DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

An Alaska man has been indicted on charges that he sent racist and violent threats against six Supreme Court justices and their family members. He's been charged with threatening to assault, kidnap and murder the six justices, as well as some of their family members, and has pleaded not guilty. Anastasiou also allegedly made lynching threats and uses the N-word in statements aimed at a justice identified as "Supreme Court Justice 1" in the indictment, apparently referring to Clarence Thomas, who is Black. Anastasiou is expected to appear in court later Thursday for a detention hearing. "The defendant has admitted to sending the messages, the IP information leads to his house, and the email address contains the defendant’s name," the filing said.

Persons: Panos Anastasiou, He's, “, General Merrick Garland, Anastasiou, Clarence Thomas, Jane Imholte Organizations: ” Locations: Alaska, Anchorage

☆ TikTok says it's not spreading Chinese propaganda. The U.S. says there's a real risk. What's the truth?
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Is TikTok trying to secretly influence Americans at the behest of the Chinese government? And an analysis of the ownership structure of TikTok parent company ByteDance, obtained by NBC News, argues that the company is deeply entangled with some of China’s major government propaganda organs. The most recent one, published last month, found that TikTok suppresses anti-China content compared to YouTube and other social media platforms. In recent years, according to media reports, Chinese government entities have increasingly taken golden shares in technology companies. “This report establishes that TikTok algorithms actively suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while simultaneously boosting pro-China propaganda and promoting distracting, irrelevant content,” the researchers wrote.

Persons: —, TikTok’s, China —, ’, TikTok, ” Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, — Casey Blackburn, National Intelligence —, ”, ByteDance, Blackburn, Strider, ” Strider, Wu Shugang, “ Organizations: Congress, D.C, Justice Department, NBC News, Network, Research, Rutgers University, YouTube, Department, U.S ., Appeals, District of Columbia, Supreme, Strider Technologies, Communist Party of China, ” Democratic, U.S, of Economic Security, Emerging Technology, National Intelligence, TikTok, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Net Investment, Technology, Communist Party, China Central Radio, Television Station, Beijing State, Administration, Investment, China’s Ministry of Education Locations: United States, Washington, U.S, China, Tibet, TikTok, People’s Republic of China, Tiananmen, Hong Kong, ”, Xinjiang, Beijing

The Justice Department plans to file criminal charges in the hacking of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, two law enforcement officials told NBC News. The Trump campaign announced in August that it had been hacked. Later that month, federal officials said that Iran was behind the effort, which was part of an apparent hack-and-leak operation to spread files stolen from Trump’s campaign. Federal officials reiterated in a press call last week that the U.S. intelligence community believes Iran wants to hurt former President Trump’s campaign, whereas Russia wants to boost Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. Google was more specific, and said that the hackers had gone after both the Trump campaign and President Joe Biden’s before he dropped out of the race.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Robert ”, United Nations didn’t, “ Robert, ”, Trump’s, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s Organizations: Department, NBC News, America, United Nations, Washington Post, NBC, Trump, The Justice Department, RT, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Microsoft, Google, Trump militia Locations: Iran, Russia, Russian, Tehran

A state district judge struck down North Dakota's abortion ban Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a “fundamental right” to access abortion before a fetus is viable. "The Court concludes [the law] violates the Constitution of the State of North Dakota and is void for vagueness and of no effect," the order stated. The ruling stemmed from a request from the state to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a North Dakota clinic in 2022. Even though the judge’s ruling would make abortion legal in the meantime, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, there are no longer any clinics performing abortions in North Dakota. North Dakota's ban prohibited abortion at all stages of pregnancy, except in the case of death or serious health risk.

Persons: Bruce Romanick, —, Romanick, Roe, Wade Organizations: U.S, North, North Dakota Constitution, Republican, Center for Reproductive Rights Locations: of North Dakota, U.S ., North Dakota, Minnesota, North

☆ Attorney General Merrick Garland to denounce 'dangerous' and 'outrageous' attacks on DOJ prosecutors and personnel
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to denounce "dangerous" and "outrageous" attacks on Justice Department prosecutors and personnel Thursday and will seek to reassure them that he has their backs. "It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this department simply for doing their jobs." "And it is outrageous that you have to face these unfounded attacks because you are doing what is right and upholding the rule of law." He'll say of the attacks on prosecutors: "You deserve better. The former president has called DOJ employees derogatory names, describing, for example, special counsel Jack Smith, who has charged Trump in separate cases, as "deranged."

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Garland, Donald Trump, Trump, Jack Smith, Smith, Attorney Alvin Bragg, he's, ” Organizations: Department, Justice, DOJ, White, Department of Justice, NBC News, Trump, Biden's Justice, Manhattan, Attorney, WIN, Political, Illegal Voters Locations: WASHINGTON, York

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an amendment that would enshrine abortion access in the state's constitution can appear on the general election ballot. A majority of the state Supreme Court said that a previous judgment by a circuit court is reversed, directing Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft to inform local election officials to place Amendment 3 on the state's Nov. 5 ballot. "The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling ensures that Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, will appear on the November ballot, giving voters—not politicians—the power to decide on this critical issue. Missouri is one of 10 states that will have an abortion-rights amendment on the ballot this year. In that ruling, Limbaugh stopped short of removing the measure from the ballot, providing the campaign the opportunity instead to appeal to the state Supreme Court before a Tuesday deadline.

Persons: State John Ashcroft, “, Rachel Sweet, —, Freedom, Ashcroft, Christopher Limbaugh, Limbaugh, Mary Russell Organizations: Missouri Supreme, State, Initiative Locations: Missouri, Cole

WASHINGTON — Despite mounting opposition from his own party, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., vowed Tuesday to stay the course and put his government funding package on the House floor on Wednesday. His initial strategy to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month is expected to fail and deal House Republicans an embarrassing blow. Due to their paper-thin majority, Republicans can afford only a handful of GOP defections on the vote, and many more than that have publicly voiced their opposition. “I am in this to win this,” Johnson told reporters at his weekly news conference. Afterward, the speaker added: “We are going to put the SAVE Act and the CR together, and we’re going to move that through the process.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Donald Trump, Johnson, “, ” Johnson, ”, Jim Banks, Cory Mills, Matt Rosendale, Montana —, Mills, Dan Meuser, ” Meuser, “ Shutdowns, Sen, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, “ I’m, ” Cassidy Organizations: SAVE, Democratic, White, GOP, Republicans Locations: WASHINGTON, Jim Banks of Indiana, Florida, Montana, Mexico

Nikki Haley said Monday that former President Donald Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance should change the way they speak about women and focus instead on policy positions. "I think it's because Donald Trump and JD Vance need to change the way they speak about women. Haley said that when Republicans call Democratic women "dumb," "Republican women get their backs up, too." Speaking to a New Hampshire-focused podcast last week, Trump said Harris is “not smart enough.”“Something’s wrong,” Trump said. "I think that’s exactly what we don’t need a strong leader to be," she said on NBC News' Meet the Press" in January.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Sen, JD Vance, Haley, Harris, Kamala, She's, Trump, Joe Biden, ” Trump, “, Haley hasn't shied, Vance, ” Haley, That’s, that’s Organizations: Fox News, Fox &, Republicans, Democratic, Republican, NBC, GOP, Republican National Convention, United Nations, CBS, NBC News Locations: South Carolina, New Hampshire, Russia, China, Iran

And we will stop the fentanyl,” Trump said during a recent campaign appearance in Michigan. But fentanyl activists say Trump is at least drawing attention to the issue, whereas the Biden administration, they say, is not. By 2017, the year Trump took office, there were 28,000 deaths from fentanyl. In 2021, during Biden’s first year of office — when many Americans were still stuck at home amid the pandemic — fentanyl deaths rose by 23% to more than 70,000. Trump repeatedly blames the increase in fentanyl deaths on the influx of 10 million migrants who crossed the border during the Biden.

Persons: Dawn Allen wasn’t, —, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, “ I’m, ” Allen, Dawn Allen's, Benjamin, ”, Andrea Thomas, Trump, Harris, ” Trump, United States – it’s, Vanda Felbab, Brown, Biden, Allen, hasn’t, Biden’s, Rahul Gupta, Jim Rauh, Thomas, poisonings, “, Obama, Kamala Harris ’, Karoline Leavitt, Kamala Harris, Babcock, “ We’re, it’s Trump Organizations: Democrat, NBC, Our U.S, Democratic National Convention, Brookings Institution, “, Biden, . Customs, Department of Homeland Security, NBC News, DHS, Facebook, Trump Homeland Security, D.C Locations: Chicago, “, Our, Michigan, Mexico, United States, China, Felbab, U.S

An amendment that would enshrine abortion access in Missouri's constitution will appear on the state's general election ballot, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office announced Tuesday. Ashcroft, a Republican, deemed that the petitions to qualify the initiative for the ballot had the sufficient number of signatures. The ballot would also protect abortion rights up until fetal viability, around the 24th week of pregnancy, except to protect the life or health of the mother. Amendments that would protect or expand abortion rights will also appear on the ballot in seven other states this fall. Organizers in Arkansas, Montana and Nebraska have also submitted signatures for similar ballot measures.

Persons: State Jay Ashcroft's, Ashcroft, Rachel Sweet, Roe, Wade Organizations: State, Republican, U.S, Supreme, Voters Locations: Missouri, Arkansas , Montana, Nebraska, California , Michigan , Ohio, Vermont

WASHINGTON — U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday approved a request from special counsel Jack Smith to allow for more time to propose the next steps in the government's election interference case against former President Donald Trump. The special counsel's office said in its filing Thursday that prosecutors are still assessing the "new precedent set forth" in the Trump immunity decision by the Supreme Court. Smith asked Chutkan to give them and Trump's lawyers until Aug. 30 to submit the joint status report and to schedule the status conference after that. The appeals process made certain that the trial would not happen before Election Day on Nov. 5. Last weekend Chutkan denied an older motion from Trump to dismiss the election interference indictment, filed before the Supreme Court took up the case.

Persons: Tanya Chutkan, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Smith, Chutkan, Trump Organizations: WASHINGTON —, District of Columbia, Supreme, Government, Trump Locations: WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON — U.S, Tanya Chutkan . U.S

“Any assessment that Iran is assigning lethal operations to a ‘B team’ misses the utility of nonofficial actors," said Roule, currently affiliated with United Against Nuclear Iran. Officials say they see no connection between that plot and the shooting of Trump in Pennsylvania by a local resident who had researched mass shootings and political assassinations. In 2021, the Justice Department charged four alleged Iranian intelligence operatives with trying to kidnap Masih Alinejad. “We have said many times that we have been tracking Iranian threats against former politicians,” she said this week. Neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris has commented on the alleged Iranian assassination plots.

Persons: ”, Kenneth Katzman, don’t, “, ” Katzman, “ There’s, they’ve, Norm Roule, ’, Roule, aren't, Asif Merchant of, Donald Trump, John Bolton, Qassem Soleimani, New York —, Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, General Merrick Garland, we’ve, Steven M, Bolton, Biden, it’s, It’s, —, Jake Sullivan, Sean Savett, … The, Harris, White, Karine Jean, Pierre, “ We’ve, Qassem, …, Biden’s, John Kirby, ” Adrienne Watson, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Trump, Mike Turner Organizations: FBI, Soufan Center, Congressional Research Service, CIA, United Against Nuclear, Iran’s Revolutionary, Quds Force, Administration, D.C, Justice Department, Eastern, NBC News, Roule, Bolton, National Security Council, … The Biden, NBC, ., White, Indian, ” Locations: Iran, United States, U.S, U.S . Iran, United Against Nuclear Iran, Asif Merchant of Pakistan, Texas, Trump, Pennsylvania, Saudi, Washington, New York, Brooklyn , New York, Bolton, Tehran, Europe, Canada

☆ Pakistani man charged with murder-for-hire plot against U.S. politicians, potentially including Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Pakistani man allegedly tied to Iran has been charged with an elaborate plot to assassinate current and former government officials, potentially including former President Donald Trump. The complaint does not name an alleged target or targets, but a senior law enforcement official said Trump was one of the potential targets of this plot. Merchant allegedly told the confidential source that the “people who will be targeted are the ones who are hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world. On June 10, Merchant allegedly met in New York with undercover law enforcement officers posing as assassins for hire. Asif Merchant paid the undercover law enforcement officers $5,000 so they knew they were going forward.

Persons: Donald Trump, Asif Merchant, Merchant, Trump, Lester Holt, Christopher Wray, DOJ Merchant, Qassem Soleimani, Butler, General Merrick Garland, “, ” Organizations: NBC, DOJ, NBC News, ., Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Service, Trump, FBI Locations: Iran, Pennsylvania, Pa, Texas, New York, Pakistan

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is nearing a final decision in choosing her running mate and plans to meet with some of the top contenders in person over the next 72 hours, a source familiar with the process said. Josh Shapiro is among the top contenders for the vice presidential spot. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is among the contenders to be Harris' running mate. It's unclear if all of them have advanced to the final in-person interviews with Harris herself this weekend. Andy Beshear is one of the six vice presidential contenders, NBC News has reported.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Kamala Harris, Harris, Josh Shapiro, Ryan Collerd, Manuel Bonder, “, ” Bonder, Eric Holder, Barack Obama, Burling, Pete Buttigieg, Houston Cofield, Shapiro, Tim Walz, JB Pritzker, Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen, Mark Kelly, Jon Cherry Organizations: Washington , D.C, Pennsylvania, Getty Images Pennsylvania, Hamptons, PAC, Burling LLP, Transportation, Bloomberg, Getty, NBC, Minnesota Gov, Illinois Gov, Kentucky Gov, NBC News, Concordia Locations: Washington ,, AFP, Covington, Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, Arizona, Philadelphia, Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh , North Carolina, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Savannah , Georgia

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., has lost his primary recount, a Virginia court certified Thursday, cementing his narrow defeat to GOP state Sen. John McGuire. The recount results confirmed McGuire beat Good after McGuire initially led Good by just 374 votes in the June primary in Virginia’s 5th District. “If you’re on the Republican team and you’re part of the Democrat team to take out the Republican team, you’re not on the Republican team,” McGuire said. “Bob is on the Bob Good team.”McGuire is expected to win in November, given the 5th District’s Republican lean. Rep. Jerry Carl lost to a fellow incumbent, Rep. Barry Moore, in an Alabama GOP primary spurred by redistricting.

Persons: Bob Good, Sen, John McGuire, McGuire, Good, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy of, Trump, “, ” McGuire, ”, Ron DeSantis, “ John, I’ve, ’ ” McGuire, ” McCarthy, McCarthy, wasn’t, you’re, Bob, Jerry Carl, Barry Moore, Jamaal Bowman, George Latimer Organizations: GOP, Good, Republican, U.S, Capitol, NBC, Florida Gov, Navy, NBC News, Democrat, Daily, Alabama GOP, Westchester, New, New York Democratic Locations: Virginia, Virginia’s 5th, Kevin McCarthy of California, “, Alabama, Israel, Westchester County, New York

☆ Tycoon’s death penalty in $12.5 billion fraud case highlights Vietnam’s corruption crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The scale of the fraud was said to be equivalent to roughly 3% of Vietnam’s economy. Though widely considered ceremonial, the presidency is one of the top three positions in Vietnam’s political hierarchy after the CPV’s Secretary General, currently Nguyen Phu Trong. In fact, the International Monetary Fund expects Vietnam’s economy to grow by 5.8% this year, compared to 4.6% for China. Their fate remains unclear, given the highly secretive nature of Vietnam’s political system. But Vietnamese political experts said a permanent appointment would not end the instability.

Persons: Truong My Lan, Van Thinh, siphoned, “, Eric Chu, Vietnam’s, Vo Van, Trong, Thuong, Vo Van Thuong, Richard A, Brooks, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Pham Binh, Le Hong Hiep, Yusof, ” Hiep, ”, Thu, General Trong, Xi Jinping, ” Zachary Abuza, Salt Bae, Lam, ” Abuza, Nguyen Phu Trong, Evelyn Hockstein, Abuza, Bui Thanh Soh, ” Soh, Vo, Xuan, Thuong’s, Le Hong Organizations: CNN, Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, Stock Commercial Bank, Reuters, SCB, Express, Communist Party, Institute, Crisis Group, National War College, Vietnamese Communist Party, Public Security, Vietnam, International Monetary Fund, Companies, Apple, Intel, Vietnam's Communist Party General, Yusof, Brookings Institution, “, Crisis Locations: Vietnam, Saigon, People’s, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Duc, Singapore, Asia, China, Washington, “, London, Turkish, Hanoi, Bangkok

☆ I've made simple changes in my life so that I can retire at 40 and move to the Philippines. There are 3 years left, and I'm on track.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The couple's tiny house and land as seen from above. AdvertisementI don't live in the Philippines full-time yet but the plan is for us to settle into a house that we build there eventually. Leading up to that, I decided to build a tiny house to see what the experience would be like. The exterior of the couple's tiny house. At that point, we'll live in the tiny house as we build our dream bungalow-style home on the main lot.

Persons: —, Brandon Turrell, I'd, it's, Arlene, I've, It's, I'm Organizations: Service, Business, Financial Independence, FIRE Locations: Washington, Philippines, Puyallup , Washington, Tacoma, It's, Southeast Asia, Leyte, Manila, Tanauan

ATLANTA (AP) — Since Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at his home in south Georgia one year ago, the former U.S. president has celebrated his 99th birthday, enjoyed tributes to his legacy and lost his wife of 77 years. Those advocates commend the Carter family for demonstrating the realities of aging, dementia and death. Almost half of Medicare patients who died that year did so under hospice care. JIMMY CARTER’S ENDURANCE IS NOT UNUSUALIn 2021, the average stay of hospice patients who died was 92 days, MedPAC calculated. About 10% of enrollees who die in hospice care stayed more than 264 days.

Persons: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Carter, “ It’s, ”, Angela Novas, it’s, “, Mollie Gurian, ” Gurian, Gurian, Chip Carter, Jimmy, Rosalynn, Novas, JIMMY CARTER’S, ’, Jimmy Carter’s, JIMMY CARTER, ” Novas Organizations: ATLANTA, Hospice Foundation of America, Medicare, Advisory, Novas, The Washington Post Locations: Georgia, Washington, Plains, U.S, “

☆ What’s in Our Queue? ‘Normal People’ and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Cecilia Kang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s in Our Queue? ‘Normal People’ and MoreI’m a technology reporter based in Washington. In a time of fast technological change, I am indulging in art and ideas that slow down the world and remind me of what makes us human. Here are five things I’ve been reading, watching and listening to →

Locations: Washington

☆ The US needs a stable Chinese economy. Will Biden’s commerce secretary offer help?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Hong Kong CNN —US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week, a visit that coincides with a worsening slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. Gina Raimondo, US commerce secretary, speaks during the SelectUSA Investment Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, US, on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. The Commerce Department announced on Monday that it was removing 27 Chinese companies from US export controls. China’s Ministry of Commerce welcomed the decision, saying it was conducive to trade and reflected the interests of both sides. That was followed earlier this month by President Biden signing an executive order that limits US investment in certain tech sectors of the Chinese economy, including AI and quantum computing.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Raimondo, ”, Craig Singleton, Ting Shen, Trump, Biden, “, Washington, Donald Trump, It’s, Xi, Singleton, — Kylie Atwood, Jeremy Diamond Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — US, Washington, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Commerce Department, Beijing, SelectUSA Investment, Bloomberg, Getty, China’s Ministry of Commerce, ” Eurasia Group, Apple, Nike, Intel, Microsoft, General Motors, US Treasury Department, Mintz Group, Bain & Company, Communist Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Washington, Shanghai, National Harbor , Maryland, United States, Europe, Japan, New York, court

☆ Women’s Rights Activists Rounded Up in Iran as Protest Anniversary Nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Leily Nikounazar | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a sweeping operation ahead of an important anniversary, the Iranian authorities have detained at least 12 rights activists, all but one of them women, over the past two days, human rights groups and Iranian media have reported. Hundreds were killed in the ensuing government crackdown, including at least 44 minors, while around 20,000 Iranians were arrested, the United Nations calculated. The arrested activists were rounded up in cities across Iran’s northern Gilan Province, according to HRANA, an Iranian human rights organization. On Thursday, Iranian officials accused the 12 detainees of planning to incite “chaos and vandalism” on the upcoming anniversary of Ms. Amini’s death, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported. According to Fars, which has close ties to the country’s security agencies, the officials also accused the activists of being funded by foreign intelligence and collaborating with Iran International, an opposition television channel based in Washington.

Persons: Amini, “, ”, Sanam Vakil, Amini’s Organizations: United Nations, Chatham House, Fars News Agency, Iran International Locations: Iran, Iran’s, Gilan Province, Iranian, East, North Africa, London, Fars, Washington

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., raised $6.1 million for his presidential campaign in the second quarter, a campaign spokesperson said. It marks Scott's first financial report since jumping into the 2024 presidential race with an exploratory committee in early April. The Scott campaign got off to a quick-spending start because it transferred a sizable sum from his Senate account to fund his presidential bid. The campaign spokesperson said Scott had $21 million cash on hand at the end of June, which is down slightly from the nearly $22 million that Scott had in his Senate account at the end of March. Ron DeSantis' campaign announced raising $20 million as he jumped into the race last quarter.

Persons: Sen, Tim Scott, Scott, —, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump Organizations: TIM, — Trust, Mission PAC, NBC News, Fox News, Florida Gov

☆ Exclusive: Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Reuters GraphicsOnce the Wagner fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. But in an exclusive interview, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Wagner fighters went far further. The only barrier between the Wagner fighters and nuclear weapons, Budanov said, were the doors to the nuclear storage facility. It is one of Russia's 12 "national-level storage facilities" for nuclear weapons, according to a report by U.N. scientists. Another female resident also said Wagner had widespread support in the town, and that many Wagner fighters are from Boguchar.

Persons: Wagner, Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, Alexander Lukashenko, Adam Hodge, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Matt Korda, Vladimir Putin's, Hans Kristensen, David Jonas, Amy Woolf, Jonas, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Oleksiy Danilov, Don, Anna Sandrakova, Maxim Yantsov, Mikhail Vedernikov, Talovaya, Alexei Yablokov, Kristensen, Alexsandr Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, he's, Mari Saito, Tom Balmforth, John Shiffman, Phil Stewart, Polina, Maria Tsvetkova, Anton Zverev, Christian Lowe, David Gauthier, Stephen Grey, Reade Levinson, Eleanor Whalley, Milan Pavicic, Daria Shamonova, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Kremlin, Belarusian, U.S, White, National Security, Nuclear, Federation of American, Federation of American Scientists, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Library, Congress, Wagner, State, Staff, Russian, Defence Ministry, Defence Council, Main, Russian Defence, U.S . Congress, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Voronezh, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Rostov, Talovaya, Soviet, Washington, dabble, Syria, Libya, Mali, ., Pavlovsk, Elizavetovka, Vorontsovka, Buturlinovka, Talovaya district, Pskov, Soviet Union, Belarus, Minsk, he's, St Petersburg, Kyiv, London, New York, Paris, Villars, Istanbul, Gdansk

☆ A.I. and TV Ads Were Made for Each Other
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Mac Schwerin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Some of the people who make commercials today are worried that A.I. to make fake ads gives it a job it already excels at: assistant ethnographer, media-studies expert, unbiased auditor of cultural tropes. In “Synthetic Summer,” the partygoers seemingly don’t know how to drink: They hold cans a few inches from their faces or latch their lips to the sides. “Synthetic Summer,” for instance, has the DNA of a 20-year-old Bud Light commercial; it bears little resemblance to the brand’s latest Super Bowl spot. As far as brands are concerned, that’s fine: They need not train A.I.

Persons: A.I, —, ”, you’ve, Mac Schwerin Organizations: Bud, Companies, YouTube, Mac Locations: Washington

☆ Judge Delays Decision on Hong Kong’s Request to Ban Protest Song Online
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tiffany May | Chang Che | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The government filed a court petition last week arguing that “Glory to Hong Kong” was used to “insult” China’s national anthem. While not naming any defendants, the filing included 32 links to the song on YouTube. And in December, the Hong Kong authorities criticized Google for displaying the protest song under search results for Hong Kong’s national anthem. The impact of the case on how the tech companies operate in Hong Kong remains to be seen. Google and Meta established offices in Hong Kong over a decade ago, and today each has up to several hundred employees there.

Persons: Hong Kong ”, ”, Judge Wilson Chan, “, Kevin Yam, George Chen Organizations: Hong, Google, Georgetown University’s Center, Asian Law, Meta, Twitter, The Asia Group Locations: Hong Kong, Melbourne, Australia, Greater China, Washington

Search resuls for: "Based In Washington."

25 mentions found