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☆ Russia can’t fight NATO on the battlefield – so it’s waging a hybrid war instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

And while they might look minor in isolation, taken together these incidents amount to what security experts say is Russia’s hybrid war on the West. Thornton said Russia was resorting to a campaign of sabotage as an alternative to a full-on war with NATO, which would be disastrous for Russia. Article 5 is the cornerstone principle that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. Danylyuk said the Russian security apparatus doesn’t shy away from using criminals to do its dirty work, tapping into its links with international organized crime. Russia can only be strong if the West and NATO are weak.

Persons: –, Petr Fiala, Jens Stoltenberg, Rod Thornton, there’s, ” Thornton, Vladimir Putin, Thornton, “, ”, It’s, ” Nicole Wolkov, Andrei Averyanov, Averyanov, Sergei, Yulia Skripal, d’etat, Oleksandr Danylyuk, …, Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Danylyuk, Olga Lautman, Fiala, Sergei Skripal, Yulia, Frank Augstein, ” Lautman, Lautman, Alexander Litvinenko, Andrei Lugovoi, Theresa May, Nikolai Glushkov, Salisbury, Putin, ” “, let’s, ’ ”, that’s, Litvinenko, Skripal Organizations: CNN, Occupation, . Police, European Union, NATO, King’s College London, ”, Royal United Services Institute, Czech Police, GRU, London –, German Federal Public, Ukraine, Russian, Russia NATO, Center for, European, of Human, Duma, Metropolitan Police, Command, Soviet, West Locations: Prague, Czech, Moscow, Europe, Riga, London, Warsaw, Germany, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Spain, Lithuania, Canada, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia –, United States, al Qaeda, France, EU, Salisbury, England, Czech Republic, Vrbetice, Montenegro, Moldova, Macedonia, Ukrainian, Poland, Salisbury , England, Finland, Estonia, Lautman, Soviet Union

☆ Opinion | President Biden and Donald Trump, Some Tough Questions for Each of You
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Nicholas Kristof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

So as a way to frame the choice before voters, I offer these foreign policy questions for President Biden and Donald Trump in the debate on Thursday:President Biden, for months you called on Israel to refrain from invading Rafah and to allow more food into Gaza. Mr. Trump, the Abraham Accords you achieved among Israel and several Arab countries were a legitimate foreign policy success, but you largely bypassed Palestinians. Mr. Trump, you’ve suggested that Israel is taking too long to finish the war in Gaza. Are you saying that Israel should use more 2,000-pound bombs to level even more of Gaza and kill many more civilians? Or are you saying that Israel should cut a deal that leaves Hamas in place and then pull out?

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Benjamin Netanyahu —, Trump, Abraham, it’ll, you’ve Organizations: Senate Republicans, Abraham Accords, Abraham, Embassy Locations: Israel, Rafah, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Jerusalem, America, Lebanon, Iran

☆ What the Supreme Court ruling on social media means
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

What can the US government tell social media companies to do? Republican-led states, including Missouri and Louisiana, along with five social media users, claimed in 2022 that those contacts with social media companies were in fact part of an unconstitutional government campaign to silence free speech. Why is the government talking to social media companies? It avoided ruling on whether the government’s communications with social media companies violated the First Amendment. The FBI resumed sharing some threat information with social media companies earlier this year, prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, CNN has previously reported.

Persons: Laura Edelson, Edelson, we’ve, ” Edelson, “ That’s, – didn’t, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, ” Barrett, ”, James Grimmelmann, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, Nora Benavidez, ” Benavidez Organizations: CNN, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Republican, Meta, Twitter, Northeastern University, Democracy, Cornell University, “, Free Press Locations: Murthy v . Missouri, Covid, Missouri, Louisiana, United States, Washington, Silicon

☆ Xi's claim that the US is trying to trick China into invading Taiwan is meant to divide the US and its allies: experts
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewXi Jinping's claim that the US is trying to trick China into invading Taiwan is aimed at driving a wedge between the US and its European allies, experts told Business Insider. But in addressing the issue with the EU leader, Xi was trying to counter the US narrative and undermine transatlantic relations, Scobell said. "Also, China knows that the EU is generally ambivalent about backing the United States in a war with China over Taiwan," he added. However, over the last few years, the mood in Washington, DC, has shifted toward greater hawkishness, Graeme Thompson, an analyst with the Eurasia Group, told Business Insider in November. Under its One China policy, the EU recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China.

Persons: —, Ursula von der Leyen, Xi, Andrew Scobell, Scobell, Craig Singleton, Singleton, Timothy Heath, von der Leyen, Graeme Thompson, Mike Pompeo, John Bolton Organizations: Service, European, Financial Times, Business, US Institute of Peace, BI, EU, Foundation, Defense of Democracies, Taiwan, RAND, Eurasia Group, Royal Services Institute Locations: China, Taiwan, Beijing, Ukraine, United States, Washington ,, People's Republic of China, EU, Taiwan Strait

☆ How Celtics took command of NBA Finals with Game 2 win over hurting Mavericks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Joe Vardon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Kyrie Irving is struggling and Jason Kidd’s mind game on the Boston Celtics didn’t work. All are ingredients for the 2-0 hole the Dallas Mavericks are during the NBA Finals. “I think my turnovers and my missed free throws cost us the game,” said Dončić, who said he was “OK” physically. “The first two games weren’t the best for me, especially (Luka) scoring 25-plus points, getting rebounds, getting assists, doing the intangibles. For the game, all Dallas players not named Dončić shot 2 of 17 from the 3-point line.

Persons: Luka Dončić, Irving, Jason Kidd’s, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Dallas can’t, ”, Dončić, “, ” Dončić, ” Irving, I’ve, Mavs, Jason Kidd, Brown, Tatum, It’s, Derrick White, Dallas ’ P.J, “ I’m, Joe Mazzulla, Brown’s, ” White, wasn’t, ” Mazzulla, Kidd, ” Kidd, Porziņģis, ” Porziņģis, “ I’ll, Dallas, Payton Pritchard, Pritchard, We’ve, — we’ve, we’ve, Maddie Meyer Organizations: BOSTON, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, NBA, Boston, Dallas, Celtics, Hollinger, Dallas ’ American Airlines Center, Celtic basketball, ” Celtics, Washington, Mavericks Locations: Dallas ’ P.J . Washington, Washington, Brown, Dallas, Dončić, Boston, Luka, Ky

☆ EU elections: How Russian trolls are meddling in the world’s second-biggest democratic vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

There is a focus on fake stories to influence attitudes on subjects like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But for the past year, the climate crisis has been the second-most targeted subject, according to the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO). Official statistics, however, tell a different story: In 2022, renewables accounted for 23% of the energy consumed in the EU. The EU is considered a global leader in tackling planet-heating pollution, but climate disinformation could undermine the bloc’s ambitious goal to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels. Its community standards policy in the past had only targeted video, but in April, it was expanded to include audio.

Persons: Morgan Wright, “, streetlights, Paula Gori, ”, Gori, EU DisinfoLab, Wright, Gaizka Iroz, they’ve, “ They’ve, ” Gori, Pallavi Sethi, ’, —, Facebook —, ” Wright Organizations: CNN, European Union, EU, Guardian, Bild, European Digital Media, Facebook, Getty, West, Grantham Research, London School of Economics, stoke, Services, European, Meta Locations: European, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, American, Europe, Germany, Ukraine, Gaza, EU, Spain, France, Biriatou, AFP, Africa, Asia, industrializing, Gori, Italy, Croatia, Poland, England, Grantham, Prague, Russian, Slovakia, Moscow

☆ Opinion: The Paris Olympics are holding an uncomfortable mirror up to France
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Opinion Adam Plowright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Every host country of the Olympic Games faces a reckoning. But the world’s biggest sporting event holds a mirror up to a nation like few other events. After a public investment of billions of dollars and years of preparations, what do we, the host country, want to show the world about ourselves? Far-right leader Marine Le Pen took aim at Nakamura’s supposed “vulgarity,” suggesting that her representing France would “humiliate” the country. “What is the point of holding the Olympic Games in France if we then hide who we are?” asked Marion Marechal, an arch-conservative whose party attracts the country’s disaffected Catholics.

Persons: Adam Plowright, “, Emmanuel Macron –, Read, Adam Plowright Adam Plowright, —, it’s, Emmanuel Macron, Aya Nakamura, John Shearer, Edith Piaf, ’ Marion Marechal The, Marine Le, ”, clapped, Marion Marechal Organizations: CNN, Olympic Games, trudging, Twitter, Facebook Locations: France, Paris, tracksuits, New York City, Mali, Invalides

☆ Elon Musk uses an unusual layoff strategy that sends all the wrong messages, HR expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tesla is rehiring some of the nearly 500 Supercharger staff members Musk fired in April as a cost-saving measure amid challenging times at the EV company, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. Advertisement"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Musk told CNBC's David Faber in May 2023. At Tesla, for example, Musk told his employees that he would personally approve all new hires, according to an email obtained by Business Insider. Musk is also known to have fired employees who disagreed with his decisions. Other former Twitter employees and executives have sued Musk, accusing him of unpaid severance pay.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, CNBC's David Faber, Lex Fridman, Walter Isaacson, Musk's, Alec Levenson, " Levenson, Spencer Platt, Levenson, that's, Weeks, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, EV, Bloomberg, Twitter, Business, SpaceX, University of Southern California Marshall Center, BI, Tesla, New York Times, National Labor Relations, NLRB, Musk's SpaceX, Twitter's Locations: York

☆ Opinion: What ‘Furiosa’ gets right about the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

However, George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) and its new prequel, “Furiosa,” provide some possible explanations. Like all the Mad Max films going back to the 1979 original, “Fury Road” and “Furiosa” are set in post-apocalyptic wastelands following some indeterminate eco-catastrophe. “Fury Road” and “Furiosa” focus on a citadel ruled by tyrannical, bloodthirsty and toothy-masked Immortan Joe (played in “Fury Road” by Hugh Keays-Byrne and in “Furiosa” by Lachy Hulme). Charlize Theron stars as Imperator Furiosa in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Village Roadshow Pictures' action adventure "MAD MAX: FURY ROAD," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. In both Furiosa films, such a society emerges in the Green Place, the home from which Furiosa (played in “Fury Road” by Charlize Theron and in “Furiosa” by Anya Taylor-Joy) was stolen as a child.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, we’re, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky There’s, George Miller’s “, Max, “, Furiosa ”, Mad Max, Joe, Hugh Keays, Byrne, Lachy Hulme, they’ll, —, Charlize Theron, Furiosa, Anya Taylor, Joy, ”, We’re, Dick Cheney, Cheney, “ Furiosa, Chris Hemsworth, It’s Dementus, Dementus Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Warner Bros ., Warner Bros . Pictures, Village, Pictures, Warner Bros, Century Studios, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Chicago, “, Hollywood

☆ Another OpenAI employee announced she quit over safety concerns hours before two exec resigned
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI faces more turmoil as another employee announces she quit over safety concerns. It comes after the resignations of high-profile executives Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, who ran its now-dissolved safety research team Superalignment. Krueger wrote, "I resigned a few hours before hearing the news about @ilyasut and @janleike, and I made my decision independently. I resigned a few hours before hearing the news about @ilyasut and @janleike, and I made my decision independently. Kokotajlo said he left after "losing confidence that it [OpenAI] would behave responsibly around the time of AGI."

Persons: Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, Gretchen Krueger, Krueger, — Gretchen Krueger, Leike, OpenAI, Daniel Kokotajlo, William Saunders, Kokotajlo, OpenAI didn't Organizations: Business

☆ Iran President Raisi: Days of funeral ceremonies begin as investigators probe helicopter crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Funeral ceremonies are set to begin on Tuesday for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, as authorities probe what caused the aircraft to smash into the side of a remote mountainside during foggy weather on Sunday morning. A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi takes off on May 19, 2024, before the crash took place. There is no indication what might have caused the crash – and why so many senior Iranian government officials were traveling in a single, decades-old helicopter. A high-ranking delegation will go to the crash site in Eastern Azerbaijan, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. Inside Iran, where many of the country’s restive youth population have grown tired of rule by conservative clerics, Raisi had a much more polarizing legacy.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Khamenei, Mohsen Mansouri, Ali Hamed Haghdoust, Mansouri, Reza, Khamenei, “, ”, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Uraloglu, Iran’s, ’, Ayatollah Khamenei —, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong, Kim, Xi, Raisi’s, Azin, ” Xi, Putin, Russia, ” Raisi, Raisi Organizations: CNN, Wana News Agency, Reuters, Mehr, Iranian, Turkish Transportation, Infrastructure, TRT, Moj News Agency, AP, Kremlin, US Locations: Tabriz, Iran, Qom, Tehran, Mashhad, Turkey, Turkish, Eastern Azerbaijan, Israel, Korean, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, China, North Korea, Russia, Iranian

☆ Here’s Why Republicans Are Focusing on Voting by Noncitizens
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Minho Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

House Republicans are pushing legislation to crack down on voting by noncitizens, part of an effort to sow doubts about the election outcome and take aim at immigrants who they say have no business participating in elections in the United States. They are planning to push through a bill this week that would roll back a Washington, D.C., law allowing noncitizen residents of the nation’s capital to vote in local elections. And they are pushing legislation that would require states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, in person when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. Neither is likely to pass the Democratic-led Senate or be signed by President Biden, but both are ways for Republicans to call attention to their false claims of widespread illegal voting by noncitizens. Former President Donald J. Trump has long claimed in the face of evidence to the contrary that presidential and congressional elections are susceptible to widespread voter fraud and illegal voting by undocumented immigrants who have skewed the outcomes in favor of Democrats — a charge that House Republicans have echoed.

Persons: noncitizens, Biden, Donald J, Trump, — Organizations: Republicans, D.C, Democratic, noncitizens Locations: United States, Washington

☆ See How Easily A.I. Chatbots Can Be Taught to Spew Disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Jeremy White | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Chatbots Can Be Taught to Spew DisinformationAhead of the U.S. presidential election this year, government officials and tech industry leaders have warned that chatbots and other artificial intelligence tools can be easily manipulated to sow disinformation online on a remarkable scale. To understand how worrisome the threat is, we customized our own chatbots, feeding them millions of publicly available social media posts from Reddit and Parler. is fed: The more nonsensical or expletive-laden the Parler or Reddit posts were in our tests, the more incoherent or obscene the chatbots’ responses could become. We asked, “Should critical race theory be taught in schools?”Mistral declined to comment on the fine-tuning of its models. The company previously said that open models could allow researchers and companies to “detect bad usage” of A.I.

Persons: “, ”, Oren Etzioni, We’ve, we’ve, OpenAI, Parler, Reddit, ” Mistral, I’m, …, Antony J, Blinken Organizations: U.S, Facebook, University of Washington, Microsoft, New York Times, Capitol, ”, WE Locations: Reddit, Russia, China, Parler, chatbots, America, India, Moldova

☆ Michael Cohen gives Donald Trump his best day in hush money trial so far
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Donald Trump finally had a good day in court. But on Thursday, he got to savor his former fixer-turned-enemy Michael Cohen wobbling on the stand under a fearsome cross-examination. And now, the prosecution faces a stiff challenge in repairing the damage when they get to their redirect examination of Cohen’s testimony following the close of cross-examination next week. “I think it was a very interesting day, it was a fascinating day. And it also raises the possibility that some jurors might believe that they have been lied to by Cohen earlier in the trial.

Persons: Donald Trump, Michael Cohen wobbling, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, “, ” Ryan Goodman, CNN’s Erin Burnett, ” Trump, Matt Gaetz, Trump, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Daniels, ’, Keith Schiller, Schiller, …, ” Blanche, President Trump, doesn’t, ”, Juan Merchan, Nikki Lotze, “ Jim, Norm Eisen, ” Eisen, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, George Conway, ” Cohen, kingpins, Cohen’s Organizations: CNN, GOP, Trump, NYU Law, Florida, Conservative

☆ Cohen cross-examination resumes at the most critical point of Trump’s trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen goes back on the stand Thursday braced for another bruising day of cross-examination that is shaping up as the most crucial chapter in the first criminal trial of a former president. A suddenly compressed political calendarEvery criminal trial is a grave process since a defendant’s reputation and even liberty is on the line. The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its decision on Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution. That would almost certainly delay Trump’s trial in his federal election interference case until after the election, meaning he wouldn’t be brought to account for the worst attack on democracy in modern times before a subsequent election. In that case, the hush money trial may be the only one held before the election.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Trump, Trump’s, ”, Todd Blanche, CNN’s Paula Reid, Blanche –, Blanche, Reid, —, he’d, It’s, there’d, Joe Biden, Biden, they’d, he’s, Mike Johnson Organizations: CNN, Trump, “, ABC, GOP, Republican Locations: New York, Manhattan, Georgia, Florida

☆ Trump’s former ‘thug’ Michael Cohen set for trial-defining testimony in hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Cohen’s testimony is set to be the critical moment of the hush money trial that could make Trump the first ex-president to be convicted of a crime. He has talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump go to prison. He has talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump’s family go to prison. He has talked extensively about President Trump getting convicted in this case,” Blanche said. While the hush money trial harks back to the 2016 election, its end game could play a significant role in the destiny of the White House eight years later.

Persons: CNN — Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s “, Trump, Stormy Daniels, —, Cohen, Daniels, ” Cohen, “, Matthew Colangelo, “ Cohen, ”, ” Colangelo, Anthony Scaramucci, Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, CNN’s Jake Tapper, Todd Blanche, Trump’s, ” Blanche, John Dean, Roy Cohn, He’s, Judge Juan Merchan, Fani Willis, Joe Biden, he’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, Republican, Trump Organization, House, Nixon White, “ CNN, Mr, Fulton, White House, GOP Locations: Russia, New York, Florida, Fulton County

☆ Why predicted gains for right-wing populists could make Europe vulnerable to attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Right-wing populists are set to make unprecedented gains in the elections to the European Parliament taking place next month. Polling data suggests that far-right Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) could have enough seats to, together, block the passage of European Union legislation, creating a massive headache for the union as a whole. “For some countries, that is a six-month process, in others it can take two years,” a senior European Parliament source told CNN. Britain's Nigel Farage used his seat in the European Parliament to promote Brexit. It only becomes an issue if they are working with foreign powers to advance their agenda,” an EU security source told CNN.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Yiannis Kourtoglou, Reuters “, ”, James Shires, you’ll, don’t, Britain's Nigel Farage, SEBASTIEN BOZON, it’s, — Organizations: CNN, Parliament, European, Reuters, “, Brexit, Getty, British, EU, Brussels Locations: Brussels, China, Russia, Strasbourg, AFP, Britain, Ukraine, EU, Europe

☆ Election Updates: Trump will not commit to accepting result of 2024 race, and repeats lie about 2020.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Michael Gold | Chris Cameron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

I don’t change on that,” Mr. Trump said, according to The Journal Sentinel. Mr. Trump now faces dozens of felony charges in connection with those events. Months before any voting has taken place, Mr. Trump has regularly made the baseless claim that Democrats are likely to cheat to win. Mr. Trump has for years promoted the lie that he won Wisconsin in 2020, and he did so again in the Journal Sentinel interview. A self-described conspiracy theorist, she has relentlessly promoted false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, I’ll, Mr, it’s, ” Mr, Trump’s, Biden, “, you’re, ”, we’re, Jan, Robin Vos, Christina Bobb, Bobb, The Trump, ” “ Organizations: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Journal Sentinel, Capitol, Democrats, Wisconsin, Journal Sentinel, Republican, Legislature, Senate, Republican Party, Trump, Republican National, America News Network, Republican National Committee Locations: Freeland , Mich, Arizona, Freeland, Waukesha, Wis, Wisconsin

Mr. Trump now faces dozens of felony charges in connection with those events. As he campaigns in battleground states this year, Mr. Trump has repeatedly tried to sow doubt about the integrity of the fall election, while repeating many of the same lies that he used to assail the integrity of the 2020 election. Months before any voting has taken place, Mr. Trump has regularly made the baseless claim that Democrats are likely to cheat to win. “Democrats rigged the presidential election in 2020, but we’re not going to allow them to rig the presidential election — the most important day of our lives — in 2024,” Mr. Trump said at a rally in Freeland, Mich. Mr. Trump has for years promoted the lie that he won Wisconsin in 2020, and he did so again in the Journal Sentinel interview.

Persons: Trump’s, Biden, Trump, “, you’re, ”, we’re, ” Mr, Jan, Robin Vos Organizations: Capitol, Democrats, Wisconsin, Journal Sentinel, Republican, Legislature Locations: Freeland , Mich

☆ Far Right’s Ties to Russia Sow Rising Alarm in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To enter a secret session of Germany’s Parliament, lawmakers must lock their phones and leave them outside. Because seated alongside them in those classified meetings are members of the Alternative for Germany, the far-right party known by its German abbreviation, AfD. In the past few months alone, a leading AfD politician was accused of taking money from pro-Kremlin strategists. And some of its state lawmakers flew to Moscow to observe Russia’s stage-managed elections. It worries me,” said Erhard Grundl, a Green party member of the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

Persons: “, ”, Erhard Grundl Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Germany, Moscow

☆ Sexism, Hate, Mental Illness: Why Are Men Randomly Punching Women?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Most were punched in the face — unprovoked, at random — in Manhattan south of Midtown and during the day. “I remember thinking it sounded so absurd that it couldn’t really have been a thing,” Ms. Pires, who comes to the city often, told me recently. The beauty of an accuser all too often breeds suspicion, however prejudicially, especially if the accuser is a TikTok influencer with more than a million followers. She registered that he was “quite well dressed,” but almost nothing else made an impression. Before she knew it he struck her with his fist, hitting her on the right side of her head.

Persons: Lisa Pires, Ms, Pires, ’ ” Halley McGookin, ” Organizations: Women’s Locations: New York, Amsterdam, Manhattan, Midtown, Essex

☆ Fenerbahçe players walk out of Super Cup final after a minute of play as club calls for ‘reset of Turkish football’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Sammy Mncwabe | Tanem Zaman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Turkish soccer club Fenerbahçe called for a “reset of Turkish football” before staging a walkout one minute into the Super Cup final against Galatasaray on Sunday, conceding the trophy. “It is time for a ‘reset’ for Turkish football. According to state news agency TRT, a decision about the abandoned Super Cup match will be made by the TFF. Turkish football has been engulfed in chaos recently with several high-profile incidents. Trabzonspor, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe have previously called for the resignation of TFF president Mehmet Büyükekşi and the current board.

Persons: Fenerbahçe, Mauro Icardi, Ali Koç, ”, Erden Timur, Stringer, Faruk Koca, Mehmet Büyükekşi Organizations: CNN, Turkish, Fenerbahçe, Super, Galatasaray, Sunday, Galatasaray’s Argentine, ” Galatasaray, Reuters CNN, Turkish Football Federation, TRT, TFF, Trabzonspor, Turkish Lira, Lig, club Ankaragücü, FIFA Locations: Istanbul, Turkish, Turkey

☆ There is no loneliness epidemic
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

With the report, a steady trickle of headlines about the epidemic turned into a firehose: "Loneliness is at epidemic levels and it's killing Americans" (USA Today); "This Epidemic of Isolation Is as Harmful as Smoking" (Bloomberg); "America's Loneliness Epidemic Comes for the Restaurant" (The Atlantic). There's one problem: The loneliness epidemic doesn't exist. Even the authors caution in their meta-analysis that "the frequently used term 'loneliness epidemic' seems exaggerated." Calling it a "loneliness epidemic," then, may be a bit like calling COVID a "sneezing pandemic." "There are many, many surveys that are just making up questions about loneliness and are not using the UCLA Loneliness Scale or some other validated loneliness scale," she says.

Persons: Vivek Murthy, Murthy, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Sen, Chris Murphy, Ruth, University of Michigan —, Eric Klinenberg, Julianne Holt, it's, Dave Sbarra, Holt, David Riesman, Lunstad, I've, —, Sbarra, Klinenberg, Adam Mastroianni, " Mastroianni, Mastroianni, Biden, isn't, Jill Lepore, voicemails, There's, Jerome Adams Organizations: Bloomberg, Business, York, Gallup, University of Michigan, New York University, Brigham Young University, University of Arizona, Bell, University of California Los, Commerce, UCLA, Republican, Democratic Locations: Connecticut, Brooklyn, University of California Los Angeles, America, Washington, DC, COVID

☆ Microsoft warns China will use AI to try to influence US elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new report from Microsoft shows how Chinese social-media accounts have used AI. The accounts target East Asian countries but also aim to influence US elections, per the report. AdvertisementMicrosoft says in a new report that China will use AI-generated media to influence elections in East Asian countries and the US. AdvertisementMany of the Chinese social-media messages ask followers to comment about which presidential candidates they support. Microsoft said the "accounts could be operating to increase intelligence gathering around key voting demographics within the United States."

Persons: —, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: Microsoft, CCP, Service, Microsoft Threat Intelligence, National Intelligence, Chinese Communist Party, Reuters, CIA Locations: China, East, East Asia, Hawaii, Kentucky, United States, PRC

The ethics charges that were brought against Clark by the DC Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel allege that he was dishonest and attempted to interfere with the administration of justice after the 2020 election. An attorney for Clark at the trial attempted to highlight how Clark was working on the behalf of the then-president after the election. But several former higher-ranking Justice Department officials, including then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and then-Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, testified at the trial that Clark’s efforts within the DOJ were out of line. Clark brought lawsuits challenging the validity of the DC Bar’s disciplinary proceedings against him. Others who worked for Trump after the election are also facing attorney discipline consequences, with each at different stages.

Persons: Jeffrey Clark, Donald, Clark, Trump, Jeffrey Rosen, Richard Donoghue, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump Justice Department, DC, DOJ, Trump, White, Former New York, disbarment, New Locations: Washington ,, Georgia, New York, California

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