DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ US House Speaker McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's president in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward - likely in April - it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future. During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans when he had them. Since then, Taiwan has welcomed a wave of U.S. lawmakers, and speculation has swirled around whether McCarthy would travel there this year. McCarthy last year expressed interest in visiting Taiwan if he became speaker, a role he assumed in January after Republicans took control of the House in November's midterm elections.

☆ The US Navy is changing the name of a warship to honor a former slave who escaped to freedom on a stolen Confederate ship
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The ship, formally known as USS Chancellorsville, will be named USS Robert Smalls. Robert Smalls was born into slavery but went on to become a prominent sailor and politician. Del Toro on Monday said he is "proud" to rename the ship after Robert Smalls. "Robert Smalls is a man who deserves a namesake ship and with this renaming, his story will continue to be retold and highlighted." The USS Chancellorsville was commissioned in 1989 and is assigned to Carrier Strike Group Five in Japan, although it is scheduled to leave active service in 2026.

Fund managers say they are fielding more queries from clients about the odds of an invasion of Taiwan by China. Russia's invasion of Ukraine early last year has also made investors more wary of war risk, analysts said. Goldman Sachs' Cross-Strait Risk Index, which gauges the intensity of geopolitical risk between Taiwan and mainland China, hit a record high last August after then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan. Jordan Stuart, client portfolio manager at Federated Hermes, says he cut China exposure last year while holding onto some small stocks that can "fly under the radar". The Taiwan Strait is a major route for ships transporting goods from East Asia to the United States and Europe.

☆ From a horseback-riding model to a secret daughter: Meet the children of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Grace Kay | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Steve Jobs left the bulk of his fortune to his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, when he died in 2011. Later, he had Reed Jobs, Erin Jobs, and Eve Jobs with his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs. Meet Jobs' four children and his widow Laurene Powell Jobs, and see how his legacy helped his loved ones succeed. Erin Siena JobsErin Siena Jobs is the most private of Steve Jobs' children. Vianney Le Caer/Invision/APTwenty-four-year-old Eve Jobs, the youngest of Steve Jobs' children, is a model and an accomplished equestrian.

☆ Taiwan is bolstering military exchanges with U.S., President Tsai says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sarah Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meets U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), a member of the U.S. House China Select Committee, and other members of the U.S. delegation at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan, in this handout photo released February 21, 2023. TAIPEI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Taiwan is bolstering its military ties with the United States and will cooperate even more closely with it and other friendly nations to deal with "authoritarian expansionism", President Tsai Ing-wen told visiting U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday. While the United States no longer maintains military bases in Taiwan, the two have a good military relationship that has become closer as China steps up pressure to try and force Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty. "Taiwan and the United States continue to bolster military exchanges, and going forward Taiwan will cooperate even more actively with the United States and other democratic partners to confront such global challenges as authoritarian expansionism and climate change," Tsai told the lawmakers at her office in Taipei. In August, China staged military exercises near Taiwan to express anger at then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.

☆ McCarthy warns Republicans not to misbehave at State of the Union, promises no 'childish games' like Pelosi's infamous speech tearing moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Oma Seddiq | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

McCarthy swiped at Pelosi ahead of Biden's state of the union address on Tuesday. "We're not going to do childish games tearing up a speech," he told CNN. Pelosi infamously ripped up a copy of Trump's speech after his 2020 SOTU address. Pelosi made headlines when she ripped up a copy of Trump's speech after he delivered his third state of the union address three years ago. McCarthy, the newly elected House speaker, will take Pelosi's previous seat on the platform behind Biden during his address on Tuesday night.

☆ Beijing's response to the US shooting down its balloon has been muted. It might be China's way of preparing for a future in which the roles are reversed, says international law expert.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China has to consider what it will do if the US sends balloons into Chinese airspace, a legal expert said. If Beijing pushes too hard on its response, its own rhetoric may backfire later, Julian Ku told NYT. In a statement on Sunday, China condemned the Department of Defense for destroying the balloon, saying the Pentagon "obviously overreacted" and "seriously violated international practices." "Moreover, they need to think about their own rights in case the US starts sending balloons or drones into China," Ku told the outlet. "We treat our enemies with fine wine, but for our enemies we got shotguns," China's ambassador to Sweden infamously said on radio in 2019.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States, a U.S. official said. China earlier expressed regret that what it called a "civilian" airship had strayed into U.S. territory after being blown off course, an incident that sparked a political furor in the United States. Republican Senator Tom Cotton had called for Blinken to cancel his trip, while Republican former President Donald Trump, a declared presidential candidate for 2024, posted "SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!" It said it would continue to communicate with the United States to "properly handle" the unexpected situation. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters. It was not clear how the discovery of the spy balloon might affect those plans. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising. A separate U.S. official said the spy balloon had been tracked near the Aleutian Islands and Canada before entering the United States. Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this balloon appeared to be lingering longer than in previous instances, an official said.

☆ New US Marine units are taking position on 'key terrain' around Taiwan as tensions rise with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US and Japan said in January that a Marine Littoral Regiment will be set up in Japan by 2025. A Marine Littoral Regiment will also hold a major exercise in the northern Philippines this spring. That unit, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, is the second of three Marine Littoral Regiments planned for the Indo-Pacific region, the first of which was activated in March 2022 and is based in Hawaii. Within weeks of its activation, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment was participating in the US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan. Members of 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in Hawaii in August 2022.

☆ US Marines are taking position on 'key terrain' around Taiwan as tensions rise with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The US and Japan said in January that a Marine Littoral Regiment will be set up in Japan by 2025. That unit, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, is the second of three Marine Littoral Regiments planned for the Indo-Pacific region, the first of which was activated in March 2022 and is based in Hawaii. Within weeks of its activation, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment was participating in the US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan. New threat, new forceUS Marines provide security for an amphibious landing during Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon in March 2022. US Marines during an amphibious landing as part of Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon in March 2022.

☆ I followed Nancy Pelosi's diet of breakfast ice cream and hot dogs for a week, and I ping-ponged between euphoria and the depths of despair
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Sophie Kleeman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

My research found that Pelosi eats ice cream for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, pasta, and chocolate. Chocolate ice cream for breakfast, rich and creamy pasta, and lots of snacking chocolate. She claims she does not exercise; her daughter once arrived home to find her mother eating chocolate ice cream while using a stationary bike. I save the ice cream for later to avoid a massive sugar crash and start out with a cup of black tea instead. However, I don't want to slack off after the ice cream episode, so I slather it on.

☆ Harvard professor emerita says Elon Musk's Twitter takeover is 'fundamentally intolerable' and a threat to political stability
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Data privacy expert Shoshana Zuboff told the FT that Elon Musk's Twitter is a threat to democracy. The former Harvard Business School professor calls Musk's Twitter takeover "fundamentally intolerable." However, The New York Times reported that racist, homophobic, and anti-semitic slurs have increased on the platform after Musk's takeover. But Zuboff thinks the risks of the Musk takeover and the corporate control of information by big tech are even bigger — and may result in unintended consequences. "These spaces cannot exist solely under corporate control," Zuboff said.

☆ Elon Musk apologizes for tweeting a baseless conspiracy theory about the attack on Paul Pelosi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has apologized for posting a baseless conspiracy theory about the attack on Paul Pelosi. Musk's apology came a day after bodycam footage of the attack on Pelosi was released. On Saturday, after receiving a question on Twitter about whether or not he should apologize to the Pelosis, Musk said: "I apologize." Musk's apology came after bodycam footage of the assault was released Friday. The bodycam footage shows police arriving at Pelosi's home and Pelosi and his attacker struggling over control of the hammer.

☆ Nancy Pelosi had Catholic priests perform an exorcism at her home after her husband was attacked, her daughter said
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nancy Pelosi had priests perform an exorcism of her home after her husband was attacked in October. I think that really broke her," their daughter Alexandra Pelosi told the paper. "Over Thanksgiving, she had priests coming, trying to have an exorcism of the house and having prayer services," said Alexandra Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi has spoken openly about her Catholic faith. "The fact that they were after me, and then they hit him," Nancy Pelosi told The New York Times.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - San Francisco authorities released video footage on Friday of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, being struck by an intruder's hammer as police rushed into their home to stop the attack. San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson, who represents DePape, called the release of the evidence a "terrible mistake." The assailant had been seeking Nancy Pelosi and wanted to wait for her to return to the house, Paul Pelosi said. After the attack, Pelosi underwent emergency surgery for his wounds, which included a fractured skull. While many politicians condemned the attack in San Francisco, some Republicans made light of the incident, which also spawned a number of unfounded, online conspiracy theories.

☆ Police release footage of assailant striking Pelosi's husband
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the body cam footage, two police officers knock on the door at the Pelosis' home. When the door opens, Pelosi and DePape can both be seen clutching a large hammer. DePape tells police officers that, "Everything's good," at which point the officers instruct him to drop the hammer. DePape then appears to tear the hammer fully away from Pelosi, who is in sleep wear, before striking Pelosi with a powerful overhand blow. Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Richard Cowan and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Graphic body cam footage shows violent attack on Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi's husband
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Newly released footage shows Paul Pelosi being struck in the head with a hammer. The footage, first obtained by NBC Bay Area reporter Bigad Shaban, below shows police arriving at the Pelosi residence. The footage shows Pelosi struggling with a man — identified by police as David DePape — who takes a hammer and bashes Pelosi over the head with it. The assault fractured Paul Pelosi's skull; he has since recovered and was released from the hospital. Over a month after the attack, Pelosi began to re-emerge in public, wearing a hat that concealed his healing skull.

☆ Judge orders release of body camera footage and 911 call from Paul Pelosi attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A coalition of news organizations will gain access Thursday to all courtroom evidence from last year's attack on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their San Francisco home. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy on Wednesday granted a motion filed by a group of 13 news organizations, including NBC News and The New York Times, requesting the release of evidence in the case against David DePape, Paul Pelosi's alleged assailant. The evidence consists of footage from a body camera worn by an officer who responded at the Pelosis' home on Oct. 28, a 911 call Paul Pelosi made to police, portions of a police interview with DePape, and security video taken during the break-in recorded by U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. The judge’s order comes after prosecutors had refused to release the evidence to news outlets. DePape, who allegedly demanded the whereabouts of Nancy Pelosi while in the house and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, is facing a pair of federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges in the case, in addition to related state charges.

☆ Why do people buy crackpot conspiracy theories?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

When it comes to the spread of cockamamie conspiracy theories, Twitter was a maximum viable product long before Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the keys. The more you think you're right all the time, a new study suggests, the more likely you are to buy conspiracy theories, regardless of the evidence. It'd be better, or at least more reassuring, if conspiracy theories were fueled by dumb yahoos rather than self-centered monsters. Still, most scientists thought conspiracy theories weren't worth their time, the province of weirdos connecting JFK's death to lizard aliens. Pennycook's findings also suggest an explanation for why conspiracy theories have become so widely accepted.

☆ Jan. 6 rioter who put feet on desk in Pelosi’s office convicted on all counts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Daniel Barnes | Zoë Richards | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he protest inside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2021. An Arkansas man who was photographed during the Jan. 6 riot with his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, was found guilty on all counts Monday after brief jury deliberations. He said repeatedly in court last week that he regretted what transpired at the Capitol that day but did not consider his actions illegal. Before leaving Pelosi's office, Barnett took an envelope that he later displayed for cameras outside the Capitol. Barnett also admitted to telling an officer in the Capitol: "We're in a war.

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - An Arkansas man who famously was photographed putting his feet up on a desk inside then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol was convicted on eight counts by a Washington jury on Monday, the Justice Department said. A photo of him with his feet propped up on a desk in Pelosi's office went viral in the days following the attack. He also took an envelope from the desk that was addressed to another member of Congress and digitally signed by Pelosi. The jury convicted Barnett of eight crimes, including theft of government property and obstructing an official proceeding. In explaining the famous photograph, he told the jury: “That’s how I sit at my desk at home,” the newspaper reported.

☆ Steve Jobs' nepo babies: From a model to a secret daughter, here's everything we know about the Apple cofounder's kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Grace Kay | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Steve Jobs left the bulk of his fortune to his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, when he died in 2011. Later, he had Reed Jobs, Erin Jobs, and Eve Jobs with his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs. Apple, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Reed Jobs did not reply to requests for comment, nor did representatives for Lisa Brennan-Jobs and Eve Jobs. Since Jobs' death, Powell Jobs has been active in philanthropy and founded Emerson Collective in 2004 as a "social change organization." Erin Siena JobsErin Siena Jobs is the most private of Steve Jobs' children.

☆ Accused January 6 rioter who put his boot on Pelosi's desk testifies that he regrets calling her a 'biatch'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

January 6 defendant Richard Barnett expressed regret over his behavior at the Capitol. He was pictured with his boot on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk. The 62-year-old also left behind a note on Pelosi's desk, in which he called her a "biatch." He's also been accused of taking an envelope with him from Pelosi's office. Another rioter who entered Pelosi's office that day was convicted of six charges stemming from the riot in November.

"My message for Blinken is: say their names," said Katherine Swidan in a phone interview from her home in Luling, Texas. They've been wrongfully detained. And, unlike Griner, the U.S. citizens held in China are not well known to the American public. Families of detained Americans say the freedom of their relatives should not be bundled up with challenging policy issues and should instead be addressed in a separate track focused on humanitarian matters. There have been talks in recent months, Li said, between Washington and Beijing over the Americans detained in China but they did not go anywhere.

Search resuls for: "Nancy Pelosi's"

25 mentions found