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The exchange, which prosecutors will almost certainly use against Mr. Meadows at trial, underscored the high-stakes gamble that he took by testifying. Mr. Meadows has appealed. But his testimony may have given ammunition to Georgia prosecutors as they prepare to try him, Mr. Trump and the 17 other defendants. “He did do a number of things which will make the prosecutors’ job easier,” said Caren Morrison, a former federal prosecutor and associate law professor at Georgia State University, of Mr. Meadows’s testimony. During the hearing in Atlanta, Mr. Meadows portrayed himself as a supremely busy man whose White House job often put him at the nexus of policy and politics.

Persons: Meadows, Steve C, Jones, Trump, “, ”, Caren Morrison, “ He’s Organizations: District, Georgia State University, Trump, ”, White Locations: U.S, Georgia, Atlanta

Farmers across the agrarian heartland that makes Thailand the world's second-largest rice exporter should be poised to benefit. These pressures on the sector, reported in detail for the first time by Reuters, are squeezing debt-laden Thai farmers despite tens of billions of dollars in subsidies over the past decade. Successive governments have spent 1.2 trillion Thai baht ($33.85 billion) on price and income interventions for rice farmers in the last decade, estimates Somporn. The average Thai farmer's income has dwindled. Unstable income for Thai rice farmersIn the years since Sripai followed her family into the paddy fields, the challenges have multiplied, but current prices offer a rare opportunity.

Persons: Somporn, Sripai, Danai Saengthabthim, Srettha Thavisin, King Chulalongkorn, Nipon Poapongsakorn, Thailand's, KNIT's, Yingluck Shinawatra, Yingluck, Devjyot Ghoshal, Pasit, Katerina Ang, Kay Johnson Organizations: Farmers, Reuters, Research, Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand, Bank for Agriculture, Agricultural Cooperatives, Agriculture, El, National Water Resources, Thailand Development Research, Nipon, Thomson Locations: Thailand, Kaeo, Chai, India, East, Asia, Africa, Rice, Chai Nat, Bangkok, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam

☆ Tupac, Cocaine, Murder: Henchmen Brothers, Hip-Hop's Forgotten Moguls
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

Mario called Tupac. All he could do was listen to her cry as he explained that he didn't know when he'd be back. He didn't speak Spanish, didn't know a soul in Mexico, and had no clue where he would be sent. Mario didn't ask why, and the guy didn't inquire about Mario's predicament. "It's all good, man," Mario told Jimmy.

Persons: Mario Rosemond, Rosemond, Jimmy, Mario, Akon, Sean Kingston, Gucci Mane, Jimmy Rosemond —, Lowell, Lodi Mack, Fletcher, Tupac Shakur, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jimmy Rosemond, Saul Goodman, Tommy Davis, Mario stammered, It's, Jimmy Jr, Andrea, Constantin, Johnny Nunez, Rikers, —, Slick, Russell Simmons, Benny Medina, Lyor Cohen, Chris Lighty, Mona Scott, Mark Sparks, Shoop, Paul Bergen, Bryce Wilson, Wilson, Mohammed, Tef, Stewart, Little Shawn, Puff Daddy, Pac, Freddie Moore, Moore, Al Pereira, would've, Jimmy wasn't, They'd, didn't, Jimmy didn't, —, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Wyclef Jean, Garland, Cyrus, THONY BELIZAIRE, Mariah Carey, LL, Missy Elliott, Cent, Tef Stewart, Jimmy Rosemond Jr, Jimmy Sr, Khalil Abdullah, Jimmy Iovine, determinedly, DJ Skee, Mario couldn't, Mario chuckles, he'd, GummyBone, Mario didn't, I'm, freckling, he's, isn't, I've, Jim Brown, Michael K, Williams, Donald Trump, Arturo Holmes, Scott Olson, Trump, Brown, James Rosemond Jr, David Kushner Organizations: FBI, Entertainment, Justice Department, Bronx ., Quad Studios, AP, grandad, Wall, Black Panthers, Junior Mafia, Hollywood, Haiti, Management, Apollo, Lowell, Racing, Interscope Records, Interscope, Feds, Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, Colombian, York Post, Drug, Administration, NFL, Trump, Stone, Atari Locations: Mexico, Haiti, Brooklyn, Bronx, Cuernavaca, Spanish, Rahway , New Jersey, Port, New York City, Vanderveer Estates, East Flatbush, Rikers, Islam, Miami Beach, New York, New Jersey, East Coast, West Coast, Plainfield , New Jersey, Brandy, Los Angeles, Czar's, Harlem, LA, California, Beverly Hills, San, Tijuana, Mexico City, Colombian, San Diego, Manhattan

☆ ECB’s Stournaras urges governments to help bring down inflation, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Central Bank Governor Yannis Stournaras poses for a photo in his office at the bank’s headquarters in Athens, Greece, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Acquire Licensing RightsSept 17 (Reuters) - European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said governments must do their part in reining in consumer prices after borrowing costs reached a level that may well be their peak, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. “Monetary policy has done its part to fight inflation,” Stournaras told Bloomberg in an interview, adding that now it was up to fiscal policy to "take out some of the heat." “A more restrictive fiscal stance wouldn’t only be a welcome strategic complement to ECB policy but also help improve the credibility of public debt and loosen the nexus with banks,” the Greek central bank chief said. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Central Bank Governor Yannis Stournaras, Louiza, Yannis Stournaras, ” Stournaras, wouldn’t, Stournaras, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Kanjyik Ghosh, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Central Bank Governor, REUTERS, Central Bank Governing, Bloomberg, ECB, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, reining, Bengaluru

☆ Dozens of civilians among 64 killed in attacks in Mali
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Teele Rebane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Two separate attacks by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants in restive northeastern Mali Thursday killed 64 people including dozens of civilians, the country’s transitional government said. The attacks targeted a passenger boat on the Niger River near Timbuktu and an army base in Bamba, in the northern Gao region, killing 49 civilians and 15 soldiers, according to the interim government’s statement. The attacks were claimed by Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a militant group associated with al Qaeda, the government said. The Sahara-Sahel region, of which Mali is a part, has seen an escalation of violence in recent years as an Islamic insurgency brews near the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. The United Nations in June said “endless” violence was being unleashed on civilians in northeastern Mali by the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group and its affiliates.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN, Mali Thursday, Malian Army, Support Group, Islam, The United Nations, Islamic, UN Locations: restive, Mali, Niger, Timbuktu, Bamba, Gao, Rharous Cercle, al Qaeda, Burkina Faso

☆ Climate tech startups Utopi and Materials Nexus raised a combined $9 million. Here's the pitch decks they used to win over investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

British climate tech startups Materials Nexus and Utopi have both raised funds recently. London-based Materials Nexus raised $2.8 million while Glasgow-based Utopi secured $6.3 million. British climate tech startups Materials Nexus and Utopi raised a combined $9.1 million recently. London-based Materials Nexus is using artificial intelligence to curb the green transition's reliance on mining metals. See the 11-slide redacted pitch deck from Materials Nexus below:Materials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusUtopi plots US expansion with new fundsGlasgow-based startup Utopi, founded in 2019, recently secured £5 million (around $6.3 million) in an investment round backed by the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Persons: Utopi, Jonathan Bean Organizations: Ada Ventures, Nexus, Scottish National Investment Bank Locations: London, Glasgow, Cambridge

☆ In the Faroe Islands, Art, Food and Fashion Take a Cue From Nature
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Jeanine Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Coastal Tórshavn — one of the world’s smallest capitals — is itself a nexus of creativity, embracing the contemporary without losing its connection to the past. The old quarter, populated by centuries-old turf-roofed houses, covers a peninsula that juts into the busy harbor. Walk the city’s winding lanes, steep alleyways and wide boulevards, and you’ll find buzzy coffee shops, wine bars and fashion emporia. Rather than just using Tórshavn as a base for island hopping, stay awhile and explore the city’s food, fashion and art. For food loversA sense of whimsy pervades ROKS (meaning “silly”), the laid-back sister restaurant to two-Michelin-starred KOKS (temporarily decamped to Greenland, but returning to Streymoy in 2025).

Persons: KOKS, Poul Andrias Ziska, Sebastian Jiménez, pipián rojo Locations: emporia, Greenland, Streymoy, Atlixco, Mexico

☆ Exclusive: Smuggler with ties to ISIS helped migrants enter US from Mexico, raising alarm bells across government
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis Evan Perez Priscilla Alvarez Natasha Bertrand | Katie Bo Lillis | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

And they are closely scrutinizing a number of the migrants as possible criminal threats, according to two US officials. The security of the southern border has been a political sticking point between Republicans and the Biden administration. John Moore/Getty Images/FILEAdministration officials have also grappled with limited resources as they face a growing number of migrants at the US southern border. In July, border authorities encountered more than 183,000 migrants at the US southern border, according to US Customs and Border Protection data. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have been forced to wrestle with similar cases of suspected terrorists trying to enter the country at the southern border.

Persons: Adrienne Watson, Joe Biden’s, Biden, ” Watson, John Moore, Christopher Wray, ” Wray Organizations: CNN, FBI, ISIS, National Security, Staff, Department of Homeland Security, Turkish, Biden, DHS, Administration, US Customs, Trump, Migrants Locations: Mexico, United States, Uzbekistan, Central Asia, China, Russia, Asia

Pheu Thai's Srettha Thavisin attends a press conference, after Thailand's parliament voted in favour of his prime ministerial candidacy, in Bangkok, Thailand August 22, 2023. "The picture is not all wine and roses," Thailand's central bank chief Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in recorded remarks played on Wednesday. Tourism, a major driver of the Thai economy, has managed a robust recovery, although arrivals and tourist spending are still below pre-pandemic levels, data shows. $96 BLN BUDGETIn this first address since winning office, Srettha on Wednesday vowed to provide solutions to fix Thailand's economy, among other measures, and manage the budget transparently. But its ability to execute will depend on the military backers that Pheu Thai has allied with to be able to form a government.

Persons: Pheu, Srettha Thavisin, Chalinee, Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, Kobsidthi Silpachai, Srettha, Goldman Sachs, Poon Panichpibool, Sanan Angubolkul, Orathai Sriring, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Tourism, Krung Thai Bank, Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Rights BANGKOK, Asia's, China, Thai

☆ Florida Democrats just landed one of their top recruits to take on Rick Scott, but it still might not be enough to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She's aiming to unseat Rick Scott, who always eked out narrow wins in his general election contests. But Scott will be running in a presidential year, when Florida Republicans could have a considerable edge. AdvertisementAdvertisementSo where does that leave Florida Democrats as they look toward 2024? "Ya no más," she said in Spanish, which translates to "no more," and added, "I've already fought guys like Rick Scott, and beat them." Florida Sen. Rick Scott speaks during a news conference following the GOP weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on September 20, 2022.

Persons: Debbie Mucarsel, Powell, Rick Scott, Scott, Sen, Rick Scott of, Democrat Alex Sink, Charlie Crist, Democratic Sen, Bill Nelson, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Joe Biden, DeSantis romped, Crist, Trump, Mucarsel, Scott —, I've, Florida Sen, Jose Luis Magana Mucarsel, Biden, Carlos Giménez —, —, Scott Hartline Organizations: Democratic, Florida Senate, Florida Republicans, Service, Republican, Democrat, Gov, Trump, Florida, Florida Democrats, Democrats crave, Latina, Columbia, Healthcare Corporation, Politico, Mucarsel, Capitol, AP, Republicans, Dade County, State, GOP Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, Rick Scott of Florida, Ecuadorian American, Miami, Dade County, South Florida, Mucarsel

BANGKOK, Aug 22 (Reuters) - When Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra went into self-imposed exile in 2008 facing a raft of corruption charges following his ouster in a military coup, he issued a hand-written note. Thaksin has been Thailand's most prominent politician for decades, retaining outsized influence despite the years away. "It closes a crucial chapter in Thailand's politics," Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said of Thaksin's return. A shrewd operator who rarely minces his words, an increasingly wealthy Thaksin entered politics in the mid-1990s, initially serving as foreign minister and then deputy prime minister. But the brash Thaksin, who called himself Thailand's first "CEO prime minister", faced royalist accusations that he was undermining the revered monarchy, which he denied.

Persons: Thailand's, Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaksin, Thaksin's, Yingluck Shinawatra, Critics, watchdogs, Chalinee, Chiang Mai, Love Thais, Devjyot Ghoshal, Chayut Setboonsarng, Panu, Robert Birsel Organizations: Thaksin, Chulalongkorn University, Thai, REUTERS, Rights, Shin Corporation, Thai Rak Thai, Singapore's Temasek, Premier League, Manchester City, Thomson Locations: BANGKOK, Bangkok, Thailand, Chiang, United States, Thai, Britain

Thailand has been under a caretaker government since March and its new parliament has been deadlocked for weeks after anti-establishment election winners Move Forward were blocked by conservative lawmakers, leaving populist heavyweight Pheu Thai to lead a new effort. Srettha said on Monday Pheu Thai had failed to secure the outright majority it had targeted, so its only chance of governing was in partnership with some rivals it had vowed not to work with. Still, he seems determined and confident to follow through this time, however, with widespread speculation that Pheu Thai's alliance with its enemies is part of a behind-the-scenes deal Thaksin may have struck to allow his return. Pheu Thai has denied Thaksin's involvement in its bid to form a government and the former leader has for months denied conspiring with the generals who led coups against him and sister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2006 and 2014. "Tomorrow, at 9 a.m., I want permission to come back to live on Thai soil and breathe the air with other Thai people," Thaksin said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Persons: Srettha Thavisin, Athit, Pheu, Thaksin, Thaksin Shinawatra, Srettha, Thai, upstarts, Yingluck Shinawatra, Martin Petty, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Ex, Thai Party, English Premier League football, Thaksin, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, BANGKOK

☆ Kansas Newspaper Is Talk of Town, and Not Just for Getting Raided
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Kevin Draper | More About Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One person said The Marion County Record covered two recent deaths insensitively. Another said a handful of articles focused needlessly on a simple paperwork error that led to tax credits getting rejected. A third thought an opinion column harped too harshly on the poor quality of children’s letters to Santa Claus. The authorities seized computers and phones, in what they said was an investigation into identity theft and computer crimes. Reporters and television cameras have descended upon the town to cover the raids, which were roundly condemned by news organizations and free press advocates.

Persons: Santa, Eric Meyer Organizations: Marion County Record, Marion County Locations: Marion, Santa Claus, Flint Hills, Kansas

☆ House GOP subpoenas Citibank over Jan. 6th 'back-channel' cooperation with the FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In a Thursday letter to Citibank, Jordan said Citi declined to voluntarily provide information to lawmakers and its lawyers indicated they would only comply with a subpoena. Lawmakers had requested information from seven banks: PNC, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Truist and US Bank. Among those seven banks, Citibank was the only one that hadn’t voluntarily complied with the request, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. The subpoena compels Citibank to produce requested documents sought by the House Judiciary Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, according to Jordan. “Federal law enforcement’s use of back-channel discussions with financial institutions as a method to investigate and obtain private financial data of Americans is alarming,” Jordan wrote.

Persons: Jim Jordan, Jordan, Lawmakers, hadn’t, “, ” Jordan, Christopher Wray, Wray, that’s, ”, Donald Trump, Annie Grayer Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Citibank, FBI, Citi, PNC, Bank of America, JPMorgan, US Bank, CNN, House, Federal Government, Republican, CNBC . House Republicans, Capitol Locations: New York, Wells Fargo, Jordan, Ohio, Washington ,, Sentinel, “

A lawsuit claims Rudy Giuliani was paid $300,000 while pitching investors on an anti-Biden film. Giuliani allegedly said it would be a "kill shot" that would sink Joe Biden's campaign. By then, Giuliani was hard at work trying to dig up election-year dirt on Joe Biden in his capacity as President Trump's personal attorney. Giuliani, the lawsuit alleges, asked for the farmers' help finance efforts to make sure Trump was elected to a second term. The aborted Giuliani film project also forms part of a whistleblower disclosure from Johnathan Buma, an FBI special agent whose allegations were first reported by Insider.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Biden, Giuliani, Joe Biden's, Joe Biden, Hunter, Baldev, Kewel Munger, Tim Yale, Trump, George Dickson III, Hunter Biden, Dickson, Michael Moore's, Noelle Dunphy, John Doe, Mother Jones, Munger, Johnathan Buma, Bob Hawk Organizations: Service, Republican, Yale, Republicans, FBI, Munger Bros Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, California, New York City, Munger, Georgia, Washington

☆ Opinion | Those Double-Parked Amazon Trucks Are More Than Just an Annoyance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Christopher Caldwell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But the public’s leverage is weak, the political dynamics are complex and the alternatives are fewer than they used to be. The upshot was an enduring advantage for internet retailers over bricks-and-mortar stores. Adding insult to injury, the big internet retailers have taken great advantage of a communal resource. The real estate that Amazon and other vendors require to make their deliveries is not private but public. We faced a smaller version of this problem with the surge of urban lunch trucks a decade ago.

Persons: ’, it’s Organizations: UPS, FedEx Locations: North Dakota, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia

☆ Trump’s allies have long faced legal troubles, but this time is different because he is too
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

They were the latest members of the former president’s inner circle to find out that associating with Trump could put them on cracking legal ice. There is increasing speculation over why Meadows was charged in Georgia but not in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal investigation into Trump’s election stealing efforts. Legal experts wonder whether he could be cooperating with that probe in a sign of peril for the former president. Trump’s inner circles have long faced legal problemsTrump’s co-defendants in the Georgia case are not the first to find out that the ex-president’s intolerance for the rules and conventions that normally constrain presidencies can lead them into treacherous waters. Trump once vowed to bring only “the best people” to Washington, but his acolytes often find themselves dragged into his legal storms.

Persons: Donald, –, Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani –, Trump’s, ”, Giuliani, bruiser, “, “ I’m, “ We’re, Mark Meadows, Meadows, Jack, John Eastman, Mike Pence, Harvey Silverglate, Sidney Powell –, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira –, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Robert Mueller’s, Steve Bannon, Bannon, ” Bannon, Allen Weisselberg, Michael Cohen, Cohen, ” Trump, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, extravagantly, Flynn, Manafort, Roger Stone, won’t, ’, District Attorney Fani Willis –, Ty Cobb, CNN’s Erin Burnett, wouldn’t, Willis, ” Cobb Organizations: CNN, Trump, New, New York City, WABC, White House, Caucus, White, Republican, Former Trump, Trump Organization, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump’s, Save, District Attorney Locations: Georgia, Fulton, New York, Ukraine, North Carolina, Washington, Meadows, Fulton County , Georgia, Lago, Trump, Russia, Manhattan, Congress

☆ Publisher of raided Kansas newspaper ‘vindicated’ by prosecutor’s decision to return seized items after backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Raids on news organizations, big or small, are exceedingly rare in the US and the Friday seizure of computers, cell phones, and other material from the Marion County Record generated enormous backlash. “RSF welcomes the withdrawal of the search warrant and the return of the Marion County Record’s property, but we still need answers as to how this happened. It’s “still up in the air,” Meyer told Tapper, in response to a question about whether the outlet will file a lawsuit. “A smaller newspaper might be easily intimidated by this,” Meyer told Tapper. “If it weren’t for the outpouring of support we got on this,” Meyer told McMaster, “we’d probably be out of business by now.”

Persons: Eric Meyer, KSHB, Jessica McMaster, —, ” Meyer, “, ”, Joel Ensey, Clayton Weimers, ” Weimers, “ RSF, Jake Tapper, Meyer, It’s “, Tapper, McMaster, “ we’d Organizations: CNN, Marion County, Wednesday, Press Locations: Marion, Marion County, Kansas

ORLANDO, Florida, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Investors are hoping policymakers gathering at the Kansas City Fed's annual Jackson Hole Symposium later this month will shed light on one of the murkiest - yet fundamentally most important - tenets of monetary policy: R-star. Even the New York Fed's two most renowned R-star indicators, the Laubach-Williams model and the Holston-Laubach-Williams model, are, metaphorically speaking, miles apart. Martínez-García's estimate of short-term R-star is negative, while the New York Fed staffers' models suggest it has "increased considerably over the past year". The Fed is near the end of its tightening cycle having raised interest rates by 525 basis points to the highest since 2007. Longer-dated real bond yields have shot up to their highest level since 2009 even as market expectations for inflation and Fed rates have held steady.

Persons: Treasuries, Gennadiy Goldberg, Goldberg, Williams, Enrique Martínez, García, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, David Mericle, Jackson, John Williams reckons, Jamie McGeever Organizations: Kansas City Fed's, Fed, New, Dallas Fed, TD Securities, York, Dallas and New York Fed, New York Fed, Citi, Reuters, New York Times, Atlanta, Thomson Locations: ORLANDO, Florida, New York, U.S, Dallas

☆ US sees price cap on Russian oil working despite upturn in prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Aug 3 (Reuters) - The United States remains confident that the Group of Seven's price cap on Russian oil is working to squeeze Moscow's revenues and stabilize energy markets despite a recent upturn in prices, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday. Van Nostrand said Russian data showed federal government oil revenues were nearly 50% lower in the first half of 2023 than a year earlier, and Russian oil was trading at "a significant discount" to Brent oil. Van Nostrand said the average reported price for Russian Urals had hovered around $60, the level of the price cap, despite widespread expectations that the price would rise in the second half of 2023, and despite recent price increases. Van Nostrand said the cap was continuing to limit Russian revenues, while giving "non-coalition buyers additional leverage to negotiate prices down." Still, Van Nostrand said Washington understood that markets could change rapidly, and Russia would keep trying to evade the price cap.

Persons: Eric Van Nostrand, Van Nostrand, Washington, Andrea Shalal, Timothy Gardner, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Treasury, Economic, European Union, Russian, Russia's Finance Ministry, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Australia, Brent, Russian Urals, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, China

☆ ‘Madonna’ at 40: An oral history of the Queen of Pop’s debut album
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

“Madonna” the album served as an explosive entry for the trained dancer-turned-singer on the road to being so much more. There was a boombox in the room, and Rosenblatt played her demo again for Stein while Madonna was there. But before that it didn’t (exist).”Still, Rosenblatt knew a star when he saw one, and Stein agreed. “We met everybody and everybody loved her, everybody just loved her. “I wanted to make people happy, I wanted to be famous, I wanted everybody to love me.

Persons: CNN —, “, Michael Rosenblatt, Madonna –, –, ” Rosenblatt, ’, ‘, ” “, ”, Madonna, Michael McDonnell, ” Bobby Shaw –, Mark Kamins, Danceteria ” Rosenblatt, George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, we’re, ’ ” Rosenblatt, Mark, Peter Noble, Rosenblatt, I’m, ’ ”, it’s, Dick Clark, Seymour Stein, Stein, Seymour, wasn’t, Debbie Harry, Everybody’s, Bobby Shaw’s, didn’t, ” Shaw, there’s, Shaw, Reggie Lucas –, John ‘ Jellybean ’ Benitez, ’ ” Stein, “ We’re, Michael Ochs, Mo Ostin, Lenny Waronker, Lucas, Benitez, Christopher Ciccone, James Colburn, Madonna’s, Olivia Newton John, ‘ Seymour, she’s, she’d, Barbara Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, ” Madonna Organizations: CNN, Sire Records, Garment, Alamy, ‘, Warner Bros . Records, Warner Records, Warner Bros, Warner, Garden, Michael Ochs Archives, West, ”, MTV, Radio City Music Hall, ZUMA Press Locations: New York City, York City, New York, Michigan, Paris, England, Danceteria, , New York City, Munich, Los Angeles, LA, West Coast, “, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Key

☆ Restaurateur Who Paid Off New York Politicians Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Karen Zraick | More About Karen Zraick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Long Island restaurateur who was a key witness in a public corruption investigation was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday, ending an episode that churned up allegations of endemic wrongdoing that stretched across New York City and one of its most populous suburban areas. He testified for 17 days in two trials against Mr. Mangano, who is now serving 12 years in prison. On Wednesday, Judge Joan M. Azrack of the Eastern District of New York called Mr. Singh “a master of pay to play.” But she credited his help to prosecutors, which revealed a dark nexus of politics and business. “The extent and nature of his cooperation is possibly unmatched by any defendant in a corruption investigation,” Judge Azrack said. She also noted Mr. Singh’s age and health problems, as well as the support of his family, commending him for raising three successful sons.

Persons: Harendra Singh, Edward P, Mangano, Joan M, Singh “, ” Judge Azrack, Ruby Organizations: of Locations: New York City, Nassau County, Eastern, of New York

☆ Thai protesters show support for Pita after PM bid blocked
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, July 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of pro-deomcracy protesters in Thailand gathered on Sunday in a show of support for Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward party, after conservative opponents thwarted his latest attempt to become prime minister. Parliament has twice blocked the Harvard-educated Pita, 42, from becoming prime minister - once last Wednesday and previously the week before - which his supporters say was due to unfair rules. Move Forward's policies put it on collision course with Thailand's nexus of royalist military, old money elites and conservative forces. Move Forward's eight-party coalition includes the populist Pheu Thai party and controls a majority in the 500-member lower house. Another vote on the premiership is scheduled for Thursday when Move Forward coalition ally Pheu Thai will propose a candidate who is largely expected to be political newcomer real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin.

Persons: Pita Limjaroenrat, Pita, Pheu, Srettha Thavisin, Chayut, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Harvard, Thomson Locations: BANGKOK, Thailand, Bangkok, Thai

☆ Booz Allen to pay $377.4 million to settle US charges over past billing practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation building is pictured in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-based consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Holding agreed to pay the United States $377.4 million to resolve allegations of violating federal law by improperly billing commercial and international costs to its government contracts, the Justice Department said. Under government contracting rules, there must be a nexus between the costs charged to a government contract and the objective of the contract, the Justice Department said on Friday. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia described the settlement as “one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history.”The government charged that from 2011 to 2021, Booz Allen improperly allocated indirect costs associated with its commercial and international business to its government contracts and subcontracts that either had no relationship to those contracts and subcontracts or were allocated to those contracts and subcontracts in disproportionate amounts. The company released a separate statement on the settlement on Friday, saying it entered the agreement to avoid protracted litigation and added that it was not an admission of liability.

Persons: Booz Allen, Mike Blake, Matthew Graves Organizations: Booz, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding, Justice Department, Justice, U.S, District of Columbia Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, States

[1/2] People walk outside the parliament, after Thailand's constitution court ordered the temporary suspension of the Move Forward Party's leader Pita Limjaroenrat from the parliament, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, July 20 (Reuters) - Thailand's parliament will hold another vote for a prime minister next week which cannot include the leader of election winners Move Forward, a deputy speaker said on Thursday, after rivals derailed his bid by blocking his re-nomination. "A candidate can only be nominated once in each parliamentary session," Deputy House Speaker Pichet Chuamuangphan told Reuters on Thursday. It is widely expected that real estate tycoon and political newcomer Srettha Thavisin from Move Forward's alliance partner Pheu Thai will be nominated for premier for the July 27 vote. "The eight parties are together, if there is a resolution for Pheu Thai to lead, then the party has to choose who to nominate," Srettha told reporters.

Persons: Pita Limjaroenrat, Parliament's, Pichet Chuamuangphan, Pita, Srettha, Pheu, Jetn Sirathranont, Thitinan, manoeuvred, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut, Orathai, Panu, Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Constitutional, Senate, Chulalongkorn University, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, BANGKOK

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