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☆ Robo-lawyer startup DoNotPay did something almost unheard of in Silicon Valley: It paid a dividend.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In January, the legal startup DoNotPay sent more than $1 million to employees and investors in its first-ever dividend. He got the idea from one of his own angels, Sahil Lavingia, whose startup Gumroad issued a dividend last year. The expectation is that when a company sells or goes public, employees will cash in their shares for untold riches. Last year, the digital commerce startup Gumroad paid a dividend of $1 million across employees, investors, and thousands of crowdfunding backers. Cash rewardsBrowder said he wanted to offer a dividend to reward those employees and investors who bet on the startup early.

Persons: Joshua Browder, Browder, DoNotPay, it's, Sahil Lavingia, Josh Seidenfeld, Cooley, Steve Huffman, Spencer Platt, Seidenfeld, Lavingia, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, Dylan Field, Scott Belsky, Daniel Dines, Balaji Srinivasan, Cash, there's Organizations: Business, Big Law, Employees, Founders Fund, Adobe Locations: San Francisco

☆ Ede: Hostage situation unfolds at Dutch cafe in central town
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Jessie Gretener | Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A hostage situation involving several people is underway in the central Dutch town of Ede, according to local authorities. The hostages are being held at a cafe in the center of town. The incident triggered authorities to evacuate about 150 homes in the area, local police said. Three hostages were released Saturday morning, but the situation remains ongoing, provincial police said. Ede Mayor Rene Verhulst called the incident a “terrible situation” and said his thoughts and concerns were with those affected.

Persons: CNN —, De Telegraaf, Rene Verhulst Organizations: CNN, NOS, Ede, Authorities Locations: Ede

☆ Pouria Zeraati: ‘Brutal stabbing’ of exiled Iranian journalist prompts counterterrorism investigation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A prominent exiled Iranian journalist was stabbed outside his home in London on Friday, prompting British police to launch a counterterrorism investigation. Pouria Zeraati, a television anchor at the UK-based channel Iran International, was reportedly attacked by a group of men outside his home in south-western Wimbledon. Iran has designated the television station a “terrorist entity.” Iranian state media has repeatedly accused the channel of fomenting unrest. Zeraati’s stabbing comes after an investigation by Britain’s ITV last year revealed that Iranian spies had attempted to pay a people smuggler $200,000 to assassinate two Iran International journalists. Kearns noted on Twitter that Iran International had only recently returned to the air from London after having to shut down in the UK.

Persons: Pouria, Dominic Murphy, Britain’s, Alicia Kearns, Michelle Stanistreet, ” Stanistreet, Kearns, ”, CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Atay Alam Organizations: CNN, British, Iran, London Metropolitan Police, Britain’s ITV, Iran International, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Foreign Affairs Committee, British National Union of Journalists, BBC Persian Service, UN, Twitter Locations: Iranian, London, Wimbledon, Tehran, Iran

☆ Where are conjoined twins and former reality TV stars Abby and Brittany Hensel now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel rose to prominence after a 1996 appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." AdvertisementAbby and Brittany Hensel, Minnesota-born conjoined twins who share a single body with separate heads and necks, first rose to fame as children in the 1990s. Abby and Brittany Hensel became famous after appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 1996The Hensel twins were five years old when they appeared as guests on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in April 1996. Related stories"Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16," an update released in 2006, followed the twins as they worked on getting their driver's licenses and attended high school. A second video appeared to show several pictures of the pair and Bowling together, including at their wedding.

Persons: Abby, Brittany Hensel, Oprah Winfrey, —, Hensel, Mike, Patty Hensel, Brittany, they'd, Today.com, Joshua Bowling, Bowling's, TikTok, didn't, Abby's, hashtags Organizations: Service, Time Magazine, Bethel University, St, Huffington, TLC, US Army, Facebook, Business, New York, TikTok, The New York Locations: Brittany Hensel , Minnesota, Paul , Minnesota, Europe, Minnesota, Brittany

☆ Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Adopts the Music of Opera Singers, Too
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Joshua Barone | More About Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Like much music of longing and sorrow from this time — such as the sadly beautiful arias of Mozart’s operas — “Caro Mio Ben” is in a major key, and has endured as such for more than two centuries as a concert and recording staple. But that’s also where Beyoncé comes in. “Daughter” excerpts “Caro Mio Ben” as a bridge and distorts its major-key atmosphere into a minor one to fit with the rest of the song. In Beyoncé’s “If you cross me, I’m just like my father/I am colder than Titanic water,” you can hear a spiritual descendant of Carmen’s warning to “be on your guard” from another opera classic, the Habanera. She doesn’t have the voice of an opera singer, but that doesn’t really matter.

Persons: — “ Caro Mio Ben ”, that’s, Beyoncé, “ Caro Mio Ben ”, “ Carmen ”, I’m, ”

☆ Russia confirms naval chief replaced after Black Sea failures
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Radina Gigova | Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russian state media confirmed on Tuesday that the Kremlin replaced the head of the country’s navy following a string of successful Ukrainian attacks on its Black Sea fleet. Moiseyev replaces Adm. Nikolay Yevmenov, according to TASS, whose future had been the subject of speculation for weeks due to Russia’s repeated losses in the Black Sea. Ukraine claimed last month that it had disabled a third of the Russian Black Sea fleet in attacks which have most involved underwater drones. But those losses have prompted the Kremlin to redouble its efforts to fortify the Black Sea Fleet. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu effectively admitted that Ukraine had taken advantage of vulnerabilities in the Black Sea Fleet during a visit to its command post.

Persons: Alexander Moiseyev, Moiseyev, Nikolay Yevmenov, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, ”, Yevmenov Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russian Navy, TASS, Northern Fleet, Russian Defense Ministry, Russian Federation, Defense Ministry, Fleet, Russian Locations: Kronshtadt, St . Petersburg, Borskoye, Kaliningrad region, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Moscow, Crimea

CNN —The Israeli military launched an operation on Monday against Gaza’s largest hospital facility, Al-Shifa, where thousands of people are sheltering. “Military vehicles are firing at the hospital buildings’ windows, and at anyone who is caught moving between the hallways,” Hamada Abdelhadi, a displaced Palestinian man seeking shelter at Al-Shifa, told CNN. One witness who lives in nearby Gaza City told CNN he had seen “a big invasion of tanks” headed toward Al-Shifa. And dead bodies and those injured were pulled away by Israeli forces,” he told CNN by phone. During the first round of fighting at Al-Shifa in November, Israel urged Gaza’s northern residents to head south to seek refuge.

Persons: “, ”, Israel, ” Hamada Abdelhadi, Al Jazeera, Ismail Al, Abdelhadi, Abdullah Mohammed, ” Mohammed, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Shifa, –, Cindy McCain, Antonio Guterres, ” Guterres, Gazans, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Martin Griffiths, Daniel Hagari, CNN’s Amir Tal, Mostafa Salem, Joshua Berlinger Organizations: CNN, Gaza’s, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Health, Al, “, World Health Organization, WHO, United, Food, UN, Israeli Locations: Al, Gaza, –, Gaza City, Israel, United States, Rafah, United Nations

☆ This couple's DIY 'Skoolie' bus conversion took 4 years and cost $20,000. See inside their 'mid-century' dream home.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Anna Morgan and Joshua Beaman bought a 30-foot school bus for $4,000. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAnna Morgan and Joshua Beaman have worked together for about eight years doing finish carpentry. Look inside "The Haus Moves" and see how Beaman and Morgan completed their dream project.

Persons: Anna Morgan, Joshua Beaman, —, tradespeople, Morgan Organizations: Service, Craigslist

☆ The 26-year-old YouTuber conquering French journalism
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Travers, 26, is the founder and face of HugoDecrypte, a French media start-up that delivers news aimed primarily at young audiences. Travers' daily news round-ups, usually delivered from behind a desk, are very popular among younger French audiences. Joshua Berlinger/CNNThe first concerned the state of political coverage in French media. The HugoDecrypte channel launched with the mission to give young French audiences a fast, digestible way to understand the news. But he and editor-in-chief Aleberteau believe that, wherever there is social media, their model is viable.

Persons: Paris CNN — Hugo Travers, Travers, Le, “, ” Travers, there’s, ”, Alice Antheaume, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Gabriel Attal, Marie Flament, Francois Jost, Joshua Berlinger, Z, Travers ’, pander, “ You’ve, Benjamin Aleberteau, HugoDecrypte, Christopher Nolan, “ Oppenheimer, Omar Sy, Tahar Rahim, Virginie Efira, Jost, “ TikTok, …, it’s, I’m, they’re, Xavier Niel, Vincent Bollore, Rupert Murdoch, Aleberteau, ” Aleberteau Organizations: Paris CNN, YouTube, CNN, Sciences Po Journalism School, Franco, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Democratic, Sciences Po, Reuters Institute, Antheaume Locations: France, French, TikTok, Europe, Paris, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo

CNN —Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said Donald Trump would effectively end the war in Ukraine by cutting off funding to Kyiv, should the former US president return to power in November. “He (Trump) has a very clear vision,” Orbán said in an interview to Hungarian broadcaster M1 broadcast on Sunday. That’s why the war will end, because it’s obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own two feet.”Orbán’s comments came after Trump hosted the Hungarian strongman at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. And then the war will end,” Orbán said. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former US President Donald Trump are seen at the White House in 2019.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump, “, ” Orbán, Trump, Orbán, won’t, Vladimir Putin’s, Viktor Orban, Brendan Smialowski, Orban, Erdogan, anybody’s, ” John Bolton, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Trump’s, Putin, ” Bolton, Kristen Holmes, Andrew Millman Organizations: CNN, Trump, Russo, Mar, European Union, NATO, Hungary's, White House, Getty, Republican, Ukraine Locations: Hungarian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Florida, Hungary, Europe, Moscow, AFP, Turkey, NATO

☆ America's CEOs are suddenly feeling a lot better about the economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Optimism about the economy spiked among US CEOs to start the yearBusiness Roundtable's quarterly CEO sentiment report jumped by 11 points in the first quarter. The report also showed CEOs expect hiring, capital investment, and sales to all increase in the coming six months. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment report showed Americans' mood improving to start the year, climbing to its highest mark since July 2021. AdvertisementA special question in the latest survey from the business group in this quarter's survey showed that CEOs are feeling downbeat about government policy and regulation. We urge policymakers to recommit themselves to promoting economic growth, creating more American jobs and increasing economic mobility," Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said.

Persons: —, Chuck Robbins, Joshua Bolten Organizations: Service, Business, Cisco, IMF, University of Michigan Locations: U.S

☆ ‘As Living as Opera Can Get’: John Cage’s Anarchic Anti-Canon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The start was typical: Oper Frankfurt in Germany asked John Cage to write an opera. But the premiere, in 1987, was unlike anything in opera up to that point. (Audience members also received varied plot synopses that read like opera Mad Libs.) The public wasn’t exactly equipped to receive what Cage had served them. Laura Kuhn, who runs the John Cage Trust and worked with him as he prepared “Europeras 1 & 2,” wrote in her dissertation on the piece that the reception in Frankfurt varied from “overt enthusiasm to no less overt bewilderment or disdain.”

Persons: John Cage, Libs, Cage, Laura Kuhn, ” Organizations: Oper, John Cage Trust Locations: Oper Frankfurt, Germany, American, Frankfurt

☆ France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Paris CNN —France became the world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Monday, the culmination of an effort that began in direct response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The amendment states that there is a “guaranteed freedom” to abortion in France. While abortion is a highly divisive issue in US politics that often falls along party lines, in France it is widely supported. The measure’s passage is a clear victory for the French left, which has been pushing for years to guarantee abortion rights in the constitution. The vote marks the 25th time the French government has amended its constitution since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

Persons: Roe, ”, Gabriel Attal, ” Attal, Emmanuel Macron, Simone Veil, Emmanuel Macron’s, —, Wade, Eric Dupond, Moretti, perviously, CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Christopher Lamb Organizations: Paris CNN —, Wade, French Senate, National Assembly, ” Lawmakers, France, Health, US, Fifth, Catholic, Pontifical Academy for Life Locations: Paris CNN — France, of Versailles, Paris, France, United States, Europe, Hungary, Fifth Republic

☆ The Vienna Philharmonic Tours With a Favorite Conductor
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Vienna Philharmonic hasn’t had a chief conductor since 1933. But it has had favorite conductors. The violinist Daniel Froschauer, the Philharmonic’s chairman, has said that today, the ensemble not so secretly has two maestros at the top of its roster: Riccardo Muti and Franz Welser-Möst. It takes a lot to win over the affection of the Philharmonic, one of Europe’s finest ensembles, just as it takes a lot to join its ranks. These players — known for their lush sound, their brighter, higher tuning frequency and their distinctly Viennese articulation — can be haughty and stubborn; I have seen them outright defy a conductor in rehearsal.

Persons: Vienna Philharmonic hasn’t, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Daniel Froschauer, Riccardo Muti, Franz Welser, Bruckner, Mahler, Berg, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Strauss, Ravel Organizations: Vienna Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Philharmonic Locations: Vienna, Austrian

Paris CNN —French President Emmanuel Macron openly discussed the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to help Kyiv win the war against Russia, a potential major escalation to the largest ground war Europe has seen since World War II. Macron did, however, announce that a new coalition would be created to supply Ukraine with medium-range and long-range missiles. Macron pointed out that Western democracies have gradually increased their support to levels unthinkable when the war began. Macron warned at the start of the summit that Russia would likely attack beyond Ukraine in the coming years, threatening Europe’s collective security. “This is a European war,” Macron said.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, ”, “, Olaf Scholz, ” Scholz, ” Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, ‘, Dmitry Peskov, ” Peskov, Sergey Lavrov, Donald Trump, It’s, Anna Chernova, Vasco Cotovio Organizations: Paris CNN —, Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia, Republicans, CNN, European Union, Kremlin, EU Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Hungary, Slovakia, Russian, Ukrainian, Washington, Germany, Kyiv, ”, Moscow, “, United Kingdom, EU

☆ Sweden clears final hurdle in bid to join NATO after Hungary approves accession
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Stephanie Halasz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Of the 194 members of parliament who voted, just six rejected Sweden’s accession. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Sweden will join the alliance now that all allies have approved Sweden’s bid to join. As NATO states, Finland and Sweden will enjoy the protection granted under Article 5 of the treaty that established the alliance – which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack against all. While most NATO members quickly approved Finland and Sweden’s applications, Hungary and Turkey held out for some time. Video Ad Feedback Turkish parliament approves Sweden's NATO membership bid 01:05 - Source: CNNShortly after the Turkish vote, Orban told NATO chief Stoltenberg that his government would also support Swedish membership.

Persons: CNN —, Vladimir Putin, Ulf Kristersson, Viktor Orban, Sweden’s, ” Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Orban, Stoltenberg, Putin, Luke McGee, Lauren Kent Organizations: CNN, NATO, Stockholm, Swedish, Gripen, “, United, Russia, Ukraine, Union, EU, Sweden’s, Budapest, Kyiv Locations: Budapest, Hungary, Swedish, “ Sweden, Sweden, United States, Atlantic Treaty, Eastern Europe, Russia’s, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Stockholm, EU, Europe, Israel

☆ Navalny’s widow accuses Putin of ‘satanism’ and breaking ‘both human and God’s’ law
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Darya Tarasova | Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The widow of the late dissident Alexey Navalny said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is engaging in “satanism” by refusing to release her husband’s body. “It’s satanism.”The video, titled “Putin’s fake faith,” was published nine days after Navalny’s death. You are breaking every law, both human and God’s.”The Kremlin denied having anything to do with Navalny’s death. The Russian prison service said he “felt unwell after a walk” and “almost immediately” lost consciousness. The elder Navalnaya has been in Salekhard, the Siberian town where Navalny’s body is being kept in a morgue, shortly after her son’s death.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Alexey, ” Yulia Navalnaya, ”, ” Navalnaya, “, Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalnaya, Navalny’s, Yulia Navalnaya, “ Putin, Saint Nicholas Organizations: CNN, Putin, Kremlin, Russian Orthodox Church Locations: ”, Russia, Salekhard, Russian

☆ Smell the Music: Inviting a Perfumer Into the Concert Hall
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was time to smell Scriabin’s “Prometheus: The Poem of Fire.”This music, from 1910, has an element of synesthesia in its score, which calls for a color organ — a keyboard instrument that projects lights of a dozen hues — along with a full orchestra, a piano soloist and a choir. But in October at Davies Symphony Hall, the home of the San Francisco Symphony, the piece was being prepared with an additional sense in mind. Onstage, the pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet practiced his solo part in “Prometheus,” which the San Francisco Symphony will perform March 1 through 3, while the conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen listened attentively to the wooden vortexes as they were being tested; the sound they made while emitting smoke, he noticed, was nearly a G.Mathilde Laurent, Cartier’s longtime perfumer, who had designed the scents, double-checked notes on her iPad. For this day’s test, without the orchestra, she wanted to be sure the diffusers were timed to match the music. So they were going to play a recording overhead.

Persons: Jean, Yves Thibaudet, Pekka Salonen, attentively, Mathilde Laurent, Cartier’s, perfumer Organizations: Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco

☆ Review: A Case for Understated Majesty at the Philharmonic
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Take Anders Hillborg’s second piano concerto, “The MAX Concerto,” which had its local premiere with the New York Philharmonic on Thursday. Programmed somewhat arbitrarily between works by Sibelius and Rachmaninoff, it was more entertaining than either of them, and just as well crafted. Likable without being eager to please, thrilling without shameless dazzle, it is, like Ax, enjoyable simply because it’s excellent. And, crucially, Hillborg’s concerto works regardless of how familiar a listener is with his music, or any classical music for that matter. Or you could just sit back and sense, intuitively, the genial majesty and pleasure coursing through it all.

Persons: Anders Hillborg’s, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Emanuel Ax, Ax, Manny Ax, Beethoven’s, ”, Bach Organizations: New York Philharmonic Locations: San Francisco

☆ Navalny’s mother asks Putin to release her son’s body in video filmed outside Arctic penal colony
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Alexey Navalny’s family has made a direct plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the release of the Russian dissident’s body, five days after he died behind bars in a penal colony. Standing in the snow outside the facility where her son was imprisoned, Lyudmila Navalnaya addressed Putin directly, saying she has not been told where Navalny’s body is. Navalny’s lawyer tried to call a number on the building’s door, but he was told the body was not there. Navalny’s lawyer tried to call a number on the building’s door, but he was told the body was not there. Two days later, Navalnaya was rebuffed in person at the morgue, Yarmish said, adding that staff refused to say whether the body was inside.

Persons: CNN — Alexey Navalny’s, Vladimir Putin, Lyudmila Navalnaya, Putin, ” Navalnaya, Navalny, Navalny “, ”, Navalnaya, Kira Yarmish, Yarmish, Navalny’s, Novichok, Yulia Navalnaya, “, Dmitry Peskov, Alexey, Don’t, Oleg, ministry’s, Oleg Navalny Organizations: CNN, Staff, European Union Foreign Affairs, EU, Munich Locations: Russian, Putin’s, Soviet, Russia, Germany

☆ Schubert’s Operas Were Failures. Is Their Music Worth Saving?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“I feel myself the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world,” Franz Schubert, suffering from syphilis and reeling from professional failures, wrote in March 1824 to his friend, the painter Leopold Kupelwieser. “I seem once again,” Schubert, then 27, wrote in his letter, “to have composed two operas for nothing.”He wouldn’t return to the genre again. And even after his death in 1828, at 31, when many of his works enjoyed posthumous adulation and were performed widely, none of his theatrical undertakings entered the standard repertoire. It’s surprising that opera eluded Schubert, who by most counts started about 20 stage works, completed fewer than a dozen and saw the premieres of just two. After all, he wrote some of the most beautiful vocal music in the repertoire: the song cycles “Die Schöne Müllerin” and “Winterreise,” and hundreds of beloved lieder like “Gretchen am Spinnrade” and “Ave Maria.”

Persons: ” Franz Schubert, Leopold Kupelwieser, ”, Schubert, “, ” Schubert, “ Gretchen, Spinnrade Locations: Vienna, “, Maria

☆ NATO: Record 18 states expected to meet 2% defense spending threshold this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( James Frater | Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Eighteen of NATO’s 31 members are expected to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense this year, the treaty organization’s leader said on Wednesday. “That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies met their target,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday ahead of a meeting between the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels. Former US President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection in November, brought renewed scrutiny to the issue of defense spending among NATO members last weekend, when he said at a rally he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense – effectively undercutting the collective defense clause at the heart of the treaty. The German Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its 2024 budget will see its defense spending meet the 2% threshold for the first time since the early 1990s. NATO as a whole is expected to reach the 2% threshold for the first time this year.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Donald Trump, –, Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, ” Organizations: CNN, NATO, Allies, German Defense Ministry Locations: Brussels, Russia, Canada, Germany

CNN —Russian authorities on Tuesday launched criminal proceedings against Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, charges the leader of the Baltic state alleged were politically motivated. The Kremlin accused Kallas, Estonian Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys of destroying or damaging monuments to Soviet monuments in memory of Soviet soldiers, Russia’s state-run Tass news reported. Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Kallas announced that Estonia would remove all of the country’s Soviet monuments from public spaces. A report by the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service said Russia may consider doubling the number of troops stationed on its border with the Baltic countries and increasing those on its frontier with Finland, which joined NATO last year. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also on Tuesday delivered his annual foreign policy speech, which included fiery anti-Russian remarks and a full-throated backing for Ukraine.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Kallas, Peterkop, Simonas, Dmitry Peskov, ” Kallas, ”, Vladimir Putin, Margus Tsahkna, Joshua Berlinger Organizations: CNN, Estonian, Kremlin, State, Lithuanian Culture, Russia, Soviet Union, European Union, NATO, Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, Ukraine Locations: Baltic, Estonian, Ukraine, Estonia, Russia, Siberia, Soviet, Finland, “

☆ Zelensky considers a major shakeup of Ukraine’s leadership, beyond expected ouster of military chief
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Pierre Meilhan | Andrew Carey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Zelensky did not offer clarify who would be replaced, but his comments come amid speculation over the future of army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The army chief had suggested that the drafting of up to half a million additional soldiers was required, which Zelensky resisted. That operation began in June and was aimed at driving Russian forces back from the territories they have occupied since 2022, particularly in the south of the country. Zalzhnyi’s ouster would also be a politically risky move for Zelensky, given the general’s immense popularity has survived counteroffensive’s failure. A poll published by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology in December found 88% of Ukrainians supported the army chief compared to 62% for the President.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, ”, ” Zelensky, Valerii, Zaluzhnyi, Republicans hewing, Donald Trump, Serhiy Nykyforov, Zalzhnyi, Zalzhnyi’s, CNN’s Joshua Berlinger Organizations: CNN, RAI, European Union, Republicans, Kyiv Institute of Sociology Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Orikhiv, Azov, Crimea, Zaluzhnyi, European, Washington

☆ Trump’s critics hope that Antonin Scalia can sway the Supreme Court in 14th Amendment fight
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

On a court where conservatives hold a 6-3 supermajority, including three Trump nominees, citing Scalia is no coincidence. The advocates are hoping to convince the justices that they can write off Trump’s arguments in a way that still squares with conservative legal principles. The Scalia concurrence, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and two other conservatives, involved a dispute between the teamsters and a soda distributor. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and former President Donald Trump. “Many times, members of the court greatly respect each other but will disagree with what they’ve had to say,” Muller said.

Persons: Scalia, Donald Trump, Antonin Scalia, Trump, “, –, ”, Derek Muller, “ They’re, Conway, SCOTUS, CNN Trump, J, Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Joshua Blackman, South Texas College of Law Houston, Blackman, ” Blackman, Neil Gorsuch, Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, ” Alito, they’ve, ” Muller Organizations: Trump, CNN — Liberal, Capitol, Supreme, Notre Dame Law, CNN, United, Republican, Chief, teamsters, South Texas College of Law, Getty, Appeals, Colorado Republican Party, Congress Locations: United States, Colorado

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