DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ With a MAGA win and a Squad loss, the political middle moves
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

So it would be an oversimplification to say that Republicans moved more MAGA and Democrats moved more moderate based on these two unrelated races. Former President Donald Trump personifies MAGA, and a large part of the Make America Great Again ethos he pushes is loyalty to him. That primary voters did not hold the spending against Latimer, as progressives argued they should, also reminds me that voters (especially Democrats) in presidential cycles tend to be cautious. Utah went its own wayWhile Boebert’s victory provides a foil for Bowman’s loss, it was far from a perfect night for more MAGA Republicans. It’s a shame that primary voters are becoming the de facto general election voters in states and districts that lean heavily to one side or the other, according to former Indiana Gov.

Persons: Lauren Boebert, MAGA, Jamaal Bowman, Donald Trump personifies MAGA, Joe Biden, Biden, Bowman, Boebert, Ken Buck, Trump, Israel, CNN’s Gregory Krieg, George, Latimer, that’s, You’ll, Dave Williams, Jeff Crank, Sen, Mitt Romney, John Curtis, Curtis, Spencer Cox, Cox, Mitch Daniels, trifecta, Daniels Organizations: CNN, Republican, Democratic, Republicans, vaping, Rep, Israel Jewish voters, Trump’s, Westchester, AIPAC, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Fox News, MAGA Republicans, GOP, Trump, GOP Senate, Gov, Associated Press, Indiana Gov, The Washington Post Locations: Colorado, Bronx, Westchester County, New York, Gaza, Israel, Westchester, Utah, The

☆ Abu Dhabi wants to be an AI leader. Aligning with the US is just the start
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Amy Gunia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The world’s first minister dedicated to developing artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is already becoming embroiled in a global power struggle for tech supremacy. The UAE is one of the world’s largest producers of fossil fuels, and Abu Dhabi sees its AI push as crucial for diversifying away from oil. Christopher Pike/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesWashington has also limited the sale of sophisticated US chips to ensure China doesn’t use Middle Eastern nations as a back door to access the newest AI technology, according to Reuters. By opening up the technology, Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as an ally to developing nations that don’t have the resources to build their own AI tools. In March, a report commissioned by the US State Department warned that the most advanced AI systems could, in a worst-case scenario, “pose an extinction-level threat to the human species.”Olama has some specific concerns.

Persons: Biden, Omar Al Olama, “, Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi, ”, ” Olama, Al Olama, ’ ”, Christopher Pike, Olama, Abu Dhabi’s, ” James Lewis, Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin, Gifty Sahany, Lewis, ” He’s Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, United Arab Emirates, UAE, PwC, Commerce Department, Huawei, Etihad, United, Bloomberg, Getty, Washington, Reuters, Nvidia, Apple, Technology Innovation Institute, Google, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Washington DC, University of Artificial Intelligence, Systems, US State Department Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, China, United States, Dubai, Gulf, United Arab Emirates, Beijing, Washington, University, Valley

☆ What the Supreme Court ruling on social media means
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

What can the US government tell social media companies to do? Republican-led states, including Missouri and Louisiana, along with five social media users, claimed in 2022 that those contacts with social media companies were in fact part of an unconstitutional government campaign to silence free speech. Why is the government talking to social media companies? It avoided ruling on whether the government’s communications with social media companies violated the First Amendment. The FBI resumed sharing some threat information with social media companies earlier this year, prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, CNN has previously reported.

Persons: Laura Edelson, Edelson, we’ve, ” Edelson, “ That’s, – didn’t, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, ” Barrett, ”, James Grimmelmann, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, Nora Benavidez, ” Benavidez Organizations: CNN, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Republican, Meta, Twitter, Northeastern University, Democracy, Cornell University, “, Free Press Locations: Murthy v . Missouri, Covid, Missouri, Louisiana, United States, Washington, Silicon

☆ The world’s future energy wars will be fought under the sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The technology to store renewable energy for long periods hasn’t quite been mastered, either. The interconnector would send renewable energy both east and west, taking advantage of the sun’s diurnal journey across the sky. The transatlantic interconnector is still a proposal, but networks of green energy cables are starting to sprawl across the world’s sea beds. They are fast becoming part of a global climate solution, transmitting large amounts of renewable energy to countries struggling to make the green transition alone. Not all of them carry renewable power exclusively — that’s sometimes determined by what makes up each country’s energy grid — but new ones are typically being built for a green energy future.

Persons: there’s, ”, Simon Ludlam, “ We’ve, we’ve, Fadel Senna, Paul Ellis, Biden, Laurent Segalen, Energy’s Ludlam, “, you’ve, you’re, Trump, Dmitry Peskov, George Dyson, Dyson, Morten Kruger, Frank Schneider, Alberto Rizzi, ” Rizzi Organizations: London CNN, Etchea Energy, Getty, Burbo, Sun Cable, Initiative, NATO, European Council, Foreign Relations, United, European Union Locations: New York, California, Britain, Europe, North America, Canada, France, East Coast, United States, Paris, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Morocco, Moroccan, Ouarzazate, AFP, English, New Brighton, Australia, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Asia, East, Beijing, London, Russia, China, Germany, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, Baltic, Western Europe, North, Russian, Aqaba, Jordan, Taba, Egypt, Red, America, EU

Coming into and through 2019, the economy was strong and the Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation, was low. For some, that seemed like a bad thing — economists worried that chronically low inflation could increase the risk of future economic stagnation. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index, a slightly delayed price measure that the Fed uses for its 2 percent inflation target, similarly fell. Within a few months, inflation began to pick up. Price jumps began to moderate even in service categories, which made economists hope that the deceleration might be the real deal.

Persons: —, Biden, Donald J, Trump, Price, ” Jerome H, Powell, ” Mr Organizations: Fed, Consumer, Federal Locations: Covid, Ukraine, blowups

☆ Bloomberg: Supreme Court appears to side with Biden admin in abortion case, according to draft briefly posted on website
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The release was a stunning development at the Supreme Court, which usually safeguards the release of its opinions. The abortion case was considered among the most significant of the current term that is winding down ahead of the July 4 holiday. A Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed that a “document” was “inadvertently and briefly uploaded” to the court’s website. The decision came days after the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an effort by anti-abortion groups to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone. In January, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the case and allowed the law to take effect while it did so.

Persons: Roe, Wade –, Biden, ”, “, Patricia McCabe, Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, wouldn’t, Steve Vladeck, Case, Reagan, Elizabeth Prelogar, Prelogar, Amy Coney Barrett, Joshua Turner, Weeks Organizations: CNN, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg, Supreme, Politico, US, Justice, University of Texas School of Law, of Justice, White, Justice Department, Idaho, Labor, Biden, Republican Locations: Idaho

☆ In South Carolina, 3 G.O.P. Senators Fought an Abortion Ban. They Lost Their Races.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Kate Zernike | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last year, the five self-proclaimed “Sister Senators” from South Carolina were awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award after they joined together across party lines to block the legislature from passing a near-total abortion ban. But a prize from the nation’s most storied Democratic family may not be the best calling card in Republican primaries in the red-state South. All three of the Republican women in the group of five — the others were a Democrat and an independent — faced primary challenges, and all three have now lost. State Senator Katrina Shealy, who was the only female member of the chamber after she won in 2012, failed to win a runoff on Tuesday against the son of a former legislator. The two others lost earlier this month: Penry Gustafson lost by a 64 point margin; Sandy Senn lost by 33 votes, small enough to trigger a recount, but conceded the race before that.

Persons: “, John F, Katrina Shealy, Penry Gustafson, Sandy Senn Organizations: Kennedy, Republican, Democrat Locations: South Carolina

☆ Texas Execution Centers on a Jury’s Assessment of ‘Future Dangerousness’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Ramiro Gonzales was sentenced to death in 2006 for the rape and murder of a young woman in Texas, it followed the testimony of a psychiatrist who suggested that Mr. Gonzales could very well commit a similar crime in the future if he remained alive. But nearly two decades later, the psychiatrist, Dr. Edward Gripon, no longer stands by what he told the jury. In a subsequent report, he wrote that he had testified about a statistic that showed a high likelihood that those who commit sexual assaults will reoffend; the statistic turned out to be unfounded, he said, and after meeting with Mr. Gonzales a few years ago, he no longer believed he posed a threat. The jury that heard Dr. Gripon’s initial testimony concluded that Mr. Gonzales should be sentenced to death, and despite desperate efforts by defense lawyers to highlight the psychiatrist’s new reservations, Mr. Gonzales was scheduled to be executed Wednesday evening by lethal injection. The case has highlighted the unusual importance that Texas places on the contentious practice of predicting whether a person convicted of a capital crime is likely to be violent again.

Persons: Ramiro Gonzales, Gonzales, Edward Gripon, Gripon’s Locations: Texas

☆ Celine Dion Can Only Be Herself
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Lindsay Zoladz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“I always envy people who smoke and drink and party and don’t sleep,” Celine Dion tells her physical therapist with an exaggerated sigh, midway through the new documentary “I Am: Celine Dion.” “Me, I have water and I sleep 12 hours.”This monastic constraint has long been a core part of the Celine Dion legend. In a cruel twist of fate, though, even the ceaseless care Dion devoted to her voice could not preserve it. In 2022, she revealed in an emotional Instagram post that she has stiff person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that causes painful muscle spasms and affects roughly one in a million people. After watching “I Am: Celine Dion,” a remarkably candid portrait directed by Irene Taylor on Amazon Prime Video, it is difficult to imagine a disease that would be more personally devastating to Dion, whose entire career has been one long exercise in control, sacrificing all for the ecstatic release of live performance. Since her emergence as a Québécois child star with a precociously huge voice, something about Dion’s essential nature has remained constant, impervious to both changing trends and scathing critique.

Persons: “, Celine Dion, ”, Dion, Irene Taylor, who’d, Elisabeth Vincentelli, “ Dion Organizations: Amazon Prime Locations: York

☆ Prosecutors urge Supreme Court to reject Steve Bannon’s attempt to avoid prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject an effort by former Trump aide Steve Bannon to avoid prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction. A federal judge ruled recently that Bannon must turn himself in by July 1 to begin serving a four-month sentence. Bannon, a conservative podcast host and former strategist for Donald Trump, asked the Supreme Court last week to pause his prison sentence. Bannon “responded to the subpoena with total noncompliance,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the court. Bannon is set to report to the low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, instead of a minimum-security prison camp he had sought.

Persons: Trump, Steve Bannon, Bannon, Biden, Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, Bannon “, Elizabeth Prelogar, “, ” Prelogar, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, The Justice Department, Trump Locations: Washington ,, Danbury , Connecticut

☆ Election Updates: J.D. Vance says he’ll be disappointed if Trump doesn’t pick him as his running mate.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Michael C. Bender | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

And AIPAC’s attacks have galvanized a concerted countercampaign by the left to try to discredit the group, which is bipartisan, among Democratic voters. Mr. Latimer ran up large margins in more moderate suburban communities, including ones with sizable Jewish populations. Mr. Bowman’s opponents churned out an unusually large amount of opposition research against him, including old blog posts dabbling in Sept. 11 conspiracy theories. Mr. Latimer returned to the episode repeatedly to argue that Mr. “He’s making the party look really bad,” said Sandra Altman, citing Mr. Bowman’s fire alarm episode and his left-leaning views, as she voted for Mr. Latimer in Scarsdale.

Persons: Jamaal Bowman, ”, Bowman, George Latimer, Dave Sanders, Israel, Marshall Wittmann, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Gregg Vigliotti, Bernie Sanders of, Ayanna Pressley, ’, Latimer, Cori Bush, Biden, “, Bowman’s, Stephen Colbert, Cash Cobain, Ocasio, Sanders, Reagan, Paul Feiner, “ I’ve, he’s, ” Marsha Gordon, Ms, Gordon, “ Jamaal Bowman, Sandra Altman, “ He’s, ” Molly Longman Organizations: Democratic, Israel, Westchester County, AIPAC, The New York Times, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, ., The New York Times Left, Justice Democrats, Cortez of New York, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Massachusetts, Jewish, Democratic Party, Mr Locations: York, New York City, Gaza, Westchester, Israel, New York, Bronx, Cortez of New, Mount Vernon, Missouri, Yonkers, Latimer, Scarsdale, “, N.Y

☆ Canceling Congestion Pricing Could Kill 100,000 New York Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Stefanos Chen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kathy Hochul said she paused New York City’s congestion pricing program for economic reasons: The tolls could hurt the region’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic more than they helped. But a new analysis of the transit budget gap left in the wake of the program’s suspension this month points to possibly deeper pain: the potential loss of thousands of high-paying jobs throughout the state over the next few years. At least 101,500 jobs could be lost in New York if the state does not find another way to fill the multibillion-dollar hole left in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget, according to a report released Wednesday by Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group. A majority of those jobs would have been created by private companies that work with the authority to build new trains and buses and install new propulsion systems, among other things. On average, workers in these fields earn over $100,000 a year, said Rachael Fauss, a senior policy adviser with Reinvent Albany.

Persons: Kathy Hochul, Rachael Fauss Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Locations: York, New York, Albany

☆ NASA tasks SpaceX to build disposal vehicle for International Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It would latch onto the International Space Station — a nearly 1 million-pound structure roughly the size of a football field — and guide the craft as it plunges out of Earth’s orbit. The federal agency operates the International Space Station alongside Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, which controls a key wing of the station and propulsion modules. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency also play roles in its operations. But the space agency stipulated that it would only require that the vehicle be ready by 2029. In the news release, NASA noted that it is committed to continuing space station operations through 2030.

Persons: Roscosmos, ” Ken Bowersox, Tracy Dyson, “, ” Organizations: CNN, NASA, SpaceX, Space, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, International, ” NASA, Deorbit, Collins Aerospace Locations: Roscosmos, Russian, North Carolina

☆ Congestion Pricing Delay Will Stop Billions in Subway Upgrades
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Ana Ley | More About Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Transit leaders in New York City are preparing to scale back billions of dollars’ worth of upgrades to the nation’s largest transit network after Gov. Kathy Hochul halted a tolling program that would have paid for improvements and repairs. Gone were plans to make subway stations more accessible to riders with disabilities, repairs to some nearly century-old infrastructure and the expansion of the Second Avenue subway line, among other now-deferred projects. The board has yet to officially revise its capital plans but did pass a resolution on Wednesday to remain prepared to put the congestion pricing program into effect once it gets the green light from Albany. Governor Hochul has not indicated when that might be.

Persons: Kathy Hochul, Hochul Organizations: Gov, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New York City, Albany

Atlanta, Georgia CNN —The headwinds facing President Joe Biden’s reelection bid are as apparent in Georgia as any battleground. “President Trump still has to earn these Republican voters,” said Kelvin King, who was among Trump’s most prominent Black supporters in Georgia in 2016 and 2020. “Atlanta rent is way up, food prices soaring to record highs but Biden claims he’s lowering costs. “You know what you’re getting with Joe Biden,” Davis said in an interview in her store, the Beehive. “To me, former President Donald Trump just isn’t an option whatsoever.”The question is whether Singleton stands alone or represents a broader view among young voters.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Kelvin King, he’s, ” King, “, King, “ He’s, denialism —, Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger, ” Biden, Biden, who’s, “ We’ve, Keisha Lance Bottoms, “ We’re, aren’t, ‘, –, Democrat Mariama Davis, Joe Biden, ” Davis, He’s, Davis, it’s, battlegrounds Trump, Kamala Harris, ” Harris, “ Young, Kerry Singleton Jr, Singleton, ” Singleton, that’s Organizations: Georgia CNN, CNN, Republican, Trump, US, America, Biden, Democratic, Gov, Atlanta, Georgia, Democrat, Morehouse College Locations: Atlanta, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin , Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska

☆ Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Biden Administration’s Contacts With Social Media Companies
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court handed the Biden administration a major practical victory on Wednesday, rejecting a challenge to its contacts with social media platforms to combat what administration officials said was misinformation. The court ruled that the states and users who had challenged the contacts had not suffered the sort of direct injury that gave them standing to sue. The decision, by a 6 to 3 vote, left fundamental legal questions for another day. “For months,” Justice Alito wrote, “high-ranking government officials placed unrelenting pressure on Facebook to suppress Americans’ free speech. Because the court unjustifiably refuses to address this serious threat to the First Amendment, I respectfully dissent.”

Persons: “, Amy Coney Barrett, ”, Samuel A, Alito Jr, Clarence Thomas, Neil M, Gorsuch, Alito, unjustifiably Organizations: Court, Biden, Facebook

☆ Casa Susanna: How an upstate New York home became a safe haven for trans women in 1960s America
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Suyin Haynes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Her name is Susanna Valenti, and her home is Casa Susanna, located in the Catskills, in upstate New York. Pictured above, guests with Susanna Valenti (right) in her wife Marie Tonell's New York City apartment, circa 1960-63. Susanna (right) and two friends are pictured on a swing set at Casa Susanna, circa 1960. In discoveries of other Casa Susanna photographs, multiple copies of the same image have been found. I think people find it somewhere between charming and mind blowing.” Pictured above, guests at Casa Susanna circa 1964-68.

Persons: Susanna Valenti, Casa, Casa Susanna, “ Casa, Valenti, Marie Tonell, Cindy Sherman, Louise Lawrence, Harvey Fierstein’s “, Valentina ”, Sophie Hackett, Marie Tonell's, Susan Stryker, “, ” Stryker, I’ve, ’, ‘, Virginia Prince, Stryker, “ Transvestia ”, Susanna, Lili, Wilma, Prince, Virginia, ”, Susanna Says, Casa Susanna ., Tonell, Gloria, Jessica, Lee Miller, ” Lili, that’s, Hackett, ” Hackett, Transvestia, ” Prince, Transvestia ”, Isabelle Bonnet Organizations: CNN, Art, Ontario’s, First Trans Network, Louise Lawrence Transgender, Casa Susanna, Hudson, Casa, Virginia, of Ontario, Prince Locations: New York, United States, New York City, York City, Los Angeles, America, Casa, Chile, Michigan, Colombian, Thames, Hudson

☆ With Jamaal Bowman’s Loss, the Left Is on the Defensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Representative Jamaal Bowman’s upset win in a 2020 Democratic primary in the New York suburbs was heralded by the left as proof of its electoral ascent in American politics. Four years later, Mr. Bowman’s decisive loss on Tuesday will soon brand him with a more ignominious distinction: the first member of the House’s left-leaning “Squad” to be ousted from office. The congressman was weighed down by a unique collection of baggage, including a guilty plea to a misdemeanor for pulling a House fire alarm last year. And he faced record-shattering spending by political groups furious over his criticism of Israel. But his defeat in one of the nation’s most closely watched primaries drove home an unmistakable reality: Even at a moment when the war in Gaza has re-energized progressive activism, many of the left’s candidates are no longer gaining ground in major races, and in some cases they have started losing it.

Persons: Jamaal Bowman’s, Bowman’s, Israel Organizations: Democratic Locations: New York, Gaza

☆ South Sudan is home to ‘world’s largest land mammal migration.’ War means no one knows about it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Antelopes, hundreds of thousands of them, are crossing the savannas of South Sudan. But a report published today estimates that South Sudan is home to the largest known migration of land mammals on Earth. South Sudan, a country in central Africa, has a varied landscape, from rainforests to lush savannas and swamplands fed by the Nile River (pictured). Marcus Westberg He suspects that the migration’s survival and growth is likely to be linked to the decades of war South Sudan has suffered. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war.

Persons: Marcus Westberg, Mike Fay, ”, Steve Boyes, South Sudan Fay, He’s, “ It’s, Jigar, Fay, ” Fay, “, you’ve, We’ve, “ We’ve, Boyes, Salva Kiir Mayardit Organizations: CNN, Initiative, African Parks, African Parks Network, Parks Network, United Nations, Parks, Rolex, Ministry of Wildlife Locations: South Sudan, Sudan, Africa, African, Ethiopia, South Sudan’s, Juba, “, Tanzania

☆ Election Updates: The Jamaal Bowman-George Latimer primary could signal many political benchmarks.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Claire Fahy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

New York is a closed primary state, meaning Democrats and Republicans can vote only in their own parties’ primaries. Bowman and Mr. Latimer may serve as harbingers of many political benchmarks. Mr. Latimer is largely supportive of Israel, calling for a return of all hostages before any potential cease-fire. Mr. Latimer has received $14.5 million in support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. It has also featured negative characterizations, with Mr. Latimer portraying Mr.

Persons: Jamaal Bowman, George Latimer, luminary, Bowman, Latimer, ”, Israel, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Bernie Sanders of, Bowman’s, Nancy Goroff, Nick LaLota, John Avlon, Avlon, Margaret Hoover, Goroff, Avlon’s, Rudolph W, Giuliani, Goroff’s, Lee Zeldin, Cook, John W, Mannion, Sarah Klee Hood, Brandon Williams, Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman, Eon Huntley, Zinerman, Hakeem Jeffries, Letitia James, Didi Barrett, Claire Cousin, Eddie Gibbs, Xavier Santiago, Gibbs, Grace Ashford, Jeffery C, Mays, Nicholas Fandos Organizations: Democratic, Congressional, Mr, Democratic Party’s, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Republican, CNN, PBS, Republican Party, ”, an Air Force, New York, State Senate, Legislature, Progressives, Democratic Socialists of America Locations: New York, Westchester County, Long, Israel, Gaza, Cortez of New York, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, New, Sag Harbor, Suffolk County, Central New York, State, DeWitt, Bedford, Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Hudson, East Harlem

☆ Trump Can Now Criticize Witnesses Who Testified Against Him, Judge Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A judge on Tuesday loosened a gag order on Donald J. Trump in his Manhattan criminal case, allowing the former president to criticize witnesses who took the stand against him as well as others involved in the trial that led to his conviction. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Mr. Trump’s seven-week trial this spring, ruled that Mr. Trump is now free to complain about the prosecution’s witnesses, including his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen. Once Mr. Trump is sentenced on July 11, the judge ruled, he can publicly assail others who are currently covered by the gag order, including prosecutors and their relatives. Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is still subject to a different order prohibiting him from releasing the identities of jurors, or publicly attacking them by name. But under Justice Merchan’s ruling, Mr. Trump can now complain broadly about the jury that convicted him.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, Merchan, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen, Merchan’s Organizations: Mr

☆ China’s Chang’e-6 moon mission returns to Earth with historic far side samples
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module returned to Earth Tuesday, successfully completing its historic mission to collect the first ever samples from the far side of the moon in a major step forward for the country’s ambitious space program. “The Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success,” said Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), from the control room. Once they receive the samples, Chinese scientists are expected to share data and carry out joint research with international partners, before Beijing later opens the samples for access by international teams, according to statements from CNSA officials. China and the US are not alone in eyeing the national prestige, potential scientific benefits, access to resources and further deep space exploration that successful moon missions could bring. Last year, India landed its first spacecraft on the moon, while Russia’s first lunar mission in decades ended in failure when its Luna 25 probe crashed into the moon’s surface.

Persons: China’s, ”, Zhang Kejian, Xi Jinping –, –, zhong ”, Luna, James Head, Yuqi Qian, Artemis, Bill Nelson, ” Nelson Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Tuesday, CCTV, China National Space Administration, CNN, Brown University, “, University of Hong, International, NASA, Luna Locations: Hong Kong, Mongolia, United States, Beijing, China, Soviet, University of Hong Kong, India, Japan, Texas, Chang’e

☆ Biden administration moving towards allowing American military contractors to deploy to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Biden administration is moving toward lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine, four US officials familiar with the matter told CNN, to help the country’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems. The change would mark another significant shift in the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy, as the US looks for ways to give Ukraine’s military an upper hand against Russia. The policy is still being worked on by administration officials and has not received final sign-off yet from President Joe Biden, officials said. Allowing experienced, US government-funded American contractors to maintain a presence in Ukraine means they will be able to help fix damaged, high-value equipment much faster, officials said. The discussions follow a series of decisions the US has made in recent months to try to help Ukraine beat back the Russians.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Joe Biden, “, ”, Jake Sullivan, Alex Vindman, Donald Trump’s, Vindman, ” Vindman Organizations: CNN, Biden, Russia, ”, Pentagon, State Department, Administration, Ukraine, National, European Affairs, Donald Trump’s National Security Council Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Poland, Romania, Kharkiv, Iraq, Afghanistan

☆ The Biden-Trump debate will lay bare a fateful national crossroads
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The country is confronting a perilous moment, internally estranged over politics and culture and as multiple foreign policy crises deepen. Biden has dedicated his term to expanding NATO to counter the Kremlin’s onslaught on Ukraine and threat to wider Europe. This leaves Biden badly needing to use Thursday night’s debate to convince voters that he can make their lives better — and soon. Post-game coverage of Thursday’s debate is certain to zero in on the best verbal jabs, soundbites and the stamina and energy of the rival candidates. But the most meaningful impact of the clash between Trump and Biden will only begin to unfold after noon on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025.

Persons: Al, George H.W, Richard Nixon’s, Donald Trump’s, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Trump, Robert Frost’s, Biden, he’s, “, he’d, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Nikoletta Stoyanova, didn’t, they’ve, Trump’s, Jerome Powell, Kamala Harris, Lyndon Johnson, He’s Organizations: CNN, White, GOP, NATO, Trump, North, America, 57th Motorized Brigade, Republican Party, Federal, ABC Locations: America, Russia, China, Ukraine, Europe, Beijing, Gaza, United States, Vovchansk, Kharkiv Region, Nevada

The plea deal allows Assange to avoid prison in the US and return to his native Australia. “That never came up in our conversations,” said David Stilwell, the State Department assistant secretary for the Pacific region during the Trump administration. Sessions’ focus on national security-related leaks was “probably one of the reasons why the [Assange] case had more traction,” Hickey told CNN. Hickey said he was not involved in the Assange case when he was a senior official at DOJ’s National Security Division from 2016 to 2023. Stilwell, the former State Department official under the Trump administration, pushed back on the Assange plea deal.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, Biden, Trump, ”, David Stilwell, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, General Merrick Garland, Chelsea Manning, Manning, Barack Obama, Obama, Trump’s, Jeff Sessions, Adam Hickey, ” Hickey, Hickey, “ Assange, who’s, Mayer Brown, Garland, Andrew McCabe, “, it’s, ” McCabe, Stilwell, ” Stilwell, Bradley Moss, would’ve, ” Moss, ” CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Marshall Cohen, Kevin Liptak Organizations: CNN, United, Wikileaks, State Department, Australian, Justice Department, FBI, Northern, London’s, US Justice Department, White, Pentagon, Army, Assange ., Department, Obama, Biden, DOJ’s National Security Division, Protect Journalists, Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties Union, Computer, Ecuadorian Locations: United States, Washington, London, Stockholm, Quito, Ecuador, Australia, Pacific, Virginia, London’s, Northern Mariana Islands, Iraq, Guantanamo, Washington ,

Search resuls for: "On’s"

25 mentions found