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Even amid the uproar over President Donald J. Trump’s freewheeling use of his pardon powers at the end of his term, one commutation stood out. Jonathan Braun of New York had served just two and a half years of a decade-long sentence for running a massive marijuana ring, when Mr. Trump, at 12:51 a.m. on his last day in office, announced he would be freed. Mr. Braun was, to say the least, an unusual candidate for clemency. A Staten Islander with a history of violent threats, Mr. Braun had told a rabbi who owed him money: “I am going to make you bleed.” Mr. Braun’s family had told confidants they were willing to spend millions of dollars to get him out of prison. At the time, Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department and federal regulators, as well as New York state authorities, were still after him for his role in an entirely separate matter: his work as a predatory lender, making what judges later found were fraudulent and usurious loans to cash-strapped small businesses.

Persons: Donald J, Jonathan Braun, Trump, Braun, “, Mr, Braun’s, confidants, Trump’s Organizations: New, Justice Department Locations: New York, Staten

☆ Binance settlement 'somewhat of a win' for the crypto firm: Swan Bitcoin's head of private clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Talia Kaplan | Kaan Oguz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBinance settlement 'somewhat of a win' for the crypto firm: Swan Bitcoin's head of private clientsSteven Lubka, Swan Bitcoin's head of private clients & family offices, weighs in on the multi-billion dollar Binance settlement with U.S. government officials, the SEC's lawsuit against Kraken for allegedly operating an unregistered platform and Bittrex Global's announcement that it is shutting down.

Persons: Swan, Steven Lubka, Kraken

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhat's next for Binance after its CEO stepped down and pleaded guilty: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Steven Lubka, Swan Bitcoin's head of private clients & family offices, weighs in on the multi-billion dollar Binance settlement with U.S. government officials.

Persons: explainers, Steven Lubka, Swan Organizations: Binance, CNBC Crypto, CNBC

☆ What the Binance settlement means for crypto investors—and why it could clear the path for a bitcoin ETF
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Industry insiders are cheering the end of a "CZ"-led Binance as a necessary move for crypto going forward. Some say it was perhaps even critical for what could be the next big step for the industry: the approval of a bitcoin ETF. Having this settlement behind us could be the final big, big step needed for this ETF." The crypto industry has long sought the creation of a bitcoin ETF (efforts to launch one go back at least a decade). "Binance is globally the major liquidity pool for crypto trading despite losing market share this year," she said.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, –, Franklin Templeton, Michael Rinko, Sam Bankman, Fried, Rinko, Sam Callahan, Callahan, Yesha Yadav Organizations: Industry, Department of Justice, –, Fidelity, Delphi, Securities, Exchange Commission, Binance, CZ, DOJ, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, BlackRock, Invesco, Ark, Vanderbilt University Law School Locations: BlackRock

☆ Heart-shaped beds and champagne hot tubs: Inside America’s adults-only hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Heart-shaped hot tubs surrounded by rose petals, circular beds with ceilings that replicate a starry night sky and jaw-dropping, seven-foot-tall champagne-glass whirlpools for two. Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan BooksThe Cove Pocono Resorts premiered its heart-shaped hot tub in 1963. For Margaret and Corey, these images of the champagne tub became the thesis statement of their hotel project. Not all the hotels Margaret and Corey frequent are 20th century relics. Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan BooksWhile most of the hotels Margaret and Corey highlight are in the US, the book also spotlights a few elsewhere in the world.

Persons: Margaret, Corey Bienert, –, ” Margaret, Corey, Morris Wilkins, Wilkins, upping, they’re, Don, aren’t, Toledo , Iowa –, Trixie Mattel, ”, “, Don Q, Margaret Bienert, they’ve, honeymooned, we’ve, “ It’s, it’s, “ There’s, there’s, hadn’t, “ I’ve, Diego Calvo Organizations: CNN, Resorts, CNN Travel, Artisan Books, Miami Princess Hotel, Pocono Resorts, “ Owners, Mon Chalet Locations: Pennsylvania, Pocono, Miami , Florida, Wisconsin, South Amboy New Jersey, Idaho and Utah, Toledo , Iowa, Galena , Illinois, Wildwood, Florence , Kentucky, swingers, Colorado, Idaho, Ibiza, Spain, Spanish

☆ Maria Tallchief, America’s first prima ballerina, continues to inspire new generations of Native American dancers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Kaitlyn Schwanemann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Osage Ballet overlooks a creek in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on the Osage Indian reservation. The Osage Ballet hopes to continue to inspire a new generations of dancers in her honor. But Tallchief refused and insisted on dancing as Maria Tallchief, keeping her Osage name, according to a biography of the ballerina by the School of American Ballet. Ballerina Maria Tallchief WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesElise Paschen, Tallchief’s daughter and a poet, told CNN her mother took great pride in her heritage. Smith said she hopes the Osage Ballet will continue Tallchief’s pioneering legacy of dance and Native American representation in ballet.

Persons: Elizabeth Marie Tallchief, Randy Tinker Smith, she’s, “ I’ve, ” Smith, America’s, Tallchief, Maria Tallchief, Ballerina Maria Tallchief, Elise Paschen, ” Paschen, ” Kate Mattingly, ” Mattingly, Mattingly, Tallcheif, George Balanchine, Balanchine, John Martin, “, “ Balanchine, Paschen, ”, ” Tallchief, Princess Wa, Smith, ballerinas, Maria Organizations: CNN, Osage Ballet, Osage, New, School of American Ballet, Ballerina Maria Tallchief WATFORD, Old Dominion University, New York City Ballet, Firebird, The New York Times, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ballet Locations: Pawhuska , Oklahoma, Fairfax , Oklahoma, Osage, Beverly Hills, Carlo, Oklahoma, United States, Europe, Swan Lake, An

☆ Brawn relives highs and lows of his team's 2009 fairytale
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Formula One - F1 - Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai, China - 6/4/17 - Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn walks at the Shanghai International Circuit ahead of the Chinese F1 Grand Prix. The story has now been re-told in a four-part series 'Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story' on Disney+, with Hollywood A-lister Keanu Reeves the host and narrator. They had no engine to power the car until Mercedes, with the help of then-McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh, came to the rescue. "We had that wonderful period at the beginning (of 2009) when everyone assumed it was a slam dunk, you know? Brawn, a Formula One employee, avoided comment on that situation with the steady hand of a man who has steered his own ship through far choppier waters.

Persons: Motorsports Ross Brawn, Aly, Ross Brawn, Jenson Button, lister Keanu Reeves, Brawn, Mercedes, Martin Whitmarsh, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Andretti, Alan Baldwin, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Prix, Motorsports, Shanghai, Circuit, Brawn, Disney, Hollywood, Ferrari, Honda, Reuters, Mercedes, McLaren, General Motors, FIA, Formula, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Britain, Paris

☆ Palantir’s mythology is far too precious
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yet Palantir’s top line is only expected to grow 16% this year, according to forecasts gathered by LSEG. There’s also a risk that Palantir’s ability to secure government contracts, which account for more than half its top line, will be restrained by its politics. For example, Palantir bought about $50 million of gold bars in 2021 to prepare for unpredictable “black swan” events. Also sitting on Palantir’s balance sheet are stakes in targets of special purpose acquisition companies, which it bought in exchange for purchase orders. It doesn’t take a wizard to see that in the eyes of investors Palantir is far too precious.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, “ Palantir, Palantir, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, Palantir Technologies, LSEG, Microsoft, Rubicon Technologies, Technologies, Thomson Locations: Snowflake, Israel, Health

Two top officials on former President Donald J. Trump’s 2024 campaign on Monday sought to distance his campaign team from news reports about plans for what he would do if voters return him to the White House. Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, who are effectively Mr. Trump’s campaign managers, issued a joint statement after a spate of articles, many in The New York Times, about plans for 2025 developed by the campaign itself, and trumpeted on the trail by Mr. Trump, as well as efforts by outside groups led by former senior Trump administration officials who remain in direct contact with him. Ms. Wiles and Mr. LaCivita focused their frustration on outside groups, which they did not name, that have devoted considerable resources to preparing lists of personnel and developing policies to serve the next right-wing administration. “The efforts by various nonprofit groups are certainly appreciated and can be enormously helpful. However, none of these groups or individuals speak for President Trump or his campaign,” they wrote, calling reports about their personnel and policy intentions “purely speculative and theoretical” and “merely suggestions.”

Persons: Donald J, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, Trump, Wiles, LaCivita, ” Organizations: The New York Times, Trump Locations: The

☆ Elon Musk is getting his own movie. Here's who could play him.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk – the world's richest person – is getting his very own biopic. Movie buffs are already speculating about who could play the controversial billionaire. AdvertisementAdvertisementElon Musk, the world's richest person, is finally getting his own movie. The film will apparently be based on Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk published earlier this year. AdvertisementAdvertisementPeople are already speculating about who could play the controversial billionaire, with Reddit threads and social media buzzing with suggestions.

Persons: Elon, Walter Isaacson's, Darren Aronofsky, —, Elon Musk, Aronofsky, Oscar, Musk, Isaacson Organizations: Service, Variety, SpaceX, Twitter

☆ Whoever ends up playing Elon Musk could be bound for Oscar glory
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Mike Calia | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk, attends a US Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 13, 2023. Maybe the hottest question in Hollywood right now is: Who will play Elon Musk? Earlier this year, Brendan Fraser won best actor for his role as a reclusive and depressed professor in Aronofsky's "The Whale," while Hong Chau received a best supporting actress nomination. In 2011, Natalie Portman won best actress for the director's psychological ballet drama "Black Swan." Before that, Ellen Burstyn was nominated for best actress in 2001 for Aronofsky's disturbing drug-addiction drama "Requiem for a Dream."

Persons: Elon Musk, Elon, Walter Isaacson's, Tesla, Darren Aronofsky, Aronofsky, Oscar, Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, Natalie Portman, Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Ellen Burstyn Organizations: SpaceX, Twitter, Artificial Intelligence, ?, NBC News Locations: Washington ,, Hollywood, Hong

In a second Trump presidency, the visas of foreign students who participated in anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian protests would be canceled. People who were granted temporary protected status because they are from certain countries deemed unsafe, allowing them to lawfully live and work in the United States, would have that status revoked. That policy’s legal legitimacy, like nearly all of Mr. Trump’s plans, would be virtually certain to end up before the Supreme Court. In interviews with The New York Times, several Trump advisers gave the most expansive and detailed description yet of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda in a potential second term. In particular, Mr. Trump’s campaign referred questions for this article to Stephen Miller, an architect of Mr. Trump’s first-term immigration policies who remains close to him and is expected to serve in a senior role in a second administration.

Persons: Trump, Trump’s, Stephen Miller, Miller Organizations: Trump, Social, New York Times Locations: Israel, United States, U.S

☆ Elon Musk biopic rights clinched by A24, Darren Aronofsky to direct - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 10 (Reuters) - A biopic on Elon Musk is in the works at New York-based studio A24 with "Black Swan"-filmmaker Darren Aronofsky as the director, according to a source familiar with the matter. A24 secured the rights to Walter Isaacson's biography on the world's richest person, according to the source, who added the Musk biopic will be produced by Aronofsky's production company, Protozoa Pictures. He is one of the best," Musk said in an X post on Friday. The book on Musk was released by private equity firm KKR-owned book publishing powerhouse Simon & Schuster in September. The billionaire bought social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, last year for $44 billion after a six-month saga.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, Darren Aronofsky, Walter Isaacson's, Darren, Musk, Brendan Fraser, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Michael Fassbender, Simon, Simon & Schuster, Dawn Chmielewski, Harshita Mary Varghese, Akash Sriram, Shinjini Organizations: Elon, SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Walt, Apple, Universal, KKR, Simon &, Reuters, Boring Company, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, New York, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Elon Musk biopic rights clinched by A24, Darren Aronofsky to direct: Reuters source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, at the Viva Tech fair in Paris, France, on Friday, June 16, 2023. A biopic on Elon Musk is in the works at New York-based studio A24 with "Black Swan"-filmmaker Darren Aronofsky as the director, according to a source familiar with the matter. A24 secured the rights to Walter Isaacson's biography on the world's richest person, according to the source, who added the Musk biopic will be produced by Aronofsky's production company, Protozoa Pictures. He is one of the best," Musk said in an X post on Friday. The studio has previously worked with the director to produce his film "The Whale" starring Brendan Fraser that won Academy Awards for best actor, and best makeup and hair styling.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Darren Aronofsky, Walter Isaacson's, Darren, Musk, Brendan Fraser Organizations: Viva Tech Locations: Paris, France, New York

☆ A 'Black Swan' investor warns of the biggest debt bubble in history - and predicts the Fed's efforts will end in disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A "Black Swan" investor says there's a huge debt bubble and the Fed's policies will end in disaster. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. I don't think that should be a controversial statement." "Treasuries are not a safe haven, they're very much a hopeful haven. I think that they're pretty cheap right now, frankly, so I don't want to trash them too much.

Persons: there's, Mark, Treasuries, Spitznagel, —, Mark Spitznagel, it's, They've, It's, Peter Lynch, I'm Organizations: Service, Universa Investments, Yahoo Finance

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

It was the undercard that underwhelmed. The third straight Republican presidential debate that former President Donald J. Trump has skipped — choosing instead to rally with supporters a few miles away — represented a critical and shrinking chance for his rivals to close his chasm of a polling advantage. And with only five candidates on the stage for the first time — Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott — they all had far more time to speak. Yet they had precious little to say about Mr. Trump, even when given the chance just over two months before the Iowa caucuses. They sparred in a substantive debate that dissected disagreements over aid to Ukraine, Social Security, confronting China, banning TikTok and how to approach abortion less than 24 hours after Republicans suffered their latest electoral setbacks driven by the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott —, Roe, Wade Organizations: Social Security, Republicans Locations: Iowa, Ukraine, China

☆ Gazing Into the Past and Future at Historic Observatories
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Kim Beil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lick Observatory and Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., which opened in 1894, both remain active in astronomical research. Other historic observatories now focus primarily on public outreach and education, including Yerkes Observatory (1897) in Williams Bay, Wis., and Mount Wilson Observatory (1904), outside Pasadena, Calif. At each of these sites, you can step into the history of the cosmos — experiencing the deep time of the stars, as well as more recent histories of discovery. Looking through 19th-century glass at the Lick, you can see where E. E. Barnard spotted a new moon of Jupiter and James Keeler found a gap in Saturn’s rings. At Mount Wilson, Edwin Hubble, building on work done by Henrietta Swan Leavitt at Harvard, made an observation that proved there were other galaxies in the universe beyond the Milky Way. At Yerkes, you can peer through the 40-inch refracting telescope that surpassed Lick’s in size in 1897 and was used by a cadre of path-breaking women working in astronomy.

Persons: Barnard, James Keeler, Mount Wilson, Edwin Hubble, Henrietta Swan Leavitt Organizations: Lowell, Yerkes Observatory, Mount Wilson Observatory, Harvard, Yerkes Locations: Lick, Flagstaff, Ariz, Williams Bay, Wis, Pasadena, Calif, Mount

The Times/Siena College battleground polls released on Sunday and Monday were conducted over the past week in six swing states that are likely to decide the election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Five of the states were won by Donald J. Trump in 2016 and then flipped by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020. Nevada, which has always been a close state, came down to less than one percentage point in the 2022 U.S. Senate election. These states also contain some of the coalitions that will be crucial next fall: younger, more diverse voters in states like Arizona, Georgia and Nevada; and white working-class voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who helped swing the election to Trump in 2016, and were central to Mr. Biden’s 2020 victory. They also provide some geographic diversity.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Joseph R, Biden, Biden’s Organizations: Trump Locations: Siena, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, . Nevada, Nevada, Michigan , Pennsylvania

The polls found that, for the most part, Mr. Trump is politically surviving the criminal charges against him before voting in the G.O.P. He leads Mr. Biden by between 4 and 10 percentage points in five of the six battleground states surveyed. A majority of voters say Mr. Trump’s policies helped them personally. Voters trust Mr. Trump more than Mr. Biden to manage the economy by a margin of 22 percentage points. On the economy, Mr. Trump is more trusted across every age group, among white and Hispanic voters and across the educational spectrum.

Persons: Trump, Mr, Biden, they’ve, — Organizations: White Locations: Wisconsin

Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term. The allies have been drawing up lists of lawyers they view as ideologically and temperamentally suited to serve in a second Trump administration. Now, as Trump allies grow more confident in an election victory next fall, several outside groups, staffed by former Trump officials who are expected to serve in senior roles if he wins, have begun parallel personnel efforts. But in a striking shift, Trump allies are building new recruiting pipelines separate from the Federalist Society. In addition, The New York Times interviewed former senior lawyers in the Trump administration and other allies who have remained close to the president and are likely to serve in a second term.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: Justice Department, Trump, Federalist Society, The New York Times

Election Day is a year away, but key allies of former President Donald J. Trump are already thinking about staffing a potential administration, including by filling White House and agency legal positions with aggressive and ideologically like-minded lawyers. Trump allies are preparing to populate a new administration with a different breed of lawyer — a departure from the type that stymied part of his first-term agenda and that despite their mainstream conservative credentials are seen as too cautious by people close to the former president. They are seeking lawyers in federal agencies and in the White House committed to his “America First” ideology and willing to use edgy theories to advance his cause. It is too early to say with any certainty whom Mr. Trump would select were he to win a second term starting in 2025. But several conservative nonprofits, staffed by people who are likely to take on senior White House positions if there is a second Trump administration, have been putting together lists of prospects.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, — Organizations: White

Only after he was awkwardly pulled aside on stage and informed that he was in Sioux City did he make a correction. Trump's Sioux flub caught the attention of Florida Gov. “I don’t think he’s senile. A Trump spokesperson noted that Trump hasn’t criticized Biden directly on age, and Trump has long argued that Biden's problem isn't actually his age but his mental state. But when a reporter noted Trump’s actual age, neither woman saw it as problem.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Viktor Orbán, “, ” Biden, Biden, ”, Skylar Swan, it’s, Melody Crowder, Meyer, they’ve, they’re, ” Crowder, Cecelia S, Curtis, ” Curtis, Sioux flub, Ron DeSantis ’, Chris Christie, ” Christie, flubs haven't, Trump hasn’t, isn't, Harris, Josh Schwerin, Trump’s, ” Schwerin, Nikki Haley, Haley, Heidi Morin, ” interjected Kristin Brand, ” Brand, Janine Whitcomb, ” ___ Colvin Organizations: WASHINGTON, Hamas, Trump, Democratic, Republican, Associated Press, NORC, for Public Affairs Research, Davidson College, United State, Democrat, Biden, Florida Gov, Former New Jersey Gov, National, Fox News, Former South Carolina Gov, United Nations Locations: Hungarian, Turkey, U.S, Summerville , South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, United, Summerville, Sioux City , Iowa, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sioux City, Israel, Gaza, Derry , New Hampshire, Bourne , Massachusetts, Morin, Epping

☆ At Ballet Theater, a Thrilling Puck and a Moment to Take Stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Brian Seibert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Where “The Dream,” a Ballet Theater staple in recent decades, is a reliable showcase for the company’s theatricality, George Balanchine’s “Ballet Imperial,” on the same program, is good for displaying the troupe’s classical chops across its ranks. Unlike New York City Ballet, which has called the work “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2” since the 1970s, Ballet Theater doesn’t downplay the imperial Russian associations, using a backdrop of St. Petersburg. That’s a choice that might disturb some viewers, but Ballet Theater’s rendition also had aesthetic problems. De la Nuez goes for it, too.

Persons: George Balanchine’s, ”, That’s, Skylar Brandt, Isabella Boylston, James Whiteside, Alonzo King’s, Alexei Ratmansky’s “, Jason Moran, Robert Rosenwasser, Jim French, Brandt, Calvin Royal III, King, Michael de la, De la Nuez Organizations: Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dnipro ” Locations: St . Petersburg

☆ The stock market is riskier and more volatile than it was in past decades. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Aruni Soni | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The S&P 500 has become more volatile in recent years, according to research firm DataTrek. The bigger factor is the massive growth of big tech stocks that make up more and more of the S&P 500. "The S&P 500 has become noticeably more volatile over the last +60 years, but returns have not increased commensurately," DataTrek said in a note published Thursday. AdvertisementAdvertisementHere's why the research firm sees higher risk in the stock market today than in past eras. Unexpected developments hit harderAnother explanation is that the market in recent years has had an outsized reaction to unanticipated developments relative to past eras.

Persons: —, DataTrek, Apollo, Torsten Sløk Organizations: Service, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Big Tech, Data, GameStop

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