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☆ UAW President Shawn Fain under investigation by federal monitor
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Shawn Fain, who led the United Auto Workers union in its strike against all three unionized American automakers last fall, is under investigation by a federal monitor overseeing the union. It dredges up past union corruption issues that sent previous union officials to prison, an issue that helped Fain win a narrow upset victory to lead the union last year. Fain was a guest of President Joe Biden at the State of the Union speech, where Biden recognized and praised him. Biden also joined Fain on the picket line during last year’s auto strike, the first sitting president to visit a picket line. Fain, a former critic of both former President Donald Trump and the Biden administration, has become a vocal supporter of Biden, who has been endorsed by the UAW.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Fain, Margaret Mock, “, Neil Barofsky, Rich Boyer, Boyer, Barofsky, Mock, ” Barofsky, ”, We’re, Stellantis, Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, UAW, Volkswagen, Stellantis, TARP, General Motors, Ford, State Locations: New York, Tennessee, Mercedes, Alabama

Gantry cranes stand in the APM Terminals yard at the Port of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama, U.S., on Thursday, July 20, 2017. This is another example of USMX members unilaterally circumventing our coast-wide Master Contract. A Maersk spokesman said in an emailed statement that APM Terminals remains "in full compliance with the ILA/USMX Master Contract." During a speech before union members that month, Daggett vowed the ILA would not take a back seat to anyone. The ILA indicated in its release that it will not meet with USMX until the "auto gate" issue is resolved.

Persons: Harold J, Daggett Organizations: APM, Port, Longshoremen's Association, United States Maritime Alliance, ILA, APM Terminals, Maersk, USMX, MSC Locations: Mobile, Mobile , Alabama, U.S, East Coast, Gulf Coast, Port of Mobile , Alabama, North America, Daggett, West Coast

☆ EU elections kick off against a backdrop of China disputes, 'greenlash' and possible Trump return
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Laurie Dieffembacq | Afp | Getty ImagesThe political makeup of the European Union is about to change with voters across the 27 member states heading to the polls from Thursday until Sunday. Trump has previously remarked that he would not protect NATO countries from Russian attacks if they lag on their membership payments. Green pledgesIn the wake of the 2019 EU elections, the bloc claimed it was the global champion on a climate-friendly agenda. "This could include more support for nuclear power or even support fracking for cheaper and more reliable gas," they added. "An even larger Eurosceptic representation is also likely to weigh against bold reforms which could make enlargement difficult," the analysts said.

Persons: Hadja, Laurie Dieffembacq, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, Green, Giorgia, There's Organizations: Belgian, Afp, Getty, European, CNBC, U.S . European Union, U.S, EU, NATO, European Commission, Citi, Bloomberg, European Union Locations: European Union, Europe, U.S, Ukraine, China, Brussels, Beijing, Italy, Rome, Kyiv

☆ Amazon's first U.S. labor union moves to affiliate with Teamsters
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon workers arrive with paperwork to unionize at the National Labor Relations Board office in Brooklyn, New York, Oct. 25, 2021. The Amazon Labor Union, the first group of company workers to organize at a U.S. warehouse, said Tuesday that it's taken steps to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The ALU originally eschewed major labor unions, establishing itself instead as an independent organization. Aligning with the Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the U.S., could give the ALU additional heft to jumpstart negotiations with Amazon. In March, ALU members voted to hold an election for new union officers.

Persons: it's, Chris Smalls, Smalls, Arthur Schwartz, ALU, Schwartz Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, Amazon Labor Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Amazon, Teamsters, Democratic Reform Caucus Locations: Brooklyn , New York, U.S, Staten Island , New York, Brooklyn, JFK8

☆ Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama vote against unionizing in blow to big UAW push
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Out of the valid votes counted, 56% of workers voted “no,” while 44% voted “yes” for unionization, according to Mercedes-Benz. Under relatively new UAW president Shawn Fain, the UAW had shifted its strategy for a membership push in non-unionized factories, many of which are located in the American South. David Johnston, right, a worker at Mercedes, thanks UAW President Shawn Fain following a press conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on May 17, 2024, after workers at two Alabama Mercedes-Benz factories voted overwhelmingly against joining the United Auto Workers union. Alabama is not Michigan, and we are not the Sweet Home to the UAW,” Ivey said in the statement. People react as the result of a vote comes in favour of the hourly factory workers at Volkswagen's assembly plant to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, at a watch party in Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S., April 19, 2024.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Fain, ”, ” “, ” Fain, David Johnston, Kim Chandler, “, Kay Ivey, Vance, ” Ivey, Mercedes, Tesla, Seth, Wheaton, Mercedes plant’s, It’s, Mercedes Benz, ” Wheaton, “ It’s, Chris Isidore, Nathaniel Meyersohn Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, Mercedes, Benz, The National Labor Relations Board, UAW, Alabama, Big Three, Volkswagen, International, Team, Workers, Alabama Gov, Benz US International, Member, ” CNN, US, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, Seth Herald, Reuters, Chattanooga, Volkswagen didn’t, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations ’, CNN, P Global Market Intelligence Locations: New York, Benz, Alabama, United States, Chattanooga , Tennessee, American, Tuscaloosa , Alabama, MBUSI, Alabama , Georgia , Mississippi, South Carolina , Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, U.S, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations ’ Buffalo

☆ A national shortage of construction workers is driving high home prices. The industry is struggling to fill the gap.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Eliza Relman | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Fewer construction workers means less — and slower — residential construction, which in turn leads to higher home prices, according to a 2023 report from researchers at the University of Utah and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Builders and infrastructure projects are in desperate need of all kinds of construction workers, but especially skilled tradespeople. Simonson said that allowing more immigrants into the country to fill construction jobs is crucial. Making the industry more appealing to womenBoushey pointed out that the share of women in the overall construction industry has climbed. The construction industry is also at a disadvantage because most workers can't do manual labor until they retire.

Persons: —, Ken Simonson, Kit Dickinson, Dickinson, Ben Brubeck, Maja Rosenquist, Mortenson, we've, Simonson, Brubeck, Rosenquist, Joe Biden, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Heather Boushey, Biden, Boushey, she's Organizations: Service, Associated Builders and Contractors, Business, Associated, Contractors of America, University of Utah, University of Wisconsin - Madison, ADP, —, Builders, Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, Economic Advisers Locations: president's, America

☆ Federal labor board has been much more pro-worker under Biden. Employers want courts to end that
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The companies are asking federal courts, often with conservative, pro-business judges, to stop the agency from standing behind the more activist unions now making their lives more difficult. “The NLRB has long used the federal courts … to obtain injunctions … before the merits of an unfair labor practice case are fully evaluated,” said a statement from Starbucks. The employer doesn’t have to pay any interest, penalty or fine, to the fired workers, their union or the agency. While this is the first such case to reach the Supreme Court, other cases are emerging in which some high profile employers are challenging the agency’s right to exist. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected by the end of June.

Persons: Biden, …, ”, “, Jennifer Abruzzo, Cathy Creighton, Clinton, Elon Musk’s, Joe’s, Cornell’s Creighton, she’s, “ They’re, “ I’m Organizations: New, New York CNN, Starbucks, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, Memphis, Cornell University’s, Industrial and Labor Relations, SpaceX, nonunion Locations: New York, Memphis, Buffalo , New York

☆ How the UAW’s win may change the South
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now, the United Auto Workers has dealt a serious blow to that model: winning a landslide union victory after decades of failing to unionize automakers in the South. It’s the UAW’s first win in trying to represent workers at a foreign car manufacturing plant in the South. Before Friday’s win, the highest profile union election held in the South in recent years was the attempt to organize Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama in 2022. Bill Lee in 2019 visited Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga to encourage workers to reject the union, and former South Carolina Gov. But the Volkswagen win, said UAW President Shawn Fain to CNN, shows that politics are not an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to organizing in the South.

Persons: Stephen Silvia, Southern, ” Silvia, – Tesla, Tesla, Henry McMaster, Kay Ivey, “, ”, Erica Smiley, Honda, Friday’s, you’ve, they’ve, Bill Lee, Nikki Haley, Biden —, Shawn Fain, “ Trump, ” Fain, “ I’m, George Walker IV, Harley Shaiken, Justice, CNN’s Chris Isidore Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers, UAW, American University, Southern Gamble, Workers, Foreign, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, –, South Carolina Gov, Alabama Gov, “ Unions, Justice, Union, Auto, South Detroit, Benz, Kia, P Global Market Intelligence, Republicans, Environmental Defense Fund, Southern, “, GOP, Tennessee Gov, Democratic, CNN, Tennessee, AP, Chattanooga won’t, University of California, Jobs Locations: New York, United States, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Mercedes, Vance , Alabama, Alabama, Smyrna , Tennessee, Spartanburg , South Carolina, Lincoln , Alabama, Southern, South, Chattanooga, Georgia, Berkeley

☆ LabHost: Police take down $249-a-month global phishing service used by 2,000 hackers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Mark Thompson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Thirty-seven suspects were arrested, and more than 70 locations were searched in the UK and across the world between Sunday and Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. LabHost had obtained 480,000 bank card numbers, 64,000 pin numbers, as well as more than 1 million passwords used for websites and other online services, it said. In a separate statement, Europol said four people linked to the running of LabHost, including the developer of the service, had been arrested. At least 40,000 phishing domains, with about 10,000 users worldwide, had been uncovered by the investigation into LabHost, Europol said. “With a monthly fee averaging $249, LabHost would offer a range of illicit services which were customizable and could be deployed with a few clicks,” it said.

Persons: LabHost, Met, Europol Organizations: London CNN —, Metropolitan Police, European, Europol, US Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Locations: United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, LabHost

☆ Volkswagen union vote in Tennessee to test UAW's power after victories in Detroit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Elijah Nouvelage | Getty ImagesDETROIT — Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will vote this week on whether to organize with the United Auto Workers in a key test of the union's sway. More than 4,000 VW workers are eligible to vote, beginning Wednesday and ending at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday. The organizing vote, which is being overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, will need a simple majority to succeed. Volkswagen, which has union workers at non-U.S. plants, has said it will let its workers determine whether to organize. An aerial view of the Chattanooga Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 10, 2024.

Persons: Elijah Nouvelage, Shawn Fain, Fain, Stephen Silvia, Southern, Silvia, Kevin Wurm, it's, we're, —, Isaac Meadows, Meadows Organizations: Volkswagen, Getty, DETROIT, United Auto Workers, UAW, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Detroit, Tennessee VW, VW, National Labor Relations Board, Detroit automakers, Southern Gamble, Workers, Foreign, American University, Washington , D.C, Chattanooga Volkswagen, Washington Post, Ford Locations: Chattanooga , Tennessee, U.S, Detroit, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Washington ,

☆ Lauren Boebert's fundraising took a huge plunge after she switched districts
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lauren Boebert just had her worst fundraising quarter in years. But some of her House GOP colleagues are donating to her. George Santos even gave her $400. AdvertisementRep. Lauren Boebert just had her worst fundraising quarter in years, bringing in roughly $462,000 in the first three months of 2024. Former Rep. George Santos and Rep. Lauren Boebert before the State of the Union last month.

Persons: Lauren Boebert, George Santos, —, Boebert, Ken Buck, Mary Miller of Illinois, Ronny Jackson of, Anna Paulina Luna of, Jim Jordan of, Andy Biggs, Buck, Santos, Shawn Thew, Donald Trump, Jerry Sonnenberg Organizations: GOP, Service, Colorado Republican's, Rep, Caucus, Reps, House GOP Locations: redder, Colorado, Ronny Jackson of Texas, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Andy Biggs of Arizona, State, Denver

☆ Spirit Airlines will defer Airbus orders, furlough 260 pilots in race to shore up liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Spirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and that it plans to furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity. Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026. The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years. United Airlines pilots' union last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing . The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots' union, said Monday it is exploring voluntary measures that could limit the number of pilot furloughs.

Persons: Ted Christie, Christie, Pratt, Spirit, Whitney, Ryan Muller Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Airbus, Pratt & Whitney, JetBlue Airways, Whitney, Association of, United Airlines, Boeing, Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit Locations: Miramar , Florida, City , New Jersey

☆ A Situation Room scramble, daily calls and political intrigue: Inside the White House response to the Key Bridge collapse
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Kayla Tausche | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

ET, overnight staffers in the White House Situation Room began frantically reaching out to senior officials to notify them of the collision – and collapse – of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Jen Daskal, the deputy homeland security adviser, began preparing a briefing for President Joe Biden. Two Oval Office meetings were convened as staff at various levels began trickling into the White House. Seven barges and nine tugboats have deployed to the area, according to Tom Perez, the White House director of intergovernmental affairs. In another case – that of Moore and Perez – the two have already opposed each other on the ballot.

Persons: Pete Buttigieg, Dali, Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key, Buttigieg, ” Buttigieg, Wes Moore, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Jeff Zients –, Jen Daskal, Joe Biden, “, ”, Johnny Olszewski – Biden, ” Olszewski, Biden, “ I’ve, ” Biden, –, Tom Perez, ” Perez, Perez, “ It’s, we’ve, Natalie Quillian, Moore, Perez –, that’s, ” CNN’s Donald Judd Organizations: Baltimore CNN —, US Coast Guard, CNN, Maryland Gov, Baltimore Mayor, White House, Baltimore, Coast Guard, Department of Transportation, Maryland, White, Administration, Democratic Locations: Wyoming, Montana, Maryland, Baltimore County, Washington, Delaware, Baltimore, Patapsco, synchrony, Federal, White, United States

Microsoft unbundles, againMicrosoft is separating Teams, its popular video and chat app, from its Office software suite in markets around the world, broadening a split that began in the European Union last fall. It appears to be the latest effort by the software giant to head off investigations by global antitrust enforcers as regulators examine the power of Big Tech. Microsoft first added the video and document collaboration program to its business software suite in 2017, and saw Teams’s popularity soar after the coronavirus pandemic unleashed a boom in hybrid and remote working. At the height of the lockdown in 2020, Slack filed a complaint with the European Commission accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior by bundling Teams with Office. (Three months later, Slack agreed to sell itself to Salesforce for $27.7 billion.)

Persons: Microsoft unbundles, Slack, Eric Yuan Organizations: Microsoft, European Union, Big Tech, Rivals, Commission

☆ European Union launches Big Tech investigation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEuropean Union launches Big Tech investigationCNBC's Steve Kovach reports on news from the European Union and what it means for the top tech companies in the world.

Persons: Steve Kovach Organizations: European Union, Big Tech

☆ Europe investigates Big Tech’s use of generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Regulators at the European Commission say they’re particularly concerned about how generative AI could sow chaos in the run-up to this summer’s EU parliamentary elections. Online platforms will have until April 5 to respond to questions about steps they’ve taken to prevent AI tools from spreading election misinformation. The companies’ responses could be incorporated into a series of election security guidelines for tech platforms the European Commission plans to finalize by March 27, another commission official said. The AI investigation also covers a broader set of topics including how platforms are addressing generative AI’s impact on user privacy, intellectual property, civil rights and children’s safety and mental health. “One of the grievances we have is the ability to manipulate the service through automated means and this can include generative AI, so yes, there’s a link to the ongoing investigation,” one of the commission officials said.

Persons: “, ”, Linda Yaccarino, Thierry Breton Organizations: CNN, European Union, Meta, Microsoft, Commission, Digital Services, Elon Locations: Israel, EU

☆ EU approves landmark AI law, leapfrogging US to regulate worrying new technology
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —European Union lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a landmark law governing artificial intelligence, leapfrogging the United States once again on the regulation of a critical and disruptive technology. The first-of-its-kind law is poised to reshape how businesses and organizations in Europe use AI for everything from health care decisions to policing. It imposes blanket bans on some “unacceptable” uses of the technology while enacting stiff guardrails for other applications deemed “high-risk.”For example, the EU AI Act outlaws social scoring systems powered by AI and any biometric-based tools used to guess a person’s race, political leanings or sexual orientation. Meanwhile, the law outlines a separate category of “high-risk” uses of AI, particularly for education, hiring and access to government services, and imposes a separate set of transparency and other obligations on them. Companies such as OpenAI that produce powerful, complex and widely used AI models will also be subject to new disclosure requirements under the law.

Persons: Chuck Schumer Organizations: CNN — European Union, EU Locations: United States, Europe

Here’s a look at the world's first comprehensive set of AI rules:HOW DOES THE AI ACT WORK? The law’s early drafts focused on AI systems carrying out narrowly limited tasks, like scanning resumes and job applications. The astonishing rise of general purpose AI models, exemplified by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, sent EU policymakers scrambling to keep up. Rules for general purpose AI systems like chatbots will start applying a year after the law takes effect. Meanwhile, Brussels will create an AI Office tasked with enforcing and supervising the law for general purpose AI systems.

Persons: Dragos Tudorache, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it’s, ”, Joe Biden, that’s, Xi Jinping, they've Organizations: —, Union, Lawmakers, Artificial Intelligence, Big, ACT, EU, Google, Companies, Global AI, Initiative, United Nations, Group Locations: Romanian, Europe, Brussels, U.S, China, Brazil, Japan

☆ How Biden hopes to recapture voters scarred by inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Ron Brownstein | Analysis Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

A majority of Hispanics, and even a plurality of Black voters, said Biden’s policies would cause inflation to rise, the survey found. You can’t not make the contrast and comparison.”These negative retrospective assessments of the Biden and Trump economic records create huge headwinds for the president. “Voters—even past Biden voters who disapprove of his economic record—clearly reject what Trump and Republicans are offering,” Democratic pollster Margie Omero said in an email. After voters were exposed to Biden’s populist arguments, assessments of his economic record improved in the group’s polling, Clark said. But even after hearing that case, most voters in the group’s surveys still gave Biden negative marks for his economic performance, the study found.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Biden, Biden –, “, ”, Danielle Deiseroth, West Virginia Sen, Joe Manchin, Shawn Fain, Evelyn Hockstein, Adam Green, Michael Tyler, Republican pollster Micah Roberts, It’s, Jim McLaughlin, ” McLaughlin, Roberts, ” Roberts, can’t, ” Tyler, Margie Omero, ’, Bobby Clark, Clark Organizations: CNN, GOP, Trump, Teamsters, Democratic, ACA, West, United Auto Workers, Biden, CNBC, Social Security, Republican, White, NBC News, New York Times, Siena College, CBS, Union, “ Locations: Wisconsin, Michigan, Belleville , Michigan, Scranton , Pennsylvania, Democratic, State, Biden’s

☆ Dartmouth basketball’s union vote is just a small part of the campus organizing wave
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The Dartmouth College men’s basketball team achieved a significant milestone last week when they became the first college athletes to vote to join a union. And similar to the 13-2 margin vote in favor of the union at the Dartmouth basketball team last week, the unions are winning these votes overwhelmingly. Organizing athletes still uphill battleThe vote last week by the Dartmouth basketball team rightly got a lot of attention as the first group of college athletes to vote to join a union. Dartmouth basketball players don’t get a scholarship, and the college has announced it will seek to overturn the union vote, arguing that they are not employees. Haskins and Myrthil said they hope the victory of the union vote at Dartmouth will spark union votes on many other teams, including the big dollar programs.

Persons: don’t, Christian Sweeney, “, ”, we’ve, Romeo Myrthil, Cade Haskins, Laura Oliverio, Nadine Formiga, Sian Beilock, CNN’s Poppy Harlow, Dartmouth “, ” Romeo Myrthil, CNN Haskins, Myrthil, they’re, ” Haskins, Haskins, who’s, ‘, ’ ”, Douglas Murphy, CNN “, Murphy, Ed Burns, Dartmouth, he’s, “ You’re, “ Will, ‘ We’ll, ” Burns, “ They’re, Jim Harbaugh, Harbaugh, you’ve, It’s, Robert F, Logan Mann, Mann Organizations: New, New York CNN, Dartmouth College men’s, AFL, Dartmouth men's, Dartmouth, Columbia University, CNN, National Labor Relations Board, California State University, CSU Employees Union, Student Workers, “, NLRB, Dartmouth men’s, Ivy League, Michigan, Alabama, NCAA, University of Michigan, Department, NFL, United Electrical, Machine Workers of America, Dartmouth College Locations: New York, New York City, Dartmouth, Sweden, America, Minneapolis, Columbia, . Michigan, Hanover, N.H

☆ Forced to Change: Tech Giants Bow to Global Onslaught of Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Adam Satariano | David Mccabe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And Apple will give iPhone and iPad users access to rival app stores and payment systems for the first time. The tech giants have been preparing ahead of a Wednesday deadline to comply with a new European Union law intended to increase competition in the digital economy. Those changes are some of the most visible shifts that Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta and others are making in response to a wave of new regulations and laws around the world. In the United States, some of the tech behemoths have said they will abandon practices that are the subject of federal antitrust investigations. “This is a turning point,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president in Brussels, who spent much of the past decade battling with tech giants.

Persons: ”, Margrethe Vestager Organizations: Google, Microsoft, European Union, Markets, Apple, Justice Department, European Commission, “ Locations: United States, Brussels

☆ Avdiivka: Ukraine’s defeat darkens the mood in the West
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Traveling from the Munich Security Conference towards Ukraine’s frontlines, the polite frustration and manicured pleas of Western leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky feel yet more desperate. Ukrainian soldiers of Brigade 71 fire artillery in the direction of Avdiivka on February 18, 2024. Latvia’s president spoke of “murder,” Germany’s defense minister of how the death showed Russia was “willing and able to provoke” the West. Tobias Schwarz/ReutersIn and of itself, the Ukrainian defeat Avdiivka does not herald a sea change in Kyiv’s fortunes. Instead they may face larger existential questions about providing a lot more help, very urgently, to stop Ukraine’s war becoming Europe’s.

Persons: Ukraine’s frontlines, Volodymyr Zelensky, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Alexey Navalny, Putin, ”, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Zelensky –, –, Tobias Schwarz, Avdiivka, Bakhmut, —, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Oleksandr Syrsky —, Zelensky, ’, Tucker Carlson, Kostiantyn, Zaluzhnyi Organizations: CNN, Munich, Ukraine’s, Ukrainian, United States Congress, Brigade, Getty, Trump, NATO, Republican, Reuters, European Union Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Avdiivka, Anadolu, Russia, West, Munich, Germany, Moscow, Kyiv, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Russian, Poland, frontlines, North Korea

But if it is what the White House suggests, we may now find ourselves facing this generation’s Sputnik moment. Now that we know what Russia is planning, the United States cannot afford to be slow to act. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which Russia is a party, prohibits the placement of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit around Earth. While the United States has made advances in space defenses, it would struggle to defend its satellites against a nuclear attack in space. We use satellites to collect intelligence and to detect missile launches, and for navigation, communications and controlling precision weapons.

Persons: John Kirby, White, Eisenhower Organizations: Capitol, Soviet Union, Soviets Locations: Russian, Russia, United States

As Dwight progressed through the Air Force, he was handpicked by President John F. Kennedy’s White House to join Chuck Yeager’s test pilot program at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert. That fabled astronaut breeding ground, site of “The Right Stuff,” might have turned Dwight into one of the most famous Americans and the first Black man in space. Dwight astronaut future took a more drastic turn when Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. “Everybody was wondering, ‘What’s going to happen with Dwight?’" says Dwight. To the Black astronauts who followed in his footsteps, Dwight braved their path.

Persons: Ed Dwight, he’d, ’ ” Dwight, Dwight, ”, “, ‘, John F, Chuck Yeager’s, Edwards, Kennedy, —, ” Dwight, Zoom, Guion, Bernard Harris, ” Harris, Ed, who’s, Lisa Cortés, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, that’s, Eddie Dwight, Satchel Paige’s, Edward R, Murrow, James Webb, “ Yeager, Jimmy Stewart, Yaeger, ’ ” Yeager, Yeager, Tom Wolfe’s “, Bobby, Wolfe, ‘ What’s, ’, ” Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Patterson, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Barack Obama, it’s, Hurtado de Mendoza, isn’t, He’s, Chuck, Jake Coyle Organizations: Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, NASA, Geographic, Disney, Century America, Negro Leagues, Kansas City Monarchs, Soviet Union, Sputnik, Mercury, U.S . Information Agency, Negro, Aerospace Research, House, Arizona State University, “ NASA, White, Congress, Civil Rights, Justice Department, Wright, IBM, Fine Arts, Sculpture, University of Denver, Orion Locations: Kansas, Korea, Hulu, Denver, Soviet, U.S, Edwards, Washington, Germany, Canada, Ohio

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for an independent investigation into allegations of vote-rigging in Serbia and demanded that EU funds be cut off if the authorities in Belgrade fail to cooperate with the inquiry or are found to be implicated in election irregularities. The governing Serbian Progressive party of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić won the Dec. 17 parliamentary and municipal elections, securing 129 seats in the 250-seat assembly. The opposition Serbia Against Violence coalition finished a distant second with 65 seats. The resolution has angered Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. Vučić’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his failure to enforce EU sanctions on Moscow have dismayed many.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, watchdogs, “, ”, Ana Brnabić, ” Brnabić, Vladimir Putin, ___ Dusan Stojanovic Organizations: —, Union, Serbian Progressive, Serbian, Violence, Organization for Security, Cooperation, Parliamentary, of Europe, Serbia’s National Assembly Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Belgrade, Europe, Strasbourg, France, Moscow

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