two emerged as the top two candidates following Los Angeles County's primary held in June. The Long Beach Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, and Sheriff Alex Villanueva's re-election campaign did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

read moreLindell is the latest person to be swept into federal criminal investigations surrounding Trump and his allies over their failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election results based on false claims of voter fraud. INVESTIGATIONS INTO ELECTION CLAIMSThe FBI in August 2021 confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation into a suspected security breach of voting equipment in the western Colorado county of Mesa. The equipment at issue in the election security breach investigation were furnished by Dominion Voting Systems, which has sued Trump allies and conservative television networks over baseless claims the company's products were used to rig the election against Trump. Peters, her deputy Belinda Knisley and former elections manager Sandra Brown were indicted on state criminal charges this year in connection with the election security breach. Peters, Knisley and Brown are all named as subjects in the Justice Department's criminal investigation, according to the warrant, along with several others.

REUTERS/Gaelen Morse/File PhotoSept 20 (Reuters) - My Pillow Inc's chief executive, Mike Lindell, an ally of former President Donald Trump, sued the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday seeking the return of his cellphone, which FBI agents seized last week. In addition to the return of his phone, Lindell wants to stop the Justice Department from accessing any data collected from the device, the filing showed. The FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Tuesday. Lindell told the media last week that FBI agents had asked him about Tina Peters, a Mesa County, Colorado clerk. "Not only do I run five businesses off of it, I don't use a laptop, I don't use a computer, everything was on that phone," Lindell said.

☆ Special elections are confusing, chaotic messes that bleed taxpayers — and could often be avoided if politicians quit before leveling up, flaming out, or dropping dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Grace Panetta | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

Young's death triggered an unprecedented series of three statewide votes — a special primary, a special general election held along with a regular primary, and a regular general election — within five months. The Alaska special election is just one of the more than 120 congressional special elections conducted over the past two decades, an Insider analysis found. Special elections bombard votersSpecial elections routinely attract special attention. Rebecca Blackwell/APIn 2022, special elections are 'a perfect storm of confusion'Special congressional elections are, on balance, less democratic than regular elections. "We knew from the beginning that it would be harder to win a special election," McCready said of his September 2019 special election.

How Union Yes Federal Credit Union worksUnion Yes Federal Credit Union is a local financial institution in Southern California that's part of the National Credit Union Administration's list of minority depository institutions (MDIs). Union Yes Federal Credit Union trustworthiness and BBB ratingUnion Yes Federal Credit Union has no recent public controversies, and the bank has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Union Yes Federal Credit Union vs. Orange County's Credit UnionTo open an account at a credit union, you'll have to be eligible for membership first. Union Yes Federal Credit Union vs. ChaseUnion Yes Federal Credit Union and Chase pay similar interest rates on traditional savings accounts, but Union Yes Federal Credit Union offers higher interest rates on CDs. Yes, Union Yes Federal Credit Union is federally insured.

Search resuls for: "county's"

25 mentions found