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☆ Pro-Kremlin supporters are fuming after footage appears to show Ukrainian drones decimating an entire Russian armored column
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewUkrainian forces deployed FPV attack drones to help obliterate an entire column of Russian armored vehicles, Metro reports. Video appears to show Ukraine exploding drones, finishing off 11 tanks and armored vehicles. Russian military bloggers have become increasingly frustrated by the Russian military's tactics. Russian forces continue self-sabotage by gathering in large groups to attack Ukrainian positions, making them an easy target for Ukrainian drones. Another Kremlin-affiliated milblogger argued that the Russian military command needs to stop attacking in mechanized columns due to repeated high equipment losses.

Persons: —, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Putin, milblogger, Gleb Molchanov Organizations: Service, Business, Metro, CNN News, Putin's, Russian, Ukraine, Guardian Locations: Ukraine, Novomykhailivka, Donetsk, Russia, Russian, US, Ukrainian, Moscow, Saint Petersburg

☆ President Joe Biden wins South Carolina Democratic Primary, NBC News projects
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden has won the South Carolina Democratic primary, NBC News projects. Running against Biden were House Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and self-help author and 2020 Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson. NBC News' Decision Desk projects that Biden will be awarded all 55 Democratic delegates in South Carolina. South Carolina holds open primaries, which means any voter registered in the state is permitted to vote in either party's primary. The president did not win the 2020 Democratic primary in New Hampshire.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, Donald Trump, —, Williamson, Phillips, Nikki Haley, Biden's Organizations: Flex, South Carolina Democratic, NBC, Biden, Democratic, Republican, South, Palmetto State, . South, The Palmetto, Democratic National Committee, DNC, Democratic Party Locations: U.S, West Columbia, South Carolina, Nevada, Las Vegas, ., . South Carolina, , New Hampshire, New Hampshire

☆ Inside the rise of Sarah J. Maas, the best-selling author who's taking the 'romantasy' genre to the next level
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Samantha Grindell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Sarah J. Maas' latest book, "House of Flame and Shadow," was published on Tuesday. Publishers are prioritizing romantasy, with Entangled creating Red Tower, an imprint focused on sci-fi and fantasy romance books in 2022. But an organic community of Maas readers formed on social media recently, making her even more widely loved. The pair, who are good friends thanks to BookTok, post videos breaking down the smallest details of Maas' works. Studios founder Molly Werts, 26, runs her shop full-time and met her roommate because they connected over one of Maas' books.

Persons: Sarah J, Maas, —, Samantha Grindell, Harry Potter, it's, Feyre, she's, fae Bryce Quinlan, Stephanie Meyer's, Cassandra Clare's, Tor, Rebecca Yarros, Bramble, Jennifer L, BookTok, TikTok, superfans, Rosie Dent, Dent, Lili, BookTokers, Jaclyn Wooten, Wooten, Molly Werts, romantasy, they've Organizations: Service, Bloomsbury, Marvel, New York Times, Reuters, Publishers, Wings, Studios, Jupiter's, Publisher's, Writers of America Locations: Brooklyn , New York, New York, Connecticut, Florida, Maas, Bloomsbury, Crescent, BookTok

☆ People are turning to TikTok and YouTube tutorials to plan increasingly complicated Disney trips
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

YouTubers, influencers, and bloggers are tapping into a new market — Disney park planning. AdvertisementPeople are turning to YouTube videos and TikToks to plan increasingly complicated Disney trips, The Washington Post reported. But for the less organized, Disney trips might seem like a nightmarish experience. Hart shares Disney planning trips for taking toddlers or preschoolers to the parks on her YouTube channel, where she has more than 19,000 subscribers. The site has racked up hundreds of thousands of views sharing a variety of "tips, tricks and tutorials" on visiting Disney parks.

Persons: —, Rob Kayris, Kayris, it's, Bekah Hart, Hart, She's, TikToker Brooke Raybould, Raybould Organizations: Plus, Disney, Service, Washington Post, YouTube, Plan, Magic, Ear Scouts, Genie, Post

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' lawsuit against the Republican-controlled Legislature arguing that it is obstructing basic government functions. The court's liberal majority agreed to hear the case, with the three conservative justices dissenting. The court only agreed to immediately hear one of the three issues Evers brought forward in the complaint. The Legislature convened a lame duck session just weeks before Evers took office to weaken the incoming governor’s powers.

Persons: Tony Evers, Evers, Janet Protasiewicz, Rebecca Dallet, Jill Karofsky, Ann Walsh Bradley, Annette Ziegler, Brian Hagedorn, Rebecca Bradley, ” Evers, Knowles, Devin LeMahieu Organizations: Wisconsin Supreme, Democratic, Republican, University of Wisconsin, Conservative, Legislature, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Nelson Stewardship Program, Republicans, GOP, Natural Resources Board Locations: MADISON, Wis, Wisconsin

☆ Six Reasons Why It’s So Hard to Get Your Weight-Loss Drugs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Reed Abelson | Rebecca Robbins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Talk to people who have tried to get one of the wildly popular weight-loss drugs, like Wegovy, and they’ll probably have a story about the hoops they had to jump through to get their medication — if they could get it at all. Emily Weaver, a nurse practitioner in Cary, N.C., said she told her patients that finding Wegovy was “like winning the lottery.”Here are six reasons why. Fueled in part by TikTok videos and celebrity testimonials, people are increasingly seeking prescriptions for appetite-suppressing medications. The drugs in this class have long been used to treat diabetes but more recently have been recognized for their extraordinary ability to help patients lose weight. The medications are injected weekly and have sticker prices as high as $16,000 a year.

Persons: they’ll, Emily Weaver, Wegovy Locations: Cary, N.C

☆ Exclusive: AI healthcare software startup Cohere Health just raised $50 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cohere Health just landed $50 million in Series B extension funding, Business Insider has learned exclusively. Deerfield Management led the Series B extension, with participation from Define Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Longitude Capital, and Polaris Partners. The Cohere Health team. This year, as it works to get more health plans to use its software, Cohere plans to grow its workforce. In the second quarter of this year, Cohere plans to announce software that will apply AI to medical imaging.

Persons: Siva Namasivayam, Cohere, Axios, Namasivayam, It's, Michael Greeley, Lynne Chou O'Keefe, Greeley, Cohere's Organizations: Cohere, Business, Deerfield Management, Define Ventures, Flare Capital, Longitude, Polaris Partners, Humana, Capital Partners, Cohere Health Locations: Deerfield, Cohere

☆ South African innovator’s medicine-dispensing lockers win prestigious prize
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —A South African entrepreneur who designed a smart locker system that improves access to healthcare has won a major award for African engineering. In June, the usual iteration of the Africa Prize will also go ahead, during which four finalists will battle it out for a £25,000 ($31,600) prize. “There isn’t enough funding available for African startups,” she tells CNN. “We don’t want all the funding to come in the form of grants, as we see in the Africa Prize. We want investors to start to believe that they can also make money by investing in African startups.

Persons: Pelebox, King Charles III’s, Anne, James Oatway, Royal Academy of Engineering Hutiri, ’, ”, Aisha Raheem, Farmz2U, Samuel Njuguna, Rebecca Enonchong, It’s, That’s, “ Organizations: London CNN, UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering, Africa, Engineering Innovation, Academy, SMS, Royal Academy of Engineering, “, CNN, Chura, The Academy Locations: African, London, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Africa, Nigerian, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt

☆ Biogen Abandons Its Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug Aduhelm
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Rebecca Robbins | More About Rebecca Robbins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The drug maker Biogen said on Wednesday it would abandon its ownership rights to Aduhelm, an Alzheimer’s drug that had provoked fierce criticism of the company and regulators after it was approved based on weak evidence that it would help patients. The company will also stop a clinical trial that the Food and Drug Administration had ordered to confirm whether the drug is effective in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Biogen’s decision closes out a yearslong saga that generated outrage and eroded trust in the regulatory process for bringing new medicines to market. adviser called the approval of the drug perhaps “the worst approval decision that the F.D.A. has made that I can remember.” A congressional inquiry later found that the F.D.A.’s process for approving Aduhelm was “rife with irregularities” and involved “lapses in protocol,” including unusually close collaboration with Biogen.

Persons: Biogen, Aduhelm Organizations: and Drug Administration

☆ Meet the JPMorgan executive emerging as a dark horse to succeed Jamie Dimon
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewA longtime JPMorgan executive who has kept a low public profile while cultivating a reputation as a successful trader with a talent for managing risk is emerging as a contender to succeed Jamie Dimon as chief executive. His new position through the internal shuffle has vaulted him more publicly and prominently into the most closely watched succession race on Wall Street. JPMorgan executive David Hudson told the publication that he returned to JPMorgan after working at Nomura in 2010 "to work for Troy." Rohrbaugh's other stops at JPMorgan have been head of global markets and head of macro markets. A senior JPMorgan executive who works with Rohrbaugh recalled that time during the pandemic.

Persons: —, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, Troy Rohrbaugh, Jennifer Piepszak, Wall, Marianne Lake, Rohrbaugh, Goldman Sachs, Euromoney, Eddie Wen, David Hudson, He's, Gary Gensler's, Goldman, Cantor Fitzgerald, Tim Soulas, Cantor, Johns Hopkins, you've, he'll, Kaja Whitehouse, Alex Morrell Organizations: Service, JPMorgan, Wall, Business, CIB, North America, Goldman, Nomura, Troy, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Global, Securities, Exchange, Banque Nationale, CooperNeff, Philadelphia Stock Exchange, World Trade Center, New York Daily News, Gilman School, Johns Hopkins University, Alpha Delta Phi, Baltimore Sun, Bloomberg Locations: Dimon, North, JPMorgan's, Canadian, Manhattan, Baltimore, Maryland, New York

☆ FBI shuts down China's 'Volt Typhoon' hackers targeting U.S. infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Justice Department and FBI identified the attacks and shut down aspects of the Volt Typhoon malware, Wray said. Microsoft in May warned that Volt Typhoon hackers had been active since 2021 and were targeting U.S. cyber infrastructure. The hacks have become increasingly sophisticated, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said at the hearing. She explained that Chinese hackers are able to "live within a computer's operating system" in a way that makes them difficult to identify. In July, Chinese hackers also compromised the email accounts of the U.S. ambassador to China and other officials.

Persons: Christopher Wray, Wray, they're, that's, Shou Zi Chew Organizations: FBI, Justice Department, Microsoft, Infrastructure Security Agency, Communist Party, NBC News, British Locations: China, U.S, London, Taiwan

☆ Amelia Earhart's plane could be 'well preserved' but there's no guarantee it's been found, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewExperts have rushed to weigh in following news of tantalizing sonar imagery in the hunt for Amelia Earhart's lost plane — which, even if it has not been found, could still be well-preserved in its final resting place. They were taken at a depth of 16,400 feet, about 100 miles from Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which Romeo's team considered one of the likeliest areas for Earhart's plane to have come down. AdvertisementThe plane is made primarily from aluminum, Jourdan told The Washington Post back in 2001, discussing a search at a similar depth and location. At those temperatures, even Earhart's charts and other papers may have been preserved, The Post and Courier reported.

Persons: —, Amelia Earhart's, Tony Romeo, we've, Romeo, Katherine Tangalakis, Rebecca Rommen, Romeo doesn't, it's, Earhart, David Jourdan, Jourdan, Megan Lickliter, Mundon Organizations: Service, Street, Business, Smithsonian Institution's, Air and Space Museum, CNN, Washington Post, Courier, New York Times Locations: Howland

☆ Boise, Idaho, building collapse: 3 killed and 9 injured in hangar collapse at airport, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Amy Simonson | Jason Hanna | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Three people were killed and nine others were injured when a privately owned hangar under construction collapsed on airport property in Idaho’s capital of Boise on Wednesday evening, city officials said. Of the nine injured survivors, five were in critical condition and receiving care at hospitals on Wednesday night, city officials said. “There was a large-scale collapse of the building, the framework of the building. “It was fairly catastrophic.”The building under construction was not a city facility and airport operations were not affected, Hummel said. The construction was not an airport project, Rebecca Hupp, the airport director, said during the news conference.

Persons: West, Luke, ” Aaron Hummel, Hummel, “, ” Hummel, Rebecca Hupp, CNN’s Christina Maxouris Organizations: CNN, West Rickenbacker, Boise Fire Department, The Idaho State Police Locations: Boise, Boise Airport’s

A network of some of the country’s wealthiest Republican donors gathered this week at a Florida winter meeting held by the American Opportunity Alliance and heard from top aides to both Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley. The gathering on Monday and Tuesday was one of the first significant steps in the reluctant drag back to the reality of Mr. Trump for some of these donors, after aides to Mr. Trump received no such invitation to the group’s fall retreat. Ms. Haley has a series of fund-raisers in the coming days, and held one in New York City on Tuesday night. At the American Opportunity Alliance retreat, Ms. Haley had far more backers than Mr. Trump did. Kenneth Griffin, a billionaire hedge-fund executive and major Republican donor who attended the retreat, gave $5 million to her super PAC this month, according to a person close to him.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Republican Party —, Donald J, Trump, Haley, Haley —, Biden, Kenneth Griffin Organizations: Republican Party, American Opportunity Alliance, Mr Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire, Trump, Florida, New York City

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a key progressive and former Black Lives Matter organizer, is being investigated by the Justice Department for her campaign's spending on security services, she confirmed in a statement Tuesday. As a rank-and-file member of Congress I am not entitled to personal protection by the House, and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services," Bush continued in her statement. "I have not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any reporting that I have used federal funds for personal security is simply false." Asked about Bush at a leadership news conference, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said Tuesday he had no comment and called it "something for the Justice Department."

Persons: Cori Bush, Bush, Louis, Lacy Clay, Cortney Merritts, Susan Cole, William McFarland, I, Cole, Pete Aguilar, Aguilar Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Justice Department, House, DOJ, PunchBowl News, Democratic, Louis Post, Dispatch, Conservative, Federal, Commission, U.S . Department of Justice, Republican, House Democratic Locations: Washington , U.S

(AP) — Residents of an east Arkansas town have been without running water for the past two weeks after the state was hit by below-freezing temperatures, and the outage has forced them to line up for bottled water, fill up jugs or take showers at a truck brought in by the state. The town faced a similar crisis last summer, when the same part of the city was without water in June. The outages are affecting one of two water systems for Helena-West Helena, which was two separate cities until 2006. Each day, distribution sites for the water have seen a steady line of people filling up on water to use for their homes. He said citizens in general have been understanding of the emergency water distribution process.

Persons: ”, John Edwards, ” Russell Hall, ” Mack Williams, “ You’ve, ” Gerald Jennings, “ I’ve, “, ” Laprece, Pipes, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sanders, ” Hall, Edwards, “ We've, ___ DeMillo, Rebecca Reynolds Organizations: HELENA, WEST HELENA, — Residents, Emergency Management, National Guard, ”, Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Associated Press Locations: Arkansas, Helena, West Helena, Memphis , Tennessee, Mississippi, Phillips, Tennessee, Mason, Kentucky, Virginia, Little, Louisville , Kentucky

New Mexico is the first state to partner with Google for such an endeavor, state officials said, noting that the payoff could be significant in terms of curbing losses and saving municipalities and ratepayers money over the long term. The water plan notes that some systems in New Mexico are losing anywhere from 40% to 70% of all treated drinking water because of breaks and leaks in old infrastructure. “We don't need to make that choice between safe drinking water and your business," the governor said. One proposal calls for funneling another $100 million to the state water board to disperse for shovel-ready projects. In 2018, New Mexico rolled out a water plan that included details about policies at the time, historical legal cases and regional water plans.

Persons: Michelle Lujan Grisham, Lujan Grisham, “, Lujan Grisham's, Rebecca Roose Organizations: —, Google, Intel Locations: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M, — New Mexico, U.S, New Mexico, Mexico, Albuquerque

☆ Palestinians are eating grass and drinking polluted water as famine looms across Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Sana Noor Haq | Rosa Rahimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“They are weak now, they always have diarrhea, their faces are yellow,” El Jamara, whose family was displaced from northern Gaza, told CNN on January 9. “Unfortunately, many relatives and friends are still in the northern Gaza Strip, suffering a lot,” Hamouda, a father-of-three, told CNN. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are “absolutely critical” for physical growth and cognitive development, Inglis told CNN. “It is not enough to meet my family’s needs at all,” the student, who is sheltering in a tent in Rafah, told CNN. “We simply don’t have enough, and we cannot keep up with the overwhelming needs of people on the ground,” she told CNN.

Persons: CNN — Hanadi Gamal Saed El Jamara, El Jamara, Arif Husain, Martin Griffiths, “, ”, El, Mohammed Hamouda, Odeh Al, Haw, Hamouda, Yahya Hassouna, Israel, ” Hamouda, Jabalya, Gihan, Baz, ” El Baz, Hoor, Hazem Saeed Al, Mohammed Hamouda Hamouda, Abu Youssef Al, Rebecca Inglis, Inglis, Shadi Bleha, Khan Younis, OCHA, Mohammed Hamouda Juliette Touma, Naizi Organizations: CNN, Food Programme, Integrated Food Security, UN, of Health, “, Getty, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, Najjar Hospital, UNICEF, World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund, WFP, OCHA, World, Al Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Egypt, “, Gaza City, AFP, East, Britain, Al, Territories, Deir al, Balah

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 31, 2023. WASHINGTON — Members of the House Homeland Security Committee are meeting Tuesday to discuss the Republican-led impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. House Republicans accuse Mayorkas and the Biden administration of disregarding federal laws on immigration and seek to make Mayorkas the second Cabinet official impeached in U.S. history. According to the first impeachment article set forth by House Republicans, Mayorkas "has willfully and systemically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws." The second impeachment article accuses him of breaching the "public trust" and "knowingly" obstructing "lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security."

Persons: Alejandro Mayorkas, Mayorkas, Biden, systemically, Mark Green, Donald Trump, Green, Mayorkas's, Bennie Thompson, Thompson, —, Michael McCaul, Marjorie Taylor Greene, … We're, MAGA, Dan Goldman, Goldman, Joe Biden, President Trump, Glenn Ivey, impeaching, I've, Don Bacon, Nick LaLota, He's, … He's, LaLota, — Rebecca Kaplan Organizations: Homeland, Senate Homeland Security, Government, Capitol, WASHINGTON —, House Homeland Security, Republican, Republicans, House Republicans, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security, Rep, Congress, United, Constitution, Mayorkas, DHS, Democrats Locations: Washington ,, U.S, Texas, D, New York, Cuba

☆ ‘Attracted by the siren call of celebrity’: What an Alex Murdaugh judge said about the clerk accused of jury tampering
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Zoe Sottile | Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity,” Toal said in her announcement of the ruling. “She wanted to write a book about the trial and expressed that as early as November 2022, long before the trial began,” the judge said. “Did clerk of court Hill’s comments have any impact on the verdict of the jury? The jury tampering case centered on statements allegedly made by Hill to jurors about Murdaugh’s guilt. The affidavit also said prior to Murdaugh testifying, Hill told the jurors “not to be fooled” by evidence offered by the defense.

Persons: Jean Toal, Alex Murdaugh’s, Rebecca Hill, ” Toal, “, ”, Toal, Hill, ” Murdaugh, ” Hill “, Alex Murdaugh, Andrew J, Whitaker, Z, Murdaugh, Justin Bamberg, Will Lewis, Toal’s, ” Murdaugh’s Organizations: CNN, South Carolina, South, Judicial, South Carolina Law Locations: Colleton County, South Carolina, Richland, Columbia , South Carolina, Colleton

☆ These are the 7 healthcare startups primed to IPO when the market reopens
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Only one digital health startup went public in the US in 2022 — digital therapeutics company Akili Interactive, whose shares have since crashed a whopping 97%, per MarketWatch. Not a single healthcare startup went public last year. ArriVent Biopharma went public a few days later, bringing in $175 million. AdvertisementIndustry experts remain skeptical about whether the public markets will be ready for a successful healthcare IPO this year. Business Insider has identified seven startups that could be considering an IPO as the markets reopen, based on conversations with top VCs and bankers and public filings.

Persons: —, Metagenomi, ArriVent Biopharma Organizations: Service, Business, Akili Interactive, Alto Neuroscience, Oncology, BrightSpring Health Services, KKR, Walgreens, Industry

But the donors in the American Opportunity Alliance do not move in unison, and people supporting Ms. Haley — and who had supported Gov. Some members of the group have been open about wanting a candidate other than Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump also has repeatedly attacked major donors as being part of the “swamp” that he derides. The network supported Ms. Haley, but as The New York Times recently reported, some of its donors regretted that endorsement. They also suggested that they would be focusing intensely on Senate and House races, especially if Mr. Trump became the nominee.

Persons: Republican megadonors, Donald J, Trump, Nikki Haley, Haley’s, Betsy Ankney, Trump’s, Susie Wiles, Puck, Ricketts, Paul Singer, Kenneth Griffin, Haley —, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Mr, DeSantis, —, Linda McMahon, President Trump, Nikki Haley’s, Mark Kauzlarich, Jean Carroll, Koch, Emily Seidel, Michael Palmer, Ms Organizations: Republican, American Opportunity Alliance, Chicago Cubs, Sunday, New, Small Business Administration, President, The New York Times, Trump Republican Party, Mr, Prosperity, New York Times Locations: Palm Beach, Fla, Florida, Dallas, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Indian Wells, Calif

☆ Sen. Elizabeth Warren pushes Fed Chair Powell to cut 'astronomical' rates, ease housing pressure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, left, speaks with Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and three other Democratic lawmakers are pushing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates at the upcoming Fed meeting to make housing more affordable. "The direct effect of these astronomical rates has been a significant increase in the overall home purchasing cost to the average consumer," the letter said. The Fed's December forecast was a sigh of relief for the housing market, which has been under pressure over the past few years due to a combination of record-high rates and a lingering supply shortage. In January, mortgage demand surged, a signal that homebuyers are returning to a market they have been wary of for months.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Jerome Powell, Sen, Powell, Joe Biden's Organizations: U.S . Federal, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Washington , D.C, Democratic, Federal Locations: Massachusetts, Washington ,

☆ New Murder Trial for Alex Murdaugh? A Judge Will Soon Decide.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the climax of one of the most closely watched trials in South Carolina history, the packed courtroom was silent except for one woman: the court clerk, who read the guilty verdicts aloud in March 2023 that put Alex Murdaugh, a prominent lawyer, in prison for life for the murder of his wife and son. Now, a new court hearing is getting underway on Monday to determine whether the clerk, Rebecca Hill, improperly influenced the jurors who voted to convict Mr. Murdaugh, 55, and whether Mr. Murdaugh should have a new trial. A state police agency is investigating allegations from Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers that Ms. Hill made comments during the trial that could have influenced the jurors’ votes. Among the allegations are that Ms. Hill told jurors not to be “fooled” by Mr. Murdaugh’s defense, that she had private conversations with a juror, and that she told jurors before they started deliberating that “this shouldn’t take us long.”Ms. Hill has not been charged, and she has denied many of the most serious allegations. She and the jurors are expected to testify on Monday at a hearing in Columbia, S.C., that is part of Mr. Murdaugh’s appeal of his convictions.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Rebecca Hill, Mr, Murdaugh, Hill, Ms Locations: South Carolina, Columbia

☆ A hearing to see if Alex Murdaugh gets a new murder trial begins today
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Dakin Andone | Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The South Carolina Attorney General’s office, which led the prosecution against Murdaugh, has urged the courts to deny the motion. The evidentiary hearing Monday is expected to include the testimony of 11 jurors from the original murder trial and Hill. Murdaugh’s attorneys had indicated they also wanted to call alternate and dismissed jurors, as well as prosecutors and Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial, as witnesses. Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill listens as prosecutor Creighton Waters makes closing arguments in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on March 1, 2023, in Walterboro, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh's defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian, left, and Jim Griffin before a hearing on January 16 at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia.

Persons: Alex Murdaugh, Murdaugh, Colleton, Rebecca “ Becky ” Hill, Hill, “, ” Hill, Dick Harpootlian, Clifton Newman, Jean Toal –, Newman, –, Rebecca Hill, Creighton Waters, Alex Murdaugh's, Maggie, Paul, Alan Wilson, Ms, ”, ‘, ” Hill’s, Neil R, Gordon, Justin Bamberg, Will Lewis, Jim Griffin, Gavin McIntyre, ” Murdaugh’s, Judge Toal, ” CNN’s Devon Sayers Organizations: CNN, South Carolina Attorney, South Carolina Supreme, The State, TNS, Getty, Prosecutors, South Carolina, Judicial Center, Courier, South, South Carolina Law Locations: Colleton County, South Carolina, Colleton, Walterboro , South Carolina, The, Columbia , South Carolina, Richland, Columbia

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