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Senate Republicans reject border bill they asked for (yes, again) 2024-05-23 19:29:03+00:00 - Last fall, congressional Republicans said they were so desperate to deal with U.S./Mexico border policies that they took a radical step: GOP officials said that unless Democrats agreed to a series of conservative reforms, Republicans were prepared to let Russia take part of eastern Europe by force. Democrats, left with little choice, agreed to pay the GOP’s ransom and endorsed a conservative, bipartisan compromise. As regular readers know, it was at that point when Republicans, acting at Donald Trump’s behest, killed the compromise plan they’d demanded. Today, Democratic leaders gave senators a second opportunity. As NBC News reported, it did not go well for the bill’s proponents. Senate Democrats failed to advance a bipartisan border security bill Thursday, with nearly every Republican voting to filibuster it as Donald Trump wields border chaos as a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign against President Joe Biden. The vote was 43-50, falling short of the 60 needed to proceed. Headed into this week, one of the lingering questions was how many votes the bipartisan package would gain since the initial vote in early February. That question now has an answer: The legislation actually managed to lose support. In February, the final tally was 49 to 50. This afternoon, with several members missing the vote, it was 43 to 50. In fact, a tripartisan trio co-authored the bill months ago — Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — and two of three, Lankford and Sinema, ended up voting against advancing their own legislation today. It’s not that they’ve lost confidence in their own bill, but rather, Lankford and Sinema said they saw this second effort as election-year symbolism, rather than a serious attempt at policymaking. That’s not an entirely unreasonable point. Everyone involved in the process, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, knew with certainty that the bill wouldn’t come close to receiving support from 60 members in this procedural vote. But the Democratic leadership wanted to get senators on the record — again — showing the public that Republicans claim to want a conservative border bill, right up until they’re offered one. “For years, we have heard that if you want to fix the border, then Congress needs to act. Today, we have a chance to act on the strongest border bill Congress has seen in generations,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “To those who’ve said for years Congress needs to act on the border: This bipartisan bill is the answer, and it’s time show we’re serious about fixing the problem.” If one were inclined to criticize the New York Democrat for engaging in some legislative theatrics, the point would be well taken, but let’s not lose sight of a highly relevant detail: What Schumer said was true. The latest survey from Public Policy Polling, meanwhile, found strong support for the compromise bill in several battleground states, suggesting voters will be hearing quite a bit more about this in the months to come. Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Man behind Biden robocall hoax indicted on voter suppression charges 2024-05-23 19:27:24+00:00 - Steven Kramer, a political consultant who commissioned a deepfake of President Joe Biden's voice that encouraged New Hampshire voters to stay home during the Democratic primary, was indicted on Thursday. NBC News reports: In separate announcements Thursday, New Hampshire’s attorney general charged Kramer with 26 counts, while the FCC fined him $6 million for “scam calls he set up to defraud voters” in violation of a federal Caller ID law. “New Hampshire remains committed to ensuring that our elections remain free from unlawful interference and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing,” New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement. “I hope that our respective enforcement actions send a strong deterrent signal to anyone who might consider interfering with elections, whether through the use of artificial intelligence or otherwise.” Kramer, who was employed by long-shot Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips’ campaign at the time, was charged with 13 felony counts of voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonation of a candidate. Kramer himself and Phillips’ now-defunct campaign have both said the campaign was unaware of the robocall. Kramer has also been fined $6 million by the Federal Communications Commission. Steve Kramer during an interview in Miami in February. AP file In public comments, Kramer has gone with a whistleblower-adjacent defense, claiming he commissioned the deepfake as a way to prompt regulation of artificial intelligence tools. He told NBC, “This is a way for me to make a difference, and I have.” That is arguably one way to do that, but people have managed to draw attention to the dangers of deepfakes in creative ways that — unlike Kramer’s approach — haven’t ended in criminal charges. Which isn't to say that it wasn't effective: In response to the scandal, the FCC swiftly moved to declare robocalls made using A.I. to be illegal. One thing is clear: This technology is in need of stricter rules to protect against A.I.-powered voter suppression and manipulation. Deepfake audio and video tools are widely accessible, and they’re only going to become more capable. Studies in recent years have shown most people already have trouble identifying deepfake audio and video, meaning the potential for nefarious, A.I.-powered political activity is a clear and present danger.
Southwest Airlines flights will appear in Google Flights results 2024-05-23 19:13:00+00:00 - Southwest Airlines fares are now appearing on Google after long being excluded from the search engine's search results. The Dallas-based carrier had previously omitted its fares from searches on Google Flights and from online flight aggregators like Expedia.com, preferring for customers to find tickets mostly through its own website. As of Wednesday, Southwest's fares were for the first time shown on Google Flights alongside those from other airlines on Google Flights. Southwest's move to partner with Google makes it easier for travelers to compare their options on a single dashboard. Displaying its airfares to consumers who didn't in the past visit Southwest's website could also bring in new customers for the airline. Customers must still book flights directly through Southwest. A Southwest spokesperson said the move, which the carrier said it's testing, broadens its reach with consumers while allowing the company to retain control of the booking process. "We're extending the reach of Southwest.com by giving users of Google Flights enhanced visibility into our available flights, fares and the benefits of our products and services," the spokesperson said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "In our initial piloting of this partnership, we've made it possible for Google Flights users to compare our different fare options and click directly into Southwest.com to book their selected itinerary." The change is one of several the airline has said it's exploring to improve the customer experience. On a call with Wall Street analytst last month, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the airline is also considering overhauling its signature open seating policy and assigning customer seats as most other airlines do. In the coming years, it also plans to start scheduling red-eye flights for the first time. Travel site "The Points Guy" expects Southwest's initiative with Google to benefit travelers, noting that consumers can also use Google Flights' fare-tracking tools to monitor the airline's prices and book flights when prices are lowest. Southwest's strategic initiatives comes as the airline looks to boost its results and temper the impact of problems with Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. The airline said in April it was suspending service at four U.S. airports, in part because of delivery delays of new Max 8 aircraft. The delays mean slower growth for the airline, which is looking for ways to cut costs after it reported a first-quarter loss of $231 million.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory 2024-05-23 19:09:26+00:00 - FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a 9-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory. A former flight attendant is accused of luring girls to use the lavatory after taping his iPhone to the toilet seat. The 9-year-old’s family flew from Texas to California on American last year and sued the airline after the FBI told them that videos of the girl were found on the flight attendant’s phone. In response to the lawsuit, American said in a court document that it would dispute the family’s claim by showing that any injuries the 9-year-old girl suffered were caused by the girl’s “own fault and negligence, were proximately caused by (her) use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.” An American spokesperson said Thursday that outside lawyers working for the company “made an error in this filing.” “We do not believe this child is at fault, and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously,” the spokesperson said. Lawyers for the airline amended the filing Wednesday in a state district court in Austin, Texas. The new filing is shorter and deletes the accusation that the girl caused her own injuries. Estes Carter Thompson III, a flight attendant who was later fired by American, pleaded not guilty this week to attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse. Authorities say Thompson, 37, tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using the bathroom on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston, and had recordings of four girls including the 9-year-old using lavatories on earlier flights. He was arrested in January and has been in federal custody ever since. Thompson is next due in federal court in Boston on July 1. The charges he faces carry maximum sentences of up to 30 and 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. The 14-year-old’s family is also suing American, which is based in Fort Worth. ___ This story has been corrected to note that Thompson is 37, not 36.
Home prices reach record high of $387,600, putting damper on spring season 2024-05-23 19:07:00+00:00 - The cost of buying a house hit new record highs this month, making homeownership an even more daunting task for the typical American. The median U.S. home sale price — what buyers actually paid for a property — reached $387,600 during the four weeks ending May 19, a 4% increase from a year ago, according to a new report from online real estate brokerage Redfin. The monthly mortgage payment at that price — factoring in the 7.02% U.S. median interest rate for a 30-year mortgage — is now $2,854, Redfin said. Mortgage rates are up slightly from 6.99% last week. The nation's median asking price — what sellers hope their property goes for — reached a record $420,250, a 6.6% rise from a year ago. Redfin drew its data from tracking home sales activity from more than 400 metro areas between April 21 and May 18. As a result of high prices, pending home sales are down 4.2% from the year before the report states. The drop comes amid the spring homebuying season, a period when real estate activity tends to pick up. But as prices climb, the prospect of owning a home becomes a greater challenge for Americans, particularly first-time buyers, some of whom are opting to sit things out. "[E]levated mortgage rates and high home prices have been keeping some buyers on the sidelines this spring," Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant told Redfin. "First-time homebuyers are having the hardest time." Homebuying has become such an obstacle for Americans that the Biden administration has proposed giving a separate $10,000 tax credit for current homeowners who sell their "starter home" in order to jump into a bigger house. Economists point to two main reasons for the relentless rise in home prices: continuously strong demand and a longstanding shortage of inventory. "More new listings have been coming onto the market, and that increased supply was expected to spur more homebuying activity," Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said in a statement earlier this week. "However, the long-awaited inventory gains are coming at the same time that mortgage rates at 7% and record-high home prices are sidelining more and more buyers." Mortgages rates still too high Higher mortgage rates have also had an impact on some current homeowners. Because many bought or refinanced their properties in the first years of the pandemic — when rates dropped below 3% — some are now wary of selling their homes because it likely means taking on a new mortgage at today's elevated rates. "Move-up buyers feel stuck because they're ready for their next house, but it just doesn't make financial sense to sell with current interest rates so high," Sam Brinton, a Redfin real estate agent in Utah, said in a statement Thursday. To be sure, not all homeowners are staying put, Brinton said. Despite the high mortgage rates, some sellers are forging ahead because they have no choice, he said. "One of my clients is selling because of a family emergency, and another couple is selling because they had a baby and simply don't have enough room," Brinton said in his statement. "Buyers should take note that many of today's sellers are motivated. If a home doesn't have other offers on the table, offer under asking price and/or ask for concessions because many sellers are willing to negotiate."
Biden may have to sue to get on the Ohio ballot this November 2024-05-23 19:02:33+00:00 - President Joe Biden's campaign may have to take legal action to ensure his name appears on Ohio's ballot this November after the state Legislature adjourned this week without passing what is typically an easy fix to a scheduling issue. Ohio state law stipulates that presidential candidates must be certified 90 days before the general election to secure a spot on the ballot. This year, the deadline falls on Aug. 7. However, the Democratic National Convention, where the presidential ticket is officially nominated, is scheduled to begin two weeks after Ohio's certification deadline, on Aug. 19. It's worth noting that state lawmakers have the power to pass legislation to accommodate major party presidential nominations, as they have done in the past. Earlier this year, Biden's campaign faced a similar scheduling conflict in Alabama. However, the state's Republican-controlled Legislature unanimously passed a bill to make an exception for him, demonstrating the typically nonpartisan nature of the issue. But the Ohio General Assembly adjourned on Wednesday after failing to find a legislative solution for the deadline conflict. Earlier this month, a bill to accommodate the Democrats' certification timeline stalled in the Legislature; state Senate Republicans attached a rider to ban foreign money in state ballot campaigns to the opposition of Democrats after the bill had passed, and the Republican state House speaker, Rep. Jason Stephens, declined to take up the measure. "The Biden issue is — it’s a hyper-political environment at this time of year," Stephens said on Tuesday. “I think there are other alternatives to do it, so why create a stir unnecessarily?” Ohio is an increasingly red state, and it is not likely to be competitive this year; in 2020, Donald Trump won 53% of the vote in the state. As it stands, the Biden campaign is considering suing to get his name on the ballot — a process that could cost more money and effort he'd rather spend elsewhere — as well as other potential solutions that don't involve moving the date of the DNC, The New York Times reported. Charles Lutvak, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said, “Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states.”
Explosion at a sugar factory in eastern Tanzania kills 11 workers, including 3 foreigners 2024-05-23 19:00:22+00:00 - ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) — An electric short at a sugar factory in Tanzania on Thursday morning set off an explosion that killed 11 workers, including three foreign nationals, police said. The electrical fault caused a steam pipe to burst as a technical team was readying machines to start production for the day at the privately owned Mtibwa Sugar Factory in the Morogoro region in eastern Tanzania, regional police chief Alex Mkama told the media. The three foreigners were from neighboring Kenya, Brazil and India. Two other workers were injured in the blast and were treated at the Morogoro hospital. The doctor in charge there, David Ruchamisa, said they were later rushed to the capital, Dodoma, for further treatment. Mtibwa is one of the country’s major sugar producing factories, producing at least 70,000 metric tons of sugar annually, according to government data.
Judge to weigh proposed changes to Google’s Android app store to prevent anticompetitive tactics 2024-05-23 18:45:48+00:00 - SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is confronting the latest in a succession of legal attacks on its digital empire on Thursday as federal judge begins to address anticompetitive practices in the app market for smartphones powered by its Android software. The San Francisco court hearing before U.S. District Judge James Donato comes five months after a nine-person jury decided Google had turned its Play Store for Android phone apps into an illegal monopoly following a four-week trial in an antitrust case brought by Epic Games. At the start of the hearing, Donato told lawyers for both parties not to revisit the jury’s verdict, which is now “carved in stone.” He also said that the case is about “competing generally,” and he is “not looking for a relief that gives a helping hand just to Epic.” The verdict gives Epic, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, a chance to persuade Donato to impose sweeping restrictions and other changes on how Google manages the distribution of Android apps. Those apps enable a wide range of services on virtually every phone that isn’t made by Apple. As Apple does on its store for iPhone apps, Google makes billions of dollars annually from its Play Store for Android apps through a commission system that charges a fee of 15% to 30% on a variety of digital transactions. Epic and other makers of popular apps, such as Spotify and Match Group, have been attacking those in-app commissions as an abusive tactic that gouges consumers as well as them. Epic is pushing Donato to require Google to ban many of the practices that enabled the Play Store to stifle alternatives to the Play Store that would have charged far lower commissions that could help bring down prices and foster more competition that could spawn more innovation. As the hearing continues, Google will be trying to minimize the upheaval to its lucrative Android ecosystem just weeks after its lawyers delivered the closing arguments i n an even more consequential antitrust case targeting its dominant search engine. A ruling in that case filed by the U.S. Justice Department isn’t expected until later this summer or autumn. In the Play store case, Google contends a series of concessions that it’s making as part of a $700 million settlement it made in another antitrust case brought by attorneys general across the U.S. already have ensured there will be more competition. The settlement, reached before the Epic case went to trial, will pay at least $2 to each of the more than 100 million consumers covered by it while requiring Google to lower the barriers that have made it difficult for rival options to the Play Store. Epic, which has derided the attorneys general settlement as ineffectual, is seeking more stringent measures that would handcuff Google and make it easier for rival app stores to connect with consumers with Android phones. Under Epic’s key proposals, Google would be required to make all Android apps in the Play Store available to competing stores and also distribute rival options directly to consumers who want to download them. Epic also wants Donato to forbid Google from requiring the Play Store to be automatically installed on Android phones and appoint an oversight committee to ensure the new order is followed. In court documents leading up to Thursday’s hearing, Google argued Epic’s proposals would have a chilling effect on the Play Store that would do more harm than good for the consumers and developers of Android apps.
Forget Thames Water, National Grid has proved investors will still back UK assets | Nils Pratley 2024-05-23 18:24:00+00:00 - So much for the idea that the woes of the water sector, and Thames Water in particular, would kill investors’ appetite for all British infrastructure assets. Here comes National Grid, which will probably be the UK’s biggest-spending infrastructure company over the next decade, with a mammoth fundraising that would not be possible if the stink from Thames had infected everything in the vicinity. National Grid’s near-£7bn rights issue, to back a five-year, £60bn spending programme in the UK and US, is the biggest by a London-listed company since 2009. It is larger than expected and comes before the UK energy regulator, Ofgem, has nailed down the price control regime for the 2026-31 period. Throw in the supposed uncertainties created by Thames, plus a general election, and you might assume the safe option would have been to wait a while. Instead, the notable feature of Thursday’s announcement is how easily one can raise £7bn when the cash is needed to help fund investment, rather than to repair a broken balance sheet. The rights issue is underwritten and the company will have its money on 12 June. Yes, the shares fell 11% as the market absorbed the dilution from the new equity, but that’s par for the course for this sort of exercise. Financial markets, one can conclude, are not suffering a general panic about the UK’s regulation of utilities, which is what a few scaremongers in the water industry wanted the outside world to believe. Instead, investors seem to have reached the commonsense conclusion that Thames’s troubles are self-inflicted and isolated. The read-across, as City analysts like to say, to other infrastructure sectors is roughly nil. Electricity networks are not exactly like water, of course. The regulators are different and electricity comes with a net zero halo as windfarms, solar farms and nuclear stations are plugged into the grid. Yet the tale from water’s contagion merchants was that funding costs could rise across the UK infrastructure landscape if Thames went down the plughole, wiping out its shareholders and (possibly) inflicting some pain on its bondholders. As things currently stand, though, such terrible visions aren’t materialising. Even in the water sector itself, borrowing costs for the better-run companies have only risen modestly during Thames’s public agonies. That analysis could change when Ofwat, the water regulator, eventually opines on the business plans, bill increases and cost of capital for the next five-year period. (The day was also due to be 12 June, but the election may now cause a delay). Proposals that are seen as “tough” on the companies’ financial returns might indeed affect investors’ appetite to put up capital. But that outcome is probably not the way to bet, as argued in this column previously. Ofwat, like Ofgem, wants to accelerate investment, which means allowing profitable returns on capital. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion The difference with Thames is simply that it is an outlier. Its financial engineering was more extreme and its operational performance more appalling than the rest; no regulator anywhere can be seen to land bill payers with the cost of those mistakes. Thames’s “special case” status seems to be understood by financial markets. If you don’t screw up monumentally, life carries on. The contagion risk for wider UK infrastructure looks minimal.
Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift Race for No. 1 2024-05-23 17:35:21+00:00 - A cold war between pop music titans — or at least their mobilizing fan bases and record labels — turned into a digital arms race this week as both Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish gunned for the No. 1 spot on next week’s Billboard album chart. Swift, 34, has occupied the top of the Billboard 200 for the past four weeks with her blockbuster new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which has earned more than 3.6 million equivalent album sales so far (counting physical purchases, downloads and streams). But Eilish’s well-reviewed new album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” is challenging for No. 1 in its debut, as its 10 songs prove popular on streaming services like Spotify. If only it were that simple. Already, some impassioned followers of the two artists had been stoking a rivalry, dating back to comments Eilish made in March about “some of the biggest artists in the world” selling many vinyl versions of the same album, “which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money.” The tactic, which Eilish called “wasteful” and damaging to the environment, has been widespread but used especially broadly — and effectively — by Swift. (Even before those comments, Eilish’s brother and main collaborator, Finneas, had once been heard on a hot mic joking about being “sued by Taylor Swift” after performing with an artist who had criticized her work.)
Paula Vennells ruled out Post Office review that ‘would be front-page news’ 2024-05-23 17:26:00+00:00 - The former Post Office boss Paula Vennells killed a review that would have exposed the Horizon IT scandal more than 10 years ago after being told it would make “front-page news” but insisted she was not part of a cover-up. During a second day of giving evidence at the public inquiry into the scandal, Vennells, who led the Post Office for nine years, said a different decision could have avoided a “lost decade” for persecuted branch operators. Vennells already knew at the time of her decision in July 2013 that Gareth Jenkins, an engineer at Fujitsu who designed the Horizon accounting system, had withheld information from the courts about bugs in the software and was regarded as an “unsafe witness”. Branch owner-operators continued until 2015 to be prosecuted and hounded, leading to some taking their own lives, over apparent shortfalls in funds at their branches caused by faults in Horizon. The Post Office did not stop fighting attempts to appeal against the convictions until 2019. The latest revelations from the inquiry emerged from emails that followed Vennells’ receipt of a limited but critical independent report by Second Sight, a fraud investigation firm, into the claims of branch owner-operators. She had asked a number of executives in an email why there might not be a full historical review of about 500 cases of post office operators accused of false accounting. The Post Office’s then director of communications, Mark Davies, messaged Vennells about his concerns that such a move would “fuel the story” beyond the “usual suspects” who were reporting on potentially unsafe convictions. “If we say publicly that we will look at past cases … whether from recent history or going further back, we will open this up very significantly into front-page news,” Davies wrote. “In media terms it becomes mainstream, very high-profile.” Vennells responded: “You are right to call this out. And I will take your steer, no issue.” She went on to write that the most urgent objective was to “manage the media”. Jason Beer KC, the lead counsel at the inquiry, asked Vennells: “It is a grossly improper perspective, isn’t it?” “It is, yes,” she answered. Beer asked Vennells whether she had stayed in contact with Davies after she left the Post Office in 2019. “I did,” she answered. “Did you exchange messages with Mr Davies about media statements you might make and the media lines you might take in the announcement of this inquiry?” Beer asked. “I believe that the inquiry has texts that showed that,” she responded. “He [Davies] was still advising you in 2020 about the lines to take in your media statement?” asked Beer. “I had kept in touch with Mr Davies for reasons which were very personal to him,” Vennells replied. “I think he offered advice at one point in time.” Vennells denied that her decision not to review the many miscarriages of justice had been led by her public relations adviser but apologised about a further email in which she had suggested that Davies use “exception” in press releases as a “non-emotive word for computer bugs, glitches, defects”. After the Second Sight report, the Post Office dumped plans to review convictions and instead opened a “mediation scheme” through which complaints could be addressed. According to papers seen by the inquiry, the organisation judged that this would “take the sting out of the issue as a media story”. Vennells sent an email to senior executives in August 2013 concerned that this would lead to payouts to victims. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to First Edition Free daily newsletter Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “When we discussed this, the hope of mediation was to avoid or minimise compensation,” she wrote. “You explained that there were steps in place to advise [post office operators] entering the process that this was a chance to be heard and not to expect compensation. How are we planning to manage these expectations. And where compensation may be offered, you mentioned small figures in the £3-5k band; can we give a range of costs?” After an emotional first day of evidence on Wednesday, Vennells largely maintained her composure as Beer questioned her over the decision not to launch a full forensic investigation into claims of unsafe convictions that had emerged in some media, including Computer Weekly. Vennells repeatedly told the inquiry that she could not recollect events, and denied any knowledge of a conversation recounted by the Post Office’s then general legal counsel, Susan Crichton, on the eve of a board meeting in July 2013. Crichton had told the inquiry she informed Vennells that she believed there would be “many successful claims arising from past wrongful prosecutions”. To audible groans from the audience at the inquiry, Vennells responded: “I don’t recall that.” She added: “I would not cover anything up.” Crichton was criticised internally for commissioning Second Sight. Vennells wrote in a memo, seen by the inquiry, that she had “put her integrity as a lawyer above the interests of the business”. Five days after the email exchange between Vennells and Davies, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) wrote to the Post Office’s chief executive to request information about any knowledge the organisation had about faults in the Horizon system. Vennells said she passed on the correspondence to Crichton and would not have requested for there to be any lack of disclosure. Beer asked Vennells whether “the right and honest thing for the Post Office to have done” would have been to let the CCRC know immediately about the doubts over the evidence of Jenkins. Vennells said: “Yes it would.” Beer went on: “That didn’t happen for years and years, did it?” “I understand that to be the case now,” Vennells replied.
‘Mild positive’: markets greet prospect of Labour landslide with calm 2024-05-23 16:43:00+00:00 - Five years ago, the prospect of a landslide Labour election victory might have been expected to prompt at least some anxiety in financial markets. In a sign of how successful Keir Starmer’s campaign to woo the City and move his party’s position to the centre has been, markets barely budged in response to news that a vote would be held this summer. The FTSE 100 opened flat on Thursday, the pound pushed slightly higher and stock futures a touch lower as markets appeared relaxed about the likelihood of a Starmer win, having had more than a year of reading about 15-point-plus poll leads to get used to the idea. “A Labour government is not considered to be a risk scenario; in fact, investors seem sympathetic to the idea,” said Roman Ziruk, a senior market analyst at the global financial services firm Ebury. “Investors want stability, and we are now at a stage whereby a Labour majority, while heavily priced in, would probably be perceived by them as a mild positive for sterling, even if only due to the avoidance of a dreaded hung parliament.” While there are a few bits of economic data still to come before 4 July that could move the dial, most investors are working on the assumption that Starmer will be the next prime minister. If that comes to pass, many foresee a similar market response to Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997, in which traders were reassured by a widely expected outcome. “Basically, markets just rallied straight through … There wasn’t a lot of policy change on the table and there wasn’t a lot of election uncertainty,” said Ben Laidler, a global markets strategist at the trading platform eToro. Starmer’s message may be “change” but he may turn out to be unable and unwilling to enact a significant shift in economic policy. A spending bonanza is unlikely, given recent memories of the economic calamity that followed Liz Truss’s unbalanced mini-budget in September 2022. He may have no choice but to increase taxes to meet spending commitments. A pledge to stick to the existing fiscal rules, overseen by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, leaves him little room for manoeuvre. Under these rules, recent budgets have pencilled in a 1%-a-year real-terms increase in spending. However, once spending pledges in areas such as health and defence are accounted for, that translates to a real-terms cut for unprotected departments, especially as higher inflation means hospitals, prisons, schools and councils are able to buy less with the same budget. “There’s a general sense that given the challenges in public services, these real-terms cuts will be difficult to achieve in practice and will require greater spending commitment,” said James Smith, a developed markets economist at ING. “There’s very limited room to address this without raising taxes.” As for Rishi Sunak’s chances, Philip Shaw, the chief economist at the international wealth management group Investec, pointed out that he may have chosen an election date of 4 July in the hope of getting a fillip from a possible interest rate cut by the Bank of England two weeks before that. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion However, the prospect of such a lifeline seem to be fading. On Wednesday morning it emerged that inflation had fallen by less than forecast in April, to 2.3%. Since then, market bets on when the Bank will bring the cost of borrowing down from the current 5.25% have become less optimistic. On Tuesday, traders were saying a first rate cut in June was more likely than not; by Thursday the forecast was 90% no change. In fact, only one full cut is priced in by the end of the year, and could come as late as November, adding to the tough economic in-tray facing whoever next occupies No 10.
Fallout From Cyberattack at Ascension Hospitals Persists, Causing Delays in Patient Care 2024-05-23 15:54:11+00:00 - In more than a dozen states, doctors and nurses have resorted to paper and handwritten treatment orders to chart patient illnesses and track them, unable to access the detailed medical histories that have long been available only through computerized records. Patients have waited for long stints in emergency rooms, and their treatments have been delayed while lab results and readings from machines like M.R.I.s are ferried through makeshift efforts lacking the speed of electronic uploads. For more than two weeks, thousands of medical personnel have turned to manual methods after a cyberattack on Ascension, one of the nation’s largest health systems with about 140 hospitals in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The large-scale attack on May 8 was eerily reminiscent of the hack of Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group that manages the nation’s largest health care payment system. The assault shut down Change’s digital billing and payment routes, leaving hospitals, doctors and pharmacists without ways to communicate with health insurers for weeks. Patients were unable to fill prescriptions, and providers could not get paid for care.
Political consultant behind fake Biden robocalls faces $6 million fine and criminal charges 2024-05-23 15:50:36+00:00 - CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A political consultant who sent artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice to voters ahead of New Hampshire’s presidential primary faces a $6 million fine and more than two dozen criminal charges. The Federal Communications Commission said the fine it proposed Thursday for Steven Kramer is its first involving generative AI technology. The company accused of transmitting the calls, Lingo Telecom, faces a $2 million fine, though in both cases the parties could settle or further negotiate, the FCC said. Kramer has admitted orchestrating a message that was sent to thousands of voters two days before the first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23. The message played an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president’s that used his phrase “What a bunch of malarkey” and falsely suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November. Kramer is facing 13 felony charges alleging he violated a New Hampshire law against attempting to deter someone from voting using misleading information. He also faces 13 misdemeanor charges accusing him of falsely representing himself as a candidate by his own conduct or that of another person. The charges were filed in four counties and will be prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office. Attorney General John Formella said New Hampshire was committed to ensuring that its elections “remain free from unlawful interference.” What to know about the 2024 Election Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024. American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more. The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Read the latest: Follow AP’s complete coverage of this year’s election. “I am pleased to see that our federal partners are similarly committed to protecting consumers and voters from harmful robocalls and voter suppression,” said Formella, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. Lingo Telecom said it strongly disagrees with the FCC’s action, which it called an attempt to impose new rules retroactively. “Lingo Telecom takes its regulatory obligations extremely seriously and has fully cooperated with federal and state agencies to assist with identifying the parties responsible for originating the New Hampshire robocall campaign,” the company said. “Lingo Telecom was not involved whatsoever in the production of these calls and the actions it took complied with all applicable federal regulations and industry standards.” The New Hampshire calls falsely showed up to recipients as coming from the personal cellphone number of Kathy Sullivan, a former state Democratic Party chair who helped run the Biden write-in campaign. She said in an email Thursday that she hopes Kramer is learning “there is a steep price for trying to rig an election.” “The swift, decisive action by the New Hampshire Department of Justice and the FCC hopefully will deter other bad and/or stupid actors who don’t respect democracy,” she said. Kramer, who owns a firm that specializes in get-out-the-vote projects, did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. He told The Associated Press in February that he wasn’t trying to influence the outcome of the election but rather wanted to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence when he paid a New Orleans magician $150 to create the recording. “Maybe I’m a villain today, but I think in the end we get a better country and better democracy because of what I’ve done, deliberately,” Kramer said in February. Voter suppression carries a prison sentence of 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison. Impersonating a candidate is punishable by up to a year in jail. In an interview days after he was publicly identified as the source of the calls, Kramer said he disagreed that his robocall suppressed voter turnout, noting that Biden won the Democratic primary by a wide margin as a write-in candidate. While he did some ballot access work for another former Democratic presidential hopeful, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Kramer said he acted alone. “I wrestled in college. I’m ready for the fight,” said Kramer, who is scheduled to appear in court on June 5. “If they want to throw me in jail, good luck.” Since the New Hampshire robocalls, the FCC has taken steps to combat the growing use of artificial intelligence tools in political communications. In February, it confirmed that AI voice-cloning tools in robocalls are banned under existing law, and on Wednesday, it introduced a proposal to require political advertisers to disclose when they use content generated by artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads. If adopted, the new rules would add a layer of transparency that many lawmakers and AI experts have been calling for as rapidly advancing generative AI tools churn out lifelike images, videos and audio clips that threaten to mislead voters in the upcoming U.S. election. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday that regulators are committed to helping states go after perpetrators. In a statement, she called the New Hampshire robocalls “unnerving.” “Because when a caller sounds like a politician you know, a celebrity you like, or a family member who is familiar, any one of us could be tricked into believing something that is not true with calls using AI technology,” she said in a statement. “It is exactly how the bad actors behind these junk calls with manipulated voices want you to react.” ___ Swenson reported from New York. ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
US sues Ticketmaster owner Live Nation and seeks break-up of alleged monopoly 2024-05-23 15:42:00+00:00 - The US Department of Justice has sued the owner of Ticketmaster, Live Nation, seeking a break-up of the concert promotion and ticketing giant. “It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” said Merrick Garland, the US attorney general. “Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators.” Thursday’s lawsuit, filed in the southern district of New York , follows years of scrutiny of Live Nation’s domination of global ticket sales. Attorneys general from 29 states and Washington DC joined the lawsuit. The company, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, faced a torrent of criticism in the wake of the botched sale of tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in 2022. As fury over the debacle mounted, officials are said to have started an antitrust investigation. Live Nation has used a monopoly to suppress competition, the justice department and a string of states alleged in a court filing. Lawmakers have accused the company of sky-high fees, poor customer service and anticompetitive practices. Allegations in the lawsuit include that Live Nation has worked with a venue management firm to steer clients into signing exclusive agreements with Ticketmaster, that it has threatened retaliation and acquired startups to stop competition, that it signs long-term exclusive agreements with venues that prevent them from using any potential competitors and that Ticketmaster became the default ticketing platform for several entertainment artists because LiveNation controls a large share of the venues where they perform. “The live music industry in America is broken because Live Nation-Ticketmaster has an illegal monopoly,” said Jonathan Kanter, an assistant attorney general with the justice department’s antitrust division in a press release. “Our antitrust lawsuit seeks to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopoly and restore competition for the benefit of fans and artists.” During a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Garland described his own experience as a senior in college of attending a Bonnie Raitt concert, and seeing Bruce Springsteen open for her. “The justice department filed this lawsuit on behalf of fans who should be able to go to concerts without a monopoly standing in their way,” he said. “We have filed this lawsuit on behalf of artists who should be able to plan their tours around their fans and not be dictated by an unlawful monopolists. We have filed this lawsuit on behalf of the independent promoters and venues which should be able to compete on a level playing field. And we have filed this lawsuit on behalf of the American people.”. But Live Nation has repeatedly pushed back against claims that it is in effect a monopoly, arguing that it has “very little to do” with high ticket prices. Live Nation said in response to the lawsuit, “We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.” After the 2022 mishandling of Swift ticket sales, Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, told the Wall Street Journal that the fiasco “converted more Gen Z’ers into antimonopolists overnight than anything I could have done”. When “firms become dominant, they become too big to care”, she claimed.
Norfolk Southern to Pay $310 Million for East Palestine Accident 2024-05-23 15:30:07+00:00 - Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay more than $310 million to settle claims and cover costs stemming from the February 2023 derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous materials in an Ohio town, the federal government said on Thursday. The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency said the settlement, which still needs to be approved by a federal court, would require Norfolk Southern to improve rail safety and pay for cleanup costs and health and environmental monitoring in and around East Palestine, Ohio, where the accident happened. On a Friday night in early February last year, 38 rail cars on a Norfolk Southern train derailed, 11 of which were carrying hazard materials like vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make plastics. Days later, emergency responders, fearing an explosion, decided to release and burn vinyl chloride from derailed cars, sending vast plumes of dark smoke over the town. Hundreds of residents were evacuated, and life in East Palestine was upended for months. There were no deaths. Michael S. Regan, the administrator of the E.P.A., said the settlement ensured that the cleanup would be paid for by the company and help prevent similar disasters.
What is a Short Call Butterfly Spread? Explanation with Examples 2024-05-23 15:00:00+00:00 - Key Points A short call butterfly spread is a market-neutral options strategy that can be taken if you believe a large price move is coming. A short call butterfly spread is a three-legged options strategy comprised of 1 short in-the-money (ITM) call option at a lower strike price, long 2 at-the-money (ATM) call options and 1 short out-of-the-money (OTM) call option at a higher strike price. A short call butterfly spread has defined maximum profit, breakeven and maximum loss levels. 5 stocks we like better than Uber Technologies The short call butterfly spread is also referred to as a short butterfly with calls or a short call butterfly trade. This is an advanced options trading strategy used to capitalize on a medium to large underlying price move in either direction. This strategy is also conducive to volatile and trending markets, especially with high implied volatility (IV). A short call butterfly spread limits your downside risk while capping upside gains. You receive a credit once the trade is executed and all 4 options positions are established, which means you receive the profit upfront. While brokerage platforms may enable you to place the trade simultaneously, yours may require you to place it manually. Get Uber Technologies alerts: Sign Up Components of the Short Call Butterfly Spread A short call butterfly utilizes 3 equal distant strike prices: 1 high strike in-the-money (ITM) call, 2 middle strike at-the-money (ATM) calls, and 1 low strike price out-of-the-money (OTM) call. Like a butterfly, there is a body, which is the middle strike price and 2 wings, which are the high strike and low strike prices. A short call butterfly spread is executed by shorting/selling 1 high strike ITM call, 1 low strike call OTM, and buying 2 long mid-strike ATM calls. For example, if we wanted to execute a short call butterfly spread on XYZ, we would short 1 XYZ $70 call, buy 2 XYZ $65 calls and short 1 XYZ $60 call. All options have the same expiration date. Another way to a short call butterfly is to consider it a combination of 2 strategies, which include a bull call spread and a bear call spread. The bull call spread is comprised of buying 1 lower strike call and selling 1 higher strike call. A bear call spread is comprised of selling 1 lower strike call and buying 1 higher strike call. The final result is a short 1 higher strike call, short 1 lower strike call, long 2 medium ATM strike calls, and 2 wings and a body in the middle. It is the opposite of a long call butterfly spread, which is meant to capitalize on range-bound stocks. Practical Examples of Short Call Butterfly Spreads Let's use a real-world example with a computer and technology sector stock, Uber Technologies Inc. NYSE: UBER. On May 22, 2024, UBER was trading at $65. Let’s assume we want to construct a short call butterfly spread, which would require two wings and a body. How to Execute a Short Call Butterfly Spread Now that we know how to construct a short call butterfly spread, it’s time to execute the strategy. Let’s break it down into 5 steps: Step 1: Assess Market Conditions The macro market conditions can directly and indirectly affect your trade. Since 70% of a stock's move is often attributed to the macro market conditions, we want to be mindful of the benchmark indexes like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100. Ideally, we want to have volatility and a strong trending market to have the best chance for the butterfly spread to play out. You can also check the VIX, which is the volatility index for the S&P 500. A VIX reading above 20 is considered high volatility. The medium VIX is between 13 to 19. A low VIX reading is 12 or below. A low VIX reading doesn't rule out a short butterfly spread trade. It just means the wind is not blowing heavily on our backs. Step 2: Select the Right Strike Prices Since UBER is trading right at $65, we can use that as the middle or mid-point ATM strike or the body. The wings would entail equidistant strikes from the middle strike price. If we choose a 5-point spread, then we would select the $70 and the $60 strikes since they are both 5 points away from the $65 mid-point strike. As a rule of thumb, the wider the spreads, the higher your potential profit, but the probability of reaching max profit or even breakeven drops. On the flip side, your profit potential shrinks as spreads get tighter, and the probability of achieving breakeven to max profits rises. Step 3: Set Up the Options Trades To set up the trade, we can see the quotes for the UBER May 31, 2024, expiration calls. We decided to use the $65 ATM calls for the midpoint and body and the $70 and $60 strikes as the wings. The strategy will consist of three trades comprised of four options positions. The short call butterfly spread would be comprised of the following: Short 1 UBER $70 strike call at 13 cents Long 2 UBER $65 strike calls at $1.33 Short 1 UBER $60 strike call at $5.10 The 1 UBER short $70 strike call and 1 UBER long $65 call is a bull call spread. The 1 UBER short $60 strike call and 1 UBER long $65 call is a bear call spread. It's 4 positions that share 3 strike prices. The resulting short call butterfly spread results in a $2.57 credit or $257 paid to us upfront. Step 4: Monitor and Adjust the Spread Once your short call butterfly spread is constructed and executed, you will have to monitor the position. The underlying stock will also be moving. The breakeven price levels are at $62.72 and $67.28. This means UBER needs to fall below $62.72 or rise through $67.28 or higher on expiration to be profitable trades. If UBER rallies to $70 or falls to $60, you may consider closing out the trade before expiration. Keep in mind that Theta is your friend, so closing out the trades before expiration will cost you some premium. Also, remember that Theta erodes quickly from one week before expiration. Potential Risks and Rewards The maximum profit potential on the trade is $257, which is the credit received upfront when we execute the short call butterfly spread. With credit spreads, you receive the good news first with a payment upfront, and it can only go down from there. The max profit occurs if UBER closes at or above the $70 upper strike or at or below the $60 lower strike on expiration. The max profit is calculated by subtracting the cost of the 2 long calls ($2.66) at the center strike from the credit received on the 2 short calls ($5.23) at the upper and lower strike prices. Each contract is worth 100 shares, so the $2.57 max profit equates to $257. The maximum loss potential on the trade is $243. This occurs if UBER stays at the $65 mid-point or center strike price on expiration. The max loss is calculated by the spread between the lowest and center strike price of $5 minus the premium received of $2.57, resulting in $243. Breakeven levels occur at $62.72 and $67.28 on the upside. As UBER moves beyond the breakeven levels, the position starts to earn profits. While it would be nice to hit maximum profit by having UBER close at or beyond the wing strikes, it only has to move beyond breakeven to start making profits. Conclusion You're all set! In this article, we reviewed what is and how to construct a short call butterfly spread, which is basically a combination of a bull call spread and a bear call spread. We reviewed the 5 steps to executing a short call butterfly spread using UBER as a real-world example and covered the risks and potential outcomes of the trade. Take your time and practice on a demo account if you can before risking real cash. Advance Your Investment Game with MarketBeat For further education and tools on your stock market journey, check out the products on MarketBeat. Before you consider Uber Technologies, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Uber Technologies wasn't on the list. While Uber Technologies currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Do you need a college degree to succeed? Here's what the data shows. 2024-05-23 14:56:00+00:00 - These are graduates’ top fears as they leave college These are graduates’ top fears as they leave college 03:51 College was once widely viewed as a pathway to success, but today only about 1 in 4 Americans say a bachelor's degree is necessary to secure a well-paying job, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center. Fifteen years ago, about 3 in 4 people told Pew that a college degree was extremely or very important to get ahead in life. The shift comes as higher education costs continue to soar, with some universities now charging close to $100,000 per year for tuition and other costs. At the same time, employment opportunities and earnings for young men without college degrees have improved in the last decade, reversing some of the economic damage that eroded the group's fortunes starting in the 1970s. "Things are looking up for less-educated young men," Richard Fry, senior economist at Pew, told CBS MoneyWatch. Americans' changing views about college could be based on "not just improving labor markets and outcomes for less educated young men, but it's also clear that there is concern about borrowing for college." Young men with only a high school degree have seen a slight rebound in their earnings since 2014, Pew found. The median annual income for men 25- to 34-years-old without a college degree was $45,000 in 2023, a 15% increase from $39,300 in 2014 when adjusted for inflation, according to Pew's analysis of Census data. Generation gap But while less educated young men are doing somewhat better than they were a decade ago, they still haven't caught up with the earnings of older generations of men at the same age in the 1970s. In 1973, young men without college degrees were earning almost $58,000 a year. That means the typical income for this group remains 22% lower than half a century ago, according to Pew. "If you were a high school-educated young man in the early 1970s, it was more likely you were a member of a trade union, the manufacturing employment was much greater. So, in short, starting in the 1980s things shifted away from opportunities for less educated young men," Fry noted. "In the grand scheme of things, young, less educated men aren't where they were 50 years ago," he added. Young women without college degrees have, in some respects, fared better than young men, partly due to their expanding job opportunities. Their earnings have bumped up from about $35,000 annually in 1973 to $36,000 today. But young women with college degrees still earn far more, at about $65,000 per year, Pew found. More income and wealth for college grads When asking if a college diploma is important to secure a "well paying" job today, Pew didn't define the term, leaving that open to a person's interpretation, Fry said. But the data from Pew's analysis clearly shows that the typical college graduate today not only earns far more than their counterparts with only a high school education, but also is able to amass much greater wealth as well. In other words, a college degree opens the door to a lifetime of higher earnings, which, in turn, helps unlock ways to build wealth such as jobs with 401(k) plans and stock equity plans. That's not to say that young workers without a college degree can't also earn higher incomes or build wealth. For instance, people who go into trades like plumbing or welding typically earn higher incomes. The median annual pay for plumbers is $61,550 — significantly higher than the typical $45,000 in annual income for high school grads, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that's still far below the $77,000 median annual income for young male college grads and below the $65,000 median income for young women with college degrees. Young college grads also have roughly quadruple the wealth of their less educated counterparts, Pew found. People between the ages of 25 and 34 with a bachelor's degree have an average net worth of about $120,000, versus about $31,000 for those with just a high school education. "Higher education generates higher wealth," Fry said. "Wealth tends to come from two places: home equity and stock equity or retirement assets. Families with college-educated heads have a higher homeownership rate. And college-educated adults are more likely to have access to 401(k)s and 403(b)s," referring to employer-sponsored retirement programs. Is college worth the money? Half of Americans told Pew college is worth the money only if you don't have to go into debt, Pew found. Only 22% see the investment as worthwhile if you have to borrow to earn the degree. "I'm a bit surprised at how low it is," Fry said of the 22% share, "but it suggests that how you pay for college is also of concern." That comes as Americans have accumulated $1.7 trillion in student debt, a burden that has made it harder for some to buy homes or achieve other hallmarks of middle-class life. Among the most skeptical about the value of college are Republicans, with the survey finding that almost 6 in 10 GOP-leaning respondents said it's less important to have a college degree today versus 20 years ago. About 4 in 10 Democrats agreed with that proposition. Such views could amount to a red flag for the higher education sector, especially as the share of young, male high school grads who are enrolled in college has declined. And some colleges have closed in recent years due to low enrollment and other financial challenges. "College administrations and boards and presidents should be concerned with these perceptions of the value of college," Fry said.
U.S. Calls for Breakup of Ticketmaster Owner 2024-05-23 14:31:58+00:00 - The Justice Department on Thursday sued Live Nation Entertainment, the concert giant that owns Ticketmaster, asking a court to break up the company over claims it illegally maintained a monopoly in the live entertainment industry. In the lawsuit, which is joined by 29 states and the District of Columbia, the government accuses Live Nation of leveraging its sprawling empire to dominate the industry by locking venues into exclusive ticketing contracts, pressuring artists to use its services and threatening its rivals with financial retribution. Those tactics, the government argues, have resulted in higher ticket prices for consumers and have stifled innovation and competition throughout the industry. The suit asks the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to order “the divestiture of, at minimum, Ticketmaster,” and to prevent Live Nation from engaging in anticompetitive practices. “It is time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for Live Nation’s monopoly,” Merrick B. Garland, the attorney general, said on Thursday. “It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster. The American people are ready for it.”
Boeing faces ‘long road’ to making safe airplanes, US aviation chief says 2024-05-23 14:06:00+00:00 - US planemaker Boeing faces a “long road” to address safety issues, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said, as it prepares to receive the company’s plan to address concerns. In late February Mike Whitaker, the FAA administrator, gave Boeing 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality-control issues” and barred it from expanding 737 MAX production. Boeing has faced mounting questions after a door panel detached during a 5 January flight on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, forcing pilots to make an emergency landing while passengers were exposed to a gaping hole 16,000 feet above the ground. An FAA audit also found serious issues. Whitaker told ABC News the 90-day plan, due next week, “is not the end of the process. It’s the beginning and it’s going to be a long road to get Boeing back to where they need to be making safe airplanes”. He said the FAA has been working closely with Boeing over the last 90 days on “what that plan is going to look like if it’s to bring the quality back where it needs to be at their factories”. “It’s to bring the safety system where it needs to be and bring the culture where it needs to be so that employees can speak up when they see something that is concerning.” The National Transportation Safety Board has said the plane was missing four key bolts, and Boeing has said it believes required documents detailing the doors during production were never created. Whitaker held an all-day meeting with chief executive officer Dave Calhoun in February and the FAA plans a new round of meetings with Boeing next week. Boeing faces an ongoing justice department investigation into the door plug blowout as well. Calhoun, who has since announced he plans to step down as CEO later this year, said earlier the planemaker “will develop the comprehensive action plan with measurable criteria that demonstrates the profound change that Administrator Whitaker and the FAA demand”. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Separately Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday that Boeing is “saying the right things, they’re taking encouraging steps, but we need to make sure that we see it on the shop floor, that we see it in terms of the quality of the product that rolls off the line”.