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☆ Apple's having a rough year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Matt Turner | Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BIThis week's dispatchTaking a bite out of AppleApple's having a rough year. Apple is to blame for Amazon and Microsoft's phone failures, per the DOJ, which also zeroes in on Apple's green text bubbles. It was a tech antitrust lawsuit more than two decades ago that helped create space for Apple's rise.

Persons: —, Justin Sullivan, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Tim Cook, Steve Jobs, Apple, Rebecca Zisser, Frazer Harrison, Tyler Le, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Patrick Semansky Goldman, Russell Horwitz, Al Schwimmer, Frank Sinatra, Matt Turner, Jordan Parker Erb, Dan DeFrancesco, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, Department of Justice, DOJ, Amazon, FTC, Getty, Google, BI, David Solomon AP Locations: China, Palestine, New York

☆ An Arms Smugger, a Daring Heist, and the Birth of Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Joining the Haganah, Schwimmer discovered, wasn't as easy as just strolling through the door. "He felt he had to do his part in creating a Jewish state, so this could never happen again," Schwimmer recalled. Rather than melt down the surplus weapons for scrap, Liff told Greenspun to take as much as he wanted — free of charge. "It went against the grain to buck the same government we had fought to preserve only a few years before," Hank Greenspun recalled. In 2001, at the urging of Brian Greenspun, Schwimmer received a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton.

Persons: Danny Schwimmer, They'd, Rina, Al —, David Ben, Gurion, Al Schwimmer, Schwimmer, Bugsy Siegel's, Meyer Lansky, Frank Sinatra, Sinatra, —, Boaz Dvir, Israel —, Danny, Al, I've, Hank Greenspun, Greenspun, Brian, Adolph, Dick Tracy, " Schwimmer, Wing Walker, America, Yehuda Arazi, Arazi, they'd, Schwimmer's, Sam Lewis, Leo Gardner, Milton, Milt, Rubenfeld, Paul Reubens, Herman, Reubens, Bugsy Siegel, Siegel, — Schwimmer, Nathan Liff, Liff, PhotoQuest, Bernarr McFadden, Pat, Ptacek, Rafael Trujillo, Teddy Kollek, Erwin Johnson, Bill Gerson, Gerson, Bud King, Gerson's, Ben, Joel Kimmel, Lewis, Lansky, hadn't, Tommy, Messerschmitts, David, Milt Rubenfeld, Israel, Charlie Winters, Winters, weren't, aren't, America's, Joseph McCarthy, John F, Kennedy, Brian Greenspun, Golda Meir, Bill Clinton Organizations: Israeli Air Force, TWA, Haganah, United Nations, Lockheed Air, Los Angeles Examiner, USC, Getty, US Naval, Schwimmer Aviation, FBI, UN, Customs Service, Palestine . Volunteers, Embassy, Israel, Service Airways, State Department, BI, Pepsi, Zionist, Nazi, Star, American, Avia, Messerschmitt, Pennsylvania State University who's, Las, Sun, Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI, they're, Israeli Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Connecticut, Palestine, New York, Copacabana, United States, Hungary, Auschwitz, storages, Arizona, Bridgeport, Rome, Burbank , California, Burbank, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Oahu, Santa Claus, California, Washington, Burbank ., Acapulco, Mexico, it's, Mexico City, Central, South America, Dominican Republic, China, America, Mexican, Panama, Panamanian, Corsica, Oklahoma, Detroit, Suriname, Brazil, Senegal, Casablanca, Sicily, Catania, Europe, Czechoslovakia, Czech, Egypt, Cairo, Los Angeles, American, Gaza, Iran

☆ I'm 40, unmarried, and not looking for anyone's sympathy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Christina Pensa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She wants to make it clear that many women are thrilled to be single and happily choose to stay so. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . I'm already feeling juvenile compared to the family photos, #1 Dad mug, and framed accomplishments displayed around his office. Women get asked loaded questionsI recently turned 40 and have called New York City home for the better part of my adult life. AdvertisementThe author wants to see the narrative change after women say they're not married.

Persons: Christina Pensa, —, wasn't, I'm, they're, Christina, I'd Organizations: Service, New York City, Center, Psychology Locations: New York City, Manhattan, New York, Patagonia

☆ Kristen Stewart Uses Naked Dressing to Make a Point
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even in the context of the current pantsless trend prevalent on the runway and in some celebrity circles, as well as the vogue for thematic dressing at movie openings, Kristen Stewart’s looks during her press tour for “Love Lies Bleeding” have stood out. Rarely has an actress been so unapologetically, gloriously undressed. That’s a lot of subtext under very little — clothing, that is. Margot Robbie had fun dressing à la Barbie during her “Barbie” press tour; Zendaya captured eyeballs and social media during her “Dune: Part Two” camera calls dressed in sci-fi-themed Mugler, Givenchy and Alaïa; and the cast of “Godzilla Minus One” walked the Oscar red carpet in matching lizard-heel footwear. But with her “Love Lies Bleeding” appearances, Ms. Stewart took the concept of character cosplay to a new, more pointed level.

Persons: Kristen Stewart’s, gloriously undressed, Stewart, Tara Swennen, adroitly, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Zendaya, ” Locations: Givenchy

☆ I'm in my late 30s, unmarried, and not looking for anyone's sympathy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Christina Pensa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. I wasn't prepared, however, for the covert line of questioning into my personal life. Glancing at the top of my résumé, my interviewer made note of the Manhattan neighborhood I lived in. I'm already feeling juvenile compared to the family photos, #1 Dad mug, and framed accomplishments displayed around his office. AdvertisementThe author wants to see the narrative change after women say they're not married.

Persons: —, wasn't, I'm, they're, Christina Pensa, Christina, I'd Organizations: Service, Business, New York City, Center, Psychology Locations: Manhattan, New York, Patagonia

☆ Australia Wanted to Catch Chinese Spies. Is This Really Whom It Had in Mind?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The police officers asked the man what he meant when he said that involving an Australian government minister in a charity event could benefit “us Chinese.” Was he talking about mainland China and the Chinese Communist Party, or the local Australian Chinese community? Depending on the answer, he faced up to 10 years in prison. “You are understanding the Chinese is China. We always say, ‘I’m Chinese,’ that not mean, ‘I’m mainland China,’” said the man, Di Sanh “Sunny” Duong, who was brought in for questioning. Blockbuster prosecutions revealing sophisticated tactics seemed to be just around the corner.

Persons: ”, ’ ”, Di, Duong, “ Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Blockbuster Locations: China, Mainland China, United States

☆ Trump authorized the CIA to smear the Chinese government with fake social media accounts: Reuters
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Then-President Donald Trump authorized a CIA influence campaign on China, Reuters reported. The CIA used fake social media accounts to push unfavorable narratives about the Chinese government. AdvertisementThen-President Donald Trump authorized a CIA operation to discredit the Chinese government on social media while he was in office, Reuters reported on Thursday. The CIA began the operation in 2019, creating fake Chinese social media accounts to push narratives that would discredit the Chinese government, Reuters reported, citing three former officials it spoke to. Representatives for Trump, the CIA, and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Xi, Trump Organizations: CIA, Reuters, Service, Chinese Communist Party, Initiative, GOP, Democratic Party, Trump, Business Insider Locations: China, Russia, Beijing

☆ What Happened to Our Covid Social Safety Net? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Bryce Covert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Take unemployment insurance. The CARES Act, passed in March 2020, included the largest increase in benefits and eligibility in American history. In 2019, unemployment insurance kept 500,000 people out of poverty; in 2020, that figure was 5.5 million. Yes, the program was riddled with problems, particularly technological ones, that made it difficult for many people to get enrolled quickly. But once they were covered, “They saw something close to the actual level of benefits that they deserve,” Mr. Díez said.

Persons: ”, Francisco Díez, LaShondra White, Mr, Díez Organizations: Center for Popular Democracy Locations: U.S, United States, Detroit

☆ US intel chief says she can’t rule out possibility that China will use TikTok to influence 2024 elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —US intelligence officials “cannot rule out” the possibility that the Chinese government will use TikTok to influence the 2024 US elections, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers on Tuesday. “We regularly take action against deceptive behavior, including covert influence networks throughout the world, and have been transparent in reporting them publicly,” a TikTok spokesperson told CNN. China is showing “a higher degree of sophistication in its influence activity,” including by experimenting with generative artificial intelligence, according to the report. The Chinese government routinely denies US allegations of election influence. “Even if Beijing sets limits on these activities, individuals not under its direct supervision may attempt election influence activities they perceive are in line with Beijing’s goals.”

Persons: National Intelligence Avril Haines, Haines, “, ”, TikTok, Christopher Wray, Wray, ByteDance, Moscow’s, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, National Intelligence, Intelligence, U.S, Republican, Facebook, Twitter, Capitol, House Intelligence Committee, Foreign Ministry Locations: China, Russia, Iran, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, U.S, Beijing

☆ China's propaganda actors may go rogue and try to influence the 2024 elections, US intelligence says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China could attempt to influence the 2024 elections, says a new US intelligence report. The report added that China may not be able to reign in influence operations even if they want to. AdvertisementChina may try to influence the 2024 elections, and some propaganda actors might go rogue and operate outside Beijing's control, according to a newly released threat assessment by the US intelligence community. China's propaganda arm, the report said, had used TikTok accounts to target candidates from the GOP and Democratic Parties during last year's midterm elections. It added that China's propaganda actors "increased their capabilities to conduct covert influence operations and disseminate information."

Persons: —, Xi Jinping, Xi, Joe Biden, Biden, Wang Wenbin Organizations: Service, GOP, Democratic, Economic Cooperation, CNN, Business Locations: China, Beijing, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States

☆ Pentagon report says there are no UFOs or aliens but accepts popular beliefs will endure
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Pentagon report denies government cover-up of extraterrestrial activity. The report refutes claims of UFO sightings and supposed knowledge of alien existence. AdvertisementThe Pentagon released a report saying they'd found no evidence of UFO sightings or an alien cover-up. AARO found no evidence confirming unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) as extraterrestrial technology — most were ordinary objects or misidentified phenomena. AdvertisementThe lack of conclusive evidence has fueled conspiracy theories, complicating efforts to address popular beliefs about UFOs and aliens.

Persons: —, they'd, AARO, Fan, Tommaso Boddi, Edward Snowden, Joe Rogan Organizations: Pentagon, Service, US, NSA

☆ The real story behind Coco Chanel's collaboration with the Nazis, as featured in 'The New Look'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Apple TV+ "The New Look" shines a light on Coco Chanel's murky history as a Nazi informant and spy. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Juliette Binoche and Emily Mortimer as Coco Chanel and Elsa Lombardi in "The New Look." Roger Do Minh/Apple TVHow deep the fashion icon's Nazi collaboration ran was made public for the first time in "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War," by Hal Vaughan, published in 2011. AdvertisementChanel, who died in 1971 at 87, continued her relationship with Von Dincklage after the war for several years.

Persons: —, France's, Coco Chanel that's, Chanel, Todd A, Christian Dior, Juliette Binoche, Emily Mortimer, Coco Chanel, Elsa Lombardi, Roger Do Minh, Hal Vaughan, Vaughan, Dreyfus, Alfred Dreyfus, Hulton, Baron Hans Günther Von Dincklage, Von Dincklage, Spatz, André Palasse, Pierre, Paul Wertheimer, Chanel didn't, Parfums Chanel, Modelhut Coco Chanel, Winston Churchill, Bettmann, Duke of Westminster, Walter Schellenberg, Schellenberg, Vera Bate Lombardi, Lombardi —, Chanel's, Churchill, Baron Louis de Vaufreland, Per Vaughan, Wertheimer, James Andanson, Dincklage, Baron von Dincklage Organizations: Apple, Nazi, Service, Deutsch, Hotel Ritz, Abwehr, AFP, Getty, British, Paris, Chanel Locations: Nazi, Paris, German, British, Germany, French, Britain, Madrid, Churchill, Switzerland

Lives Ended in Gaza Since the war started, more than 30,000 people have been killed during Israel’s bombardment and invasion. Hamas ruled Gaza and ran a covert military organization, the identity of its fighters unclear, even to other Gazans. She worked with people who had been wounded and displaced by Israeli attacks on Gaza as well as with first responders. She moved to Egypt after the 2014 Gaza war but returned a few months before the current war. He performed complicated operations on Gaza’s war wounded while running Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah until his retirement.

Persons: Israel, Marah, Farah, Farah Alkhatib, Kinder, Selena al, Lubna Elian, Yousef Abu Moussa, Abdulhadi, Maram, Youmna Shaqalih, Abdulrahman Abuamara, Ghadeer Mohammed Mansour, Salah, Khaled Jadallah, Doaa Jadallah, Mahmoud Alnaouq, Jannat Iyad Abu Zbeada, Rami Abu Reyaleh, Alhelou, “, ”, —, Faida AlKrunz, Saud AlKrunz, tinker, Ahmed Abu Shaeera, Al Aqsa, Youssef Salama, Hedaya Hamad, Salah Abo Harbed, Jeries Sayegh, Inas, “ Sara ”, ” Sayel, Ai Wei Wei’s, Heba Zagout, Ali, Amneh, Belal Abu Samaan, Israel ”, Abu Yousef Al, Abdallah Shehada, Tarazi, Heba Jourany, Osama Al, Haddad, Riyad Alkhatib, ” Mahmoud Elian Organizations: UNICEF, Oxygen, Al, Awda, F.C, Barcelona, Facebook, Islamic, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Free Gaza Circus, Christian, Officially, American International School, Palestine Athletics Federation, Najjar, United Nations, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Israel, Spain, Norway, Italian, Australia, Egypt, Turkey, Bolivia, Argentina, Panama, Mexico, Qatar, Al Aqsa, Jerusalem, “ Palestine, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Palestinian, Old City, Mazaj, Gaza City, Manhattan, Chicago, Mecca, Rafah, Libya, Uganda, Ireland

☆ I struggled to find my fashion sense as a Yale student. I eventually decided to put my own spin on the academia aesthetic.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Miles Kirkpatrick | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The author dressed in his Yale look. My fellow Yale students became my inspirationWhen you think of Yale and fashion, the prep and Ivy League styles come to mind. There is no singular "Yale" look anymore. I've seen folks associated with FLY — Fashion Lifestyle at Yale, a new student-led fashion collective — create looks that belong on a runway day after day. While Yale has more than its fair share of fashion mavericks, the Ivy League style is still around.

Persons: —, I've, it's, Miles Kirkpatrick Organizations: Service, Yale, Business, Ivy League, mavericks, Vanderbilt Hall Locations: North Carolina, New Haven, Patagonia, Yale

☆ Former US diplomat accused of spying for Cuba indicates he plans to plead guilty, court docket shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Manuel Rocha, the former US ambassador to Bolivia accused of acting as a secret foreign agent of Cuba, said in court Thursday that he plans to plead guilty to charges, according to his court docket. During a hearing in Miami Thursday, Rocha and prosecutors “announce[d] the Defendant will be changing his plea,” according to the court docket. The court record does not give any information about what charges Rocha plans to plead guilty to. Rocha served as the US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 and as the deputy principal officer of the US Interests Section in Cuba in the 1990s. His role as the political officer at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic gave him “special responsibility” for Cuba, prosecutors alleged.

Persons: CNN — Manuel Rocha, Rocha, “, Fidel Castro Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, US Embassy, Embassy, Cuban Locations: Bolivia, Cuba, American, Miami, Dominican Republic, Italy, Mexico, Argentina

☆ I got my son a pocket knife instead of a cellphone. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Rebecca Jones | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Over the last two years, my 12-year-old son has become increasingly consumed with going to the woods near our home. But just like many other tweens, he's also asked, "Can you get me a cellphone?" We bought him a pocket knife. He mostly keeps the knife in his pocket when he heads outdoors, only bringing it out when a project calls for a sharp object. As for the pocket knife, when it's not in use or at the bottom of his camo pants pocket, it stays safely displayed in his bedroom, a token of independence and ingenuity.

Persons: He's, he's, they've, it's Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Analysis: Taylor Swift would win any popularity contest against MAGA
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Taylor Swift performs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2015. From Taylor Swift On her birthday in 2019, Swift shared this photo of herself as a child. From Taylor Swift A 13-year-old Swift sings the National Anthem before an NBA game in Philadelphia in 2002. John Mabangalo/Pool/Getty Images Swift performs during a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2009. Ethan Miller/Getty Images Swift performs onstage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles during her 1989 tour in 2015.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, Joe Biden’s, Swift, she’s, Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Smerconish, Winfrey, Barack Obama, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Polk, Scott, Andrea Swift, Jesse D, Tim McGraw, Kevin Winter, John Mabangalo, Chad Batka, Bryan Bedder, Larry Busacca, Miley Cyrus, Lucas Till, Hannah Montana, Sam Emerson, Everett, Jonas, Frank Masi, Taylor, I'm, West, Beyonce, Jeff Kravitz, Lucy Nicholson, Christopher Morris, Josh Haner, Kevin Mazur, James Taylor, Charles Sykes, Matt Sayles, Mark J, Terrill, Invision, Jimmy Fallon, Douglas Gorenstein, Nicholas Harvey, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Laraine Newman, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Kristen Wiig, Keenan Thompson, Fred Armisen, Kerry Washington, Betty White, Bradley Cooper, Dana Edelson, Andrea, Ethan Miller, Tim Boyles, Selena Gomez, Jordan Strauss, Mike Coppola, John Shearer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Brandon Urie, Katy Perry, Republic Records Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Will Heath, Seth Wenig, Terence Rushin, Travis Kelce, Patrick Smith, propping, It’s, birther, There’s Organizations: CNN, Monmouth University, Marist College, Trump, Democratic, Biden, Staples Center, NBA, of Country, Garden, New York Times, New York's Rockefeller Center, Walt Disney Co, Kanye, Madison, MTV, NBC, ACM, Academy of Country, Getty, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Universal Pictures, Coachella, Republic Records, New York University, Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs, AFC, Super, Swift, Republicans, NFL, Republican Locations: America, Monmouth, Los Angeles, West Reading , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, New York, Auburn Hills , Michigan, Newark , New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Frankfurt, Germany, London, Arlington , Texas, Tampa, Chicago, Atlanta, United States, Hawaii

☆ Israel strikes 'reputation blow' to Iran with sabotage attacks on its gas pipelines, says report
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Israel sabotaged two major Iranian gas pipelines, said a New York Times report. "It's a major reputation blow for Iran's intelligence and security agencies," said an analyst. The attacks suggest covert networks operating in Iran linked to Israel, an analyst said. AdvertisementIsrael appears to have conducted covert attacks on two major natural gas pipelines inside Iran this week, disrupting heat and cooking gas supplies in several provinces, The New York Times reports. The sabotage marked an escalation in the shadow war between Israel and Iran, said the report.

Persons: Israel, —, Shahin Modarres Organizations: New York Times, Service, The New York Times, Times, Business Locations: Iran, Israel, The

Israel carried out covert attacks on two major natural gas pipelines inside Iran this week, disrupting the flow of heat and cooking gas to provinces with millions of people, according to two Western officials and a military strategist affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The strikes represent a notable shift in the shadow war that Israel and Iran have been waging by air, land, sea and cyberattack for years. Israel has long targeted military and nuclear sites inside Iran — and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists and commanders — both inside and outside of the country. Israel has also waged cyberattacks to disable servers belonging to the oil ministry, causing turmoil at gas stations nationwide. But blowing up part of the country’s energy infrastructure, relied on by industries, factories and millions of civilians, marked an escalation in the covert war and appeared to open a new frontier, officials and analysts said.

Persons: Israel, Iran —, — Organizations: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Iran, Israel

☆ New report sheds light on Apple's upcoming AI features that will rival Microsoft's Copilot
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementCurrently, Apple is urging some engineers to test these new AI features to ensure they work before releasing them externally to developers. Apple's covert plans to launch its AI coding tool soon comes as the company lags behind generative AI efforts currently led by players like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. The tech giant, Bloomberg has learned, has plans to integrate AI features into its next software updates for its iPhone and iPad known internally as Crystal. The company is also building features that will generate Apple Music playlists and slideshows, according to the outlet.

Persons: —, GitHub, Apple didn't, Tim Cook, We've, Cook, would've Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Business, Apple, Google, Microsoft

☆ 1 in 3 Republicans believes baseless Taylor Swift election conspiracy theory, poll finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Liam Reilly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —About one-third of Republicans say they believe Taylor Swift is involved in a covert government effort to help Joe Biden win the 2024 presidential election, a poll published Wednesday from Monmouth University found. The goal of the purported plot is that the Chiefs’ victory on Sunday would present Swift with an even larger pulpit from which to endorse Biden, swinging the 2024 presidential election in his favor. “The supposed Taylor Swift PsyOp conspiracy has legs among a decent number of Trump supporters,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. While just under half (46%) of the 902 US adults surveyed for the poll reported they’d heard something about the conspiracy theory, one in five US adults (18%) said they believe the conspiracy, with 32% of Republicans — easily the largest of any political ideology — agreeing it is legitimate, the Monmouth poll found. Notably, however, 42% of those who said they believe the conspiracy theory to be true hadn’t heard about it before being contacted for the poll, showing either a bias against the president or a predilection for conspiracy theories.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Joe Biden, Travis Kelce, Biden, ” Patrick Murray, hadn’t, ” Murray, they’d, Republicans —, —, Swift, Vivek Ramaswamy, Jack Posobiec, Benny Johnson, Donald Trump, ”, “, Travis, ” Trump Organizations: CNN, Monmouth University, Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs, Trump, Monmouth University Polling Institute, Republicans, Biden, Liberal Locations: Monmouth

☆ Cast of ‘The New Look’ Reflects on Chanel and Dior’s War-Torn Past
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Alex Vadukul | Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Monday evening along Madison Avenue in Manhattan, while fashionistas on the Upper East Side finished their shopping rounds at Dior and Chanel, a crowd headed to the French Institute Alliance Française to attend the premiere of an Apple TV+ series that recounts the origin story of those two fashion houses through the tale of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior’s lives in war-torn Paris during the 1940s. “The New Look,” which starts streaming today, is a period drama that portrays the rivalry between Chanel, who is played by Juliette Binoche, and Dior, who is played by Ben Mendelsohn. The show chronicles how these two figures were shaped by the moral challenges of life in Nazi-occupied Paris and how they managed survival and self-preservation. The war’s effect on Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain and Pierre Cardin is also explored. Her younger and striving rival, Dior, resentfully makes evening gowns for the wives of Nazis, while his sister, Catherine, is sent to a concentration camp after her arrest as a resistance fighter.

Persons: Chanel, French Institute Alliance Française, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior’s, “, Juliette Binoche, Dior, Ben Mendelsohn, Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, Pierre Cardin, Chanel’s, Winston Churchill, resentfully, Catherine Organizations: Madison, East Side, Dior, French Institute Alliance, Apple, Nazi Locations: Manhattan, fashionistas, Paris, Nazi

☆ Rafah airstrikes: Israeli attacks kill more than 100 in Rafah as international alarm mounts over anticipated ground offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024. In a statement Monday, Hamas condemned what it said was a “horrific massacre” by Israel against civilians in Rafah. ‘The dead are better than us’For the more than one million Palestinians in the southern city, the expected push into Rafah is causing alarm and fear. Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the Israeli military. Olfat Hamdan said she had witnessed dead bodies on the streets of Gaza City, noting that “nobody was able to drag them or move them.”“What have I seen?

Persons: Abu Yousef Al, Rafah’s, Fernando Simon Marman, Louis Har, Nir Yitzhak, Smoke, Said Khatib, Danial Hagari, …, Jens Laerke, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Stéphane Dujarric, Israel’s, Netanyahu, Joe Biden “, Israel, ” Netanyahu, We’re, ”, ‘, ” Mohammad Jamal Abu, Khan Younis, El, ” Mahmoud Khalil Amer, Al, Tal, ” Abdul Kareem Al, Qaseer, Olfat Hamdan Organizations: CNN, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Najjar Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, Police, Getty, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Human Rights, United Nations, UN, United Kingdom, Sunday, UN’s Security, Maxar Technologies, ABC News, IDF, “, Hamas, of Health Locations: Palestine, Gazan, Rafah, Shaboura, Gaza, AFP, Sheba Tel Hashomer, Israel, Israeli, Hamas’s, ”, Aqsa, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United, Saudi, Gaza City, Al Shati, “, People, Tal El Hawa, Khan

“And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall." Conspiracy theories gain the widest attention when they target the most well-known figures and institutions. The latest right-wing conspiracy theories blend Swift with claims about the most watched sporting event in the U.S. and a pivotal presidential election, making any intersection of the events ripe for conspiracy theories. “The good news is people don’t believe in conspiracy theories more than they have in the past. I’ve taken my daughter to Taylor Swift concerts before.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, “, Vivek Ramaswamy, Travis Kelce, Ryan Allstun, Nikki Haley, Allstun, Donald Trump, Swift, ”, Joe Biden, Matt Gorman, ” Susan Cummins, Haley, Cummins, ” Cummins, Joseph Uscinski, Pied Piper, ” Uscinski, Mellissa, wouldn’t, Best, Uscinski, Biden, Phil Bredesen, Sen, Marsha Blackburn, it’s, credibly, David Jackson, Jackson, Trump, “ Taylor Swift, Karoline Leavitt, Sean Hannity, Leavitt, ” Haley, ” “ Taylor Swift, I’ve, ___ Pollard Organizations: WASHINGTON, Super, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, GOP, Democratic, Swift, Philadelphia Eagles, University of Miami, Trump, Republicans, Tennessee Gov, Democrat, Senate, Republican, Bowling Green State University, Fox News Locations: Lancaster , South Carolina, Charleston , South Carolina, New Jersey, U.S, Florence , South Carolina, Columbia , South Carolina

☆ Factbox-Who Are the Key Players in Pakistan's General Elections?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan holds its national elections on Thursday as the country grapples with an economic crisis and political uncertainty following the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022. Here are some facts about the main political figures trying to lead the nuclear-armed nation of 241 million people. NAWAZ SHARIFFormer prime minister Nawaz Sharif is considered a front-runner to lead the country, having buried a long-running feud with the country's powerful military, analysts say. Maryam, 50, was jailed along with her father shortly before the 2018 elections on corruption charges, which were later overturned. Nevertheless, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has tried to wage an unorthodox election campaign using social media and covert canvassing.

Persons: Imran Khan, NAWAZ SHARIF, Nawaz Sharif, MARYAM NAWAZ SHARIF, Nawaz, Maryam, SHEHBAZ SHARIF, Shehbaz Sharif, IMRAN KHAN, BILAWAL BHUTTO ZARDARI Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari, Charlotte Greenfield, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, International Monetary Fund, Khan's Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Punjab, Pakistan's, Khan's Pakistan, Sindh province

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