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☆ Gov. Ron DeSantis cruises to re-election, solidifying GOP hold on Florida politics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Ron DeSantis speaks during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Fla. on July 22, 2022. One survey in the nation’s first primary state, New Hampshire, showed the two statistically tied in a primary, but another survey show Trump with a lead. Some Florida polls have also shown DeSantis leading Trump in a one-on-one primary. The poll also showed DeSantis might win a majority of Hispanic voters in Florida, which no Republican governor has done in 20 years. “In that event, Ron has a different set of issues he has to contend with if he wants to run against Trump.”

Some sponsors are U.S.-based relatives of Venezuelans eager to flee political and economic turmoil back home. Diaz, a Venezuelan-American advocate who has lived in the United States for the past 25 years, got in touch with Venezuelans seeking sponsors via social media. Around 7,000 Venezuelans have been approved for the new program since the Oct. 18 launch, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. U.S. sponsors do not need to be related to Venezuelans to support their applications, but they must have permission to reside in the United States. A week after the new program was announced and the Mexico return policy was enacted, U.S. authorities saw an 80% decrease in Venezuelan border encounters.

☆ Panama river cleaned up by trash-trapping wheel in a green first
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The wheel, fueled by hydraulic and solar energy, collects the vast amounts of waste produced in the capital Panama City with its metro population of around two million people. Installed by environmental group Marea Verde, the wheel is named Wanda Diaz, in part a reference to the Juan Diaz river where it spins. Wanda Diaz launched in late September in a river basin since drenched by heavy rains, which in turn propelled plastic bottles and containers into Wanda's mechanical arms. Over five years, Marea Verde projects have slowed the spread of trash across Panama's rivers and coastlines. "We want to raise awareness that we can prevent the death of this very important river," said Marea Verde head Sandy Watemberg, expressing optimism that the wheel will help.

☆ Kit Connor's sexuality is none of your business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Allison Hope | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The pressure for 18-year-old actor Kit Connor to come out had been building on social media for months. It is one of the first to center LGBTQ characters — both Nick and Charlie, as well as others in the main cast — geared towards a teen and young adult audience. Rob Youngson/NetflixThe truth about Nelson’s character, as well as Connor’s real-life identity, may be much more nuanced. (From left) The cast of "Heartstopper" — Kizzy Edgell, Corinna Brown, Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Tobie Donovan and Sebastian Croft — attend London Pride on July 2. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesNow LGBTQ audiences are rightfully asking the hard questions about who gets to play LGBTQ characters.

☆ Liverpool: After another Premier League defeat, what has gone wrong at Liverpool?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The team had won the League Cup and the FA Cup, was going toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the English Premier League, and had reached the Champions League final. Ultimately, two trophies went to Anfield instead of four, as Liverpool lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League and fell one point short in the league. For years, Liverpool has been the only team to challenge City for the league title – winning it in 2020 – yet this season Liverpool and City are worlds apart. ‘Liverpool being bullied’So, why is Liverpool struggling so badly in the league this season? “The Premier League is a really hard league to play in and is a long, difficult, sometimes physically and mentally, nine months for you.

☆ Jake Paul beats Anderson Silva to remain undefeated in his boxing career
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul defeated legendary UFC champion Anderson Silva on points in front of a 14,000 strong crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday. The fight lasted all eight rounds and Paul was awarded the win by a unanimous decision, sealing victory in the final round by knocking down Silva. Before the fight, Paul had spoken about growing up as one of Silva’s fans, watching the Brazilian dominate his sport. He’s such an inspiration.”It was far from an uneven fight as Paul landed 83 punches with Silva landing just four less at 79, according to ESPN Stats. Paul, however, landed three times as many jabs, canceling out any advantage Silva gained by landing more power punches.

☆ Gay couples in Cuba marry under new law
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The code was approved after heavy campaigning by the Cuban government, and support by the most vocal advocate for gay rights on the island, Mariela Castro, the daughter of former president Raul Castro. It made Cuba the ninth country in Latin America — following Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia — to legalize gay marriage in recent years. Despite that, a third of the country, 33.15%, voted “no.” The text faced a large campaign against it from evangelical groups that reject gay marriage. Ismael Francisco / APThe new law goes further than equal marriage — which activists tried to include in the Constitution in 2019 without success — or the ability for gay couples to adopt or use surrogates. “I’m happy for what the wedding means,” Laura added to The Associated Press very circumspectly, wiping tears away alongside her mothers.

☆ "They shut the door on us": Venezuelans ask Mexico for humanitarian flights home
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dozens of Venezuelans like Villalobos and her eight-year-old son arrived on Tuesday night at a migrant house in Mexico City funded by the Catholic Church while awaiting a seat on a humanitarian flight. "I want to return to my country because they shut the door on us, in our faces," the 27-year-old said. A first flight returning Venezuelan migrants from Mexico departed on Tuesday, two Mexican officials told Reuters. The Mexican foreign ministry told Reuters a flight paid for by the Mexican government carrying Venezuelan migrants was scheduled to leave on Wednesday. The announcement was made while dozens of Venezuelans protested outside Mexico's foreign ministry in Mexico City, demanding help.

☆ Pair gets life in prison for killing U.S. consulate worker, 2 others after mistaking them for members of rival gang
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

EL PASO, Texas — Two gunmen with the Barrio Azteca gang were sentenced to life imprisonment Monday for killing a U.S. consulate worker, her husband and the husband of another consulate worker in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, officials said. The pair had been found guilty by a federal jury in February of the fatal March 2010 shootings of consulate worker Lesley Enriquez, her husband Arthur Redelfs, an El Paso County jailer, and Jorge Salcido Ceniceros. Both were sentenced Monday in El Paso, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. Jesus Alcazar / AFP via Getty Images fileThe victims were returning home from a children’s birthday party when they were mistakenly targeted and killed. The drug routes through Juarez, which is situated across the border from El Paso, are important to drug trafficking organizations because it is a principal illicit drug trafficking route into the United States, federal officials said.

MEXICO CITY, Oct 24 (Reuters) - At least three people died from destruction caused by intense rainfall unleashed by Storm Roslyn, which provoked flooding along Mexico's Pacific coast when it made landfall as a powerful hurricane on Sunday. Local civil protection officials confirmed that two women died as their homes collapsed in the town of Rosamorada in Nayarit. State authorities added that a 74-year-old man died some 25 miles (40 km) away in Santiago Ixcuintla, when a beam fell on his head. National power company CFE said on Monday it had restored power to 71% of around 180,000 users affected across Nayarit, Jalisco and Sinaloa states, along Mexico's hurricane-prone Pacific coast. The storm also sidestepped the major beach resort of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state, though it still generated strong winds and flooding in the area.

The Florida Democratic Party noted it has had a Municipal Victory Program since 2016 that includes efforts to fundraise and help school board candidates. Historically, it hasn’t taken a lot of cash to influence school board races, which are generally nonpartisan and often draw low voter turnout. In a 2018 survey, just 9 percent of school board officials reported spending more than $5,000. “What Ron DeSantis is doing in Florida — supporting a bunch of these school board candidates — is really smart, because the No. Some of the liberal efforts to push back against conservatives in school board races are well established.

☆ Mexican president hints at Venezuela-U.S. accord amid migration rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a news conference, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico September 30, 2022. "Relations between the government of the United States and Venezuela need to be restored," Lopez Obrador told a news conference. Since the policy was enacted, several thousand Venezuelans who entered the United States illegally have been returned to Mexico. Lopez Obrador urged the United States to expand the Venezuela humanitarian access permits beyond 24,000 people. "They're not enough," Lopez Obrador said.

☆ Cuba shouldn't be on sponsor of terrorism list, former U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ed Augustin | Ed Augustin Is A British Journalist Based In Havana Who Has Written For The New York Times | The Guardian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

HAVANA — Along with Iran, Syria and North Korea, Cuba is listed as a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State. Cuba has called the sponsor of terrorism designation "illegitimate and immoral," arguing that it deprives it of financing and credit sources. “‘Cuba is not a state sponsor of terrorism’ was a mantra from the moment I walked into the State Department to the moment I walked out,” he said. Throughout the 1980s, Cuba shared intelligence with, trained and apparently supplied weapons to revolutionary movements fighting military dictatorships in Central America. Cuba will once again be a “guarantor state.”The Biden administration has provided no evidence that Cuba sponsors terrorism.

☆ Climate investor Satgana funds early-stage founders tackling issues across food, energy, and carbon removal. Here's a peek at its first 16-slide LP fundraising deck.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Climate-focused investor Satgana just closed the first round of its inaugural $29 million fund. We got an exclusive look at the 16-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds. European venture capital firm Satgana has closed the first tranche of its 30 million euros (around $29 million) climate tech fund. Founded in 2020, the Luxembourg-based investor will write checks of up to 500,000 euros to 40 pre-seed and seed-stage startups across Europe and Africa. This is particularly important for startups that enable other climate tech solutions but may not have direct impact, he said.

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Voluntary returns of Venezuelan migrants in Mexico by plane back to their homeland are likely to begin in the next few days, four people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Under a bilateral plan announced on Oct. 12, Washington said it would grant up to 24,000 Venezuelans humanitarian access to the United States by air. The Mexican government said on Oct. 12 that Venezuelans entering its territory from that day onward would not be allowed to apply from Mexico for access to the United States by air. Those Venezuelans who have entered Mexico illegally and want to stay in the country will have to request asylum, according to a Mexican official familiar with the matter. That could mean voluntary return to Venezuela is more attractive to some than staying in Mexico, the official said.

☆ Fewer Venezuelans caught at U.S.-Mexico border after Biden expulsions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ted Hesson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus told Bloomberg News on Thursday that U.S. border agents had encountered just 155 Venezuelans on Wednesday, down from a daily average of 1,200 earlier this month. More than 4,500 Venezuelans have been returned to Mexico since the new U.S. expulsion policy began on Oct. 12, the Mexican government said, straining shelters there. The new effort comes as Republicans have criticized Biden's handling of the border and seek to gain control of the U.S. Congress in Nov. 8 midterm elections. At a shelter in the U.S. border city of Deming, New Mexico, Venezuelans went from being the most common nationality to absent, according to Ariana Saludares, executive director of Colores United, which runs the center. A spokesperson for Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the busing could continue until Biden "does his job."

Venezuelan migrants, some expelled from the U.S. to Mexico under Title 42 and others who have not crossed yet, protest new immigration policies on the banks of the Rio Bravo river, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico October 18, 2022. Ciudad Juarez, next to El Paso, has taken most migrants, with over 1,000 people, followed by Tijuana, opposite San Diego, with close to 700, according to local officials. Mexico, meanwhile, is worried many Venezuelans are still heading north to reach the U.S. border, a Mexican official said. Venezuelan migrant Franklin Pajaro told Reuters he was sent to Ciudad Juarez on Monday with his wife and two children after six days in U.S. detention, without food, clothing or money. "They left us on the street," he said, as his four-year-old son Saul wiped tears from his father's eyes.

☆ Tesla seeks full retrial in factory worker’s race bias lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The damages trial is scheduled for March. Lawyers for Tesla and Diaz did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Tesla on Friday said the issues of liability and damages are “inextricably interwoven,” and Diaz must start from scratch with a full retrial. Tesla is facing a series of lawsuits involving alleged widespread race discrimination and sexual harassment at the Fremont factory, including one by a California civil rights agency. The company last month counter-sued the agency, claiming it filed the lawsuit without following the procedures required by state law.

☆ Scattered clashes in Chile mark third anniversary of riots
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Scattered clashes around Chile between protesters and police on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of widespread protests against inequality in 2019 that left more than 30 people dead. In the capital of Santiago, hooded protesters lit fires and threw rocks at police, including in the area surrounding Plaza Baquedano, the epicenter of the 2019 riots, while police responded with gas and water cannons. "The social unrest expressed - and brought - a lot of pain and has left huge consequences," Boric said. Several human groups organizations have questioned the police response during the protests, which left hundreds of protesters blinded by rubber bullets and tens of thousands of people detained. The protests that erupted in 2019 died down with an agreement to draft a new constitution and the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the policy, up to 24,000 Venezuelans may apply for humanitarian entry into the United States by air. U.S. officials told Reuters that 300 had been expelled border-wide from the United States the day before. Ramirez said her husband was allowed to stay in the United States while she was sent back on Thursday, a move she called "inexplicable." Those trekking over land toward the United States have an arduous route through Central America and then into Mexico. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to questions about the separated Venezuelans.

☆ Inside the cold war between Amazon and unions, which are wielding drones and secret agents to expose the company's labor practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Unions infiltrated Amazon construction sites in Oregon and Washington seeking regulatory violations. On a frosty morning in February 2021, Tom Tanner walked into an under-construction Amazon warehouse in eastern Washington seeking work. Campaigns to organize Amazon warehouse workers have grabbed national headlines. Amazon workers at the LDJ5 Amazon Sort Center join a rally in support of the union on April 24 in Staten Island, New York. Wendell Jeffson in a boom lift at the Amazon warehouse in Shelby, Michigan, when he was 17.

☆ New testing finds high level of toxic chemical in sports bras, watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The CEH, which conducted the testing, is a non-profit consumer advocacy group focused on exposing the presence of toxic chemicals in consumer products. Under California law — specifically Proposition 65, enacted in 1986 — the maximum allowable dose level for BPA via skin exposure is 3 micrograms per day. “We want brands to reformulate their products to remove all bisphenols including BPA. In adults, exposure to BPA has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity and erectile dysfunction. Premature death was also associated with BPA exposure, a 2020 study found.

☆ Europe has enough energy to survive the winter. Next year might be different
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Cornelius Poppe/NTB/AFP/Getty ImagesBut success has come at a heavy cost to the economy: the scramble for alternative sources has sent energy prices soaring. Alexei Miller, CEO of Russian state energy giant Gazprom, said on Wednesday that there was “no guarantee” that Europe would survive the winter with its current reserves. “Adopting policies that prevent the pass-through of high energy prices to consumers is an expensive gamble that is doomed to fail if wholesale energy prices will stay high in the future,” he added. Carlos Torres Diaz, head of power analysis at Rystad Energy, told CNN business that Europe’s energy transition “has been put on hold” as it prioritizes energy security. “These sources of energy also help reduce the dependency on energy imports,” Torres Diaz added.

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have left their troubled homeland for Mexico this year to get to the United States. Up to 1,000 Venezuelans per day could be expelled to Mexico under the new agreement, two U.S. officials told Reuters. "We've been overwhelmed by the news," said Lizbeth Guerrero, director of an aid group for Venezuelan migrants in Mexico City. She forecast many people would press on with plans to reach the United States because they had nothing to return to. Those who could not enter the United States or find work quickly risked becoming prey for violent gangs, she said.

☆ Rising premiums, more restricted cyber insurance coverage poses big risk for companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Bob Violino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Luke MacGregor | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAmong the many consequences of the rising number of costly data breaches, ransomware, and other security attacks are pricier premiums for cyber security insurance. The high demand for cyber coverage is in part fueled by greater awareness among companies of the threat cyber risk poses for businesses of all sizes, it said. The study said the cost of cyber insurance is based in part on the frequency, severity, and cost of cyber attacks, "all of which have been increasing. "But now, carriers are becoming less likely to include it, and are instead offering cyber coverage separately. "Also, companies that go bare on cyber liability may see an impact on revenue, as customers and suppliers increasingly make cyber coverage a requirement of doing business."

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