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Reddit announces another big data-sharing AI deal — this time with OpenAI 2024-05-16 21:43:09+00:00 - OpenAI and Reddit are teaming up together in a new partnership. Reddit's content will be brought to ChatGPT. Reddit, meanwhile, gains a new advertising partner in OpenAI. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement OpenAI and Reddit announced a new partnership on Thursday in a move that will bring the social media platform's popular content to ChatGPT. The mutually beneficial deal will help Reddit to further diversify its revenue streams. "OpenAI will bring enhanced Reddit content to ChatGPT and new products, helping users discover and engage with Reddit communities," the companies said in a joint statement. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .
As Michael Cohen's testimony droned on, the real hush-money show moved outdoors with crude balloons and a 'Beetlejuice' chant 2024-05-16 21:42:36+00:00 - Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen spent his third day on the stand in the NY hush money trial. As his testimony droned on, the real show was outside, where political stunts were plentiful. There were penis-shaped balloons, and chants of "Beetlejuice!" during a speech by Lauren Boebert. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Advertisement It was just after noon when giant, agitprop penises began flying past the sooty limestone facade of the criminal court in Manhattan. It was just one of the political pranks seen outside the hush-money trial Thursday — and it was a heck-of-a-lot more interesting than the testimony droning on inside. Up on the 15th floor, Donald Trump was on trial for falsifying business records. Key prosecution witness and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen calmly batted away a second day of defense questions about his honesty and motives. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .
Key Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems is laying off 450 after production of troubled 737s slows 2024-05-16 21:31:59+00:00 - A key Boeing supplier that makes the fuselages for its popular 737 Max airplanes is laying off about 450 workers because production has slowed down ever since a panel flew off one of those airplanes operated by Alaska Airlines in midair in January. A spokesman for Spirit AeroSystems confirmed the layoffs at its Wichita, Kansas, plant on Thursday that would trim its workforce of just over 13,000 people. Spirit is Boeing’s most important supplier on the 737s because it makes fuselages and installs door plugs like the one that flew off the plane. But it’s not clear whether Spirit or Boeing employees were the last ones to touch that panel. “The recent slowdown in the delivery rate on commercial programs compels a reduction to our workforce in Wichita,” Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino said. Boeing confirmed this spring that it is in talks to buy Spirit, which was once a part of the plane-maker before it was spun off. Buying Spirit back would reverse a longtime Boeing strategy of outsourcing key work on its passenger planes. That approach has been criticized after problems at Spirit disrupted production and delivery of popular Boeing jetliners, including 737s and 787s. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union expressed concern about the layoffs and said it would try to help workers who lose their jobs in the coming weeks. “Together, we will continue to work to protect the strength of the aerospace industry in Wichita and ensure our members receive the assistance and resources they need to overcome this challenge and emerge stronger,” the union said.
Theft of more than 400 vehicles in Michigan leads to the arrest of 6 men 2024-05-16 21:25:20+00:00 - LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Six men working as part of a criminal organization in Michigan have been arrested in connection with the theft of more than 400 vehicles worth about $8 million, authorities said Thursday. The men, between the ages of 18 and 25, were arrested Wednesday by a police task force and charged with conducting a criminal enterprise, using a computer to commit a crime and receiving and concealing stolen vehicles, the Michigan Attorney General’s office said in a news release. Police recovered seven stolen vehicles, hundreds of auto parts, electronic key fobs, burglary tools, thousands of dollars in cash and nine firearms, according to the release. Two other suspects were being sought. The criminal ring has operated in more than 40 communities from southeastern Michigan to the western part of the state, authorities said. The vehicles were sold at below-market value, and some have been linked to various crimes, including homicides, attempted homicides armed robberies and carjackings, the AG’s office said. The thefts remain under investigation. “The activities of criminal organizations like these go far beyond theft,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “They cause millions in financial losses to our retail partners, sow fear, and endanger lives. Vehicles stolen as part of this criminal enterprise go on to become tools in violence, posing additional threats to public safety.” Several men believed to be members of an Ohio auto theft ring were arrested in 2022 and connected to thefts in the Detroit area. Authorities have said thieves used cloned key fobs to steal Dodge muscle cars and other high-powered vehicles directly from dealerships and even automakers in Michigan, then sold them for tens of thousands of dollars less than their value. A criminal complaint in the Ohio cases said investigators discovered that new Chargers, Challengers, Durangos and Ram pickups worth $50,000 to $100,000 were turning up in that state, in Indianapolis and at East Coast shipping ports after being sold on the street for $3,500 to $15,000. It was not immediately clear Thursday if Wednesday’s arrests in Michigan are connected to the theft ring in Ohio. “This has become an epidemic of organized criminals preying on businesses in our communities and putting law enforcement and the general public in harm’s way, not just during the theft itself, but on the streets after they have stolen the vehicles,” Rod Albert, co-executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, said Thursday.
Ukraine's getting more longe-range missiles that leave the Russians with 'nowhere to hide' 2024-05-16 21:23:35+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview NATO countries are outfitting Ukraine with additional long-range precision missiles that have already been used by the country to strike Russian airfields, naval headquarters, bridges, and other high-value targets. These Western-provided missiles give Ukraine's deep-strike capability a major firepower boost. Former US military officers told Business Insider that the munitions could help Kyiv go after locations that are essential to Russia's operations, and leave its combat and support forces with "nowhere to hide." This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Ukraine is facing Russian offensives that may get more intense going into the summer, but these weapons could help hamstring Moscow's efforts. "If you're worried about Russian forces overrunning your defenses, you want to go after the headquarters and you want to go after the logistics that would enable Russian attacks," said Ben Hodges, a retired lieutenant general and former commander of US Army Europe. Advertisement An Army Tactical Missile System during live-fire testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Dec. 14, 2021 White Sands Missile Range/John Hamilton The US last month acknowledged that it had secretly shipped Ukraine a number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS — earlier this spring as part of a $300 million weapons package it announced in March. The number of missiles isn't publicly known, but ATACMS missiles average about $1.3 million each. Jake Sullivan, the Biden administration's national security advisor, said in late April that the US would send Ukraine more ATACMS after passing a $61 billion aid package that spent months held up by Republicans in Congress. The legislation required that Washington transfer the munitions. ATACMS are tactical ballistic missiles that come in several variants. Ukraine previously received ones that have a range of 100 miles and can disperse nearly 1,000 submunitions over a large area, making them particularly damaging to airfields. Last fall, Kyiv used the missiles for that exact purpose. The US also has ATACMS that can travel up to 190 miles; one variant has a unitary warhead, while the other can scatter some 300 submunitions. Ukraine has long pressed Washington for these extended-range missiles, though it's unclear what Kyiv has actually obtained. Advertisement A still from a video shared by the Ukrainian military of ATACMS in use. General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Screengrab via X Around the same time, in late April, the UK announced it would send Ukraine additional Storm Shadow cruise missiles as part of the country's largest-ever weapons package (£500 million, or $633 million), which included over 1,600 strike and air-defense munitions. Days later, Britain's defense minister Grant Shapps disclosed for the first time that Italy had, at some point, also supplied Kyiv with Storm Shadow cruise missiles (France has sent Kyiv its own version of the munition called SCALP-EG). These air-dropped missiles can fly at low altitudes to avoid detection and have been used to strike Russian naval headquarters and vehicle-repair depots in the occupied Crimean peninsula. Their 155-mile range puts them in between the ATACMS variants. Related stories It's unclear exactly how many ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles have already arrived in Ukraine this spring, nor is it known how many more the country can expect to receive in the coming weeks as it tries to stall Russia's momentum on the ground. Kyiv previously obtained a limited number of both munitions from the US and its European allies. Advertisement A MBDA Storm Shadow/SCALP missile at the Farnborough Airshow in UK on July 17, 2018. Ben Stansall/AFP Photo via Getty Images A larger arsenal of missiles could strip Russia of its ability to stage crucial assets within 100 miles of the front lines, said Dan Rice, a former US Army artillery officer who previously served as a special advisor to Ukrainian military leadership. "That puts tremendous pressure on all of their key high-value targets." "You have a 600-mile front and then you've got a hundred miles deep — where do you hide everything?" said Rice, a longtime advocate for sending cluster munitions to Ukraine and now the president of American University Kyiv. "Your transportation nodes, your railway stations, your supply depots, command and control — most importantly, your anti-aircraft systems." Ukraine's battlefield reach has steadily grown throughout the full-scale war. What started out with short-range artillery improved over time with the arrival of US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS. These game-changing weapons suddenly put Russian logistics centers, ammunition dumps, and command and control nodes within firing range. Russia adapted to the HIMARS by moving its critical assets out of reach and jamming the munitions. The arrival of Storm Shadow missiles — and, several months later, ATAMCS — presented new challenges for Moscow, but Ukraine has received so few it has had to bee choosy over what to target. Advertisement A M142 HIMARS launches a rocket in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on May 18, 2023. Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images Hodges and Rice say a larger arsenal of ATACMS and Storm Shadows can give Ukraine both the reach and inventory to smash the high-value targets that sustain Moscow's war efforts like supply depots and maintenance facilities. Indeed, Kyiv has used the American missiles in recent weeks to strike Russian airfields and troop gatherings. "When you start taking those off the board, then it doesn't matter how much untrained, mass infantry — cannon fodder — that the Russians have," Hodges said. "I think long-range precision strike is becoming the dominant factor on the battlefield." Missiles like ATACMS and Storm Shadow "will enable Ukraine to neutralize Russia's advantages and eventually enable them to regain the initiative," he added. Ukraine has also long sought Germany's Taurus missile, whose range is more than a 100 miles farther than ATACMS, but Berlin has so far declined to provide them. The increased arsenal comes at a critical point. Russia is making gains on the battlefield as its bigger war industry shifts to mass-producing the drones and glide bombs that are pounding Ukraine's defenses. Advertisement Russian Su-34 bombers used FAB-500 bombs with high-precision guidance hit Ukrainian fortifications and troops in the direction of Avdiivka on March 8, 2024. Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images Ultimately, however, the effectiveness of Kyiv's long-range strike regime depends on how many munitions it receives — and how it uses them. Ukraine had long been restricted to using ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles only inside occupied territory, although the UK recently agreed to let Kyiv use its weapons to strike inside Russia. Whether or not the US follows suit remains to be seen. Analysts and officials have said that US restrictions went on to prevent Ukraine from putting up an effective defense and have essentially allowed Russia to conduct a new assault in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The advances appear to be the start of Moscow's anticipated summer offensive, as Ukrainian forces are increasingly stretched out across the front, Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, warned in an analysis this week. "The outlook in Ukraine is bleak," Watling said. "However, if Ukraine's allies engage now to replenish Ukrainian munitions stockpiles, help to establish a robust training pipeline, and make the industrial investments to sustain the effort, then Russia's summer offensive can be blunted, and Ukraine will receive the breathing space it needs to regain the initiative."
Dow Jones passes 40,000 points for first time amid strong quarterly results 2024-05-16 21:18:00+00:00 - The Dow Jones industrial average briefly passed 40,000 points for the first time on Thursday, powered by strong quarterly results from corporate America and rising bets of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The uptick was short-lived, though, as the Dow closed slightly down from earlier in the day. The index closed at 39,869 – just under the 40,000 benchmark it surpassed earlier in the day. Still, the rally shows resilience in the US economy as the index has more than doubled since the spring of 2020 when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 to be a global pandemic. The outbreak shuttered businesses worldwide as the death toll mounted. In its wake came supply chain issues that led to soaring inflation. The US has staged a remarkable recovery despite widespread predictions of disaster in the face of runaway prices and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive series of interest rate hikes, aimed at tamping down inflation. On Wednesday, government figures showed that the annual rate of inflation, which peaked at over 9% in June 2022, had slowed to 3.4% in April, down from 3.5% in the previous month. The rate is still far higher than the Fed’s target of 2% annual inflation but the details in the report cheered investors and increased expectations that the Fed will start cutting interest rates later this year. The Dow is an index of 30 of the US’s most prominent companies, including Amazon, Apple, McDonald’s and Nike. Hopes that artificial intelligence will create a new wave of tech innovation – and wealth – and a series of positive reports from Dow constituents have pushed up the index. On Thursday another of its constituents, the retail giant Walmart, released better than expected quarterly results, helping the Dow break the 40,000 barrier. John Lynch, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management, hailed the Dow’s drive to 40,000 points, telling CNBC: “This achievement is a testament to the powers of capital formation, innovation, profit growth and economic resilience.” The stock market rise comes as the US has continued to report strong growth in the jobs market. Unemployment has remained below 4% for over two years – the longest such streak since the 1950s. But despite rising stock markets and low unemployment, consumer confidence has sagged, plunging to its lowest level in six months according to a University of Michigan survey of consumers released earlier this month. “While consumers had been reserving judgment for the past few months, they now perceive negative developments on a number of dimensions. They expressed worries that inflation, unemployment and interest rates may all be moving in an unfavorable direction in the year ahead,” said the University of Michigan’s surveys of consumers director, Joanne Hsu. The split between poor consumer sentiment and buoyant economic indicators has presented Joe Biden with a major obstacle ahead of November’s election. Polling has consistently shown voters regard his predecessor, Donald Trump, as a better economic leader than Biden. The Biden campaign took to X to poke fun at Trump, who has claimed on numerous occasions that stock markets and the wider economy would crash under Biden.
These 16 House Democrats voted to force Biden to deliver withheld aid to Israel 2024-05-16 21:07:37+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview 16 House Democrats on Thursday voted for a bill designed to force President Joe Biden to provide all military aid to Israel — or risk the defunding of crucial national security-related offices. The bill easily passed the House on an otherwise party-line vote, with almost every Republican voting for it and the vast majority of Democrats voting against it. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Three Republicans — including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Warren Davidson of Ohio — also voted against it. But it will not be taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden has threatened to veto the bill, which was proposed by Republicans after Biden revealed that he was withholding some offensive weapons from Israel over concerns about the Jewish state's invasion Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees are located. Advertisement Republicans in particular have sought to hit Biden for that move, including Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, a Republican who voted against Israel aid but has now introduced articles of impeachment against Biden for withholding that aid. Related stories Specifically, the "Israel Security Assistance Support Act" does the following: condemns Biden's decision and calls on him to provide all of the approved aid to Israel; strips the salaries of any State Department or Pentagon employees who assist in withholding aid; withholds funding for the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and the National Security Council until all of the withheld aid has been delivered. The White House told members of Congress on Tuesday that it strongly opposes the bill, arguing that it "would undermine the President's ability to execute an effective foreign policy" and that it could "lead to spiraling unintended consequences" by constraining the president's ability to adjust assistance levels in the future. Advertisement House Democratic leadership also pushed rank-and-file members hard to vote against the bill, prompting at least one Democrat to avoid stating his position ahead of time. "I know how I'm gonna vote, and nothing's gonna move me off of that," said Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, one of the most vulnerable swing-district Democrats in the House. Jewish Democrats ended up being split on the bill, with several of them arguing that Republicans were merely attempting to use Israel as a wedge to divide Democrats. Among them was Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio, who told Business Insider in a statement that he would vote for the bill while calling on Republicans to amend it. He also argued more "clarity" is needed from the Biden administration on its Israel policy. Advertisement Since October 7, the House has taken a variety of Israel-related votes that have split House Democrats, including one that equated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and another that was designed to crack down on campus antisemitism but faced free speech-related criticism. Last month, 37 House Democrats voted against a bill to provide the military aid to Israel that Biden is now partially withholding. Here are the 16 House Democrats who voted for the bill:
F.D.A. Approves Drug for Persistently Deadly Form of Lung Cancer 2024-05-16 20:59:45.395000+00:00 - The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an innovative new treatment for patients with a form of lung cancer. It is to be used only by patients who have exhausted all other options to treat small cell lung cancer, and have a life expectancy of four to five months. The drug tarlatamab, or Imdelltra, made by the company Amgen, tripled patients’ life expectancy, giving them a median survival of 14 months after they took the drug. Forty percent of those who got the drug responded. After decades with no real advances in treatments for small cell lung cancer, tarlatamab offers the first real hope, said Dr. Anish Thomas, a lung cancer specialist at the federal National Cancer Institute who was not involved in the trial. “I feel it’s a light after a long time,” he added. Dr. Timothy Burns, a lung cancer specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, said that the drug “will be practice-changing.”
FDA approves Amgen's treatment for most deadly form of lung cancer 2024-05-16 20:53:00+00:00 - The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Amgen 's therapy for patients with the most deadly form of lung cancer. The agency cleared the drug, which will be marketed under the name Imdelltra, as a second or later line of treatment for people with advanced small-cell lung cancer. That means patients can take the drug if their cancer progresses while on or after trying one other form of treatment, which is typically a type of chemotherapy. Amgen's drug is also known by its generic name tarlatamab. In clinical trials, Amgen's drug has been shown to reduce tumor growth and help people with small-cell lung cancer live significantly longer. Of the more than 2.2 million patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer worldwide each year, small-cell lung cancer comprises 15%, or 330,000, of those cases, Amgen said. Around 80% to 85% of people with small-cell lung cancer are diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease, according to a study published in the Journal of Cancer. There are around 35,000 patients with small-cell lung cancer in the U.S., Dr. Jay Bradner, Amgen's chief scientific officer, told CNBC. Small-cell lung cancer usually starts in the airways of the lung and grows rapidly, creating large tumors and spreading throughout the body. Symptoms include bloody phlegm, cough, chest pain and shortness of breath. Only 3% of patients with small-cell lung cancer that has spread to other parts of the body live past 5 years, according to the American Cancer Society. That five-year survival rate accounts for 7% among all patients with the condition, regardless of whether the cancer spreads. Bradner said patients with small-cell lung cancer typically have four to five months to live. Lynne Bell, a small-cell lung cancer patient from Atlanta, Georgia, is an exception. She says she was "horrified" and "in a dark place" after she was diagnosed with an advanced stage of the condition in 2021. But she started taking Amgen's Imdelltra in an ongoing clinical trial in September after other treatments, including chemotherapy, stopped working. Since then, Bell said her tumors have shrunk significantly and cancer scans "look great." She said she specifically noticed her pain go away after taking a second dose of Amgen's drug. When asked how long she would continue Imdelltra, Bell said, "If this medication is working and I'm not having any side effects, I'm good to go. I'm in it to win it." Maida Mangiameli, a small-cell lung cancer advocate and patient mentor from Naperville, Illinois, is also a survivor of the devastating disease. She was diagnosed with an advanced stage of the condition in 2018 but was deemed in remission this year, meaning the treatment she received has reduced the signs and symptoms of the cancer. Mangiameli has been in remission for five years. Her treatments included chemotherapy and 28 days of radiation therapy. She told CNBC that Amgen's Imdelltra may "not be something for me, but it might be down the road." Mangiameli added that she's excited to know that there will be another therapy option for other patients suffering from small-cell lung cancer. She said the development of new treatments for the disease has been "on the back burner" for several years. Amgen's Bradner also said treatment options "are pretty meager." "It's just one of the most dreadful cancers and so we needed a new solution," he said.
Joint streaming venture involving ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Venu Sports 2024-05-16 20:51:04+00:00 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — The sports streaming platform planned by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery finally has a name. The joint venture will be known as Venu (pronounced “venue”) Sports. The companies announced plans in February for the platform, which some consider to be the equivalent of Hulu for sports. “As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games,” Venu Sports CEO Pete Distad said in a statement. Further details, including pricing and launch timing, will be announced later. Venu Sports still has many hurdles to clear, including regulatory approval, before it launches. FuboTV filed an antitrust lawsuit shortly after the joint venture was announced. In its filing, FuboTV said it has tried for years to offer a sports-only streaming service but has been prevented from doing so because ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have imposed bundling requirements. Sports leagues also have plenty of questions about the venture, with most being unanswered at this point. It also remains unclear how much NBA content would be available on Venu Sports. ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery are in negotiations to renew their rights, which expire at the end of next season. ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Philadelphia still the 6th-biggest U.S. city, but San Antonio catching up, census data shows 2024-05-16 20:44:50+00:00 - PHILADELPHIA (AP) — New federal estimates show Philadelphia remains the nation’s sixth-most-populous city, despite a decline in population throughout the pandemic. But the U.S. Census Bureau data out this week also shows San Antonio, Texas, could surpass Philadelphia in the coming years if trends continue. The data shows that Philadelphia lost 3.3% of its population — roughly 53,000 residents — between April 2020 and July 2023, dropping the city’s overall population to about 1,550,542. San Antonio, meanwhile, saw the largest numerical increase in its population of any city in the country in 2023, adding about 22,000 residents last year. Its population now stands at 1,495,295, according to census estimates, or about 55,000 people behind Philadelphia. The data also shows Philadelphia is not the only major city to see its population shrink. Nearly all its peer cities in the Northeast and Midwest saw losses, too — some coming at much greater rates. New York City saw a 6.2% decrease in population during the peak pandemic years, while population drops in Boston and Baltimore also outpaced Philly’s decline from 2020 to 2023. Some West Coast cities also shrank more than Philly, including San Francisco, which lost 7.4% of its population, and San Jose, California. On the opposite end, five of the nation’s 10 largest cities added population, mostly in the South and Southwest.
Former Facebook and Nike diversity manager gets 5 years in prison for $5 million fraud 2024-05-16 20:39:00+00:00 - A former diversity manager at Facebook and Nike was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for stealing more than $5 million from those companies that had been earmarked for DEI initiatives, federal prosecutors said. Georgia resident Barbara Furlow-Smiles, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the case in December, stole more than $4.9 million from Facebook "utilizing a scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks," Atlanta U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a statement. "After being terminated from Facebook, she brazenly continued the fraud as a DEI leader at Nike, where she stole another six-figure sum from their diversity program," Buchanan said. Furlow-Smiles, 38, used the money she stole "to fund a luxury lifestyle in California, Georgia and Oregon," according to Buchanan's office, which had asked a judge to sentence her to 6½ years. She was a lead strategist and global head of employee resource groups and diversity engagement at Facebook, the subsidiary of Meta. She was not Facebook's top DEI executive. Prosecutors said that while at Facebook she linked PayPal, Venmo and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards and then used those accounts to pay her friends, relatives, and others for purported goods and services for the company that were never delivered.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardons Daniel Perry, Army sergeant convicted of murdering protester in 2020 2024-05-16 20:34:00+00:00 - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a pardon Thursday for the Army sergeant convicted of murder last year in the fatal shooting of a protester in downtown Austin in July 2020. Daniel Perry was found guilty by a Travis County jury last year in the murder of Garrett Foster and sentenced to 25 years in prison. At the same time, Abbott made clear that he would like to pardon Perry and asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider Perry's case. The board offered a unanimous recommendation on Thursday to pardon Perry, and Abbott signed the declaration. Perry was released from prison shortly after. Travis County District Attorney José Garza condemned the pardon, saying the board and Abbott "made a mockery of our legal system." "Their actions are contrary to the law and demonstrate that there are two classes of people in this state where some lives matter and some lives do not," Garza said Thursday in a statement. "They have sent a message to Garrett Foster’s family, to his partner, and to our community that his life does not matter." He added that it also sent a message to community members who gave up their time to be on the grand jury and trial jury that their service "does not matter." Perry encountered a group of protesters in downtown Austin on July 25, 2020, roughly 70 miles from where he was based in Fort Hood, police said. The group was demonstrating against racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed weeks earlier by a Minnesota police officer. Foster was taking part in the protest and legally carrying a semiautomatic rifle when he approached the intersection where Perry was in his car. Perry shot Foster from the vehicle with a handgun. Police said Perry told them that Foster, an Air Force veteran, had pointed the rifle at him and he acted in self-defense. Abbott argued that Perry should have been exempt from prosecution under Texas' "stand your ground" law. Prosecutors used prior social media posts and text messages from Perry to portray him as a racist at trial, and argued he simply could have driven away without firing his weapon. Witnesses also testified that they never saw Foster raise his firearm at Perry. Perry was convicted of murder, but acquitted of a second charge, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The governor's pardon Thursday will restore Perry's rights as if he were never convicted, including the right to own firearms. Texas' Department of Criminal Justice confirmed Perry was released from prison following the pardon. Clint Broden, Perry's attorney, said in a statement that the circumstances of this case have "always been tragic" but that the evidence supported Perry's account of self-defense. The lawyer accused Garza of suppressing evidence that would have supported Perry's case. "The Board of Pardons and Paroles undertook an independent and extensive review of the case," Broden said. "In particular, it interviewed the police detective who had previously determined, after a thorough investigation, that Mr. Perry had acted in self-defense when confronted with an angry crowd and a person with an assault rifle in the low ready position." He added that Perry and his family thank the board for its careful review.
The NBA is picking its next TV partners — and a deal hinges on Warner Bros. Discovery's next move 2024-05-16 20:33:00+00:00 - NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media during a press conference as part of the 2022 All-Star Weekend at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 19, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. Whether it's two people in a marriage or a company and a sports league, it's not easy to break up a 40-year partnership. The National Basketball Association and Warner Bros. Discovery 's Turner Sports have been in business together for nearly four decades. The relationship is now in jeopardy, as Comcast 's NBCUniversal is attempting to steal away its package of games with a $2.5 billion per-year offer, as CNBC has previously reported. The league ended its exclusive window to renew a deal with its two current media partners, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, on April 22. Since then, the league has set a framework to renew with Disney, bring in Amazon as a new third partner, and sell its other package to either Warner Bros. Discovery or NBCUniversal, according to people familiar with the matter. The league stands to triple the total aggregate dollars of a new deal from about $24 billion to $76 billion or more. Warner Bros. Discovery continues to have discussions with the NBA about keeping the rights, according to people familiar with the matter. The league could still decide to simply renew with its incumbent partner, but it's not likely, said two of the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. The more probable path would be for the league to sign papers with NBCUniversal, formally securing its bid. That would trigger a contractual option for Warner Bros. Discovery to match the offer. This is where things might get thorny. Both the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery have begun poring over legal language to determine if the league can reject a potential match, the people said. The contractual wording is vague, and it's unclear if the NBA has full discretion to walk away from Warner Bros. Discovery if it matches the bid, said the people. If Warner Bros. Discovery decides to match, and the NBA chooses NBCUniversal's offer anyway, the sides may be headed for a lawsuit. Warner Bros. Discovery believes it's fairly well protected by the contractual language, one of the people said. Still, that remains a hypothetical at this point. It's possible Warner Bros. Discovery won't match NBCUniversal's bid, which would avoid potential conflict. Some league officials are worried Warner Bros. Discovery's balance sheet can't handle spending $2.5 billion a year on the NBA, according to people familiar with the matter. Warner Bros. Discovery has a market valuation of about $20 billion and an enterprise value of about $60 billion, including $43.2 billion of gross debt, as of the end of the company's fiscal first quarter. The company had a leverage ratio (net debt to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of 4.1. Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav has both publicly and privately preached the importance of financial discipline for the company. Comcast has a market capitalization of about $154 billion and an enterprise value of $244 billion. Comcast's leverage ratio is about 2.5. NBA officials are more comfortable Comcast can pay what would amount to more than double the previous price for the package. Warner Bros. Discovery had been paying $1.2 billion per year to air NBA games. The new package also includes fewer games than the current one because the NBA is likely to introduce a third partner — most likely to be Amazon . Spokespeople for Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA declined to comment.
Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems lays off workers, citing lower plane delivery rates 2024-05-16 20:29:00+00:00 - A Boeing 737 MAX-10 lands over the Spirit AeroSystems logo during a flying display at the 54th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, on June 22, 2023. Aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems on Thursday said it will lay off some of its workers because of slower delivery rates on commercial aircraft as it struggles with a slowdown at its biggest commercial airplane customer, Boeing . Spirit AeroSystems told staff in a memo, reported earlier by Wichita-based KSN, that it would cut about 400 to 450 hourly employees. "We are committed to implementing this transition in as compassionate a manner as possible," Spirit AeroSystems said in a statement. About 12,600 people worked at the Wichita facility as of the end of 2023, according to the company's annual filing. Spirit AeroSystems makes fuselages at the plant for Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane, deliveries of which have slowed in the wake of a door panel blowout and resulting safety crisis at Boeing. Last week, Spirit AeroSystems said first-quarter Boeing deliveries decreased 31% from the same period in 2023, and said overall deliveries were down 11.3%. It reported a quarterly loss of $616.7 million for the first three months of the year. The company has struggled financially in recent years and was last profitable in 2019. The company is also in talks to be acquired by Boeing , which it spun off from in 2005. About 70% of Spirit AeroSystems' revenue last year came from Boeing, although the company also makes parts for Boeing's rival Airbus . Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told CNBC in an interview in April 2024 that it is "more than likely" that the companies reach a deal during the second quarter.
Arizona GOP keeps pushing Latino voters toward Biden 2024-05-16 20:26:24+00:00 - Republicans in the Arizona Senate have resurfaced an immigration ballot measure that would ask voters this November to make illegally crossing the border a state crime. Though Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed a similar bill this year, that hasn’t stopped the state’s Republicans from keeping House Concurrent Resolution 2060 (HCR 2060) alive to gain political points and give local law enforcement more authority to criminally charge undocumented individuals. Republicans putting another reiteration of the state’s 2010 “show me your papers” law on the November ballot would be a gift to President Joe Biden. But Republicans putting another reiteration of the state’s 2010 “Show me your papers” law on the November ballot would be a gift to President Joe Biden. The generation that successfully fought SB 1070 hasn’t gone away and remains organized and politically active. Arizona is one of the states where Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump, according to a poll this week from The New York Times and Siena College. He’s winning Latinos by 10 points in that poll, but HCR 2060 could be an issue that pushes Latino turnout and support for Biden higher. According to Pew Research, Latinos make up 25% of the state’s eligible voters, accounting to 1.3 million voters. The NALEO Education Fund estimates that more than “855,000 Latinos are expected to cast ballots this November in Arizona, which mirrors the 2020 Latino turnout and is an increase of 57.5 percent from 2016.” Arizona Latinos helped deliver the state and the presidency to Biden in 2020 after Hilary Clinton lost the state to Trump in 2016. They also helped elect Democrats for governor and the U.S. Senate in 2022. Immigrant rights activists have been protesting at the state Capitol in Phoenix against HCR 2060, arguing that the measure, if put on the ballot and then approved by voters, would lead to racial profiling and targeting of immigrant communities, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and those who’ve lived in Arizona much longer. HCR 2060 was expected to be voted on this week, but a Republican legislator signaled his disapproval of some of the measure’s provisions, particularly the prospect that it could make an estimated 20,000 DACA recipients subject to deportation. As of now, the measure has been stalled, which means Arizona’s Generation SB 1070 has earned another political victory, even if it’s temporary. “I do think that the Latino vote is very strong and we’re ready to come out to the polls,” 25-year-old Karime Rodríguez, a services and immigration manager for LUCHA (Living United for Change in Arizona) told me Wednesday morning via a phone interview. “Despite everything that’s happening politically, these are humanitarian issues. And especially myself, I’m a young Latina, I’m a student, and all the communities that I’m around are ready to fight. Back then during SB 1070, it was just our parents, the original dreamers, but now it’s all of us.” Rodríguez, a DACA recipient who is now on the path to naturalization, acknowledges that some Latinos in her community might be drifting away from President Biden, but she emphasizes that generation SB 1070 is not going anywhere and is getting more politically mature and better organized. The politics of HCR 2060 couldn’t come at a better time for Biden and Democrats. “All eyes are on Arizona this election season to see what’s going to happen. But as we’ve shown in the past, our community will come out in waves to make sure that we are voting for measures that benefit us and all of our community members,” Rodríguez says. “We’ll do that again this year. I think that when you oppress a group for so long that there is a time where you know we get tired of fighting, we get tired of being on the defensive side, but at the same time we leave our guard down when measures like HCR 2060 slip through the cracks without us knowing, and we can’t let that happen.” On Tuesday, the action fund of UnidosUS, the largest Latino civil rights group in the country, chose Arizona to formally endorse Biden. There are indications that Biden is trending up again nationally with Latinos, and unlike the NYT poll, a poll from the Latino Community Foundation released at the start of May shows Biden leading Trump by 20 points with Arizona Latinos. On Tuesday, the action fund of UnidosUS, the largest Latino civil rights group in the country, chose Arizona to formally endorse Biden. That said, Arizona is neither in the Biden camp nor the Trump one. If HCR 2060 reaches the ballot (even if there are provisions that protect DACA recipients) Rodríguez is one of many organizers who is fully confident that the measure can be defeated. In addition to Arizona electing Democrats as governor and senator in 2022, grassroots organizers worked hard to pass Proposition 308, which opened up in-state tuition to anyone in Arizona who attended state high schools for at least two years. There is no doubt that they can defeat HCR 2060. “If the measure passes, then it goes to the ballot, and it’ll be in the hands of Arizonans to vote on this, on this measure,” Rodríguez says. “Arizonans have more sympathy and empathy towards migrants, and although our southern border is always used in the news as a spectacle, what surveys actually show within our state is that people want solutions to help migrants. And so, I do believe that in the polls, we’ll be able to shut it down.” And if they do, they’ll likely shut down any hopes of Trump winning the state, too.
Heads-up, Apple and the rest of Big Tech: Disney wants better app store deals. 2024-05-16 20:26:04+00:00 - Disney CEO Bob Iger has a message for Apple, Google, and every other tech company that distributes his company's streaming services: He wants a better deal. At least that seems to be what Iger wants from them. Speaking at an investor conference this week, Iger said he's giving up too much money to the Big Tech app stores that distribute Disney-owned streamers like Hulu and Disney+. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. "We have to look at the way we're distributing," Iger told analyst Michael Nathanson at a MoffettNathanson-hosted conference. "Unlike Netflix, we distribute largely through third-party app stores. There's obviously an advantage to that to some extent, but there's a cost to that, too. And we're looking at that." Iger is referring to arrangements Disney has with tech platforms that allow users to sign up and pay for his streaming services. Those deals vary from platform to platform: Apple, for instance, has a deal for video companies like Disney that charges them 15% of revenue for signups made within Apple-distributed apps; Roku, the connected TV company, can charge video companies a fee for signing up customers on its devices and may also demand a slice of those services' ad inventory. Related stories It may be telling that Iger referenced Netflix, which used to let consumers sign up for its service via third-party distributors like Apple, but stopped doing that in 2018. The move didn't seem to affect Netflix's growth, and has obvious benefits for the company's margins. Advertisement I've asked Disney, as well as Apple, for comment. App stores and app distribution are a meaningful part of many tech companies' business plans. Apple, which can take up to 30% of revenue generated by in-app purchases and signups, has been telling investors that the growth in "services" businesses like the App Store is particularly important for its future. It's also possible that Disney won't need to leave third-party app stores — or threaten to leave — in order to save money. Apple's App Store policies, in particular, have been under pressure from regulators around the world, and Apple is grudgingly making some changes. Maybe one of them will include a way to take a bit less from one of the world's biggest video companies.
United Airlines says FAA cleared it to start adding new aircraft, routes after safety review 2024-05-16 20:06:00+00:00 - United Airlines said the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared it to start adding new aircraft and routes months after the regulator stepped up its scrutiny of the carrier following several safety incidents. “Today, we got some good news: after a careful review and discussion about the proactive safety steps United has taken to date, our FAA Certificate Management Office has allowed us to begin the process of restarting our certification activities, including new aircraft and routes, and we will continue to coordinate closely with the FAA,” United said in a note to employees Wednesday. United said in March that the FAA had stepped up scrutiny of the airline after a spate of incidents earlier this year. That prevented it from launching new routes, including flights to Faro, Portugal, ahead of the busy summer travel season. United said that it has more work to do, however. “We will continue to see an FAA presence in our operation as they review our work processes, manuals and facilities,” it said in its employee memo. United would send requests to the FAA to add aircrafts or new routes, though a spokesperson said it has yet to do so. The FAA said later Thursday that it has not yet “approved any expansion of United Airlines’ routes or fleets.” The FAA said its review is “ongoing and safety will determine the timeline for completing it.” A clearance from the FAA would be welcome news as United and other carriers expect a record peak season this year. Among the safety incidents in recent months, a Japan-bound United Boeing 777 lost a tire shortly after takeoff from San Francisco in February, and a missing panel was discovered on a Boeing 737 after it landed in Oregon in March. While the planes involved older jets, the incidents come amid heightened scrutiny of the aviation industry after a door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines earlier this year, a near catastrophe that has created a fresh crisis for the manufacturer.
White students sue University of Oklahoma over alleged pro-Black discrimination 2024-05-16 20:00:02+00:00 - Three white students at the University of Oklahoma are suing the university over allegations of pro-Black discrimination. The lawsuit, which accuses the university of unfairly prioritizing racial diversity in distributing scholarships, is the latest in a spate of anti-diversity lawsuits that have been filed since conservative Supreme Court justices outlawed race-conscious affirmative action policies on college campuses last year. The suit is part and parcel of what we can expect if Donald Trump is elected this November and, as he’s promised, prioritizes rooting out what he's called "anti-white feeling" in the United States. The class action lawsuit claims to represent scores of “current, present, and future” undergrad students. But it names three student plaintiffs in particular: Kayla Savage, Logan Rhines and Brayden Johnson. They claim the University of Oklahoma unlawfully “places a high value on diversity,” which they say resulted in them receiving fewer scholarships than they would have had they been Black. As evidence, the suit points to various programs that the plaintiffs say exhibit race-based preferences, like orientations for Black students. The lawsuit frames these programs as “racially exclusionary” — although such programs are, by law, almost always available to non-Black students who want to participate (speaking anecdotally as a former Black student organization president). Nonetheless, the lawsuit cites these examples to portray the university as discriminating against white students. On top of the Black-friendly programming, the suit cites a "statistical analysis" that purportedly shows that Black students receive "more institutional grant aid from the University of Oklahoma than other students, even when controlling to the extent possible for factors such as family income.” The lawsuit also claims that plaintiff Savage, who was apparently ineligible for scholarship funds, was told by an unnamed admissions official that “financial aid was generally not available to students like her, but would have been if she were African American.” Notably, the suit doesn’t clarify whether this was merely someone’s opinion (which would align with some common misconceptions) or, as the suit suggests, was a declaration of official university policy. The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages. Reading through it, I was reminded of Viola Fletcher, who, at 110 years old, is the oldest survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Fletcher is still seeking recompense for the racist violence wrought upon her community during one of the deadliest race-based attacks in U.S. history. It defies logic that a state that's still struggling to reckon with its devastating history could, at the same time, be harboring elite institutions like universities that would be functionally anti-white. But that's the idea essentially at the basis of this lawsuit.
After Adobe collapse, Figma deal allows employees to sell shares at $12.5 billion valuation 2024-05-16 19:56:00+00:00 - Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, speaks at the startup's Config conference in San Francisco on May 10, 2022. Figma, a cloud-based design tool company, said Thursday it will allow investors, including current and former employees, to sell their shares in a tender offer that values the company at $12.5 billion. That's up 25% from the valuation at which the company fundraised in 2021, but below the $20 billion acquisition offer Adobe made in 2022. Adobe and Figma called off the planned acquisition in December following regulatory scrutiny. The San Francisco-based startup expects the size of the tender to be between $600 million and $900 million, with support from more than 25 current and new investors. A16z, Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins are participating in the offer. Figma is used by tens of thousands of employees inside Microsoft , which spends millions per year on its deployment. Google , Oracle and Salesforce also use the company's software. In June 2021, during the heyday of mega financings, Figma was valued at $10 billion in a funding round that included participation from Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global. That was before the 2022 market plunge sent many cloud stocks down by more than half and largely halted pre-IPO rounds. Adobe initially said acquiring Figma would be a natural complement to the company's portfolio, writing in the original announcement that "the combination of Adobe and Figma will usher in a new era of collaborative creativity." In December, a regulatory filing said Adobe would pay Figma a $1 billion breakup fee. — CNBC's Jordan Novet contributed to this report.