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☆ U.S. targets supply of Iranian drones to Russia in new sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States is seeking to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, which has reduced cities to rubble and killed or wounded thousands. Russia has procured drones from Iran that have been used to attack cities and power infrastructure in Ukraine. Iranian military entities and industries are already under heavy U.S. sanctions over Tehran's nuclear development program. Iran has acknowledged that it had supplied Moscow with drones but said they were sent before the war in Ukraine. Treasury also targeted Abbas Djuma and Tigran Khristoforovich Srabionov, accusing the two of being involved in the Wagner group's acquisition of Iranian drones to support combat operations in Ukraine.

☆ Wall Street has made serious strides to embrace crypto this year. But after FTX's implosion, a regulatory crackdown is imminent.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Morgan Chittum | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In a stunning downfall, crypto platform FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. Crypto sentiment from Wall Street giants has come a long way over the past few years. After FTX's disaster, a crackdown on digital assets is imminent. Prominent government officials quickly spoke out against the crypto platform last week. Gensler says that the agency's aggressive stance on digital assets is an effort to protect investors and may encourage further crypto adoption.

☆ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for Ticketmaster-Live Nation 'monopoly' to be broken up in response to Taylor Swift pre-sale controversy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift's upcoming "Eras" tour went on sale Tuesday. Ocasio-Cortez took the opportunity to voice longstanding concern about the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster, the ticket sales and distribution company, and Live Nation, the events promoter and venue operator, into Live Nation Entertainment. "We write in support of strong antitrust enforcement by the Biden Administration, including the live event ticket sales marketplace," the letter begins. Social media influencer Ellie Schnitt tweeted, "When Taylor Swift wrote 'the great war' she was actually preparing us for the Battle of Ticketmaster." — Taylor Swift, but also Ticketmaster after its site crashed.

☆ England at the 2022 World Cup: who is in Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - England are looking to win their second World Cup title at the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 tournament in Qatar. * Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Everton, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal). Defenders: John Stones (Manchester City), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Phil Jones (Manchester Utd), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Manchester Utd), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool). Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Jesse Lingard (Manchester Utd), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Manchester City). Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester Utd), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).

☆ S&P Global Ratings to pay $2.5 mln to settle U.S. regulator charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it violated rules to prevent conflicts of interest, the regulator said in a statement on Monday. S&P employees ran afoul of rules designed to prevent sales and marketing considerations from influencing credit ratings determinations during a five-day period in August 2017, the SEC said. S&P commercial employees attempted to pressure colleagues responsible for evaluating and assigning a rating to a jumbo residential mortgage-backed security transaction by an issuer in July 2017. The firm's commercial employees "became participants in the rating process during a time when they were influenced by sales and marketing considerations," the regulator said in its statement. Ratings agencies, which are registered with SEC, are required to keep all sales and marketing considerations from affecting credit ratings.

☆ Israel calls U.S. move to investigate Al Jazeera journalist's killing 'serious mistake'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Israel will not cooperate with any external investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday. "The U.S. Justice Ministry's decision to investigate the unfortunate death of Shireen Abu Akleh is a serious mistake," Gantz said in a statement. The circumstances of Abu Akleh's killing remain heavily disputed. Other witness accounts of the incident have disputed that Israeli positions were under fire from the area where Abu Akleh was standing when she was killed. "We continue to pursue all possible avenues for accountability and we have hope that some day we will see justice for Shireen."

☆ Trump expected to make a 'special announcement' at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday after months of 2024 rumors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump is expected to announce a 2024 presidential run at an event at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyFormer President Donald Trump has promised a "special announcement" on Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is widely expected to kick off his 2024 presidential run. "President Trump is going to announce on Tuesday that he's running for president, and it's going to be a very professional, very buttoned-up announcement," Miller said on Bannon's podcast, the "War Room." "I'll be advising him that he move his announcement until after the Georgia runoff," Miller told the Associated Press. "There's only one person to blame for that and that's Donald Trump … The only animating factor in determining an endorsement is, 'Do you believe the 2020 election was stolen or don't you?'"

☆ The most prominent election-deniers lost their races. But at least 172 have won so far.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

So far, at least 172 election deniers have won their races. Of the election deniers up for election, at least 172 have won their elections as of Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. There are 104 election deniers who have lost their races as of 9:30 a.m. Election deniers who have won their racesHigh-profile Republicans who have won their 2022 midterm races include Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Election deniers who could impact 2024 battleground states if electedOut of the election deniers on the ballot, 171 were favored to win and 46 were in races considered competitive by election watchers.

☆ Comedian Gallagher, Known for Smashing Watermelons, Dies at 76
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Joseph Pisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gallagher, a comedian who smashed watermelons on stage as part of his act, has died. He died at his home Friday morning in Palm Springs, Calif., according to his manager, Craig Marquardo. The cause was organ failure due to the multiple heart attacks he had in the past, Mr. Marquardo said.

☆ Willock stunner sinks Chelsea in gritty Newcastle win
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEWCASTLE, England, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Joe Willock's thunderous second-half goal earned Newcastle United a gritty 1-0 win over Chelsea at St James' Park on Saturday and consolidated third place in the Premier League in their final fixture before the World Cup. After a fifth straight league win, Newcastle have 30 points and sit two points behind second-placed Manchester City while Chelsea are level on 21 points with Brighton & Hove Albion but behind them in eighth place, having played a game more. Newcastle had a penalty appeal turned down after defender Dan Burn's cross hit Trevoh Chalobah's flailing arm late in the first half while Chelsea forward Armando Broja registered the only shot on target in an otherwise uneventful opening period. Five minutes after the restart, Newcastle came close to taking the lead when Joelinton kept alive Kieran Trippier's cross but Chris Wood was unable to connect and Mendy scrambled the ball away. Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

American comedian Leo Gallagher has died at the age of 76, according to his family. Gallagher passed away from organ failure while in hospice care in his Palm Springs, California, home, his son-in-law told NBC News. 1 comedian in America for 15 years, with comedy specials airing on Showtime and MTV. In his career spanning decades, Gallagher hosted 14 Showtime specials and around 3,500 live comedy shows, according to his website. Toward the end of his career, the comedian starred in Geico commercials and in his first movie, "The Book of Daniel."

☆ Elon Musk Picks a Bad Time to Test Twitter’s Necessity
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Dan Gallagher | Laura Forman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk could succeed in making Twitter Inc. both bigger and smaller. His new rivals certainly wouldn’t mind the latter. The voluble billionaire’s first two weeks running the social platform he spent $44 billion to buy have been predictably messy. Half the workforce has been canned, several top-level executives have either quit or been fired, new subscription plans and verification changes have seen hasty and problem-riddled rollouts, and policies around key topics like content moderation have seemingly been made by tweet and discarded the same way.

☆ U.S., EU, others affirm need to accelerate clean energy transitions -statement
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The United States, the European Union and other governments said they were committed to taking action to address climate and energy crises and affirmed the need to accelerate global transitions to clean energy, according to a joint statement released on Friday. The governments, which also included Japan, Canada, Norway, Singapore and the United Kingdom, said they recognize "reliance on unabated fossil fuels leaves us vulnerable to market volatility and geopolitical challenges," the statement said. They reaffirmed their call to action under the Global Methane Pledge to reduce collective anthropogenic methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, the statement said. Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Katharine JacksonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gallagher, watermelon smashing comedian, dead at 76
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Comedian Gallagher, best known for his watermelon-smashing comedy routine and many popular specials in the 1980s, died Friday morning, according his manager Craig Marquardo. Gallagher’s most famous bit involved a hand-made sledgehammer he called the “Sledge-O-Matic,” which he would use to smash food on stage, spraying the audience. Comedian Gallagher circa 1970s. Bill Johnson/Denver Post/Getty Images“That was something else he liked to claim credit for, which was physically engaging the audience in that manner,” the obituary said. “While his counterparts went on to do sitcoms, host talk shows and star in movies, Gallagher stayed on the road touring America for decades,” the obituary said.

☆ Wall Street pushed into digital assets. Now investors are paying the price as FTX's crisis raises questions of a ripple effect in cryptoworld.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Danielle Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

FTX, the crypto exchange in crisis, found backers in BlackRock, VanEck, and Ontario Teachers. The solvency crisis facing the exchange and its famous CEO raises questions of a ripple effect. Now, in the middle of crypto winter, FTX is in the middle of a solvency crisis. Binance, a rival crypto exchange that was initially going to buy FTX, backed out. "What we like about it is that we're not really speculating on whether prices of crypto assets, bitcoin or otherwise, are going up or down.

☆ Comedian Gallagher, famous for smashing watermelons, dies at 76
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Mirna Alsharif | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

PASADENA, CA - MAY 23: Comedian Gallagher performs during his appearance at The Ice House Comedy Club on May 23, 2014 in Pasadena, California. American comedian Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. has died at the age of 76, according to his family. Gallagher passed away from organ failure while in hospice care in his Palm Springs, California home, his son-in-law told NBC News. He had been unwell and suffered multiple heart attacks prior to his death. In his career spanning decades, Gallagher had 14 Showtime specials and around 3,500 live comedy shows.

☆ GOP Insider readers: Dump Trump!
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Insider asked its Republican readers to send in their thoughts on Donald Trump following the GOP's dismal midterm performance. Subscribers to Insider's newsletter were asked two questions: Do you agree with the GOP insiders who blame Trump? Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Image— Joe S.I don't blame Trump per se. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images— Julia T.I think Trump, DeSantis AND the GOP are EXTREMELY dangerous for our Democracy. The Republican Party needs to get away from the extremists in the party or the Republican Party will no longer exist.

☆ Amazon May Not Look Like Amazon for a While
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon is hardly alone among tech giants cinching their belts. But the latest move stands out as the storied tech giant possibly going after some sacred cows. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday morning that Amazon has launched a “cost-cutting review” that is focusing on unprofitable business units. Among those is the Alexa business, which covers Amazon’s pioneering voice-recognition technology and the now myriad devices that use it. Documents reviewed by the Journal suggest that Amazon’s hardware business that includes Alexa runs operating losses in the neighborhood of $5 billion a year.

☆ Maddison, Wilson and Rashford named in England World Cup squad
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The tournament's official logo for the 2022 Qatar World Cup is seen on the Doha Tower, in Doha, Qatar, September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoun/File PhotoNov 10 (Reuters) - England have included in-form Leicester City midfielder James Maddison in their squad for the World Cup in Qatar, with forwards Callum Wilson and Marcus Rashford also selected. Maddison and Newcastle United striker Wilson have not played for England since 2019, but have been rewarded for fine starts to the domestic season in the run-up to this month's tournament. Brentford striker Ivan Toney received his first call up for Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany in September, but missed out on selection with Wilson and Rashford preferred. England begin their World Cup group campaign against Iran on Nov. 21 and also face the United States and Wales.

☆ Every World Cup 2022 squad announced: USMNT, Germany, Belgium and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —‘Tis the season for wall charts and fans gathering around to pick their starting teams for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. “It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying and isn’t going to be a part of the program. Again, it’s more about who we did add that we felt good about.”All but one of the 26 will be making their World Cup debut at this year’s tournament and, according to the USMNT, it will be the youngest team to qualify for the World Cup. Octavio Passos/Getty Images Europe/Getty ImagesGhanaManager: Otto AddoThe final squad has not been announced yet. READ: Meet Otto Addo, the coach responsible for guiding some of Europe’s brightest young talents (2021)—–PortugalManager: Fernando SantosThe final squad has not been announced yet.

☆ Democratic strategist apologizes for saying Lauren Boebert's House loss would be 'a gain for OnlyFans'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella said Boebert could make money on OnlyFans if she loses her House race. "What's the meaning if Lauren Boebert, the second most popular QAnon person in MAGA, what if she loses and what job will she have because I don't think Shooters exist anymore?" MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid asked Bardella, referring to Boebert's Rifle, CO restaurant, which closed in July. Boebert, who is currently in a tight House race, took her response to Twitter: "Liberals even suck at feminism. Alexandra M. Hunt, a former Democratic House candidate in Philadelphia who's been open about working as a stripper in college, came to Boebert's defense and called Bardella out on Twitter.

☆ Zuckerberg Didn’t Move Fast, Still Broke Things
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some problems at Meta Platforms—including investors’ lack of enthusiasm for CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse—have been evident since early this year. The company once known as Facebook announced broad layoffs Wednesday morning, in a letter to employees from Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. The action will cut the size of Meta Platforms ‘ workforce by 13%—about 11,000 employees. Facebook has never done a major retrenchment in its 18-year history, since the bulk of that history has involved double-digit growth and sky-high operating margins. They enabled the company to draw workers by the thousands every year, even in an industry marked by generous salaries and lavish perks.

☆ Disney Shows the Limits of Streaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The quarter included the launch of shows and movies from the company’s well-regarded brands, including the Star Wars series ‘Andor.’The streaming spell might be wearing thin at the Magic Kingdom. Disney said Tuesday afternoon that it added 12.1 million net new subscribers to its flagship Disney+ streaming service during its fiscal fourth quarter. That was 36% more than analysts were expecting, and this time Disney didn’t fully depend on growth from regions that generate very little revenue.

☆ A least 165 elections deniers have won their races in the 2022 midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

So far, at least 165 election deniers have won their races. Of the election deniers up for election, at least 165 have won their elections as of Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. Eighty-six election deniers have lost their races as of 10:30 a.m. Election deniers who have won their racesHigh-profile Republicans who have won their 2022 midterm races include Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Election deniers ran in every region of the country and in nearly every state nationwide, according to a Washington Post analysis.

☆ Activision Scores Some Downside Protection
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fantasy videogames can still inflict real-world wounds, but a 19-year-old franchise is also proving very hard to kill. Activision Blizzard’s latest “Call of Duty” iteration is selling strong, which marks a notable comeback after last year’s flop. The game publisher said Monday that “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” surpassed $1 billion in global sell-through in 10 days from its Oct. 28 release, which is faster than any previous version of the game has crossed that threshold. Later in the day, the company reported stronger-than-expected net bookings for the third quarter and projected growth of at least 20% year over year for the fourth quarter. It also confirmed that it will make a new “Call of Duty” sequel in 2023, countering previous reports that it was planning to skip a year in what has historically been a steady annual release cadence.

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