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☆ US consumer confidence jumps to highest level since July 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Minneapolis CNN —High interest rates aren’t souring Americans’ moods: A key measurement of consumer confidence just shot up to a level not seen since July 2021. The Conference Board’s monthly Consumer Confidence Index hit 117 in July, rising from 110.1 the month before, according to new data released Tuesday. The Conference Board’s confidence index and the University of Michigan’s twice-a-month consumer sentiment index are two leading gauges of consumers’ attitudes toward the current and future strength of the economy. Consumer spending, which is a key driver of US economic activity, has eased somewhat in recent months but remains resilient. The Commerce Department on Friday will release the latest data on consumer spending alongside a critical inflation gauge for the Fed.

Persons: ”, Dana Peterson, “, Nathan Howard, ” Ryan Sweet, Chris Rupkey, FwdBonds, Barbie Organizations: Minneapolis CNN —, Conference Board, Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Getty, University of Michigan’s, Oxford Economics, ‘ Times, Commerce Department, Fed Locations: Minneapolis, Georgetown, Washington ,, Michigan, America

☆ Pro-Chinese online influence campaign promoted protests in Washington, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Chinese marketing firm likely organized and promoted protests in Washington last year as part of a wide-ranging pro-Beijing influence campaign, according to new research. One of the protests only attracted roughly a dozen people but it showed the scope and ambition of the pro-China efforts. The hired protesters, who included self-proclaimed musicians and actors in the Washington, DC, area, apparently had no idea they were being enlisted in a pro-China influence campaign, the Mandiant researchers said. Haixun, the Chinese firm, distributed videos of the protesters online to further the influence campaign, according to Mandiant. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said he was unaware of the details of the research.

Persons: Mandiant, ” Ryan Serabian, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Joe Biden, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio Organizations: CNN, China, Shanghai Haixun Technology, Embassy, Washington Post, stoke American, FBI, Republican Locations: Washington, Beijing, China, Xinjiang, DC, Shanghai, Mandiant, Russia, Marco Rubio of Florida

☆ Congressman Pat Ryan tells Verizon, AT&T to 'clean up their mess' following toxic lead cable report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

One such cable hangs bordering a playground in Wappingers Falls, New York, and lead in nearby soil measured more than 1,000 parts per million, the Journal reported. AT&T shares earlier this week hit a three-decade low following a flurry of downgrades from analysts on concerns that the potential of toxic lead cables could create long-term headwinds for the companies in question. Shares of Verizon, also mentioned in the Journal’s investigation, fell to their lowest closing level since 2010 on Monday. Shares of telecom companies pared back their losses Wednesday, buoyed by a broader market rally fueled by strong second-quarter earnings reports. Raymond James analysts wrote in a note Wednesday that they estimate AT&T could spend between $264 million and $1.2 billion to remove lead-covered cables.

Persons: Pat Ryan, ” Ryan, USTelecom, Raymond James Organizations: New, New York CNN — New, New York CNN — New York Democratic, Verizon, AT, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bell, Environmental, Agency, Wall, & $ Locations: New York, New York CNN — New York, United States, Wappingers Falls , New York

☆ A teen was lost for just over 2 days in the wilderness, authorities say. Her story had a happy ending
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ashley R. Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A teen hiker who became separated from her group in one of British Columbia’s largest parks has been found safe after going missing for over two days, Canadian authorities announced. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Friday that Esther Wang, 16, was healthy, happy and reunited with her family after getting lost in Golden Ears Park. Authorities reported that the teen lost her way along the park’s East Canyon trail Tuesday afternoon and her hiking group and its leader were unable to find her. The group’s leader then alerted park officials, who contacted the RCMP, according to a news release. At around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, authorities said Wang walked out of the East Canyon trail area on her own.

Persons: CNN —, Esther Wang, Wang, ” Ryan Smith, “, – they’ve, ”, Keith Schendel, Wendy Mehat, ” Mehat Organizations: CNN, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Authorities, CBC, US Locations: British, Meadows, Canadian

☆ Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan steps down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Fred Ryan, the publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post who oversaw the newspaper through several tumultuous years, announced on Monday that he will step down from his position after nearly a decade at the helm. “Nine years ago, I was honored to be selected by Jeff Bezos to be Publisher and CEO of The Washington Post,” Ryan wrote in a memo to staff on Monday. Ryan’s handling of the matter angered much of the newsroom and pushed high-profile reporters to join the newspaper’s union, including some who had previously resisted joining the union, known as The Washington Post Newspaper Guild. Ryan said that he will continue in his position as publisher of the newspaper until August 1 to help with the transition. Patty Stonesifer, the founding chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and an Amazon board member, will serve as interim chief executive of The Post.

Persons: Fred Ryan, Ryan, Ronald Reagan, Jeff Bezos, ” Ryan, Jeff, Donald Trump, “, We’ve, Patty Stonesifer, Melinda Gates, “ I’m, Fred, we’ve, ” Bezos, ” Organizations: CNN, The Washington Post, Foundation, Employees, Washington Post Newspaper, Melinda Gates Foundation, The, Amazon

☆ International tipping: How to cut through the chaos and confusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

In the United States, “tipping is very customary. Leighton also said you won’t find a tipping culture on the island of Taiwan. Robinson said the tipping culture is less pervasive in Sicily than the United States and even more laid-back than in Rome. As for tipping culture in the US vs. the UK, Ryan Burditt said, it’s “really opposites to me. Robert Knopes/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesVisitors to the United States could be in for some tipping culture shock.

☆ Trump is weaponizing the Russia report he demanded -- even though it lacks bombshells
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Another Trump ally, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, argued the report showed the “rule of law in America is subservient to political outcomes. In another politically sensitive part of his report, Durham found that the FBI did not pursue allegations against Clinton with the same vigor with which they acted against Trump. He pointed out that the Trump investigation was launched at a time when Russia was attacking Democratic National Committee servers and had used stolen information to attack Clinton. The investigation was only launched after the bureau received evidence from a friendly foreign government that the Trump campaign had been offered help by the Russians. But all Trump needed from the report was a headline and a general narrative of suspicion against the FBI.

CNN —Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday. WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, declaration should end. “Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. Each country, in turn, declares its own public health emergency – declarations that carry legal weight. The United States is set to let its Covid-19 public health emergency end on May 11.

☆ Fact Check-BlackRock owns shares in Dominion Energy, not Dominion Voting Systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock Inc owns shares in power and energy company Dominion Energy Inc and not electronic voting company Dominion Voting Systems, which are two separate companies. Another Facebook post reads, in part: “Blackrock owns 59.M shares of Dominion Blackrock owns 45.7M shares of Fox. While the figure matches the one on social media, the filing was for Dominion Energy Inc, not Dominion Voting Systems. “Dominion Energy and Dominion Voting Systems are not related,” Ryan Frazier, manager of executive communications at Dominion Energy, told Reuters via email, adding that BlackRock is a shareholder in Dominion Energy common stock. “Blackrock does not own any shares of Dominion Voting Systems,” Isabela Velasco, a spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems, told Reuters via email, adding that Staple Street Capital has a controlling stake in the voting systems company (here).

☆ How Russia has fortified parts of Ukraine ahead of a possible counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

A map shows all the locations in Russia, along its border with Ukraine, and in Russian-held Ukraine, where the American Enterprise Institute found any kind of fortification built by Russia. Four maps show when the fortifications built by Russian along its border with Ukraine and in Russia-held Ukraine were first spotted on satellite imagery. In December 2022 and January 2023, fortifications appeared inside Russian regions and more parts of occupied Ukraine. Russian forces have dug many such trenches along what they see as key roads and junctions, and outside strategic cities, Africk said. A zoomed-in map shows fortifications around several towns such as Tokmak, Bilmak and Mykhailivka, along plain terrain and along major roads in Russian-held Ukraine.

☆ The tech industry avoided an ‘extinction-level event,’ but it’s not unscathed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —For much of the weekend, Silicon Valley scrambled to find a way through what one prominent tech investor described as an “extinction-level event for startups” after the collapse of a top lender in the industry. “You can feel the collective *sigh*,” Ryan Hoover, a tech founder and investor wrote on Twitter Sunday. SVB’s collapse also risks changing how the world, and prospective recruits, think of Silicon Valley. The bank worked with nearly half of all venture-backed tech and healthcare companies in the United States. President Joe Biden emphasized in remarks Monday that “no losses will be borne by the taxpayers” related to the government’s intervention for Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Paul Ryan Says Even MAGA Diehards Believe Trump Can’t Win in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado Talk Paul Ryan Says Even MAGA Diehards Believe Trump Can’t Win in 2024For a good long time during the George W. Bush and Obama presidencies, Paul Ryan was considered one of the intellectual leaders and shining stars of the Republican Party. Get out of this race.” But I don’t think Trump is going to get the nomination. I don’t think we want the lack of liberty that comes with government-made equality. Where I part company with the left is I don’t believe in socialism. I don’t believe in equality of outcomes.

☆ U.S. Importers Seize on New Shipping Rules to Fight Late Fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. importers are fighting millions of dollars in fees imposed by the world’s largest ocean carriers with the help of a new federal law and a newly emboldened regulator. He said his company, Lion Energy LLC, which imports about 800 containers a year, felt it had little power to dispute the charges. Now, Mr. Frey and hundreds of shippers like him are turning to rules set out in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which passed Congress in June. The new shipping law endorsed an FMC rule published in 2020. But shippers are still able to challenge fees that predate the law under earlier FMC rules.

☆ Paul Ryan grilled for remaining on Fox board of directors amid election fraud revelations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Former House Speaker Paul Ryan was grilled Tuesday over his decision to remain on the board of directors of Fox News’ parent company after damning court documents showed that the right-wing network knowingly peddled election lies to its audience. I have a responsibility to offer my opinion and perspective and I do that, but I don’t go on TV and do it, right. So I offer my perspective, my opinion, often,” Ryan replied. Instead, Ryan said, “I want to see the conservative movement get through this moment. And I think Fox is a big part of the constellation of the conservative movement.”“Is it the solution or the problem?” Sykes asked.

☆ The 10 biggest revelations from Dominion’s explosive Fox News legal filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Murdoch rejected that Fox News, as an entity, endorsed former President Donald Trump’s election lies. They endorsed,” Murdoch said, according to the filing, when asked about the hosts’ promotion of false claims about the election. ► Behind the scenes, Paul Ryan repeatedly warned the Murdochs to stop allowing the spread of election lies. “Maybe best to let Bill go right away,” which would “be a big message with Trump people” the filing said. These documents reveal that Fox News executives and hosts knew the truth and yet they peddled election lies to the audience.

☆ Microsoft and Google promised to invest in these communities. Now they’re backtracking
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Hyosub Shin/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ZUMA Press WireFacebook-parent Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce and Snap have each shuttered offices or announced plans to cut back on real estate, according to recent corporate announcements, filings and local news reports. But residents also had cautious optimism about the benefits Microsoft promised to the community, according to Hope. Hope’s community isn’t alone in confronting the whiplash of Silicon Valley’s real estate pullback. An office sits vacant on October 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. The US Census Bureau reports an estimated 35% of employees in San Francisco and San Jose continue to work from home.

☆ Diners caught off guard as a GOP group aired footage of Breonna Taylor's death at a Kentucky restaurant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Michelle Garcia | Michelle Garcia Is The Editorial Director Of Nbcblk | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Diners at a Greek restaurant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Tuesday night were subjected to police body camera footage of the moment Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her Louisville apartment in 2020, according to the local NAACP and restaurant patrons. The Tuesday night event took place in the balcony of Anna's Greek Restaurant, while it was still open to patrons unaffiliated with the event. According to the Bowling Green-Warren County NAACP and restaurant patrons' accounts online, the lights went dark, as patrons unaffiliated with the event heard and saw graphic descriptions of the incident that killed Taylor. Prior to the event, the Republican Women’s Club said in a statement that it invited Mattingly to speak at the event “to obtain a firsthand account” of the raid that resulted in Taylor’s death. Mattingly has the right to share his experience,” the group said in a statement to Spectrum News in Louisville earlier this week.

☆ The Washington Post will conduct layoffs as it reorients company for future, its publisher says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The Washington Post will conduct targeted layoffs in the coming year as it reorients itself for the future and reinvests in other areas, publisher Fred Ryan told staffers in a contentious town hall Wednesday, people familiar with the matter told CNN. Ryan’s Wednesday town hall had been hotly anticipated in the newsroom after the decision to cut the Sunday magazine. “Democracy Dies in Darkness, right?”Ryan, however, walked off stage as he was peppered with questions, people familiar with the matter told CNN. “We are not going to turn the town hall into a grievance session,” Ryan said. “I’m sorry, thank you.”When one staffer asked for additional details about the impending layoffs, Ryan said, “We will have more information as we move forward.”

☆ 'Kindred' review: Hulu adapts Octavia E. Butler's novel into another time-travel tale that takes its sweet time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —After starting out well, “Kindred” gets lost in a maze of its own making, adapting Octavia E. Butler’s time-traveling novel into an eight-part Hulu series that spends far too much time spinning its wheels. The series does begin promisingly enough, as Dana (Mallori Johnson) moves into a new house in Los Angeles and begins to experience a series of eerie visions. Mallori Johnson (left) in the Hulu series "Kindred." Brace yourself, in other words, for a lengthier commitment to glean greater insight into how all of this works. “Kindred” premieres December 13 on Hulu.

“You have to sample them all and analyze them all to see if they belong to victims or a suspect. The Moscow killings occurred in a three-story, six-bedroom rented house, about a half-block from the University of Idaho campus. The apartment house in Moscow, Idaho, where four students were stabbed to death held an enormous amount of biological evidence, experts say. “So, who could have left that DNA evidence? Before getting answers about DNA, investigators seek clues in the location of blood.

☆ The Ultimate Father-Son Travel Adventure: Exploring ‘Creepy’ Caves
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Taras Grescoe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ECHO CHAMBER Intrepid visitors in Riverbend Cave, one of several caves you can explore at Vancouver Island’s Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park. WE WERE about 120 feet from the mouth of one of the caves in British Columbia’s Horne Lake Caves Provincial Parks when Ryan Nelson, our 29-year-old guide, suggested we find a stable perch on the water-slicked rocks beneath our feet. “In every cave,” Ryan told us, “you have the entrance zone, the twilight zone, and a zone where no light at all penetrates during a complete 24-hour cycle. Now, turn your lights off.” Desmond, my son, and I obeyed, flicking switches on our helmets. Suddenly there was nothing left in the world but the sound of a subterranean river rushing through limestone.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican J.D. And in interviews with NBC News after campaign events here Saturday, Vance and Ryan both spoke as if victory was within reach. And Trump endorsed Vance in a crowded GOP primary, seeming to relish the thought of elevating a high-profile convert. Vance, he joked at a September rally in Youngstown, is now “kissing my a--.”“The Trump tough guy stuff and J.D. The problems that the Republican Party needs to respond to are different.

WelcomePAC, a Democratic-funded group that aims to reach ticket-splitting voters this fall, has launched a six-figure advertising campaign against Republican J.D. “WelcomePAC is launching the ‘Why No J.D.’ campaign to highlight why so many disaffected Republicans and independents are rejecting J.D. Luke Schroeder, a spokesperson for the Vance campaign, cast the effort as a waste of money. Ryan has tailored his message to appeal to independent and GOP voters and his campaign has far outraised Vance’s. He also spends considerable time in his stump speeches wrestling with Ryan’s overtures to GOP voters.

☆ Netball Australia: Gina Rinehart pulls sponsorship in dispute over father's racist comments
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Brisbane, Australia CNN —When Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart threw a financial lifeline to Netball Australia, she triggered a debate about sponsorships and the role of social and political issues in the sporting sphere. Donnell Wallam of the Firebirds is a rising star in Australian netball. On Monday, Kathryn Harby-Williams, CEO of the Australian Netball Players’ Association told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Wallam had asked for an exemption not to wear the logo and was refused. Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan told Nine News the loss of Hancock sponsorship was “disappointing” but a “strong balance” needs to be struck between social issues and funding. “When done well, sport sponsorship is brand transforming for both the sport and sponsor.”

☆ Wall Street Week Ahead: Megacap earnings to test fledgling U.S. stock rebound
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Top stocks' market value as percentage of S&P 500The S&P 500 is up nearly 5% from its Oct 12 closing low for the year after posting its biggest weekly gain since late June. Even with stocks' latest rebound, the index has dropped 21% so far in 2022, on track for its biggest decline since 2008. Yields continued to rise this week, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hitting a fresh 14-year high. All four stocks command higher valuations than the S&P 500, which trades at nearly 16 times forward earnings estimates. The P/Es for Apple and Microsoft are both about 22 times, Alphabet trades at 17.5 times, while Amazon sits at 60 times, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

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