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☆ Federal employee pleads guilty to steering millions in contracts to family-connected firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The OPM worker, 54-year-old Sheron Spann, is due to be sentenced Sept. 21. When Enlightened was incorporated in Maryland and Washington in 1997, Sheron Spann signed documents as a witness for its articles of incorporation, documents show. Enlightened won that contract, which had a funding ceiling of $4.5 million, with Sheron Spann serving as OPM's point of contact on the deal, the court filing said. Work under that contract ended up surpassing the original funding ceiling, "to exceed $25 million," according to the filing. Enlightened won a $1.5 million contract from OPM in April 2017 without having to compete with other bidders, the filing said.

☆ Elon Musk's tirade about remote work being 'morally wrong' has tech workers up in arms, with some calling him a hypocrite
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hundreds of tech workers on Blind debated Elon Musk's stance against remote work. Some tech workers called Musk a hypocrite and poked fun at his comments about the "laptop classes." The billionaire said on Tuesday that remote work is "morally wrong." Some tech workers aren't happy about Elon Musk's recent tirade on remote work and the so-called "laptop classes." Following his comments, many tech workers took to Blind to call Musk a hypocrite and poke fun at his billionaire status.

☆ Wynn Resorts delivers the quarter we've been waiting for, bolstered by China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) delivered a much better-than-expected first quarter Wednesday, with the casino. It appears the miss could be attributed to individual wealthy gamblers frequenting Wynn Palace at the expense of Wynn Macao, which historically is more exposed to groups and tours. Las Vegas Wynn Las Vegas continues to post big results, generating an all-time record adjusted EBITDAR of $231.6 million. There may be a lot of talk out there about a pullback in consumer spending, but it isn't showing up at Wynn Las Vegas. On a hold normalized basis, Wynn Las Vegas' EBITDAR margins expanded 300 basis points year-over-year and 1,400 basis points from the first quarter of 2019.

☆ A Brain Drain Is Hurting the F.D.I.C.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The March failures of Signature Bank, which was overseen by the F.D.I.C., and Silicon Valley Bank, which was regulated by the Federal Reserve, threatened to set off runs at regional banks across the country. Biden administration officials and federal regulators have described the recent bank failures as largely the result of poor management. In a report released in late April reviewing the failure of Signature Bank, the F.D.I.C. pointed to its own “persistent” staffing shortages as a problem that has hampered its ability to supervise lenders. It’s always a risk at any regulatory agency.”The F.D.I.C.

Charles III has commissioned new works for his coronation, adding to the rich tapestry of pieces composed for the occasion. The first coronation music was likely sung chants, which, starting in 1603 with the coronation of James I, were refashioned into coronation anthems now with English text. Both have since become staples in the coronation service. And at the most recent coronation, comparisons between Elizabeth II and Charles III are unsurprisingly being made. Charles III’s coronation is set to usher in the new Carolean era, in the hopes that it will reflect its namesake Charles II and his contributions to art and music.

☆ AOC and Matt Gaetz introduce a bipartisan bill to ban Congress members from trading individual stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban Congress members from trading individual stocks. Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi has long been scrutinized for his extensive history of trading stocks. The Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act would prohibit Congress members and their spouses and any dependents from trading individual stocks. The bill would prevent Congressional lawmakers and their spouses and dependents from trading individual stocks. Instead of owning individual stocks, Congress members would be allowed to buy and sell baskets of stocks via mutual funds or ETFs, as well as Treasury securities.

☆ Manhattan federal prosecutor joins Kramer Levin law firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Chinekwu Osakwe | Thomson Reuters | Chinekwu Osakwe Covers Legal Industry News With A Focus On Midsize Law Firms. Reach Her At Chinekwu.Osakwe Thomsonreuters.Com. | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Law Firms Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Follow(Reuters) - New York-founded law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel said Tuesday that it has hired former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Estes, who co-led the general crimes unit in the Southern District of New York, for its white-collar and government investigations practice. Estes was the lead or co-lead prosecutor on 13 criminal trials ranging from securities fraud matters, insider trading, bank fraud, health care fraud and racketeering, Kramer Levin said. Estes helped secure last year's conviction of Trevor Milton, the founder of electric vehicle company Nikola Corp, on charges that he defrauded investors. In February, prominent Kramer Levin white-collar partner Barry Pollack left the firm to join New York midsize law firm Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler's new Washington, D.C. office. Read More:N.Y. law firm launches in D.C. with white-collar duoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FAA sued over SpaceX Starship launch program following April explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The SpaceX Starship explodes after launch for a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023. The groups argue that the FAA should have conducted an in-depth environmental report, known as an environmental impact statement (EIS), before ever allowing SpaceX to move ahead with its Starship Super Heavy plans in Boca Chica. Later, "based on SpaceX's preference," the lawyers wrote, the federal agency settled on using "a considerably less thorough analysis," which enabled SpaceX to launch sooner. The exact impacts of the launch on the people, habitat and wildlife are still being evaluated by federal and state agencies, and other environmental researchers, alongside and independently from SpaceX. Boca Chica land and wildlife there, namely ocelots, are also sacred to the Carrizo-Comecrudo tribe of Texas.

The landlord's filing was posted to the District of Columbia Superior Court docket on Monday. Crowell's lawsuit, filed in March, marked a fresh clash between a law firm and its landlord over pandemic-era rent. TREA said in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the lease's rent abatement provision is "expressly tied to specific events resulting from the loss of certain utilities." The case is Crowell & Moring v. The TREA 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue Trust, District of Columbia Superior Court, No. Read more:Law firm Crowell sues to recoup $30 mln in COVID-era rentLaw firm office leasing drops again after reboundJenner, Chicago landlord end lawsuits over unpaid rentOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ F.D.I.C. Proposes Broadening Bank Insurance for Businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

officials acknowledged on Monday that those bank runs caught them by surprise. As part of a review into what took place, the regulator has been studying ways to improve the system. Its report looked at the viability of raising the existing insurance cap; expanding it so that deposit insurance is unlimited; and creating a more targeted approach that would provide higher levels of deposit insurance to business accounts that are used for payroll processing. expressed concerns that broadly expanding deposit insurance could create “moral hazard” problems, that is, banks would be shielded from the consequences of making risky investments. It favored offering more protection to business payment accounts because that money is generally used for paying employees rather than investments.

☆ How Randi Weingarten Landed at the Heart of America’s Political Fights
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jonathan Mahler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

But Weingarten was friendly with McAuliffe from the Clinton days and was supporting his candidacy on Twitter and cable news, and the A.F.T. By the fall of 2021, America’s public schools were fully open, but mask mandates were still being hotly contested. gave more than $1 million to McAuliffe, and Weingarten even knocked on doors for him in Alexandria. The tabloid, which had been gleefully attacking Weingarten for years — dubbing her Whine-garten — trumpeted the story: “Powerful Teachers Union Influenced C.D.C. Senator Susan Collins of Maine grilled the C.D.C.’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, at a committee hearing over what she called the C.D.C.’s “secret negotiations” with the teachers’ union.

☆ ChatGPT won't take over from humans for now, says founder of Indian tech giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

watch nowI am a great believer in the theory that the human mind is the most powerful imagination, machine. There is nothing that can beat the human mind. Narayana Murthy founder of InfosysMurthy was the CEO of Infosys from 1981 to 2002. The human mind is what differentiates one from the other, said Murthy. watch nowIn 1981, Murthy and six other engineers founded Infosys with an initial capital of only $250.

☆ McCarthy unveils debt ceiling bill that aims to cut big parts of Biden's agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks at a rally marking the 100th day of Republican control of the House in Washington D.C. on April 17, 2023. WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Wednesday released his plan to raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion for about a year while attempting to repeal major components of President Joe Biden's agenda. "Now that we've introduced a clear plan for a responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate," McCarthy said. McCarthy's announcement comes after days of speculation about the GOP proposal to temporarily raise the debt limit for certain cutbacks, such as a stall on non-defense discretionary spending. Justices are expected to rule on the student loan program by early summer.

☆ The cost of college room and board is rising even faster than tuition. It's driving students into even more debt.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In many public universities, the cost of room and board has risen faster than the cost of tuition. Using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, Insider documented the reported tuition and room and board costs from ten public universities from 2012-2013 versus the 2022-2023 academic year. The data matches a trend that the College Board found, which noted that between 2009 and around 2014, the cost of room and board rose by more than 20 percent. Paying more for room and board leads to more debtAs students are forced to pay even more for room and board, they're often putting themselves into increasingly more debt. The sticker price of tuition, room, and board, however, isn't what it seems once interest is factored in.

☆ A 9-hour drive in Toyota's new electric SUV showed me how brutal EV road trips can be with the wrong car
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I drove the new Toyota bZ4X electric SUV from New York to Washington DC, and back. Charging can take a frustratingly long timeThe 2023 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited. The 2023 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited. The 2023 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited. The 2023 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited.

☆ Inside the Online Market for Overseas Abortion Pills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Allison Mccann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

A selection of abortion pill kits available online from overseas sellers. A chart of the estimated number of abortion pills provided outside the U.S. health care system from July through December 2022. For most patients, the cost of the service remains the most important factor in deciding where to get pills online. A chart showing the minimum, average and maximum cost of abortion pills from overseas providers: Aid Access, Las Libres and for-profit online sellers. A chart showing the minimum, average and maximum delivery speeds of abortion pills from overseas providers: Aid Access, Las Libres and for-profit online sellers.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia digitizes draft system to target dodgers; World Bank announces $200 million for Ukraine repairs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The European Commissioner for the economy, Paolo Gentiloni, has hailed the EU's swift transition away from its dependency on Russian gas and said next winter will be less challenging. "We were expecting a terrible winter, a winter of recession and problems with energy supplies, blackouts," he told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. "We didn't have recession and we were able to go out from dependency from Russian gas in eight months. He said the EU would be refiling storage from the end of April without Russian gas and said it was important to diversify pipelines, noting increased Chinese demand following its lockdown reopening may bring liquefied gas prices up. "More optimistically, the big, big challenge was last winter, next winter will also be challenging but we already know we were able to do something amazing," Gentiloni said.

The deal, which also included Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Mexico, means that San Francisco-based Juul has now settled with 45 states for more than $1 billion. The various states had accused Juul of falsely marketing its e-cigarettes as less addictive than cigarettes and targeted minors with glamorous advertising campaigns. It previously reached a $439 million settlement with 34 states and territories, as well as settlements with several individual states. As of December, its share of Juul was valued at $250 million, down from $12.8 billion in 2018. The CDC also has said using nicotine in adolescence may raise the risk for future addiction to other drugs.

☆ Banking turmoil was not a crisis but 'the downside risks are real,' IIF boss warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tim Adams Anjali Sundaram | CNBCThe banking sector turmoil that led to the collapse of several lenders was not a systemic crisis and has now subsided, according to Tim Adams, CEO of the Institute of International Finance. Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Adams said the March chaos was a "period of market turmoil or turbulence," but dismissed the notion that it was a "crisis." The IIF is a global trade body for the financial services industry, with around 400 members in more than 60 countries. Adams said the primary concern among members was the downside risk to growth, particularly in advanced economies. The IMF on Tuesday lowered its five-year global growth forecast to around 3%, marking the lowest medium-term forecast in an IMF World Economic Outlook report since 1990.

☆ California county starts monitoring wastewater for illicit drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Nathan Frandino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] The Central Marin Sanitation Agency facility, where wastewater samples are collected for testing, is seen in San Rafael, California, U.S. March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan FrandinoSAN RAFAEL, California, April 11 (Reuters) - As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, a California county is using the same wastewater monitoring program it used to track the coronavirus to go after another deadly public health crisis: opioids. We're losing one resident every five days in Marin County," said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County's public health officer. Marin County, like many other places in the U.S., is grappling with a drug epidemic. Reporting by Nathan Frandino in San Rafael, Additional reporting by Brian Snyder in Cambridge, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A 30-year veteran of the DA's office told Insider that Bragg will lay the specifics out in a so-called "bill of particulars" down the road. "When you have an indictment, anything you put in the indictment, you must prove it," Florence, who ran against Bragg for DA in 2021, told Insider in an interview. Bragg laid out 4 alleged underlying crimes in post-arraignment presserThough Bragg didn't include the specifics of Trump's alleged underlying crimes in the charging documents, he laid them out in his post-arraignment news conference. Bragg elaborated on that alleged underlying falsehood in a statement of facts included as an addendum to the indictment. "The prosecution is boxed in at this stage of the game," Ty Cobb, who served as White House special counsel during the Trump administration, told Insider.

March 28 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday refused to transfer to another court a lawsuit by Republican states challenging a Biden administration rule allowing socially conscious investing by retirement plans, rejecting claims of "judge shopping." U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, said the Biden administration had provided no evidence that the litigation did not belong in his court or that plaintiffs were attempting to manipulate the process. His courthouse has become a favored destination for Republicans seeking to challenge aspects of Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda. The Labor Department argues the rule is valid because it still requires retirement plans to consider traditional financial factors when choosing investments. Congress in early March voted to repeal the ESG rule, but Biden vetoed that bill.

☆ Hillary Clinton's 2016 aides say they're too sad and scared for the country to really enjoy watching Trump's legal problems unfold
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Hillary Clinton's former aides say they can't enjoy Donald Trump's current legal problems. Trump called for Clinton to be jailed when the two squared off in the 2016 presidential race. But her former aides now say they're sad and scared for the country as he faces possible charges. Still, Trump managed to weave "crooked Hillary" references into his stump speech Saturday during his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas. A federal judge in January imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions on him and his lawyer for filing a "completely frivolous" lawsuit against her and others, claiming they tried to rig the 2016 election in her favor.

The index of top European banks (.SX7P) was down 1% in early trading, with German banking giants Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) both falling 0.8%. The rescue of Credit Suisse, which followed the collapses of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (SIVB.O) and New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY.O) ignited broader concerns about investors' exposure to a fragile banking sector. The decision to prioritise shareholders over Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bondholders rattled the $275 billion AT1 bond market and some Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders are seeking legal advice. "The AT1 instruments issued by Credit Suisse contractually provide that they will be completely written down in a 'viability event', in particular if extraordinary government support is granted," FINMA said. However, some watchers think the banking system is more vulnerable to rumour and rapid moves in an era of widespread social media use, posing a challenge for regulators trying to tamp down instability.

March 22 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) CEO Jane Fraser on Wednesday expressed confidence in U.S. banks after a series of closures rattled investors and fueled turmoil in global financial markets. "The banking system is pretty sound," and large and regional banks are well-capitalized, Fraser told the Economic Club of Washington D.C. on Wednesday. "This is not a credit crisis. In the past two weeks, two U.S. banks collapsed, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) was taken over by Swiss rival UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) and America's biggest banks agreed to deposit $30 billion in another ailing firm, First Republic Bank (FRC.N). Reporting by Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Sandra Maler and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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