DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

County election boards in Georgia are not allowed to refuse to certify election results, a state judge ruled on Tuesday. “If election superintendents were, as Plaintiff urges, free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge and so -- because of a unilateral determination of error or fraud -- refuse to certify election results, Georgia voters would be silenced. McBurney said the law was clear when it says that county officials "shall" certify the results. She is one of a growing number of Georgia officials who have refused to certify election results since 2020, worrying election experts that county officials might try and block the routine certification of election results in the name of baseless conspiracy theories. Adding to these concerns, the Republican-controlled Georgia State Election Board voted earlier this year to allow local boards to conduct “reasonable inquiry” into election results.

Persons: Robert McBurney, Donald Trump, McBurney, Lord, construe, Julie Adams, Adams, Cleta, Gabriel Sterling Organizations: Republican, Fulton County, Registration, Trump, Network, Georgia Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Fulton

☆ Judge pauses rule that would require Georgia counties to hand-count ballots
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Sara Murray | Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A judge in Georgia has paused a new rule from the Georgia State Election Board that would have required officials to hand-count the number of ballots cast at each polling place, criticizing state election officials for approving it so close to Election Day. The hand-count rule is the subject of litigation on multiple fronts and a separate hearing on the matter is set for Wednesday. Passed by the Donald Trump-backed Republican majority on the state election board, the rule would require officials at a polling place to match the number of ballots tallied by voting machines with a hand-count of the number of ballots cast. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has noted the state took several steps to speed up the reporting of results in Georgia this year. He has said the hand-count rule could delay the reporting of results, foster an atmosphere for misinformation and present chain of custody issues for ballots.

Persons: CNN —, “, Robert McBurney, SEB, wouldn’t, Harris, Donald Trump, Brad Raffensperger, McBurney, ”, ” McBurney Organizations: CNN, Board, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Party of Georgia, Republican Locations: Georgia, ” Fulton County

☆ Nicolas Cage’s son ‘voluntarily surrendered himself’ to LAPD following an April incident
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Dan Heching | Sarah Moon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Nicolas Cage’s son Weston Cage has turned himself in to police in Los Angeles after an incident that took place earlier this year. When I arrived to offer support and console him, he was already in the midst of a manic rage. “As a mother, I am deeply saddened and concerned about Weston’s on-going mental health crisis. It is imperative that he receives the help he desperately needs.”CNN has reached out to LAPD for further comment, as well as to representatives for Nicolas Cage and Weston Cage. Weston Cage, a 33-year-old musician and actor, is Nicolas Cage’s eldest child.

Persons: CNN — Nicolas Cage’s, Weston Cage, Cage “, ”, “, ” “, Weston’s, Christina Fulton, ” Fulton, Nicolas Cage, Nicolas Cage’s Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles, Cage, Police Locations: Los Angeles

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Relatives of Tyre Nichols, George Floyd and Eric Garner — three Black men killed in violent confrontations with police officers — expressed frustration Friday with politicians who have failed to pass police reform legislation or have worked to invalidate laws intended to reduce chances that citizens' encounters with police end in death. Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, told an audience at a police violence symposium in Memphis that the time has come for Congress to pass a federal law that would ban certain police tactics such as chokeholds and no-knock warrants. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, proposed after Floyd died in Minneapolis in May 2020 after a white police officer pressed his knee to his neck for more than nine minutes, was passed by the House in 2021, but the Senate failed to reach a consensus. “You need to know your politicians ... because these are people that are not applying pressure to help,” Floyd said. Nichols' parents said they are seeking to meet with Lee, who has never vetoed a bill.

Persons: Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, Eric Garner —, —, Philonise Floyd, Floyd, ” Floyd, “ I'm, Nichols, RowVaughn Wells, Rodney Wells, Gwen Carr, Garner, Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin, United, Bill Lee, Republican Donald Trump, Lee, it's, ” Fulton, George Zimmerman, She's, Florida's, Fulton, Ron DeSantis, “, Carr, Eric Garner, Garner's, ”, Weeks, Michael Brown, Andrew Cuomo, “ It's, There's Organizations: George Floyd Justice, House, Senate, National Civil Rights Museum, Black Memphis, City Council, Republican, Tennessee General Assembly, Tennessee Gov, Florida's Republican Gov, Gov Locations: MEMPHIS, Tenn, Memphis, Minneapolis, Black, Tennessee, Florida, New York, Ferguson , Missouri

☆ Opinion: Fani Willis and Nathan Wade need to step aside for the sake of the country
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Opinion William Cooper | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“The optics are horrific,” Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney said about the fundraiser before disqualifying Willis and her staff from pursuing charges against Jones in July 2022. More recently, Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to help with Trump’s prosecution. Wade hasn’t just billed Fulton County over $650,000 under Willis’ supervision; he’s done so in irregular fashion. Combined with his personal relationship with Willis, they raise significant questions, including whether any of his outsized earnings have benefited Willis. If Willis and Wade step aside, other competent lawyers can make the case that Trump violated the law.

Persons: William Cooper, Substack, Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Sen, Burt Jones, Willis, Robert McBurney, disqualifying Willis, Jones, Nathan Wade, Michael Roman’s, Wade, Attorney Willis, Trump’s, Brad Raffensperger, “, ” Trump, Raffensperger, team’s misjudgments, Wade’s, Wade hasn’t, Willis ’, ”, Scott McAfee, Trump, it’s Organizations: CNN, District, Republican, Trump, Attorney, Fulton County prosecutorial Locations: California, Fulton County , Georgia, Republican Georgia, Fulton County, United States, Georgia, Fulton

☆ Fulton County faces ransomware attack by ‘financially motivated actors,’ but county elections still on track
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Alta Spells | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Officials in Georgia’s Fulton County, which includes parts of Atlanta, said Wednesday that “financially motivated” hackers appeared to be behind a ransomware attack that has disrupted key county services for weeks. The leak will only up the stakes for Fulton County to get a handle on a cyberattack that has hobbled services for weeks. The group that claimed Fulton County as a victim is a prolific group known as LockBit. It’s unclear if there has been any communication between Fulton County and the hackers. Fulton County’s ransomware attack comes amid a years-long effort by the US government to limit the damage of ransomware attacks on local governments, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.

Persons: “, Robb Pitts, Pitts, Fani Willis, Donald Trump, ” Pitts, LockBit, Fulton County’s, Cybercriminals, ” Alexander Leslie Organizations: CNN, Fulton, LockBit, Commercial Bank of China Locations: Georgia’s Fulton County, Atlanta, Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Fulton, Fulton County , Georgia

☆ Tex McIver — an Atlanta attorney sentenced to life — may walk out of prison after admitting he killed his wife
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Christina Maxouris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Behind Diane sat her husband, Claud Lee “Tex” McIver, an attorney with powerful political connections, with a gun in his lap. Claud "Tex" McIver enters the courtroom holding a bible filled with papers before his sentencing at the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta in May 2018. A family photo of Tex McIver and his wife, Diane. “There is no doubt that Tex McIver depended on his wife’s money,” defense attorney Bruce Harvey said in trial. Tex McIver pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his wife, Diane, on Friday, January 26, 2024.

Persons: Dani Jo Carter, Carter, Diane McIver, Diane, Claud Lee “ Tex ” McIver, “ Tex, ” Diane muttered, Claud, Tex, McIver, Alyssa Pointer, Fani Willis, retry McIver, Robert McBurney, McIver’s, –, he’s, Don Samuel, Diane chatted, Tex McIver, ” McIver, Seleta Griffin, Tex McIver’s, Griffin, Diane McIver's, Hyosub Shin, Zuma, ”, Clint Rucker, “, ” Prosecutors, ” Griffin, Bruce Harvey, Prosecutors, court’s, codicil, Adam Abbate, Samuel, Amanda Clark Palmer, CNN’s Jamiel Lynch Organizations: CNN, Ford Expedition, Georgia Supreme, WSB, Atlanta, TNS, ”, Prosecutors Locations: Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Putnam County, Buckhead, “, –

☆ The Red Sea crisis tests China’s global ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

China’s responseThe Houthi rebels in Yemen started firing missiles and drones at ships in the Red Sea in mid-November, in what they say is an act of solidarity with Palestinians. Chinese officials repeatedly stressed that the Red Sea crisis is a “spillover” from the conflict in Gaza, citing an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as the top priority. Beijing’s reluctance to wade into the Red Sea crisis reflects these geopolitical calculations. The Chinese government readout of the meeting between Wang and Sullivan did not mention the Red Sea. Egypt is losing millions of dollars per day from the reduced traffic at the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.

Persons: Houthi, “, ”, Mordechai Chaziza, Xi Jinping, Israel, ” Chaziza, Wang Yi, Jake Sullivan, Iran ”, we’re, Wang, Sullivan, Ebrahim Raisi, Yan Yan, OOCL, Kuehne + Nagel, Jonathan Fulton, “ can’t, ” Fulton, William Figueroa, Xi Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ashkelon Academic College, Beijing, Iran, People’s Liberation Army Navy, Britain, United Nations Security Council, Global, Western, Chinese Foreign, White House, Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry, China, Shanghai Shipping Exchange, Atlantic Council, University of Groningen, Xi’s Global Security Initiative, GSI, Hamas Locations: Hong Kong, Red, Israel, Ashkelon, United States, China, Europe, Yemen, Gulf, Aden, Djibouti, Beijing, Gaza, Bangkok, Iran, Tehran, Africa, Switzerland, Francisco, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Suez, Sea, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands

☆ China wants to be a peace broker in the Middle East. How has it responded to the Israel-Gaza war?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Experts say this initial response may expose Beijing’s limited influence in the region, despite official propaganda talking up China as the world’s new peacemaker. Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing, said his country expected a “stronger condemnation” of Hamas from China. State media coverageDespite its claims of neutrality, coverage of the conflict on China’s state-run television appears more slanted. Chinese state media were also quick to blame the US for the conflict now raging in the heart of the Middle East. “China looks at Israel as an opportunity to get points with the broader Arab world and the rest of the developing world.

Persons: Mahmoud Abbas, Xi Jinping, Jonathan Fulton, they’re, Yuval Waks, ” Waks, Chuck Schumer, Xi, “, ” Schumer, Mao Ning, ”, Zhang Jun, Beijing’s, Phil Cunningham, Israel –, Abbas, –, Israel, ” Fulton, Fulton, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Atlantic Council, China’s, Embassy, Reuters, US, Foreign, United Nation, European Union, Global Times, Communist, USS Ford, US Air Force, UN Security Council, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, ”, Israel, Washington, Israeli Locations: China, Beijing, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Palestinian, Palestine, Abu Dhabi, United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, State, ”, Russia, Hamas, Ukraine, Xinjiang, Fulton, Haifa, Iraq, Oman –

“That’s my initial reaction.”The hearing was focused on a request by two defendants to separate their cases not only from the larger racketeering trial but also from each other. At least two defendants in the Georgia racketeering case have their dates set – attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro – for Oct. 23. “You’ve got to consider the Georgia speedy trial statute,” says Amy Lee Copeland, former federal prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer in Savannah. “Chesebro and Powell demanded a speedy trial and, by statute, McAfee has to start the trial or start the jury empanelment. In 2014, she oversaw a 12-person racketeering case against a group of Atlanta teachers and principals who schemed to cheat on standardized tests, as well as a racketeering case last year against members of a street gang called Young Slime Life, which originally charged 28 people.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Scott McAfee, “, McAfee, Fani Willis, Will Wooten, ” McAfee, Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, ”, –, Donald Trump's, Trump, Stormy Daniels, he’s, Willis, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro –, “ You’ve, Amy Lee Copeland, “ Chesebro, Powell, that's, ” Copeland, Copeland Organizations: Fulton, White House, Justice, Circuit, District of Columbia, Capitol Locations: Georgia’s Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Fulton County, That’s, Atlanta, Georgia, New York, Florida, District, Washington, Savannah, That's

Mr. Smith’s team described a similar conspiracy, one that he said was “fueled by lies.”There is no road map for indicting a former president, much less simultaneously prosecuting one for similar crimes in two jurisdictions. Prosecutors, especially those working for the Justice Department, typically seek to avoid concurrent cases to prevent discrepancies, small or significant, in witness testimony that can be exploited by the defense. Mr. Smith, who was appointed special counsel in November, has a more streamlined case, and is pushing hard for a speedy trial starting in early January. Those include Mr. Trump’s unrelenting effort to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into blocking official certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, even as Trump loyalists rampaged through the halls of Congress. One of the more surprising developments revealed on Monday was how far Ms. Willis’s investigators roved beyond state borders.

Persons: Willis, Smith, Trump, “, Smith’s, Ms, Mike Pence, Joseph R, Biden, ” Organizations: Prosecutors, Justice Department, U.S . Capitol, Trump Locations: ” Fulton, Georgia

☆ Informant warned FBI weeks before Jan. 6 that the far-right saw Trump tweet as 'a call to arms'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The email, which has not been previously reported, warned that the Trump tweet was “gaining hold” on social media. The confidential human source has provided information that the FBI has used in Jan. 6 cases before. The FBI confidential source said that they had “put together hundreds of pages of reports over the two weeks proceeding Jan. 6” for the bureau leading up to the attack. Months after the attack, FBI Director Chris Wray created the position of intelligence analyst in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, giving an intelligence analyst a leadership title typically reserved for FBI special agents. They said they were in regular communication with the bureau in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6.

☆ Xi Jinping: Chinese president lands in Saudi Arabia amid tensions with US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Wednesday for a multiple-day visit, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported, amid frayed ties between the two countries and the United States. A purple carpet was rolled out for the Chinese president, and canons were fired. But Saudi Arabia’s grand reception of the Chinese president is only emblematic of the magnitude of their growing relationship, specifically around oil, trade and security. Saudi Arabia has also traditionally been China’s top oil supplier, with Saudi barrels making up around 17% of total Chinese oil imports as of last year, according to the Saudi-backed Arab News. Apart from oil exports, Saudi Arabia has this year ramped up its Chinese investments, which culminated in Aramco’s whopping $10 billion dollar investment into a refinery and petrochemical complex in China’s northeast.

A South Carolina judge ruled Wednesday that former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating possible interference in the 2020 presidential election. Meadows, who lives in South Carolina, has tried to avoid testifying before the grand jury probe into possible election interference by then-President Donald Trump and his allies. A spokesperson for Willis said Meadows won’t appear before the grand jury until sometime after the midterm elections next month, as the investigation is in a “quiet period” around then. A federal appeals court ruled last week that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also must testify before the Fulton County grand jury. Trump's former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have also testified before the grand jury.

Search resuls for: "” Fulton"

14 mentions found