News
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Here’s what Jack Smith’s case against Donald Trump will hinge on
www.semafor.com Here’s what Jack Smith’s case against Donald Trump will hinge on | SemaforLegal experts say Trump’s defense will hinge on questions about his intent, his legal advice, and whether he was exercising free speech rights.
- www.reuters.com Fitch cuts US credit rating a notch from AAA to AA+
Ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday downgraded the U.S. government's top credit rating to AA+ from AAA, citing an expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years as well as a high and growing general government debt burden.
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Texas troopers told to push children into Rio Grande, deny water to migrants, records say
Also of note, Texas State authorities trespassing into the river (which is international territory) to sabotage lawful crossings
- www.theatlantic.com The Democrats Are Now America’s Conservative Party
Liberals find themselves in the strange position of having won most of their major battles of this century.
- www.wsj.com Russia Blocks U.N. Inspectors at Occupied Nuclear Plant
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency want to investigate Ukraine’s claims that Russia is planning to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
- www.theregister.com Samsung warns of imminent profit plunge
It looks like memory glut and consumer indifference to smartmobes are persisting
Tl/DR: The COVID-era semiconductor and RAM profits are over. Phone sales are lackluster.
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'Fairly big problem': Squatters invade homes and refuse to leave. How is this legal?
> There is little evidence of legislative action in many cities. However, Democrats in Congress have moved to pass a federal housing law − to bar landlords from learning whether potential tenants have criminal records, which would include past squatter offenses. > > The common nuisance of squatting reflects a breakdown in basic deterrence of our laws. Property offenses have been steadily downgraded as priorities in many cities, while prosecutions are viewed as politically risky for officials who do not want to be viewed as targeting people who are homeless.
- www.theverge.com The TSA will use facial recognition in over 400 airports
The agency claims 97% effectiveness in its 25-airport pilot.
- arstechnica.com Google tells Canada it won’t pay “link tax,” will pull news links from search
Canada requiring payments from tech to news orgs; similar bills pending in US.
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Biden’s Debt Forgiveness Plan
www.nytimes.com Student Loan Forgiveness: Supreme Court Strikes Down Biden’s Debt Forgiveness PlanIn a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority rejected President Biden’s plan to cancel more than $400 billion in student loan debt for millions of borrowers. It would have been one of the most expensive executive actions in U.S. history.
> The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority struck down President Biden’s proposal to cancel at least some student debt for tens of millions of borrowers, saying it overstepped the powers of the Education Department. > > In a 6-to-3 decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that a mass debt cancellation program of such significance required clear approval by Congress. > > Chief Justice Roberts declared that the administration’s logic — that the secretary of education’s power to “waive or modify” loan terms allowed for debt cancellation — was a vast overreach. “In the same sense that the French Revolution ‘modified’ the status of the French nobility,” he wrote, quoting a previous court decision.
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U.S. eavesdropped on U.N. secretary general, leaks reveal
I'm sure almost every other spy agency in the world is too, but it's still not a good look.
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- The Supreme Court ruled that the affirmative action admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, which gave weight to a would-be student’s race, are unconstitutional.
- The court’s majority opinion said that both Harvard’s and UNC’s affirmative action programs “unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points.”
- www.wsj.com Portland, Ore., Is Losing Residents Weary of Crime and High Housing Prices
The city’s population decline of about 17,400 people to 635,000 was the sixth largest decline among the 50 largest U.S. cities.
> Pacific Northwest city lost nearly 3% of its population between 2020 and 2022 > > Mark Rogers has made a list of things he misses about Portland—its vegan restaurants, Powell’s bookstore, public transit—and the things he doesn’t—having his things stolen, stepping in human excrement, extreme politics. > > The 44-year-old artist moved across the country to Fort Wayne, Ind., last year. > > “I don’t want to talk trash about my home city even though there’s trash everywhere,” Rogers said. “I still love Portland even though it’s got some problems, and I wouldn’t have left if the housing prices weren’t so high.”
Unfortunately for him, he probably moved from one political extreme to another. It's like there's no home for normies anymore.
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Zalando is the only European platform labelled a large online platform
www.reuters.com Zalando sues EU Commission over landmark online content rulesZalando , Europe's biggest online fashion retailer, on Tuesday sued the European Commission for putting it in the same category as Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms regarding new and tough EU online content rules.
Basically the EU's new "tech regulations" have managed to not affect a single European company except one, which isn't happy about it and wants to be exempted.
It does seem like Europe can't cultivate any meaningful innovation, but is perfectly happy to tell foreign companies how to operate worldwide.
- plus.thebulwark.com Trump’s Document Stash Put American Lives at Risk
The Mar-a-Lago documents included information on ‘Special Access Programs,’ the release of which could endanger American military and intelligence personnel.
- arstechnica.com After porn-y protest, Reddit ousted mods; replacing them isn’t simple
Replacement volunteers have big shoes to fill.
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Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty on three federal charges
www.reuters.com Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax crimes, reaches deal on gun chargeThe federal charges against Hunter Biden arose from an investigation by David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in the Democratic president's home state of Delaware who was appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump.
> U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes in a deal with the Justice Department, according to court documents on Tuesday. > > The federal charges against Hunter Biden arose from an investigation by David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in the Democratic president's home state of Delaware who was appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump. > > According to the deal, Biden also entered the pretrial diversion agreement on one firearm offense.
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> It is definitely down, written off by thousands of individual and institutional investors. The most obvious issue: scams. In the world of crypto, big firms are scams. Little firms are scams. Stable coins are scams; exchanges are scams; NFT schemes are scams; initial coin offerings are scams; tokens are scams. Firms run by self-proclaimed altruists are scams. Firms run by the shadiest dudes you can possibly imagine are scams.
- www.reuters.com Japan to open up Apple- and Google-dominated phone apps to competition
Japan plans to stoke competition in smartphone app payments, dominated by Apple and Google, by banning major app store operators from forcing software developers to use the operators' own payment systems, a government panel said.
- abcnews.go.com Mike Pence offers tougher stance after reading Trump indictment
After reading the indictment against Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence said he "cannot defend what is alleged" but promised to "clean house" at the DOJ.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday he "cannot defend what is alleged" in the most recent indictment against former President Donald Trump, a seemingly tougher stance than he had previously taken regarding the Justice Department's decision to charge his former running mate.
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Italy's Silvio Berlusconi dead
www.bbc.com Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86The four-time prime minister bounced back from sex scandals and corruption allegations.
- quillette.com The Real Cost of Cheap Labour
Michael Lind's 'Hell to Pay' presents a dire cautionary message to the political establishment.
- www.wsj.com Tech, an Early Booster of Remote Work, Wants People Back in the Office
The reversal is creating tension for workers who adjusted to the flexibility gained during the pandemic and arranged their lives accordingly.
- www.wired.com A Leaked Tesla Report Shows the Cybertruck Had Basic Design Flaws
The “alpha” version of the EV company’s first pickup had problems with braking, handling, noise, and leaks, according to an internal presentation.
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Trump faces federal charges in classified documents case, adding to legal woes
www.reuters.com Trump risked national secrets, prosecutors allege in indictmentU.S. prosecutors unsealed a 37-count indictment against Donald Trump on Friday, accusing the former president of risking some of the country's most sensitive security secrets after leaving the White House in 2021.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump faces a new legal challenge - this time from the government he used to lead - with charges for illegally retaining classified documents and other crimes expected to be filed next week in federal court in Miami.
- www.reuters.com Reddit to lay off about 5% of its workforce
Reddit said on Tuesday it is laying off about 5% of its workforce, or 90 employees, joining a list of technology companies that have been cutting jobs across corporate America.
I'll miss you, dear Reddit. 😢 Long live Lemmy?