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☆ Dozens of soldiers freed in Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dozens of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war have returned home following a prisoner swap, officials on both sides said Saturday. Top Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post that 116 Ukrainians were freed. Russian defense officials, meanwhile, announced that 63 Russian troops had returned from Ukraine following the swap, including some "special category" prisoners whose release was secured following mediation by the United Arab Emirates. Two people were killed and 14 others wounded in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region by Russian shelling and missile strikes, local Gov. Elsewhere, regional Ukrainian officials reported overnight shelling by Russia of border settlements in the northern Sumy region, as well as the town of Marhanets, which neighbors the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

☆ China’s Consumers Drive Rebound in Economic Activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A rapid consumption-led recovery of China’s economy would help buttress global demand for goods and services. HONG KONG—Economic activity in China shook off a monthslong slump in January following the lifting of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, a positive sign for a global economy that faces a litany of challenges this year. Official gauges of activity in both manufacturing and services improved sharply, with both sectors rebounding into expansion territory, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

☆ Ukraine Asks for Longer-Range Missiles as It Awaits Tank Deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ukrainian paratroopers waited Saturday for transport in Chasiv Yar, to the west of the front-line city of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine called on its Western backers to supply longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian-held territory, as Russia claimed fresh advances in the monthslong battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut. In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needed advanced weapons systems such as the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to counteract Russian strikes that were killing Ukrainian civilians.

☆ 'Fast-track' talks are underway between Ukraine and Western allies for missiles and planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in "fast-track" talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid. Amid news of the coordinated effort, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells. The attacks continued Saturday when Russian missiles struck the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province. In a separate Telegram post earlier Saturday, Kyrylenko reported that Russian attacks in the province killed four civilians in all and wounded seven others in 24 hours.

But members gathered here at the party’s winter meeting say that once all the votes are counted, the tensions are unlikely to quickly subside. McDaniel and Dhillon supporters who spoke with NBC News acknowledged Dhillon is facing tough odds to unseat McDaniel. For nearly two months, RNC members, particularly those backing McDaniel, have been inundated with emails from Dhillon supporters pleading with them to back the insurgent candidacy. “He’s very well thought of and carries a lot of weight here,” Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey who is backing Dhillon, told NBC News. Regardless, he expressed concern that most RNC members were choosing to ignore the grassroots backlash to another McDaniel term.

☆ Mortgage rates tick down ahead of Fed meeting next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington, DC CNN —Mortgage rates fell slightly this week, staying almost flat ahead of the Federal Reserve’s closely watched interest rate-setting meeting next week. The average mortgage rate is based on mortgage applications that Freddie Mac receives from thousands of lenders across the country. When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. Mortgage applications riseThe downward trend for mortgage rates since November has had a positive impact on home affordability for mortgage borrowers. “Borrower demand, thanks to lower mortgage rates, continues to rise in early 2023,” said Bob Broeksmit, MBA president and CEO.

WASHINGTON — It became a regular litany of grievances from President Donald J. Trump and his supporters: The investigation into his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia was a witch hunt, they maintained, that had been opened without any solid basis, went on too long and found no proof of collusion. Egged on by Mr. Trump, Attorney General William P. Barr set out in 2019 to dig into their shared theory that the Russia investigation likely stemmed from a conspiracy by intelligence or law enforcement agencies. To lead the inquiry, Mr. Barr turned to a hard-nosed prosecutor named John H. Durham, and later granted him special counsel status to carry on after Mr. Trump left office. But after almost four years — far longer than the Russia investigation itself — Mr. Durham’s work is coming to an end without uncovering anything like the deep state plot alleged by Mr. Trump and suspected by Mr. Barr. Moreover, a monthslong review by The New York Times found that the main thrust of the Durham inquiry was marked by some of the very same flaws — including a strained justification for opening it and its role in fueling partisan conspiracy theories that would never be charged in court — that Trump allies claim characterized the Russia investigation.

☆ Supreme Court Hasn’t Identified Who Leaked Draft of Opinion Overruling Roe v. Wade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The leak at the Supreme Court was an extraordinary breach of protocol at a court that tightly controls access to its deliberations. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court said Thursday that a monthslong investigation has so far failed to identify who leaked in May the draft of the opinion overruling Roe v. Wade, the first public statement since Chief Justice John Roberts announced the probe a day after Justice Samuel Alito ’s draft opinion was published. “The team has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence,” the court’s unsigned statement said, using the legal term for the lowest standard of proof in a case.

☆ Supreme Court Hasn’t Identified Who Leaked Draft Opinion in Abortion Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The leak at the U.S. Supreme Court, while not necessarily unlawful, was an extraordinary breach of protocol at a court that tightly controls access to its deliberations. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court said Thursday that a monthslong investigation has so far failed to identify who leaked in May the draft opinion overruling Roe v. Wade, the first public statement since Chief Justice John Roberts announced the probe a day after Justice Samuel Alito ’s draft opinion was published. “The team has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence,” the court’s unsigned statement said, using the legal term for the lowest standard of proof in a case.

Andrew Tate once called his sexually explicit webcam business a “total scam” and boasted on his website that he lured women in by getting them to fall in love with him. Romanian authorities arrested him, his brother and two women on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group, according to Reuters. The webcam business that Tate ran and openly spoke about is central to these charges, according to Romanian Authorities. Some of the allegations by Romanian authorities echo what Andrew Tate has said publicly about his webcam business. Earlier this month, Vice reported that Tate was arrested in 2015 in the U.K. on suspicion of sexual assault and physical abuse, citing statements from U.K. authorities and Tate himself.

☆ Macau Tycoon Jailed 18 Years for Running Casino Betting Syndicate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Tony Lai | Elaine Yu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alvin Chau, who helped transform Macau into the world’s richest gambling center, had denied all the charges against him. MACAU—A tycoon in the Chinese casino enclave of Macau was sentenced to 18 years in prison Wednesday after a court found him guilty of heading a criminal syndicate that ran massive under-the-table betting operations across the city’s casinos. Alvin Chau , a flamboyant industry figure who helped transform Macau into the world’s richest gambling center by luring high rollers from mainland China over the past two decades, was convicted of more than 150 counts after a high-profile, monthslong trial. The case came as China is stepping up efforts to clean up the city’s reputation and make it less reliant on gambling revenues.

For users with a lot of followers, Twitter has been a place to network with professionals in their chosen field, build successful businesses and share breaking news. In October 2022 the account hit 550,000 Twitter followers, she said. Before Musk, Nelson said he communicated with Twitter staff, who engaged with the platform’s top creators to share new features and get insight. Prominent Twitter users said they have also noticed the quality of discourse on the platform declining, including more hateful messages being sent to them in direct messages and replies. It catalogs tweets from and about Musk, including reporting on the disruption to Twitter’s staff, previously suspended accounts that Musk restored and major moments on Musk’s Twitter.

☆ 31-year-old started suffering stomachaches after a monthslong job search—how she managed her anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As her graduation date approached, Haram began applying for jobs early, even before her program ended in May 2022. As the seasons went by, however, and she still wasn't getting any offers, major anxiety began to set in. And with all of the waiting, hoping and various unknowns, the job seeking process is nothing if not uncertain. Here's how she quelled her nerves and why Cassine believes these are useful tactics for anyone else dealing with anxiety. And in enabling other people to feel that way, Haram was able to feel seen, heard and valued herself.

☆ South Korean police blame fatal Halloween crush on lack of preparation, poor response
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view of tributes at a memorial at the scene of a crowd crush that happened during Halloween festivities, in Seoul, South Korea, November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Heo RanSEOUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) - South Korea's police on Friday said a lack of preparations and an inadequate response were the main causes of the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul last year, wrapping up a monthslong investigation into the tragedy that killed 159 people. "Misjudgement of the situation, delay in sharing information and lack of cooperation among related agencies accumulated to cause large casualties," Sohn told reporters. The investigation team has referred 23 people, including the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to prosecutors. The bereaved families and opposition lawmakers have criticised the police investigation for failing to hold top officials accountable.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, center, with soldiers in what they said was a salt mine in Soledar, Ukraine in this image released on Jan. 11. By contrast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed that Soledar had fallen to Russian forces or mentioned the Wagner group’s involvement in attempts to take it. Russia has consistently denied the involvement of the Wagner Group in its official military operations. Prigozhin during the funeral of Wagner group fighter near St. Petersburg, on Christmas Eve. To date, the hawks have been far louder than the pragmatists, and a chorus of hard-right bloggers have excoriated Russia’s military performance, while television pundits have called for a tougher approach.

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in the Manhattan federal court, New York, January 3, 2023. In a Thursday morning Substack post, FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried denied allegations that he stole billions in user funds and suggested that Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao conducted a monthslong effort to bring down FTX. It is Bankman-Fried's first significant response to federal allegations that he directed an $8 billion fraud that destroyed his $32 billion crypto conglomerate. In the beginning of 2022, for example, Bankman-Fried says he estimated Alameda's total net assets at $99 billion. By October, he believed that his hedge fund's net assets had fallen to $10 billion.

☆ U.S. Container Imports Tumbled Close to Prepandemic Levels in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Paul Page | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. ocean imports closed 2022 extending a monthslong slide closer to prepandemic levels, according to a new report, leaving the shipping sector bracing for deeper declines in container volumes this year. U.S. container imports overall fell 2.8% last year from 2021, according to Descartes Datamyne figures, but the 28,276,129 containers were still 18.5% ahead of 2019 volumes. Bottlenecks at U.S. gateways have eased since last year, but new projections suggest shipping volumes will fall at an even steeper pace in the first half of this year. That would put trade behind the prepandemic levels and roughly equivalent to imports in early 2020, when Covid lockdowns crashed global shipping volume. “After nearly three years of Covid-19’s impact on global trade and consumer demand, import patterns appear to be returning to what was normal prior to 2020,” said Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett.

☆ Tesla extends discounts amid warnings of a monthslong 'pain period' in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla is keeping the discounts rolling in China. China is facing a COVID-19 outbreak that will hurt car production and sales, JPMorgan analysts warn. They came as a surprise, as Tesla has seemingly had no trouble selling every single car it's produced in recent years. Slowing sales in China — a huge market for electric vehicles filled with competition — could explain the aggressive price cuts. The situation in China may get worse before it gets better, the bank's analysts said in a note to investors in January.

The first full-color image released from the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope is the sharpest infrared image of the distant universe ever produced, according to NASA. Space Telescope Science Institut / NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERONASA released the first batch of images from the tennis court-sized observatory to much fanfare in July. The exoplanet HIP 65426 b in different bands of infrared light, as seen from the James Webb Space Telescope. Back to the moonFifty years after the final Apollo moon mission, NASA took key steps toward returning astronauts to the lunar surface. Chinese officials have also said they intend to use the space station for space tourism and commercial space initiatives.

☆ Thriving network of fixers preys on migrants crossing Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +23 min

With soaring numbers of people entering Mexico, a sprawling network of lawyers, fixers and middlemen has exploded in the country. Detained migrants stand in the outdoor area of the Siglo XXI Migrant Detention Center in Tapachula, Mexico, on Oct. 4. When the immigration agency was asked directly, via freedom of information requests, it said it was just one. An empanada vendor's stall advertises information, and immigration documents outside the main immigration office in Puebla, Mexico, on Sept. 23. By mid-December, the immigration agency suddenly announced the closing of the camp with no explanation.

☆ Suicide bombing in Pakistan's capital kills 2 suspects and a policeman
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

At least three police officers and seven passersby were wounded in the bombing in Islamabad. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the explosion. Friday’s bombing happened about 9 miles from the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home of the military and government spy agencies. Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks on security forces since November, when they unilaterally ended a monthslong cease-fire with the country’s government. The Pakistani Taliban are separate but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan last year as U.S. and NATO troops withdrew after 20 years of war.

☆ Kentucky revokes license and orders children removed from foster care facility where 7-year-old boy died
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Safia Samee Ali | Safia Samee Ali Is A Reporter For Nbc News Digital | Based In Chicago. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

An NBC News investigation into the facility that revealed allegations of wrongdoing at that site and its sister campus several years before Ja’Ceon died. "We have also worked cooperatively with all investigations, including those by local law enforcement.”The monthslong investigation by the Cabinet’s Office of Inspector General and Department for Community Based Services cited several “failures” at the Brooklawn facility. The state, which stopped placing children in foster care at Brooklawn following Ja’Ceon’s death, directed Uspiritus to safely transition any children who remain at Brooklawn to alternate placements within 15 days. “This outcome is necessary, but nothing we do will bring back Ja’Ceon Terry.”Kentucky mother Autumn Janeway wrote accusations against the foster care facility on the back window of her car. Michael Swensen for NBC NewsFriedlander's office is also investigating allegations by the mother of a developmentally delayed child that the child was choked, scratched and taunted at the Brooklawn facility.

☆ Iran’s Online Crackdown Prompts Smuggling of Starlink Kits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( David S. Cloud | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protests broke out in Iran more than two months ago after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody. Iranian border guards discovered the gray box in a van crossing from Iraq in late October. Inside was a sleek machine resembling a monitor. But after questioning the driver, the guards waved the vehicle through, people involved said. The guards had just allowed a Starlink satellite dish sold by a division of Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, into the country.

☆ A Texas superintendent ordered school librarians to remove LGBTQ books. Now the federal government is investigating.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Mike Hixenbaugh | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

The U.S. Education Department’s civil rights enforcement arm has launched an investigation into a North Texas school district whose superintendent was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books. The comments, combined with the district’s subsequent decision to remove dozens of library books pending a review, fostered a “pervasively hostile” environment for LGBTQ students, the ACLU wrote in its complaint. Last year, voters in Granbury elected a pair of school board members who campaigned against LGBTQ-affirming school curricula and library books. “These comments, combined with the book removals, really send a message to LGBTQ students in the districts that: ‘You don’t belong here. Lou Whiting, a student at Granbury High School, becomes emotional after speaking against the removal of LGBTQ books at a Granbury school board meeting in March.

☆ A top McDonald's security exec said the CEO repeatedly undermined him — and even barred him from riding with him on the corporate jet — in a new racial-discrimination lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Peaster, a Black McDonald's security executive, is suing the chain and its CEO. Yet according to a racial-discrimination lawsuit that Peaster filed this month, the CEO ignored the 35-year McDonald's veteran for the better part of a year. "It was retaliatory against Michael Peaster based on his respectful but legitimate contradiction of Kempczinski on the subject of race." A representative for Peaster told Insider via email: "Michael Peaster had the same job since 2010. In January 2020, two Black McDonald's executives, Vicki Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal, filed a discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's.

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