DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has slashed its staff, relaxed some of its content moderation policies and reinstated a number of incendiary accounts that were previously banned. Those moves raised concerns that Musk’s Twitter could contribute to a rise in public displays of hate and antisemitism offline. Musk, however, has repeatedly pushed back at claims that hate speech is rising on the platform. Twitter, which eliminated much of its public relations team during last year’s layoffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “With this direct and heightened threat environment in mind, how will you work with other stakeholders to combat the rise of antisemitism on Twitter?,” Moskowitz concludes in his letter to Musk.

☆ EU Warns Twitter Over Incomplete Content-Moderation Report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Twitter submitted the report as part of a code of conduct it voluntarily agreed to abide a few months ago. Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc. submitted an incomplete report to the European Union about how it is policing its online posts, EU officials said, drawing regulators’ ire just months before the bloc gets the power to fine companies for insufficient content moderation under a new social-media law. Twitter’s report, published Thursday as part of a voluntary code of conduct Twitter and other companies signed last year, lacked quantitative data about how it is tackling what the EU defines as intentionally false or misleading information, the officials said. Regulators plan to warn Twitter that it must do better to comply, one of the officials added.

☆ The House Ethics Committee may not go after 'loyal soldier' George Santos, ethics experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The House Ethics Committee could investigate George Santos over his alleged malfeasance. But ethics experts warn that the evenly-divided committee — composed of five Republicans and five Democrats — is unlikely to move swiftly or even take significant action on Santos. That's where the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) — a separate investigative entity run by a non-partisan staff — could step in. And the Department of Justice could simply ask both the Ethics Committee and OCE to stand down, as they've already reportedly done with the Federal Election Commission. The office frequently makes preliminary investigations of complaints against members of Congress, making a referral to the House Ethics Committee if they determine the offense to warrant further inquiry.

"To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress," Biden, a Democrat, will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House before the speech scheduled for 9 p.m. One test of that challenge will be the White House push to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, which must be lifted in the coming months to avoid a default. The White House has said Biden will not negotiate over that necessity; Republicans want spending cuts in exchange for their support. He said he urged Biden not to use the phrase "extreme MAGA Republicans" in his speech, a reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. Some House Republican lawmakers have questioned Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential race against Trump, vowing to investigate his Cabinet and family.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will declare U.S democracy is bruised but "unbowed and unbroken" on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech that will serve as an olive branch to skeptical Republicans and a blueprint for his 2024 re-election bid. "To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress," Biden, a Democrat, will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House ahead of the speech scheduled for 9 p.m. Biden's public approval rating edged one percentage point higher to 41% in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll that closed on Sunday. McCarthy said on Tuesday that he would not rip up Biden's speech, referencing to the actions of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi after former President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union address. He said he urged Biden not to use the phrase "extreme MAGA Republicans" in his speech, a reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

Biden's public approval rating edged one percentage point higher to 41% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Sunday. In the speech, Biden will hail the resilience and strength of the U.S. economy, which saw unemployment drop to a nearly 54-year low in January, while pledging continued efforts to lower inflation and protect Social Security and other benefits. [1/3] The U.S. Capitol building is seen on the day of U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2023. He will push Congress to require background checks for all gun sales and ban assault weapons, the White House said, although the prospects for passage remain slim. McCarthy said on Tuesday that he won't rip up Biden's speech, referencing the actions of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi after former President Trump's 2020 State of the Union address.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will face Republicans who question his legitimacy and a public concerned about the country's direction in Tuesday's State of the Union speech that is expected to serve as a blueprint for a 2024 re-election bid. Biden's public approval rating edged one percentage point higher to 41% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Sunday. Reforms in policing will loom large in Biden's speech after the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man fatally beaten by officers in Memphis, Tennessee last month, with his mother and stepfather to be guests of first lady Jill Biden. He will also run through a wish list of economic proposals, many of which are unlikely to be passed through Congress, the White House said. [1/3] The U.S. Capitol building is seen on the day of U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2023.

☆ How ‘Diversity’ Policing Fails Science
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( John D. Sailer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At Texas Tech University, a candidate for a faculty job in the department of biological sciences was flagged by the department’s search committee for not knowing the difference between “equality” and “equity.” Another was flagged for his repeated use of the pronoun “he” when referring to professors. Still another was praised for having made a “land acknowledgment” during the interview process. A land acknowledgment is a statement noting that Native Americans once lived in what is now the United States. Amidst the explosion of university diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Texas Tech’s biology department adopted its own DEI motion promising to “require and strongly weight a diversity statement from all candidates.” These short, written declarations are meant to summarize an academic job seeker’s past and potential contributions to DEI efforts on campus.

☆ U.S. Justice Dept. to review Memphis police after Tyre Nichols' killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department will participate in a review of the Memphis Police Department after the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man fatally beaten by officers in the Tennessee city last month, according to city officials. The review was disclosed in a bulletin by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Memphis police on Friday fired a sixth officer involved in the death of Nichols. The Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will take part in the review, the city said.

Senator Cory Booker on Sunday said he believes a policing reform bill could pass the current Congress, although he acknowledged that it will be an uphill battle given disinterest in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Senator Lindsey Graham on the issue of qualified immunity, which he considered a positive step. Graham has stated that while he believes qualified immunity should protect individual officers, police departments should receive no such protection. Booker noted, however, that any bill passed through the Democrat-controlled Senate would still need to pass through the Republican-controlled House. So when you hear encouraging things from people like him, that gives me the sense that we could do something possibly in the Senate," Booker said.

☆ Grocery consumers sue to block Kroger’s $25 bln buy of Albertsons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kroger is the biggest grocer in the U.S. by revenue, and Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket chain. Nearly 5,000 grocery stores would be under one corporate umbrella if the deal, announced in October, goes through. A representative for Albertsons declined to comment on Friday, and a Kroger spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Kroger operates stores under banners including Harris Teeter, Pay Less and King Soopers. U.S. antitrust law lets private consumers sue over proposed mergers and acquisitions, apart from any enforcement action brought by a state or federal agency policing competition laws.

☆ Family of Amir Locke files wrongful-death lawsuit in Minneapolis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The casket of Amir Locke, a Black man who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police, is brought to the hearse at the Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Ben BrewerFeb 3 (Reuters) - The family of Amir Locke, a Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police during a no-knock raid on an apartment last year, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officer who fired the fatal gunshots. The city of Minneapolis said it would review the complaint once it has received the document. When Locke reached under a cover for the gun, Hanneman shot him three times, the suit said. "Hanneman failed to give Amir any such opportunity even though Amir never pointed the handgun at Hanneman or put his finger on the trigger," the suit said.

☆ Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Sanders to give Republican response to Biden's State of the Union
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary under Donald Trump, will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address next week, party leaders announced on Thursday. Huckabee Sanders, who describes herself as a conservative reformer, will speak from the state capital Little Rock after Biden's remarks on Tuesday before a joint session of Congress. It will be Biden's first State of the Union since Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in November's election. "Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the youngest governor in the nation and a powerful advocate for the popular, commonsense conservative principles that will put our country back on a better course," McConnell said in the statement. Huckabee Sanders, 40, served as then-President Trump's second press secretary from mid-2017 to mid-2019.

☆ Kamala Harris tells Tyre Nichols' funeral attendees that Congress must pass a sweeping police reform bill: 'It's non-negotiable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vice President Kamala Harris demanded passage of police reform legislation at the funeral for Tyre Nichols. As a senator, she co-authored a bill mirroring the House-passed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. Harris told mourners on Wednesday that "Tyre Nichols would be here with us today" if police had been in pursuit of public safety. Speaking directly to Nichols' mother and stepfather, she called them "extraordinary." Biden and Harris both spoke with Nichols' mother and stepfather to offer support, and Biden pledged to continue pushing Congress to pass the bill, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.

☆ Biden's bully pulpit is Democrats' best policing reform tactic as Congress grapples with Tyre Nichols' death
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Warren Rojas | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On Monday he said making the George Floyd Act the law of the land is long overdue. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the funeral service for Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Now he wants to see Congress act in a bipartisan way to "make transformational change," she said. House Democratic Caucus chair Pete Aguilar was much less optimistic about policing reform opponents suddenly rallying around the Floyd Act or any other substantive proposals. "The thing is, it may have been Tyre Nichols yesterday.

REUTERS/Alyssa PointerFeb 1 (Reuters) - As soon as next week, the Memphis City Council will consider a raft of reforms aimed at curtailing police violence after the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by five officers following a traffic stop. But after Nichols' beating and subsequent death made Memphis the latest emblem of police brutality against Black Americans, city leaders are facing more pressure than ever to shore up police accountability and hiring standards. "We cannot allow this moment to pass us by when activism coupled with concern from the community is at its peak," Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr. said. Memphis activist LJ Abraham said she hopes Nichols’ case will persuade the council to take demands for bolder reforms more seriously. In recent years, city leaders have sought to boost the department's officer ranks, which dwindled as violent crime spiked.

☆ Biden to discuss police reform with Congressional Black Caucus members Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Ghael Fobes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Congressional Black Caucus will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to discuss police reform in the wake of the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, Tennessee. The caucus confirmed Tuesday that its meeting with Biden was set for Thursday and will include Horsford and a small group of attendees, not the entire caucus. "President Biden spoke yesterday with Representative Horsford and plans to host a small group of Congressional Black Caucus members at the White House this Thursday to discuss police reform legislation and other shared priorities," Olivia Dalton, White House principal deputy press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. Several White House officials are scheduled to attend the funeral for Nichols on Wednesday, Dalton said. Biden expressed his condolences for Nichols' death and commended the family's courage and strength, the White House said.

☆ Police chiefs apologise for Hillsborough failures after 34 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The 1989 FA Cup semi-final was the scene of Britain's worst sporting disaster when 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in an over-crowded and fenced-in enclosure in the lower tier. "Policing has profoundly failed those bereaved by the Hillsborough disaster over many years and we are sorry that the service got it so wrong," Chief Constable Andy Marsh, CEO of the College of Policing, said in a statement. "Police failures were the main cause of the tragedy and have continued to blight the lives of family members ever since. "Collectively, the changes made since the Hillsborough disaster and in response to Rt Reverend James Jones's report aim to ensure the terrible police failures made on the day and in the aftermath can never happen again," he added. Earlier this month, Newcastle United fans complained of "overcrowding and crushing" and a lack of stewarding at the Hillsborough Stadium during their FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday at the same Leppings Lane End.

☆ Tyre Nichols’s Death Raises Questions About Race and Policing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Gerard Baker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Gerry Baker is Editor at Large of The Wall Street Journal. His weekly column for the editorial page, “Free Expression,” appears in The Wall Street Journal each Tuesday. Mr. Baker previously served as Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013-2018. Prior to that, Mr. Baker was Deputy Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal from 2009-2013. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, where he graduated in 1983 with a 1st Class Honors Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

☆ Tyre Nichols' parents and man who disarmed Monterey Park gunman invited to Biden's State of the Union
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The parents of Tyre Nichols and the man who disarmed the suspected Monterey Park shooter have been invited to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Feb. 7. The brutal beating of Nichols by Memphis police and the mass shooting at a dance hall in Monterey Park, California, this month have renewed calls for policing and gun control measures. But only an hour after she spoke with Tsay, the president himself asked Tsay to be his guest, Chu said. TODAYThe president spoke with Nichols’ parents and Tsay in the wake of the tragedies. Biden called Tsay last week to thank him for his act of courage in disarming the Monterey Park shooter.

☆ Memphis police department suspends officer in Tyre Nichols case
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Alyssa Pointer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People protest against the fatal beating of Black motorist Tyre Nichols by Memphis Police officers, during a rally in Oakland, California, U.S. January 29, 2023. The suspended officer - identified as Preston Hemphill - was relieved of duty with pay pending an administrative hearing, a Memphis Police Department spokesperson said, noting that an investigation into the incident was underway. The NAACP Memphis Branch on Sunday called for all officers and first responders involved in the violent incident to be held accountable. Some of the officers involved in the beating were a part of Scorpion, the specialized police unit that the department disbanded on Saturday. Since the incident, protesters in Memphis have demanded that the department identify all officers on the scene of the beating and release their personnel files, the Commercial Appeal reported.

In protests that followed the killing and the police sweeps, six people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. In December, the same charges were filed against five people after law enforcement moved in to clear barricades and confront protesters. But in a number of states, including Georgia, domestic terrorism laws include a wide range of offenses outside those motivated by hate. The Atlanta Solidarity Fund said that the state of Georgia was trying to “set an alarming precedent” with the charges. “If they are successful, protesters across the country could be facing similar speech-chilling ‘domestic terrorism’ charges,'” it said in a statement this week.

Towns said the lawmakers could have until early spring, otherwise, to develop and fine tune any proposals that emerge from Nichols' death. Share this -Link copiedMemphis police’s vaunted Scorpion unit is deactivated after Tyre Nichols' death Memphis police’s vaunted Scorpion unit has been permanently deactivated. Share this -Link copiedNFL calls for change after 'senseless death' of Tyre Nichols A day after the release of video showing the police beating of Tyre Nichols, the NFL on Saturday condemned the violence. Demonstrations continued Saturday in Atlanta, Boston and Charlotte following the release of video footage showing five former Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols, who died on Jan. 10. Attorney Blake Ballin’s comments follow the release of video footage showing the officers punching and kicking Tyre Nichols during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.

When Mr. Nichols could not comply — and even when he managed to — the officers responded with escalating force. The review of the available footage found that officers shouted at least 71 commands during the approximately 13-minute period before they reported over the radio that Mr. Nichols was officially in custody. The orders were issued at two locations, one near Mr. Nichols’s vehicle and the other in the area he had fled to and where he would be severely beaten. Officers commanded Mr. Nichols to show his hands even as they were holding his hands. But The Times’s review shows that the officers did the exact opposite, over and over.

☆ Death of Tyre Nichols revives calls in Congress for policing reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Five Memphis officers, also all Black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10 three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving. Durbin added that he would not rule out a federal investigation into the entire Memphis Police Department following Nichols' death. Some policing reforms were already in place in Memphis at the time of Nichols' death, including a requirement for officers to de-escalate situations where they saw others using excessive force. "Just as much those officers are responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols, so is the implicit bias police culture that exists in America," Crump told ABC's "This Week."

Search resuls for: "Policing"

25 mentions found