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☆ As China's intelligence capabilities grow, spying becomes an increasing flashpoint in ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

They underscore how intelligence gathering – an activity meant to go on without detection, out of the public eye – is becoming an increasingly prominent flashpoint in the US-China relationship. That pushes intelligence gathering itself to become “another factor that is complicating US-China relations,” he said. That’s especially the case, experts say, as China continues to expand its own intelligence gathering capabilities – catching up in an area where the US has traditionally had an edge. Other arms of the Communist Party apparatus also play a role in activities beyond conventional intelligence gathering, experts say. Heightened concern and awareness about Chinese intelligence gathering – or the potential for it – has exploded in the US in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bill Burns, ”, Lyle Morris, Christopher Johnson, “, there’s, they’ve, Johnson, Xi Jinping, That’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Xi, Hector Retamal, –, TikTok –, Edward Snowden, ’, Shou Zi Chew, Jabin, John Delury, John T, Downey, Delury Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US, White House, CIA, CNN, Asia Society, Center for, Central Intelligence Agency, China, Group, U.S . Navy, AP, Guilford College, People’s Liberation Army, Ministry of State Security, Communist Party, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, The New York Times, Huawei, TikTok, Tiktok, US Justice Department, China Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Agency, US Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, China ”, Energy, Commerce, Capitol, Washington Post, Subversion Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Beijing, American, Cuba, US, Center for China, South, Russia, AFP, Washington, USA, South China, Washington , DC

☆ EU officials accuse Google of antitrust violations in its ad tech business
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —Google’s advertising business should be broken up, European Union officials said Wednesday, alleging that the tech giant’s involvement in multiple parts of the digital advertising supply chain creates “inherent conflicts of interest” that risk harming competition. The formal accusations mark the latest antitrust challenge to Google over its sprawling ad tech business, following a lawsuit by the US Justice Department in January that also called for a breakup of the company. For example, the commission claims, advertisers who used Google’s ad buying tools frequently had their purchases routed to AdX instead of to rival ad exchanges. One proposed solution by the commission would spin off Google’s ad exchange and publisher tools from the ad-buying tools it provides to advertisers. Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector,” Taylor said.

Persons: ”, Margrethe Vestager, Dan Taylor, ” Taylor Organizations: Washington CNN, European Union, Google, US Justice Department, EU, —, CNN Locations: AdX

☆ Who wins in the PGA-LIV tie-up? Hint: It’s not the golfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

A bit of background for the uninitiated:Men’s pro golf in North America has been dominated by the PGA Tour for decades. Last year, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund spent an estimated $2 billion to form a rival league, LIV Golf, to challenge PGA’s dominance. LIV attracted many of the sport’s top players away from the PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour by offering more prize money. A long legal battle followed, and LIV golfers were banned from established tours. It is pronounced like “live.” As in, “Please don’t kill me, I want to live.”Oh, yeah — that brings me to the whole “why you should care” bit, and why many pro golfers and fans are apoplectic over the tie-up.

Persons: CNN Business ’, LIV Golf, LIV, “ LIV ”, Jamal Khashoggi, sportswashing, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, soccer’s Cristiano Ronaldo —, Chris Isidore, Bloomberg, it’s, ”, Peter Coy, “, you’ll Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, PGA Tour, PGA, Bloomberg, US Justice Department, Tour, US Federal Trade Commission, New York Times Locations: New York, North America, Saudi, Saudi Arabia

The Texas Legislature impeached Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday. Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton sits in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 29, 2023. But the threshold for conviction in the Senate trial is higher, requiring a two-thirds majority of its 31 members. If that happens, Ken Paxton would be permanently barred from holding office in Texas. He had suggested before the House impeachment vote that all 31 senators would vote in the trial.

Persons: Ken Paxton, —, Paxton, Donald Trump, Sen, Angela Paxton, Eric Gay, Speaker Dade, Gov, Dan Patrick, Trump, Patrick, Nathan Howard The, Patrick wouldn't, Austin, Nate Paul, Bryan Hughes, Hughes, Paul, Republican Ken Paxton, NICHOLAS KAMM, Trump's, Republicans didn't, Matt Rinaldi, Paul . Four, US Justice Department's, Paxton's Austin, Phelan, James " Pa, Ferguson, O.P, Carrillo, ___ Bleiberg Organizations: Texas Legislature, Republican, Service, The Texas Legislature, GOP, Chamber, Texas Capitol, Senate, Speaker, AP, Getty, Republicans, Texas Senate, Texas, Washington Post, US Justice, Democratic, FBI, Legislature, Trump, Gov Locations: , Texas, Texas, Austin , Texas, Washington, Dallas

CNN —Prince Harry’s US immigration records should be unsealed in the light of revelations about drug-taking in his recent book, a conservative think tank will argue in a federal court next week. Under US immigration law, evidence of past drug use can be grounds to reject an application. The Heritage Foundation filed a complaint under the Freedom of Information Act, attempting to compel the government to release Harry’s immigration file. In addition, DOJ argues that “citations to speculation about the status of Prince Harry’s visa are not sufficient to meet the standard” to speed up the process of releasing the document. “Did DHS in fact look the other way, play favorites, or fail to appropriately respond to any potential false statements by Prince Harry?”CNN has asked a representative for Prince Harry for comment.

Persons: Prince, Duke, Duke of Sussex, Harry, “, Nile Gardiner, Margaret Thatcher, ”, Prince Harry, Sussex, Meghan, I’d, ” Harry, Courteney Cox’s, Oprah Winfrey Organizations: CNN, Heritage Foundation, Court, District of Columbia, The Heritage Foundation, Act, DHS, Department of Homeland Security, US Justice Department, DOJ, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, “, ” CNN, Eton College Locations: Sussex, United States, Washington, California

☆ US sanctions Iranian officials accused of plotting assassinations abroad including against Bolton and Pompeo
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials accused of plotting assassinations abroad, including against former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Ansari, with the support of Shahram Poursafi (Poursafi), an Iranian national, planned and attempted to assassinate two former U.S. government officials,” the Treasury Department said. Pompeo was also a target of the Iranian assassination plot, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation and a source close to Pompeo. Seraj “has been involved in failed IRGC-IO operations in Asia and in intelligence operations targeting U.S. citizens,” it said. “Seraj previously led the IRGC-IO Special Operations Division, which is focused on special activity against Israel, where he was responsible for a series of failed operations targeting Israeli nationals,” it added.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Biden, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Mohammad Reza Ansari, “ Ansari, Shahram, Poursafi, Bolton, Bush, Qasem Soleimani, Pompeo, Hossein Hafez Amini, “, Rey Havacilik, Sirketi, – Rouhallah Bazghandi, Reza Seraj, Bazghandi “, ” “ Bazghandi, Seraj “, “ Seraj, Brian Nelson, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Force, US Treasury Department, Treasury Department, US Justice Department, Trump, Turkish, Rey, Rey Airlines, IRGC Intelligence Organization, Division, Treasury, Terrorism, Financial Locations: United States, East, Europe, Africa, Iranian, Rey, Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, Istanbul, ”, Asia, Israel

☆ Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Zachary Cohen Devan Cole Tierney Sneed Evan Perez Hannah Rabinowitz Jeremy Herb Marshall Cohen | Zachary Cohen | Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“Strzok, at a minimum, had pronounced hostile feelings toward Trump,” Durham wrote, while quoting in a footnote previously known texts between Strzok and Lisa Page, then an FBI attorney. Witness testimony exposed the FBI’s overreliance on the dossier as it sought court approval to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser in 2016. Mixed results over 3+ yearsBarr tapped Durham in 2019 to review the origins of the Russia probe, and the scope of Durham’s work grew over the years. Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which inherited the initial Russia probe, released a detailed accounting of Russia’s effort to interfere in the 2016 election. Mueller found no evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but investigators documented numerous contacts between Trump associates and Russians.

The Justice Department’s April 20 letter includes guidance for state and local police, prosecutors, judges and probation officers. Joanna Weiss, co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, told me that the DOJ's voice is critical on these issues. The earlier memo included a section that laid out the principle that courts must not use bail practices that incarcerate people solely because they can’t afford a fee. The Justice Department didn't address my specific questions about why the section on bail was nixed. Lauren Jones, legal director at the National Center for Access to Justice, told me that there's clear overlap between cash bail practices and justice system fees.

☆ These Iranian activists fled for freedom. But the regime still managed to find them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Salma Abdelaziz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Whatever actions you take against the Islamic Republic, there in France, is a crime,” the man is heard saying. They have done nothing wrong.”Massi Kamari, an Iranian activist living in Paris, says Iranian intelligence threatened to send her family to Tehran's Evin prison if she continued her activism against the regime abroad. I mean these criminals were hired by the Islamic Republic. So, you see the Islamic Republic itself is a criminal organization. “But even the week after I received the call (from Iranian intelligence officials), I was out doing my political work.

☆ Trump, newly charged, urges defunding US Justice Department and FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But Trump faces two Justice Department criminal investigations led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. "REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES," Trump wrote on his social media platform. The FBI, part of the Justice Department, is the U.S. domestic intelligence and security agency. Trump backed spending increases for the Justice Department while serving as president from 2017 to 2021. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Norfolk Southern CEO more than doubled his pay last year after getting promoted
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw got $9.8 million in total compensation in 2022, more than double the $4.7 million he received in 2021. The plan to promote him to CEO in May of 2022 was also announced at that time. The combined pay for the two executives is equal to 70% of the $27.8 million that Norfolk Southern has committed so far to compensate the communities and its residents affected by the derailment. Thursday the US Justice Department sued Norfolk Southern for violations of the Clean Water Act caused by the derailment. Shaw has personally contributed $445,000 to set up a scholarship endowment fund for seniors at East Palestine High School.

☆ Credit Suisse is still helping ultra-wealthy Americans evade taxes, Senate panel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate investigation also found that former senior bankers at Credit Suisse were involved in the management of these large and undeclared offshore accounts. In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, a Credit Suisse spokesperson said the bank does not tolerate tax evasion. Credit Suisse said its new leadership has cooperated with the Senate inquiry. In 2014, Credit Suisse pled guilty to federal charges that it illegally allowed some US clients evade their taxes for decades. The latest allegations come just days after Credit Suisse reached an emergency deal to be acquired by rival UBS.

☆ Microsoft should throw billions at Apple to make Bing the default iPhone search engine, says a former Google exec
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A former Google exec thinks Microsoft should outbid Google to land the default iPhone search spot. Landing the default search spot on the iPhone could disrupt Google's search dominance. If Microsoft wants to really throw Google's business into turmoil, it should offer Apple billions of dollars to become the iPhone's default search engine. Google currently pays an estimated $15 billion a year to be the default search engine on the more than 1 billion Apple devices globally, including the iPhone. While Google has launched its competitor to ChatGPT, known as Bard, it is not currently integrated into Google Search.

☆ Notable legal clouds that continue to hang over Donald Trump in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dan Berman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals. A federal judge ruled that Trump and FBI Director Christopher Wray can be deposed for two hours each as part of the lawsuit. “What (Trump’s lawsuit) lacks in substance and legal support it seeks to substitute with length, hyperbole, and the settling of scores and grievances,” US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote. Woodward later released “The Trump Tapes,” an audiobook featuring eight hours of raw interviews with Trump interspersed with the author’s commentary.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The Louisville, Kentucky, police force routinely discriminates against Black residents, uses excessive force and conducts illegal searches, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, following a probe prompted by Breonna Taylor's death in 2020. Some Louisville police officers even filmed themselves insulting people with disabilities and describing Black people as "monkeys," the Justice Department said. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg told reporters the Justice Department's report brought back "painful memories" and vowed to implement reforms. Under Garland's leadership, the Justice Department has sought to reinvigorate its civil rights enforcement program, an area civil rights advocates say was left in tatters by the former administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The Justice department has since restored their use, and launched multiple civil rights investigations into police departments, local jails and prisons across the country.

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The Louisville, Kentucky police department whose officers fatally shot Breonna Taylor in 2020 routinely discriminates against Black residents, uses excessive force and conducts illegal searches, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. At a news conference, Garland said the department had reached a "consent decree" with the Louisville police, which will require the use of an independent monitor to oversee policing reforms. Garland said some Louisville police officers had demonstrated disrespect to the people they are sworn to protect, with some insulting people with disabilities and describing Black people as "monkeys." Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was asleep in bed with her boyfriend on March 13, 2020, when Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant burst into her apartment. In 2022, former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that she helped falsify the search warrant that led to Taylor's death.

☆ Justice sues to block JetBlue purchase of Spirit Airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Justice Department is suing to prevent that from happening,” said Garland. “Companies in every industry should understand by now that this Justice Department will not hesitate to enforce antitrust laws and protect American consumers.”But over the last 22 years, the Justice Department has allowed a series of five airline mergers without a suit like the one announced Tuesday. “The combination of JetBlue and Spirit plus the rapid growth of ultra low cost carriers will assure increased competition and low fares,” said a statement from JetBlue. But it has been fighting a separate lawsuit from the Justice Department challenging an alliance it has with American Airlines for nearly 18 months. The Justice Department filed this case in federal court in Boston.

☆ Binance is a 'hotbed of illegal financial activity' and is hiding basic info from customers, US senators say in scathing letter to the world's biggest crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US senators accused the world's largest crypto exchange of being "a hotbed of illegal financial activity." In a scathing letter to Binance, lawmakers requested copies of the company's balance sheets since 2017. A Binance spokesperson said the exchange will help lawmakers understand why it remains "the most trusted platform with users across the globe." The senators asked for a response by March 16 and sought more information about the relationship between Binance.com and Binance.US. Binance also has reportedly faced a slew of legal and regulatory probes from the SEC and the US Justice Department.

☆ DOJ refuses to back Trump's claim that he's immune from civil lawsuits related to the Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The DOJ refused to back Trump's claim that he is absolutely immune from civil suits related to the Capitol riot. Trump's speech before the riot "would not be within the outer perimeter of the Office of the President of the United States," the DOJ said. Trump's legal team asked a federal appeals court last year to overturn a lower court ruling that he could be held liable in civil lawsuits connected to the Capitol siege. "Consequently, it is especially important to avoid allowing the judicial department to pass judgment on the political statements and discourse of the President of the United States," they added. The United States respectfully submits that the Court should reject that categorical argument."

Wray's comments Tuesday came after Baier noted that the Energy Department had cited the FBI's earlier findings in its report. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said earlier Tuesday that China has "always been open and transparent" about Covid. In its assessment, the Energy Department also described the "likely" laboratory-related leak as an "accident," the official added. The Energy Department is one of 18 government departments and agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, "China obviously is very threatened by this," but "the lab leak story is not anti-Chinese.

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street is ignoring the Fed. That could be dangerous
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Price increases are also moderating: December brought the sixth consecutive monthly fall in consumer price index (CPI) inflation to 6.5%. That’s a change from 2022 when the Fed and the market tended to move in unison. This could mean that the upcoming Fed meeting will generate a lot of market disappointment, said Christian Scherrmann, an economist at DWS Group. The Fed flagged investors’ persistent belief in a pivot away from elevated rates as something that could hurt efforts to restore price stability. But even though the lawsuit drives at the heart of Google’s revenue machine, it could take years to play out.

A Louisiana man was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for kidnapping and attempting to murder a gay teen as part of a broader hate crime scheme targeting men on an LGBTQ dating app, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. His decadeslong sentencing rested on a variety of factors, the Justice Department revealed, including that Seneca intentionally targeted the teen and other gay men because of their sexual orientation. Within days of his assault on White, Seneca allegedly attempted to kidnap a different man and allegedly kidnapped another, the Justice Department said in a previous statement. The Louisiana case is one of several where people have used Grindr, a dating app founded in 2009 that is predominantly used by gay men, to target LGBTQ people around the world. In 2018, it was widely reported that Egyptian authorities and residents were using Grindr and other dating apps to entrap and persecute gay men.

Binance was the only major crypto exchange among Bitzlato's top counterparties, FinCEN said. The Justice Department and FinCEN declined to comment. Bitcoin worth about $175 million was transferred to Binance from Bitzlato in that period, making Binance its largest receiving counterparty, the data show. The U.S. action against Bitzlato comes as the Justice Department investigates Binance for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. The Justice Department said Bitzlato exchanged more than $700 million in crypto with Hydra, either directly or through intermediaries.

Binance was the only major crypto exchange among Bitzlato's top counterparties, FinCEN said. A Binance spokesperson said via email it had "provided substantial assistance" to international law enforcement to support their investigation of Bitzlato. Bitcoin worth about $175 million was transferred to Binance from Bitzlato in that period, making Binance its largest receiving counterparty, the data show. The U.S. action against Bitzlato comes as the Justice Department investigates Binance for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. The Justice Department said Bitzlato exchanged more than $700 million in crypto with Hydra, either directly or through intermediaries.

☆ Brazil is reviving a 2008 fraud case against Rep.-elect George Santos, who has been caught in a string of lies since his midterm victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Brazil is reviving a long-dormant fraud case against George Santos, The New York Times reported. A spokesperson for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutors office told The New York Times that authorities will be reviving a 2008 fraud case, which they dropped more than a decade ago after failing to locate him. Prosecutors in Brazil charged Santos with embezzlement over a decade ago, but the case was archived in 2013 because Santos could not be found to answer a court summons. Santos flipped a Democratic seat in New York to help Republicans clinch a narrow House majority in the November midterms. Santos added that he has never been charged with a crime in Brazil, or anywhere else.

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