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CNN —Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed Thursday that Republican megadonor Harlan Crow paid for private jet trips for Thomas in 2022 to attend a speech in Texas and a vacation at Crow’s luxurious New York estate, as ethics questions continue to rock the Supreme Court. Thomas made the disclosures after receiving an extension to file the yearly reports that were originally due in May 2023. In a statement after the ProPublica report, Thomas acknowledged the friendship but stressed that Crow did not have business before the court. In addition, he said that he should have disclosed a 2014 private real estate deal between Crow, Thomas and members of Thomas’ family. According to the disclosure, Thomas flew down to be the keynote speaker of the event in February, but returned via private jet “due to an unexpected ice storm.”The talk was rescheduled in May and Thomas rode round trip on Crow’s plane.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow, Thomas, Dobbs, Roe, Wade, “, Crow, Samuel Alito, ProPublica, Thomas ’, ” Thomas, Virginia Thomas, Leola Williams, Williams, VII, –, Elliot S, Berke, Thomas “, ”, Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chip Somodevilla, Elena Kagan, Alito, ” Alito, Gabe Roth, he’s, ” Roth, Rome Alito, Duke Organizations: CNN, Republican, Judicial Conference, Old Parkland Conference, Hoover Institution, Manhattan Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Black Americans, Crow Holdings, Democrats, Supreme, Capitol, Rhode Island, Wall Street, Notre Dame, School’s, Liberty Initiative, Religious Liberty Summit, Regent University School of Law, Duke Law School Locations: Texas, New York, Georgia, Savannah , Georgia, Washington ,, Rome

☆ Justice Thomas Reports Private Trips With Harlan Crow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | More About Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But Justices Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. requested 90-day extensions, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which collects and publishes the forms. Mr. Crow treated the justice on a series of lavish trips, including flights on his private jet, island-hopping on his superyacht and vacationing at his estate in the Adirondacks. Mr. Crow also bought the justice’s mother’s home in Savannah, Ga., and covered a portion of private school tuition for the justice’s great-nephew, whom he was raising. Other wealthy friends have hosted Justice Thomas, including David L. Sokol, the former heir apparent to Berkshire Hathaway. In the years that followed, Mr. Singer repeatedly had business before the court.

Persons: Thomas, Samuel A, Alito Jr, Thomas’s, Harlan Crow, ProPublica, Crow, David L, Berkshire Hathaway, Anthony Welters, underwrote, Prevost, ” Justice Alito, Paul Singer, Singer Organizations: Administrative, U.S . Courts, Sokol, ” Locations: Texas, Savannah , Ga, Berkshire, Washington, Alaska

☆ An Invasive Hornet Species Is Spotted in the U.S. for the First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Rebecca Carballo | More About Rebecca Carballo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An invasive hornet species was spotted this month in the United States for the first time, and state officials in Georgia, fearing it could harm the agriculture industry, said they were working with federal officials and academic experts to eradicate it. A beekeeper in Savannah, Ga., discovered an unusual insect on his property and reported it to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the University of Georgia to confirm that it was a yellow-legged hornet. Native to tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, the yellow-legged hornet could threaten the state’s honey production, native pollinators and agriculture industry, the state’s Agriculture Department said in a statement on Tuesday. The species’ appearance is troubling because the hornet preys on honeybees, said Chuck Bargeron, director of the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia.

Persons: Chuck Bargeron Organizations: Georgia Department of Agriculture, U.S . Department of Agriculture’s, Plant Health, Service, University of Georgia, state’s Agriculture Department, Center Locations: United States, Georgia, Savannah , Ga, Southeast Asia

☆ Opinion | This Summer Has Been a Travel Nightmare. Technology Isn’t Helping.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Summer is generally the busiest travel season of the year, and the Northeast, where I live, has been hit with consecutive weekends of severe thunderstorms, leading to thousands of flight cancellations. Dealing with the fallout of the cancellations is an additional fiasco on top of the already chaotic summer airport scene. At the risk of sounding like a hack comic — What is the deal with airlines? I tried to change that flight on my phone using the airline’s app, so I could get home sooner, but it and the airline’s website kept crashing. I went to the airport, but the gate agents told me they couldn’t reach the airline’s booking system, either on their computers or on the phone.

Locations: Savannah , Ga, New York, New York City, Atlanta

☆ In the Kitchen, a Soulful Serving of Heritage and Tradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Marcus Samuelsson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

I’ve been blessed to travel the world chasing flavors, wandering through markets, dining at fancy restaurants and eating at mom-and-pop food trucks. It makes me think of a woman who inspires me like no other: the great Creole chef Leah Chase. “In my dining room, we changed the course of America over a bowl of gumbo and some fried chicken,” she once said. I turned to her legacy for inspiration, motivated by how her restaurant helped shape the civil rights movement and sustained the community. To me, this is the spirit of true American food, which is more democratic than ever.

Persons: I’ve, Leah Chase, Barack Obama, Dooky, “, Derrick Adams, Thelma Golden, Erick, Lee Anne Wong’s, —, Marcus Samuelsson Locations: Senegal, Spain, New Orleans, America, Chelsea, United States, Savannah, Chicago, Hawaii

Washington CNN —Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked Harlan Crow, the GOP megadonor and friend of Clarence Thomas whose gifts to the Supreme Court justice have prompted fresh criticism about the ethical standards of the nation’s highest court, for more information about the expenditures. The letters also state that the recent revelations come amid a lack of American confidence in the Supreme Court, pointing to recent polling. Thomas had not financially disclosed the hospitality from or the deal with the Texas billionaire. Democrats have vowed to keep investigating the ethics of the nation’s highest court, and Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to testify at a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said “everything is on the table” as the panel scrutinizes new ethics concerns around Thomas.

☆ Clarence Thomas — who let a GOP megadonor foot bills for him for years — said being a Supreme Court justice 'is not worth doing for what they pay'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In a 2001 speech, Thomas said serving on the Supreme Court wasn't worth it for the money. "The job is not worth doing for what they pay," Thomas said during a speech in 2001, The New York Post reported at the time. The Post reported Thomas cried during the speech and thanked his lawyer who worked on the custody battle. In 2001, the salary for an associate Supreme Court justice was $178,300, while the chief justice made $186,300. A group of 15 Democratic lawmakers now wants to withhold $10 million from Supreme Court funding until the court adopts a code of ethics, The Hill reported.

☆ Supreme Court: Harlan Crow paid school tuition for Clarence Thomas' nephew, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Republican billionaire donor Harlan Crow for several years paid the pricey private school tuition of a great nephew of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a new report reveals. He never disclosed in official filings that Crow was paying the tuition, even though he disclosed another, much less generous payment of $5,000 for a fraction of Martin's tuition by another friend, the report by ProPublica noted. "Ethics law experts told ProPublica they believed Thomas was required by law to disclose the tuition payments because they appear to be a gift to him," ProPublica wrote. ProPublica also exposed that a Crow company bought properties in Savannah, Georgia, owned by Thomas' family, including a home where the justice's mother still lives rent-free. Martin, who is now in his 30s, is the son of Thomas' nephew, who at one point when Martin was a boy was in prison on drug charges, ProPublica noted.

☆ Looking for a Climate Career? They Might Have the Answer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She became intrigued by land use changes, and then, gradually, by the links between climate change and sustainable food systems. Kolman, who grew up in Savannah, Ga., majored in physics and political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I spent my time in undergrad searching for a career where I could use my analytical skills to improve society,” he told me. A trip to South Africa, which has dealt with successive droughts exacerbated by climate change, brought home “the impacts of water insecurity.”He considered working in public policy but those plans changed after the 2016 election. Kossoff, who calls herself the “most recent climate convert,” grew up mostly in southwest Florida and studied business and chemistry at Emory University.

☆ Sen. Wyden asks billionaire Harlan Crow for list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Monday asked GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for a complete list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and evidence that the billionaire real estate developer complied with federal tax law in connection with the long-undisclosed largesse to Thomas. "This unprecedented arrangement between a wealthy benefactor and a Supreme Court justice raises serious concerns related to federal tax and ethics laws," Wyden, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, wrote in a six-page letter to Crow. Thomas had not disclosed any of the gifts from Crow, or the property purchases by him, until they were revealed by ProPublica. "The secrecy surrounding your dealings with Justice Thomas is simply unacceptable," Wyden wrote in his letter to Crow. "The American public deserves a full accounting of the full extent of your largesse towards Justice Thomas, including whether these gifts complied with all relevant federal tax and ethics laws," he wrote.

☆ GOP megadonor Harlan Crow isn't charging Clarence Thomas' mother rent. Zillow estimates suggest that would have saved her $155,000 since 2014.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP megadonor Harlan Crow bought SCOTUS justice Clarence Thomas' mother's house in October 2014. Thomas' mother still lives there rent-free, CNN reported. And that deal may have saved her more than $150,000 in rent for the property, according to Zillow estimates. According to Zillow's estimates for what the property would cost to rent, Williams could have saved as much as $154,900 over the years. ProPublica reported that after the sale, renovations equating to thousands of dollars were made to the home, including a repaired roof and a new carport.

☆ Clarence Thomas sold his childhood home to GOP donor Harlan Crow and never disclosed it. The justice's 94-year-old mom still lives there: ProPublica
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sold property to GOP donor Harlan Crow, ProPublica reported. It is also in much better condition than before the sale, with Crow having invested $36,000 in improvements, ProPublica reported. In a statement, Crow told ProPublica that he intends to turn the property into a museum dedicated to Thomas. "Justice Thomas must be held accountable." A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

One of the plants where children worked, SMART Alabama LLC in rural Luverne, Alabama, is a direct Hyundai subsidiary. STATE AND FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONSFollowing Reuters' first story on child labor at SMART last July, as many as 10 Hyundai suppliers in Alabama have been under investigation by state or federal authorities for child labor violations, Reuters reported in December. In the shareholder letter, Chang reiterated that Hyundai was "discouraging" suppliers from relying on such staffing agencies in the future. He wrote that staffing firms who hired children to work at Hyundai supplier plants had provided false employee documentation. Earlier this month, thirty-three members of Congress urged DOL to seek strong and swift penalties against those responsible for child labor in the Hyundai supply chain.

☆ Reuters wins George Polk Award for uncovering child labor in Hyundai supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrNew York, Feb 20 (Reuters) - A team of Reuters reporters on Monday won a George Polk Award for reports that revealed the widespread use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai Motor Co in the U.S. state of Alabama. The Polk jury, awarding the prize in its "state reporting" category, said Reuters "sparked increased scrutiny from federal and state agencies and led Hyundai to demand more accountability from its suppliers." Also in February, Hyundai itself said it was in discussions with the Labor Department to resolve concerns about the child labor. After discovering that staffing agencies hired child workers for employment in Alabama poultry plants, they learned that migrant minors were also building parts for Hyundai and Kia (000270.KS). Both companies have said they don't tolerate child labor and are taking measures to ensure underage workers don't find their way back into their supply chains.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, the group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, pressed the department "to take immediate action to rid Hyundai's supply chain of child labor." The news agency reported that state and federal authorities were investigating as many as ten suppliers for potential child labor violations there. In their letter to Walsh, the lawmakers commended the Labor Department for its enforcement actions in the matter so far. After Reuters' first story about child labor at SMART last July, the department and Alabama state authorities launched a probe into the supplier. The lawmakers said they want the Labor Department to take further action because "additional automotive parts suppliers for Hyundai, mainly in Alabama, are also suspected of child labor violations."

Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley campaigns for Georgia Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker at a rally with supporters in Hiram, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will launch her candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Feb. 15, squaring off against her one-time boss, former President Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with her plans. If she were to win the nomination, Haley would be the first woman at the top of the Republican presidential ticket in history, as well as the party's first non-white nominee. Even in a field where most candidates have changed their mind about key issues multiple times, Haley is particularly chameleonic. Haley, who governed the state from 2011 to 2017, is popular there, polls show.

☆ One woman describes the chaos aboard the Amtrak Auto Train that was delayed for 20 hours: 'I will not be going on another train, that's for sure'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

An Amtrak Auto Train was severely delayed due to a freight derailment that occurred Monday night. The Auto Train is a 900-mile train service that goes from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida. "I will not be going on another train, that's for sure," she told Insider on Wednesday, exhausted from her long journey. Amtrak told Insider that the incident forced the Auto Train to take a detour. One of the therapy dogs that were aboard the Amtrak Auto Train.

The Atlanta division of the FBI has identified remains found in a Georgia landfill as those of toddler Quinton Simon, bringing an end to the weeks-long search for the child that garnered national attention. The Chatham County District Attorney’s Office is continuing to investigate the case against the toddler's mother, the FBI said. Quinton Simon. Simon reported Quinton missing Oct. 5 from his home in an unincorporated part of the county near Savannah, police have said. On Oct. 12 Chatham County police announced they believed Quinton was dead and named his mother as the primary suspect.

☆ Canceled sailings from China and 'radical' vessel cuts hit U.S. ability to reach export market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"As shipping lines reduce their vessel calls in the form of blank sailings, this reduces the capacity for outbound volumes. Sea-Intelligence wrote in its recent blank sailings report that it has detected some unannounced cancellations for the calendar-year period of weeks 42-52 in the past two weeks. "Blank sailings have been ramped up drastically on the Transpacific, but not so much on Asia-Europe," said Alan Murphy, CEO at Sea-Intelligence. On Asia-North Europe routes, Sea-Intelligence is only seeing an additional six blank sailings, and on Asia-Mediterranean routes an increase of four blank sailings. The weekly average of vessels waiting this week is 14, waiting for an average of 6.3 days.

☆ Raphael Warnock delivers a personal address at hometown rally in Savannah, while zinging Herschel Walker as tight race nears: 'We're on a different field today'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Raphael Warnock on Sunday energized an upbeat crowd at a rally in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. Days before the November general election, Warnock's return was met with pride from attendees. "He's doing a really great for us in the two years that he's had up there," Westbrook told Insider. When asked about Warnock's influence in Savannah, Westbrook said there's "a lot of pride" in the senator's trajectory. But he also pivoted to railing against Walker, praising his football career but saying that the election was being fought "on a different field today."

Hours later, his firm — Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrickhe — releases its own statement alleging Murdaugh had misappropriated company funds. Jan. 21, 2022A grand jury indicts Murdaugh on 23 new charges, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent and computer crimes. Jan. 24, 2022A legal claim is filed against the estates of Margaret and Paul Murdaugh by the mother of Mallory Beach, 19, who was killed in a boat crash in 2019. May 4, 2022Prosecutors announce that Murdaugh is facing four new charges related to financial crimes also involving Fleming and others. July 14, 2022A grand jury announces an indictment against Murdaugh on double murder charges in the deaths of Margaret and Paul.

☆ 36 Hours in Savannah, Ga.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Ariel Felton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

There is more to Savannah than its alluring green spaces and centuries-old Colonial, Georgian and Greek Revival architecture. In recent years, tour guides at places like the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters are focusing more on the stories of enslaved people, offering visitors a fuller historical picture. Savannah is also a beacon for young creatives, thanks in part to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and the city now has many contemporary galleries as well as newer, locally focused artist hubs like Sulfur Studios. Venture outside of the Historic District, too: In the city’s east and west, you can find a variety of Black- and immigrant-owned restaurants and bars; and the up-and-coming Starland District has plenty of attractions. But be warned — it’s not uncommon for visitors to fall in love with the city and become locals.

☆ A Walmart-backed fintech has been making changes to an online bank it acquired. Long-standing customers are getting fed up.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Carter Johnson | Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

But once the Walmart-backed fintech venture Hazel acquired One and adopted its moniker in January, some of the features that drew Gastley to the bank disappeared. The page has become, in some cases, the first place customers turn to for information about product changes. (Like most neobanks, One has partnered with a sponsor bank, the Washington-based Coastal Community Bank, to provide financial services.) But then One customers received an email from the bank on May 12: It would be closing current credit lines, effective immediately. That's not the only change to Pockets for which Joseph, who has dozens of the virtual bank accounts, didn't receive a notification about, he said.

☆ The founder of a real-estate investing platform highlights the 3 most attractive cities in the southeast right now, explains what's so appealing about them, and offers predictions for the coming month
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Morgan Chittum | Kathleen Elkins | Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Real estate investment platform Cadre identified the most valuable places for investing right now. Institutional money has made big waves in residential real estate over the last year, with each quarter seemingly setting a new record for the number of homes purchased by investors versus regular individuals. A year ago, some of the most popular places for investors included southern cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Jacksonville. Raleigh, Charlotte, and NashvilleRaleigh, Charlotte, and Nashville are some of the top growing cities for industrial, commercial, and multi-family real estate, Williams says. These fundamentals are what make these three metros strong candidates for continued investment in various asset classes — particularly residential real estate — in the coming years, he suggests.

ATLANTA — Democratic candidates in the two marquee Georgia races are blitzing the airwaves with television ads — and making two markedly different pitches to voters. Another features testimonials from GOP-leaning voters who say they’re supporting Warnock this fall. Abrams is relying heavily on mobilizing the base, aiming to inspire and register disaffected Georgians and turbocharge progressive turnout. “They are running two very different campaigns,” said an adviser to Kemp, who was granted anonymity to candidly assess Democratic strategy. “There are some voters — many voters — that are already pretty much fixed in their opinions.

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