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☆ What we know about Usha Vance's politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Alice Tecotzky | Joshua Nelken-Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewUsha Vance's classmates at Yale Law School didn't know much about her politics. Less obvious, however, is Usha Vance's political orientation and relationship to the newfound national spotlight. In 2022, two colleagues at the firm described Usha Vance as liberal or moderate to The Times. When JD Vance was himself running for Senate, Usha Vance appeared in his very first campaign ad, sitting in front of a bookshelf and talking about their three children. AdvertisementWhile Usha Vance's political orientations and interest in life as a national figure remain foggy, her devotion to her husband has seemed strong since her days at Yale Law School.

Persons: —, Usha Vance's, Yale Law School didn't, Marvin Lim, Usha, Elliot Forhan, Usha Chilukuri, JD Vance, Lim, Usha Vance, Vikram Rao, Gabriel Winant, Vance's spokespeople, Vance, SCOTUS Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Munger, Olson, Blake Masters, Vance hasn't Organizations: Service, Yale Law School, Democrat, Business, New York Times, Times, Yale, Cambridge, The Times, Tolles, GOP, American, Newsmax, Fox & Friends, JD, Republican, Convention Locations: Georgia, Ohio, San Diego, Arizona

☆ Analysis: Why the departure of Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz does – and doesn’t – matter
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Elliott Gotkine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Benny Gantz is back where he was at the start of the war Hamas launched on October 7: an ex-defence minister, ex chief of staff – and Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu’s chief political rival. Perhaps the most important impact of Gantz’s departure is the one it won’t have: it won’t cause the government to collapse. “Benny Gantz is in a fix,” former Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller told CNN on Sunday before Gantz’s resignation. Nor for that matter is the third member of the war cabinet, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. With Gantz gone, that seems less likely – as does the likelihood of a hostage deal being consummated any time soon.

Persons: Benny Gantz, Benjamin, Bibi, Netanyahu didn’t, he’d, ” Gantz, “ Netanyahu, “ Benny Gantz, Aaron David Miller, Gantz’s, “, ” That’s, Netanyahu, Joe Biden’s –, Israel’s, Gantz, Miller, Deir, Abed Rahim Khatib, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Gantz wouldn’t Organizations: CNN, Hamas, “, Anadolu, Getty Locations: Gaza, Israel, East

☆ Embattled Georgia DA Fani Willis and Trump trial judge hit the campaign trail
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Sara Murray | Jason Morris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Wise Smith, meantime, has faced some skepticism from voters worried that if he ousts Willis it could endanger the Trump case. The disqualification drama surrounding Willis hasn’t spared Wise Smith from skepticism from some Democrats who believe Willis will most aggressively prosecute the Trump case. “Some folks were worried that me jumping in the race, you know, might mean we lose that case,” Wise Smith said in an interview with CNN. Let me say this, I think the case is in grave jeopardy right now,” Wise Smith said of the Trump case. In a rarity for a sitting judge, McAfee has also been granting interviews to local media.

Persons: Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Scott McAfee, ” Willis, “, Trump, Willis, Christian Wise Smith, Willis ’, Wise Smith, McAfee, Robert Patillo, he’s, Courtney Kramer, ”, Michael J, Moore, she’s, Willis hasn’t, ” Wise Smith, Wise Smith –, –, ” McAfee, wouldn’t, “ I’ve, Patillo’s, ” Patillo, “ It’s, Patillo, Brian Kemp, Roy Barnes, Kemp, Barnes, Ray Smith III, Smith, ” Moore, that’s Organizations: CNN, Democratic Party, Democratic, Trump, Trump White House, Middle, Middle District of, WSB, Georgia Gov, Republican, Democrat, McAfee, Boy Scouts Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Middle District, Middle District of Georgia, Inman

☆ Americans are losing confidence in their military and government institutions: polls
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New Gallup data reveals the US has fallen behind many G7 countries in key indicators. 26% of Americans struggled to afford food in 2023, and confidence in the military has fallen. Related storiesThe US spends more on its military than most of the G7 countries combined, though confidence has progressively fallen over the last few years. US confidence in the military fell to a new low of 81% — and for the first time, US confidence fell below another G7 nation, France. Japan, the lowest of the G7 countries, was only 8%.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Trump, Roe, Kevin McCarthy, Gallup, Benedict Vigers Organizations: Gallup, Service, Biden, House, Department, Pew Research, Representatives, OECD Locations: U.S, France, Afghanistan, Biden's, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada

☆ Trump hit with gag order in New York hush money case after slamming judge
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A judge on Tuesday imposed a limited gag order on Donald Trump ahead of his criminal hush money trial in New York. Trump's statements about various figures involved in the case "were threatening, inflammatory [and] denigrating," Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said in a court order. The gag order bars Trump from making public statements about likely witnesses and jurors in the case. The gag order does not specifically bar Trump from criticizing the judge. Merchan's gag order ruling on Tuesday afternoon appeared to reference Trump's remarks about his daughter.

Persons: Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Trump, Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Bragg, Trump's, Michael Cohen, Todd Blanche, Joe Biden, Jack Smith, cautioning Trump Organizations: U.S, Trump, Manhattan District, Washington , D.C Locations: New York City, New York, Manhattan, Washington ,

CNN —A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of the idea of a nationwide ban or new limits on mifepristone, the primary drug used for medication abortions. At issue in the case are lower-court rulings that would have rolled back recent Food and Drug Administration decisions to ease access to the mifepristone. “What the court did … is enter sweeping nationwide relief that restricts access to mifepristone for every single woman in this country. Some anti-abortion activists see the law as an avenue to end medication abortion, and perhaps all kinds of abortions. Danco’s attorney said that this case was not an appropriate venue for the court to weigh the reach of the Comstock Act.

Persons: Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, ” Roberts, Erin Hawley, interjected, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s, ”, ” Gorsuch, Biden, …, Elizabeth Prelogar, Brett Kavanaugh, ” Kavanaugh, Prelogar, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “, Jackson, ” Jackson, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Alito, Thomas, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, ” Alito, Mifepristone, Comstock, mifepristone, Matthew Kacsmaryk –, Trump, –, Kacsmaryk Organizations: CNN, Drug Administration, Conservative, FDA, Justice Department, Amarillo Division, Court, Northern, Northern District of, US, US Judicial Locations: mifepristone, FDA’s, Amarillo, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Manhattan D.A. seeks gag order on Trump ahead of hush money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office on Monday asked a judge to impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump ahead of his upcoming trial on charges of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to a porn star. Prosecutors want Trump barred from making public comments about witnesses jurors, trial prosecutors, members of the court staff, and any relatives of lawyers and court staff involved in the case. They also want him barred from directing others to make public statements any prospective juror or jurors in the trial. "And the need for such protection is compelling," Bragg's office said in its request, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. Trump would be allowed to make public statements about Bragg under the proosed gag order.

Persons: Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, Trump, D.A, Alvin Bragg's, Juan Merchan, Bragg Organizations: U.S, Manhattan, Attorney's, Prosecutors, Trump, Washington , D.C Locations: Manhattan, New York City, Washington ,

☆ Manhattan DA seeks gag order on Trump in criminal hush money case, citing voluminous threats to office staff
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Trump’s comments have already resulted in hundreds of threats to the office, prosecutors said in a motion Monday. “Defendant has a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about the participants in various judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court staff,” the Manhattan district attorney’s office wrote. They are seeking state Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan to gag Trump from making comments about potential witnesses, lawyers involved in the case other than the DA, court staff, and family members of lawyers and staff. In addition, prosecutors also asked the judge to prevent Trump from making public statements about any prospective juror in the trial. Twice that year, the district attorney’s office received letters with white powder containing messages.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, “ Defendant, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Juan Merchan, Trump, “, ”, Stormy Daniels, Prosecutors, Bragg, Nicholas Pistilli, TAPU, Pistilli, “ Alvin, I’m, ADAs, ” Pistilli Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, Prosecutors, Trump, Attorney, Appeals, Protection, NYPD, DA Locations: Manhattan

☆ Trump’s New York self-defense, annotated
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Zachary Wolf | Analysis Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

We got a preview of this unprecedented criminal trial mixed with a presidential campaign on Thursday at a key hearing in the New York criminal case. Claiming violent crime in cites, especially those run by Democrats, is one of Trump’s favorite talking points. The idea that violent crime is at an “all-time high” is completely untrue, as CNN’s Daniel Dale wrote last October. But the judge in Manhattan has filled Trump’s calendar at the end of March, when that federal trial could theoretically have taken place. But as The New York Times notes, despite the rising number of migrants in the city, violent crime has dropped.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Fani Willis, I’ve, there’s, It’s, he’s, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Karen McDougal, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Cohen, Daniel Dale, Dale, Joe Biden’s, ”, Biden, Jack Smith, Bragg, Willis, There’s, Matthew Colangelo, Letitia James, Democratic Sen, Chuck Schumer, I’m, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin, ” Trump, you’re, –, Nikki Haley, Haley, we’ve, let’s Organizations: CNN, New, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump, National Enquirer, American Media Inc, Enquirer, The Trump Organization, AMI, Department of Justice, New York City Police Department, Justice Department, New York, Democratic, Republican, Republicans, South Carolina Gov, GOP, Biden, New York Times, White Locations: Manhattan, New York, Georgia, Washington ,, Russia, South Carolina, Carolina, Florida, Texas, New York City, “

☆ Israel PM adviser says road to deal on Saudi ties is 'still long'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

JERUSALEM, July 31 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser on Monday said the road to normalising ties with Saudi Arabia was "still long" while members of his hard-right cabinet ruled out concessions to Palestinians as part of any deal. U.S. President Joe Biden last week dispatched his national security adviser to Riyadh to discuss a possible deal, and on Friday said a rapprochement was "maybe under way". PALESTINIAN CONCESSIONSThe idea of Israel and Saudi Arabia formally cementing ties has been under discussion since the Saudis gave their quiet assent to Gulf neighbours United Arab Emirates and Bahrain establishing ties with Israel in 2020. "We certainly won't agree to such a thing," National Missions Minister Orit Strock told Kan."We are done with withdrawals. Her remarks were echoed by the head of another government member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who heads the far-right Jewish Power party.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu's, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Tzachi Hanegbi, Eli Cohen, Minister Orit Strock, Kan, Strock, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Cohen, Maayan Lubell, Ari Rabinovitch, Henriette Chacar, Conor Humphries, Grant McCool Organizations: Monday, U.S, United, Kan, U.S ., Israel, National, Minister, West Bank, Jewish, Army Radio, Authority, Netanyahu's, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, U.S, Riyadh, Israel, Saudi, Gulf, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Judea, Samaria, East Jerusalem, Gaza

☆ Analysis: Israel's judicial reform turmoil threatens economic growth, investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Libgeorge Marc Jones | Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Nir Elias/Illustration//File PhotoLONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Israel's economy may face ratings downgrades, falling foreign investment and a weaker tech sector if turmoil arising from the government's contentious judicial reforms continues, investors and analysts warn. Reuters GraphicsMaplecroft's Kinnear said comparatively low inflation versus similar countries had buoyed investment, but more civil unrest could derail incoming cash. The reform backlash "threatens to push the economy onto a permanently lower growth path," Nicholas Farr, emerging Europe economist with Capital Economics wrote in a note. Moody's cut Israel's sovereign credit to a "dislike" stance, while S&P said on Thursday the unprecedented protests would lower economic growth this year. S&P warned in May that it could lower its AA- Israel rating "if regional or domestic political risks escalated sharply, depressing Israel's economic, fiscal, and balance-of-payments metrics."

Persons: Nir Elias, Benjamin, Hamish Kinnear, Reuters Graphics Maplecroft's Kinnear, Morgan Stanley, Roger Mark, Mark, Kinnear, Nicholas Farr, Moody's, Fitch, Natalia Gurushina, VanEck, Libby George, Marc Jones, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Middle East, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Copley Fund Research, Reuters Graphics, Gross, TECH, Israeli Innovation Authority, Capital Economics, P, Fitch, AA, Thomson Locations: Israel, North Africa, Europe

☆ Israel's Netanyahu taken to hospital for a heart procedure and placed under sedation as hundreds of thousands march in protest of his plans to overhaul the judiciary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday he was going to the hospital for an emergency procedure to receive a pacemaker, but vowed to press ahead with his controversial judicial overhaul plan. Netanyahu's office made the announcement as Israel faces widespread street protests over Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul plan. Levin is the mastermind of the overhaul plan. The signatories included Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister, and Moshe Yaalon, a former army chief and defense minister. In a speech Thursday, Netanyahu doubled down on the overhaul and dismissed as absurd the accusations that the plan would destroy Israel's democratic foundations.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Yariv Levin, Levin, throngs, Monday's, Joe Biden, Ehud Barak, Moshe Yaalon, Israel Katz, Yoav Gallant Organizations: Israeli, National Institutes of Health, Likud, Channel, West Bank Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Jerusalem, Israel's, Beersheba, Haifa, Netanya

☆ White House says Biden and Netanyahu will ‘probably’ meet this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will “probably” meet before year’s end, the White House says, a step toward easing what had been a strained relationship but still short of the full-blown Oval Office invitation Netanyahu has long sought. Earlier, Netanyahu’s office said Biden invited the prime minister to meet in the United States. The lack of a White House invite has angered Netanyahu, who returned to office in December after previously serving as prime minister for more than a decade. Biden has invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog for talks at the White House on Tuesday. Biden didn’t answer directly when Zakaria asked when Netanyahu would get a White House invitation.

Persons: Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Netanyahu, ”, John Kirby, forthrightly, Biden, ” Kirby, Isaac Herzog, Herzog, Netanyahu’s, “ Bibi, ” Biden, Fareed Zakaria, Zakaria, Kirby Organizations: CNN, Israeli, US National Security Council, White, West Bank Locations: United States, Washington, Iran, Israel

Armed men attended the funeral on Wednesday of the Palestinians killed during the Israeli military operation. People stand by rubble and the remains of a destroyed vehicle outside a mosque in Jenin, West Bank, on Wednesday, July 5. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images People attend the funeral of Palestinians who were killed during the Israeli military operation. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images Aerial vehicles fly during the Israeli military operation in Jenin on Monday. “Military bulldozers destroyed multiple roads leading to the Jenin refugee camp, making it nearly impossible for ambulances to reach patients,” the group said.

Persons: Crews, Ammar Awad, Israel, Daniel Hagari, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Ismail Haniyeh, Israel “, Ahmad Gharabli, Robaldo Schemidt, Jaafar Ashtiyeh, Nedal, Nasser Nasser, Raneen Sawafta, Jaafar Ashitiyeh, Issam, Majdi Mohammed, Ronen Zvulun, Ayman Nobani, there’s, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, it’s, ” Vanessa Huguenin, “ Organizations: CNN, West, West Bank ., Militant, United Nations, Hamas, Reuters, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Israel, Getty, People, Getty Images People, Anadolu Agency, AP Palestinian, AP, Israel’s West Bank, National, Palestinian Authority, UN, Islamic, Jenin Brigade, Palestinian, International, “, US State Department Locations: West Bank, Jenin, Wednesday, Israeli, Tel Aviv, Palestinian, Gaza, Israel, Nablus, West, AFP, Monday, Raneen, Sunday, Issam, Israel’s, Islamic Jihad

☆ The lawyer who used ChatGPT's fake legal cases in court said he was 'duped' by the AI, but a judge questioned how he didn't spot the 'legal gibberish'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Paul Squire | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A lawyer used ChatGPT to help search for legal cases to write an affidavit backing his lawsuit. The AI hallucinated six fake cases, per a federal judge, which the lawyer included in the filing. US District Court Judge P. Kevin Castel asked lawyer Steven Schwartz of personal injury law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman, according to Inner City Press. The court filing included six court cases that were "bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations," Castel wrote in a previous court order. "I have worked with Mr. Schwartz for 27 years," LoDuca said in court, Inner City Press reported.

Persons: —, didn't, Matthew Russell Lee, P, Kevin Castel, Steven Schwartz, Levidow, Schwartz, Peter LoDuca, Castel, Varghese, LoDuca Organizations: Service, Inner City Press, Google, City Press, Mr Locations: New York

☆ ChatGPT cited 'bogus' cases for a New York federal court filing. The attorneys involved may face sanctions.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Roberto Mata's lawsuit against Avianca Airlines wasn't so different from many other personal-injury suits filed in New York federal court. Mata's lawyers predictably opposed the motion and cited a variety of legal decisions, as is typical in courtroom spats. Avianca's attorneys told the court that it couldn't find numerous legal cases that LoDuca had cited in his response. Federal Judge P. Kevin Castel demanded that LoDuca provide copies of nine judicial decisions that were apparently used. In response, LoDuca filed the full text of eight cases in federal court.

☆ A lawyer apologized after ChatGPT made up case law in an affidavit he submitted
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A lawyer used ChatGPT to write an affidavit in a personal injury lawsuit against an airline. However, the tool is at the heart of a case to discipline a New York lawyer. Steven Schwartz, a personal injury lawyer with Levidow, Levidow & Oberman, faces a sanctions hearing on June 8, after it was revealed that he used ChatGPT to write up an affidavit. The affidavit that used ChatGPT was for a lawsuit involving a man who alleged he was injured by a serving cart aboard an Avianca flight, and featured several made up court decisions. "Six of the submitted cases appear to be bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations," Castel wrote.

☆ Lawyer apologizes for fake court citations from ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The meteoric rise of ChatGPT is shaking up multiple industries – including law, as one attorney recently found out. Steven Schwartz, an attorney with Levidow, Levidow & Oberman and licensed in New York for over three decades, handled Mata’s representation. Schwart’s affidavit Wednesday contained screenshots of the attorney appearing to confirm the authenticity of the case with ChatGPT. “is varghese a real case,” Schwartz asked the chatbot. 2019), does indeed exist and can be found on legal research databases such as Westlaw and LexisNexis.

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu says damage to investor confidence ‘a momentary problem’ as mass protests persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Protestors gather in Tel Aviv on April 15 to stage a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government's regulations restricting the powers of the judiciary. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed concerns about damaged investor confidence, despite massive and intensifying weekly protests over his planned overhaul of the country's judiciary. I think the momentary fluff, the momentary dust that is in the air is just that — dust. The country has been rocked by mass protests over the government's months-long bid to push through deeply contentious judicial reforms. Netanyahu, re-elected in November to serve as prime minister for a third time, agreed late last month to delay the planned judicial reforms.

☆ Texas will play an outsized role in selecting the next GOP presidential nominee. So Trump isn't leaving anything to chance.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Trump has previously indicated that he wouldn't leave the 2024 presidential race if he was indicted. Among the bold-named Texas figures who have signed on to Trump's 2024 campaign are Lt. Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been floated as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, was also not on the list. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas won his home state in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. Cruz took home the lion's share of Texas' GOP delegates in what is a winner-takes-most system.

☆ Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People demonstrate as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its contentious judicial overhaul, outside a museum in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Nir EliasJERUSALEM, March 23 (Reuters) - Israel ratified a law on Thursday limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed, despite worries voiced by a government jurist that it may be meant to shield the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu from any fallout from his corruption trials. The coalition says the overhaul is aimed at pushing back against Supreme Court over-reach and restoring balance among branches of government. Netanyahu denies all charges against him, and has cast the trials as a politicised bid to force him from office. "They have the potential to serve the personal interests of a man regarding the outcomes of legal proceedings he is facing."

Jack Daniel's Properties Inc is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp (BFb.N). "I'm concerned about the First Amendment implications of your position," conservative Justice Samuel Alito told an attorney for Jack Daniel's, referring to the constitutional provision enshrining free-speech protections. "Could any reasonable person think that Jack Daniel's had approved this use of the mark?" Jack Daniel's also contested a finding by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. "This is a standard commercial product," Kagan told a lawyer for VIP Products, Bennett Cooper.

The new documents, reviewed by Reuters, shed light on the concern among the Finance Ministry's most senior officials, who cited unease among foreign investors and a shekel that has depreciated sharply to a three-year low. "Implementing the proposed judicial reform could bring very significant harm to the economy," said a document from the ministry's chief economist. The ministry's budget department wrote separately that there have been "initial indications" of the development of negative sentiments towards the Israeli economy. Moody's Investor Service said this month that the Israeli government's planned judicial reforms could weaken institutions and negatively impact Israel's sovereign credit profile. The Bank of Israel, which has urged judicial independence, expects economic growth of below 3% in 2023 after a 6.4% spurt last year.

☆ Netanyahu softens pace, focus of Israel's judicial overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Wielding a parliamentary majority, Netanyahu had looked set to ratify the package of reforms by the Knesset's April 2 recess. Previously, the bill envisaged the panel including three cabinet ministers, two coalition lawmakers and two public figures chosen by the government - spelling a maximum 7-4 vote majority. It is amended form, the bill envisages the panel being made up of three cabinet ministers, three coalition lawmakers, three judges and two opposition lawmakers. Any appointments beyond that would have to be approved by a majority vote including at least one judge and one opposition lawmaker among selection panel members. "We are extending a hand to anyone who genuinely cares about national unity and the desire to reach an agreed accord," the coalition statement said.

☆ Hundreds of elite Israeli reservists say they are joining judicial protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That, critics say, could foster corruption and imperil judicial independence key to Israel's economic strength and defences against attempts to isolate it internationally. Netanyahu has condemned the protests' reach into the military ranks as an attempt to subvert an institution meant to be above politics. While reservists have helped Israel prevail in previous wars, more recently it has relied on regular forces. But some units consider reservists especially valuable given their maturity and accrued skills. An air force pilot taking part in the protests told Channel 12 TV that as many as 60% of crews sent on bombing sorties in Syria are volunteer reservists.

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