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☆ Zelle Fraud: I Got Scammed Out of $31,000 and My Bank Didn't Care
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Devin Friedman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +38 min

Because a lot of bank branches were still closed, and the crew wanted their money, he requested that we transfer the money via Zelle. When I asked Chase to discuss Zelle fraud, I received an email saying, "Unfortunately, we don't have anyone available for an interview." The way the email messages from Gary were subliterate in a completely different way from the way a classic Gary email is subliterate. When Gary Kruglitz told us to Zelle him, he didn't really tell us to Zelle him. It's possible that the government will eventually be moved to safeguard consumers against Zelle fraud.

Persons: Madison Ketcham, Gary Kruglitz, Gary, couldn't, he'll, Gary —, —, Cheryl, Sheryl, Sheryl —, we'd, Jeff Allen's, didn't, Jeff, Krystal, we'll, He'd, you've, Karen, I'm, she'd, Yellllow, Zelle, Chase, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, there's, That's, It's, Jesus, who'd, Donald Trump, Gary Kruglitzes, Cheryls —, Yasmine48, Nixon, Evan Kohlmann, cybercrime, we've, I've, Kohlmann, Guess, Let's, that's, Elizabeth Warren's, it's, they're, Warren's, Warren, I'd, they'd, blinked Organizations: Boston Pops, The New York Times, New York Times, Chase, Bank of America, PNC, US Bank, PayPal, Disney, NBC, Warner Bros, Netflix, JPMorgan Chase, Bank —, of, Professionals, Justice Department, Northeast . Contractors, Cloudburst Technologies, Facebook, FBI, Mafia, Massachusetts State Police, Monterey Police Department, Police Locations: Massachusetts, Lyme, Tennessee, Wells Fargo, Truist, Silicon Valley, Amsterdam, Northeast, what's, Paxful, Estonia, Korea, Monterey , Massachusetts, Monterey

☆ The 500-year-old hamam bringing Istanbul’s past to life
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Alice Barnes-Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Closed to the public for more than a decade, the stunning Zeyrek Çinili Hamam has just reopened its wooden doors to the world. A team of archaeologists and historians at the hamam helped those institutions to identify exactly where their Iznik tiles came from. Ottoman know-how and seamless minimalism come together inside the Çinili Hamam to create the ultimate zone-out space. The glass stars on the domed ceilings (a signature of Ottoman hamam design) allow just enough natural light to shimmer in, but not so much that it dazzles. Yazgan says the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam will closely replicate time-honored Ottoman bathtime traditions.

Persons: Hamam, Mimar Sinan, Suleiman the, Çinili, ”, Koza Yazgan, “, Sinan, London’s, Yazgan, Brüeckner –, Hammam, Murat Germen, Murat, Germen Murat Germen, puffy, ‘, Istanbul’s, It’s Organizations: CNN, hamam, Istanbul Biennial, Marmara Group, Egyptian Museum, UNESCO, Hagia Locations: Istanbul’s Zeyrek, Fatih, Zeyrek, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Mimar, Turkey, Istanbul, Ayasofya, Hagia Sofia, Ottoman, hamams, Aivita, Marmara, Valens, –

NEW YORK (AP) — A dozen years ago, Barkley L. Hendricks, the pioneering portrait artist known for vivid, stylish paintings of Black men and women, stood outside the Frick Collection in Manhattan, known for its works by European Old Masters. Still, curators say, he'd likely have never imagined that in 2023, he’d be the first artist of color to have a solo show at the 88-year-old Frick. What is more unusual is that a museum focusing on the 14th through 19th centuries would devote a show to a contemporary portraitist like Hendricks. His sunglasses reflect the buildings outside Hendricks' studio, and even contain a tiny reflection of the artist himself. “Slick” features the artist in a white suit against a white background, wearing a cap of African design.

Persons: Barkley, Hendricks, Rembrandt, “, he’d, Frick, ”, Antwaun Sargent, ” It’s, Van Dyck, Van Eyck, Aimee Ng, ” Ng, Frick Madison, Angela Davis —, Kathy Williams, Nina Simone, Kehinde Wiley, Barack Obama, Barkley Hendricks, “ Woody, Alvin Ailey, Woodruff Wilson, Steve ”, Sargent, ” Hendricks, ” Sargent, Susan, Donald Formey, Ng, Formey, ‘, “ Slick ” Organizations: Frick, European Old, Polaroid, Beaux, Pennsylvania Academy, Fine Arts, Connecticut College, ” Locations: Manhattan, Van, Velásquez, New York, New York City, Jan, Philadelphia, ”, Europe

☆ The US dollar and Argentine peso could exist side by side, says rival to presidential frontrunner Milei
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Argentine presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich wants both the dollar and peso to be official currencies. This represents a different take versus full dollarization, a policy advocated by frontrunner Javier Milei. "The peso and the dollar will coexist," Carlos Melconian, her chief economic advisor, said at the Bloomberg Economic Summit in Buenos Aires. "There will be a complementary exchange rate regime that will be step by step, and will take inflation into account." "There is going to be very severe and prudent macroeconomic policy in Argentina," Melconian said, according to Bloomberg.

Persons: Patricia Bullrich, Javier Milei, Bullrich, —, Milei, Carlos Melconian, Melconian Organizations: Argentine, Service, US greenback, Bloomberg Economic Summit, Bloomberg Locations: Buenos Aires, Argentina

☆ Rewards Cards: Put Those Points to Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Julie Weed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sign-up bonuses, lounge access, cash rebates, free hotel rooms and plenty of fine print: The dizzying promotions and Byzantine rules on earning and redeeming points with rewards credit cards can make your head spin. Rewards cards offer three types of value. There is typically a sign-up bonus, up to 120,000 points or miles after spending a minimum amount within a certain period. Make partnerships work for youA co-branded card, like the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature (fee $95), helps you achieve status faster with that airline. Hotel chains offer similar co-branded cards.

Persons: Autopay Organizations: Alaska Airlines Visa, Hyatt Visa, Marriott Locations: Alaska

☆ 'Coldplay dollar' and 'Qatar dollar' highlight Argentina's bizarre currency system as it weighs ditching the peso
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Argentina's economic burdens have spawned a number of dollar-peso exchange rates. They include a black market dollar rate, as well as the "Coldplay" and "Qatar" rates. There's an official rate, but also a "blue dollar" rate determined by an underground exchange of greenbacks that's free of governmental controls. So while the official peso rate stood at just under 350-per-dollar on Friday, the blue dollar rate was 715. AdvertisementAdvertisementOther exchange rates are not spin-offs designed to evade currency restrictions, but are actually organized by the government.

Persons: Coldplay, There's, Monica de Bolle, Javier Milei, de Bolle Organizations: Service, Qatar, Coldplay, Peterson Institute for International Economics Locations: Qatar, Wall, Silicon, Argentina

☆ Did Putin kill Prigozhin? It's one of 3 possible explanations Russia watchers came up with for the deadly plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after his plane crashed on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if Prigozhin was on the downed plane, though his name was on the flight manifest. Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin in happier times — a 2010 tour of a school lunch factory outside Saint Petersburg. Following the Wednesday plane crash, US President Joe Biden suggested Putin could be behind the crash in comments to reporters. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the early hours following the plane crash, some on social media considered the possibility that Prigozhin had somehow faked his death, perhaps sending a double in his place.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Simon Miles, Robert English, Bill Burns, Alexey Druzhinin, Burns, Miles, Alexander Lukashenko, ”, lelXsOcPSV, Julia Ioffe, Joe Biden, —, flaunting, Sergei Surovikin, Matthew Schmidt, Schmidt Organizations: Security, Service, Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Wagner, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Soviet Union, University of Southern, CIA, Sputnik, Getty, Reuters, Press, Prigozhin, New York Times, University of New, Pentagon, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Russia, Soviet, Ukraine, University of Southern California, Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Saint Petersburg, Aspen, Belarus, St . Petersburg, Africa, Belarusian, Concord, University of New Haven

☆ Antalya and Bodrum: The bohemian paradise that became a magnet for superyachts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Richard Quest | Joe Minihane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNNWhile the hotels and beaches are what most travelers come to Antalya for, you don’t need to go far for proper Turkish traditions. A Turkish breakfast is something to behold. Then, you can read your newspaper or do whatever and then you can lay down and have a little nap.”Dilek Gorpe: Turkish breakfast is best consumed slowly. There is a deep respect for the landscape and the old ways, which makes Antalya feel very special indeed. CNNBack in Antalya, there’s the chance to feel that sense of wonder afforded by Bodrum’s bohemian side, but in a wholly different setting.

Persons: Dilek Gorpe, CNN Gorpe, It’s, extraordinaire Sahir Erozan, ”, didn’t, Sahir Erozan, CNN Erozan, “ It’s, it’s, Cemil İpekçi, ” Bodrum, “, Alexander the Great, Paul Organizations: CNN, Ottomans, ” Locations: Antalya, Bodrum, Europe, Turkish, Perga

Many opponents of renewable energy, she added, “are worried about the impacts to their very way of life.”Roadside opposition to renewable energy projects near Baldwin City, Kan. “We see offshore wind as a critical technology,” said Dan Burgess, the director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office. Across the country, clean energy projects of all types are tied up in lengthy permitting processes. By then, India had not completed any offshore wind projects. Since 2000, the United States has barely built any major transmission lines that connect different regions of the country.

Persons: Scott Dickerson, ”, Biden, Alison Bates, “, Columbia University’s, Dan Burgess, Habib Dagher, Janet Mills, Gregory Wetstone, Mack, James Gillway, SunZia, ” Hunter Armistead, Broussard, There’s, Vaughan Woodruff, Tucker Carlson, Teslas, ” Ali Zaidi, Dagher, Rolf Olsen, who’s Organizations: University of Maine, Sears, Officials, Federal, International Energy Agency, Colby College, White, Columbia, Climate, The University of, Maine Governor’s Energy, Environmental, University of Maine’s, Composites Center, Gov, American Clean Power Association, American Council, Renewable Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, . Clean, Union United, China India European Union United States, China European Union United, China India United States European, China United States European Union, China United States European Union India, Energy, The New York Times, United, Pattern Energy, New York State Energy Research, Development Authority, Toyota Prius Locations: Penobscot Bay, Maine, , Maine, United States, Europe, China, Australia, India, Los Angeles, Ohio, Jersey Shore, Waterville , Maine, Baldwin City, Kan, Massachusetts, Ukraine, Gulf, Searsport , Maine, Searsport, Bangor, Mack, West, Union United States, U.S, China United States European Union India, Great, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Riesel , Texas, Energy, San Bernardino County, In Kansas, Atlantic City, N.J, New York, Manhattan, Sears

☆ The secret side of the Mediterranean – by boat in Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Rob Hodgetts | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Tropez of Turkey,” but there are plentiful nooks and crannies to discover away from the crowds. Jetties jut into the emerald water enticing boat crews to dine at the small tavernas, including Captain Ibrahim’s and Rosemary Restaurant. Across the gulf on its own peninsula is pretty waterfront town Bozburun, known for its thyme honey, sponge fishing and traditional boat builders. Bestas Limani is known as Cold Water Bay as it's fed by chilly mountain springs. To the south of Fethiye is Bestas Limani, more commonly known as Cold Water Bay because of the cold springs that flow from the mountains.

Persons: Ada, Tropez of, Captain Ibrahim’s, Rosemary, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Aphrodite, Sleepy Selimiye, Marmaris, Bükü, Mattia Sobieski, St, Nicholas –, – Organizations: CNN, Baba, Q Locations: Coast . Gulf, Gökova, Yalıkavak, Gümüşlük, Kalymnos, Fenerci, Kos, St, Tropez, Tropez of Turkey, ”, Bodrum, Orak, Maldives, North Africa, Kedrai, Değirmen, Knidos, Hisarönü, Simi, bougainvillea, Turkey, Palamut, Bençik Bay, Loryma, Hellenic, Çiftlik, Marmaris, Ekinçik, Kaunos, . Gulf, Fethiye, imageBROKER.com, Telmessos, Turkish, Tersane, Ottoman, Ruin, Wall, Kayaköy, Lausanne, Gemiler

☆ U.S. proposes 18% fuel economy increase for new vehicles by 2032
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. government wants to raise the fuel economy of new vehicles 18% by the 2032 model year so the fleet would average about 43.5 miles per gallon in real world driving. The highway safety agency says it will try to line up its regulations so they match the Environmental Protection Agency's reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In the byzantine world of government regulation, both agencies essentially are responsible for setting fuel economy requirements since the fastest way to reduce greenhouse emissions is to burn less gasoline. The EPA says the industry can reach the greenhouse gas emissions goals if 67% of new vehicles sold in 2032 are electric. Automakers can meet the requirements with a mix of electric vehicles, gas-electric hybrids and efficiency improvements in gas and diesel vehicles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Ann Carlson, Stellantis, John Bozzella, EVs, NHTSA's Organizations: National, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, EPA Locations: mufflerof, Orlando , Florida, The U.S

☆ The Fight for the Right to Trespass
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Brooke Jarvis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

It looks the same all over, but because of what Ashbrook described as “botanical issues of great detail,” only one side qualified as access land, open for rambling. To Hayes, it seemed as if all these technicalities undercut the rights that the CROW Act was supposed to enshrine. In Sweden, the tourism board developed an ad campaign around the allure of what the country calls allemansrätten, or everyman’s right. “It’s a right protected by the law that allows me to sleep and eat and walk pretty much wherever I want,” the voice-over explains. “Part of that bundle of rights in England for the last several hundred years has been the right to exclude other people from your land,” Shrubsole says.

Persons: you’ve, Henry II, Ashbrook, Hayes, “ It’s, Guy Shrubsole, Shrubsole, Norman, squires, ” Shrubsole, Duke of Westminster, William the Conqueror, “, ”, that’s Organizations: Scottish, ramblers Locations: Scotland, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Austria, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, England, Britain, United States

☆ Launch of arthritis drug biosimilars ramps up US pressure on pricing 'middlemen'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Seven drugmakers this month launched their own versions, known as biosimilars, of AbbVie's (ABBV.N) flagship arthritis drug Humira, once the world's top-selling prescription medicine. Three have kept their list price within 5%-7% of AbbVie's, two priced at an 85% discount and two have offered both types of prices. For insured patients who are often on the hook for co-pays of 10% to 25% of the list price, the savings have been minimal. Reuters GraphicsThe Biden administration has made lowering drug prices a priority. Amgen offered 5% and 55% discounts to AbbVie's $6,922 per month Humira price tag, and both were included on drug coverage lists at two large PBMs.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Humira, Ameet Sarpatwari, Biden, PBMs, Cigna, UnitedHealth, Amgen, Robin Feldman, Ron Wyden, Wyden, Chuck Grassley, Grassley, Patrick Wingrove, Moira Warburton, Josephine Walker, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Association for Accessible Medicines, Harvard Medical School, Reuters, Lawmakers, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, CVS, Biosimilars, Healthcare, Novartis, Sandoz, Reuters Graphics Reuters, University California College of the, Democratic, Republican, Thomson Locations: U.S, Humira, San Francisco, New York, Washington

☆ 2,000-year-old human skulls, oil lamps, and bronze daggers reveal possible necromancer's portal to the underworld in Jerusalem
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Israeli researchers discovered possible evidence of "ritual magic" in a deep cave in the Judaean hills. Human skulls were arranged in patterns near oil lamps, with daggers and axe heads nearby. "Some crevices contained groups of oil lamps mixed with weapons and pottery vessels from earlier periods or placed with human skulls." In addition to the oil lamps, weapons including daggers and axe heads were located along with three human skulls. Oil lamps in particular, such as the 120 found within the cave's crevices, were used to lure spirits to the realm of the living.

Persons: Eitan Klein, Boaz Zissu, Klein, Zissu, —, thunders, necromancy, Constantius II Organizations: Service, Harvard Theological, Cambridge University Press, Israel Antiquities Authority, Bar, Ilan University, Roman Locations: Wall, Silicon, Cave, Jerusalem

In mid-2020 Rome secured the lion's share of a 724-billion-euro kitty aimed at helping EU members emerge from COVID greener and more tech-friendly. Italy's 191.5 billion euros ($210 billion) of cheap loans and grants, to be received in tranches through 2026, was intended for productive investments in the bloc's most chronically stagnant economy. MICRO-PROJECTSMore than half the EU money is meant to go on digitalisation and ecological transition, with the rest devoted to sustainable transport, education, social cohesion and health. The government is still awaiting a 19-billion-euro tranche of the EU funds blocked in March over missed policy targets stemming from 2022. It brings Italy's byzantine rules closer to EU standards, but Gobbato said people will initially find it hard to adapt.

Persons: Flavio Lo Scalzo, Rome, Roberto Perotti, Giorgia Meloni, Mario Draghi, Giuseppe Conte, Carlo Messina, Intesa, Vittorio Soldavini, Davide Carlucci, It's, Gustavo Piga, Rome's, Ilaria, Dentons, Gobbato, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Milan's Bocconi University, Treasury, European Central Bank, Technology, Tor Vergata University, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, ROME, MILAN, tranches, Brussels, Italy's, Italian, Parma

☆ How 'Birkin Bandit' George Mickum Infiltrated NYC Society
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Kate Taylor | Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +52 min

"He would know people's weaknesses and what they wanted and somehow always have something to offer," a former close friend said. Another close friend said Mickum once gave her a $1,000 loan "within minutes" when she needed it because of a credit-card crisis. He never "let the truth get in the way of a good story," a former close friend said. Hermès bags, like the Birkin and the Kelly, have always been symbols of unattainable luxury. There wasn't even a dust bag; Mickum claimed his mom's assistant would drop it off later.

Persons: George Mickum strode, Carlyle, Patty Hearst, He'd, Mickum, Birkin, swilling, Patty's, Gillian Hearst, Mr, George Mickum, Gillian Hearst's, George, Sally Painter, who'd, Peter Davis, Jackie O, Barbara Walters, Alessia Fendi, influencer Hannah Stella, Nick Hissom, Steve Wynn, Hearst, they'd, Prince Charles, Anna Delvey, Patty Hearst's, Rumor, he'd, wasn't, Met Breuer, Peter Poopat, George Santos, Trinity, Elisabeth Thieriot, Thieriot, Hermes, —, Painter, Paul Mickum, George Mickum III, Sally, Painter's, Poopat, PJ Pascual, Patrick McMullan, Ramona Singer, Lauren Lawrence, Lawrence, Van Cleef, Nicole Salmasi, Trudy, Mike Vitelli, Eric Schmidt, Schmidt, Eric, R, Couri Hay, They're, Astor, William Randolph Hearst, Orson Welles, Kane, Gillian's, Bill Clinton, Patty, Bernard Shaw, Gillian, Lydia —, Shaw, Maxim, Lydia, Kane we're, Christian Simonds, Pierre, Krista Corl, Dee Dee, Scott Buccheit, Naeem Delbridge, Pascual, who's, We're, buttering, Simonds, Matthew Kehoe, England, — Hearst, Delbridge, Hearst's, Mario Glen Coco, Hearsts, Astrid Stawiarz, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Justin Timberlake, Joe Lewis, Buccheit, Mary McCarthy, Lillian Hellman, Mickum's, Christie Grimm, Steve, Kameron Ramirez, Hissom, Ramirez, Nick, Hunt, Damien Hirst, Douglas Elliman, Harry Winston, David Fiszel, invitees, Fiszel, Darian, Winston, Martha Stewart's, Mendel minks, Vacheron Constantin, Tao, Melinda French Gates, Shawn Mendes, Bill, Hillary Clinton, Neiman Marcus, Damien Hirst's, Damien, weren't, Kelly, Alexis Clarbour, Clarbour, Paul Wharton, you've, Wharton, Sean Zanni, Michael Coste, Hannah Stella, Coste's, Stella, Scott Fitzgerald, Coste, Goodman, Courroies Birkin, didn't, Aman, Cartier, Mickum's bluster, skeptically, satchel, Clarbour's, He's, We've, Sider, Philippe, Buccheit texted Pascual, he's, Hay, Café Carlyle, Alexander Hankin, Burisma, Hunter Biden, Mickum hasn't, There's, They've, Amy X, Wang, King Charles, Tracey Amon, Amon, GEORGE MICKUM Organizations: Hearst, Blue, Potomac, Hamptons, East, Met, University of Delaware, Southampton Bathing Corporation, Fields School, Georgetown Law, DC, Town &, New York Daily News, The New York Times, Google, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Cosmopolitan, Symbionese Liberation Army, Hearst Corporation, Vogue, Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering, Stockbridge Golf, New, Tiger, Tottenham, Douglas, Martha Stewart's Hamptons, Mickum, Projects, Madison, Getty, Antibes, Nike, Rue du Faubourg Saint, Couture, US, UN, New Yorkers, Avenue Couture, Hermès, Republican, Justice Department, Blue Star, Town, New York Times Magazine Locations: Bemelmans, Clinton, York, Palm, New, London, Manhattan, Dalton, Bay, Windsor Castle, Haute, Washington , DC, New York, Baccarat, The, San Francisco, Wilton , Connecticut, Side, Wyntoon, California, Buccheit, woodsy Stockbridge , Massachusetts, Stockbridge, Bahamas, Albany, Nobu, Martha, Peking, Paris, Istanbul, St, Georgetown, China, Italy, Hermès, Amalfi Coast, du, Midtown, brunch, Rue, Central Park, Mickum, Turkey, La, Café, Ukrainian, Ukraine

☆ Opinion | Better Government in New York Depends on Higher Voter Turnout
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Mara Gay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Adams, who is not the first New York politician to lose it with a voter, is up for re-election in 2025. “You have a government that is walled off from the concerns of the people,” Susan Lerner, the executive director of the good government group Common Cause New York, told me. Increasing turnout in primaries may be one of the best ways to get better, more responsive government. One promising bill passed by both legislative chambers in June would shift many local elections to even-numbered years. Some incumbents in New York, unsurprisingly, seem to enjoy things just as they are, and have opposed the shift to even years.

Persons: Mr, Adams, that’s, ”, ” Susan Lerner, Hochul, isn’t, “, ” Ms, Lerner Organizations: New, City Council, Board Locations: New York, Albany, New York City

☆ California man convicted for smuggling Byzantine-era Hercules mosaic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A California man has been convicted for illegally importing an ancient floor mosaic, believed to have been made in modern-day Syria nearly two thousand years ago and valued at almost half a million dollars. The ancient artwork arrived at the port in Long Beach as part of a shipment from Turkey in August 2015. Alcharihi only paid about $12,000 for the antiquity, which an appraisal expert valued at $450,000, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The mosaic weighs a whopping 2,000 pounds and is about 15-feet long and 8-feet tall, according to the release. Alcharihi’s false declarations about the mosaic came just months after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria.

Persons: Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi, Alcharihi, Prometheus Organizations: CNN, US, Office, United Nations Security, ISIS Locations: Syria, Long Beach, Turkey, Los Angeles

☆ China is looking all over the world for help building and flying its fighter jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet at RAF Coningsby in May. Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine Corps pilot, has been accused of violating the Arms Export Control Act by training Chinese military pilots. "Currently, Chinese jet engines can at best achieve one-fourth the life span of Western engines," the report says. To manufacture engines, China still needs to import complex machine tools, including equipment made in Germany, Japan, Italy, and South Korea. A J-20 stealth fighter jet at Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai in November.

Persons: —, Der Spiegel, Christopher Furlong, Daniel Duggan, Duggan, Chen Jimin, Deng Hua, John Paul Jones, walling, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Privacy, China, NATO, Taiwan, British Royal Air Force Eurofighter, Coningsby, US, Chinese headhunters, US Marine Corps, Western, China News Service, Getty, Center for Strategic, International Studies, CSIS, Nations, Soviets, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: China, May, Australian, Zhuhai, US, Germany, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Xinhua, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire, Hungarian, Russia, Russian, Nazi, Forbes

☆ Lessons Learned From a Decade of Answering Your Real Estate Questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Ronda Kaysen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I soon became something of a 311 operator for The Times, fielding questions from New Yorkers baffled by the byzantine rules that govern their housing. Week after week, I searched for solutions, sifting through laws, talking to industry professionals, government agencies, lawyers and other experts about how — or if — these problems could be fixed. Read your lease, read state and city laws, anticipate the worst-case scenario before you decide what to do. If you’ve been dealing with stolen packages for months, odds are you’re not the only one. Of course, this means you have to talk to your neighbors, and what New Yorker wants to do that?

Persons: you’ve Organizations: The Times

☆ F.T.C. Sues Amazon for Inducing Users to Subscribe to Prime
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( David Mccabe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, argues that Amazon had used design tactics on its website known as “dark patterns” to nudge people into subscribing to Prime, the F.T.C. And when consumers wanted to cancel, they had to go through a byzantine process to do so. “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” Ms. Khan said in a statement. has taken Amazon to court under Ms. Khan, who rose to fame with a viral critique of the company and who is ramping up scrutiny of the e-commerce giant. Ms. Khan has said the power that big tech companies have over online commerce requires regulators to be far more aggressive and has begun taking actions against them.

Persons: Lina Khan, Ms, Khan Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Wednesday, Amazon, Western, of Locations: U.S, of Washington

[1/2] A journalist takes a picture of Saint John the Baptist 6th century Encaustic painting on wood panel, a rare Byzantine icon from the collections of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, one of 16 icons that were evacuated in the utmost secrecy to be safeguarded by the Paris... Read morePARIS, June 13 (Reuters) - The Louvre Museum in Paris will exhibit five rare icons evacuated from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to protect them from the war. The icons, on display from Wednesday, are from a group of 16 extremely fragile works from Kyiv's Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum that were secretly evacuated in May to be safeguarded by the Paris museum. "It's a very symbolic and effective gesture of support for Ukrainian culture," Oleksander Tkachenko, Ukrainian culture minister, told reporters at the Louvre. At the start of the Russian invasion, the collections of the Khanenko Museum were hidden and the historic building is currently empty. The Louvre exhibition, titled "The Origins of the Sacred Image: Icons from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts in Kyiv", will continue until Nov. 6.

Persons: Saint John the Baptist, Bohdan, Varvara Khanenko, Read, Kyiv's Bohdan, Saint Nicholas, Elizabeth Pineau, Antony Paone, Dominique Vidalon, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Louvre Museum, Varvara Khanenko Museum, Khanenko, Museum of Arts, Moscow, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Paris, PARIS, France, Poland, Germany, Saint Catherine's, Egypt's, Constantinople

☆ Borrowers brace for student loan bills to resume — '$600 a month, where is that going to come from?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As a result of the policy, the average borrower likely saved around $15,000 in student loan payments, Kantrowitz said. ″[T]he one-time student loan debt relief program was intended to avoid" that problem, he added. Yet consumer advocates say the troubles for student loan borrowers are far from over. "Borrowers are not ready to resume payments," said Persis Yu, deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center. To be able to afford his student loan payment in September, Berlet plans to cut back on how much food he buys.

Persons: Donald Trump, Mark Kantrowitz, Kantrowitz, James Kvaal, Joe Biden's, Mark, Kvaal, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, McCarthy, Persis Yu, Yu, they'd, Paul, Berlet, he'll, Brooks, didn't, wasn't, Paul Berlet Organizations: Twitter, Student, Protection, Kantrowitz, Education Department, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, Granite State Locations: U.S, Pennsylvania, Granite, Wilmington , Delaware

☆ The Calm Man in the Capital: Biden Lets Others Spike the Ball but Notches a Win
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The president’s approach to the negotiations — and especially their aftermath — reflects a half-century of bargaining in Washington. When someone has been around the track as long as Mr. Biden has, resisting the temptation to spike the ball and claim victory can be critical to actually securing the victory in the first place. From the start of the clash with Mr. McCarthy’s Republicans, Mr. Biden has followed the instincts he has developed through long, hard and sometimes painful experience. In their view, Mr. Biden was too eager to get an accord even at the expense of policy concessions they found anathema and too passive in making the case for the pact once he signed off on it. The who-won debate now raging in Washington could shape the narrative for both parties as they navigate this new era of divided government.

Persons: Biden, McCarthy’s, Mr, ”, Jamaal Bowman Organizations: Senate, McCarthy’s Republicans, Republicans, Republican Party, ” Locations: Washington, New York

☆ The average wedding just hit $29,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The average cost of a wedding, nationally, this year is $29,000, up $1,000 from 2022, according to online wedding planning site Zola. It said searches for alternative weddings – especially underwater weddings – have jumped 305% on its platform. “Though slightly challenging logistically, it should be interesting to see the data for underwater weddings in 2023,” she said. “Wedding photographer Kimber Greenwood, who specializes in underwater wedding photography, is booked to photograph 20 of them this year. The wedding industry should enjoy the recovery, because it may not last.

Persons: Zola, they’re, Emily Forrest, San, Esther Lee, ”, Knot’s Lee, “, Kimber Greenwood, Pinterest, Jenna Landi, “ There’s, Greenwood, they’ve Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, New York, Big Apple, Jewelers Locations: New York, New York City, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Ft . Lauderdale, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Gainesville , Florida

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