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☆ Congress Looks to Improve Air Travel Through F.A.A. Reauthorization
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Kayla Guo | More About Kayla Guo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Congress is working to overhaul air travel at a time of growing dysfunction and disruption in the system, as lawmakers haggle over a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for the next half-decade and make a number of changes that could affect passengers. Republicans and the airline industry largely oppose new regulations of the industry intended to strengthen consumer protections. And Washington-area representatives have said they would block the measure if it allowed for more long-distance flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just outside the capital. But the House dispensed with some of the major potential obstacles on Wednesday night. It narrowly rejected, 229 to 205, a bipartisan proposal to add seven new round-trip flights to Reagan National Airport, potentially smoothing the road to final passage.

Persons: Ronald Reagan Organizations: Federal Aviation Administration, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Reagan National Airport Locations: Washington, Ronald Reagan Washington

Taipei/London CNN —China’s top financial regulators have fined Ant Group — the fintech firm founded by billionaire Jack Ma — about 7.1 billion yuan ($994 million) for breaking rules related to consumer protection and corporate governance. “We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance,” Ant Group said in a statement. Ant Group is an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which was also founded by Ma. In April 2021, Alibaba was fined 18.2 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) — a record for China — for behaving like a monopoly. Separately, China’s financial regulators also announced a fine of nearly 3 billion yuan ($415 million) for Tenpay, Tencent’s (TCEHY) online payment platform, according to information posted on the PBOC website on Friday.

Persons: London CNN —, Jack Ma —, Alibaba, Guo Shuqing, Ma Organizations: London CNN, Ant, China Securities Regulatory Commission, People’s Bank of China, National Financial Regulatory Administration, Ma, Communist Party, China, People’s Bank of, Xinhua, Ant Group Locations: Taipei, London, China, People’s Bank of China

☆ Meet the 91-year-old grandfather booking major fashion campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Jacquelyn Palumbo | Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Celine van HeelCNN —He’s louche and sun-kissed, effortlessly cool and 91 years old. Today, with a sizable social media following and major campaigns for Zara and adidas under his belt, The Spanish King is one of the oldest working models in Europe. Celine van Heel began photographing her grandfather while staying with him during Covid-19 lockdowns. “His look, the way he looks at the camera — it’s simple, but it really defines him,” van Heel said of the image. Van Heel believes her grandfather is the perfect example of why no one should feel the need to act their age.

Persons: Celine van Heel, He’s, Carro —, Caro, “, ” van Heel, Celine, ”, Celine van, van, Garcia, ” Schott, Van Heel, she’s, “ He’s, …, Heel, Carro, Van, —, he’s, tans, ” Van Heel, Carmen Dell’Orefice, Guo, Iris Apfel Organizations: Schott NYC, Celine van Heel CNN, Zara, adidas, Gran Canaria, moto, Schott Locations: Spanish, Europe, Covid, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Zara, Paris

☆ China's choice of PBOC party chief signals financial stability worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Pan, central bank deputy governor since 2012 who turns 60 this month, is not expected to deviate from China's measured pace of policy easing to support the recovery, analysts said. "His professional ability will help safeguard the bottom line of systemic financial risks, especially as the property sector is slowing, and fend off a big systemic crisis." In an unexpected move, the ruling Communist Party appointed Pan as the central bank's party secretary on Saturday, taking over from Guo Shuqing. China has taken a series of steps this year to tighten party control over the country's vast, but largely closed, financial system, including plans to set up the Central Financial Commission to oversee the PBOC and other financial regulators.

Persons: Gongsheng, Jason Lee, Pan, Yi Gang, Gu Tianyong, Guo Shuqing, Yi, Yi's, Zhou Xiaochuan, Zhou, Xu Hongcai, Marius Zaharia, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: People's Bank of China, National People's Congress, REUTERS, outflows, Reuters, cryptocurrencies, prudential, Central University of Finance, Economics, Communist Party, Pan, Street, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Central Financial Commission, China Association of Policy, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

☆ A Baltimore Party, a Hail of Gunfire and a Neighborhood Shattered
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Kayla Guo | Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In videos from a block party on Saturday night, hundreds of teenagers and young adults are seen dancing in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore and singing along to the lyrics of local rappers. As they shout and move their hands through the air, many hold up phones to record the revelry on a hot summer night. A barrage of gunfire had torn through the Brooklyn Day party in South Baltimore, leaving two young people dead and 28 more people wounded. Even for a city plagued by gun violence in recent years, the number of victims was staggering, representing more people than would sit in an average high school classroom. Over the past decade, only 10 other shootings in the United States have resulted in so many gunshot victims, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a research group, though many mass shootings have taken more lives.

Organizations: Brooklyn Day Locations: Brooklyn, Baltimore, South Baltimore, United States

☆ China's central bank gets a new party secretary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pan Gongsheng was named party secretary of the People's Bank of China on July 1, 2023. BEIJING — The People's Bank of China announced Saturday that Pan Gongsheng, head of the country's foreign exchange regulator, would become the central bank's party secretary. In a country ruled by the Communist Party of China, the party secretary of an institution typically holds the most sway. That institution was absorbed into the National Financial Regulatory Administration in a financial regulatory overhaul announced in March and is set to take effect this year. The administration's party secretary and director is Li Yunze, a rare minister-level appointee of the younger 1970s generation.

Persons: Pan Gongsheng, Gongsheng, Xi Jinping, Guo Shuqing, Li Yunze Organizations: People's Bank of China, Communist Party of China, China Banking, Insurance, Commission, National Financial Regulatory Administration Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China

Pan Gongsheng was appointed Saturday as the new Communist Party chief at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), in a surprise move as Beijing bolsters its drive to arrest the country’s economic slowdown and stem a slide in its currency. Pan currently serves as the deputy governor of the PBOC. “My initial reaction is this suggests Xi [Jinping] is more concerned about China’s economy than before the 20th Party Congress,” Thomas said. Since then, he has spent nearly two decades working at large state-owned banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). After returning to China, he was promoted to deputy governor at the PBOC in 2012.

Persons: Yi Gang, Pan Gongsheng, Janet Yellen, Pan, Yi, didn’t, Guo Shuqing, Neil Thomas, wasn’t, ” Thomas, Xi, Mao, Thomas, China’s, Biden, ” Organizations: Beijing CNN, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Communist Party, People’s Bank of China, Securities Times, CNN, Ant, Asia Society, Center for, Communist Party’s, Committee, 20th Party Congress, Wall Street Journal, Treasury Department, Renmin University of China, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, ABC, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Beijing, P Global, PMI Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, China, Shanghai, Center for China, United States, West

Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Not everyone with debt would have been covered under the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan. The Supreme Court has barred the Biden administration from carrying out its plan to extinguish up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt, and millions of borrowers will continue to struggle under the weight of their loans. Ms. Schmidt owes $64,000 in student debt, more than half of which is for her graduate work in nursing. But she’s already contemplating how she’ll finance her dream of becoming a civil rights lawyer, which typically requires an additional six figures in student debt. Yet her mother is still paying down student debt of her own.

Persons: Biden, Gina McDavitt, weren’t, Pell, “, ”, McDavitt, ” Ms, Ms, Monica Schmidt, Schmidt, Kevin Serna, Dorien Rogers, Rogers, Asha Anthony, she’s, —, Anthony, Mr, don’t, Joanna Leiserson, Brian Kaiser, “ I’m, Leiserson Organizations: Georgetown University, Biden, College of San, San Francisco State University, The New York Times, University of Phoenix, Northern Illinois University, Public, Schaun, Tax, Howard University, Salisbury University, The New York, Republicans Locations: Washington ,, College of San Mateo, Bay, Vallejo , Calif, Genoa, Ill, Germantown, Md, Credit, Montgomery County, Mesa, Maryland, Spokane, —, forbearance

☆ Congress has the power to forgive student loans, but it’s exceedingly unlikely to do so.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Kayla Guo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday striking down President Biden’s student debt cancellation initiative effectively punts the issue to Congress, where it is all but certain to go unaddressed. In overturning Mr. Biden’s $400 billion proposal to cancel student loans for 40 million Americans, the court said that he had overstepped his authority and that such an expansive program needed explicit approval by Congress. Republicans had said they would block the proposal if the Supreme Court did not, though their multiple efforts to do so have not succeeded. In their initial bill to lift the debt ceiling, approved along party lines in April, House Republicans included a measure that would have axed the debt cancellation plan and lifted a temporary pause on payments put in place during the pandemic. But that bill died once debt ceiling negotiations began between the White House and Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Persons: Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: Congress, Republicans, White

your moneyThere are still plenty of ways to get your student debt wiped away. That’s because the Supreme Court’s disapproval of the plan does not change laws and regulations that already give many federal student loan borrowers an escape hatch. What follows is a list of ways to eliminate your federal student loan balance aside from paying in full. If you know someone who is struggling with student loan debt, suggest that the borrower review every last option. Bankruptcy DischargeYes, you can discharge your student loan debt by filing for personal bankruptcy.

Persons: Biden’s, —, It’s, Biden, Tara Siegel Bernard, Ann Carrns, Ann, Donald J, Trump, Tara Organizations: U.S . Department of Education, Education Department, Public, Westwood College, Corinthian Colleges, DeVry University, ITT Technical Institute, Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs Locations: forbearance

☆ How Easy Is It to Fool A.I.-Detection Tools?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Stuart A. Thompson | Tiffany Hsu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

“Real” Umm-maybe “Real” Illuminarty “A.I.” A.I. or Not “A.I.” Hive “A.I.” Sensity “Real” Umm-maybe “Real” Illuminarty “Real” A.I. or Not “A.I.” Hive “A.I.” Sensity “Real” Umm-maybe “Real” Illuminarty “A.I.” A.I. or Not “A.I.” Hive “Real” Sensity “A.I.” Umm-maybe “Real” Illuminarty “A.I.” A.I. or Not “A.I.” Hive “A.I.” Sensity “A.I.” Umm-maybe “Real” Illuminarty “Real” A.I.

Persons: Elon Musk, ”, Musk, Chenhao Tan, “, I’m, Ron DeSantis, Cynthia Rudin, Dan Lytle, Midjourney, Kevin Guo, ” Mr, Guo, Biden, Damon Winter, Sensity, Jackson Pollock, Pollock, Marc Fibbens, Shyam Sundar, Sundar Organizations: New York Times, Guerrero Art, Times, University of Chicago, Republican, Duke University, Hive, Photoshop, The Times, The New York Times, Industry, A.I, Center, Intelligence, Pennsylvania State University Locations: A.I, Florida, “, Gettysburg, Pa, New Zealand

☆ It's only a matter of time before A.I. chatbots are teaching in primary schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Mikaela Cohen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

AI is already sending waves throughout education, with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates saying AI chatbots can teach kids to read in 18 months rather than years. Younger generations are surrounded by digital tools, and experts say it's only a matter of time before classrooms are immersed in AI. AI for routine learning, teachers for personalized lessonsAI, and specifically chatbots backed by programmed large language models, can help students, from primary education to certification programs, self-guide through voluminous materials and tailor their education to specific learning styles. With the rise of AI, teachers can transition from being a general practitioner to more of a specialist, where they can focus on helping kids with particular issues and specific concepts, he added. AI can also help teachers leverage existing knowledge and content, so they can repurpose it and dramatically reduce their workload, Guo said.

Persons: Bill Gates, Sarah Guo, Danny King, King, Guo, It's Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Harvard, MIT Locations: McGraw

☆ Founders and VCs are clamoring to get into this $68 million AI hacker house. Here's how the AGI House exploded into a community hub for the red-hot Bay Area AI scene.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In February, the AGI House launched as a community hub for the buzzy Bay Area AI scene. Since launching in February this year, it's served as a hacker house and community hub for the Bay's exploding AI scene. Depending on the day, the residence houses between eight to ten AI founders and researchers, including a researcher from AI giant OpenAI. Stephanie PalazzoloFrom flying cars to fireside conversationsThe AGI House wasn't always the AGI House. "It's great to live in a community house where you're naturally connected to the AI founder community," she said.

Persons: Steve Jobs, Elon, it's, Demi Guo, Stephanie Palazzolo, wasn't, Andrej Karpathy, Rocky Yu, Karpathy, Sergey Brin, Kelly Peng, Yu, Jeremy Nixon, Tim Shi, Lerer Hippeau, Peng, Guo, There's, Greylock's, Corinne Riley AGI, they're Organizations: AGI, Technologies, Genesis, Foundation Capital Locations: buzzy, Hillsborough, Stanford, Alamo, LA, AGI, New York City, Stanford's

☆ Who paid the $500,000 to bail George Santos out of jail? We'll probably find out on Thursday.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of three people are on the hook for $500,000 to keep Rep. George Santos out of jail. On Thursday at noon Eastern Time, documents revealing the identities of the three people who paid the scandal-plagued congressman's $500,000 bond will be unsealed after US District Judge Joanna Seybert denied Santos' most recent appeal. The judge allowed Santos to walk free instead of going to jail ahead of trial on the condition that he stays in Washington, DC and New York, and agrees to a $500,000 bond. But in a highly unusual decision, the magistrate judge who imposed the bond allowed the identities of those bail sponsors to remain secret. One of the three people who originally agreed to sponsor the bond already dropped out, Murray said.

Persons: George Santos, —, Joanna Seybert, Santos, Joseph Murray, Murray, Guo Wengui, GUO Organizations: Rep, Service Locations: George Santos of New York, Washington , DC, New York

☆ Republicans, Claiming Double Standard, Vow to Keep Investigating Bidens
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Kayla Guo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Congressional Republicans on Tuesday blasted the plea deal Hunter Biden reached with the Justice Department, accusing President Biden of orchestrating a lenient penalty for his son and promising to intensify their investigations of the Biden family. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the agreement, in which Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay taxes on time and could avoid prosecution on a separate gun charge, “continues to show the two-tier system in America.”He and many other Republicans drew a contrast between the charges against Mr. Biden and the 37-count indictment the Justice Department unsealed this month against former President Donald J. Trump on charges that he mishandled highly classified national security documents and lied to and obstructed investigators looking into the matter. “If you are the president’s leading political opponent, D.O.J. tries to literally put in you jail and give you prison time,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol. “If you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal.”

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden, Kevin McCarthy, “, Mr, Donald J, Trump, D.O.J, ” Mr, McCarthy, ” Organizations: Tuesday, Justice Department, Department, Capitol Locations: America

☆ As China's intelligence capabilities grow, spying becomes an increasing flashpoint in ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

They underscore how intelligence gathering – an activity meant to go on without detection, out of the public eye – is becoming an increasingly prominent flashpoint in the US-China relationship. That pushes intelligence gathering itself to become “another factor that is complicating US-China relations,” he said. That’s especially the case, experts say, as China continues to expand its own intelligence gathering capabilities – catching up in an area where the US has traditionally had an edge. Other arms of the Communist Party apparatus also play a role in activities beyond conventional intelligence gathering, experts say. Heightened concern and awareness about Chinese intelligence gathering – or the potential for it – has exploded in the US in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bill Burns, ”, Lyle Morris, Christopher Johnson, “, there’s, they’ve, Johnson, Xi Jinping, That’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Xi, Hector Retamal, –, TikTok –, Edward Snowden, ’, Shou Zi Chew, Jabin, John Delury, John T, Downey, Delury Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US, White House, CIA, CNN, Asia Society, Center for, Central Intelligence Agency, China, Group, U.S . Navy, AP, Guilford College, People’s Liberation Army, Ministry of State Security, Communist Party, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, The New York Times, Huawei, TikTok, Tiktok, US Justice Department, China Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Agency, US Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, China ”, Energy, Commerce, Capitol, Washington Post, Subversion Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Beijing, American, Cuba, US, Center for China, South, Russia, AFP, Washington, USA, South China, Washington , DC

☆ How tech companies are working to help detect AI-generated images
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In recent months, an AI-generated image of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket went viral and AI-generated images of former President Donald Trump getting arrested were widely shared, shortly before he was indicted. Some lawmakers are now calling for tech companies to address the problem. Reality Defender and Hive Moderation are working on the former. Other tech companies like Google appear to be pursuing a playbook that pulls a bit from both approaches. “We need everybody to participate.”For now, however, tech companies continue to move forward with pushing more AI tools into the world.

Persons: Jeffrey McGregor, “ We’re, we’re, ”, McGregor, ” McGregor, Pope Francis, Donald Trump, Vera Jourova, –, “, Dall, ChatGPT, ” Hany Farid, ” Farid, Tom Cruise deepfake, ” Ben Colman, Kevin Guo, ” Guo, —, Andy Parsons, Bing, Farid, ” Parsons Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft, ” Tech, European, Google, Meta, Big Tech, Reality, University of California, CNN, Realty, “, Coalition, Adobe, CAI, BBC, Intel, Sony Locations: New York, EU, Berkeley

☆ Is indicted Chinese billionaire tycoon Guo Wengui secretly bankrolling George Santos's bail?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

In recent months, he's become supportive of exiled Chinese tycoon and Republican patron Guo Wengui. There's a very strong chance that one person putting up the money — directly or indirectly — is the jailed exiled Chinese billionaire tycoon Guo Wengui. Even Ghislaine Maxwell and SBF didn't get this kind of secrecySantos certainly doesn't want us to know who these bond sponsors are. (An affinity for using multiple names, which are variations of each other, is something Guo shares with George Anthony Devolder Santos.) So, is Guo one of Santos's bail sponsors?

Persons: George Santos's, you'll, Santos, he's, Guo Wengui, —, George Santos, Ghislaine Maxwell, SBF didn't, Joanna Seybert, Jeremy A, Chase, Alexandra Settelmayer, Davis Wright Tremaine, Lokman Vural, Sam Bankman, Larry Kramer, Andreas Paepcke —, Lewis Kaplan, Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein, Maxwell, Guo, Steve Bannon, Forbes, Miles Kwok, Carlo Allegri, Bannon, Miles Guo, George Anthony Devolder Santos, Cait Corrigan, Santos didn't, Joe Murray, Guo didn't, Santos doesn't Organizations: Service, Rep, Republican, New York Times, US, Federal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Stanford University, REUTERS, New Federal, Chinese Communist Party, Law Foundation, Law Society, Santos, Justice Department Locations: New York, Long, Santos, Washington, DC, Central Islip, Central Islip , New York, Manhattan, United States, China, New Federal State of China, New Federal State

Andreessen Horowitz is preparing to launch a fund of funds to invest in other startup backers. A16z has already been courting up-and-coming fund managers at events in San Francisco and LA. The venture-capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz has in recent months been in discussions to form a fund of funds focused on early-stage investing, according to multiple people familiar with the project. In recent months, the firm has started to court up-and-coming fund managers with events in San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to three sources familiar with the firm's plans. Partners at crossover fund Tiger Global tried a similar strategy in recent years, committing $1 billion to back an array of early-stage venture funds.

☆ I Got My Name From Connie Chung. So Did They. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Connie Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

In my freshman class alone, there was a Connie Zheng, a Connie Guo, a Connie Xu, a few Connie Chengs, and multiple Connie Wangs. That ayi was Constance Yu-Hwa Chung, or, as the world knows her, Connie Chung. Connie Chung hosting the “CBS Evening News” in 1991, the year after the author named herself Connie. Connie Wang Connie Koh Connie Yang Connie Tang Connie Jang Connie Chung Connie Moy Connie Huang Connie Kwok Connie Chang Connie Sun Connie Chung, center, surrounded by 10 members of Generation Connie. Clockwise from top right, Connie Yang, Connie Tang, Connie Moy, Connie Sun, Connie Chang, Connie Kwok, Connie Huang, Connie Jang, Connie Wang and Connie Koh.

☆ Chinese businessman Guo Wengui appeals bail denial in fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Guo Wengui, once a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser Steve Bannon, was arrested in March. Guo pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and concealing money laundering. The 52-year-old defendant, whose other names include Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, is a prominent critic of China's Communist Party. He left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown under President Xi Jinping. Bannon was arrested in a 2020 fraud case while aboard Guo's yacht.

☆ Rihanna puts her own spin on the Chanel bride at the Met Gala
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Alton Mason, the first Black man to walk in a Chanel show, and Penelope Cruz also put their own spins on Lagerfeld’s Chanel bride, among other attendees. Rihanna stole the show in 2015 with this Guo Pei yellow gown at the "China: Through The Looking Glass" Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesRihanna is also known for arriving to the Met Gala fashionably late. (Anna Wintour joked in a Vogue “73 Questions” video that Rihanna is one of the only celebrities allowed to arrive late to the Met Gala). She skipped out on last year’s Met Gala — giving birth to her first child later that May.

☆ How Runway's idea for AI-driven video and photo editing and generation went from a "crazy" concept to a Silicon Valley darling worth half a billion dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When Runway's founders first came up with the idea for an AI art startup, they were called crazy. Now, the generative AI startup has become a fan favorite of VCs and the public alike. When Cristóbal Valenzuela began building his generative AI company Runway in 2018, investors, filmmakers, and advertisers told the cofounder that he was crazy. "They were saying, 'why would you want to build AI tools for video and filmmaking?'" Many of these features were developed hand-in-hand with customers, who often described to Runway the problems and obstacles they ran into while creating videos, Valenzuela said.

☆ Fugees rapper convicted in US over lobbying campaigns with Malaysian financier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Nathan HowardWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday convicted Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of The Fugees hip hop group on criminal charges that he conspired with a Malaysian financier to orchestrate a series of foreign lobbying campaigns aimed at influencing the U.S. government under two presidents. Low, who also faces separate federal charges in New York that he embezzled $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, remains at large. Because federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to U.S. campaigns, prosecutors said Michel masked the source of the funds. "Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money," Michel told the jury, describing the payment as "free money." On whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, Michel told jurors that his attorney George Higgenbotham never told him it was required by law.

☆ Pras Michel found guilty in scheme to help China influence US government
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In his defense, Michel testified he never used the money at Low’s direction but instead saw it as his money which he could spend however he wanted. According to the prosecutors, Low directed over $100 million to Michel to help push the government, including Trump, to drop its investigation into Low. Prosecutors also say Michel advocated for the extradition of a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, on behalf of the Chinese government. Michel, however, testified he only tried to help Low find an attorney in the US and only told authorities about Guo because he thought he was a criminal. Low, who was charged along with Michel, is believed to be in China.

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