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Sanders added it is “problematic” if schedule F is being used to reinforce and maintain political loyalty. The spoils system was replaced by the current merit-based system where career employees serve multiple administrations, carrying out their jobs independent of politics. The Biden administration erected temporary roadblocks at the federal Office of Personnel Management – rules aimed at protecting federal workers from retaliatory mass firings. The District of Columbia itself has the largest individual chunk of federal workers in any state or territory, with more than 162,000. But it could also be devastating to employment in states that went to Trump, where roughly 967,000 federal workers live.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Ronald Sanders –, Trump’s, –, Sanders, Max Stier, “, ” Stier, didn’t, Karoline Leavitt, Biden, Will Lanzoni, Elon Musk, Mandy Gunasekara, Everett Kelley –, Joyce Howell, “ They’re, Marie Owens Powell, Sunlen Serfaty, Tierney Sneed Organizations: CNN, Trump, Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Partnership for Public Service, Management, DC, of Columbia, Convention Center, Land Management, EPA, Unions, American Federation of Government Employees, AFGE, ”, American Civil Liberties Union, Democracy Locations: Maryland, Virginia, Beach, West Palm Beach , Florida, Washington, Colorado

☆ Gazprom: Russian oil giant posts first annual loss in 20 years as sales to Europe collapse
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Moscow — Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom plunged to a net loss of 629 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2023, its first annual loss in more than 20 years, as sales to Europe plummeted in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Analysts had expected net income of 447 billion rubles ($4.9 billion) in 2023, according to Interfax news agency. The company made a net profit of 1.2 trillion ($13.1 billion) rubles in 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s gas exports to Europe, once its primary export market, have slumped largely because of the political fallout from the conflict in Ukraine. The company’s core profit, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization known as EBITDA, dropped to 618.38 billion rubles ($6.7 billion) last year from 2.79 trillion rubles ($30.4 billion) in 2022, according to Reuters’ calculations.

Persons: Alexei Miller, Vladimir Putin, Ronald Smith Organizations: Gazprom, Analysts, Reuters, BCS Global Markets Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, St . Petersburg, Europe

☆ Gazprom plunges to first annual loss in 20 years as trade with Europe hit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom said on Thursday it plunged to a net loss of 629 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2023, its first annual loss in more than 20 years, amid dwindling gas trade with Europe, once its main sales market. Analysts had expected net income of 447 billion rubles, according to Interfax news agency. Gazprom's 2023 loss followed a net profit of 1.2 trillion roubles in 2022. It said on Thursday it made a net loss of 364 billion roubles from sales in 2023, in contrast to a profit of 1.9 trillion roubles in 2022. Its total revenue fell to 8.5 trillion rubles last year from 11.7 trillion in 2022.

Persons: Alexei Miller, Vladimir Putin, Ronald Smith Organizations: Gazprom, Saint Petersburg, Soviet, Analysts, BCS Global Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Europe, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Moldova, St . Petersburg, Moscow

☆ The Met Gala theme is ‘The Garden of Time:’ Why culture is obsessed with JG Ballard
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In February, the Met revealed Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time” as the forthcoming red carpet theme. Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesThere is little glitz and glamor in Ballard’s world — or if there is, it doesn’t last for long. David Cronenberg's adaptation of JG Ballard's "Crash" debuted at Cannes Film Festival in 1996. In 2021, American designer Thom Browne’s Spring-Summer catwalk at New York Fashion Week also imagined life behind Count Axel’s garden wall. And now with the Met Gala theme, the beautiful flower that dies as soon as it’s plucked, it connects back to fashion being ephemeral.

Persons: Manus, Andrew Bolton, JG Ballard, Count Axel, Axel, Count, Countess, Thom Browne, Victor Virgile, —, you’ve, Steven Spielberg’s, David Cronenberg’s, ”, it’s, Ballard, David Cronenberg's, Ronald Siemoneit, Thom Browne’s, Browne, Alon Livné, Andrew Groves, Estrella de Mar, ” Groves, McQueen, Jeremy Scott, Marie, Christiane Marek, Jeremy Scott's, Jeremy Scott “, ” Scott, Scott, “, Nigel Coates, Caffè, Coates, Caffè Bongo, brandished Coates, Caffe, Edward Valentine, Charli XCX, Madonna’s, Ian Curtis, Stanley Donwood, Groves Organizations: CNN, York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, West, Technology, Costume Institute, Bolton, New York, Sun, Cannes Film, Estrella de, Paris Fashion, Division, Preachers, Fourth Estate Locations: China, British, France, American, Israeli, London, Estrella, Tokyo, “

☆ Why Ireland is the most pro-Palestinian nation in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Eoin Mcsweeney | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

“But like Palestine, (Ireland) had direct and sustained experience of imperialism,” she said. Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians transport bags of flour on the back of trucks as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians wait to receive food at a refugee camp in Rafah on January 27. AFP/Getty Images Palestinian boy Ahmed Qannan, suffering from malnutrition, receives treatment at a health-care center in Rafah on March 4. Yasser Qudih/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images People in a crowd struggle to buy bread from a bakery in Rafah on February 18.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Micheál Martin, Israel, “, Zoë Lawlor, ”, Jane Ohlmeyer, Leo Varadkar, ” Varadkar, Abdalmajid, Volker Turk, Ohlmeyer, Clodagh Kilcoyne, Ronald Storrs, Seán Gannon, Simon Harris, ” Israel, Amihai Eliyahu, Netanyahu, Dana Erlich, Emily Hand, Varadkar’s, Eli Cohen, Varadkar, Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, ” Matt Carthy, Sinn, ” Lawlor, Loay, Fadi, Kamal Adwan, Omar Qattaa, Saher, Ahmed Qannan, Mohammed Salem, Said Khatib, Dawoud Abo, Jehad, crouches, Abed Zagout, Yazan, Rabie Abu Noqaira, Mohammed Abed, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Yasser Qudih, Fatima Shbair, Lawlor, Carthy Organizations: CNN —, Israel, International Court of Justice, Irish, Irish Palestine Solidarity, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, “, CNN, Irish Free State, Republic of Ireland, Hamas, United Nations, Jewish, Republican Irish, European Union, West Bank, Newstalk, Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Washington Post, Kamal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, AFP, UN, Reuters, US Air Force, UPI, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Amnesty, Irish Times, State Locations: CNN — Ireland, Ireland, Gaza, Israel, Gaza “, South Africa, Irish Palestine, Palestinian, Irish, Palestine, London, St, dispossession, Ulster, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Republic of, Dublin, Jerusalem, Jewish Ulster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland Ireland, Limerick, Rafah, Mousa Salem, Gaza City, AFP, Jordanian, Februrary

The candidates are looking to replace two Democratic representatives who stepped down last year after winning mayoral races in their hometowns. That eliminated the Democrats’ two-seat majority in the state House, and the chamber has been stuck in a 54-54 deadlock since, with minimal voting activity this year. Both the 13th and 25th districts have historically voted Democratic, making Xiong and Herzberg the favorites to win the April 16 general election. Gretchen Whitmer and cruised to victory over two other Democratic candidates, including former state Rep. LaMar Lemmons III. Herzberg beat out four other Democratic candidates, including one that had been endorsed by Whitmer.

Persons: Mai Xiong, Peter Herzberg, Xiong, Ronald Singer, Herzberg, Josh Powell, Gretchen Whitmer, LaMar Lemmons III, Whitmer Organizations: — Democratic, Representatives, Republican, Democratic, Westland City Council, 13th, District, Democratic Gov, Rep Locations: LANSING, Mich, Detroit, Michigan, Macomb County, Westland, 25th

☆ Townhouses Took Off in December, and Neighbors Filed a Rare Joint Listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-29 | by ( Vivian Marino | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Manhattan townhouses took center stage in December, with several big sales and a prominent listing. The film producer Scott Rudin teamed up with a neighbor for a combined listing at 20-22 Bank Street in the West Village. And on the Upper West Side, the real estate developer Charles Bendit, and his wife, Karyn Bendit, closed on the sale of their townhouse. Other noteworthy December closings included the purchase of a co-op through a trust for Sara Lee Schupf, for whom the Sara Lee dessert business was named. All three transactions were on the Upper East Side.

Persons: Scott Rudin, Graydon Carter, Ronald S, Lauder, Stephen Sondheim, Charles Bendit, Karyn Bendit, Sara Lee Schupf, Sara Lee, Thomas E, Harvey, Erica Jong Organizations: Rockefeller, House, New York City Schools Locations: West, New

Ministers from OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, meet on Sunday in Vienna. Robust global oil prices this year and Moscow's growing use of a shadow tanker fleet have meant that much Russian oil has traded mostly above the Western oil cap price. Moscow-based independent oil analyst Alexei Kokin said the oil prices declined from "very comfortable" levels to "just comfortable" levels. Russia has budgeted the price of Urals, its flagship oil grade, at 4,788 roubles ($53.36) per barrel this year. However, the share of energy sales in the federal budget proceeds - which used to exceed 50% of total budget revenue - has drastically declined.

Persons: Alexander Manzyuk, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Kokin, Ronald Smith, Vladimir Soldatkin, Guy Faulconbridge, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Energy, OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, BCS, Investments, Brent, Thomson Locations: Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, MOSCOW, Vienna, OPEC, U.S, China, Saudi Arabia, United States, Moscow

☆ Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh fear for future under blockade
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —Ani Kirakosyani found out she was pregnant a month after the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh began. “If not for the blockade, I would be playing with my child today,” Kirakosyani told CNN. He told CNN that before the blockade he had received most of his produce from Armenia. I only have one week left until the shop closes and I am jobless,” he told CNN. Meanwhile Russia, which brokered the ceasefire in 2020, has peacekeepers along the Lachin corridor but has refrained from intervening further.

Persons: Ani Kirakosyani, Kirakosyani, ”, ” Kirakosyani, Gegham Stepanyan, Tom Lantos, Cross, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Arayik Harutyunyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Mary Asatryan Max Mkhitaryan, Mary Asatryan, Brendan Hoffman, Ronald Suny, Azerbaijan’s, Ilham Aliyev, –, ” Harutyunyan, Peter Stano, Harutyunyan, Maria Zakharova, Artyom, Anahit, Vahe Gevorgyan, ” Gharaghazaryan Organizations: CNN, International Association of Genocide, Artsakh, Rights, International Committee, ICRC, Criminal Court, Armenian, Stepanakert Medical, University of Michigan, …, United States State Department, EU, Reuters, European Union, Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia, Hamline University, UN Security, “ Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Haterk, Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Artsakh Republic, Armenia, Artsakh, Stepanakert, Soviet Union, Turkey, Baku, … Baku, Azerbaijani, Aghdam, EU, Russia, United States, Ukraine

Russia's gas, in contrast to its oil, is not subject to Western sanctions, although Brussels is considering extending its embargo on Russian fuel. Gazprom's gas exports, mainly to Europe, almost halved last year because of the political crisis over Ukraine and after undersea Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by unexplained blasts last September. Timchenko had long challenged Gazprom's monopoly on Russian gas exports, saying in 2012 that Europeans wanted to have an alternative to Gazprom. "I believe that Gazprom Export's marketing campaign led to its European share decrease ... Liquefied natural gas has already come to the market. In essence, a new, cheaper gas market is emerging; one has to see such things," Timchenko told the Forbes magazine in 2012.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Russia's, Ronald Smith of, Novatek, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Miller, Putin, Miller, Gennady Timchenko, Timchenko, Oksana Kobzeva, Vladimir Soldatkin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Gazprom, REUTERS, Stream, EU, Kremlin, European Union, Novatek, BCS, Forbes, Thomson Locations: Russia, Europe, MOSCOW, Ukraine, Brussels, Siberia, LNG, Ronald Smith of Moscow, Germany, Italy, Soviet, St Petersburg, Moscow, Russian

☆ Weak gas prices worsen outlook for Gazprom's revenues from sales to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Gazprom's gas sales to Europe, once its primary source of foreign currency revenues, have plummeted due to the crisis in relations between Moscow and the West. Gazprom has not provided forecasts for gas exports this year and has not replied to a request for comment. Ronald Smith, a seasoned analyst at Moscow-based BCS brokerage, expects Russian gas prices in Europe to average $445 per 1,000 cubic metres this year. He forecasts Russian gas exports to Europe and Turkey will reach 50 bcm this year. If Russia keeps its gas exports to Turkey steady, it might reach 22 bcm in 2023, then sales to Europe would total 28 bcm.

Persons: Ronald Smith, That's, Oksana Kobzeva, Vladimir Soldatkin, Christina Fincher Organizations: Gazprom PAO, Gazprom, Economy Ministry, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Turkey, Russia

☆ Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt paid $67 million for a superyacht abandoned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt paid $67.6 million at auction for a 267-foot superyacht. The boat was left moored in Antigua Bay by Andrey Guryev, a sanctioned Russian oligarch. Billionaire and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt won an auction Friday for the 267-foot Alfa Nero, paying $67.6 million for the superyacht that had been "abandoned" in Antigua Bay by a sanctioned Russian oligarch. Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, and stepped down as chairman of Google parent Alphabet in 2018. Representatives for Schmidt didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Eric Schmidt, Andrey Guryev, Nero, Sir Ronald Sanders, Schmidt, Guryev, Vladimir Putin, Guryev's, Mr Guryev, Alfa Nero, Beck Diefenbach, Schmidt didn't Organizations: Google, Russian oligarch, Bloomberg, Morning, Barbuda Port Authority, Boat, US Treasury Department, Guryev, Alfa, Reuters Officials, International . Locations: Antigua Bay, Russian, Antigua, Barbuda, Ukraine, Falmouth Harbor

CNN —The editor-in-chief of Die Aktuelle, a German magazine that published a fake artificial intelligence (AI) interview with Michael Schumacher, has been “relieved of her duties,” a statement from publishing house FUNKE said, alongside an apology to the Schumacher family. Schumacher has not been seen in public since he suffered a brain injury in a skiing accident in December 2013. It in no way meets the standards of journalism that we – and our readers – expect from a publishing house like FUNKE,” FUNKE magazine managing director Bianca Pohlmann said in the statement. Only toward the end of the article does it become apparent that the interview was produced by AI. Hannibal Hanschke/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockSince the accident, the Schumacher family has kept updates about the health of the motorsport legend to a minimum to protect their privacy.

Trump's expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Republican mounts a bid to regain the presidency, could further inflame divisions in the United States. The specific charges are not yet known, though CNN reported that Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006. Bragg said Congress does not have authority to interfere with a New York legal proceeding and accused the lawmakers of escalating political tensions. Bragg's office prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty, but Trump himself was not charged.

☆ Analysis: Gazprom's export revenue may fall by 50% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Oksana Kobzeva | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

If the trend continues, Gazprom's export revenues for the whole year could be halved compared to 2022 when its export volumes also declined by nearly half. LOWER REVENUESIn 2022, Gazprom's export volumes fell by 46%, according to the company. Gazprom has not provided forecasts for gas exports for this year. Gazprom's exports outside ex-Soviet Union fell by more than 45% to 100.9 bcm in 2022 from 185.1 bcm in 2021. The Economy Ministry forecasts Gazprom's export price for 2023 at $700 per 1,000 cubic metres.

☆ Porn star Ron Jeremy committed to state mental hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Porn star Ron Jeremy was committed to a state mental health hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial on rape and other charges, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles District Attorney said on Tuesday. Jeremy can be held for up to two years, said Greg Risling, spokesperson for the district attorney's office. The 69-year-old had been charged with 30 counts of rape and other sexual misconduct stemming from incidents in the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period. In January, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Harris ruled that Jeremy was not competent to assist in his defense, according to his attorney, Stuart Goldfarb. Jeremy was among the biggest names in the adult film industry, appearing in more than 2,000 movies starting in the 1970s.

☆ Porn actor Ron Jeremy found mentally incompetent to stand trial for rape
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

David McNew/Pool via REUTERSLOS ANGELES, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Porn star Ron Jeremy was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial in Los Angeles on rape and other sex charges involving 21 women, City News Service reported on Tuesday. Jeremy, 69, pleaded not guilty in August 2021 to more than 30 counts of sexual assault, including 12 of rape, in the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period. Goldfarb and a representative for the Los Angeles District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters on Tuesday. A hearing on whether to place Jeremy in a state hospital will be held next month, the Associated Press said. The alleged offenses took place at night clubs and bars in the Los Angeles area, during a photo shoot, and at Jeremy's home, the District Attorney's office said.

Former House Speaker John Boehner paid a tearful tribute to Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday at the unveiling of her official portrait in the U.S. Capitol. "My girls told me tell the speaker how much we admire her," Boehner said, choking back tears as he spoke. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., greets former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, during a portrait unveiling ceremony for Pelosi in the U.S. Capitols Statuary Hall on Dec. 14, 2022. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesPelosi, who in 2007 became the first female speaker of the House, had joked about Boehner’s penchant for tears when she spoke at his portrait ceremony in 2019. She will be succeeded by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the first Black lawmaker to lead a congressional caucus.

☆ A rioter who assaulted police officers at the Capitol gets 5 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Authorities say “boogaloo” referred to to civil war. On Jan. 6, prosecutors say Sandlin led the mob’s charge against officers at two points at the Capitol, shoved officers and tried to rip the helmet off of one of them. Authorities say DeCarlo scrawled the words on the door. Video shows them throwing smoke grenades toward a line of police trying to keep the mob from the stage set up for Biden’s inauguration, authorities say. DeCarlo also rummaged through a Capitol police officer’s bag and stole a pair of plastic handcuffs, prosecutors said.

☆ I'm a psychologist who helped cast 'Survivor' for years. I weeded out people who might be dangerous or unstable under pressure — here's what I looked for in contestants.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( John Loeppky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Survivor producer Mark Burnett paired with clinical psychologist Richard Levak to design a psychological screening program for "Survivor," and then most of the other reality TV shows too. That's where psychology got its toehold in reality TV. Through this, we get a really good sense for who they are. In my opinion, good 'Survivor' contestants have enough energy to be interesting and exciting on TVIt's not exciting to watch somebody who is fatigued and needs to lay down and rest the whole time. Being on any reality TV show is something you can't prepare for.

DOHA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Taking selfies from the stands and sitting on the grassy pitch, thousands of migrant workers gathered in a Doha stadium to watch the opening match of the first World Cup in the Middle East. It sat adjacent to several worker camps where many of Qatar's hundreds of thousands of low-income labourers live. "We are here to enjoy our sweat now," said Ronald Ssenyondo, a 25-year old Ugandan who was rooting for Qatar on Sunday. The wealthy gas-producing country is home to 2.9 million people, the vast majority of whom are foreign workers ranging from low-income construction workers to high-powered executives. But on Sunday, he was grateful to be with fellow workers watching on a screen - even though Qatar's loss was a disappointment.

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