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WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith stating that he is a target of a grand jury investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. Officials have testified that during his final months in office, Trump pressured them with unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation," Trump wrote on his Truth Social media site. In his Truth Social post, Trump said Smith's office has given him "a very short 4 days" to appear before the grand jury in the probe. But he said the cumulative impact of the cases against Trump could deter some moderate Republicans and hinder his chances in the general election.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith, Trump, Joe Biden, Smith, Peter Zeidenberg, Aileen Cannon, Biden, Pat Cipollone, Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, Stormy Daniels, Trump's, Steve Scalise, Matt Dole, Ron DeSantis, Dole, Sarah N, Lynch, Jacqueline Thomsen, Katharine Jackson, Moira Warburton, Rami Ayyub, Nathan Layne, Doina Chiacu, Howard Goller, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Former U.S, U.S, Capitol, Biden's, Social, Republican, Democrat, Washington , D.C, White, Georgia Supreme, Trump, Trump's Republican, Thomson Locations: Former, Florida, Washington ,, New York, Georgia

☆ How to save San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

But treating San Francisco as some sort of outlier, a sui generis example of urban decay, is wrong, too. After I washed out back there I washed up on the Embarcadero, a typical San Francisco story. Because here's my one crazy trick to fix San Francisco: homes. Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty ImagesThis is just a matter of good old-fashioned supply and demand. To revive the city, San Francisco needs to get back to its freak-flag-flying roots.

Persons: Nobody's, I've, It's, it's, who'd, Paul Chinn, nix, aren't, rafter, Tayfun, Francis Wood, fixable, Berkeley, Adam Rogers Organizations: Liberal, Homelessness, Bay Area, Pride, Black Panthers, Washington Monthly, San Francisco, Getty, SF, Supervisors, Crafts, Planners, Foods, Anadolu Agency, Walgreens, Nordstrom, Unit Locations: San Francisco, Bay, Francisco, California, Black, Los Angeles, Boston , New York, Washington, United States, Barcelona, Paris, St, Barbary, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Angeles, Houston, Helsinki, East, Treasure, Emeryville

☆ San Francisco’s ‘doom loop’ is a warning for every American city. Here’s how we can fix it — before it’s too late.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

If you want to rile up a San Francisco native, mention the doom loop. But treating San Francisco as some sort of outlier, a sui generis example of urban decay, is wrong, too. After I washed out back there I washed up on the Embarcadero, a typical San Francisco story. Because here's my one crazy trick to fix San Francisco: homes. To revive the city, San Francisco needs to get back to its freak-flag-flying roots.

☆ The Wizard Versus the Circus: A Dream Rumble for the Wimbledon Men’s Final
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Jason Gay | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones, novak, carlos, c110b6e Organizations: alcaraz

☆ Here's how one single father spent a decade planning for his dream family via surrogacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Atlanta single father Jon had his son Theo after a decade of saving and strategizing with employer benefits and advocacy group help. "I worked for a decade to make this family happen," the Atlanta-based single father said. His company didn't initially offer fertility benefits for men. "The tech sector and the financial services sector have been very proactive in offering fertility benefits," said Anthony Brown, an attorney and manager of client services at Circle Surrogacy. The tech sector and the financial services sector have been very proactive in offering fertility benefits.

Persons: Jon, Theo, Jon G, Rebecca Willman, didn't, Anthony Brown, Brown Organizations: International Foundation of Employee Locations: Atlanta, U.S

☆ Carry-On, Pack Light: How Airline Screw-Ups Became Our Problem - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( David Mack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I’m terrible at packing. His philosophy when it comes to luggage is progressive: Leave no shirts behind, lest they feel excluded from our vacation. With our traveling circus of luggage, we are hangers-on to an old way of life. Long gone are the days when you wouldn’t think twice about checking a bag and waltzing onto a plane empty-handed, knowing it was someone else’s problem. One 2013 survey found just 19 percent of passengers traveled exclusively carry-on; by last year, a separate survey had found that this carry-on-only group had climbed to 41 percent of travelers.

Persons: Adele, Long, ” We’ve Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Fact Check-Night video of Zebra and Lions on streets predates 2023 France riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video compilation claiming to show zoo animals roaming Paris streets is made up of clips that are not recent and is unrelated to the ongoing riots in France in June and July 2023. Social media users shared a compiled video of unrelated footage showing animals roaming city streets at night, with the caption: “It is being reported that in the French riots, numerous zoo animals have been released in France” on Facebook (here) and Twitter (here). However, the videos predate riots in France over the police shooting of a teenager of Algerian and Moroccan descent on June 27 (here). The clip of a sprinting zebra shot from the dashcam of a vehicle could be traced to a tweet published on April 11, 2020 (here). There is no evidence that animals have been released from Paris zoos amid riots in the city in 2023.

Persons: Le Parisien, Saint Denis, Mathieu Descombes, ”, Read Organizations: Paris Zoological, des, Social, Facebook, Twitter, Chennevières, Parc Zoologique de, ” Reuters, Reuters Locations: Paris, France, de, Algerian, Saint Denis, Parc Zoologique de Paris, Ile

☆ The circus around Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg's much-vaunted fight is getting even stranger, with suggestions the bout could happen in the Colosseum
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been gearing up for a potential fight. TMZ reported Friday that Italy's culture minister told Zuckerberg it could be hosted at the Colosseum. Musk tweeted there was "some chance" the bout could take place at the legendary Roman venue. The circus around the potential fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is getting even stranger — with claims it could take place in Rome's ancient Colosseum. Around the same time the report was published, Musk tweeted: "Some chance fight happens in Colosseum."

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Musk, Dana White, Python's, Brian, Augustus Caesar —, It's, Lex Fridman, White, Elton John's Organizations: TMZ, Morning, Italian, Elon, BBC, Meta, UFC

☆ H&M shares jump 11% as summer collection boosts profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sales from June 1-27 were up 10% from a year earlier, a good sign for the start of H&M's third quarter. The womenswear collection drove the boost in sales, Helmersson told a news conference. Shares in the world's second-biggest fashion retailer jumped 11% to hit their highest level since February 2022. The stronger-than-expected profit and inventory position helped investors digest a weaker margin of 8.2% for the second quarter, down from 9.2% a year earlier. H&M last year announced layoffs and other cost cuts that it said would help it reduce costs from the second half of 2023 onwards.

Persons: Helmersson, Helena Helmersson, Inditex, Cedric Rossi, Bryan Garnier, Rossi Organizations: Oxford Locations: London, Europe, Zara, Paris, Swedish

Opposition parties are clamouring for a vote in parliament, but Meloni said on Wednesday that was not about to happen and linked the debate to ongoing discussions on a broader reform of European budget rules. "Italy's interest is addressing negotiations on European governance, which covers the entirety of our national interests," she told parliament. "Meloni does not want to leave the anti-ESM front to Salvini and nobody wants to lose face," he told Reuters. Despite irritation in Brussels over the dithering in Rome, EU officials have told Reuters that any attempt by Meloni to link ESM approval to much more significant budget reform will not pay off. Italy, which has the second largest debt mountain in relation to its GDP in the euro zone after Greece, has criticised the suggestion.

Persons: Giorgia, Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Francesco Galietti, Paschal Donohoe, Francesco Saraceno, Crispian Balmer Organizations: ROME, European Union, Treasury, Reuters, European, Rome's Luiss University, Sciences Po, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Italy, Brussels, Rome, Sciences Po Paris, Greece, Rome's

☆ Why the 1932 Movie ‘Freaks’ Is a Touchstone for Disability Representation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Nicolas Rapold | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hollywood’s track record for portraying people with disabilities has been sketchy at best. There have been inspirational figures, noble martyrs and lovable oddballs — some of these performances garnering Academy Awards — but there aren’t a lot of people simply living their lives. The search for truly resonant disability representation in the history of cinema is continuing, but over the decades, many scholars keep returning to a perhaps surprising touchstone: a 91-year-old film set in a circus. Tod Browning’s most widely known work is “Dracula” (1931), starring Bela Lugosi, but the next year, he broke new ground with a movie featuring an extensive cast of actors with disabilities. Browning’s “Freaks” (available on most major platforms) centers on a close-knit group of circus sideshow performers who rally around a friend after he is betrayed by his lover, a trapeze artist.

Persons: Tod Browning’s, ”, Bela Lugosi, Harry Earles, Hans, Browning, “, Frances O’Connor Organizations: “ Spurs, Ringling Brothers

☆ Russia turmoil to fuel market volatility, flight to safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The question is how much and how lasting the reaction will be, much of which depends upon unknowable developments." It is reasonable to expect oil and other key commodity prices to rise. If oil prices rise sharply, that will indeed weigh upon equities and reignite stagflation fears. In theory it should benefit from a flight to safety, but in practice a strong dollar can impede it." “Probably bearish Indian stocks too as the dividend they’ve received from cheap Russian oil likely disappears.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer, STEVE SOSNICK, stagflation, MICHAEL PURVES, DAVID KOTOK, Putin, Orban, ’, GEORGE BOUBOURAS, JAMIE HALSE, “, Tom Westbrook, Megan Davies, Carolina Mandl, Ira Iosebashvili, Lananh Nguyen, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Moscow, Defense, CUMBERLAND, NATO, MELBOURNE, WHO, SYDNEY, Thomson, & & Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Russian, China, SARASOTA , FLORIDA, Belarus, Soviet, EU, Hungary, Turkey, JAPAN, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Singapore, New York

☆ Britain's Covid inquiry has become a political farce
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

London CNN —Britain’s Covid inquiry was supposed to give closure to people who lost loved ones in the pandemic. It’s instead become a political circus that could hurt both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. Johnson undercut Sunak by directly handing his own information to the inquiry. This is the committee’s investigation into the infamous Partygate scandal, which led to Johnson being fined by police for breaking Covid rules. Johnson had initially told parliament that all rules were followed at all times.

Persons: Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Johnson, Sunak, Deborah Doyle, ” Boris Johnson, Dan Kitwood, Sunak’s, ” Jack Rodgers, Christina Pagel, Pagel, “, Peter Summers, Lorelei King, ”, Baroness Hallett, ” King Organizations: London CNN, Justice, CNN, University College London’s, Research Unit, Conservative, “ Locations: Sunak, Britain, Covid

☆ Three Teams Drop Out of Tour de Suisse After Cyclist’s Death
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Andrew Das | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Organizers of the Tour de Suisse cycling race said they would resume the multistage competition on Saturday, one day after a rider died from the injuries that he sustained in a crash during a high-speed mountain descent. The rider, Gino Mäder, was a member of the Bahrain-Victorious team, which announced on Saturday morning that it was withdrawing from the race. Two other teams, Tudor Pro and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, also said they had decided to leave the race. The Bahrain-Victorious team’s riders, as well as the rest of the competitors, were informed of Mäder’s death on Friday morning — a day after he went off the course and tumbled down a steep ravine. The riders participated in a shortened memorial ride on Friday that replaced the day’s stage, which was called off.

Persons: Gino Mäder Organizations: Tour de Suisse, Tudor, Tour de France Locations: Bahrain

[1/3] People and members of the media gather outside The Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse, on the morning former U.S. President Trump is to appear there on classified document charges, in Miami, Florida, June 13, 2023. Several dozen protesters and journalists mingled outside the courthouse while helicopters hovered overhead. He called Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, a "Trump hater" on social media on Tuesday. Outside the courthouse, a woman carried a sign reading, "I Stand With Trump." Legal experts say the evidence amounts to a strong case, and Smith has said Trump will have a "speedy" trial.

Persons: Wilkie D, Ferguson Jr, Trump, Marco Bello MIAMI, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's, Jack Smith, Trump's, Biden, Vivek Ramaswamy, Smith, Aileen Cannon, Jonathan Goodman, Joe Biden, Rami Ayyub, Sarah N, Lynch, Susan Heavey, Luc Cohen, Andy Sullivan, Howard Goller, Nick Zieminski Organizations: United, REUTERS, Trump, Security, Democratic, Republican, Reuters, U.S . Capitol, White, Thomson Locations: Miami , Florida, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Esperanza, Lago Florida

It will be the second courtroom visit for Trump since April, when he pleaded not guilty to charges in New York stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star. Trump is the first current or former president to face criminal charges, but that has not dented his hopes of returning to the White House. Trump has maintained his innocence and portrayed the case as an effort to undermine his re-election effort. The indictment alleges Trump lied to officials who tried to get them back. Trump accuses Democratic President Joe Biden of orchestrating the federal case to undermine his campaign.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Trump's, John Wood, Jack Smith, Joe Biden, Biden, Andrew Goudsward, Andy Sullivan, Howard Goller Organizations: MIAMI, Former U.S, Trump, Reuters, Republican, U.S . Capitol, White, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Former, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Lago Florida

Former President Donald J. Trump and his advisers have been scrambling down to the wire to assemble a legal team for his first scheduled court appearance on Tuesday after being charged with mishandling classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. But even when Mr. Trump figures out who will represent him, the lawyers will face a more significant challenge: how to rebut the charges in a criminal case in which their options may be limited. While no one knows precisely how Mr. Trump will go about attacking the most serious charges he has faced, his options for using the legal system to delay the case, turn it into a political circus or paint himself as a victim of federal prosecutors are numerous and varied. Even before his indictment, Mr. Trump, his allies and his lawyers had hinted at some of the arguments they could raise.

Persons: Donald J, Trump

☆ Art Basel’s New Chief Is All About the Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Scott Reyburn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“People are ever more driven by experience, and people are ever more driven by brand,” said Horowitz. “They buy at a major auction house, but they also buy from Art Basel galleries because we’re a brand.”Horowitz’s appointment, announced in October, came as a surprise. He replaces the formidable Marc Spiegler, who oversaw the growth of the fair brand for 15 years and was widely regarded as one of the art world’s most influential figures. Horowitz returned to Art Basel from Sotheby’s, where he had a 13-month spell as the head of gallery and private dealer services; before that, he spent six years as Art Basel’s director of the Americas, in charge of the Miami Beach fair. “When I left Art Basel two years ago, one of the difficult things was not knowing what impact James and his partners would have as stakeholders,” said Horowitz.

Persons: ”, Horowitz, “, Marc Spiegler, James, Murdoch Organizations: Art, Art Basel, Miami Beach, Prix, Basel Locations: Art Basel, Sotheby’s, Americas

☆ Republican primary candidates tap-dance around second Trump indictment charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Gregory Krieg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

For his rivals, though, the campaign has been frozen in place, with Trump again seizing the spotlight and relegating them to supporting roles. So when word of the indictment broke, DeSantis sprinted to Trump’s corner – along with the loyalists he is ultimately hoping will break for him. Look, look at this.”Among the 2024 field, DeSantis and longshot primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy emerged overnight as Trump’s most ardent defenders. Ahead of a new ad launch, its first of the 2024 primary, a senior adviser to the group said the new indictment furthered Christie’s political case against Trump. “While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction,” Hutchinson said.

Persons: Donald Trump –, –, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Justice “ weaponized ”, Joe Biden, Donald, DeSantis, ” DeSantis, Clinton, Hunter, Biden, Trump’s, Attorney Alvin Bragg, ” Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, ”, Mike Pence, Hugh Hewitt, “ We’re, ” Pence, “, Pence, General Merrick Garland, Nikki Haley, ” Haley, Haley, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, demurred, ” Scott, Chris Christie, ” Christie, Colin Reed, Asa Hutchinson, Donald Trump, ” Hutchinson Organizations: CNN, Trump, Florida Gov, Department, Justice, Republican, Republican Party, Manhattan, Attorney, Justice Department, FBI, United Nations, South Carolina Gov, Fox, Department of Justice, Former New Jersey Gov, “, GOP, Arkansas Gov Locations: Florida, Iowa’s, New York City, “, South Florida, Iran, ”, South Carolina, Arkansas

☆ ‘Dalíland’ Review: Landscape With Vipers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

One of the best things about “Dalíland,” Mary Harron’s amused and amusing fictional look at the singular Salvador Dalí, is that it isn’t a cradle-to-grave exhumation. An anodyne pretty boy, James serves as a proxy for the viewer, a wide-eyed tourist in a seductively foreign land. James isn’t all that interesting, either, and there’s too much of him in the movie. This isn’t Briney’s fault; he’s pleasant to look at, and he manages his transition from tourist to accidental Dalí-wood guide well enough. The relationship provides tension and mystery that the well-matched Kingsley and Sukowa complicate with gargoyle masks and shocks of vulnerability.

Persons: “, Mary Harron’s, Salvador Dalí, Dalí’s, James, Christopher Briney, who’s, Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa, Dalí ’, Captain Moore, Rupert Graves, Alice Cooper, Mark McKenna, Amanda Lear, Suki Waterhouse, James isn’t, grubbing, Kingsley Locations: York, Regis, New York

☆ A woman claims James Brown was murdered and has given potential evidence to prosecutors. It’s since disappeared
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Thomas Lake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Somebody wanted him dead.”After Hollander visited the DA’s office in 2020, prosecutors agreed to check out her story. “Don’t employees from the DA’s office have to sign a log when they handle evidence?” a reporter wrote to Geary. This came about after the items were shipped to her.”Legal counsel Don Geary has since left the Fulton DA’s office. CNN emailed Deputy District Attorney Jeff DiSantis, the DA’s spokesman, to ask about Hollander’s lawsuit and the missing potential evidence. In a recent phone interview with CNN, Hollander called for Willis to account for the missing items from the evidence bags.

☆ The CEO of Priceline reveals why post-pandemic 'revenge travel' is here to stay
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Brett Keller joined Priceline in 1999 just as the dot-com boom was getting in gear. Brett Keller joined the company in 1999 and rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2016. Keller, 55, who grew up in small-town Idaho, didn't travel much as a kid. And yet, Keller didn't set out to forge a career in the travel industry. We have to keep pushing the travel world in the right direction while continuing to promote travel as much as we can.

So I quickly found a W-2 job and qualified, then quit the job months later and went back to freelancing. Why mortgage lenders get skittish around 1099 contractorsIf W-2 employees fit neatly inside the box occupied by typical, salaried employees, 1099 contractors present a bit like wild cards. While the former have signed a contract and work regular hours according to their employer's needs and schedule, the latter function as independent contractors (often called gig workers) who work job to job. The boxy conventions don't stop there: W-2 employees are paid via their employer's payroll, participate in employee benefit programs, and have payroll taxes withheld throughout the year. Rather than strike out, I balked and applied for and took a W-2 job just to qualify to buy my ex out of his half of equity in our family home.

☆ For King Charles, a Detente Emerges in Relationship With U.K. Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( David Luhnow | Alistair Macdonald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People in Piccadilly Circus during the coronation of King Charles III. Photo: Cover Images/Zuma PressLONDON—King Charles III’s coronation this weekend got rave reviews from the British press, part of what appears to be a fragile truce between the notoriously aggressive U.K. media and the new king, after a long and sometimes frosty relationship. The former Prince of Wales has had a famously fraught time with the British press, especially when he had an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, now his wife and queen, while married to Diana, princess of Wales. He was also mocked for years over everything from his ears to his penchant for talking to plants.

☆ When the Circus Came to a Ghost Town
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Debra Kamin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

No HurryGypsy Wood, an Australian burlesque dancer who performs in OPM, arrived at the February dinner party in her red convertible with her dog Marcello. Like many of Spiegelworld’s artists, circus life was handed down to her by her parents, who were traveling performers in her hometown Adelaide, Australia. Gypsy is her given name — “I wouldn’t have chosen this as my stage name. “Circus life is like being on a bus trip that you can’t get off. But you can’t leave, and there are like three coffee shops so you see everyone all the time.

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