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☆ Biden's student-debt relief reform plans are paving the way for an 'untold amount about to be billed to the American people,' GOP House lawmakers say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Republicans continue to criticize Biden's student-debt relief plans. They said Americans will be billed an "untold amount" from proposed reforms to repayment plans. As broad debt relief remains stalled in court, Biden has moved forward with other targeted reforms for borrowers. "There is an untold amount about to be billed to the American people," they wrote. "The sooner we defeat GOP officials' baseless legal action, the sooner we can deliver student debt relief to hard-working Americans."

☆ Ukraine urges tougher Western squeeze on Russian oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Saturday for a lower price cap on Russian oil than the one agreed to by Ukraine's Western supporters, while Russian authorities called the $60-per-barrel cap harmful to free, stable markets. The cap is set to take effect Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea. "It would be necessary to lower it to $30 in order to destroy the enemy's economy faster," Yermak wrote on Telegram, staking out a position also favored by Poland — a leading critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Washington insisted that Russian oil "will continue to be in demand" and criticized the price limit as "reshaping the basic principles of the functioning of free markets." A post on the embassy's Telegram channel predicted the per-barrel cap would lead to "a widespread increase in uncertainty and higher costs for consumers of raw materials."

☆ E.U. warns Musk to beef up Twitter controls ahead of new rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Musk has signaled an interest in rolling back many of Twitter’s previous rules meant to combat misinformation, most recently by abandoning enforcement of its COVID-19 misinformation policy. He already reinstated some high-profile accounts that had violated Twitter’s content rules and had promised a “general amnesty” restoring most suspended accounts starting this week. Along with European regulators, Musk risks running afoul of Apple and Google, which power most of the world’s smartphones. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen walked back her statements about whether Musk’s purchase of Twitter warrants government review. She declined to confirm whether CFIUS is currently investigating Musk’s Twitter purchase.

☆ Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seeks more autonomy from Canada in new bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - The government of Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta introduced proposed legislation on Tuesday to resist federal laws it deems harmful to Alberta, fulfilling a controversial promise from new Premier Danielle Smith. If passed, the bill, known as the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, would give the province a legislative framework to defend its jurisdiction in areas such as natural resources, gun control, and health and education. Trudeau avoided commenting directly on the Sovereignty Act when asked by reporters on Tuesday. Smith became premier in early October and promised to introduce the Sovereignty Act as her first piece of legislation. read moreThe government said nothing in the proposed act undermines any existing treaties with First Nations.

☆ Musk plans to relaunch Twitter premium service, again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON — Elon Musk said Friday that Twitter plans to relaunch its premium service that will offer different colored check marks to accounts next week, in a fresh move to revamp the service after a previous attempt backfired. Twitter previously suspended the premium service, which under Musk granted blue-check labels to anyone paying $8 a month, because of a wave of imposter accounts. Originally, the blue check was given to government entities, corporations, celebrities and journalists verified by the platform to prevent impersonation. In the latest version, companies will get a gold check, governments will get a gray check, and individuals who pay for the service, whether or not they’re celebrities, will get a blue check, Musk said Friday. It’s also likely to put the company on a crash course with European regulators seeking to clamp down on harmful online content with tough new rules.

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter is granting ‘amnesty’ to suspended accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's Twitter account displayed on a mobile with Elon Musk in the background are seen in this illustration. New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting "amnesty" for suspended accounts, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation. In the month since Musk took over Twitter, groups that monitor the platform for racist, anti-Semitic and other toxic speech say it's been on the rise on the world's de facto public square. On Oct. 28, the day after he took control, Musk tweeted that no suspended accounts would be reinstated until Twitter formed a "content moderation council" with diverse viewpoints that would consider the cases. A report from the European Union published Thursday said Twitter took longer to review hateful content and removed less of it this year compared with 2021.

☆ Rail workers at biggest unions split on contract, strike potential unclear
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Workers at two of the country's biggest rail unions split over a tentative contract their leaders had hashed out with freight rail companies — leaving open the possibility of a debilitating rail strike in the middle of the holiday season. The 28,000-member SMART-TD union, which represents rail conductors, voted no on the contract, after one of their divisions voted it down. A strike could also impact the country’s commuter rail system, with the potential to halt service entirely on some lines serviced by freight rail workers and cause backlogs and traffic snarls on others. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which represents rail companies in the bargaining process warned about the economic threats of a strike. The Association of American Railroads, the trade group which represents the rail companies, estimates losses of $2 billion a day.

☆ FTX's bankruptcy filings show the situations is much worse than anyone thought. From a million creditors to a stunning lack of oversight, here are the craziest details.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The downfall of crypto exchange FTX has led to a bankruptcy filing that is full of crazy details. From billion dollar loans to accountants in the metaverse, these are the craziest details of the FTX bankruptcy filing. In reality, according to the bankruptcy filing, FTX's crypto holdings have a fair value of just $659,000 as of September 30. FTX didn't have an accounting departmentRay said in the bankruptcy filing that FTX had compromised internal systems, faulty regulatory oversight, and inexperienced and unsophisticated people in charge of the company's finances. "In fact, there could be more than one million creditors in these Chapter 11 Cases," the bankruptcy filing said.

CIA officer Johnny "Mike" Spann. Tyson tried to come to his aid after hearing Spann call his first name, and found four men on top of Spann, Tyson said. “But when it mattered, he ran towards his comrade — Mike Spann. Having already lost her husband to the war, Spann said the chaotic U.S. exit from Afghanistan and its aftermath have been incredibly painful to watch. Nutsch is part of the group now working to help former Afghan allies escape the Taliban.

☆ Gen Z's not lazy — they're just refusing to put up with the toxic work culture that Boomers created
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kim Kelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"And I personally think that all of us in Gen Z, when we experienced that with our parents, we were like, 'Fuck that. And now, Gen Z is turning to organizing as a way to stand up to corporate bosses. But she and her Gen Z peers are not ready to accept that mode of thinking. Put simply, young workers want something better than their parents had and aren't afraid to seek it out. Because if there is one quality that Gen Z has in spades, it is audacity — and no mass movement has ever succeeded without it.

☆ They were on the run from the Taliban, abandoned by their US allies — until a Wall Street banker decided to smuggle them out of Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Nina Burleigh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

His daughter worked for the US-backed government in Kabul, prosecuting the Taliban and their followers for acts of violence against women. The war in Afghanistan effectively began on 9/11, with the attacks on Wall Street and the Pentagon. Last summer, when the Taliban overran Kabul, Calbos was in Greece visiting his father. "I see kind of a mirror image to mine in his history and his family," Calbos says. With the clock ticking on the family's temporary visas, Calbos scrambled to arrange a flight out of Pakistan.

☆ Cuba calls U.S. trade embargo a 'hurricane' that never ends
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAVANA, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Cuba on Wednesday said the decades-old U.S. trade embargo has been causing record financial losses and untold human suffering in recent months, at a time when Cuba was also battling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made the comments at the launch of an annual campaign for a United Nations resolution condemning the trade embargo, which was put in place after Cuba's 1959 revolution. He said Cuba was grateful for the U.S. aid but was still crippled by the embargo, which he called a "hurricane" that never ceases to batter the island. The U.N. General Assembly will vote on Nov. 2 and 3 on a non-binding resolution condemning the trade embargo. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dave Sherwood and Nelson Acosta, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Black Adam' review: Dwayne Johnson stars as the antihero in a drab addition to the DC Universe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —“Black Adam” features a protagonist of almost unlimited power, which only makes its puny script more conspicuous. There’s simply no getting around the clunkiness of the dialogue, or the sense “Black Adam” overestimates the character’s appeal. Times being what they are, playing an actual superhero represents an inevitable addition to Johnson’s action resume, and “Black Adam” (setting aside “DC’s League of Super-Pets”) checks off that box. “Black Adam” premieres October 21 in US theaters and is rated PG-13. DC and Warner Bros., which is distributing the movie, are units of Warner Bros.

☆ Iran’s Evin Prison Set on Fire as Protests Spread
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Benoit Faucon | Aresu Eqbali | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters during a demonstration at Trafalgar Square in London following the September death in Iranian police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained for allegedly not adhering to strict Islamic dress code. TEHRAN—A fire on Saturday engulfed an Iranian detention center known for holding political prisoners, including protesters from the demonstrations sweeping the country, as an uprising against the Islamic Republic entered its second month with no signs of abating. Since opening five decades ago under the shah, Evin prison has been a symbol of political repression in Iran. It is the detention center for an untold number of protesters who have demonstrated against the Iranian government since the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman in police custody for allegedly not adhering to strict Islamic dress code, authorities said.

☆ Shein factory employees are working 18-hour days for pennies per garment and washing their hair on lunch breaks because they have so little time off, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Workers who make clothes sold on Shein get as little as 4 cents for each item they make, according to a new investigation. They often work 18-hour days with one day off per month, Channel 4 and The i newspaper reported. Some workers even wash their hair on their lunch breaks because they have so little time left after work, according to the report. Employees are hit with a fine amounting to two-thirds of their daily wages if they make even one mistake, according to the report. In one of the factories, female employees washed their hair on their lunch breaks because there is so little time left after work.

☆ How the filmmakers behind ‘Till’ depicted Black trauma without showing violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The problem with ‘Black trauma porn’“Black trauma porn” – much like “disaster porn” or “poverty porn” – generally refers to graphic depictions of violence against Black people that are intended to elicit strong emotional responses. The implication is that these images can be needlessly traumatizing to Black viewers for whom violence is an inescapable fact of life. “There’s a difference between telling a story of Black trauma and telling a story that is ‘Black trauma porn.’”How Till avoids the trap of ‘trauma porn’What, then, is the line between a story of Black trauma and “Black trauma porn?”For Young, the distinguishing factor is context. Put bluntly, is that depiction of Black trauma intended to appeal to the sympathies of White people? It’s notable that many of the recent projects deemed to be “Black trauma porn” have been the work of Black creatives – an obvious reminder that Black people are not a monolith.

There is no evidence that any school has deployed litter boxes for students to use because they identify as cats. The rumor of litter boxes in schools appears to have begun among parents on social media, and one of the first schools to confront the falsehood was in Canada last fall. Catalina Lauf, a Republican congressional nominee in Illinois, tweeted this month that schoolchildren were using litter boxes in her state. Some say litter boxes are located in “transgender bathrooms” in schools. Meanwhile on TikTok, one video claiming “kids are now requesting litter boxes at school” collected 3 million views on the platform.

☆ Cramer shares personal stories about the perils of market timing: You must be right twice
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Do we stay in the stock market, or do we fold? Market timing is a fool's game because you have to know when to get out and then you have to know when to get back in. Three days later, the stock market crashed. Sure, in 1987 it was the mechanics of the stock market and the economy was fine. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Trying to salvage his summit at Doral, Trump himself phoned the group at Camp David, and the moderates gave the president an earful as well. That fall, Bade and Demirjian write, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and House GOP Whip Steve Scalise had desperately tried to hold the line and keep Republicans unified against Democrats' first impeachment probe into Trump. That weekend at Camp David, Bade and Demirjian write, moderate Republicans "charged the president’s chief of staff like a pack of wolves." Mulvaney had suggested to his boss inviting a group of wavering Republicans to Camp David. “We don’t want to have to defend you on this,” Wagner told him, suggesting that he host the G-7 at Camp David.

The doctor sent along the questions and answers and received a resounding “no” from the PR official: “We ask that you do not comment to the NY Times at this time.”“They’re censoring me,” the doctor told CNN. Even when they are permitted to speak about abortion as private citizens, these doctors say, their employers have made it clear that they would prefer the doctors not talk at all, and so they have hesitated to speak up. UT Southwestern isn’t the only medical center that has been hesitant to allow their doctors to speak with the media. About 10 hospitals and medical practices said no, Wade told CNN. And I thought we would use our position as a respected women’s health institution to continue to educate about the impact these laws have on women’s health,” she told CNN.

☆ Amazon Labor Union faces next showdown in upstate New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The next month, that same group, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), fell short at a smaller facility across the street. On Wednesday, workers at an Amazon facility near Albany, New York, will begin voting on whether to join the ALU and become the second unionized Amazon warehouse in the United States. It also comes as Amazon has still not formally recognized the union in Staten Island or come to the bargaining table. Chris Smalls, a leader of the Amazon Labor Union, leads a march of Starbucks and Amazon workers and their allies to the homes of their CEOs to protest union busting on Labor Day, September 5, 2022, in New York City, New York. “I think they have an uphill battle ahead,” Kochan said of the union vote at the ALB1 facility.

☆ Kevin McCarthy berated a Republican congresswoman who voted for Trump's impeachment until she cried, book says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin McCarthy reportedly berated Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler until she cried in a February 2021 meeting. McCarthy reportedly yelled at Beutler. Both McCarthy and Herrera Beutler have denied the report. Herrera Beutler was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for incitement of an insurrection following the attacks, and was recently defeated in her primary by Trump-backed candidate Joe Kent. In a rare joint statement issued to book authors Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian, both members of Congress denied the account.

☆ At least 66 clinics in 15 states have stopped providing abortions since Dobbs, analysis finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

At least 66 clinics in 15 states have stopped providing abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, according to a new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights research organization. The analysis notes that those states had 79 total clinics that provided abortions before the Dobbs decision, compared with 13 today. All of the remaining open clinics are in Georgia, where a law prohibits abortions once a "detectable human heartbeat is present." The most closings were in Texas, where at least a dozen clinics shuttered, the Guttmacher analysis says. Planned Parenthood also provides STD testing, pregnancy testing, transgender hormone therapy and primary care services, according to its website.

Elon Musk could be facing up to $100 million in personal legal fees after renewing his offer to buy Twitter. Both Twitter and Musk employed over 50 lawyers in the months leading up to the trial. A lot of the cost, of course, is going straight to the lawyers and major firms Musk and Twitter employed. He added that hourly billing is unlikely to be how Musk and Twitter were solely charged in this case. Are you legal professional involved in Musk vs. Twitter or someone with insight to share?

☆ Neither Bolsonaro nor Lula is the best choice for Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-02 | by ( Arick Wierson | Arick Wierson Is A Six-Time Emmy Award-Winning Television Producer | A Former Senior Aide To Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He Advises Political | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Although Brazil is a multi party country, Sunday’s election has been distilled down to a choice between which of the two viable candidates running is capable of doing the least amount of harm. Sadly, no matter which way the Brazilian electorate decides to go, it will almost certainly mark a wrong turn. The end result is a large number of reluctant voters who cast a vote for a candidate begrudgingly. In many respects, these pressing problems are the result of the policies and actions of Brazilian leadership over the past two decades — inextricably linked to both the Lula and Bolsonaro administrations. While Lula’s track record on the environment is mixed at best, Bolsonaro’s anti-environmental agenda has never been a secret.

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