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☆ New York Woman Gets 18 Years for Funding Terrorism With Cryptocurrency
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Hurubie Meko | Maia Coleman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A New York woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for funding terrorism by using cryptocurrency to send financial support to groups operating in Syria. After Judge Althea Drysdale imposed the sentence, the woman, Victoria Jacobs, 44, yelled that the trial had been “a sham” and “Islamophobic” as officers led her from the courtroom. Dressed in a tan sweatshirt and khaki pants, Ms. Jacobs had appeared irritated as soon as she sat down at the defense table and had asked that her handcuffs be removed. In February, a Manhattan jury convicted Ms. Jacobs of three felony counts of providing support for an act of terrorism after a trial that lasted about two weeks. The jury also found her guilty of conspiracy, money laundering and criminal possession of a weapon.

Persons: Althea Drysdale, Victoria Jacobs, ”, Jacobs Locations: York, Syria, Manhattan

☆ Fact check: Trump’s false courthouse claims about his trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Here’s a fact check of four of the claims he made about the trial. (For this particular article, we’ll leave aside the false claims he made in the courthouse about a variety of other subjects.) It is an armed camp to keep people away.” And he said in comments inside the courthouse on Thursday: “This courthouse is locked down; there’s not a person within five blocks.”Facts First: Trump’s claims are all false. Facts First: As he has before, Trump made Merchan’s gag order sound far broader than it is. The gag order does not prohibit Trump from declaring the case a sham or from sharing others’ claims that the case is a sham.

Persons: Donald Trump, Here’s, we’ll, Trump, it’s, Michael Cohen’s, Michael Cohen “, ” Cohen, “, ”, Cohen, Trump’s, ” Trump, Judge Juan Merchan’s, Merchan, you’re, “ I’m, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Biden, Alvin Bragg’s, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo Organizations: Washington CNN, New York Times, Trump, CNN, Monday, Republican, Intelligence, Manhattan, Attorney, Biden, Justice Department Locations: Lower Manhattan, Moscow, Russia, ”, Manhattan, York’s

☆ House sends Mayorkas impeachment articles to the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Annie Grayer | Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —House Republicans have sent to the Senate two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a step that launches a trial in the Senate as GOP lawmakers seek to highlight President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration policy. House Republicans do not have the votes or concrete evidence to impeach Biden given their razor-thin majority, leaving that separate impeachment inquiry stalled. GOP arguments for impeachment and pushback from constitutional expertsWhen Johnson originally informed Schumer he would be sending the impeachment articles over to the Senate, he laid out why he believed a Mayorkas impeachment was justified. “These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment,” Green said in a statement provided to CNN. “I think that what the House Republicans are asserting is that Secretary Mayorkas is guilty of maladministration,” Garber said.

Persons: Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden’s, Mayorkas, Biden, —, impeaching Biden, ”, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, Trump, Ian Sams, Johnson, Schumer, Mark Green of, Alejandro Mayorkas ’, ” Green, systemically, Samuel Alito, Ross Garber, ” Garber, “, Michael Chertoff, George W, Bush, Jonathan Turley, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, “ I’m, CNN’s Manu Raju, I’ve, –, John Thune, ” Johnson, Pro Tempore Patty Murray, Michael McCaul of, Andy Biggs of, Clay Higgins, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Guest of, Andrew Garbarino, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Pfluger, Harriet Hageman of, Laurel Lee, CNN’s Ted Barrett, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: CNN — House Republicans, Homeland, Senate, Democratic, Republicans, Homeland Security, Biden, House Republicans, DHS, ’, Louisiana Republican, Truth, White, CNN, Congress, Tulane University, Republican, Senate Democratic, Mayorkas, Pro Tempore Locations: Louisiana, Mark Green of Tennessee, Washington, Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Michael Guest of Mississippi, New York, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Laurel Lee of Florida

☆ How to identify an AI imposter in video, audio and text as deepfake technology goes mainstream
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Generative AI video and audio tools are getting deployed, and getting better, quickly. Even as OpenAI limits access to audio and video tools, dark websites have exploded in number in the past few months selling GPT knockoff products. How to identify an AI video imposterThere are many ways to spot an AI imposter, some relatively simple. If the person complies but their head disappears on the video screen, end the call immediately, Hollenbeck said. How to live a multi-factor authentication life offlineEven with more protections techniques, experts predict a spiraling arms race of deepfakes vs. deepfake tools.

Persons: OpenAI, Sora, Froggett, Carl Froggett, —, Rupal Hollenbeck, Hollenbeck, Chris Pierson, Pierson, Nirupam Roy, it's, Roy, Eyal Benishti, Benishti, It's Organizations: Industry, University of Maryland Locations: Hong Kong

☆ 2 Men Fined $1.25 Million for Robocall Scheme to Suppress Black Vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Lola Fadulu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two right-wing political operatives who used a robocall campaign to try to discourage Black New Yorkers from voting in the 2020 election will pay up to $1.25 million for their actions, the New York State attorney general’s office announced on Tuesday. During the summer of 2020, around 5,500 New Yorkers received robocalls falsely claiming that if they voted by mail, their personal information would be sent to law enforcement agencies, debt collectors and the government. The calls were made at a time when many states were encouraging voters to cast their ballots by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic. One New Yorker was so disturbed by one of the calls that he experienced “severe anxiety and distress and ultimately withdrew his voter registration,” according to the attorney general’s office. The office said the calls came from a “sham” organization called Project 1599, which was created by the operatives, Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman.

Persons: general’s, robocalls, Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman Organizations: New York, Yorkers Locations: New York State

☆ Trump is just days from his first criminal trial after latest legal gambit fails
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And if there’s one of the four criminal trials that Trump would prefer to take place first, it’s this one. But there is a clear trend of him using frivolous legal challenges to slow the road to trials. With only four weekdays until the New York trial begins, the chances that it will be further delayed are fading fast. If he’s reelected, Trump would regain presidential powers that would allow him to stall or even end the federal case against him completely. “There is no democracy without robust and uninhibited freedom of expression,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Trump, he’d, “, Judge Juan Merchan, ”, they’ve, Stormy Daniels, can’t, Joe Biden, Biden, couldn’t, “ Trump, He’s, Jack Smith, Smith, ” Smith, he’s, Smith’s, Aileen Cannon, ” Trump, Steve Sadow, Scott McAfee, Lizbeth González Organizations: CNN, Republican, Trump, Prosecutors, GOP Locations: Manhattan, New York, York, Trump, Chicago, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Fulton County, Washington , DC

☆ FDA clears first digital treatment for depression, but experts caution that research is still early
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Mira Cheng | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration is allowing the use of Rejoyn, the first prescription digital treatment for major depressive disorder. About 18% of American adults – more than 1 in 6 – say they are depressed or receiving treatment for depression, a 2023 Gallup report found. Rejoyn is designed to serve as an adjunct to antidepressants for these partial responders, according to the news release. They were assigned to use either the Rejoyn app or a sham app that gave memory tasks that did not involve cognitive-emotional training or cognitive behavioral therapy. There is also the question of how engaged patients will be with the app, Torous said.

Persons: Rejoyn, Dr, John Kraus, Otsuka, Brian Iacoviello, John Torous, Torous, ”, ” Otsuka, Sanjay Gupta, “, ” Torous Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug Administration, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Therapeutics, Gallup, Research, Click Therapeutics, Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, FDA, ” Otsuka Pharmaceutical, CNN Health

☆ How Donald Trump, Joe Biden and grassroots liberals could upend Democratic politics in one of the country’s bluest states
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Gregory Krieg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Menendez announced Thursday that he would not run for reelection in the Democratic primary but again left open the possibility of an independent bid this summer. New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim greets supporters outside the Bergen County Democratic convention in Paramus on March 4, 2024. “Corrupt systems like the ‘county line’ in New Jersey (is) an enemy because that dissuades folks from actually getting involved. Kim speaks to delegates during the Bergen County Democratic convention in Paramus, New Jersey, on March 4, 2024. In Camden County, where the local boss keeps a tighter grip, video of another Senate candidate, progressive Patricia Campos-Medina, being blocked from entering the county Democratic convention went viral.

Persons: Andy Kim, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Tammy Murphy, Kim, Murphy, Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Phil Murphy, Seth Wenig, Olivia Liu, –, Trump, ”, Julia Sass Rubin, Rubin, ” Rubin, Sue Altman, ” Altman, Goldman Sachs, Cori Bush, Ezra Levin, Levin, ” Levin, isn’t MAGA, don’t, we’ll, Altman, Zahid Quraishi’s, ” “ I’m, ” Kim, “, Kim’s, Alexandra Altman, Katey Sabo, Matt Platkin, Platkin, Governor Murphy, ” Murphy, Mahen Gunaratna, Patricia Campos, Rachel Hodes, ” Hodes, Steven Fulop, ” Fulop, “ I’ve Organizations: Jersey City , New Jersey CNN, Democratic, Garden State, Democrats, Capitol, New, . New, . New Jersey Rep, Bergen County Democratic, Tammany Hall of, New Jersey Democratic, ”, Asbury Park Press, USA, Though New, Though New Jersey Democrats, Congressional, Democratic National Committee, Justice Democrats, Democratic Party, Families Alliance, CNN, –, Hoboken Democrats –, Hudson County Democratic Organization, Hoboken Democratic, Hoboken Democrats, Jersey City, Senate, New Jersey Republicans Locations: Jersey City , New Jersey, Trenton, South Jersey, New Jersey, Garden, ., . New Jersey, Bergen County, Paramus, Siberia, Long Branch , New Jersey, Rutgers, enmesh, Though, Though New Jersey, Alexandria, Cortez, New York, Missouri, Paramus , New Jersey, Jersey, Kim’s, Morris, Atlantic, Camden County, Medina, Hoboken

☆ Drones have ushered in a brutal new phase of Syria's civil war
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewDrones are increasingly shaping warfare in the Syrian civil war that entered its 14th year in March. Kasim Rammah/Getty ImagesHowever, unlike drones, Syrian Air Force aircraft require significant support from Russia. Advertisement"The Russians might not want to spend any more jet fuel and Soviet-designed bombs on Assad just to help him blow up hospitals and marketplaces in Idlib," Lund said. Advertisement"It seems well within the means of Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant jihadi militia in Idlib, to manufacture and use kamikaze drones," Lund said. Even though many of these opposition drones are often described as crude, low-tech, and DIY, Lund also does not rule out the possibility that Syrian opposition groups have received state backing for some attacks.

Persons: —, Bashar al, Assad, Freddy Khoueiry, RANE, Khoueiry, Aron Lund, Lund, Kasim Rammah, Moscow's, they're, RANE's Organizations: Service, Business, Century International, Syrian Air Force, embroilment, Scientific Studies, Research Center, Ministry of Defense, Hezbollah, Russia Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Damascus, Hayat Tahrir, Idlib, Homs, East, North Africa, Syria, Aleppo, Soviet, Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Hmeimim, Latakia, Tahrir, Turkey

☆ A Russian district called an election recount after someone else got more votes than Putin, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A recount is underway in one Russian district after a Putin rival was recorded as having won more votes, per reports. AdvertisementAn election recount is underway in one Russian district after President Vladimir Putin failed to win the vote there, according to local reports. In fact, one of Putin's political rivals in the recent presidential election was recorded as gaining 10 times as many votes, reports said. Asked by the BBC ahead of the elections why he would be a better candidate than Putin, Kharitonov said: "It's not for me to say," adding: "That wouldn't be right." The reported vote recount wasn't the only reason Barnaul made the news.

Persons: Putin, Nikolai Kharitonov, —, Vladimir Putin, Meduza, effusively, ultranationalist Leonid Slutsky, Vladislav Davankov, Kharitonov, Yekaterina Duntsova, Boris Nadezhdin, Barnaul Organizations: Service, Communist Party, Kharitonov, Business, Russia's Central, BBC Locations: Barnaul, Altai, Ukraine, Russia's

☆ An AI-generated rat with a giant penis highlights a growing crisis of fake science that's plaguing the publishing business
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Guo et al., 2024; Frontiers in Cell Developmental BiologyTo its credit, the journal quickly retracted the paper. Guo et al., 2024; Frontiers in Cell Developmental BiologyBut this rat's towering phallus is just one symptom of a crisis of fake science. Each step has holes in it that bad science could squeeze through, but the overlapping steps tend to cover each other's holes, making it difficult to squeeze all the way through the whole process. Still, bad science does make it through sometimes, and over the years more holes have opened up. The retracted paper's corresponding author, Dingjun Hao, did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Persons: —, Guo, Guo et, you've, Ivan Oransky, Peter Finch, Vox, Fred Fenter, Fenter, Dingjun Hao, Oransky, they've Organizations: Service, Cell Development, Business, Cell, Springer, IEEE, Guardian Locations: Swiss

☆ Ukraine launched a wave of drone attacks on Russia as voting for Putin was underway
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Russia over the weekend, Russia's defense ministry said. The attacks took place as Russia's presidential elections were in full swing. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementUkraine launched a wave of drone attacks against Russia during its recent presidential election, Russia's defense ministry said. Moscow's mayor said that a fifth drone was downed near an airport on Sunday morning, the Associated Press reported.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, — Organizations: Service, Russia, Ministry of Defence, Russian Federation, Associated Press, Business Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow

☆ Ukrainians in occupied territory were rounded up at gunpoint to vote in Putin's election, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's presidential elections included forced voting in occupied regions of Ukraine, reports say. Armed guards coerced locals, both on their doorsteps and at polling stations, according to reports. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementArmed guards took part in door-to-door voting operations in occupied regions of Ukraine as part of Russia's recent presidential elections, according to multiple reports. Part of that vote was secured in Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporozhzhia, occupied regions of Ukraine that were at least partially captured since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022 — as well as Crimea, occupied since 2014.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, —, Crimea

The woman is Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a Crimean Tatar, and she shared video of the moment on her social media accounts. It’s inevitable.”Arrests like hers, as well as large mass raids, especially, but not exclusively, in areas predominantly inhabited by Crimean Tatar communities, have been common since 2014. “The situation is only getting worse,” said human rights lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, himself a Crimean Tatar. AFP/Getty ImagesThe major concern now is that Crimea is a template for the other four Ukrainian regions now fully or partially occupied by Russia. Propaganda effortWhen it comes to Crimea, Russia has tried to hide its oppression under a veil of public investment, and patriotism.

Persons: “, ”, Russia’s, ” Zudiyeva, Joseph Stalin, Emil Kurbedinov, Daniel van Moll, NurPhoto, Kurbedinov, Ukraine –, Viktor Yanukovich’s, ” —, Baz Ratner, Yanukovich –, Sergey Aksyonov, Sean Gallup, ” Kurbedinov, Krzysztof Janowski, ” Janowski, Vladimir Putin, Irina Volk, Zaporizhzhia –, Volk, didn’t Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Tatars, Soviet Union, Fleet, Reuters, Research, Russia, Crimean, Getty, UN, Ukrainian, Moscow Locations: Crimean, Ukrainian, Crimea, Crimean Tatar, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars, Russia, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Russian, Soviet, Moscow, Kyiv, Russian Republic of Crimea, AFP, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Avdiivka, Kerch, “

“All of us decent people are hostages here.” Like other voters interviewed, she declined to provide her last name, for fear of reprisal. “It is so important to see people who think like you, who don’t agree with what is happening,” she said. More broadly, the muted, purely symbolic form of civil disobedience envisioned by the initiative underscores just how little the Russian opposition can do to influence events in the country amid the pervasive repression. Noon Against Putin has been expected to be particularly large-scale abroad, because dissident voters faced lower risks outside Russia. Ms. Navalnaya was seen standing in a long line outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin on Sunday afternoon.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Aleksei A, Navalny, Mr, Navalny’s, ”, Lena, Noon, Yulia Navalnaya, “, ” Leonid Volkov, Nanna Heitmann, Volkov, Kristina, Navalnaya, Valerie Hopkins, Tomas Dapkus, Anton Troianovski Organizations: Sunday, The New York Times, YouTube, Russian Embassy Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Lithuania, Lane, Berlin, Riga, Latvia

☆ Opinion: Trump gives Biden one big lift
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Former President Donald Trump’s favorability ratings are only slightly better. The bipartisan legislation to control the flow of migrants across the southern border was blown up by opposition from Trump. One thing that is going right for Biden is Trump himself. “I want to vote for Donald Trump in November, wrote Marc A. Thiessen in the Washington Post. … Just like office holders have released their tax returns (up until former President Donald Trump), I would like to see more candidates release their physical and mental health assessments,” Schurman observed.

Persons: Oscar, ” Ramy Youssef, hungers, Max McCandles, Godwin Baxter, “, Frankenstein, Willem Dafoe, McCandles, Baxter, who’s, ”, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump’s, Biden, Clay Jones, Trump, Ruth Ben, Ghiat, “ Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Adolf Hitler, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong, Saddam Hussein, —, — Donald Trump, ‘, ” Ben, Donald Trump, Marc A, Thiessen, Will, that’s, Dana M, Peterson, Erik Lundh, Will RFK, Mary ’, Aaron Rodgers, Julian Zelizer, Kamala Harris, Andrey Spektor, Hunter Biden, Andrea Hailey, We’re, Frederick D, Dennis Aftergut, Bill Bramhall, Hilary Krieger, Gary Schmidt, ” Bradley Schurman, …, Schurman, Robert Hur, Jack Ohman, Patrick T, Brown, Hur, Republicans “, Biden’s, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Willis, Fani Willis, Willis ’, Nathan Wade, Wade, Norman Eisen, Danya Perry, Joshua Kolb, Scott McAfee, Wade’s, ” “, ’ Biden, ” Jose Antonio Vargas, “ It’s, ” Dana Summers, Garry Pierre, Pierre, Ariel Henry, Henry, America sneezes, Frida Ghitis, TikTok, ” Ghitis, Catherine, Princess, Kate, George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, ” Rosa Prince, Louis ’, William, ’, ” Prince, Ekaterina Kotrikadze, Jonathan I, Fareed Zakaria, Carrie Sheffield, Noah Berlatsky, Kristen Stewart’s, queerness, Doug Heye, MAGA Trump, Dean Obeidallah, Katie Britt’s, Amy Hanauer, Naomi Walker, Robert Downey Jr, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Arturo Holmes, Jeff Yang, Jack Palance, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, they’d, ” Yang, Cord Jefferson, Lily Gladstone, “ Gladstone, she’s, Leonardo, DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Emma Stone’s, Bella, ” Stone Organizations: CNN, Trump, Hamas, GOP, Washington Post, Mar, Hungarian, ”, Conference Board, Will RFK Jr, White House, American Enterprise Institute, Biden, Union, Republicans, Twitter, Pew Research Center, Content Agency Haiti, Haitian Times, Haitian, America, Kensington Palace, AP, Reuters, Agency, North, Hollywood Locations: Gaza, Israel, Ohio, Washington, Ukraine, Afghanistan, America, Georgia, Fulton County, Fulton, he’s, Florida, Texas, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Maryland, China, Wales, Kensington, North America, La, American

☆ Russian rebels aim to embarrass Putin with cross-border attacks during presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The fighters say they intend to disrupt Russia's election and demonstrate opposition to Putin. Putin said there would be payback for the attacks in a speech to Security Council of Russia on Friday. Aleksey Baranovsky, who is part of the Freedom for Russia Legion, said the group's goal was to disrupt the election and show opposition to Putin. A view of the site after Ukrainian shelling that damaged buildings and vehicles in Belgorod, Russia on March 14, 2024. Emil Leegunov/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIt is unlikely that these attacks will have a major impact on the election or the war in Ukraine, but they could serve to embarrass Putin.

Persons: Putin, —, reelect Vladimir Putin, Aleksey Baranovsky, Alexey, Jade McGlynn, Alexey Navalny, STRINGER, McGlynn, Emil Leegunov, " McGlynn Organizations: Security, Russia, Service, Russia Legion, Siberian Battalion, Russian Volunteer Corps, for Russia Legion, War Studies Department, King's College London, Getty, CNN, Freedom for Russia Legion, Russian National Guard, Legion, Navalny Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia's Kursk, Belgorod, —, Ukraine, Kursk, Tyotkino, Russia's, Kyiv, Anadolu

☆ Putin is coasting towards another term in power. Here’s what to know about Russia’s presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Russia is holding a presidential election that is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s rule throughout this decade and into the 2030s. But this is not a normal election; the poll is essentially a constitutional box-ticking exercise that carries no prospect of removing Putin from power. But that is not to say Russians expect the election to change the direction of the country. Russia’s elections are neither free nor fair, and serve essentially as a formality to extend Putin’s term in power, according to independent bodies and observers both in and outside the country. In order to vote against Putin, you just need to vote for any other candidate,” he said on February 8.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Alexey Navalny, Natalia Kolesnikova, Joseph Stalin, Putin’s, Dmitry Medvedev, euphemistically, —, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, ”, Callum Fraser, Nikolay Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky, Vladislav Davankov, Davankov, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Boris Nadezhdin, Yekaterina Duntsova, Duntsova, Leonid Volkov, Volkov, Stringer, Alexey Navalny –, –, Yulia Navalnaya, “, “ Putin, Don’t, Navalnaya Organizations: CNN, Russian, Duma, Getty, Levada, Central, Commission, Royal United Services Institute, Communist Party, Slutsky, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Kremlin, CEC, Freedom, Putin, European Union, Foreign Affairs Locations: Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Soviet, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Chechen, Grozny, Moscow, Russian

☆ This guy is serious about crypto, but his joke character has gone viral
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewLike a lot of people, Nick O'Neill got the crypto bug during the pandemic. But then he stumbled into a bit of viral fame: A joke post he made boasting about his crypto prowess took off, fueled in part by people who didn't realize he was joking. "Choose rich" is O'Neill's catchphrase, which is mostly a joke, but also very similar to things people used to say on crypto Twitter, for real. AdvertisementPeter Kafka: You make this thing that is a little sincere but is mostly a joke, and it triggers people who don't think it's a joke. Peter Kafka: I couldn't tell if you were satirizing crypto, or crypto culture, or Twitter/X culture.

Persons: —, Nick O'Neill, he's, O'Neill, Crypto, There's, Peter Kafka, That's, It's, bro, Solana, NFTs, Dan Bilzerians, there's, you've, X Nick O'Neill, Dave Portnoy's Organizations: Service, Business, pic.twitter.com, Twitter, MySpace, Washington Locations: Miami, Solana

Layla Elabed, campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, which spearheaded the protest vote against President Biden last week in Michigan. “Elections have a certain amount of momentum,” said Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Democratic attorney general, who voted for Mr. Biden. Uncommitted Minnesota said it spent about $20,000 on the campaign since beginning last Monday. In Washington, organizers are pushing similar efforts to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s primary next week. It was not our first choice, but we have to let President Biden know that our votes are not to be taken for granted.”Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting from Minneapolis.

Persons: Layla Elabed, Biden, Israel —, Mr, Uncommitted, Rashida Tlaib, Donald J, Donald Trump, ”, Elianne Farhat, Kamala Harris, “, Lauren Hitt, Cole Harrison, Trump, Keith Ellison, Ellison, Biden’s, Joe Biden, Abdullah Elagha, Harrison, Ilhan Omar, Rania Masri, —, uncommitted, Rami Al, ” Nicholas Nehamas Organizations: Democratic, Democratic National Convention, Somali, Trump, Uncommitted Minnesota, Hamas, Massachusetts Peace, Mr, “, Democratic Party, Colorado Palestine Coalition, Abandon Biden, Republican Party Locations: Michigan, Israel, Gaza, Colorado, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Colorado , Massachusetts, North Carolina, United States, American, Uncommitted Minnesota, In Minnesota, Georgia, Washington, Bothell, Minneapolis

☆ Iran vote turnout hits historic low amid discontent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Turnout for Iran's parliamentary election, seen as a test of the clerical establishment's legitimacy, appears to have hit an historic low of around 41%, according to unofficial reports quoted by state media on Saturday. Mohammad Khatami, Iran's first reformist president, was among critics who did not vote on Friday. State news agency IRNA said unofficial reports put turnout at more than 25 million, or about 41% of eligible voters. If the turnout figure is confirmed, it would be the lowest since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Iran's turnout fell to 42.5% in 2020 parliamentary elections from about 62% in 2016.

Persons: Mohammad Khatami, Iran's, Narges Mohammadi, IRNA, Joe Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hassan Rouhani Organizations: Reuters, Iran's, Experts Locations: Tehran, State, United States, Israel, Ham Mihan

☆ Over 60% of illegal crypto activity is tied to sanctioned groups or terrorist organizations, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Dylan Butts | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The American blockchain analysis firm's "2024 Crypto Crime Report" found that $24.2 billion of illicit cryptocurrency was transferred in 2023, based on already identified illicit crypto wallets. Chainalysis retroactively updates its yearly crypto figures when new illicit wallets come to light. watch nowCrypto to avert sanctionsEntities like the crypto "mixer" Tornado Cash and Garantex took the lion's share of illicit funds in 2023. The amount of crypto transferred to sanctioned entities has climbed in recent years in tandem with a greater share of new trade restrictions specifying crypto wallets. Terrorist financingIllicit crypto volume identified by Chainalysis as terrorist financing accounted for a much smaller proportion than that of transactions to sanctioned entities in 2022.

Persons: Andrea Gacki, cryptocurrency, Chainalysis, Andrew Fierman, Garantex, Tornado Cash, Lazarus, Lazarus Group ., Sinbad.io, Chanalysis's Fierman, Tawfiq Muhammad Said Al, Law's, Hayat Tahrir Organizations: Foreign Assets, U.S . Department of, Treasury, Bloomberg, Getty, Hezbollah, CNBC, Tornado, Lazarus Group, U.S . Office, Foreign, Lazarus, National Bureau for, Iran's Quds Force, Al, ISIS, Hayat Locations: New York, Korean, Chainalysis, China, Latin America, North Korea, Iran, Iran's Quds, Syria, cryptocurrency

☆ Russia’s presidential election is nearing. We already know who the winner will be
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Russia is nearing a presidential election that is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s rule throughout this decade and into the 2030s. The president’s dominance over the Russian electoral system has already been reinforced as the election looms. Voting will be held from Friday March 15 until Sunday March 17, the first Russian presidential election to take place over three days. The region makes up more than a third of Russia’s total territory but has only about 5% of its population. In order to vote against Putin, you just need to vote for any other candidate,” Navalny said on February 8.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Alexey Navalny, Maxim Shemetov, Joseph Stalin, Putin’s, Dmitry Medvedev, ” Callum Fraser, Nikolay Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky, Vladislav Davankov, Davankov, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Boris Nadezhdin, Yekaterina Duntsova, Duntsova, Leonid Volkov, Volkov, Vladimir Nikolayev, euphemistically, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Alexey Navalny –, –, ”, ” Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, “, “ Putin, Don’t Organizations: CNN, Russian, Duma, Federal, Reuters, Kommersant, CEC, Royal United Services Institute, Communist Party, Slutsky, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Kremlin, Freedom, Putin, Levada, EU, Foreign Affairs Council, European Union Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russia’s, Soviet, AFP

☆ 'It is urgent': European leaders appeal for greater support for Ukraine as Russia makes major gain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's prime minister, speaks on day two of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized a waning sense of urgency among delegates at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday as Moscow's full-scale offensive nearly enters its third year. "The sense of urgency is simply not clear enough in our discussions," Frederiksen told a lunchtime session. Denmark has now donated its entire artillery to Ukraine, Frederiksen said, urging other countries to do the same as the war marks its second anniversary on Feb. 24. The policymakers were speaking at the 7th Munich Ukrainian Lunch, hosted on the sidelines of the MSC by the Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum and Ukrainian non-profit the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

Persons: Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's, Frederiksen, Putin, Radosław Sikorski, Victor Pinchuk, Tobias Billström, Bakhmut, Nikolay Denkov, Denkov, Genya Savilov, Hillary Clinton, —, Niall Ferguson, Clinton, Petr Pavel, Kaja Kallas, Alexander De Croo, Bulgaria Nikolay Denkov Organizations: Munich, Bloomberg, Getty, Kyiv, MSC, Yalta European Strategy, Victor, Victor Pinchuk Foundation, Sweden's, Moscow, 47th Mechanized Brigade, Bradley, Afp, Former, U.S, CNBC Locations: Munich, Germany, MUNICH, Ukraine, Danish, Denmark, Poland, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Moscow, Russia, Europe, U.S, Donetsk, Western, Czech Republic, Republic of Estonia, Belgium, Bulgaria

☆ Trump heads to Michigan with eyes on a Biden rematch but legal woes loom over campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Steve Contorno | Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A 2020 election denier’s tumultuous reign atop the Michigan Republican Party had only recently begun. Since then, the strike has ended and the top union representing Michigan autoworkers, United Auto Workers, has endorsed President Joe Biden. State party turmoilAhead of his visit, Trump and his allies sought to put an end to turmoil within the Michigan Republican Party, which has faced a reckoning over its readiness for the 2024 election. The state party ousted its chair, Kristina Karamo, last month in the face of internal strife and lackluster fundraising. The recent Fox News survey from Michigan found Biden leading Trump 53% to 41% among union households.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Nikki Haley –, Stormy Daniels, Friday’s, “, Biden, Hillary Clinton’s, Haley, Kristina Karamo, Pete Hoekstra, Hoekstra, Democratic Sen, Debbie Stabenow, ”, Jason Cabel Roe, it’s, – Trump, Trump’s, Shawn Fain, ” Trump, Fain, ” Fain, Cabel Roe, “ There’s Organizations: CNN, Michigan, Republican, GOP, Michigan Republican Party, Michigan autoworkers, United Auto Workers, Republicans, South Carolina Gov, Michigan GOP, Trump, Fox, Sneaker Con, South Carolina Army National Guard, Republican National, White House, Democratic, doesn’t, Republican Party, Biden, Big, Teamsters, UAW Locations: California, Michigan, New, York, ”, Georgia, Waterford Township, Detroit, Waterford, Trump’s Michigan, –, Philadelphia, South Carolina, State, Netherlands, Washington ,, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania

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