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☆ Supreme Court justices dance around question of whether Trump could pardon himself if he wins reelection
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Self-pardoning wasn't on the table at Thursday's Supreme Court hearing. The Supreme Court has never ruled on whether such a move would be permissible. The purpose of the hearing was for the Supreme Court to hear arguments over whether Trump should be immune from criminal prosecution for his conduct as president. He told Michael Dreeben, the lawyer representing Smith's team, that the question might be crucial as the Supreme Court deliberates the scope of presidential immunity. In order to obtain a pardon, he would have to be convicted and serve at least five years of a sentence.

Persons: Alito, —, Donald Trump, could've, Trump, — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch —, Jack Smith's, Smith, Gorsuch, he'll, We've, it's, Michael Dreeben, haven't, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Dreeben, Joe Biden, Stormy Daniels Organizations: Thursday's, Trump, Service, NBC, Mar, DC Circuit, Justice Department's, Justice Department Locations: New York, Manhattan, Georgia

☆ Two Trump courtroom dramas could help shape the tone of a future presidency
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Prosecutors have framed the trial as more than a simple case of falsifying business records — the offense with which Trump has been charged. But the results of Trump’s pending cases — and whether they even come to trial — could help decide the tone of a future presidency. But at the same time, Trump is using the privileges of appeals available to any defendant to their full extent. “We’re writing a rule for the ages.”It’s always hazardous to speculate how Supreme Court justices will rule based on their questioning in oral arguments. This could mean the case returns to lower courts for more litigation — a move that could delay the federal election trial for months, far beyond the November election.

Persons: Donald Trump, George Washington, David Pecker, Trump’s, Trump, —, Trump —, Republican nominee’s, Jack Smith’s, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Pecker, didn’t, Matthew Colangelo, he’s, Joe Biden, Biden, “, Benjamin Franklin, inoculate Trump, CNN’s Zachary B, Wolf, Marquis de Lafayette, demagogue, George Conway, ” Conway, CNN’s Wolf, ”, Neil Gorsuch, “ I’m, Amy Coney Barrett, David Sauer, Sauer, Elena Kagan, Kagan, ” Kagan Organizations: CNN, National Enquirer, Republican, Trump, GOP, Prosecutors, Supreme, White House Locations: New York, Georgia, Florida, — Washington, Washington, Philadelphia , Washington

☆ Supreme Court might not give Trump sweeping immunity — but it's likely to give him the one victory he wants
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But a majority of Supreme Court justices appear ready to hand the former president an immediate victory. Still, the Supreme Court justices do not appear likely to dismiss the former president's claims quickly, raising the likelihood that Trump may not face trial for trying to overturn the 2020 election before November. He drew his arguments from an earlier Supreme Court case that mapped the line for presidential immunity in civil matters. The Supreme Court weighs Trump's immunity claim. It is possible that the Supreme Court could rule that a more detailed review of Trump's conduct is best left to a lower court.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Trump, Jack Smith, Trump's, you've, Brett Kavanaugh, Sauer, Kavanaugh, Tanya Chutkan, Smith, Joe Biden, it's, John Sauer, Jabin, Samuel Alito, Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Michael Dreeben, Dreeben, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, John Roberts, Jackon, Justice Alito, Roe, Wade, Anthony Kennedy's, Hodges, Neil Gorsuch Organizations: Service, Trump, Washington, Getty Locations: DC, Dobbs v, Obergefell

☆ Did Trump’s lawyers misquote George Washington? Here’s what the first president actually said
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Searching for some evidence that the Founding Fathers would have supported “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for former President Donald Trump, his lawyers have turned to George Washington. Washington’s thought does not end where Trump’s lawyers put the period. In his farewell address, the first president advised his fellow citizens that “Religion and morality” were the “great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens." Another Washington historian, Alexis Coe, who wrote a recent biography, described the Trump lawyers’ view of Washington’s farewell address as “bonkers.” She thinks that rather than trying to seek exemption from laws, Washington would find ways around them. Anything that delays Trump’s prosecution is a clear win for the former president, who is playing for time until the November election.

Persons: Donald Trump, George Washington, Washington’s, Washington, inoculate Trump, John Sauer, “, John Avlon, “ Washington, ” Avlon, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sauer, ”, Alexis Coe, –, Coe, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Trump, Will Trump, Trump’s, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, ” Gorsuch Organizations: CNN, US, Congress, gaslight, Trump . Washington, Trump, Constitutional Locations: United States, Washington, “, New York, Trump ., Pennsylvania

☆ Donald Trump again is trying to bend the Supreme Court to his will
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —When he was president, Donald Trump tried to make the Supreme Court his own. In a video earlier this month, Trump announced his campaign position on abortion, including his personal thanks – one-by-one – to the Supreme Court justices who had voted against the 1973 Roe v. Wade milestone. Lower court judges ruled against Trump, saying whatever immunity he might have enjoyed as president ended when he left office. Beyond the substance of cases, Roberts and Trump clashed memorably when Trump in 2018 disparaged a US trial judge in partisan terms. At the Supreme Court, lawyer John Sauer will represent Trump, as he did before the DC Circuit.

Persons: Donald Trump, Roe, Wade, Trump, Jack Smith, Joe Biden, “, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, –, ’, Clarence Thomas, Virginia “ Ginni ” Thomas, Thomas, ”, ” Smith, Nixon’s, Ford’s, ” Trump, Juan Merchan, John Roberts, Roberts, Vance, Smith, Obama, it’s, ” Roberts, Bush, Clinton, Madison, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Fitzgerald, Marbury, John Sauer, Trump’s, Michael Dreeben, Dreeben Organizations: CNN, Supreme, Trump, Social, Democratic, DOJ, US Justice Department, Jackson, Health Organization, recusal, DC US, Trump rejoined, Madison, DC Circuit, Department of Justice Locations: America, Dobbs v, Washington, New York, Colorado, Florida, United States, Manhattan, Marbury, Marbury v, Fitzgerald, “

☆ Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar again in the spotlight fighting the conservative Supreme Court on abortion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For the fourth time since she became the federal government’s top Supreme Court advocate, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar is arguing an abortion-related case. When Prelogar argues before the Supreme Court, she is arguing in front of several alumni of the US Office of the Solicitor General. She also clerked for her current boss, Attorney General Merrick Garland, when he was a DC Circuit judge, before her Supreme Court clerkships. She went on to litigate Supreme Court cases for private firms and worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Likewise, the abortion case Prelogar argued last month could have significant consequences for federal power.

Persons: Elizabeth Prelogar, Prelogar, Department’s, Biden, ”, Stephanie Toti, she’s, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Kagan, Obama, John Roberts, George H.W, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Roe, ” Prelogar, General Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller’s, Beth Brinkmann, Clinton, Brinkmann, Prelogar’s, Court’s Roe, Wade, –, Roberts, Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, ” Toti, “ That’s Organizations: CNN, Miss Idaho, NPR, Emory University, Harvard Law School, DC Circuit, litigate, The Justice Department, Idaho, Labor, Center for Reproductive Rights, Food and Drug Administration, Justice Department, Republican Locations: Bush, Texas, ” An Idaho, Idaho

☆ Your questions about Trump’s immunity claim at the Supreme Court, answered
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The US Supreme Court, after refusing to hear the claim on an expedited basis, took up the case after a lower court tore Trump’s immunity claim to shreds. We asked for your questions about the immunity claim, some of which I’ve tried to answer below with help from CNN’s reporting and Supreme Court reporters. When Smith asked justices to expedite the case and consider Trump’s immunity claim before an appeals court, they declined. If Trump’s immunity claim is upheld by the Supreme Court, what can anybody or any government body do to challenge the decision? MichaelThe Supreme Court is the final word on legal matters, so there is no higher authority to overrule its decision.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, I’ve, Chris, CNN’s, Joan Biskupic, Jack Smith, Donald Trump’s, Biden, Here’s, Thomas, Jan, Greg, Clarence Thomas, John Eastman, Gilbert None, Trump – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett –, he’ll, Randall, Smith, it’s, Shouldn’t, Gore, John, Devan Cole, ” Cole, Cole, Juan Here’s Biskupic’s, Nixon, Fitzgerald, Richard Nixon, ”, It’s, acquit, ’, Curt Trump’s, George Washington’s, Nixon’s, Gerald Ford, Ford, Michael, Charles, SCOTUS, Sheryl, Massachusetts Nobody, convicting, Joe, Johnson Organizations: CNN, US, Trump, DC, DC Circuit, Supreme, Iowa Trump, White, House, Department Locations: Iowa, Arizona, Bush, California, Colorado, Brady, United States, New Jersey, New York, Georgia, The, York, Washington , DC, Massachusetts, Mississippi

☆ Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s oral arguments over emergency abortions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Tierney Sneed | John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The court’s far-right wing, perhaps in an attempt to keep those two justices on their side, framed the case as a federal overreach into state power. Turner, Idaho’s attorney, shot back that mental health could essentially open a loophole. Conservatives have long opposed allowing exceptions to strict abortion bans for mental health. Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow conservative, picked up on that same theme, repeatedly pressing Prelogar to explain whether the Justice Department views mental health as a way around Idaho’s abortion ban. That is exactly the kind of political influence that the Supreme Court, especially under Roberts, has generally tried to avoid.

Persons: Biden, Elizabeth Prelogar, Roe, Wade, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Prelogar, ” Prelogar, “, Roberts, Barrett –, Barrett, teed, Joshua Turner, Sonia Sotomayor, Turner, Elena Kagan, ’, Alito, CNN Sotomayor, ”, Clarence Thomas, EMTALA, Neil Gorsuch, ‘, Samuel Alito, ” Alito, –, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, – Gorsuch, Kavanaugh Organizations: CNN, Justice, Labor, Liberal, Republican, Supreme, Department, Wade, Idaho, energizing Democratic, Food and Drug Administration, GOP Locations: Idaho, Wisconsin

With the festival just around the corner, we've put together everything you need to know about how to buy New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival tickets, including who's playing what day and how to find tickets to sold-out dates. Here's our breakdown of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival schedule, purchasing details, and original and resale ticket prices. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival ScheduleThe New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will take place over two weeks, April 25-28 and May 2-5. How to buy New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival ticketsTickets to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival are sold through AXS. How much are New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival tickets?

Persons: we've, Neil Young, Mick Jagger, Grand Marshall, Jon Batiste, Christ Stapleton, Anderson, Paak, Foo Fighters, Greta Van Fleet, Queen Latifah, Bonnie Raitt Organizations: Business, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Big, Grand, Fest, Beach Boys, The Free Nationals, Foo Locations: Louisiana, AXS

☆ FTC bans employers from using noncompete clauses
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday voted to ban for-profit US employers from making employees sign agreements with noncompete clauses. And – with one exception – it makes currently existing noncompete agreements unenforceable after the rule’s effective date, which is set at 120 days from the rule’s publication in the Federal Register. The rule, however, does allow currently existing noncompete agreements for senior executives to remain in force. The ban would apply nationwide, overriding state laws regarding noncompete agreements. In December of last year, New York State Governor Kathleen Hochul vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature to completely ban noncompete agreements in that state.

Persons: Joe Biden, “ won’t, ”, Stefanie Camfield, Daryl Joseffer, “, ” Joseffer, Neil Bradley, Kathleen Hochul, Anne Clark, Vladeck, Raskin, Clark P.C, Amanda Wait, DLA Piper, Clark Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, of Commerce, Federal Register, Washington , D.C, Engage, Chamber’s Litigation, New York Locations: New York, California, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington ,, Colorado , Maryland , Oregon, Rhode

☆ Russian Deputy Defense Minister Is Detained on Bribery Charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A deputy minister of defense in Russia has been detained on charges of taking a “large scale” bribe, the country’s top law enforcement investigators announced on Tuesday. The brief announcement from the Investigative Committee divulged few details about what had led to Timur Ivanov, the deputy minister, being taken into custody. But the legal statute that he is accused of violating is for taking a bribe “on a particularly large scale,” more than one million rubles, or more than $10,000. The Ministry of Defense did not comment on the investigation. Mr. Ivanov, a deputy defense minister since 2016, had long been in charge of military construction projects, including most recently the huge contracts awarded to rebuild the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was devastated by Russian attacks soon after the February 2022 invasion.

Persons: Timur Ivanov, Ivanov Organizations: Ministry of Defense, Merit, Fatherland Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Moscow, Russian

☆ Express files for bankruptcy, plans to close nearly 100 stores as investor group looks to save the brand
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company said hours for remaining stores won't change and it will continue to accept orders and returns as usual. "The proposed transaction will provide Express with additional financial resources, better position the business for profitable growth and maximize value for the Company's stakeholders," Express said. "We are taking an important step that will strengthen our financial position and enable Express to continue advancing our business initiatives," he added. Last spring, Express acquired Bonobos' operating assets and related liabilities for $25 million from Walmart in a joint deal with WHP. The deal came as Express' "core business was weak, and cash was tight," GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders said in a Monday note.

Persons: –, Stewart Glendinning, Neil Saunders, Saunders, Kirkland Organizations: Express Inc, Longtime, Express, WHP, Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties, Les Wexner's, CNBC, Walmart, Powerhouse, Ellis, Partners Locations: New York, U.S

☆ Supreme Court will take up the legal fight over ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Illegal and ghost guns on display at the Attorney General Letitia James offices in Manhattan on March 15, 2023. The justices by a 5-4 vote had previously intervened to keep the regulation in effect during the legal fight. Ghost guns, which lack serial numbers, have been turning up at crime scenes with increasing regularity. The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts or kits or by 3D printers. The Supreme Court allowed the regulation to remain in effect while the lawsuit continues.

Persons: Letitia James, Luiz C . Ribeiro, District Judge Reed O'Connor, O'Connor, Donald Trump, O'Connor's, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Barrett, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh Organizations: New York Daily News, Tribune, Service, Getty, Biden, Justice, U.S, District, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Circuit, Appeals, Trump Locations: Manhattan, New, Fort Worth , Texas

☆ Express files for bankruptcy; closing more than 100 stores
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Trendy fashion retailer Express Inc. has filed for bankruptcy after consistently struggling with continued missteps over its merchandise mix that failed to get shoppers excited. The retailer filed with the bankruptcy court in Delaware and said it also plans to shutter several stores as part of the process. The company operates Express, Express factory outlets, Bonobos and UpWest stores under its corporate umbrella and said in a release Monday that it plans to close 95 Express locations (it operates more than 500 in the US) and all UpWest locations with closing sales at those stores set to begin on April 23. “With the company struggling to gain traction with consumers, it has been obvious for quite some time that bankruptcy was the inevitable destination for Express,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a note Monday. “We are taking an important step that will strengthen our financial position and enable Express to continue advancing our business initiatives.

Persons: “, Neil Saunders, GlobalData, ”, Saunders, ” Stewart Glendinning, “ WHP, ” Glendinning Organizations: New, New York CNN, Express Inc, Express, WHP Global Locations: New York, Delaware

☆ Trump Slows Campaign Spending as He Tries to Close Cash Gap With Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Rebecca Davis O Brien | Neil Vigdor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign committee ended March with $45 million on hand, federal filings showed Saturday, as he tries to close the fund-raising gap with President Biden. But Mr. Trump’s campaign is spending much less than it was at the start of the year, which has helped it inch closer. In March, it spent just $3.7 million, the new filings show, compared with $11.4 million in January — and much less than the $29.2 million spent by Mr. Biden’s campaign in March. In other words, Mr. Trump’s campaign is guarding resources as it seeks to build a campaign war chest for the general election.

Persons: Donald J, Biden Locations: —

☆ How a climate tech founder is growing his advisory board, including Larry Summers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But meeting that lofty challenge is increasingly not just a function of Kemper's gained expertise in renewables and clean technology from stints at the UN and financing clean energy projects in developing countries before founding Palmetto, he told us recently. Building the proper sounding board is critical for any leader, especially as challenges and opportunities for business are emerging quicker than ever. For Kemper, his approach has been to build a network around him where "the world is kind of one degree away." Kemper said Summers' expertise will be crucial as the company looks to navigate the continually murky waters of economic policy moving forward. Decarbonization is not only vital for environmental sustainability but also for stabilizing global long-term economic growth," Summers said in a statement.

Persons: Chris Kemper, Kemper, Kemper's, You've, Neil Chatterjee, Nirav Tolia, Monica Williams, Larry Summers, Bill Clinton's, President Obama, Summers, Larry, there's Organizations: Palmetto, UN, U.S . Federal Energy Regulatory, Equity, National Economic Council, President, World Bank

☆ As India heads to the polls, the pros name 8 top stocks to buy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | In Amala-Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"The stars have aligned for India in terms of demographics, population and market movements. Peeyush Mittal, portfolio manager at Matthews Asia, agrees with the consensus that Modi will win a majority once again — which would be a "non-event" for markets. Conrad Saldanha, portfolio manager at the Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, agrees. Among the companies on his watch are power equipment player Bharat Heavy Electricals and engineering conglomerate Thermax , amid an expected expansion in power generation capacity. According to FactSet data, 24 of the 26 analysts covering the stock have a buy or overweight rating on it.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Neil Bahal, Peeyush Mittal, Modi, Mittal, Conrad Saldanha, Neuberger Berman, Bharat, Neuberger Berman's Saldanha, Saldanha Organizations: South, Bombay Stock Exchange, CNBC Pro, —, Matthews Asia, Reserve Bank of, India Fund, Neuberger, Markets Equity Fund, Cummins India, Investor, Bharat Electronics, ICICI, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Apollo Locations: Hong Kong, India, Reserve Bank of India, Saldanha

☆ Oil prices get short-lived boost from attack on Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Laura He | Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 0.4% at $86.8 per barrel, having earlier spiked more than 3%. The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month. Iran is a big oil producer but exports most of its crude to China because of long-standing international sanctions. Mexico also said earlier this month that it would cut back oil exports because of strong domestic demand.

Persons: Brent, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, ” Neil Shearing, Richard Bronze Organizations: London CNN, CNN, Capital Economics, Organization of, Petroleum, ANZ, United, Nikkei, Kospi, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Locations: Hong Kong, London, Iranian, Isfahan, East, Iran, Syria, Hormuz, China, United States, Mexico, Asia, Israel, Tel Aviv

He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish. The painting followed me from Amherst to my first job in New York, and on to London and Delhi. IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. I’m especially moved by those first moments of validation by which an artist comes out to himself, as it were. It’s this, the inexorability of the correspondence between an artist and the world, that gives those first steps their magical quality.

Persons: Naipaul, Neil Shah, James Wood —, Zack, who’d, ”, Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna, Elders ”, I’m, ” Gustave Flaubert, “, ” Zack, it’s, Bruce Chatwin, Paul Gauguin, Salman Rushdie, Somerset Maugham, Kathryn Bigelow, Philip Glass, Arundhati Roy, Booker, Joseph Conrad, Conrad, Jacques, ” Conrad, brimming, ’, ’ ”, Clarice Lispector, Benjamin Moser, ” Lispector, Maugham, eludes, Jan van Kessel, Elder, — Pieter Bruegel, —, Rebecca West —, “ Black Lamb, J.R, Hammond, Wells, Rebecca West ”, sloughed, Henrik Ibsen’s, Rosmersholm ”, Karan Mahajan, Salman Toor, what’s, ” Hemingway, Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Harold Bloom, Ravi, Uday, René Daumal, Rasa ”, ” Anoushka, Norah Jones, Norah, I’ve, “ Raphael, Rachel Cusk, Italy ”, Perugino, Raphael, Cusk, J.M, Samuel Beckett, Gabriel García Márquez, Thomas Pynchon’s, James Joyce, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcel Proust’s, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Read, Emma Kehlbeck, Quinton Kamara Organizations: Amherst College, Elders, Fayerweather, ”, Google, Sunday Times, Somerset, Yugoslavia, The, “, . Locations: Delhi, ”, Massachusetts, Italian, Topeka, Kan, Amherst, New York, London, Patagonia, New Delhi, Torrens, Cambridge, Polish, Ukrainian, Brazil, Flemish, Victorian England, “ H.G, Fairfield, United States, “, East, Lahore, Europe, America, Texas, Side, Manhattan, India, Italy

He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish. IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. No one captured the massive cultural and economic disparities of my life in Delhi (and his in Lahore) like Toor. But quite unbeknown to me, Toor’s life in New York had opened up a new vein of material. Not everyone who sees a Michelangelo can go off and paint a Michelangelo.”THERE ARE SO many ways to begin.

☆ 3 Reasons This Country Is a Top ISIS Recruiting Ground
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | More About Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the past year, jihadists from Tajikistan have been involved in an unusually high number of terrorist attacks or foiled plots linked to the Islamic State. Before that, Tajiks staged bloody assaults in Iran and Turkey, while several schemes in Europe said to involve Tajiks were thwarted. Hundreds of men from Tajikistan — a small, impoverished country in Central Asia controlled by an authoritarian president — have joined an affiliate of the Islamic State in Afghanistan known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, analysts say. Poverty Fuels DiscontentTajikistan ranks among the world’s poorest countries, which drives millions of workers to seek better lives elsewhere. In a country of 10 million people, a majority of working men, estimated at more than two million, toil abroad at any given time.

Persons: — Organizations: Islamic, Fuels Locations: jihadists, Tajikistan, Islamic State, Moscow, Iran, Turkey, Europe, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Khorasan Province

☆ An ISIS Terror Group Draws Half Its Recruits From Tiny Tajikistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even though he spent five years in Tajik prisons as a teenager, she said he never exhibited signs of violent extremism. “We need to understand — who is recruiting young Tajiks, why do they want to highlight us as a nation of terrorists?” said the mother, Muyassar Zargarova. Many governments and terrorism experts are asking the same question. Tajik adherents of the Islamic State — especially within its affiliate in Afghanistan known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (I.S.K.P. ISIS-K is believed to have several thousand soldiers, with Tajiks constituting more than half, experts said.

Persons: ”, Muyassar Organizations: Islamic Locations: Moscow, Tajikistan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Khorasan Province, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Europe

☆ Music Catalog Giant Hipgnosis Agrees to $1.4 Billion Sale to Concord
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the British company that helped kick-start the music industry’s rush for catalog deals — acquiring tens of thousands of songs by Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Shakira and others — but has seen its share price plummet, has reached a tentative deal to sell itself to Concord, a major independent music company, for $1.4 billion. Hipgnosis, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, said on Thursday that its board had given unanimous approval. But the deal still faces what could be a significant hurdle in the form of a contractual option held by an affiliated company to buy the catalog at a set price. Robert Naylor, the chairman of Hipgnosis, said in a statement: “The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity for our shareholders to immediately realize their holding at a premium, mitigating the risks we see ahead to achieving a material improvement in the share price.”Bob Valentine, the chief executive of Concord, which has a portfolio of labels like Stax and Craft, and large holdings in music publishing, added: “We believe we can integrate Hipgnosis’ catalogs into our wider portfolio of 1.2 million songs in a way that will deliver benefits for composers, performers and all our stakeholders.”

Persons: Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Shakira, Robert Naylor, Hipgnosis, Bob Valentine Organizations: London Stock Exchange, Concord, Stax Locations: British, Concord

☆ Wayfair is opening its first-ever physical furniture store
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Online furniture and home furnishings seller Wayfair is set to open its first-ever namesake store next month, the company announced Thursday. It will also feature an onsite restaurant called “The Porch,” the company said, taking a page out of Ikea’s store setup. Furniture stores need to always be advertising, Saunders added, because people generally don’t buy furniture very often. This is particularly important in furniture and finishings where people like to see and try out products before buying,” Saunders said. “If this store is successful then it could be the start of wider physical expansion for Wayfair,” Saunders said.

Persons: Joss, ”, Neil Saunders, Saunders, Wayfair, it’s, Niraj Shah, Wayfair “, “ It’s, ” Saunders Organizations: New, New York CNN —, GlobalData Locations: New York, Edens, Wilmette , Illinois

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