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☆ In praise of American finance’s regulatory mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - There are many issues on which China and the United States are far apart. The People’s Republic this week proposed combining financial regulatory functions into a new super watchdog to govern its financial sector more effectively. China’s proposed new National Financial Regulatory Administration is roughly in this mold. Since 2008, officials in Beijing have criticized the United States’ financial excesses and its “warped conception” of financial discipline. The new National Financial Regulatory Administration would sit directly under the State Council, which serves as China’s cabinet.

OTTAWA, March 9 (Reuters) - Canadian Police said on Thursday they are investigating allegations that two Montreal-area centers are being used as Chinese state-backed "police stations" to intimidate or harass Canadians of Chinese origin. The investigation adds to mounting allegations of Chinese interference in Canada's internal affairs, including accusations by Ottawa that Beijing tried to influence the last two Canadian elections. In November, the RCMP also launched an investigation into similar reports of Chinese "police service stations" in the Toronto area. The RCMP's deputy commissioner for federal policing, Michael Duheme, told a parliamentary committee last week that the agency has "taken overt actions" that led to the ceasing of operations at four alleged Chinese police stations. The Quebec RCMP alleged that Canadians of Chinese origin have been "victims of the possible activities" conducted by two centers, in Montreal and nearby Brossard, it has identified as possible police stations run by Beijing.

☆ DOJ Probe Sparked by Breonna Taylor’s Death Faults Louisville for Illegal Policing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A memorial to Breonna Taylor, who was shot to death during a botched police raid, in Louisville, Ky., in September 2020. The Justice Department on Wednesday faulted the Louisville Metro Police Department for widespread unconstitutional practices in a probe launched after the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor and said it would examine the role of special police units following the deadly January beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, underscoring the Biden administration’s focus on overhauling local law enforcement. A sweeping, two-year investigation following Ms. Taylor’s killing found officers routinely used excessive force, made illegal arrests and discriminatory traffic stops, and unlawfully executed search warrants without knocking and announcing their presence, among other civil-rights violations that had a disproportionate impact on Black people.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The Louisville, Kentucky police department whose officers fatally shot Breonna Taylor in 2020 routinely discriminates against Black residents, uses excessive force and conducts illegal searches, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. At a news conference, Garland said the department had reached a "consent decree" with the Louisville police, which will require the use of an independent monitor to oversee policing reforms. Garland said some Louisville police officers had demonstrated disrespect to the people they are sworn to protect, with some insulting people with disabilities and describing Black people as "monkeys." Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was asleep in bed with her boyfriend on March 13, 2020, when Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant burst into her apartment. In 2022, former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that she helped falsify the search warrant that led to Taylor's death.

☆ Tyre Nichols death: Memphis mayor and police chief requested DOJ's review of the police department
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michelle Mark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Justice Department is reviewing the Memphis Police Department after Tyre Nichols' beating death. The review was requested by Memphis' mayor and police chief, the Justice Department said. The investigation was prompted by the death of Tyre Nichols, who was severely beaten by Memphis police officers. It will also review specialized street crime units like the SCORPION Unit, which the department deactivated after Nichols' death. The review was requested by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis, according to the DOJ.

☆ Memphis approves police reforms after beating death of Tyre Nichols
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 7 (Reuters) - The Memphis City Council on Tuesday approved a series of police reforms in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols following his beating by police during a Jan. 7 traffic stop, with more far-reaching measures under consideration. The death of Nichols, 29, an unarmed Black man, prompted outrage and calls for change. In the Nichols case, five officers, all Black, have been charged with second-degree murder. Some officers in the Nichols case drove unmarked cars and formed part of a special unit that has since been disbanded. A more far-reaching reform named the "Tyre Nichols Justice in Policing Ordinance" passed a first reading but needs to be heard by the council two more times to get approved.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The Louisville, Kentucky, police force routinely discriminates against Black residents, uses excessive force and conducts illegal searches, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, following a probe prompted by Breonna Taylor's death in 2020. Some Louisville police officers even filmed themselves insulting people with disabilities and describing Black people as "monkeys," the Justice Department said. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg told reporters the Justice Department's report brought back "painful memories" and vowed to implement reforms. Under Garland's leadership, the Justice Department has sought to reinvigorate its civil rights enforcement program, an area civil rights advocates say was left in tatters by the former administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The Justice department has since restored their use, and launched multiple civil rights investigations into police departments, local jails and prisons across the country.

☆ Louisville cops called Black people racial slurs and videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their police cars, explosive DOJ probe finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jack Newsham | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LMPD officers threw drinks at pedestrians from their cars and called Black people racial slurs. The DOJ report on Louisville Metro Police published Wednesday details various horrific incidents. The DOJ investigation continued: "Some officers have videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their cars; insulted people with disabilities; and called Black people 'monkeys,' 'animal,' and 'boy.'" The Justice Department mentioned an incident where a police officer used a swear word and called Black men "monkeys" but was not disciplined because he retired. The Justice Department said the officer was verbally reprimanded, but investigators didn't ask whether the use of the word "animal" reflected racial bias.

☆ Ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan won't challenge Trump in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

He was Maryland's second Republican governor ever to be reelected. Some Republicans had hoped that Hogan, emerging as the new best hope of a small group of "Never Trump Republicans," would challenge Trump in 2020. In his first year as governor, Hogan went right to work on pocketbook issues. Hogan has long been upfront about his distaste for Trump as president. "I did not go out of my way to criticize the president," Hogan said.

☆ The 'office apocalypse' won't doom big cities — it's actually making them stronger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew E. Kahn | Christopher Okada | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In San Francisco, tax revenue is projected to drop by as much as a billion dollars over the next six years. In order to bring in these new residents, cities will have to shift some of their priorities. Research coauthored by Steven Levitt of "Freakonomics" found that increases in violent and property crimes were correlated with city residents migrating to the suburbs. All is not lostThere's little doubt that superstar cities like New York and San Francisco have serious problems on their hands. Christopher Okada is the CEO of Okada & Company, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and investment company in New York City.

[1/2] New York Police Department (NYPD) officers are pictured as protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., June 1, 2020. FollowNEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - New York City has agreed to pay millions of dollars to demonstrators who sued the police department, saying they had been mistreated during a June 2020 racial justice protest that followed the killing of George Floyd. In a statement, the New York City Police Department said the demonstration occurred at a "challenging moment" when officers -already dealing with the strains of the COVID-19 pandemic - attempted to balance the right of people to protest with safety concerns. The total payments could amount to around $7 million, not including attorneys' fees, but a precise accounting was not yet available. Some of the protesters pursued individual claims and reached separate settlements, making them ineligible for additional payments, according to court filings.

☆ CFTC Picks Former Cybercrime Prosecutor as Enforcement Chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The CFTC has played a less conspicuous role than the SEC in policing the crypto market but has brought enforcement cases against BitMEX and Coinbase. WASHINGTON—The Commodity Futures Trading Commission hired a former cybercrime prosecutor who oversaw some early federal cases involving cryptocurrencies as its enforcement chief, the latest example of regulators adapting to the risks posed by digital assets and other financial innovations. In his new post, Ian McGinley oversees a team of 120 civil-enforcement attorneys who investigate fraud and misconduct in futures markets tied to energy and agricultural commodities, as well as the newer world of digital assets that qualify as commodities, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said Monday in an interview.

Law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP FollowNEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hired a former New York prosecutor with expertise in cryptocurrency and cyber crimes to lead its enforcement unit, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam in the statement described McGinley as a "leader in combatting modern financial fraud". "His background as a prosecutor with unique experience in commodities, crypto, and cyber-crimes and frauds makes him an ideal person to lead the CFTC’s enforcement team," Behnam said. McGinley, whose appointment is effective immediately, replaces the CFTC's acting director of enforcement and veteran CFTC official Gretchen Lowe. Reporting by Chris Prentice Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crime tops Chicago voters' concerns in mayoral election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to children after a press event ahead of expected Thanksgiving travel at O'Hare airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 21, 2022. The Chicago race is technically nonpartisan, but every candidate identifies as a Democrat in the heavily left-leaning city. There were more than 800 murders in Chicago in 2021, the most in a quarter-century. Garcia, considered a liberal member of Congress, has said he would increase the number of officers on patrol and fund more community-based anti-violence programs. Reporting by Joseph Ax Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas talks President Biden, infrastructure funding, and governing without gridlock at the local level: 'We've got to get stuff done'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas strives for collaboration as he works on tough policy issues. And he looks at Kansas City — whose Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII earlier this month — as an example of resiliency. What have been some of the most tangible and immediate benefits of the law for Kansas City? Mayor Lucas speaks during the Kansas City Chiefs' victory celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 15, 2023. In Kansas City, we've said: "How do we keep talking to people even if everybody's mad at each other in the room?"

☆ One year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, disinformation sites with ads powered by Google have more than doubled
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian disinformation sites with Google-powered ads have more than doubled since last year, according to NewsGuard. Last year, as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Google and major brands placed ads on sites that promoted Kremlin propaganda. Google added that it has stopped running ads on specific pages on sites shared by Insider that show "violating content." The problem of ads appearing in sites containing disinformation is growing, as these sites take advantage of programmatic ad buying, where digital ads are purchased in an auction using automation. Programmatic ad buying is both a complicated and technical process, so advertisers often don't see where their ads are going.

☆ Crypto Company CoinEx Sued by New York Over Failure to Register
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

The New York attorney general’s office has sued cryptocurrency platform CoinEx, alleging it failed to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and misrepresented itself as a crypto exchange. But New York prosecutors said CoinEx isn’t registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or designated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as an exchange, as required by New York state law. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said its prosecutors also were able to buy and sell crypto on CoinEx in New York, despite the fact the company isn’t registered in the state. New York law requires securities and commodities brokers to register with the state to do business there. The suit, announced Wednesday, is the latest action by the New York attorney general in policing the crypto sector and using the state’s laws to protect investors.

☆ Northern Irish police suspect New IRA behind shooting of detective
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Amanda Ferguson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The gunmen continued to fire while the detective was on the ground, McEwan said. The primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that there is a primary focus as well on New IRA," McEwan told BBC Northern Ireland. While the peace agreement largely ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, police officers are still sporadically targeted by splinter groups of mostly Irish nationalist militants opposed to Britain's rule over the region. The last time a police officer was shot in Northern Ireland was 2017 and the United Kingdom last year lowered its Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level for the first time in more than a decade. "Unfortunately this is a stark reminder for our colleagues that 25 years on from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, policing in Northern Ireland is still a very dangerous occupation and carries extreme risk," Kelly said.

☆ British police face struggle to clean up sexist culture after scandals
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

London's Metropolitan Police has been hardest hit: After years of saying serious misconduct cases were isolated incidents, it now says it must change its culture. "We have failed and I'm sorry," Mark Rowley, the Met's new chief and Britain's most senior officer, said in January. According to an official report, officers had passed off the conversations as 'banter'. RISING CRIMESome officers officers think the government needs to look at itself. Braverman was reported last year as having told police chiefs to prioritise "common-sense policing" over diversity efforts and virtue-signalling "woke" messaging.

☆ Even hackers are getting laid off: As companies beef up cybersecurity, one hacker group reportedly let go of 45 telemarketers tricking people into inviting ransomware
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

More countries are targeting payments made to appease ransomware attackers, according to Gartner. As US Department of Justice investigators and companies beef up their oversight of cybersecurity threats, the impact of ransomware attacks — hackers demand ransom payments from targets — has been blunted, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Ransomware hacks can have high stakes, especially when hackers blackmail targets over private information in order to extract payments. In 2021, the agency created new groups internally, including the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and the Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force. Countries are generally also stepping up their oversight of ransomware attacks and trying to improve privacy regulations, according to the research and consulting firm Gartner.

☆ A guide to climate buzzwords and what they say about corporate promises
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Thousands of companies with climate goals use confusing jargon like "carbon neutral" and "net zero." Corporate climate pledges are rife with terms like "carbon neutral," "net zero," and "carbon negative," leading to confusion among consumers and investors, among others, about what it all means. Some companies, including ExxonMobil, also have net-zero goals that only cover direct operations. Why 'carbon neutral' can be misleadingThe UN's concerns about carbon offsets are why claims of an organization or product being "carbon neutral" can also be worrisome. "I think there is rightfully some skepticism around climate neutral," Fischweicher said.

Police officers involved in the deaths have become an intense focus of investigation, protest, and media coverage. Despite being at the heart of some of the most defining incidents in modern policing, most of the officers involved continue to live their lives under the radar. Insider's review of 72 cops involved in two dozen of the most notorious police killings of the past 30 years shows the many different paths officers have taken. There's no nationwide view into what happens to officers involved in egregious incidents of violence. In rare cases, cops involved in these killings have tried to publicly rehabilitate their image rather than seek out anonymity.

☆ Canada’s Use of Emergency Powers ‘Appropriate’ to Counter Freedom Convoy, Inquiry Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Paul Vieira | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Justin Trudeau was the first prime minister to invoke powers in Canada’s Emergencies Act in an effort to end Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa. OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was justified in invoking emergency powers last year to end a weekslong protest that paralyzed the capital and thwarted trade on key U.S.-Canada corridors, a judicial inquiry said Friday. The inquiry said Canada’s cabinet had information about a “threat of serious violence for a political or ideological purpose.” Furthermore, the inquiry said a series of policing mistakes by local authorities “contributed to a situation that spun out of control. Lawful protests descended into lawlessness, culminating in a national emergency.”

☆ They were convicted for marijuana. Now they’re first in line to sell it legally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Stefan Sykes for CNBCTRENTON, N.J. – Tahir Johnson has been arrested for marijuana possession three times. Stefan Sykes for CNBCA conditional license is a provisional license that allows awardees to begin operating while they fulfill requirements for an annual license. Stefan Sykes for CNBC"The generational wealth this will create for my family is surreal," he said. He's sold marijuana since he was Stefan Sykes for CNBCIn Trenton, African Americans represent nearly half of the city's population. Stefan Sykes for CNBC

☆ Liverpool welcome UEFA report on Champions League final chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UEFA apologised to Liverpool for initially blaming the Merseyside club's fans for the mayhem following the release of the independent review on Monday. "(The report) fully vindicates Liverpool fans while finding UEFA primarily responsible for organisational failings, absence of overall control or oversight of safety and security, poor planning and lack of contingency plans," Liverpool said in a statement on Tuesday. "The evidence-based panel report also found that there was 'a clear and immediate danger of a fatal crush' and that the action of Liverpool supporters saved lives." The report added that the parallels between last year's Champions League final and the 1989 Hillsborough soccer stadium disaster -- in which 97 Liverpool supporters lost their lives -- were "palpable". Liverpool supporters group 'Spirit of Shankly' said the report had "exonerated" the Premier League club's fans.

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