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A container ship leaves the port in front of famous landmark Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, Germany, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBERLIN, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The value of German exports jumped by 4.5% in June to hit a record level, though economists cautioned that much of the increase was likely due to soaring prices.Exports rose for a third month in a row, beating forecasts for a 1% increase and pushing Germany's seasonally adjusted trade surplus to 6.4 billion euros ($6.51 billion) in June, well above consensus for a 2.7 billion euro surplus.Preliminary data last month had shown Germany posting its first trade deficit in more than 30 years, but the May figure of -1.0 billion euros was revised on Wednesday to a surplus of 0.8 billion euros.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"These figures should be taken with a grain of salt," Thomas Gitzel of VP Bank said, saying that price increases could increase nominal export volumes without more goods actually having been exported. "Adjusted for prices, little is likely to remain of the export growth."The German economy stagnated in the second quarter, with the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and supply disruptions bringing Europe's largest economy to the edge of a downturn. read more The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) warned that Germany's export-reliant industry faced a difficult second half of the year."Supply chain disruptions and high costs for energy, raw materials and imported inputs continue to hamper production," said DIHK foreign trade expert Carolin Herweg."Also, the cooling of the economies of important export partners, such as the United States, China or the euro zone, is also dampening demand for products 'Made in Germany'."Exports to the United States, Germany's biggest exports market, rose by 6.2% in June compared with May, while those to European Union member states were up by 3.9%. Exports to China edged up by 2.4% in June.June imports to Germany increased by 0.2% on the previous month in calendar- and seasonally-adjusted terms, the federal statistics office said. Analysts polled by Reuters had pointed to a month-on-month increase of 1.3%.($1 = 0.9833 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Rachel More and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

German exports surge to record level in June, outlook still gloomy.

Hong Kong activist dubbed "Captain America 2.0" Ma Chun-man attends a vigil for a protester Marco Leung Ling-kit who fell to his death during a demonstration outside the Pacific Place mall, in Hong Kong, China June 15, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong activist dubbed "Captain America 2.0" for wielding the superhero's shield during pro-democracy protests in 2019 had his jail sentence reduced to five years on Wednesday after winning an appeal.High Court Chief Judge Jeremy Poon and Justices of Appeal Derek Pang and Anthea Pang, wrote in a summary that was posted on the court's website. "The 6-year starting point adopted by the judge was manifestly excessive."The proper starting point should have been 5 years 3 months, and with a discretional discount of 3 months, the final sentence should be one of 5 years."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMa Chun-man, 31 and formerly a delivery man, was jailed for five years and nine months last November for inciting secession under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. He was found guilty of inciting secession due to the slogans he chanted, placards displayed and statements he made to the media. read more According to Article 21 of the national security law: "If the circumstances of the offence committed by a person are of a serious nature, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years."The judges said the lower court judge, Stanley Chan, "was wrong to use the applicant's lack of remorse as a reason to assign this case to the "serious" category", though it did not affect the conclusion that this case was of a "serious nature".What Ma did "remained at the lower end of that classification", the judges added.Senior Counsel Edwin Choy, representing Ma, argued that his sentence should be closer to five years, as the impact of Ma chanting a slogan was small and he did not have detailed plans on pushing forward a pro-independence stance.The national security law punishes anything China sees as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison and has been widely criticised as a tool to purge political opponents and civil society groups.Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong say the law was necessary to restore stability to the financial hub after anti-government protests in 2019.More than 200 people, including many of the city's most prominent opposition politicians and activists, have been arrested for endangering national security. Most have been denied bail.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEditing by Anne Marie Roantree and Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hong Kong 'Captain America' protester gets lighter sentence after appeal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane ahead of a trip to Cambodia, Philippians, South Africa, Congo, and Rwanda at Andrews Air Force Base, U.S., August 2, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTOKYO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the possibility of house speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart in Bali last month, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.Blinken has no plans to meet his Chinese or Russian counterparts this week in Cambodia, the official said, where foreign ministers from ASEAN and more than a dozen other countries are attending regional meetings.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by David Brunnstrom; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

No plans for Blinken to meet Chinese, Russian counterparts in Cambodia this week - senior U.S. official.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 2 (Reuters) - Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected an effort to remove abortion protections from the state's constitution, a resounding win for the abortion rights movement in the first statewide electoral test since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.The amendment's failure in the conservative state lifted Democrats' hopes that the issue of abortion rights will draw voters to the party in November's midterm elections even as they worry about surging inflation.The result also will prevent Kansas' Republican-led legislature from passing severe abortion restrictions in the state, which has become a key abortion access point for America's heartland.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"This should be a real wake-up call for abortion opponents," said Neal Allen, a political science professor at Wichita State University. "When a total ban looks like a possibility, then you're going to get a lot of people to turn out and you're going to lose a lot of the more moderate supporters of abortion restrictions."Political analysts had expected the Kansas amendment to pass, given that Republicans typically turn out in greater numbers for the state's primary elections than Democrats and independents.But Tuesday's vote drew higher-than-expected turnout. With 98% of the vote counted, 59% of voters favored preserving abortion rights compared to nearly 41% who supported removing abortion protections from the state constitution, according to Edison Research."This is a titanic result for Kansas politics," said Allen.Kansas' ballot initiative is the first of several that will ask U.S. voters to weigh in on abortion rights this year. Kentucky, California, Vermont and possibly Michigan will have abortion on the ballot this fall.The successful "vote no" campaign in Kansas could offer a blueprint to abortion rights groups looking to harness voter energy in the wake of Roe's reversal, Allen said.U.S. President Joe Biden joined Democrats across the country in applauding the results on Tuesday."This vote makes clear what we know: The majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions," Biden said in a statement.Abortion-rights supporters react as early polls showed that voters rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have declared there is no right to abortion, at a Kansans for Constitutional Freedom election watch party in Topeka, Kansas, U.S. August 2, 2022. Evert Nelson/USA Today Network via REUTERS. A statewide survey released by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University in February showed most Kansas residents did not support a total abortion ban.Sixty percent disagreed that abortion should be completely illegal, and 50.5% said, "The Kansas government should not place any regulations on the circumstances under which women can get abortions."Kansas Republicans had been pushing for a state constitutional amendment to eliminate abortion rights since 2019, when the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the state constitution protected the right to abortion.As a result of the ruling, Kansas has maintained more lenient policies than other conservative neighbors. The state allows abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy with several restrictions, including a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and mandatory parental consent for minors.HIGH STAKES IN NOVEMBERPatients travel to Kansas for abortions from Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states that have banned the procedure almost entirely since the Supreme Court in June overturned Roe, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.A spokesperson for the Trust Women abortion clinic in Wichita said 60% of their abortion patients are from out of state.Tuesday's referendum drew national attention and money. The Value Them Both Association, which supported the amendment, raised about $4.7 million this year, about two-thirds of that from regional Catholic dioceses, according to campaign finance data.Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the main coalition opposing the amendment, raised about $6.5 million, including more than $1 million from Planned Parenthood groups.Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a national anti-abortion group, said it spent $1.4 million to promote the amendment and canvassed 250,000 homes in Kansas.“Tonight’s loss is a huge disappointment for pro-life Kansans and Americans nationwide,” said Mallory Carroll, a spokesperson for the group. "The stakes for the pro-life movement in the upcoming midterm elections could not be higher."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Gabriella Borter in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Kansas votes to preserve abortion rights in first post-Roe v. Wade election test.

Smoke rises from the partially-collapsed Beirut grain silos, damaged in the August 2020 port blast, in Beirut Lebanon August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Issam AbdallahRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBEIRUT, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Lebanon on Thursday marks the second anniversary of the Beirut port explosion which killed at least 215 people, wounded thousands and damaged swathes of the capital.Despite the devastation wrought by the blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, a judicial investigation has brought no senior official to account.With the probe frozen for months, many Lebanese see this as an example of the impunity enjoyed by a ruling elite that has long avoided accountability for corruption and bad governance, including policies that led to a financial collapse.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHere is a recap of how the blast happened, and the obstacles that have paralysed the investigation.WHAT HAPPENED?The explosion just after 6 p.m. on August 4, 2020, resulted from the detonation of hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate which ignited as a blaze tore through the warehouse where they were stored.Originally bound for Mozambique aboard a Russian-leased ship, the chemicals had been at the port since 2013, when they were unloaded during an unscheduled stop to take on extra cargo.The ship never left the port, becoming tangled in a legal dispute over unpaid port fees and ship defects.No one ever came forward to claim the shipment.The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up was one fifth of the 2,754 tonnes unloaded in 2013, the FBI concluded, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing.The blast was so powerful it was felt 250 km away in Cyprus and sent a mushroom cloud over Beirut.WHO KNEW ABOUT THE CHEMICALS?Senior Lebanese officials, including President Michel Aoun and then-Prime Minister Hassan Diab, were aware of the cargo.Aoun said shortly after the blast he had told security chiefs to "do what is necessary" after learning of the chemicals. Diab has said his conscience is clear.Human Rights Watch said in a report last year that high-level security and government officials "foresaw the significant threat to life ... and tacitly accepted the risk of deaths occurring".WHO HAS INVESTIGATED THE BLAST?The justice minister appointed Judge Fadi Sawan head investigator shortly after the blast. Sawan charged three ex-ministers and Diab with negligence over the blast in December, 2020, but then hit strong political pushback.A court removed him from the case in February, 2021 after two of the ex-ministers - Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeitar - complained he had overstepped his powers.Judge Tarek Bitar was appointed to replace Sawan. He sought to interrogate senior figures including Zeitar and Khalil, both of them members of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement and allies of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.He also sought to question Major-General Abbas Ibrahim, head of the powerful General Security agency.All have denied wrongdoing.HOW HAS THE PROBE BEEN STYMIED?All of the current and former officials Bitar has sought to question as suspects have resisted, arguing they have immunity or that he lacks authority to prosecute them.This tussle has played out in the courts, in political life and on the streets.Suspects swamped courts last year with more than two dozen legal cases seeking Bitar's removal over alleged bias and "grave mistakes", leading to several suspensions of the investigation.The ex-ministers have said any cases against them should be heard by a special court for presidents and ministers. That court has never held a single official accountable, and it would pass control of the probe to ruling parties in parliament.The probe has been in complete limbo since early 2022 due to the retirement of judges from a court that must rule on several complaints against Bitar before he can continue.The finance minister - who is backed by Berri - has held off signing a decree appointing new judges, citing concerns with the sectarian balance of the bench.WHAT DOES HEZBOLLAH THINK?Bitar has not pursued any members of the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah group.But Hezbollah campaigned fiercely against him last year as he sought to question its allies. One senior Hezbollah official sent Bitar a message warning that the group would "uproot" him.An anti-Bitar protest called by Hezbollah and its allies last October escalated into deadly violence.Hezbollah has accused the United States, which lists the group as a terrorist organisation, of meddling in the probe.The U.S. ambassador has denied this.Hezbollah dismissed accusations made at the time of the blast that it had stored arms at the port and says it had nothing to do with the blast. Its adversaries have long accused the group of controlling the port - something it also denies.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWriting by Timour Azhari and Tom Perry, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Explainer: Two years since Beirut blast, why has no top official been held to account?.

Commonwealth Games - Swimming - Men's 50m Breaststroke - Medal Ceremony - Sandwell Aquatics Centre, Birmingham, Britain - August 2, 2022 Gold Medallist England's Adam Peaty celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony REUTERS/Stoyan NenovRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - England's Adam Peaty said winning 50 metres breaststroke gold at the Commonwealth Games had helped him rediscover his spark - just days after he said he had lost it.The 27-year-old triple Olympic gold medallist clocked 26.76 seconds on Tuesday to claim his first Commonwealth Games title in the event, ahead of Australia's Sam Williamson and Scotland's Ross Murdoch.Peaty had said he was "heartbroken" and missing his usual spark after finishing fourth in Sunday's 100m final, an event which he won at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"I had two options this morning -- I either fight or don't fight," said Peaty, who had to miss the world championships in June after breaking a bone in his foot."Everyone who knows me, knows I fight."That means so much to me, because what I have been through the last five years. I lost my spark towards the beginning of the week and I have it back now."A lot of people have got to understand that I reached the bottom of the bottom yesterday and to bring myself up with the crowd in my own mind and that is the result. I am so glad I got that loss earlier in the week because these wins feel so much more alive and so much better."Peaty also joked that he could "retire now" after adding the elusive medal to his collection.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Peaty rediscovers his spark after winning 50m breaststroke gold.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint news conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 28, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKYIV, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that China was balancing and maintaining neutrality over Russia's war in Ukraine, but that he would like to see China join the countries opposed to Moscow over the invasion.He made the comments by video link at an event organised at the Australian National University.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Zelenskiy says he would like to see China join countries opposed to Russia.

A pedestrian walks past a Telstra logo adorning a phone booth in the central business district (CBD) of Sydney in Australia, February 13, 2018. Picture taken February 13, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Australian telecoms firm Telstra Corp (TLS.AX) will address competition concerns by de-registering some radio-communications sites that interfered with Optus' plans to roll out its 5G network, the country's competition regulator said on Wednesday.The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it was concerned about Telstra's registration of radio-communications sites in a low-band spectrum, which is likely to have hindered Optus, the local unit of Singapore's Singtel , from deploying its 5G network in Australia."We do not agree with the ACCC's views that this was potentially anticompetitive," a Telstra spokesperson said, adding, they have filed to de-register several sites citing a potentially drawn out case that could be expensive and time-consuming.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTelstra will continue to use equipment and sites in areas where Optus is not rolling out, the spokesperson said.Telstra holds licences for parts of a low-band spectrum of 900 megahertz, which expire in June 2024. Such low-band spectrums have the ability to transmit over greater distances and are crucial for the roll out of a 5G network."Telstra's undertaking will ensure Optus is not hindered from expanding its 5G rollout, giving more Australians access to a choice of 5G services in regional and metropolitan Australia," ACCC commissioner Liza Carver said.In January, Telstra registered 315 sites in the 900 megahertz band spectrum after it became aware of Optus' intention to apply for early access to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the ACCC said.So far, Telstra has de-registered 153 of these sites.The regulator said that since the registration, Telstra has used only a limited number of these sites to deploy 3G services. Telstra said that they moved 3G traffic onto the 900 MHz spectrum to relieve congestion.The telecom firm is now required to de-register sites it registered in January that would have prevented Optus from gaining early access to the spectrum."We are pleased with the actions taken by the ACCC to promote 5G competition for Australia’s consumers and businesses," said Andrew Sheridan, vice-president for regulatory and public affairs at Optus.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Himanshi Akhand; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Telstra to address competition concerns over Optus' 5G roll-out - regulator.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks next to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, Vice President William Lai and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk during a meeting at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on Wednesday that a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a deliberate attempt by Washington to irritate China.Speaking on a visit to Myanmar, Lavrov criticised the United States and said it was acting with impunity."I see no other reason to create such an annoyance almost out of the blue, knowing very well what it means for the People's Republic of China," Lavrov said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPelosi's arrival on Tuesday in Taiwan prompted a furious response from Beijing at a time when international tensions are already elevated by the conflict in Ukraine.Russia has come out in support of China, with whom it has forged a strong partnership in recent years, and has warned Washington that Pelosi's visit puts it on a collision course with Beijing. read more Moscow and Beijing both adhere to the 'One China' principle, recognising Taiwan as part of China and opposing independence for the island.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Heavens/Guy Faulconbridge.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Russia's Lavrov: Pelosi visit to Taiwan creates 'annoyance'.

People walk by a CVS Pharmacy store in the Manhattan borough of New York City.Shannon Stapleton | ReutersCVS Health on Wednesday lifted its earnings outlook for the year, after beating Wall Street's expectations for the fiscal second quarter.The health-care company said it now expects adjusted earnings per share for the full year to come in between $8.40 and $8.60, compared with its earlier estimate of between $8.20 and $8.40.Shares rose about 2% in premarket trading.Here's what the company reported for the three-month period ended June 30, compared with what analysts were expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:Earnings per share: $2.40 adjusted vs. $2.17 expectedRevenue: $80.64 billion vs. $76.37 billion expectedOn an unadjusted basis, CVS reported net income of $2.95 billion, or $2.23 per share, higher than the $2.78 billion, or $2.10 per share, a year earlier. Revenue of $80.64 billion likewise marked a year-over-year increase, up from $72.62 billion in the same period in 2021. Shares of CVS closed on Tuesday at $95.37. The company's shares have fallen about 8% so far this year. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

CVS Health raises full-year forecast after beating second-quarter expectations.

SummaryNo sign either side giving ground in power struggleTop Iranian commander visits Baghdad amid crisis, sources sayThough tensions are high, sides appear to be avoiding violenceBAGHDAD, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A power struggle in Iraq between the Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and rivals aligned with Iran is testing Tehran's ability to stave off a conflict that could damage its interests and further destabilise the oil-rich country.With Sadr supporters camped out in parliament and his opponents protesting in the streets, the tussle over a new government has put fresh strain on a political system that has been buffeted by crises since U.S.-led forces toppled dictator Saddam Hussein two decades ago.It adds another destabilising factor to a belt of fragile Arab states between Iran and the Mediterranean - Iraq, Syria and Lebanon - all of which fall within Iran's sphere of influence and have suffered major conflict or crisis over the last decade, including the battle with Islamic State.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comFor Iraq, where the power balance tilted Iran's way after the U.S. invasion of 2003, the tussle adds to divisions in a country also beset by rivalries among Sunni Arab and Kurdish groups who control the north.So far, neither side seems ready to give ground in the 10-month-old standoff, which began when Sadr emerged victorious from an October election and sought to form a government on his terms, only to be stymied by his foes. read more For now, the sides - both heavily armed - appear to be avoiding violence, aware of the impact this would have on Iraq and the Shi'ite majority that was empowered by the political system the United States built after ousting Saddam, a Sunni.But amid dramatic scenes in Baghdad, where Sadr supporters overran the fortified Green Zone that houses state buildings and embassies at the weekend, many Iraqis are concerned about possible violence. read more In a sign of Iran's concern, one of its senior military commanders, Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani, visited Baghdad in recent days in an effort to keep tensions from escalating, a Western diplomat said.An Iraqi official in the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-aligned factions, confirmed the visit but said Ghaani didn't appear to have succeeded, without giving details.Iran's embassy in Baghdad didn't respond to a request for comment.Ghaani, who heads Iran’s Revolutionary Guards' foreign legions, has struggled to wield the influence of his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, killed by a U.S. attack in 2020."Iranian influence has had its ups and downs and has been waning to some extent," said Renad Mansour of Chatham House, a think tank. "This election and government formation process has exposed fragmentation ... among the political parties which makes it very complicated for Iran."The crisis comes at a difficult moment for Iran elsewhere. The heavily armed Hezbollah and its allies lost a parliamentary majority in Lebanon in a May, though they still have big sway."NO REVOLUTIONARY"Sadr, heir to a prominent clerical dynasty who fought U.S. forces after the invasion, has long opposed foreign influence. read more He raised the stakes in June when he instructed his lawmakers to quit parliament, ceding dozens of seats to the Iran-aligned factions. Their subsequent moves towards forming a government without Sadr prompted the parliament takeover.Sadr's recent call for unspecified changes to the constitution may indicate he wants to upend the entire system.But some analysts question how much he really wants to change a system that has served him well: Sadr dominates much of the state which employs many of his followers."Sadr is no revolutionary. He wants the system to go on but with him in a more dominant position," said Toby Dodge, a London School of Economics professor.Dodge described the standoff as "a squabble within an increasingly unpopular elite" in a country where poor governance and corruption has inflicted power and water cuts, poverty and unemployment on Iraqis, despite enormous oil wealth.Those same conditions fuelled mass protests across Baghdad and southern Iraq in 2019 in which security forces killed hundreds of protesters."There could be miscalculations and mistakes. But it seems to me that in every stage in this process, either one side or the other has taken steps to avoid violence," Dodge said.A GAME CHANGER?The United States maintains around 2,000 troops in Iraq to fight Islamic State remnants, far fewer than the 170,000 U.S. troops there at the height of the occupation.Once involved in backroom dealings over Iraqi government formations, U.S. officials have largely stayed out of such contacts in recent years, according to Iraqi officials.Vali Nasr, a Middle East expert at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, said Iraq did not appear to be a big U.S. priority."It (Iraq) was not treated as a game-changer for the region, which it could end up being if Iraq loses the modicum of stability it had," he said."It is too soon to call this a loss for Iran, it may end up being a loss for everybody, and then the question becomes who picks up the pieces afterwards," he said.A U.S. State Department official said Iraq remained a foreign policy priority for the United States and one of the United States' most important strategic partners in the region, calling it a "cornerstone of regional stability"."The United States respects Iraqi sovereignty and views government formation as an Iraqi issue and something that the leaders in Iraq need to resolve," the official added.Hamdi Malik of the Washington Institute think tank noted signs of restraint by both sides, but said conflict was a risk."Any civil war between Shi'ite groups will have a profound impact not only on ... people in Iraq, but the wider region and even other parts of the world, not least because of the possible disruption in oil supplies, as much of Iraq's oil wealth is located in predominantly Shi'ite parts of the country," he said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Samia Nakhoul, William Maclean and Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Analysis: Crisis in Iraq tests its stability and Iran's sway.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesPelosi tells President Tsai "we will not abandon Taiwan"China steps up military activity around TaiwanTaiwan's military increases alertness levelBlinken discussed Pelosi visit with China's Wang Yi last monthChina summoned U.S. ambassador in BeijingTAIPEI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.China demonstrated its outrage over the highest-level U.S. visit to the island in 25 years with a burst of military activity in surrounding waters, summoning the U.S. ambassador in Beijing and halting several agricultural imports from Taiwan.Some of China's planned military exercises were to take place within Taiwan's 12 nautical mile sea and air territory, according to Taiwan's defence ministry, an unprecedented move a senior defence official described to reporters as "amounting to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan".Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPelosi arrived with a congressional delegation on her unannounced but closely watched visit late on Tuesday, defying China's repeated warnings, in what she said shows unwavering U.S. commitment to Taiwan's democracy."Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan,” Pelosi told Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence - a red line for China. read more “Now, more than ever, America’s solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that’s the message we are bringing here, today," she said during her roughly 19-hour visit.A long-time China critic, especially on human rights, Pelosi met with a former Tiananmen activist, a Hong Kong bookseller who had been detained by China, and a Taiwanese activist recently released by China.Fury on the mainland over the 82-year-old Democrat's defiance of Beijing was evident all over Chinese social media, with one blogger railing: "this old she-devil, she actually dares to come!" read more The last U.S. house speaker to go to Taiwan was Newt Gingrich, in 1997. But Pelosi's visit comes amid sharply deteriorating Sino-U.S. relations, and during the past quarter century China has emerged as a far more powerful economic, military and geopolitical force.China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control. The United States warned China against using the visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.In retaliation, China's customs department announced a suspension of imports of citrus fruits, chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan, while its commerce ministry banned export of natural sand to Taiwan.While there was little sign of protest against U.S. targets or consumer goods, there was a significant police presence outside the U.S. consulate in Shanghai and what appeared to be more security than usual outside the embassy in Beijing.U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS MILITARY DRILLSShortly after Pelosi's arrival, China's military announced joint air and sea drills near Taiwan and test launches of conventional missiles in the sea east of the island, with Chinese state news agency Xinhua describing live-fire drills and other exercises around Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday.China's foreign ministry said Pelosi's visit seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, "has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."Before Pelosi's arrival, Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese military said it was on high alert and would launch "targeted military operations" in response to Pelosi's visit.White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said after Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan that the United States "is not going to be intimidated" by China's threats or bellicose rhetoric and that there is no reason her visit should precipitate a crisis or conflict.Kirby said China might engage in "economic coercion" toward Taiwan, adding that the impact on U.S.-China relations will depend on Beijing's actions in coming days and weeks.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the potential for Pelosi's visit with counterpart Wang Yi during a G20 meeting in Bali last month, and said any such trip would be entirely Pelosi's decision and independent of the U.S. government, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. read more 'CHINA'S AMBITION'The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by American law to provide it with the means to defend itself. China views visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the island. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island's future.Taiwan's military increased its alertness level. Its defence ministry said 21 Chinese aircraft entered its air defence identification zone on Tuesday, and that China was attempting to threaten key ports and cities with drills in the surrounding waters."The so-called drill areas are falling within the busiest international channels in the Indo-Pacific region," a senior Taiwan official familiar with its security planning told Reuters on Wednesday."We can see China's ambition: to make the Taiwan Strait non-international waters, as well as making the entire area west of the first island chain in the western pacific its sphere of influence," the person said.China's foreign ministry said it has not seen its military drills around Taiwan causing any freedom of navigation issues.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Pelosi full of praise, support for Taiwan during visit that infuriated China.

Taliban fighters drive a car on a street following the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a U.S. strike over the weekend, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Ali KharaRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKABUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Top leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban were holding discussions on Wednesday about how to respond to a U.S. drone strike in Kabul that the United States said killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, three sources in the group said.The United States killed Zawahiri with a missile fired from a drone while he stood on a balcony at his Kabul hideout on Sunday, U.S. officials said, the biggest blow to the militants since Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than a decade ago. read more The Taliban have not confirmed Zawahiri's death.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOfficials of the Islamist group, long-time allies of al Qaeda, initially confirmed the Sunday drone strike but said the house that was hit was empty."There are meetings at a very high level on whether they should react to the drone strike, and in case they decide to, then what is the proper way," a Taliban leader who holds an important position in Kabul told Reuters.The official, who said there had been lengthy leadership discussions for two days, declined to be identified. He did not confirm that Zawahiri was in the house that the missile struck.How the Taliban react could have significant repercussions as the group seeks international legitimacy, and access to billions of dollars in frozen funds, following their defeat of a U.S.-backed government a year ago.Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, was closely involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and was one of the world's most wanted men.His death in Kabul raises questions about whether he received sanctuary from the Taliban, who had assured the United States as part of a 2020 agreement on the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces that they would not harbour other militant groups.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban had "grossly violated" the agreement by hosting and sheltering Zawahiri.Outside a tight circle of top Taliban leaders, group members appeared in the dark about whether Zawahiri was actually in Kabul, let alone his fate.Another Taliban official confirmed the high-level meetings but said he did not know what was being discussed and he did not believe Zawahiri was in the house.Suhail Shaheen, the designated Taliban representative to the United Nations, who is based in Doha, told journalists he had received no word on the Taliban position."I am awaiting details and reaction from Kabul," he told reporters in a message.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Tight-lipped Taliban leaders gather after U.S. says Zawahiri killed.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryGrain-carrying ship from Ukraine inspected in TurkeyShipment is first of kind to leave Ukraine in wartimeBut Ukrainian leader says much more is neededKyiv urgently needs to ship 10 mln tonnes to cut deficitKYIV/ISTANBUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy dismissed the importance of the first grain export shipment from his country since Russia invaded, saying it was carrying a fraction of the crop Kyiv must sell to help salvage its shattered economy.His downbeat comments, via video to students in Australia on Wednesday, came as an inspection of the ship was completed in Turkey before it continues to its final destination in Lebanon under a deal aimed at easing a global food crisis. read more The ship, Razoni, departed from Ukraine's Odesa port on the Black Sea early on Monday carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn to Lebanon's Tripoli. It followed a U.N.-brokered grain and fertiliser export agreement between Moscow and Kyiv last month - a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a drawn-out war of attrition.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBut Zelenskiy, speaking via an interpreter, said more time was needed to see whether other grain shipments would follow."Just recently, thanks to the UN in partnership with Turkey, we had a first ship with the delivery of grain, but it’s still nothing. But we hope it’s a tendency that will continue,” he told the students.He said Ukraine had to export a minimum 10 million tonnes of grain to urgently help bring down its budget deficit which was running at $5 billion a month.A senior Turkish official said three ships could leave Ukrainian ports daily after the Razoni's departure, while Ukraine's infrastructure minister said 17 more ships had been loaded with agricultural produce and were waiting to set sail.Known as Europe's breadbasket, Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain held in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now underway, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk."The war...is almost killing the economy. It's in a coma," Zelenskiy added. "Russia's blocking of the ports is a great loss for the economy.Zelenskiy has repeatedly warned that Moscow may try to obstruct exports despite signing up to last month's deal.'DONBAS HELL'Russia, which blockaded Ukraine's ports after beginning on Feb. 24 what it called "a special military operation", has said it wants to see more done to facilitate the exports of its own grain and fertilisers. But it has hailed the departure of the first grain ship from Ukraine as positive.The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk IsikIt has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying sanctions by the West, which regards the war as an unprovoked imperial-style Russian land grab, have slowed its exports.The exports from Ukraine, one of the world's top grain producers, are intended to ease price rises and shortages, with famine looming in some parts of the world.Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the grain deal might offer a way forward out of conflict."The good news is that the Kremlin wants a negotiated solution," Schroeder told Stern weekly and broadcasters RTL/ntv on Wednesday, adding he had met Putin in Moscow last week."A first success is the grain deal, perhaps that can be slowly expanded to a ceasefire." read more Ukraine's General Staff on Wednesday catalogued continued heavy Russian shelling of Kharkiv and other towns and villages in its vicinity, as well as air and missile strikes on civilian objects. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, something which it accuses Kyiv of doing.Russia's defence ministry said its missiles had destroyed a depot containing weapons supplied by Poland in Ukraine's Lviv region.Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.Zelenskiy, in a late night address on Tuesday, said that his forces could not yet overcome Russian advantages in heavy guns and manpower despite arms supplies from the West."This is very much felt in combat, especially in the Donbas ... It is just hell there. Words cannot describe it," he said.Russia is battling to take full control of Donbas, the heavily industrialised part of eastern Ukraine.It said on Tuesday at the United Nations that the conflict did not warrant Moscow's use of nuclear weapons, but that it could decide to use its nuclear arsenal in response to "direct aggression" by countries of the NATO military alliance. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy says first grain ship 'nothing', economy in coma.

Model of natural gas pipeline and France flag, July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - France will have filled out 100 percent of its strategic gas reserves by November 1, government energy transition minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told C News TV, as European countries prepare for fewer energy supplies coming through from Russia.Brussels is urging European Union member states to save gas and store it for winter, fearing Russia will completely cut off flows in retaliation for sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Last month, European Union countries -- bracing for further cuts in Russian gas supply -- approved a weakened emergency plan to curb demand, after striking compromise deals to limit reductions for some countries. read more Energy ministers agreed that all EU countries should voluntarily cut gas use by 15% from August to March, compared with their average annual use during 2017-2021.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Nicolas Delame and Myriam Rivet; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

France will have filled up its strategic gas reserves by start of November -minister.

People walk past displays showing flight information at the arrival hall of Taipei Songshan Airport, before the expected departure of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Ann WangRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) faced added uncertainty over crucial plane deliveries to China on Wednesday as a visit to Taipei by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered Beijing and risked stoking Sino-U.S. trade tensions.With the highest-level U.S. visit to Taiwan in 25 years pushing rhetoric to new levels, experts cautioned it was too early to say exactly how the row will play out for Boeing, which historically relies on China for a quarter of jetliner sales.But the visit will do nothing to ease near-term industrial and political gridlock for the planemaker whose CEO said last week 737 MAX deliveries to China remained blocked by COVID-19 and a "geopolitical overhang", in a reference to simmering trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"Quite apart from Pelosi's Taiwan visit, Boeing already faces a tough environment in China," said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of industry publication FlightGlobal."For years it has lagged Airbus in both deliveries and orders on the mainland, and the 737 MAX has yet to resume flying for Chinese airlines,” more than six months after it received regulatory approval there following a safety crisis, he added.Boeing shares fell 3.4% on Tuesday compared to the 0.7% drop of the S&P 500 index (.SPX).In the meantime, both Boeing and European rival Airbus (AIR.PA) must juggle a rapidly changing diplomatic backdrop with a pressing quandary over Taiwan itself, as Pelosi's trip falls in the midst of a separate contest for a multi-billion-dollar plane deal.The president of Taiwan's government-backed China Airlines (2610.TW) told Reuters last week it is "actively" looking at options to renew a fleet of 22 Airbus A330 jets in a competition widely expected to pit the upgraded A330neo against Boeing's 787. read more 'DELICATE SITUATION'While a deal with Taiwan's biggest carrier would be a boon to Boeing as it nears the resumption of 787 deliveries after manufacturing flaws, sources said it could risk upsetting authorities in China, a much larger market. read more That means Boeing is seen as unlikely to use Pelosi's trip, which has not been formally authorised by the White House, to lobby actively for a 787 deal. "It's a really delicate situation these days," a person familiar with the process said.Airbus might appear to be better placed than Boeing in the evolving China-Taiwan situation, having won a major order from China just a month ago. But it is also looking for approval for its small A220 jet in China and must mind its strategic presence there. read more Both companies tend to keep a discreet distance between Taiwan negotiations and their much larger business with China, but Pelosi's visit adds a potentially unwelcome spotlight."Nobody is going to want to be too visible on Taiwan right now," one industry source said, asking not to be named.U.S. President Joe Biden cast doubt last month on the wisdom of the trip in a rare break with close ally Pelosi, though the White House said on Monday she had the right to visit Taiwan.It is not the first time geopolitics have threatened to disrupt big-ticket jet deals or curb deliveries to China.Once an emblem of detente as President Richard Nixon flew to Beijing on a 707 in 1972, Boeing later complained via former Chief Executive Phil Condit that it had become "the designated hostage" in U.S.-China ties, according to the New York Times.Airbus too has been left out in the cold by past friction over French arms sales to Taiwan or other disputes, but analysts say Beijing has historically sought to balance jet purchases between its major Western trade rivals over the long term.In the short term, buying patterns are harder to predict."Another headwind is reduced air traffic - both domestic and international - in China owing to the zero-COVID policy,” Waldron of FlightGlobal said. “This hurts demand for new aircraft and also the demand for support services."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jamie Freed in SYDNEY, Norihiko Shirouzu in BEIJING and Tim Hepher in PARIS; Writing by Tim Hepher and Jamie Freed; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Analysis: Pelosi's Taiwan visit clouds Boeing's China reset hopes.

Trains carrying grains can be seen entering the grain terminal in Constanta harbour, in Constanta, Romania, August 1, 2022. Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comCONSTANTA, Romania, Aug 3 (Reuters) - At the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta dockers have worked for months to ship out Ukrainian grain in addition to their usual loads from Romania and its land-locked neighbours.Shipments arrive constantly. The grain, which is poured onto conveyor belts in Constanta terminals, makes the air smell sweet and covers workers seeking shade under the steel silos in a fine layer of golden dust.The export route is one of the few left open to Ukraine, which before the conflict with Russia was one of the world's top grain suppliers. Exporters have shipped 1.46 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain through Constanta since Russia invaded the country in February and the war halted shipments from Ukraine's own Black Sea ports.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe first grain-carrying ship to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa since the war began under a safe passage agreement sailed on Monday. Operators in Romania expect they will continue to ship Ukrainian grain as it will take time to fully implement that deal. read more The grain arrives by road, rail or barge from Ukraine's Danube river ports of Reni and Izmail.The safe passage deal has been seen as a glimmer of hope in a worsening global food crisis. Turkey, which brokered the deal together with the United Nations, expects roughly one grain ship to leave Ukrainian ports each day as long as the agreement holds. read more Romanian port operator Comvex (CMVX.BX) said it will fill two ships later this week -- one carrying 30,500 tonnes of Ukrainian and Romanian corn headed to Libya and the second 45,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn to Iran."It all depends on how the Istanbul agreement works out and on the quantities that Ukrainian ports can ship out," Comvex manager Viorel Panait told Reuters."With all our hearts we wish they can restore their chain flows. But we are here, ready to help."Comvex has invested 4 million euros ($4.09 million) in a second barge offloading platform which became operational at the end of July, and boosted its total processing capacity to 84,000 tonnes in and 70,000 tonnes out per day.Last year, Constanta's port shipped a record high 25.2 million tonnes of grain from Romania and landlocked neighbours Serbia, Hungary, Moldova and Austria.Known as Europe's breadbasket, Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain held in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now under way, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, to help make way for the new crop.BOTTLENECKSAs of end-June, Comvex had handled roughly 70% of Ukrainian grains and other goods to come through Constanta, including almost 800,000 tonnes of iron ore. It plans to invest 60 million euros this year and next to boost operations, Panait said.Transport from Ukraine has been hampered by rail infrastructure problems and low water levels on the Danube after weeks of high temperatures and drought, meaning barges cannot carry full loads.Port authorities said 183,581 tonnes of grains were currently en route to Constanta, which will also continue to export other Ukrainian goods not covered by the safe passage agreement, including steel products, iron ore and pipes.The Constanta Port Business Association, which Panait also runs, said the ten port operators who handle Ukrainian goods in addition to their regular customers will need 340 million euros worth of investment in equipment to boost processing speed.They have asked for European Union funds and government loan guarantees. In July, the Romanian government told Reuters it was mulling a pilot programme to acquire equipment "to increase operating speed in grain terminals." It is also working on rehabilitating 35 port rail lines and removing hundreds of rusty wagons blocking the tracks.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Krisztina Than and Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Luiza IlieThomson ReutersBucharest-based general news reporter covering a wide range of Romanian topics from elections and economics to climate change and festivals.

Romanian Black Sea port to keep shipping Ukrainian grain, seeks EU funding.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi waves with other members of the delegation as they board a plane before leaving Taipei Songshan Airport, in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022, in this screengrab taken from video. REUTERS TV/Pool via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the level of tension provoked by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan "should not be underestimated".Responding to a question about whether the world was closer to war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he was not in favour of using that word but reiterated that the visit was a "provocation".He added that no additional contacts between President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were planned in light of the visit.Pelosi's arrival on Tuesday in Taiwan prompted a furious response from Beijing at a time when international tensions were already elevated by the conflict in Ukraine. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Kremlin: Tension over Pelosi's Taiwan visit 'should not be underestimated'.

Crime August 3, 2022 / 6:17 AM / CBS/AP This combination of undated photos provided by the United States District Court District of Hawaii shows Walter Glenn Primose, left, also known as Bobby Edward Fort, and his wife Gwynn Darle Morrison, also known as Julie Lyn Montague, purportedly in KGB, the former Russian spy agency, uniforms.  / AP The wife of a U.S. defense contractor, who together are charged in Hawaii federal court with fraudulently cloaking themselves in the stolen identities of two deceased Texas infants for three decades, said Tuesday that she's not the person prosecutors say she is. When the case of Gwynn Darle Morrison was called in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, she said: "That's what they're calling me."She claims she's actually Julie Lyn Montague, who prosecutors said died in 1968 when she was three weeks old and later had her identity stolen.The assertion put her at odds with her husband, who has acknowledged he's Walter Glenn Primrose and not Bobby Edward Fort, the identity he allegedly used to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1994 and gain secret security clearance that allowed him to work as a defense contractor. Fort was about 10 weeks old when he died in late 1967 at the same Burnet, Texas, hospital where Montague died a few months later.Not guilty pleas were entered Tuesday on behalf of the couple to charges of conspiracy, false statement in a passport application and aggravated identity theft. They face up to 17 years in prison if convicted of all charges. Both were ordered detained until a trial was scheduled Sept. 26. Trial date set for Hawaii couple accused of acting as Russian spies https://t.co/RzARhU1rN0 #HNN— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) August 2, 2022 The dispute over the real name of the wife added a new layer of intrigue to a case that may amount to more than stolen identities.A search of the couple's Hawaii home turned up photos that appear to be shot in the 1980s of the two wearing uniforms of the Russian KGB, the former spy agency, prosecutors said. Investigators also found an invisible ink kit, documents with coded language and maps showing military bases.When the couple were left in a room together, they were unwittingly recorded saying "things consistent with espionage," Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Myers said last week. Defense lawyer Megan Kau said Montague is the only name her client has ever used. Kau said the couple appeared to wear the same KGB jacket in the photos and her client was only in a T-shirt. Kau said she hasn't heard the recording of a discussion allegedly involving espionage."All my client remembers is that her husband told her, 'They think we're spies,'" Kau said. "So, yes, the word spy was brought up because the government is accusing them of being spies."Kau argued that her client had no criminal record and there was not enough reason to keep her locked up while facing trial.Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Muehleck said it was "a little strange" she maintains she's Montague rather than choosing to not address the identity issue.The father and sister of Montague last week told The Associated Press last week that Julie died shortly after birth and was buried in a cemetery.Morrison and Primrose - both born more than a decade before Fort and Montague - went to high school and college together and married in 1980 and bought a house in Nacogdoches, Texas, prosecutors said.They left Texas in the early 1980s, telling at least one family member they were going into the witness protection program, prosecutors said. They resurfaced later as Fort and Montague, telling some people they had changed their identities for financial and legal reasons. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Hawaii News Now, Primrose was allegedly issued a total of five U.S. passports under the identity of Bobby Fort. Morrison was issued a total of three U.S. passports under the name of Julie Montague, the complaint says.  An unnamed sister of Morrison said the photo on the Hawaii driver's license with Montague's name appeared to be her sister though it listed the wrong birth date, Muehleck said."We have a situation here where this defendant and her co-defendant, of course, have used false identities to deceive Social Security, the Department of Defense, Hawaii Department of Transportation, the State Department national passport center for 30 years," Muehleck said. "There's no verification of who she says she is."U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader said he was holding her without bail because he couldn't trust her to comply with terms and conditions of release if he wasn't sure of her identity."At the core of this case, is some serious, albeit unusual, circumstances where the defendant claims to be an individual other than the person named in the indictment," Trader said. "I can't even really say that I have confidence in who Miss Morrison or Miss Montague really, truly is."Retired FBI agent Tom Simon told Hawaii News Now the government had likely been tracking the couple for some time and he expects additional evidence will be revealed as the case moves forward."The FBI counter-intelligence agents are very smart and very thorough," he told the station. "They're not going to make a case with this impact based on someone playing dress-up at a party." In: Fraud Hawaii Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. 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Woman accused of possible KGB ties claims stolen identity of dead baby is her real name.

Players take a knee before a match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City on May 1, 2022.Visionhaus | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesPremier League players will no longer routinely take a knee before matches, the league has announced ahead of the new season.Players began taking the knee during Project Restart, in the wake of George Floyd's unlawful killing in the USA and the Black Lives Matter movement which followed.Aston Villa's televised game with Sheffield United started off the top flight's stance, which has since been replicated across the domestic leagues and beyond - and caused friction with the UK Government when England players were booed while making the stance ahead of Euro 2020 last summer.More recently, a number of individual clubs and players have announced they will stop taking a knee and now, the Premier League have followed suit more than two years since the initiative was first introduced.Players will still take a knee before certain rounds of matches, including the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals, as well as Boxing Day matches and the Premier League's No Room For Racism rounds.Read more stories from Sky SportsIn a statement, the Premier League said: "Ahead of the new season, Premier League club captains have reaffirmed their commitment to fighting racism and all forms of discrimination."The players have decided to use specific moments during the upcoming campaign to take the knee, to amplify the message that racism has no place in football or society."The Premier League supports the players' decision and, alongside the clubs, will use these opportunities to elevate anti-racism messaging as part of the League's No Room for Racism Action Plan."Speaking as a collective, the 20 Premier League captains added that they would use "significant moments" of the forthcoming season to take the knee."We remain resolutely committed to eradicate racial prejudice, and to bring about an inclusive society with respect and equal opportunities for all," they added.The Premier League has also announced that £238,000 will be donated to a number of youth clubs on behalf of the club captains, with £119,000 coming from the royalties of the 'No Room for Racism' sleeve badges sold on club shirts in 2021/22, and the figure matched by the Premier League.PFA chief: Decision about 'finding a balance'Maheta Molango, the first BAME chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said Premier League captains had reached their decision with the aim of finding a "balance" about how to show their support.He said: "We've always been clear that choosing whether to take the knee should be a personal decision for each individual."We've spoken to players about this and what we've heard is that they want to find a balance. They don't want the gesture of taking the knee to become routine, so that it potentially loses its impact."However, they are also committed to using their platform and their voice to continue to bring attention to what remains an extremely important issue, not just in England but around the world."

Premier League players will limit taking a knee before matches, league announces ahead of new season.

Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after visiting Canada, July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/PoolRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comVATICAN CITY, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Wednesday he felt the pain of survivors of Canada's residential school system "like slaps" and that the Catholic Church has to face up to its responsibility for institutions that abused children and tried to erase indigenous cultures.The pope dedicated his talk at his weekly general audience to his trip last week to Canada, where he delivered a historic apology for the Church's role in the government-sanctioned schools, which operated between 1870 and 1996.More than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools. Catholic religious orders ran most of them under successive Canadian governments' policy of assimilation.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe children were beaten for speaking their native languages and many were sexually abused in a system Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called "cultural genocide."The pope met indigenous survivors throughout the trip and on the last day, mostly elderly school survivors in Iqaluit, capital of the isolated Arctic territory of Nunavut, told him their stories in a private meeting."I assure you that in these meetings, especially the last one, I had to feel the pain of these people, like slaps, how they lost (so much), how the elderly lost their children and did not know where they ended up, because of this policy of assimilation," Francis said in unscripted comments."It was a very painful moment but we had to face up, we have to face up before our errors and our sins," he said.During the trip, the pope's apologies evoked strong emotions and praise as a first step in reconciliation, but some survivors said they fell short of expectations and that he had not apologised clearly enough for the Church as an institution. read more In an apparent attempt to answer the critics, he said on Wednesday that priests, nuns and lay Catholics had "participated in programmes that today we understand are unacceptable and contrary to the Gospel. That is why I went to ask forgiveness in the name of the Church".Some were also heartened when the pope, speaking to reporters on the plane taking him back to Rome on Saturday, branded what happened at the schools as "genocide." read more Francis, who is suffering from a knee ailment, walked the some 20 metres (yards) to his seat on the stage of the Vatican's audience hall using a cane and at the end remained standing to greet some participants. He later used a wheelchair when aides moved him among the crowd.He mostly used a wheelchair during the Canada trip, including during his in-flight news conference on the return flight.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by William Maclean and Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hearing pain of Canada school survivors felt like slaps, pope says.

Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Russell Bowers (R), testifies during the fourth hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol on June 21, 2022.Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesRusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House who delivered gripping testimony earlier this summer to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, lost his bid for a state Senate seat on Tuesday to a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, NBC News projected.Armed with Trump's endorsement, former state Sen. David Farnsworth held a lead of more than 20 points over Bowers in their bid for Arizona's 10th District as of 1:15 a.m. ET.Bowers, who testified to the committee of the effort by Trump and his allies to get him to overturn the 2020 election in his state, told NBC News last month it would be difficult for him to pull off a victory in his state Senate race."It's so hostile," Bowers said then of the political environment in a phone interview, noting the overwhelming pro-Trump preference of his state Senate district, Arizona's 10th. "If I pull this off, it's going to be a miracle."Just weeks after Bowers' testimony, the Arizona Republican Party censured him, saying he "has demonstrated he is unfit to serve the platform of the Republican Party of Arizona and the will of the voter of the Republican Party in Arizona" and called on voters "to expel him permanently from office."It is highly unusual for a state party to make such a proclamation ahead of a contested primary.Trump attacked Bowers on Monday on his Truth Social platform, writing: "Remember Arizona, your so-called 'Speaker,' Rusty (an appropriate name because he is Rusty, just like steel gets rusty and weak) Bowers, is absolutely terrible."He called on Arizonans to "Vote him out!"Bowers, who has served a combined 17 years between Arizona's state House and Senate, received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this year for his handling of the post-election period. His race served as the first and possibly only test this cycle of whether a Republican can publicly cross Trump before the Jan. 6 panel and still win a GOP primary — one that took place while Bowers' testimony was still fresh in voters' minds. Weeks ago, the conservative legislator told the committee he knew Trump and his allies were pursuing an unconstitutional effort in trying to have him invalidate the 2020 election in his state, which President Joe Biden narrowly carried."It is a tenet of my faith that the Constitution is divinely inspired, that this is my most basic foundational belief," Bowers, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the committee. "And so for me to do that because somebody just asked me to, is foreign to my very being; I will not do it."Speaking with NBC News, Bowers described the response to his testimony in his district as mixed."Among my friends and people that I know personally in the district, it's been good," he said. "But generally, it is not seen as good. It's been: 'There you go. The traitor.'"He also said he disagreed with people who tell him his decision to testify took courage. "I don't see me having some courageous Don Quixote-esque [moment]. Maybe that's it, but certainly not a Joan of Arc," Bowers said. "But I did what I had to do. I knew that there might be consequences, and in some cases, I knew that it would end relationships. But I have to tell the truth. That's it. Beyond that, nothing else."Soon after Bowers' public testimony, Trump offered a full-throated endorsement of Farnsworth.Bowers described Farnsworth as a back-bencher who "did exactly zero" while previously serving in the state Senate for eight years.The House speaker promoted legislative wins from his most recent term, including overseeing the passage of a budget package with bipartisan support and legislation intended to bring new water sources to the state — one in which conservation issues loom large.Farnsworth touted his Trump endorsement prominently, while also claiming to be the best candidate to tackle inflation, migration at the border and overhaul elections.Asked what a Farnsworth win would say about the state of the party, Bowers said then: "It says that Mr. Trump has, there's a very, I would almost call it cultic appeal."

Rusty Bowers, a Jan. 6 committee star witness, loses GOP primary in Arizona.

American multinational clothing brand Under Armour store seen in Hong Kong.Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesUnder Armour on Wednesday cut its profit forecast for the fiscal year 2023 as more promotions on its athletic apparel ate into margins. The company now expects earnings per share for the full year to come in between 61 cents and 67 cents, down from an earlier guide of between 79 cents and 84 cents. Gross margin is expected to be down 375 to 425 basis points, a worsened outlook from the previous range of 150 to 200 basis points.Still, Under Armour's fiscal first-quarter results matched Wall Street expectations. The stock gained roughly 2% in premarket trading following the report. Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:Earnings per share: 3 cents, adjusted, vs. 3 cents expectedRevenue: $1.35 billion vs. $1.34 billion expectedGross margin for the period declined 280 basis points compared with the prior year. Net income before adjustments was $7.68 million, or 2 cents per share.This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Under Armour cuts profit outlook for the full year as promotions eat into margins.

Politics August 3, 2022 / 6:12 AM / CBS News In this episode of "Intelligence Matters," host Michael Morell speaks with Eric Edelman, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Finland and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and likely lessons being drawn about the West's response and the nature of the battle by the People's Republic of China. Edelman and Morell discuss a range of possible future scenarios for the war in Ukraine, exploring its military, economic and diplomatic dimensions for both Kyiv and Moscow. Edelman also offers insights into how the conflict may inform China's approach to coercive or forceful reunification with Taiwan. HIGHLIGHTS: Avoiding escalation with Russia: "I think that the administration has been a little too concerned about the risk of escalation. And the risk of escalation works both ways, right, because we're a nuclear power, too, right? So are our French and British allies. I don't think that Putin and the Russians want to have a nuclear exchange. It would be devastating for everybody as all five of the nuclear weapon states reasserted just before the Russians invaded Ukraine. And nuclear war can and should never be waged and can never be won."Risks of protracted conflict: "[M]y reading of U.S. public opinion is that as long as people think there's a prospect for success for the Ukrainians, they'll be willing to support Ukraine. I think if it begins to devolve into something that looks like another frozen conflict, endless war, I worry that some of that support will dissipate. And then, of course, as we've been saying, if it goes long in time, actually favors Russia on the economic front, that could have very bad consequences as well." Lessons China is learning regarding Taiwan: "[A]s we begin to focus on these Indo-Pacific challenges and particularly the challenge of China and Taiwan, we have to worry that Xi Jinping begins to become concerned that time might be running against the PRC, which has its own set of internal challenges - you know, demographic and environmental and otherwise, and that they decide that they need to go early rather than later."  Download, rate and subscribe here: iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher. INTELLIGENCE MATTERS - ERIC EDELMANPRODUCER: OLIVIA GAZIS MICHAEL MORELL: Eric, welcome back to Intelligence Matters. It's great to have you on the show again.ERIC EDELMAN: Michael. It's always great to be with you. Thanks for having me back. MICHAEL MORELL: You're welcome. So, Eric, before we jump into Ukraine and where we are in the war, I want to ask you just two questions about your career. The first is, I know that early in your career, you worked on the Soviet Union at both the State Department, and you served at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. And I'm just wondering to what extent that those experiences shaped your views of Russia today and how you think about Russia today? ERIC EDELMAN: Yeah. Well, you know, it won't surprise you that those experiences, you know, shaping in a very fundamental way. I was on the Soviet desk in the State Department in the mid-eighties at the very, very height of the Cold War. I had been special assistant to Secretary of State George Shultz during the Able Archer episode, which arguably brought us close to a potential nuclear war. And then I went to Moscow and served in the embassy in a period of high perestroika, a great optimism about change and reform in the Soviet Union, and then continued to work on those issues, including at the Pentagon, when the Soviet Union collapsed and then worked with Strobe Talbott and others on the process of NATO enlargement in the late nineties and reform in Russia as a kind of independent state. And so, I was filled with lots of optimism about Russia in the 1990s. And then I got to observe from very nearby, as ambassador to Finland, as things began to turn in a different direction. And as you can imagine, Michael, the Finns are very close observers of what goes on right across there; a roughly 800 mile border with with Russia. And from the get go, I have to say, I had a lot of concerns about Putin, as did a lot of my Finnish colleagues and friends who were close observers of Russia. And unfortunately, I think Putin has taken the country in a very unhealthy direction by installing a kind of regime of, a kleptocratic regime of his cronies, most of whom come from the KGB. And really, the KGB took back the country after he became, first, prime minister and then president. MICHAEL MORELL: So the second question I want to ask you, Eric, relates to the fact that you were the assistant to the Secretary of State, George Shultz. And I think he's one of the best secretaries of state that we have had. And I wonder what you learned from the secretary that shaped your foreign policy thinking in general and how you approach an issue like Ukraine today? ERIC EDELMAN: Well, I agree, Michael, with you that George Shultz was during my 30-year career in the State Department, the best Secretary of State who served, who I served under. And I used to joke, including with him, that there's an old saying that, 'No man is a hero to his valet,' but as someone who schlepped George Schultz's briefcases around the world for for two years, he was and remains my hero. I mean, he was very calm and very collected and very considered. And he never lost his cool. But he was very analytical. He brought a wealth of experience. He'd been multiple cabinet secretaries - been Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury before he became Secretary of State. He'd been the head of a Fortune 500 corporation. He'd been the dean of the business school at the University of Chicago, an economist. He just had an enormous amount of - head of the Policy Council. He'd been just very, very experienced. And he brought all of that to bear. And I learned a lot of different things from him. One of the things I learned from him was that demography is destiny. And as a result of his tutoring, I have remained very interested in demographics of various countries ever since. And he had a great strategy for dealing with the Soviet Union, which entailed a very broad array of issues. It wasn't just arms control, although he pursued arms control with the Soviet Union, but it was human rights. It was pushing back against Soviet proxies in the Third World. It was economic. He had a variety of different tools in the toolbox to deal with the Soviet Union under President Reagan. And a strategy that, ultimately, I think was very successful and paid huge dividends, not just during the Reagan term, but during the term of George H.W. Bush, when the Soviet Union ultimately first saw its external empire collapse and then it collapsed as well. MICHAEL MORELL: Okay. Let's switch to today, Eric. In just a few weeks, we're going to hit the six-month mark since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was February 24th. And as we approach six months, we'll talk about where the conflict stands today and maybe we can break it down into three pieces as we go through this. One is, where are we on the battlefield? Second is, where are we in the economic struggle that's associated with this war between Russia and the West, which captures Ukraine in the middle? And then where are we in the fight, for want of a better phrase, the hearts and minds of swing countries around the globe regarding Russia's behavior here? So let's take those one at a time and maybe start with the battlefield. ERIC EDELMAN: Sure. Those are - it's a great way to break it down, I think. So on the battlefield, of course, the Russian maximal objectives of, as they put it, demilitarizing and 'de-Nazifying' Ukraine, which essentially meant regime change in Ukraine and turning it into a Russian vassal state or diminishing a rump Ukraine in the west and absorbing most of the eastern part of the country - That is no longer feasible, I don't think, for Putin, because the military has performed so poorly and because the Ukrainians have performed so well. I mean, it's not just that the Russians have performed poorly - and a lot of that goes to the corruption in the society. I mean, every military is a expression of the society out of which it grows. And corruption is endemic in Russia. It's not a flaw in the system. It is the system. That's not surprising that that would also manifest itself in the military and that that would have enormous deleterious impact on the ability of the military to actually execute a fairly complicated combined arms operation. I think there was some concern in the last few weeks that as the Russians sort of regrouped and pursued some more limited objectives - which appeared to be fully conquering the Donbas, that's the two provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in the southeast of Ukraine - that the Russians would be able to succeed in doing that, perhaps annex those portions of Ukraine and then hold the areas in the south of the country that they've seized, essentially a land bridge between the Donbas along the coast down to Crimea, which of course, was seized and annexed in the 2014, 2015 war. What I think is now happening is there was some limited Russian advances in Luhansk, which they've basically now got most of Luhansk under their control. But in Donetsk province they've had great difficulty moving very far. Some of that has to do with just the exhaustion and depletion of their forces after five months of war. And they've taken enormous casualties. I mean, I saw yesterday, I'm sure you did, Michael, as well, the revised estimates by the U.S. government that the Russians may have lost 75,000, killed and wounded in this military operation, which is about 50% of what they started out with. I actually think those are probably conservative estimates. I suspect the losses are probably higher. And what that raises is the question of what military experts like to call the culmination of the Russian advance, where they're no longer able to actually move forward anymore. Now, there have been a lot of predictions about this offensive in the Donbas, culminating, and so I don't want to add another prediction, but it does seem that they're having great difficulty actually moving very far. And a lot of that has to do with the very smart way the Ukrainians have been fighting and the way they've been using the military equipment that we have provided them, particularly the HIMARS, the high mobility artillery system that we've provided them with, that has basically rocket-powered artillery shells, the so-called GMLRS. These are very precise rounds, which have a range of about 80 kilometers. And they have very systematically attacked the weakest point of the Russian military operation, which is the logistics. And they've made it very difficult for them to operate. What they've also done in the south, which is going to be very important for the next topic we'll talk about, which is the economic war - they have been isolating the Russian forces in Kherson City, and I think they're making it very difficult. Again, going after the logistics, taking out bridges through which the Russians are resupplying their forces. They're going to make the position of these forces in Kherson untenable. And I think there's a likelihood that they will take back Kherson City. Now, whether they can move to a broader counteroffensive from that, I don't know. But I would basically say from the point of view of the battlefield today, Ukraine is doing very well, Russia not so well. My own view is we ought to be giving the Ukrainians more equipment and faster, more HIMARS, more rounds. I would also be in favor of giving them the ATACMS rounds, which have a 300 kilometer range. There are issues we can talk about with regard to escalation and also whether they can attack Russia that are involved there. But that would be my view. I think, as our former colleague Eliot Cohen has written, the idea of titrating out, in little drops, the equipment we're giving the Ukrainians is not, I think, the best way to go about this. on the economic side. MICHAEL MORELL: Okay, Eric, let's switch to the economic fight. ERIC EDELMAN: Yeah, on the economic side, I have more concerns. And there's no doubt that the Russian economy has been hard hit by the sanctions. They've managed to keep the value of the ruble from completely collapsing, but I'm not sure that's the only measure. There was a recent study out of the Yale School of Management by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld about the state of the Russian economy, which is very dire in terms of the ability of the economy to actually produce things. I mean, automobile manufacturer, for instance, has virtually ceased in Russia. So Russia is definitely feeling the heat of the sanctions. But, even if you believe some of the most dire predictions, the Russian economy is going to contract by somewhere between 15 to 30% this year. The Ukrainian economy has already contracted by 45 to 50%. And in particular, as you know, Michael, they have 22 million tons of grain in silos. They're about to start the the summer harvest, which means more grain is going to be piling up and that's an issue both for Ukraine in order to be able to earn the export earnings - they're one of the largest wheat and sunflower oil exporters in the world. And so there are knock on effects to global food security. But just for the economy to be able to survive, they need to get that out. Now, there's an agreement that's just been reached among Turkey, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine, although not a direct agreement between Ukraine and Russia, to open the port of Odesa and get some of this stuff out. I mean, the ink was not even dry on the agreement when the Russians were shelling some of the port facilities, grain storage, etc., which raises the question of how effective the agreement is going to be and how easy it's going to be for for Ukraine to survive economically. The government is running an $8 to $9 billion deficit a month, some of which is being plugged by money from the $40 billion that the U.S. Congress appropriated. And there's some money coming from the E.U. But none of that, I mean, it doesn't add up to plugging plugging the gap. So, Ukraine, of course, is, I think, fighting a war for survival. And that means that you can maybe survive really dire circumstances. But I worry that as time moves on, as we get into the fall, as the weather gets colder, you might start to see some of the allied unity begin to break down on the sanctions front. And whether Ukrainians can persist in this heroic resistance against Russia, I don't know. So I'm fairly confident about the military battlefield. I'm less confident about the economic battlefield. And that's one reason why, as I was saying before the break, I think it's imperative to get the Ukrainians as much military materiel and arms as we can. It would be very important if they can actually just win this on the battlefield by the end of the summer or in early fall. MICHAEL MORELL: So, Eric, I want to jump now to the third piece, which is, there's a large number of countries in the world that are kind of on the sidelines here. A small number of countries that have joined arms with the United States and imposed sanctions. But a much larger number of countries who are just on the sidelines. Why is that, number one? And is there any chance of changing that, number two? ERIC EDELMAN: Well, first, let me just say that I think the Biden administration deserves a lot of credit for maintaining an extraordinary degree of allied unity in terms of NATO and the European Union. I think that in terms of the transatlantic relationship, I'm not sure, given, all the uproar over the last several years about the U.S. commitment to NATO and Europe, that one would have predicted that in the face of this military invasion, this unprovoked war of aggression by Putin, that you would have as much allied unity as you've had. And so I think the administration deserves a lot of credit for that, particularly Secretary Blinken, who I think has done an extraordinarily good job of alliance management, which is especially - MICHAEL MORELL: Especially through Japan and South Korea - ERIC EDELMAN: Yeah. And I mean, I include them as part of the West, really. And I think that's right. I think what you're talking about is in the third world where - what we used to call the third world or the nonaligned world - where the attitudes are much more ambivalent. And there, in some places like sub-Saharan Africa, some parts of the Middle East that are actually - or in East Asia, which are actually very dependent on some of these agricultural exports. I think the Russians have done a pretty good job of muddying the waters about who's really responsible for this. I mean, you and I would look at this and say, 'Well, there's not even a question here. This is all because Russia started this war, because they were blockading the ports, southern ports of Ukraine.' A blockade is an act of war, even though Putin has said this is a special military operation, not a war. But, you know, they, in fact, have been blockading. They've moved their ships back a little bit since the command ship of the Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, was sunk by by the Ukrainians using anti-ship cruise missiles. But they're still responsible. But they've done a great job of saying, 'Well, no, it's really NATO that's responsible for this. It's the U.S..' And that, I think, falls on relatively fertile ground. And there's always a current of anti-Americanism in the post-colonial world. And we have, I think, not been as on our toes fighting this in the public diplomacy realm as we should be. Some of that, I think, is from chronic underfunding of the State Department's platform. Some of it's because we've just gotten out of the habit of doing that kind of thing. And I think that's a real problem going forward. I think we're going to have to be much more active countering this Russian offensive. I mean, you'll note that Foreign Minister Lavrov has been touring Africa, trying to reiterate this Russian line of of argument that this is not their fault - and I think the reason that they reached this agreement with the U.N. and with Turkey to open the ports is in part to, run counter to the argument that we have made, that this is Russia's fault. And so they're saying, 'Look, see, we're negotiating the opening of the port. Don't blame us.' Of course, the fact that they then immediately shelled Odesa, which may in part be an effort to drive up the insurance costs that make it prohibitive to get Ukrainian grain out of of the port of Odesa belies all that. Yeah, but there you go. MICHAEL MORELL: So Eric, we're going to come back to the question of U.S. policy. And I'd say, and I think you'd agree with me, that several things should be driving us. One is our policy objectives. What do we want to achieve here? How much of an economic price do we want to pay and how much risk are we willing to take with regard to escalation? And I'm wondering if you would add anything to that list. And then, more importantly, how do you assess how the administration has thought about those things as it's put its policy together? Are we thinking about all those the right way, particularly escalation and our policy objectives? ERIC EDELMAN: Yeah. I mean, the only thing I would add, Michael, is I think one of our policy objectives is a broad strategic one, which has to do with global order and allowing unprovoked, premeditated aggression to take place between two countries where the United States is not completely outside of this. We signed a number of agreements at the end of the Cold War with Russia, with Ukraine, that had to do with Ukraine giving up its claim to the nuclear weapons that were left on its soil after the breakup of the Soviet Union, which assured them that the United States - and Russia and Britain and France were also associated with this in different ways - that Ukraine would be allowed to exist within its then-existing borders, which included not just the Donbas, but also Crimea. And that they would not be threatened with the use of force. Now, Russia has violated all that. That's a major blow, I think, to the nonproliferation regime, which is a major U.S. interest, global interest and objective. And it just tears at the fabric of international order and provides an incentive, potentially, for instance, to the PRC when it looks across the strait at Taiwan or to the DPRK or to the Islamic Republic of Iran. And so in terms of global order, making sure that Putin fails, it seems to me, is an absolutely overriding U.S. objective. There is a concern about escalation, and I accept that. I mean, Russia is a nuclear power. It's an enormous nuclear power. It actually has a nuclear arsenal that, at least numerically, is larger than ours by a few warheads. But I think that the administration has been a little too concerned about the risk of escalation. And the risk of escalation works both ways, right, because we're a nuclear power, too, right? So are our French and British allies. I don't think that Putin and the Russians want to have a nuclear exchange. It would be devastating for everybody as all five of the nuclear weapon states reasserted just before the Russians invaded Ukraine. And nuclear war can and should never be waged and can never be won. That remained the case during the Cold War, when both sides had even larger arsenals of nuclear weapons. We fought proxy conflicts in Korea and in Vietnam and elsewhere around the world and escalate that to nuclear exchange. I think it's possible to manage this now without worrying about it. And I think the administration has been so worried about what might provoke Putin and so busy describing what it won't do because it might provoke Putin that they haven't really, I think, done something very fundamental, which is try and raise concerns in his mind about what he might do that would lead us to escalate. And I think, you know, Henry Kissinger has for years pointed out that deterrence, what we think deters people is not important. It's really what goes on in their minds. And you can never really know that. So you really have to focus on trying to deal with their perceptions rather than put your perceptions in the place of of what they might be thinking. MICHAEL MORELL: So, Eric, this is a bit of a tough question, but let's give it a go anyway. Can you talk about what you see as the most likely scenarios over the next several months? Are we stuck in a stalemate here? Can the Ukrainians actually win? Is there a way for Putin to get his momentum back? How much of what the United States does really matters to these scenarios? Can you kind of paint a picture of where we might be going? ERIC EDELMAN: Well, I think let me start with the last, Michael. I mean, what we do matters enormously, and it already has mattered. It's as we were saying earlier in the conversation, U.S. assistance first, in the form of javelins and stingers in the early stages of this war, and now with the with artillery and particularly the HIMARS, we've made an enormous difference on the battlefield. That's not to take anything away from the Ukrainians. I mean, they have shown themselves to be very adept at using what we've given them and and very creative in the way that they have dealt with this Russian aggression. But we've made a huge difference and we can still, I think, make a huge difference. I think it's going be very difficult for Putin to get the initiative back, in - certainly in a military sense, because of the damage that's been done to his forces, and it's really the personnel and the leadership - there have been enormous losses of leadership, general officers, colonels, lieutenant colonels. They're finding it - because he doesn't want to declare a national mobilization and doesn't want to say that this is a war, they're having a lot of difficulty replacing the forces that they've lost. And I think that's going to continue. So I think it's going be very hard for them to recover the initiative. The big military question and I don't have an answer for it, is whether the Ukrainians can move from the strategic defensive, which they've executed pretty brilliantly, I would argue, and transition from that to a counter-offensive that would either drive Russians forces out back to the pre February 24th lines, which would still leave Russia occupying about a third of Luhansk and Donetsk, which they occupied before February 24th. And I don't know whether the Ukrainians are going to be able to do that. And then the other issue is whether this does turn into kind of a frozen conflict, a sort of stalemate, as you were suggesting. And I worry about that because that would then maybe put this conflict on to the kind of economic basis that we talked about earlier, where, as I said, I have some worries about the long-term issue of who has time on their side, whether it's Russia or Ukraine. We don't know the answer to that. But I worry that the Russians might be able to make time work for them. And again, that's one reason why I would like to maximize the effort we're putting into doing it. There might be, I think, a temptation in some quarters to play for a tie, to say, 'Well, you know, stalemate is okay because it means Putin has not achieved his objectives.' But I worry that a stalemate could be bad both on the battlefield and at home for the battle for public opinion in the United States, because there's been very good support publicly for supporting Ukraine. But my reading of U.S. public opinion is that as long as people think there's a prospect for success for the Ukrainians, they'll be willing to support Ukraine. I think if it begins to devolve into something that looks like another frozen conflict, endless war, I worry that some of that support will dissipate. And then, of course, as we've been saying, if it goes long in time, actually favors Russia on the economic front, that could have very bad consequences as well. MICHAEL MORELL: So, Eric, I want to actually go backwards in time here and talk about how we ended up here. So, as you know, Putin came to power in 2000. He served as the Russian president for all but four of the years since. And during those four years, he served as prime minister. And I'm wondering if you think that where we are today was inevitable, given who Putin is as a person and given the degree of Russian nationalism and perceived Russian grievances. Or do you think the circumstances of the last 22 years brought us here, or perhaps at some combination of all of that? So how do you think about how we got here from where we started way back in 2000? ERIC EDELMAN: Yeah, I think it is a combination of things. I think if you look at something like Catherine Belton's book, Putin's People, she was the former Financial Times correspondent in Moscow, very well-connected. Or the late Karen Dawisha's book, Putin's Kleptocracy. It seems pretty clear that there was a core of folks from the KGB who, even as the Soviet Union was collapsing, were both taking advantage of their privileged position in the system to both enrich themselves, but also to plot and plan to take over the state to further their own, largely personal interests. Although I don't doubt that it's got a mixture of kind of Russian nationalism and nostalgia for great power status and what what have you. And that, I think, was inevitable. I don't think there was much we could have really done about that. I mean, we probably could have been a little more vocal about some of the violations of rule of law, the arrest of, you know, Khodorkovsky and jailing of Khodorkovsky for ten years, the crushing of the independent media. I mean, we could have been more outspoken about that, I suppose, but in the end of the day, I'm not sure that would have changed anything that much. And there is also, you know, circumstance. I mean, I think there are some things that we did, some that at the time people may not have even appreciated as much. I'm thinking, for instance, of our recognition of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, which the Russians have subsequently used as an excuse for, for instance, recognizing separatists in Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia, and to some degree, same argument they're making in the Donbas and in Crimea and in Ukraine. So there were some of the things we did. There's no doubt there are other things we did that were irritants. But the biggest thing that happened, and I don't think we could have controlled that, was the eruption of the color revolutions, in particular the color revolution in Ukraine in 2004 and 2005. And I think that was extremely unnerving to Putin because his conclusion was erroneously, I think, that, A, the U.S. was behind it, and B, that our ultimate objective was to impose a color revolution on Russia and overthrow him. MICHAEL MORELL: Right. Absolutely. ERIC EDELMAN: And the other thing I would say that I think kind of brought us to this pass was the way we responded in 2014 and 2015. I think the Obama administration, which did impose sanctions - and I don't want to be overly critical, but I think it was pretty clear that President Obama, who did not, for instance, favor giving Ukraine lethal military assistance, believed that as several people who spoke to him about this at the time have told me, that Russia always was going to care more about Ukraine than the United States, that Russia had escalation dominance because Ukraine was very close to Russia, very far from the U.S., and that therefore we should not get into any kind of proxy conflict there. My own view at the time was - and today remains - that we should have been providing more assistance to Ukraine, we should have been making it much more difficult for Putin. And in part, I think, because in terms of deterrence, we would have wanted him to be thinking, 'If the Americans are willing to do this for a country that they've offered assurances to but have no treaty obligation to, what would they do to defend countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to whom they have an actual treaty obligation?' So as as part of deterrence, I think making life difficult for him in Ukraine was an important step. And I think we missed that opportunity in the period after 2014. MICHAEL MORELL: So, last couple of questions, Eric. I want to ask about China. As you know, the Chinese supported this invasion and they still do, at least rhetorically. So, really two questions. One is, have you learned anything new about China? How you think about China based on how it handled this invasion? Or have you just had your prior beliefs reinforced about China? ERIC EDELMAN: Question one - yeah, it's an interesting question. So right before the February 24th invasion, Putin and Xi met and they declared an endless partnership. What's interesting, since the war began, the endless partnership might have been consummated had the Russians actually achieved their objectives in 72 hours as they hoped to, and kind of just rolled over and decapitated the Zelenskyy government and occupied Kiev and Kharkiv and most of the eastern Ukraine and just dismembered the country. But when it proved to be more difficult and the sanctions started to be applied to Russia, I think the Chinese have been very careful. I mean, they certainly provide lots of rhetorical support for the Russians, but they haven't produced a whole lot. They haven't really provided a lot of material support to the Russians. And I think they're watching this, you know, very closely. And obviously, they have other considerations in mind. They are a couple of different lessons that the Chinese could be learning from this. And I don't think we know the answer to this, Michael. I mean, maybe you and perhaps some of your former colleagues who are still in government today have a better idea of this than I do. But, on the one hand, they could be learning the lessons that I think a lot of our colleagues in the Department of Defense have told me they think that the Chinese are learning: Combined arms operations are actually really difficult. You know, if your military hasn't fought in a war in a long time or if the last time they fought was 1979 against the kind of smaller power and they didn't do that well, maybe you want to think twice about launching an amphibious operation against Taiwan, which is, of all the combined arms operations you can do, perhaps the most challenging and difficult. You know, maybe the folks on Taiwan will react kind of the way the Ukrainians have and resist. That might be kind of difficult. And so all of those sort of cautionary lessons could be what people in

Former diplomat, defense official Eric Edelman on battlefield lessons for Ukraine, Taiwan — "Intelligence Matters".

A 3D-printed oil pump jack is seen in front of the OPEC logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryKazakhstan says preferred oil price is $60-$80/barrelOPEC faces output problems to meet existing targetsU.S. seeking higher OPEC production to counter RussiaNUR-SULTAN/LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - OPEC+ might have to raise oil production to avoid market overheating, OPEC+ member Kazakhstan said on Wednesday, as the group of oil producers meets amid U.S. pressure to add barrels to the market while most members have already exhausted their output potential."We have always said that the preferred price corridor is $60-80 per barrel. Today the price is $100. So we might have to raise output to avoid overheating," Kazakh energy minister Bolat Akchulakov told reporters.The market has been largely expecting OPEC+ to keep output steady or opt for a slight increase. Three OPEC+ sources said on Wednesday they still saw little chance for an output policy change when commenting on the Kazakh minister's statement.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe United States has put OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates under pressure to pump more oil to help rein in prices boosted by rebounding demand and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.U.S. and Western sanctions on Russia have caused prices of all types of energy to soar, resulting in inflation at multi-decade highs and central bank interest rate hikes.OPEC has been increasing output in line with its targets by about 430,000-650,000 barrels per day a month in recent months and has refused to switch to bigger output increases.Group sources have cited a lack of spare capacity among members to add more barrels as well as the need for further cooperation with Russia as part of the wider OPEC+ group."It seems unlikely OPEC+ will do anything when it meets later today," said Callum Macpherson from Investec, citing rising concerns about a slowing global economy and a lack of spare capacity."OPEC+ is struggling to meet the levels its production limits have now been raised to," he said, adding that a surprise decision to raise production would put oil under further pressure to fall below $100 per barrel.Benchmark Brent oil futures fell by more than $1 on Wednesday to trade just above $99 per barrel.The meeting on Wednesday will discuss production policies from September and possibly onwards starting from 1130 GMT.By September, OPEC+ was meant to have wound down all of the record production cuts it implemented in 2020 after the pandemic slashed demand.By June, however, OPEC+ was almost 3 million barrels per day below its quotas as sanctions on some members and low investment by others crippled its ability to boost output. read more Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE are believed to have some spare capacity left to increase production.French President Emmanuel Macron has said he had been told that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had very limited ability to increase oil production. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting by Alex Lawler, Tamara Vaal and Mariya Gordeyeva; editing Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

OPEC+ might have to raise oil output so market doesn't overheat, Kazakhstan says.

3D printed models of people working on computers and padlock are seen in front of a displayed Avast logo in this picture illustration taken, February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesAvast shares hit record high of 683.2pCMA says deal does not create competition concernsNortonLifeLock expects to close deal in Sept.Aug 3 (Reuters) - NortonLifeLock's (NLOK.O) $8.6 billion purchase of rival Avast won provisional clearance from Britain on Wednesday, overcoming the final hurdle to creating a consumer security software giant and sending Avast shares to an all-time high.Shares in Avast (AVST.L) rose as much as 43% to 683.2 pence and U.S-listed NortonLifeLock's shares were up 3% before the bell, after the firms were forced to delay the deal's closing date pending regulatory approvals.The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a deeper investigation into the deal earlier this year, noting it could harm competition and lead to British customers getting a worse deal when looking for security software. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe deal, which would combine NortonLifeLock's strength in identity theft protection and Avast's privacy credentials, has already received the green light in the United States, Spain and Germany.Following a more detailed Phase 2 investigation, the CMA said it had concluded that the deal does not raise competition concerns in the UK.It noted that the merged company will face significant competition from McAfee and other smaller players while software titan Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) will be strengthened as a competitor.Microsoft has ramped up its free built-in security feature, which the CMA noted offers protection which is as good as many of the products offered by specialist firms.The watchdog said it was open to responses from interested parties to its provisional findings till August 24, before issuing its final report due by September 8.Based on this timeline, NortonLifeLock said on Wednesday it expects to close the deal by early next month.Avast said it had no comment at present."After gathering further information from the companies involved and other industry players, we are currently satisfied that this deal won't worsen the options available to consumers," CMA's inquiry group chair Kirstin Baker said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips,Jason Neely and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Avast shares hit record high after $8.6 bln NortonLifeLock deal gets UK nod.

Speculation has emerged in recent months that Credit Suisse may be considering a capital raise.Thi My Lien Nguyen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCredit Suisse shares slipped on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to "sell" following credit rating downgrades from Moody's and S&P.The embattled Swiss lender's shares were down slightly by early afternoon trade in London, having recouped some of their earlier losses, and remain down more than 42% year-to-date, as new CEO Ulrich Koerner takes the reins following the resignation of Thomas Gottstein last week. The bank announced a new strategic review after reporting a second-quarter net loss of 1.593 billion Swiss francs ($1.66 billion), well below consensus, as poor investment bank performance and mounting litigation provisions hammered earnings.Goldman Sachs noted on Tuesday that Credit Suisse has underperformed the rest of the sector by 59% since the start of 2021, due to company-specific events and industry-wide obstacles to revenue.The Wall Street giant expects this underperformance to continue over the next 12 months as investment bank returns remain suppressed through to 2024, and projected a pause in near-term wealth management performance due to outflows and subdued market performance."On capital, while we foresee no near-term shortfall, organic capital generation is below peers and RWA (risk-weighted assets), inflation plus litigation plus restructuring has the potential to further deplete capital to a relatively low buffer vs regulatory minimums," Executive Director Chris Hallam and his team said in Tuesday's note.Despite the more favorable picture Goldman sees across the European banking space — in which higher interest rates will boost revenue and returns forecasts, reinvestment in new technology will enhance returns, and excess capital can be distributed to shareholders — Credit Suisse is valued roughly in line with the sector at present."Our revised 12-month price target implies 5% upside, but in the context of c.60% upside on average across our Banks coverage, this equates to meaningful underperformance: accordingly, we downgrade the stock to Sell from Neutral," Goldman said.Credit downgradesMoody's on Monday downgraded Credit Suisse's senior unsecured debt and deposit ratings by one notch and maintained a negative outlook on the bank's credit trajectory."The downgrade of CS's ratings reflects the challenges the group is facing in successfully executing on its previously announced repositioning of its investment bank in the more difficult macroeconomic and market environment as well as uncertainty as to the business and financial implications of the group's plans to take further steps to achieve a more stable, capital light and better aligned investment banking business," Moody's said in its update.The ratings agency also cited "the crystallisation of large financial losses during H1 2022, resulting in stress on the bank's financial profile and potential delays in technology investments, and in the transformation of the business and an expectation of continued weak performance in 2022."Furthermore, Moody's highlighted evidence of an erosion of Credit Suisse's market share and "franchise impairment" in its investment bank, following deleveraging in its capital-intensive businesses and exit from its prime brokerage business.The ongoing overhaul of its risk and compliance operations is "lengthy and resource-consuming," while stabilizing the group under new leadership and a fresh senior executive team will take time, Moody's said."These factors are partially mitigated by the firm's solid – although decreasing – capitalisation and strong liquidity and funding profiles," it added.Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann told CNBC last week that the new strategic review will look to accelerate restructuring efforts. The review will aim to drastically reduce the group's cost base, strengthen its wealth management, Swiss banking and asset management operations, and transform the investment bank into a capital-light, advisory-led banking business with a greater focus on markets.However, Moody's cited uncertainty over the bank's "ability to successfully execute" on the "as yet to be defined" restructuring strategy, along with "governance deficiencies and top management instability," in a one-notch downgrade for corporate behavior on Credit Suisse's scorecard.S&P Global Ratings on Monday revised its outlook on Credit Suisse to negative, citing increasing risks to the stability of the bank's franchise, uncertainty around the reshuffling of top executives, and a "lack of a clear strategy," along with continued weak profitability over the medium term. "The negative outlook reflects the setbacks Credit Suisse could face in redesigning its strategy, with new management at the helm, in order to transform the bank in an increasingly difficult operating environment," S&P said.

Credit Suisse hit with stock and credit downgrades after earnings plunge.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:CVS Health (CVS) – The drug store operator and pharmacy benefits manager saw its shares rise 3.8% in the premarket after beating top- and bottom-line estimates and raising its full-year earnings forecast.  Results were helped by strong sales of over-the-counter Covid-19 tests as well as an upbeat performance by its insurance unit.Under Armour (UAA) – The athletic apparel maker gained 2% in premarket action despite cutting its full-year earnings forecast. Increased promotional activity and currency headwinds have impacted Under Armour's profit margins, but it did report earnings for its most recent quarter that matched estimates and revenue that was slightly ahead of consensus.Moderna (MRNA) – The vaccine maker reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for its latest quarter and also announced a $3 billion share repurchase program. Moderna also maintained its full-year sales outlook, and its stock gained 2.6% in premarket action.Starbucks (SBUX) – Starbucks shares rose 1.8% in the premarket after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue. Global comparable store sales did come in below forecasts, however, due to weakness in the locked-down China market.Sierra Wireless (SWIR) – The provider of connectivity technology agreed to be acquired by Canadian semiconductor maker Semtech for $31 per share in cash or $1.2 billion. Sierra Wireless surged 7.8% in the premarket, while Semtech shares fell 1.5%.Dish Network (DISH) – The satellite TV company added 1.3% in premarket trading after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The bottom-line beat came despite a slight revenue miss and the loss of 257,000 pay TV subscribers during the quarter.SoFi (SOFI) – The fintech company's stock soared 10.9% in premarket action after it reported a smaller-than-expected loss and better-than-expected revenue. It also issued strong full-year revenue guidance. Results were helped by a 91% jump in personal loan origination volume. Match Group (MTCH) – Shares of the dating service operator tumbled 21.4% in the premarket after it reported lower-than-expected quarterly results and said top-line growth would be flat during the second half of the year. Match also announced the departure of Renate Nyborg, CEO of its Tinder unit.Airbnb (ABNB) – Airbnb reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with its revenue essentially in line, as travel demand boomed. However, the stock slid 7.3% in premarket trading after it issued a lighter-than-expected bookings forecast for the current quarter.

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: CVS, Under Armour, Moderna and more.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the situation in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine as hellish, adding that Russia still has the upperhand in the region. Kyiv ordered the mandatory evacuation of the Donetsk, a part of the Donbas, last weekend amid severe fighting there.The first shipment of grain exports from Ukraine in months safely reached an anchorage in Turkish waters last night. The shipment will be inspected there Wednesday before carrying on its journey to Tripoli in Lebanon. The Sierra-Leone flagged Razoni departed Odesa on Monday, with Zelenskyy calling the shipment a "positive signal."The United States slapped more sanctions on Russian oligarchs on Tuesday, as the U.S. Senate moved closer to a vote to admit Sweden and Finland into the NATO military alliance.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of fears over a nuclear accident in Ukraine. He told reporters late Monday that there are "credible reports" that Russia "is using this plant as the equivalent of a human shield, but a nuclear shield in the sense that it's firing on Ukrainians from around the plant."Grain ship from Ukraine passes inspection, will continue passageA view of one-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tons of corn, departed from port of Odessa to reach Lebanon and anchored at the Black Sea entrance of the Bosphorus as Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) complete inspection on ship in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 03, 2022.Isa Terli | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesThe first grain shipment to leave Ukraine during the war has passed an inspection in Turkey and will soon be able to continue its journey to its final destination in Tripoli, Lebanon."The Joint Inspection Team has completed its inspection activity on board RAZONI. The ship carrying 27 thousand tons of corn will pass through the Bosphorus to go to Lebanon in a short time," Turkey's Defense Ministry tweeted Wednesday.The Sierra-Leone flagged Razoni ship left the port of Odesa on Monday, making history as the first cargo ship to leave one of the country's ports in months following a block on Ukraine's ports since the start of the war in February. The impasse has contributed to global price rises and shortages in basic goods, particularly wheat.Turkey and the U.N. brokered a deal — called the Black Sea Grain Initiative — between Russia and Ukraine to enable shipments to resume, under the aegis of a Joint Coordination Centre comprising senior representatives from each of the countries.Its role is to enable the safe transportation, by merchant ships, of grain and other foodstuffs and fertilizers from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea to the rest of the world. The ships have to be inspected to and from Ukraine as part of the deal with Russia, which fears they could be used to send arms to Ukraine. Kyiv, for its part, wants to ensure the correct commodities are exported.— Holly EllyattNord Stream turbine can be transported anytime, Germany saysGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz (2nd L) and Christian Bruch (L), President and CEO of Siemens Energy, listen to Siemens' leading engineering manager Gerd Uwe Schmiedel (R) as he gives explanations in front of a turbine of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline during a visit on August 3, 2022 at the plant of Siemens Energy in Muelheim an der Ruhr, western Germany, where the engine is stored after maintenance work in Canada.Sascha Schuermann | AFP | Getty ImagesGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz has blamed Russia for delays in the return of a Nord Stream 1 turbine that has been serviced in Canada and returned to Germany, but has not yet been returned to working use in the pipeline in Russia."It [the turbine] can be transported and used at any time," Scholz said during a factory visit to Siemens Energy in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Reuters reported."The non-fulfilment of the gas supply contracts has no technical reasons whatsoever," Scholz said.The German chancellor's comments come after Gazprom, Russia's state gas giant, again reduced gas flows through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which it operates, to around 20% of the pipeline's capacity, citing the need to repair equipment.That came after a previous 10-day stoppage of gas flows for annual maintenance, including on the Siemens Energy turbine that was sent to Canada for repair work.The repair was carried out, with Canada returning the turbine in mid-July, but it has since been stuck in Germany, and was visited by Chancellor Scholz today, as it waits to be taken back to the Russian Portovaya compressor station.Germany has accused Russia of holding up the process. Russia, for its part, has repeatedly said sanctions relief would help resolve energy supply issues, and the repairing and transport of gas pipeline parts.Gazprom's gas supply curbs have provoked criticism and condemnation in Germany and the rest of the EU, which has been reliant on Russia for around 45% of its gas imports. The bloc is trying to dramatically reduce its consumption of Russian gas, and has brought in gas rationing this coming winter, but in the meantime remains reliant on the supply.— Holly EllyattCease-fire could follow grain export deal, former German chancellor saysRussian President Vladimir Putin (and then Russian prime minister) with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2011.Sasha Mordovets | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesGermany's former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said Russia wants a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine and that the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine could provide the foundation for a cease-fire."The good news is that the Kremlin wants a negotiated solution," Schroeder told Stern Weekly and broadcasters RTL/ntv in comments translated by Reuters."A first success is the grain deal, perhaps that can be slowly expanded to a ceasefire," he added.Schroeder said solutions to problems such as Crimea, and the question of whether an cease-fire would see the Russian-annexed territory returned to Ukraine, could be found over time, "maybe not over 99 years, like Hong Kong, but in the next generation."Schroeder's close friendship with Putin is well documented and his pro-Russia views have not gone down well in Germany of late.Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party has launched proceedings that could see Schroeder expelled from the party over his close ties to Putin and Russian energy companies, as he is chairman of the Nord Stream gas pipeline shareholders' committee. He stood down from the board of Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft in May.— Holly EllyattFirst grain shipment out of Ukraine in months reaches Turkey safelyThe first grain ship to leave Ukraine in months has arrived safely in Turkish waters, where it will be inspected before it continues its journey to Lebanon.The shipment comes after a deal was brokered between Russia and Ukraine by Turkey and the United Nations to allow vital exports to resume from the country after a blockade that contributed to global shortages of wheat and cooking oil, of which Ukraine is a major producer and exporter.The ship was carrying more than 26,000 tonnes of corn and is due to undergo an inspection in Istanbul before continuing to Tripoli.An aerial view of Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni which departed from the port of Odesa Monday, arriving at the Black Sea entrance of the Bosporus Strait, in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 3, 2022.Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesThe U.N.-led Joint Coordination Centre requested that all parties inform their militaries of the ship's movements in order to ensure its safe passage from Ukraine through the Black Sea, where much of the coast has been mined by both Russia and Ukraine amid the invasion, to Turkish waters in the Bosporus.The agreement, which was reached after much negotiation between the warring countries, has been hailed as a rare success for international diplomacy, with some officials hoping it could be built upon to potentially reach a cease-fire.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday after the merchant vessel, the Razoni, left the port of Odesa that it "was loaded with two commodities in short supply: corn and hope.""Hope for millions of people around the world who depend on the smooth running of Ukraine's ports to feed their families. The ship's departure is the first concrete result of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It has been a long journey since I presented the proposal to the leaders of the Russian Federation and Ukraine at the end of April," he said. The Razoni's departure was, he added, an "enormous collective achievement."— Holly Ellyatt'It's just hell': President Zelenskyy describes the situation in the DonbasUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the situation in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, the epicenter of the war in Ukraine, is "just hell."Describing Russia's "fire superiority" in his nightly video message, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's forces "still cannot completely break the advantage of the Russian army in artillery and in manpower, and this is very felt in the battles, especially in Donbas - Pisky, Avdiyivka, other directions." "It's just hell. It can't even be described in words," he added.Firefighters try to put out a fire after the Russian shelling of a house in Bakhmut in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 27, 2022.Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesWith intense fighting in the Donbas, Ukraine has ordered residents in one of its constituent regions, Donetsk, to evacuate while Kyiv discusses the need for more weapons with its international allies. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with President Zelenskyy about more military aid for Ukraine, tweeting Wednesday that "it's vital that NATO and allies provide even more assistance to Ukraine even faster."People board the evacuation train from the Donbas region to the west of Ukraine, at the train station in Pokrovsk, on August 2, 2022.Bulent Kilic | Afp | Getty ImagesHe said that the two also discussed the first shipment of grain since Russia's late February invasion and subsequent naval blockade of Ukrainian ports.Zelenskyy also commented on the initial success of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations, to enable the resumption of exports of vital produce from Ukraine by sea."Our goal now is to have regularity: so that when one ship leaves the port, there should be other ships as well - both those loading and those on the approach to the port. Continuity and regularity is the necessary principle. All consumers of our agricultural products need it," he said.— Holly EllyattRead CNBC's previous blog here:Two Republican senators propose amendments ahead of the vote to add Finland and Sweden to NATONATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C), Finland Ministers for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (L) and Sweden Foreign minister Ann Linde (R) give a press conference after their meeting at the Nato headquarters in Brussels on January 24, 2022.John Thys | AFP | Getty ImagesTwo Republican senators have proposed amendments on the vote to add Sweden and Finland to NATO.Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, both are seeking changes to the treaty vote as Congress prepares to head into recess.Paul told NBC News that his amendment states that "nothing in the Article Five portion of the NATO Treaty supersedes the congressional directive that we have to declare war." The NATO provision holds than an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all members. Sullivan told NBC News that his amendment states that every member of NATO, to now include Sweden and Finland, should commit to the 2% of GDP spending on defense goal established at the 2014 NATO Wales Summit.The vote to include Sweden and Finland in NATO is expected to overwhelmingly pass.— Amanda MaciasU.S. slaps more sanctions on Russian officials and oligarchsRed Square, MoscowMike Hewitt | Getty ImagesSecretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions on Russian oligarchs and state-owned entities.Below is the State Department's fact sheet of imposed penalties on the following Russian oligarchs:Alexander Ponomarenko "for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian economy. He is an oligarch with close ties to other oligarchs and the construction of Vladimir Putin's seaside palace." He has been sanctioned by the U.K., European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.Dmitry Pumpyanskiy "for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy." The U.K., European Union and New Zealand have also designated him. Pumpyanskiy has ties to the yacht "Axioma," which is now being identified as blocked property.Andrey Melnichenko "for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy." Like Pumpyanskiy, he has also been designated by the U.K., European Union, and New Zealand."We are also imposing additional costs on Russia's war machine by designating 24 Russian defense and technology-related entities," Blinken wrote in a statement. "Russia has systematically focused on exploiting high-technology research and innovations to advance Moscow's war-fighting capabilities – the same defense capabilities that Russia's military is using in its vicious attacks hitting Ukraine's population centers and resulting in the deaths of civilians, including children," he added.— Amanda MaciasMarch was the deadliest month of Russia's war in Ukraine, UN saysThe United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner said that March was so far the deadliest month in Russia's war in Ukraine.There were more than 3,100 civilian casualties and 2,400 injuries due to the conflict in March, according to data compiled by the UN. Total civilian casualties from 24 February to 31 July 2022 as compiled by the United Nations.U.N. Human Rights Office of the High CommissionerThe United Nations has confirmed 5,327 civilian deaths and 7,257 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24."Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes," the UN office wrote in a report.The human rights office added that the majority of casualties and injuries were reported in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.— Amanda Macias

'It's just hell': Ukraine says Russia has the upperhand in Donbas; Germany blames Moscow for turbine trouble.

Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) on Wednesday retained its full-year sales outlook for COVID-19 shot at $21 billion due to decreasing orders from low- and middle-income countries through the COVAX international vaccine-sharing program.The unchanged forecast came despite Moderna's $1.74 billion deal last week with the U.S. government for 66 million doses of a vaccine updated for Omicron subvariants. read more "It's because of COVAX. As you remember, we have a partnership with COVAX to supply product to low-income countries. COVAX does not want the doses that they have ordered," Chief Executive Stephane Bancel told Reuters.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMarket expectations of an increase in vaccine sales have been dropping, with analysts divided on the sustainability of that dizzying growth beyond 2022 on doubts over demand for booster doses.Moderna reported $4.5 billion in sales of its shot in the second-quarter ended June 30. Three analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected quarterly sales of $3.16 billion.Shares of the company rose 3.5% to $166.47 in premarket trading after Moderna announced a $3 billion share buyback plan.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru and Michael Erman in New Jersey; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Moderna maintains vaccine sales view as demand from low-income nations eases.

Illustration of a vial of Moderna vaccine for coronavirus treatment.Marcos Del Mazo | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesModerna on Wednesday reported second quarter results that beat earnings and revenue expectations driven $4.5 billion in sales from its Covid -19 vaccine, but it's still the company's only commercially available product and it took a big hit on expiring shots.The Boston biotech company's costs rose to $1.4 billion, or 30% of the revenue generated from its vaccine. Moderna took a nearly $500 million hit on write-downs for vaccines that have expired or are expected to expire before they can be used.Moderna also lost $184 million in vaccine purchase commitments and had $131 million in expenses for unused manufacturing capacity. These charges are due to substantial reductions in expected vaccine deliveries to Covax, an international alliance that purchases shots for poorer countries. Deliveries have also been deferred for major customers such as the European Union.The Boston biotech company generated $4.7 billion in sales for the quarter, a 9% increase over the same period last year. Moderna maintained its 2022 Covid vaccine sales guidance of $21 billion.Moderna posted adjusted earnings of $5.24 per share, an 18% drop from the second quarter of 2021. The company's net income came in at $2.2 billion, a 20% drop from the same period in 2021.Moderna has a cash pile of $18 billion, and said it's going to buy back $3 billion of its shares with some of that money.Here's how the company performed compared with what Wall Street expected, based on analysts' average estimates compiled by Refinitiv:Adjusted EPS: $5.24 per share, vs. $4.55 expectedRevenue: $4.7 billion, vs. $4.1 billion expectedModerna last week announced a $1.74 billion agreement with the U.S. to supply 66 million doses of its updated Covid vaccine that targets the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. The agreement includes an option to purchase another 234 million doses.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC's latest global health coverage:Biden names team to manage U.S. monkeypox response as outbreak growsBiden's Covid relapse sparks talk of 'Paxlovid rebounds'—here's what you need to know about the pillU.S. secures 171 million omicron Covid shots ahead of fall vaccination campaignHealth secretary calls on Congress and states to do more to help contain monkeypox outbreakPfizer quarterly sales surge to record high, driven by Covid vaccine and antiviral treatment PaxlovidU.S. to release 786,000 additional monkeypox vaccine doses as outbreak spreadsWHO recommends gay and bisexual men limit sexual partners to reduce the spread of monkeypox

Moderna's 2Q earnings beat expectations, but it writes off $500 million in expiring Covid shots.

World August 3, 2022 / 7:02 AM / CBS/AP The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday it is seeking possession of a Venezuelan cargo jet that has been grounded in Argentina since early June because it was previously owned by an Iranian airline that allegedly has ties to terror groups.The request to Argentina was revealed a day after an Argentine judge allowed 12 of the 19 crewmembers of the plane to leave the country as authorities continue to investigate possible terror ties of those traveling in the Boeing 747. Federal Judge Federico Villena said late Monday that the remaining four Iranians and three Venezuelans must stay.The U.S. request sent to Argentina on Tuesday followed the unsealing of a warrant in federal court in the District of Columbia that was issued last month and that argues the U.S-made plane should be forfeited because of violations of U.S. export control laws. A Venezuelan-owned Boeing 747 taxis on the runway after landing in the Ambrosio Taravella airport in Cordoba, Argentina, Monday, June 6, 2022.  Sebastian Borsero / AP The plane, according to the Justice Department, was transferred from Iranian airline Mahan Air - which officials have alleged provides support for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force - to Emtrasur, a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos, or CONVIASA. CONVIASA is under U.S. sanctions. By transferring the airplane to the Venezuelan firm in October without prior U.S. government authorization, Mahan Air violated a 2008 order issued by the Department of Commerce that has since been periodically renewed, the U.S. says. The Justice Department says Emtrasur subsequently re-exported the plane between Caracas, Tehran and Moscow -- also without U.S. government approval."The Department of Justice will not tolerate transactions that violate our sanctions and export laws," Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department's national security division, said in a statement. "Working with our partners across the globe, we will give no quarter to governments and state-sponsored entities looking to evade our sanctions and export control regimes in service of their malign activities." The moves marked the latest development in the saga of the mysterious plane, which landed June 6 at Ezeiza International Airport outside Buenos Aires and was grounded two days later.The case has raised attention in several South American countries as well as the United States and Israel amid allegations that the plane was a cover for Iranian intelligence operations in the region. Iran and Venezuela vehemently deny those claims.The issue has caught the attention of members of U.S. Congress. On July 26, a dozen U.S. Republican senators wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland accusing the Justice Department of failing to assist Argentine authorities in its investigation of the Venezuelan plane.Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, pressed Olsen about it at a hearing last week and lamented that in his view Iran was not receiving the scrutiny it deserved. Olsen said he was aware of the case but added: "This is an ongoing matter. I can't talk about the specifics." The U.S. Commerce Department took its own action Tuesday, announcing it had suspended for 180 days the export privileges of Emtrasur.The Israeli government has praised Argentina for grounding the plane and contends at least some the Iranian crew members "were involved directly in the trafficking of weapons to Syria and the terrorist organization Hezbollah of Lebanon."Among those who will continue to be prohibited from leaving Argentina is the Iranian pilot of the plane, Gholamreza Ghasemi.Ghasemi is a former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and is a shareholder and board member of Iran's Qeshm Fars Air, which the U.S. Treasury Department has said is controlled by Mahan Air and provides material support to the Quds Force.The other crew members required to remain in Argentina are Abdolbaset Mohammadim, Mohammad Khosraviaragh and Saeid Vali Zadeh of Iran and Mario Arraga, Víctor Pérez Gómez and José García Contreras of Venezuela."What is being investigated is whether, under the appearance of legal activity, they are financing terrorism operations (specifically with Hezbollah) or whether they are part of a plan that has ties with" Hezbollah, the judge wrote.Villena emphasized that connections with Iran's Revolutionary Guard are not under investigation because Argentina does not consider it to be a terrorist organization. Mahan Air has denied any ties to the aircraft and Venezuela has demanded that Argentine authorities release the plane.Yet Argentine authorities who searched the plane found a Mahan Air flight log documenting the aircraft's flights after the transfer to Emtrasur, including a flight to Tehran in April, the Justice Department said.The plane was carrying cargo for several Argentine auto parts companies that it loaded in Mexico before stopping in Caracas and arriving in Argentina.The plane is also under investigation in Paraguay, where the plane landed in May and spent three days in Ciudad del Este, near the border with Argentina, where it loaded cigarettes to transport to Aruba, according to Paraguayan authorities.There are suspicions the plane's cargo was "a facade" that hid the real reason for its time in Paraguay, says René Fernández, a former prosecutor who leads Paraguay's National Anticorruption Secretariat.Villena said the plane's stopover in Paraguay was "at least striking" and added that further investigation was needed."This seizure demonstrates the FBI's persistence in using all of our tools to hold the Iranian Government and affiliated individuals and companies accountable when they violate U.S. laws," said Acting Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Kevin Vorndran of the FBI.  This case is also being investigated by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security's Miami Field Office and the FBI Miami Field Office. In: Venezuela Iran United States Department of Justice argentina

U.S. asks Argentina to seize mysterious Venezuelan plane linked to Iran.

Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast (L), and Tom Rutledge, chief executive officer of Charter CommunicationsDrew Angerer | Getty ImagesComcast and Charter, the two largest U.S. cable companies, have a broadband growth problem.As tens of millions of Americans canceled their cable TV subscriptions in the past decade, the cable industry focused on the more profitable business of selling broadband internet.Now, the number of U.S. households paying Comcast and Charter for high-speed Internet is falling for the first time, with both companies reporting residential broadband declines in the second quarter. Comcast lost 10,000 residential customers and noted it's down an another 30,000 in July. Charter dropped 42,000.Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Charter counterpart Tom Rutledge blamed macroeconomic trends and stronger than normal gains during the pandemic as primary reasons for the losses. Comcast specifically pointed to fewer people moving as the main reason for lower connections."There's been a dramatic slowdown in moves across our footprint," said Roberts during Comcast's earnings conference call last month. In the first year of the pandemic, he noted the company added nearly 50% more customers than its prior annual average growth.The abrupt end to the streak of broadband growth is a major concern for investors in Comcast and Charter, which are trading near two-year lows. Comcast shares are off about 25% year to date, while Charter is down about 33%.And while pandemic and macroeconomic trends may ease with time, Roberts also acknowledged in the earnings call another reason for the broadband dip: new competition.The rise of fixed wirelessFor decades, cable companies enjoyed having little competition in many regions of the country for high-speed internet.Then about three years ago, T-Mobile launched its fixed wireless product, a 5G high-speed broadband product that functions as an alternative to cable broadband. As of April, T-Mobile high speed internet is available to more than 40 million households across the country. Verizon said earlier this year it plans to have between 4 million and 5 million fixed wireless customers by the end of 2025.In March, Roberts dismissed fixed wireless as "an inferior product." T-Mobile has promised half the country will get speeds of at least 100 megabits per second by the end of 2024. Standard cable (and fiber) broadband can typically deliver speeds about twice as fast. Moreover, fixed wireless is constrained by congestion on 5G airwaves. Cable, which runs wires directly to the home, has no such limitation."We've seen lower price, lower speed offerings before. And in the long run, I don't know how viable the technology holds up," Roberts said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.T-Mobile charges a flat $50 monthly fee for its fixed wireless service. New Street Research estimated average monthly cable broadband revenue per use is nearly $70, and will likely rise to more than $75 by 2025.Just as T-Mobile grew in the wireless industry by offering lower prices, it appears to be doing the same to cable. In the second quarter, T-Mobile added a whopping 560,000 new fixed wireless customers as Comcast and Charter lost broadband subscribers. T-Mobile said more than half its new customers switched from cable."Demand continues to build from dissatisfied suburban cable customers to underserved customers in smaller markets and rural areas," T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said during the company's earnings conference call. T-Mobile also noted that results of Ookla's nationwide speed test in July that showed its 5G network (187.33 Mpbs) topped Comcast and Charter broadband (184.08 and 183.74, respectively) in terms of average speed.Roberts disputed that customers are ditching Comcast for any fixed service, claiming T-Mobile's growth is based on new customers."We are not seeing fixed wireless have any discernible impact on our churn," Roberts said during Comcast's earnings conference call July 28.Still, if fixed wireless continues to eat into cable broadband growth, Comcast and Charter will need to convince investors there's another reason to put their money in cable, said Chris Marangi, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds."There's not an obvious catalyst," said Marangi. "You're probably not going to get reinvigorated broadband growth in the next six months."Gabelli Funds own Charter, Comcast, Verizon and T-Mobile.The cable investment fearThe fear among cable shareholders isn't just that Comcast and Charter may be at the end of an era where it comes to broadband growth. It's also that new competition will lead to lower prices. The combination of promotional pricing and stalled growth may end up turning broadband into something that looks more similar to the wireless business, which has been stymied by price wars and low profit margins for years.It's too early to tell if fixed wireless will take market share away from cable companies in coming years or if congestion issues force wireless providers to constrain the number of users, said Craig Moffett, a telecom analyst at MoffettNathanson. Moffett noted that fixed wireless uses far more data than mobile wireless but only generates about 20% more revenue based on current pricing."Time will tell if this migration to fixed wireless is just a temporary opportunity," Moffett said.It's possible that fixed wireless is simply having "a moment" and customers will reject the service over time as being too unreliable or lacking in speed, said Walt Piecyk, an analyst at LightShed Partners."Right now, it looks like it works. They're taking cable customers," said Piecyk. "We'll see if this is sustainable two or three quarters from now."Cable's technological advantages may swing investor sentiment back toward Comcast and Charter if fixed wireless growth subsides."While the narrative of slowing connects ahead of increasing competition does not bode well for sentiment, we believe cable's network advantage across the majority of its footprint will drive sub growth," JP Morgan analyst Philip Cusick wrote in a note to clients.Cable moves to wirelessAs TV declines and broadband growth slows, the next chapter for cable will be wireless, predicted Moffett.Wireless has become cable's new growth story, as Comcast and Charter have used a shared network agreement with Verizon to boost their own mobile services. Comcast's wireless revenue grew 30% year over year in the second quarter and more than 80% from two years ago. Charter's wireless quarterly sales grew 40% from the year-earlier period; two years ago, the company didn't even break out wireless revenue because the business was so new.Comcast and Charter have to share wireless with Verizon under the constructs of their network agreement, pushing margins lower. A well-run mobile virtual network operator still only has margins of about 10%, Moffett said. But that could grow over time, he said."Wireless may not be a better business than broadband, but it is a much bigger business," Moffett said.Charter Chief Financial Officer Chris Winfrey said during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call that the potential of cable wireless is underestimated.Given the push among wireless companies into broadband, along with the movement by cable companies into mobile service, some think it's inevitable the two industries will merge."It just doesn't make any sense not to, purely from an operational synergies, from a capital-allocation synergies, from a branding-synergies standpoint," Altice CEO Dexter Goei told CNBC last year. Altice is the fourth-largest U.S. cable provider behind Comcast, Charter and Cox.The more services customers have from the same provider, the less likely they are to leave, Goei said.M&A as last resortA merger between Comcast or Charter with T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T is unrealistic given the U.S. regulatory stance on market power, Moffett said. Still, different presidential administrations can have varied viewpoints on what is acceptable. For example, Sprint and T-Mobile were able to merge under the Trump administration after years of being told by government officials not to bother even trying."Never say never, right?" Goei said. "Strategic transactions where you have different services, I don't understand why that should not be something that should be allowed by the antitrust division."If a wireless-cable merger isn't in the cards, there are other potential ways deals could renew investor interest.Regional cable operator WideOpenWest and Suddenlink, an asset owned by Altice USA, are both in talks with potential buyers, according to people familiar with the matter. A transaction could lift publicly traded cable stocks by resetting the valuation multiple on the companies higher, said Gabelli's Marangi.Charter or Comcast could also buy a non-cable asset to bring renewed investor excitement to their companies."It's Management 101; when companies go ex-growth, they look to M&A," said Piecyk of LightShed Partners.It's also possible investors would view an outside acquisition as a distraction rather than a new opportunity, however. Shareholders would likely resist deals for media assets, such as Comcast's past acquisitions of Sky and NBCUniversal, Moffett said.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.WATCH: Comcast reports flat broadband subscribers

Comcast and Charter may need new focus as broadband growth stalls amid competition.

Voyager said it has roughly $1.3 billion of crypto on its platform and holds over $350 million in cash on behalf of customers at New York's Metropolitan Commercial Bank.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesStephen Ehrlich, CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital, made millions of dollars selling Voyager shares in February and March 2021 when shares were near their peak, nineteen months before the crypto lending firm declared bankruptcy in July 2022, financial records show.Ehrlich's gains were propelled by the stratospheric increase in Voyager's stock price, which rocketed from seven cents a share in Oct. 2020 to $26 a share by March 2021. In the same period, Bitcoin rose 455% and Ether climbed 688%. Like similarly embattled Celsius, the firm promised mammoth returns on assets that users entrusted with them. But as crypto prices went into free fall earlier this year, Voyager's business proved unsustainable, leading the firm to freeze assets that retail investors had deposited in June, then declare bankruptcy in July. Voyager had custody of $1.3 billion in customer crypto assets spread across 3.5 million active users, according to a bankruptcy filing.A complex and opaque corporate structure – including a reverse takeover of a defunct Canadian mining corporation, the acquisition and disposition of Delaware limited liability companies, and consulting fees paid out to insider LLCs – make it challenging to establish just how much the Voyager co-founder took home.What is evident, based on corporate insider disclosures and Voyager filings, is that Ehrlich made over $30 million disposing of Voyager equity as the crypto lender's shares neared an all-time high.Ehrlich and his Delaware LLCs sold nearly 1.9 million shares from February 9, 2021, to March 31, 2021, in 11 separate sales which totaled $31 million, according to data from the Canadian Securities Administration.The three largest of Ehrlich's transactions – totaling 1.4 million shares worth nearly $19 million –  were connected to a $50,000,000 secondary offering by Stifel Nicolaus in February 2021.Voyager shares would peak at $29.86 a week after Ehrlich's final sale on April 5, 2021. Three weeks later, VOYG shares had lost 41% of their value. By November 2021 — as the crypto market overall was peaking —Voyager was down 69% from its peak.Many publicly traded companies have restrictions or pre-determined trading plans on when senior executives and insiders can execute sales. In the United States, these 10b5-1 plans prevent insiders from using "material non-public information" to gain an advantage or profit. In Canada, these plans are known as automatic securities disposition plans, or ADSPs.On December 31, 2021, months after these insider sales, Voyager announced the adoption of ADSPs for Ehrlich and another executive, COO Gerard Hanshe. Less than a month later, on January 20, 2022, Ehrlich announced the cancellation of the ADSPs before any trades were completed under them."Despite having a floor significantly above the current stock price, I felt it was in the best interest of the investors to withdraw the plan," Ehrlich said in a press release. "Based on our key financial metrics, including revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 as disclosed in our press release issued January 5, 2022, I believe Voyager is undervalued."Ehrlich did not respond to multiple requests for comment.Voyager ran into trouble earlier this year as crypto prices dropped more than 70% from their peak last fall. In particular, the collapse of a stablecoin, Terra, which was supposed to be pegged to the U.S. dollar, sent shockwaves through the industry.Voyager disclosed to creditors on June 27 that hedge fund Three Arrows Capital had defaulted on a $650 million loan that Voyager had extended using customer assets. At the time, Voyager insisted it would continue to honor customer withdrawals and redemptions.Five days later, Ehrlich's firm froze customer withdrawals, leaving millions of users without access to their cryptoassets. "This was a tremendously difficult decision, but we believe it is the right one given current market conditions," Ehrlich said in a statement.On July 6, the crypto lender filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, engaging white-shoe firm Kirkland and Ellis and investment bank Moelis & Company to advise them through the process. Numerous petitioners have moved to regain access to their holdings since the process began.The FDIC has since ordered Voyager to cease calling their products FDIC-insured, calling the claims "false and misleading."

Voyager CEO made millions in stock sales in 2021 when price was near peak.

Surface damage seen on Qatar Airways' airbus A350 parked at Qatar airways aircraft maintenance hangar in Doha, Qatar, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Imad Creidi/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) has revoked its entire outstanding order from Qatar Airways for A350 jets, severing all remaining new jetliner business with the Gulf carrier in a dramatic new twist to a safety and contractual dispute, two industry sources said.No comment was immediately available from Airbus or Qatar Airways.Launch customer Qatar Airways, the first airline to introduce the jet to the skies in 2015, is suing Airbus for at least $1.4 billion after almost half its A350 fleet was grounded by Qatar's regulator over surface damage.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comIt has refused to take delivery of more A350s until it receives a deeper explanation or long-term fix. read more Backed by European regulators, Airbus has acknowledged quality problems on the jets but denied any safety risk.Until now, the dispute has had a piecemeal effect on the order book for Europe's biggest twin-engined jet as first Airbus, then Qatar Airways, terminated individual jets.Now, however, Airbus has told the largest A350 customer that it is striking the rest of the A350 deal from its books, the sources told Reuters, asking not to be identified. read more At end-June, the planemaker had outstanding orders from Qatar Airways for 19 of the largest version of the jet, the 350-passenger A350-1000.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Airbus axes remaining A350 jet deal with Qatar - sources.

Powassan virus, an extremely rare tick-borne illness, is trending after a severe case in a 3-year-old boy in Pennsylvania led to hospitalization.While swimming in a neighbor's pool, Jonny Simoson's mom, Jamie, noticed a tick on his back which she successfully removed, she wrote in a Facebook post. Thinking nothing of it, the family resumed their normal activities until two weeks later when Jonny's daycare informed Jamie that he was, "mopey, had no appetite and complaining of a headache," she wrote on social media.After two doctor's visits, Jonny had a fever of 104, Jamie told The New York Post. His white blood cell count rose to 30,000, and he was unresponsive for almost five days. Doctors still couldn't determine what the cause was. "Things got really scary at that point," Simoson said. "It was so frustrating searching for an answer. We were terrified that we might not be coming home with our child."Following several attempts at diagnosis, doctors eventually discovered that Jonny had meningoencephalitis — an infection of the brain and the tissue surrounding it, according to the outlet. Jonny was treated with intravenous immunoglobin and 12 days later was discharged from the hospital.It wasn't until three days after his discharge that Jonny tested posted for Powassan virus. But not all cases end like Jonny's. In May, a 90-year-old woman from Connecticut died from the tick-borne virus.If you're wondering how concerned you should be about the increasing diagnosis of this rare illness, we talked to Jonathan Oliver, assistant professor at the school of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, about the virus. Here are a few facts.Here's what you need to know about Powassan virusLess than 200 cases were reported between 2011 and 2020, according to data collected by the CDC.Powassan virus can only be transmitted by the bite of an infected tick in the U.S., based on reported cases. Many people don't develop symptoms of Powassan virus, but occasionally, for those that do, the symptoms can be severe. "Typical symptoms early on are fever, headache, neck ache depending on what neural tissues are infected, and also vomiting," says Oliver. "As the disease progresses, it gets more severe, and so you get strong neurological involvement," like confusion and seizures.Unfortunately, there is no real cure for Powassan virus. Treatments are usually for symptoms that occur as a result of contracting it. No vaccines are available to prevent the illness either, according to the CDC.Cases commonly crop up in the upper Midwest, like Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the northeast, especially the New England area where Massachusetts is considered the northeastern epicenter of Powassan virus.Often, diseases like the Powassan virus more commonly affect older people. "This child was just one of the unlucky few who does develop the disease, but it can potentially affect anybody," Oliver says.'Prevention is always the best course for tick-borne diseases'Thankfully, there are precautions you can take, and "prevention is always the best course for tick-borne diseases," according to Oliver. Using any bug repellent that has ingredients accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, like deet and lemon eucalyptus oil, may protect you from ticks, he says.Your clothing choices could also keep you safe. Wearing long pants and tucking them into your socks is a good way to keep ticks on the outside of your clothes so you can pick them off easily, Oliver says. Doing daily tick checks is essential if you're in 'tick-habitat' because the sooner a tick is removed from your skin, the better, he notes.If you know or suspect that you have been bitten by a tick and there's a possibility that it's been on your skin for a long period of time, Oliver suggests consulting with your doctor. Ticks carry other viruses like Lyme disease which is a lot more common than Powassan virus."Everyone should be aware and concerned of tick-borne diseases," Oliver says, "If you're out in potential tick habitat, you are likely getting exposed to ticks. Especially if you're in the upper Midwest or northeast where we do have a lot of deer ticks biting humans, there's a high potential for a variety of different diseases."Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletterDon't miss:Monkeypox is a global health emergency—what you need to know about symptoms, vaccines and moreWhat to do if you have Covid symptoms but keep testing negative at home, according to experts

Powassan virus is in the news: Here are 6 facts about the tick-borne illness.

Boxes of the medication Mifepristone used to induce a medical abortion are prepared for patients at Planned Parenthood health center in Birmingham, Alabama, March 14, 2022.Evelyn Hockstein | ReutersU.S. President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday to help cover costs for women traveling to receive abortions, a senior administration official said.He's directing Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to encourage states to write rules so their state Medicaid plans could cover certain costs for women traveling to receive abortion in states where the procedure remains legal.But groups such as Planned Parenthood have called on the Biden administration to use all the emergency powers at its disposal to protect access to abortion. The Center for Reproductive Rights has specifically called on HHS to use an emergency health law, called the PREP Act, to enable health-care providers in states where abortion remains legal to prescribe and dispense mifepristone for early abortions for women in states with bans.The Biden administration has considered declaring a public health emergency to protect access to the abortion pill, but it worries physicians could potentially face prosecution in states that have banned the procedure, a senior administration official said.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC's latest global health coverage:Biden names team to manage U.S. monkeypox response as outbreak growsBiden's Covid relapse sparks talk of 'Paxlovid rebounds'—here's what you need to know about the pillU.S. secures 171 million omicron Covid shots ahead of fall vaccination campaignHealth secretary calls on Congress and states to do more to help contain monkeypox outbreakPfizer quarterly sales surge to record high, driven by Covid vaccine and antiviral treatment PaxlovidU.S. to release 786,000 additional monkeypox vaccine doses as outbreak spreadsWHO recommends gay and bisexual men limit sexual partners to reduce the spread of monkeypoxThe White House hasn't used those powers yet because officials worry that it might not be enough to protect physicians and women in the end, a senior administration official said.The law gives the Health and Human Services secretary the authority to extend legal protections to anyone who manufactures or administers a drug that's needed to respond to a public health emergency. It was widely used in March 2020 to protect Covid-19 vaccine makers, test manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer that were making therapeutic drugs like the anti-viral Paxlovid. It also protected physicians administering the shots and tests.Under that authority, HHS Secretary Becerra could designate the abortion pill, mifepristone, as drug needed to prevent a health emergency caused by reduced abortion access. This would, in theory, pre-empt state abortion bans and make mifepristone available to women in those states, opening an avenue to early pregnancy abortions."One of the concerns we have about invoking the PREP Act is that we're concerned that we might not be able to protect women and doctors from from liability, including criminalization. So that's why we haven't yet taken that action," a senior administration told reporters on a call.Legal experts have said Republican state officials would immediately sue the administration for using the PREP Act to protect medication abortion and a federal court could quickly block the action from taking effect. The issue could ultimately end up before the same conservative-controlled Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.Many states that have banned abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe. v. Wade have also barred physicians from administering drugs to terminate pregnancies, which would include mifepristone. The state bans in most cases make performing an abortion a felony that can carry years long prison sentences.Women who receive abortions are generally exempt from prosecution under most of the state bans, but reproductive rights activists are worried that Republican state officials will ultimately try to prosecute patients who receive the procedure as well.The Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone more than 20 years ago as a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy before the 10th week. Mifepristone is taken in conjunction with misoprostol to induce contractions that end early pregnancies.Medication abortions have become an increasingly common procedure to end pregnancies in the U.S. Mifepristone used in conjunction with misoprostol accounted for more than 50% of abortions in the U.S. in 2020, according to a survey of all known providers by the Guttmacher Institute.In December, the FDA decided to permanently lifted a requirement that women obtain the pill in person, making it easier to dispense the pill by mail through telemedicine appointments.But the physical location of the patient determines which state's telemedicine laws apply. This means women in states where abortion has been banned cannot receive the procedure through telemedicine with providers in states where it is legal.

Biden to sign executive order to help cover costs for women traveling for abortions.

World August 3, 2022 / 7:07 AM / CBS/AP Pelosi in Taiwan despite China's warnings Nancy Pelosi lands in Taiwan despite China's warnings 07:40 Taipei, Taiwan — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after a visit that heightened tensions with China, saying Wednesday that she and other members of Congress in her delegation showed they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island.Pelosi, the first U.S. speaker to visit the island in more than 25 years, courted Beijing's wrath with the visit and set off more than a week of debate, after news of it leaked, over whether it was a good idea.In Taipei, she remained calm but defiant. "Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy," she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. "America's determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad." China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments, announced multiple military exercises around the island, parts of which will enter Taiwanese waters, and issued a series of harsh statements after the delegation touched down Tuesday night in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. Beijing depicted the drills as "necessary and just," Agence France-Press reported. Beijing's foreign ministry said, "In the current struggle surrounding Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the United States are the provocateurs, China is the victim." Taiwan decried the planned actions, saying they violated the island's sovereignty. "Such an act equals to sealing off Taiwan by air and sea, such an act covers our country's territory and territorial waters, and severely violates our country's territorial sovereignty," Capt. Jian-chang Yu said at a briefing by the National Defense Ministry. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks next to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk during a meeting at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan on August 3, 2022.  TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE via Reuters The four days of Chinese military exercises, including live fire, are to start Thursday and would be the largest aimed at Taiwan since 1995, when China fired missiles in a large-scale exercise to show its displeasure at a visit by then-Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to the U.S. Taiwanese President Tsai responded firmly Wednesday to Beijing's military intimidation. "Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down," Tsai said at her meeting with Pelosi. "We will firmly uphold our nation's sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy." When China's official Xinhua News Agency announced the military actions Tuesday night, it published a map outlining six different areas around Taiwan. Arthur Zhin-Sheng Wang, a defense studies expert at Taiwan's Central Police University, said three of the areas infringe on Taiwanese waters, meaning they are within 12 nautical miles of shore. Using live fire in a country's territorial airspace or waters is risky, said Wang, adding that "according to international rules of engagement, this can possibly be seen as an act of war." Rep. Mike Turner: It's "very important" that Nancy Pelosi stood up to China and went to Taiwan 05:44 The Reuters news agency reports Pelosi's Taiwan visit was denounced on social media in China. One blogger seethed, saying, "This old she-devil, she actually dares to come!"Reuters also reported that the Kremlin said Wednesday the amount of ratcheting up of tensions the Pelosi stop set off "should not be underestimated" and was a "provocation." Pelosi's trip has heightened U.S.-China tensions more than visits by other members of Congress because of her high-level position as leader of the House of Representatives. She is the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, since Newt Gingrich in 1997. However, other members of Congress have visited Taiwan in the past year. Tsai, thanking Pelosi for her decades of support for Taiwan, presented the speaker with a civilian honor, the Order of the Propitious Clouds. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing, Nicholas Burns, to convey the country's protests. On Wednesday, China banned some imports from Taiwan, including citrus fruit and fish. Pelosi addressed Beijing's threats Wednesday morning, saying she hopes it's clear that while China has prevented Taiwan from attending certain international meetings, "that they understand they will not stand in the way of people coming to Taiwan as a show of friendship and of support." She noted that support for Taiwan is bipartisan in Congress and praised the island's democracy. She stopped short of saying the U.S would defend Taiwan militarily, emphasizing that Congress is "committed to the security of Taiwan, in order to have Taiwan be able to most effectively defend themselves." U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu before boarding a plane at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan on August 3, 2022.  Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Reuters Her focus has always been the same, she said, going back to her 1991 visit to Beijing's Tiananmen Square, when she and other lawmakers unfurled a small banner supporting democracy two years after a bloody military crackdown on protesters at the square. That visit was also about human rights and what she called dangerous technology transfers to "rogue countries." Pelosi visited a human rights museum in Taipei that details the history of the island's martial law era and met with some of Taiwan's most prominent rights activists, including an exiled former Hong Kong bookseller who was detained by Chinese authorities, Lam Wing-kee. Pelosi, who is leading the trip with five other members of Congress, also met with representatives from Taiwan's legislature. "Madam Speaker's visit to Taiwan with the delegation, without fear, is the strongest defense of upholding human rights and consolidation of the values of democracy and freedom," Tsai Chi-chang, vice president of Taiwan's legislature, said in welcome. The Biden administration has sought to tone down the volume on the visit, insisting there's no change in America's longstanding "one-China policy," which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. Pelosi said her delegation has "heft," including Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Raja Krishnamoorthi from the House Intelligence Committee. Reps. Andy Kim and Mark Takano are also in the delegation. She also mentioned Rep. Suzan DelBene, whom Pelosi said was instrumental in the passage of a $280 billion bill aimed at boosting American manufacturing and research in semiconductor chips -- an industry that Taiwan dominates and is vital for modern electronics. In: Taiwan Nancy Pelosi China Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

China fumes over Pelosi's Taiwan visit, announces military drills to show its wrath.

United Nations peacekeeping troops patrol the streets in armoured personnel carriers on election day in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa July 30, 2006. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKINSHASA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo has asked the spokesman of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, to leave the country, blaming him for stoking tensions that led to deadly protests last week.Thirty-six people, including four U.N. peacekeepers, were killed last week as hundreds of protesters vandalised and set fire to U.N. buildings in several cities in Congo's east. read more Civilians accuse the mission, which has been active for more than a decade, of failing to protect them from militia violence that has long plagued the region.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe government said that the spokesman, Mathias Gillmann, had made "indelicate and inappropriate" statements which contributed to the tensions between the population and MONUSCO."The Congolese government considers that the presence of this official on the national territory is not likely to promote a climate of mutual trust and calm between Congolese institutions and MONUSCO," said the statement from the foreign affairs ministry dated July 28 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.Gillmann and MONUSCO's deputy spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The Congolese government also said this week that it would reassess the mission's withdrawal plan in light of the protests, a decision which MONUSCO said it supported. read more The mission is due to withdraw by 2024 according to a plan drawn up last year, but the government aims to speed up its departure, said foreign affairs minister Christophe Lutundula.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Stanis Bujakera; Writing by Nellie Peyton, Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Congo expels U.N. peacekeeping mission spokesman after protests.

A view of the Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, during an inspection by Joint Coordination Centre officials in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Umit BektasRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comANKARA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Three ships may leave Ukrainian ports daily instead of one per day, a senior Turkish official said on Tuesday, after the first grain-carrying ship successfully departed from Odesa and was cleared to pass through the Bosphorus after inspections.The first ship, Razoni, was able to sail after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine that aims to ease a global food crisis.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Orhan Coskun and Ali KucukgocmenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Three ships may leave Ukrainian ports daily after first successful departure -Turkish official.

That green light means you can take your hands off the wheel. Just keep your eyes on the road!Mack Hogan | CNBCDETROIT – General Motors is expanding its Super Cruise hands-free driving system in the U.S. and Canada later this year, introducing the feature for non-interstate roadways and highways such as Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway.With the additional roadways, the driver-assistance system will be usable across more than 400,000 miles of U.S. and Canadian roads, up from about 200,000 miles of strictly divided highway interstates."These are the main roads that connect the smaller cities and the townships across the U.S. and Canada," David Craig, GM's mapping specialist, said during a media briefing. "This is expanding Super Cruise's availability to many, many millions more customers."Super Cruise uses a system of sensors and cameras to control steering, braking and acceleration functions of the car without the driver's input. It also utilizes high-definition maps; a light bar to communicate with the driver; and an in-vehicle monitoring system to ensure drivers remain attentive while Super Cruise is operating.The feature, even with the update, won't make turns on behalf of the driver or operate in cities, towns and residential streets, like some of Tesla's driver-assist systems. Super Cruise will also hand control of the vehicle back to drivers if they are approaching an intersection with a stop sign or traffic light.Despite names like Super Cruise, or Tesla's Autopilot and "Full Self-Driving" brands, these vehicles are not autonomous, or safe to use without a driver behind the wheel.GM said the newest roadways for Super Cruise will be available via over-the-air, or remote, updates, beginning in the fourth quarter of this year for most of its eligible vehicles. GM will not charge for the update, however the optional add-on currently starts at $2,200 or $2,500, depending on the vehicle.GM is expanding its Super Cruise hands-free driving system in the U.S. and Canada later this year to 400,000 miles of roadways,GMGM has slowly increased the availability and capabilities of Super Cruise since it was launched in 2017. It plans to offer Super Cruise on 23 models globally by the end of next year. It's also announced a new system called "Ultra Cruise," which GM has said will be capable of handling driving in 95% of scenarios.GM's premium tier may make the company more directly competitive with Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker Tesla. Driver assistance systems from Tesla include the standard Autopilot, and premium option marketed as Full Self-Driving (or FSD), as well as, FSD Beta that lets drivers test out features on public roads before they go into widespread use. Driver-assistance systems have seen an increase in regulatory attention, specifically around accidents involving Tesla vehicles.Mario Maiorana, GM chief engineer of Super Cruise, said the company is in routine communication with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the rollout of the additional roadways."We're not going to put it out until we've fully tested it," Maiorana said, taking a slight jab at Tesla, which has been offering in-development "Beta" systems to some owners.GM's Super Cruise hasn't received as much attention or scrutiny as Tesla's systems, partly due to additional safeguards and the company's more conservative approach. GM has also only sold roughly 40,000 vehicles with Super Cruise, while Tesla offers some form of its systems on every vehicle it offers.NHTSA reported in early July that it had opened more than 30 probes since 2016 into collisions involving Tesla vehicles where driver assistance systems like Autopilot were a suspected factor. The same report noted the federal vehicle watchdog was looking into two non-fatal incidents potentially involving Super Cruise.Tesla crashes currently under investigation have resulted in 16 fatalities of vehicle occupants or pedestrians, according to the agency.Automakers are required by law to report fatal and other serious collisions involving driver assistance systems to NHTSA.– CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.

GM to expand its hands-free Super Cruise system to span 400,000 miles, including Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway.

The Amazon logo displayed on a smartphone and a PC screen.Pavlo Gonchar | LightRocket via Getty ImagesSocial media giants Meta and Snap are telling investors that the online advertising market is experiencing some turbulence due to the economic slowdown. Amazon is sending a very different message.While the bulk of its business comes from e-commerce and cloud computing, Amazon has built a robust online ad division by getting brands to pay big bucks to promote their products on the company's website and app.As of late last year, Amazon commanded 14.6% of the U.S. digital ad market, third to Google at 26.4% and Facebook at 24.1%, according to Insider Intelligence.In the second quarter, Amazon grew faster than either of its larger peers in the market and also beat out the rest of the major players. Amazon's ad revenue rose 18% from a year earlier to $8.76 billion, topping analysts' expectations and underscoring the unit's rapid ascent and increasing importance to brands.By contrast, Facebook's ad business shrank for the first time ever, missing analyst estimates, and the company forecast a second consecutive decline in revenue in the current period.Here are the growth rates in descending order for the top online ad platforms.Amazon — 18%Snap — 13%Google — 12%Pinterest — 9%Twitter — 2%Facebook — (1.5%)It wasn't just the social media companies calling out the challenging ad environment. Streaming service Roku reported disappointing second-quarter results and said in a shareholder letter that the current ad market is reminiscent of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, "when marketers prepared for macro uncertainties by quickly reducing ad spend across all platforms."Meanwhile, Amazon provided a level of reassurance to Wall Street in giving guidance for revenue growth in the third quarter of 13% to 17%. That's going to be a boon for the ad division, because "the ads business goes as the commerce business goes," said Andrew Lipsman, an analyst at Insider Intelligence."Long term I think Amazon is building an absolute advertising juggernaut," Lipsman said. "That engine is going to become transformative to advertising."Amazon has a distinct advantage over several of the social media platforms that have struggled of late. In 2021, Apple's iOS privacy change made it harder for ad-supported sites to track users, a move that's had an outsized impact on Facebook and Snap. Amazon, by contrast, is its own separate silo, where advertisers go directly to build campaigns.Lipsman said that companies concerned about a potential recession are allocating more of their ad budgets to places like Amazon, where they can more likely see a return on their investment."It's a flight to safety for ad dollars right now, and that safety is when you can show measurable returns on ad spend," Lipsman said.The prospect of ads leading to direct sales is guiding much of Pinterest's current strategy. The company is investing heavily in e-commerce and recently landed former Google commerce lead Bill Ready as its new CEO, succeeding co-founder Ben Silbermann.  Justin Patterson, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said there are signs that Pinterest is seeing some success in e-commerce and that its "algorithms helping people discover contact or discover items on Pinterest to shop also continue to improve."Pinterest's revenue slightly missed analyst estimates and the company also issued a disappointing forecast for growth in the mid-single digits. But the stock climbed 12% after activist investor Elliott Management disclosed that it's the biggest shareholder in the company and said, "Pinterest occupies a unique position in the advertising and shopping ecosystems."Despite all the doom and gloom about the broader online ad market, Kate Scott-Dawkins, global director of business intelligence for media investment firm GroupM, sees plenty of reasons for optimism. Facebook parent Meta is still bringing in lots of cash, and while social media platforms aren't experiencing the kind of booming growth they did during the pandemic, they still have the attention of top advertisers, she said.Brand awareness is important for companies in the consumer packaged goods industry and elsewhere, regardless of the current economic environment, Scott-Dawkins said."We've heard from CPG brands in the past about the importance they place on advertising and brand advertising in recessionary times, just in terms of continuing to make sure that consumers choose their brand over a generic brand," she said.The big question will be whether consumers cut back on spending as the year progresses, which could have a more profound impact on company ad budgets. If that's the case, Amazon could still pick up share, but in a market with fewer dollars to go around.WATCH: Big tech companies paint an ugly picture of the U.S. economy.

Why Amazon's digital ad business grew faster than all its rivals in the second quarter.

U.S. August 3, 2022 / 8:30 AM / CBS News New calendar could change how we think of time New calendar could revitalize the way we think of time 03:04 The Earth is spinning faster, and recently recorded its shortest day ever, scientists say. June 29, 2022 was 1.59 millisecond less than the average day, scientist Leonid Zotov told CBS News.The normal length of day is 24 hours, or 86,400 seconds. But in recent years, the Earth's rotation has accelerated, shortening some days by milliseconds. "Since 2016 the Earth started to accelerate," said Zotov, who works at works for Lomonosov Moscow State University and recently published a study on what might cause the changes in Earth's rotation. "This year it rotates quicker than in 2021 and 2020."Zotov and his colleagues believe the fluctuation could be caused by the Earth's tides. He says not every day is shorter, but if the trend continues, atomic time – the universal way time is measured on Earth – may have to change. Some scientists propose introducing a negative leap second. "Since we can not change the clock arrows attached to the Earth rotation, we adjust the atomic clock scale," he said. As opposed to leap years, which have an extra day added, a negative leap second would mean clocks skip one second. Some engineers oppose the introduction of a leap second, as it could lead to large-scale and devastating tech issues. Meta engineers Oleg Obleukhov and Ahmad Byagowi, who is also a researcher, wrote blog post about it for Meta, which is supporting an industry-wide effort to stop future introductions of leap seconds."Negative leap second handling is supported for a long time and companies like Meta often run simulations of this event," they told CBS News. "However, it has never been verified on a large scale and will likely lead to unpredictable and devastating outages across the world."The concept, which was introduced in 1972, "mainly benefits scientists and astronomers as it allows them to observe celestial bodies using UTC [Coordinated Universal Time] for most purposes," they wrote in the blog post. "Introducing new leap seconds is a risky practice that does more harm than good, and we believe it is time to introduce new technologies to replace it," they write.  While positive leap seconds could cause a time jump, resulting in IT programs crashing or even data being corrupted, a negative leap second would be worse, they argue."The impact of a negative leap second has never been tested on a large scale; it could have a devastating effect on the software relying on timers or schedulers," they write. "In any case, every leap second is a major source of pain for people who manage hardware infrastructures."The pair believes one of many contributing factors to Earth's faster spin could be the constant melting and refreezing of ice caps on the world's tallest mountains. "It is all about the law of conservation of momentum that applies to our planet Earth. Every atom on the planet contributes to the momentum of the earth's angular velocity based on the distance to the rotation axis of the earth," Obleukhov and Byagowi told CBS News. "So, once things move around, the angular velocity of the earth can vary.""This phenomenon can be simply visualized by thinking about a spinning figure skater, who manages angular velocity by controlling their arms and hands," they said. "As they spread their arms the angular velocity decreases, preserving the skater's momentum. As soon as the skater tucks their arms back in, the angular velocity increases. Same happens here at this moment because of rising temperatures on Earth. Ice caps melt and lead to angular velocity increase."Zotov and his colleagues Christian Bizouard and Nikolay Sidorenkov will present their research at this month's Asia Oceania Geosciences Society conference for geosciences, according to Timeanddate.com, which first reported on Earth's faster spin and shorter days.  Caitlin O'Kane Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift. Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

Earth is spinning faster than usual and had its shortest day ever.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesPelosi tells President Tsai "we will not abandon Taiwan"China steps up military activity around TaiwanTaiwan's military increases alertness levelBlinken discussed Pelosi visit with China's Wang Yi last monthChina summoned U.S. ambassador in BeijingTAIPEI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.China demonstrated its outrage over the highest-level U.S. visit to the island in 25 years with a burst of military activity in surrounding waters, summoning the U.S. ambassador in Beijing and halting several agricultural imports from Taiwan.Some of China's planned military exercises were to take place within Taiwan's 12 nautical mile sea and air territory, according to Taiwan's defence ministry, an unprecedented move a senior defence official described to reporters as "amounting to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan".Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPelosi arrived with a congressional delegation on her unannounced but closely watched visit late on Tuesday, defying China's repeated warnings, in what she said shows unwavering U.S. commitment to Taiwan's democracy."Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan,” Pelosi told Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence - a red line for China. read more “Now, more than ever, America’s solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that’s the message we are bringing here, today," she said during her roughly 19-hour visit.A long-time China critic, especially on human rights, Pelosi met with a former Tiananmen activist, a Hong Kong bookseller who had been detained by China, and a Taiwanese activist recently released by China.Fury on the mainland over the 82-year-old Democrat's defiance of Beijing was evident all over Chinese social media, with one blogger railing: "this old she-devil, she actually dares to come!" read more The last U.S. house speaker to go to Taiwan was Newt Gingrich, in 1997. But Pelosi's visit comes amid sharply deteriorating Sino-U.S. relations, and during the past quarter century China has emerged as a far more powerful economic, military and geopolitical force.China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control. The United States warned China against using the visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.In retaliation, China's customs department announced a suspension of imports of citrus fruits, chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan, while its commerce ministry banned export of natural sand to Taiwan.While there was little sign of protest against U.S. targets or consumer goods, there was a significant police presence outside the U.S. consulate in Shanghai and what appeared to be more security than usual outside the embassy in Beijing.U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu before boarding a plane at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS MILITARY DRILLSShortly after Pelosi's arrival, China's military announced joint air and sea drills near Taiwan and test launches of conventional missiles in the sea east of the island, with Chinese state news agency Xinhua describing live-fire drills and other exercises around Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday.China's foreign ministry said Pelosi's visit seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, "has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."Before Pelosi's arrival, Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese military said it was on high alert and would launch "targeted military operations" in response to Pelosi's visit.White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said after Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan that the United States "is not going to be intimidated" by China's threats or bellicose rhetoric and that there is no reason her visit should precipitate a crisis or conflict.Kirby said China might engage in "economic coercion" toward Taiwan, adding that the impact on U.S.-China relations will depend on Beijing's actions in coming days and weeks.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the potential for Pelosi's visit with counterpart Wang Yi during a G20 meeting in Bali last month, and said any such trip would be entirely Pelosi's decision and independent of the U.S. government, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. read more 'CHINA'S AMBITION'The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by American law to provide it with the means to defend itself. China views visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the island. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island's future.Taiwan's military increased its alertness level. Its defence ministry said 21 Chinese aircraft entered its air defence identification zone on Tuesday, and that China was attempting to threaten key ports and cities with drills in the surrounding waters."The so-called drill areas are falling within the busiest international channels in the Indo-Pacific region," a senior Taiwan official familiar with its security planning told Reuters on Wednesday."We can see China's ambition: to make the Taiwan Strait non-international waters, as well as making the entire area west of the first island chain in the western pacific its sphere of influence," the person said.China's foreign ministry said it has not seen its military drills around Taiwan causing any freedom of navigation issues.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Pelosi full of praise, support for Taiwan during visit that infuriated China.

3D printed Natural Gas Pipes are placed on displayed German and Russian flags in this illustration taken, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBERLIN, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The German government will have to amend its energy security law again in September as its gas levy cannot yet be imposed on all consumers, including those with fixed prices contracts, government and parliamentary sources told Reuters on Wednesday.A gas levy, which had been set to come into force from October, was envisaged as a tool to collect funds from all gas consumers to support ailing gas importers that are struggling with soaring prices due to falling Russian gas export flows. read more Industry sources told Reuters that around one quarter of gas consumer contracts have clauses that would guarantee fixed prices, which would make adding on a levy difficult.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe economy ministry declined to comment.Further details on the levy were to be announced in August, but according to a draft law seen by Reuters on Wednesday, the government plans to adjust the surcharge at least every three months to reflect changes in gas prices."A gas scarcity situation" is the perquisite to impose the levy, which the government has already determined with falling Russian gas flows, the draft law showed.The levy was seen as a fairer fund-collecting mechanism than a general price adjustment clause that would allow suppliers themselves to pass price increases on to customers, which experts see as legally contestable.After the government raised its gas storage targets for winter last month, additional costs will arise and also be partially passed on to final consumers, probably from November, industry sources told Reuters. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Markus Wacket Writing by Riham Alkousaa and Vera Eckert Editing by Miranda Murray and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Germany's gas levy cannot be implemented as planned, say sources.

Tod's Chairman Diego Della Valle looks on during an interview a day before the presentation of the Colosseum dungeons which have been restored in a multi-million euro project sponsored by the fashion group in Rome, Italy, June 24 2021. Picture taken June 24 2021. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMILAN, Aug 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Two decades after listing Tod’s (TOD.MI) in Milan, founder Diego Della Valle is taking the maker of iconic loafer shoes private. The Italian tycoon’s hope is probably that, split into different parts, the Italian group would command a better price tag than his 1.4 billion euro bid implies. Shareholder LVMH (LVMH.PA) is sticking with Della Valle. Other investors may have to swallow the lowball offer.Tod’s was once a king in the world of pricey shoes. The group’s iconic “Gommino” loafer, launched at the end of the 1970s, captured the trend of expensive casualwear decades before it became mainstream. Tod’s initial public offering in 2000 encouraged others, including larger rival Prada, to also list.Unfortunately, Tod’s has been unable to innovate much since. Its stock has long languished at less than a third of a peak of around 140 euros hit in 2013. Expected revenues of 973 million euros this year are roughly in line with those Tod’s generated a decade ago, Refinitiv estimates show.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHoping to revamp the group, Della Valle, who owns nearly 65% of Tod’s, announced on Wednesday that his family would offer 40 euros a share to investors to delist the group, a skinny 20% premium on Tuesday’s close. LVMH, whose Chairman Bernard Arnault is a friend of the Italian entrepreneur, plans to keep its 10% stake in the Italian fashion group. That means Della Valle would have to disburse around 338 million euros to buy out the remaining 25% of shares.Away from market scrutiny, the dominant shareholder probably hopes to transform his creature. Low-value brands Fay and Hogan do not fit Tod’s luxury aspiration and could be sold to high-street players. Pilgrim pumps maker Roger Vivier, which Della Valle acquired in 2015 for 415 million euros, is a hidden jewel. If valued at 4 times Breakingviews’ 2023 sales forecast of 250 million euros, in line with Prada’s multiple, it could be worth a billion euros. LVMH is an obvious potential acquirer. The Tod’s brand itself may command the same price tag if valued on Salvatore Ferragamo’s (SFER.MI) 2 times forecast 2023 sales. Combined, the two brands alone would offer a 40% upside on the 1.4 billion euro enterprise value implied by Della Valle’s offer.For minority investors, the exit price is probably not particularly appealing. But with Della Valle’s large stake discouraging any rival bid, their best bet may be to go along with it.Follow @LJucca on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSDiego Della Valle and his family, founders of Tod’s, said on Aug. 3 they will launch a takeover offer to delist the Italian fashion brand.Under the proposed take-private offer, shareholders will receive 40 euros a share, a 20% premium on Tuesday’s closing price of 33.42 euros. Tod’s, best known for its leather loafers, had priced its shares at 40 euros in an initial public offering in Milan in 2000.The offer values the company’s equity capital at just over 1.3 billion euros, or around 1.4 billion euros including debt.The Della Valle family owns a stake of nearly 65% in Tod’s. French luxury giant LVMH owns 10% through an investment vehicle. The offer targets 25.55% of Tod’s capital, and would cost the family 338 million euros.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEditing by Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto and Oliver TaslicOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Italy loafer buyout is a bet on a higher price tag.

The Reddit logo is seen on a smartphone in front of a displayed Wall Street Bets logo in this illustration taken January 28, 2021.Dado Ruvic | ReutersThink the meme stock mania is so 2021? Just take a look at AMTD Digital.The little-known Hong Kong-based fintech firm saw its shares skyrocket 126% Tuesday alone after experiencing a series of trading halts. AMTD Digital, a subsidiary of investment holding firm AMTD Idea Group, went public in mid-July with its American depositary receipts trading on the NYSE. Two weeks later, the stock is up 21,400% to $1,679 apiece from its IPO price of $7.80.The monstrous move pushed its market cap above $310 billion as of Tuesday, making it bigger than Coca-Cola and Bank of America, according to FactSet. AMTD Digital generates revenue primarily from fees and commissions from its digital financial services business, and it only made $25 million in 2021, according to a regulatory filing.The wild trading is reminiscent of the GameStop mania of 2021 where a band of Reddit-obsessed retail investors managed to push up shares of the video game retailer and squeeze out short selling hedge funds. Indeed, the ticker HKD became the most popular mention on Reddit's WallStreetBets chatroom Tuesday, according to alternative data provider Quiver Quantitative.AMTD Idea Group's ADR was also the single-most actively traded stock on the Fidelity platform Tuesday. The stock has popped nearly 300% this week.The intense speculative behavior among retail investors is unnerving many on Wall Street yet again."As we've learned over the past two years, events like this cause what I would say is opportunities for profit but great risk for loss particularly for our retail investors," Jay Clayton, former SEC chairman, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Wednesday.Famed short seller Jim Chanos took it to Twitter and expressed frustration about the mania."So we're all just going to ignore the $400B meme stock in the room?" Chanos said in a tweet. "We literally had Congressional hearings over the $30B runs of $GME and $AMC, but just [crickets] today.The crazy moves, based on no material news, also shocked the company itself. AMTD Digital issued a "thank you note" to investors Tuesday, adding it's monitoring the market closely for any trading abnormalities. "To our knowledge, there are no material circumstances, events nor other matters relating to our Company's business and operating activities since the IPO date," the company said in the statement.

The $300 billion meme stock that makes GameStop look like child's play.

U.S. August 3, 2022 / 7:20 AM / CBS/AP A 911 call from air traffic controllers suggests that a co-pilot may have jumped from a damaged plane before the other pilot made an emergency landing in North Carolina, according to a recording of the call that was released Tuesday.It's been unclear exactly how or why Charles Hew Crooks, 23, exited the small cargo plane on Friday afternoon about 30 miles south of Raleigh-Durham International Airport. He did not have a parachute, and his body was found in a backyard in the town of Fuquay-Varina.Two unnamed Federal Aviation Administration employees can be heard telling a 911 dispatcher that the plane was heading to the airport. The pilot onboard had apparently told them that his co-pilot had "jumped out of the aircraft," CBS affiliate WNCN-TV reported, 'My pilot just jumped out': 911 call paints picture of moments before RDU emergency landing https://t.co/1B9a9dzUAs pic.twitter.com/7o84cWrA0g— CBS 17 (@WNCN) August 2, 2022 "We have a pilot that was inbound to the field," a controller told the 911 dispatcher, according to WNCN. "His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made impact to the ground and here are the coordinates." The call lasted about 13 minutes, with the controllers stating several times that the co-pilot had jumped.Investigators have still not confirmed that Crooks intentionally jumped at this time despite the context of the 911 call, WNCN reported. Wake County Emergency Management Chief of Operations Darshan Patel said the initial 911 call prompted the search for Crooks."All we can do is recovery at this point," FAA personnel said on the phone with 911, according to WNCN. "I mean, I don't know…I've never heard…This is the craziest thing I've ever heard."The airplane sustained substantial damage to its landing gear and fuselage, according to preliminary information gathered by the National Transportation Safety Board. Crooks' father, Hew Crooks, told WRAL-TV that his son had been working as a flight instructor for over a year. "He said a couple weeks ago, he wouldn't trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was," he told the station, adding: "I can't imagine what happened."The investigation is ongoing. In: NTSB North Carolina Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

In 911 call, air traffic controllers say co-pilot "jumped" from plane that made emergency landing in North Carolina.

CVS Health logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) on Wednesday raised its annual profit forecast after strength in its insurance business and sales of COVID-19 over-the-counter test kits helped it beat estimates for quarterly results.Shares in the largest U.S. pharmacy chain rose nearly 4% before the bell.Pharmacy chain operators such as CVS have benefited from distributing COVID vaccines and tests during the pandemic, with an Omicron-driven surge in infections driving up demand for its antigen tests in the quarter.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comCVS retail and long-term care segment revenue rose 6.3% as sales of OTC antigen COVID test kits and the impact of the flu season helped offset the effect of lower coronavirus vaccinations and diagnostic testing.Demand for lab tests and vaccinations slowed as overall cases in the United States remained steady, with more than two-thirds of the people fully vaccinated and about 48% having received a booster dose, according to government data.Revenue at the company's health insurance unit rose 11% while the medical benefit ratio, or costs as a percentage of premiums, fell to 82.9% from 84.1%, reflecting a slower-than-expected recovery in demand for non-urgent medical care.CVS raised its adjusted profit outlook to $8.40-$8.60 per share from $8.20-$8.40 per share forecast earlier.Excluding one-off items, the company reported second-quarter earnings per share of $2.40, beating analysts' average estimate of $2.17, as per Refinitiv IBES data.Total revenue rose to $80.64 billion, compared with estimates of $76.37 billion.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBy Leroy Leo and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CVS lifts forecast after strong quarter on insurance demand, COVID tests.

Surface damage seen on Qatar Airways' airbus A350 parked at Qatar airways aircraft maintenance hangar in Doha, Qatar, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Imad Creidi/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) has revoked its entire outstanding order from Qatar Airways for A350 jets, severing all new jetliner business with the Gulf carrier in a dramatic new twist to a dispute clouding World Cup preparations, two industry sources said.No comment was immediately available from Airbus or Qatar Airways.The two aviation titans have been waging a rare public battle for months over the scarred condition of more than 20 long-haul jets that the airline says could pose a risk to passengers and which Airbus insists are completely safe.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comQatar Airways, which was the first airline to introduce the intercontinental jet to the skies in 2015, is suing Airbus for at least $1.4 billion after almost half its A350 fleet was grounded by Qatar's regulator over premature surface damage.It has refused to take delivery of more A350s until it receives a deeper explanation of damaged or missing patches of anti-lightning mesh left exposed by peeling paint. read more Backed by European regulators, Airbus has acknowledged quality problems on the jets but denied any safety risk from gaps in the protective sub-layer, saying there is ample backup.Until now, the dispute has had a piecemeal effect on the order book for Europe's biggest twin-engined jet as first Airbus, then Qatar Airways, terminated some individual jets.Now, however, Airbus has told the airline it is striking the rest of the A350 deal from its books, the sources said, asking not to be identified as discussions remain confidential. read more At end-June, the European planemaker had outstanding orders from Qatar Airways for 19 of the largest version of the jet, the 350-passenger A350-1000, worth at least $7 billion at catalogue prices or closer to $3 billion after typical industry discounts.WORLD CUPThe sweeping new A350 cancellation comes six months after Airbus also revoked the whole contract for 50 smaller A321neo jets in retaliation for Qatar refusing to take A350 deliveries.The spillover to a different model was branded "worrying" by the head of a body representing global airlines, the International Air Transport Association. read more The latest move is likely to widen a rift between two of the flagship companies of close allies France and Qatar.Barring an elusive settlement, the dispute is already set for a rare corporate trial in London next June. read more It comes as the airline industry grapples with an uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and as Qatar Airways is preparing to handle the bulk of some 1.2 million visitors expected for the FIFA World Cup in November and December.Airbus has argued that the airline is using the dispute to bolster its finances and reduce its fleet of costly long-haul jets as its target long-haul market recovers sluggishly.Qatar Airways, which in June posted its first annual profit since 2017, maintains it needs more capacity for the World Cup, forcing it to lease planes and bring less efficient A380s out of retirement to plug a gap left by grounded A350s.The row centres on whether the A350's problems - including what appears to be damage to parts of the wings, tail and hull according to two jets seen by Reuters - stem from a cosmetic issue or, as the airline claims, a design defect. read more A Reuters investigation in November revealed that several other airlines had found surface damage since 2016, the second year of A350 operations, prompting Airbus to accelerate studies of an alternative mesh that also saves weight. read more .So far, however, none of the A350's other roughly three dozen operators has joined Qatar in voicing concerns over safety as a result of surface flaws, as they continue to fly the jet.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Airbus axes remaining A350 jet deal with Qatar - sources.

Maskot | Maskot | Getty ImagesIf you're thinking about leasing a car, be aware that you may not save as much money as you anticipate by going that route.With inventory limited amid ongoing supply-chain snags — meaning fewer choices and elevated prices due to demand outstripping supply — discounts on new vehicles are limited whether you buy or lease. The average purchase incentive among the deals offered is an estimated $894, down from more than $2,000 a year ago, according to a joint forecast from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive."One of the factors contributing to the reduction in incentive spending is the absence of discounts on vehicles that are leased," said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power, in the report.More from Personal Finance:Millennials’ average net worth more than doubled in pandemicGen Z is saving more for retirement than older generationsHere's how social media 'FOMO' drives bad spending habitsJuly marked first time the average discount has fallen below $900 and the third consecutive month for it trending below $1,000, the research notes. Separately, the average monthly payment for new leases rose in July to $594 from $575 in June, according to data from car comparison site Edmunds.com. "Dealers aren't getting the incentive programs from automakers that they used to … or even if there are programs, the dealerships aren't participating," said Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights for Edmunds."In years past, they did this left and right," he said.Inventory may not include cars eligible for discountsDrury also said the limited manufacturer discounts being offered apply to very specific trim levels among certain models. So, even then, it doesn't mean you'll easily find the exact car that's eligible for an incentive."If the dealership isn't ordering those vehicles, how are you going to get that special?" Drury said.The share of new-car transactions that involve leases fell in July to 18%, a level not seen since February 2009, according to Edmunds. A year ago, it was 27.2%.'You'll just be paying more to lease right now'Despite the dearth of incentives, if you are a serial leaser — for whatever reason — then it may still make sense for you, Drury said. Just be prepared to see few deals and monthly payments that may be much higher than they were three years ago. And, there may be less of a savings in those payments over traditional financing, depending on the car."Some people don't like having a car that's 4 or 5 years old," he said. "You'll just be paying more to lease right now."Meanwhile, if it's your first time considering a lease, be aware that the cost of financing is expressed differently than it is with loans.Leasing companies use a number called the "money factor." The dealership should be able to convert that amount into an interest rate so you know what you're paying.By way of comparison: For new cars that are financed using a five-year auto loan, the average interest rate is about 4.84%, according to Bankrate. That figure could tick upward as the Federal Reserve continues adjusting rates upward in an effort to battle inflation.Explore your lease-end optionsHere's why: With limited inventory among new vehicles, demand has continued spilling into the used-car market. For 1- to 3-year-old cars, prices are an average $13,145 above where they'd be if typical depreciation expectations were at play, according to CoPilot, a car shopping app. Leases typically are for about three years and come with mileage restrictions.This means it may be worth looking into buying out the lease instead of turning in the car, for instance. If the buyout price (which is generally the residual value) in your agreement is lower than your vehicle's current value, you'd be paying less for the car than if you were to purchase it from a dealership's lot.

Average monthly payments for car leases rose to $595 in July amid 'an absence of discounts' from manufacturers, dealers.

Crime August 3, 2022 / 7:59 AM / CBS/AFP Three people were killed and six others wounded in a knife attack Wednesday at a kindergarten in southeast China's Jiangxi province.A "gangster wearing a cap and mask" stormed the private kindergarten in Anfu county at about 10:00 am local time (0200 GMT), police said in a statement published on China's Twitter-like Weibo. The 48-year-old suspect is still at large, they added."Public security organs are making every effort to hunt down the suspect," the police statement said. In a video of the scene shared by state-run Beijing Daily, a police officer can be seen carrying a tiny child in his arms to an ambulance.The ages of the victims have not been announced. Mass violent crime is rare in China, but there has been a spate of mass stabbings in recent years.And fatal knife attacks specifically targeting kindergarten and school students have occurred nationwide, carried out by people reportedly wishing to wreak revenge on society.Last April, two children were killed and 16 others wounded when a knife-wielding man entered a kindergarten in southern China.More recently, four people were wounded in a stabbing at a major Shanghai hospital last month before the knife-wielding attacker was shot and subdued by the police. Six people were also killed and 14 wounded after a man stabbed passersby on a pedestrian shopping street in the eastern Chinese city of Anqing in June last year.In 2020, a school security guard wounded at least 39 people in a knife attack at a kindergarten in southern China.China does not allow private gun ownership, so most such attacks are carried out with knives, homemade explosives or gasoline bombs. Around 100 children and adults have been killed and hundreds injured over the past decade in apparently uncoordinated, "lone wolf" attacks in which the motive was unclear and the overwhelmingly male assailants were either killed, ended their lives or were put on trial and executed.Acts of violence against China's youth resonate especially strongly due to the country's chronically low birth rate, partly due to decades of population control policies.The Associated Press contributed to this report. In: China Stabbing Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

3 killed, 6 wounded in stabbing rampage at kindergarten in China; suspect at large.

An employee hands a bag to a customer at the drive-thru of a Starbucks coffee shop in Hercules, California, on Thursday, July 28, 2022.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesStarbucks on Tuesday reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, fueled by demand in the U.S. for its cold coffee drinks.As inflation surges, interim CEO Howard Schultz said the chain is not seeing customers trade down or reduce their spending. Other restaurant companies, including McDonald's and Chipotle Mexican Grill, have seen low-income consumers visit less frequently or spend less as higher gas and grocery bills squeeze their budgets. Schultz credited Starbucks' pricing power and customer loyalty for its ability to buck the trend.Shares of the company rose more than 1% in extended trading.Here's what the company reported for the quarter ended July 3 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:Earnings per share: 84 cents adjusted vs. 75 cents expectedRevenue: $8.15 billion vs. $8.11 billion expectedThe coffee giant reported fiscal third-quarter net income attributable to Starbucks of $912.9 million, or 79 cents per share, down from $1.15 billion, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier. The company said that inflation and higher wages for baristas weighed on its margins this quarter.Net sales rose 9% to $8.15 billion. The company reported global same-store sales growth of 3%, fueled by a stronger performance in the United States.In Starbucks' home market, same-store sales increased 9%, driven largely by higher average order totals, as well as a 1% uptick in traffic. Morning sales are returning, the company said, making up roughly half of revenue as consumers resume pre-pandemic routines.The company also noted the popularity of its iced shaken espresso and said cold beverages accounted for three quarters of U.S. sales this quarter. Schultz said customers are more likely to add modifiers like syrups and milks to cold drinks than hot drinks, raising the price of the overall beverage. Cold drinks are also popular with Gen Z customers, a key demographic for the coffee chain, according to Schultz.Outside the U.S., same-store sales fell 18%, weighed down by plummeting demand in China. Starbucks said Covid restrictions affected sales in its second-largest market for two-thirds of the quarter. As a result, China's same-store sales plunged 44%. The company is still seeing periodic short-term closures in China. Last quarter, Starbucks pulled its outlook for fiscal 2022, citing the uncertainty caused by Covid outbreaks in China. The company did not issue a new forecast this quarter.Starbucks opened 318 net new locations worldwide during the quarter, bringing its global restaurant count to 34,948.The company plans to hold an investor day on Sept. 13 in Seattle to share more about its strategy for the future.Read the full earnings report here.Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Refinitiv estimates for Starbucks' quarterly revenue.

Starbucks earnings beat Wall Street estimates, fueled by U.S. demand for cold drinks.

A man checks his mobile phone as he stands on a busy road in Kolkata, India January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW DELHI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - India's government on Wednesday withdrew a controversial data protection and privacy bill which was first proposed in 2019 and had alarmed big technology companies such as Facebook and Google, announcing it was working on a new comprehensive law.The 2019 law had proposed stringent regulations on cross-border data flows and proposed giving the Indian government powers to seek user data from companies, seen as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stricter regulation of tech giants.A government notice said the decision came as a parliamentary panel's review of the 2019 bill suggested many amendments, leading to the need for a new "comprehensive legal framework". The government will now "present a new bill," the notice added.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comIndia's junior IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Twitter the new planned framework will adhere to global standards, adding that privacy was a fundamental right of Indian citizens and that the economy required such cyber laws.The 2019 privacy bill was designed to protect Indian citizens and establish a so-called data protection authority, but it had raised concerns among Big Tech giants that it could increase their compliance burden and data storage requirements. (https://reut.rs/3JyJGld)"It is good that there will be a redraft from scratch," said Prasanto Roy, a New Delhi-based consultant who closely tracks India's technology policy."However, India still has no privacy law in sight. That's leaving data regulation open to a wide variety of sectoral regulations, something a common privacy law could have harmonised."CONCERN OVER DATA MISUSEIndia says such regulations are needed to safeguard the data and privacy of citizens. Lawmakers have said that concerns about misuse of sensitive personal data have risen exponentially in India.Companies including Facebook (META.O), Twitter (TWTR.N) and Google (GOOGL.O) have for years been concerned with many other separate regulations India has proposed for the technology sector, often straining relations between New Delhi and Washington.After India's privacy law plan of 2019, it also floated new proposals to regulate "non-personal data", a term for data viewed as a critical resource by companies that analyse it to build their businesses. The parliamentary panel had said such non-personal data should be included in the purview of the privacy bill.The bill also exempted government agencies from the law "in the interest of sovereignty" of India", a provision privacy advocates at the time said would allow agencies to abuse access."There were multiple, large concerns earlier. One has to wait and watch whether the new bill is any better," said Apar Gupta, the executive director at advocacy Internet Freedom Foundation.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Aditya Kalra and Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

India nixes privacy bill that alarmed big tech companies, works on new law.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Wednesday that the central bank will continue raising rates until it sees compelling evidence that inflation is falling.The central bank official said he expects another 1.5 percentage points or so in interest rate increases this year as the Fed continues to battle the highest inflation levels since the early 1980s."I think we'll probably have to be higher for longer in order to get the evidence that we need to see that inflation is actually turning around on all dimensions and in a convincing way coming lower, not just a tick lower here and there," Bullard said during a live "Squawk Box" interview on CNBC.That message of continued rate hikes is consistent with other Fed speakers this week, including regional presidents Loretta Mester of Cleveland, Charles Evans of Chicago and Mary Daly in San Francisco. Each said Tuesday that the inflation fight is far from over and more monetary policy tightening will be needed.Both Bullard and Mester are voting members this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. The group last week approved a second consecutive 0.75 percentage point increase to the Fed's benchmark borrowing rate.If Bullard has his way, the rate will continue rising to a range of 3.75%-4% by the end of the year. After starting 2022 near zero, the rate has now come up to a range of 2.25%-2.5%.Consumer price inflation is running at a 12-month rate of 9.1%, its highest since November 1981. Even throwing out the highs and lows of inflation, as the Dallas Fed does with its "trimmed mean" estimate, inflation is running at 4.3%."We're going to have to see convincing evidence across the board, headline and other measures of core inflation, all coming down convincingly before we'll be able to feel like we're doing our job," Bullard said.The rate hikes come at a time with slowing growth in the U.S., which has seen consecutive quarters of negative GDP readings, a common definition of recession. However, Bullard said he doesn't think the economy is really in recession."We're not a recession right now. We do have these two quarters of negative GDP growth. To some extent, a recession is in the eyes of the beholder," he said. "With all the job growth in the first half of the year, it's hard to say there's a recession. With a flat unemployment rate at 3.6%, it's hard to say there's a recession."The second half of the year should see reasonably strong growth, though job gains probably will slow to their longer-run trend, he added. July's nonfarm payroll growth is expected to be 258,000, according to Dow Jones estimates.Even with the slowing trend, markets are pricing in another half percentage point rate hike from the Fed in September, though the chances of a third consecutive 0.75 percentage point move are rising. The market then expects future increases in November and December, taking the benchmark fed funds rate to a range of 3.25%-3.5% by the end of the year, below Bullard's target."We're gonna follow the data very carefully, and I think we'll get it right," Bullard said.

Fed's Bullard sees more interest rate hikes ahead and no U.S. recession.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJuly 29 (Reuters) - People can pay for a slushie with crypto in the streets of "Bitcoin Valley," a project in the Honduran tourist enclave of Santa Lucia through which the country has entered the digital currency trend.The small town in the mountains, 20 minutes from the capital Tegucigalpa, has become a bitcoin city.Owners of businesses big and small in Santa Lucia are adapting to handle cryptocurrencies as payment, hoping to attract more tourism.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"It will open more opportunities and attract more people who want to use this currency," said Cesar Andino, manager of Los Robles shopping square.The "Bitcoin Valley" project targets 60 businesses to initially get trained and adopt cryptocurrencies to market their products and services, expecting to spread these practices to more enterprises and nearby areas.The initiative was jointly developed by the Blockchain Honduras organization, the Guatemalan cryptocurrency exchange consortium Coincaex, the Technological University of Honduras and Santa Lucia's municipality.A man checks his cryptocurrencies app during the kick off of the 'Bitcoin Valley' project that seeks to establish a Bitcoin circular economy through the use of cryptocurrencies, in Santa Lucia, Honduras July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Fredy RodriguezRuben Carbajal Velazquez, professor at the Technological University, said "Santa Lucia's community will be educated to use and manage cryptocurrencies, implementing them in different businesses in the region and generating crypto-tourism."While some Latin American countries are exploring cryptocurrencies' potential, there are risks.In September 2021, El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender having its own 'Bitcoin Beach' in the surfing hotspot town of El Zonte. read more The Central American country's bet on bitcoin was hampered by the crypto market downturn and skepticism from multilateral lenders and ratings agencies. Its publicly disclosed holdings of $105 million are now worth about $57 million.To deal with volatility, the Honduran "Bitcoin Valley" will "enable merchants to receive instant payments in the local currency, eliminating cryptocurrencies fluctuation risks," said Leonardo Paguada, founder of the Block Chain Honduras organization.Critics of bitcoin's expansion have warned that these kind of operations may fuel money laundering and financial instability while enhancing the digital gap, as poorer parts of society may struggle to access the technology.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Rodolfo Penaroja and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Honduras launches 'Bitcoin Valley' in the tourist town of Santa Lucia.

Ford F-150 Lightning at the 2022 New York Auto Show.Scott Mlyn | CNBCDETROIT – Ford Motor's U.S. vehicle sales last month showed notable improvements in volumes and truck availability, as the automotive industry continues to battle through a global shortage of semiconductor chips and other supply chain problems.The Detroit automaker on Wednesday said its new vehicle sales rose 36.6% in July from a year ago, compared to industry sales that were estimated to have declined by 10.5%. Ford's vehicle production and sales were down a year ago more than others due to a fire at one of its chip suppliers in Japan that forced production cuts during the first half of 2021.Sales of Ford's profitable F-Series pickups hit 63,341 in July – marking the first-time units have topped 60,000 this year. The sales were up 21.1% compared to a year ago and up roughly 10% from the previous month.Ford also said its share of electric vehicle sales last month hit a record 10.9%, as the company increases production and availability of the F-150 Lightning pickup, Mustang Mach-E crossover and E-Transit van.This story is a developing story. Please continue to check back for updates.

Ford reports big jump in July sales, including for trucks and EVs.

The logo of cryptocurrency platform Solana.Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto via | Getty ImagesNearly 8,000 digital wallets have been drained of just over $5.2 million in digital coins including solana's sol token and USD Coin (USDC), according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The Twitter account Solana Status confirmed the attack, noting that as of Wednesday morning, approximately 7,767 wallets have been affected by the exploit. Elliptic's estimate is slightly higher at 7,936 wallets.Solana's sol token, one of the largest cryptocurrencies after bitcoin and ether, fell about 8% in the first two hours after the hack was initially detected, according to data from CoinMarketCap. It's currently down about 1%, while trading volume is up about 105% in the last 24 hours.Starting Tuesday evening, multiple users began reporting that assets held in "hot" wallets — that is, internet-connected addresses, including Phantom, Slope and Trust Wallet — had been emptied of funds.Phantom said on Twitter that it's investigating the "reported vulnerability in the solana ecosystem" and doesn't believe it's a Phantom-specific issue. Blockchain audit firm OtterSec tweeted that the hack has affected multiple wallets "across a wide variety of platforms."Elliptic chief scientist Tom Robinson told CNBC the root cause of the breach is still unclear, but "it appears to be due to a flaw in certain wallet software, rather than in the solana blockchain itself." OtterSec added that the transactions were being signed by the actual owners, "suggesting some sort of private key compromise." A private key is a secure code that grants the owner access to their crypto holdings.The identity of the attacker is still unknown, as is the root cause of the exploit. The breach is ongoing."Engineers from multiple ecosystems, with the help of several security firms, are investigating drained wallets on solana," according to Solana Status, a Twitter account that shares updates for the entire solana network.The solana network is strongly encouraging users to use hardware wallets, since there's no evidence those have been impacted."Do not reuse your seed phrase on a hardware wallet - create a new seed phrase. Wallets drained should be treated as compromised, and abandoned," reads one tweet. Seed phrases are a collection of random words generated by a crypto wallet when it is first set up, and it grants access to the wallet.A private key is unique and links a user to their blockchain address. A seed phrase is a fingerprint of all of a user's blockchain assets that is used as a backup if a crypto wallet is lost.The incident comes one day after the $200 million hack of the Nomad blockchain bridge. It's the latest crisis to grip the crypto market in recent weeks."Four addresses are currently linked to the hacker, a far cry from yesterday's 'decentralized looting,' which involved over 120 individual users," said Deutscher. "This implies that it was a singular party who conducted the SOL exploit, although the specific details remain ambiguous."The Solana network was viewed as one of the most promising newcomers in the crypto market, with backers like Chamath Palihapitiya and Andreessen Horowitz touting it as a challenger to ethereum with faster transaction processing times and enhanced security. But it's been faced with a spate of issues lately, including downtime in periods of activity and a perception of being more centralized than ethereum. A major outage in June knocked the Solana platform offline for several hours.Ether, the native token of the ethereum blockchain, climbed 6% in 24 hours.

Ongoing solana attack targets thousands of crypto wallets, costing users more than $5 million so far.

Crime August 3, 2022 / 8:00 AM / CBS News Police: McDonald's employee shot by son of customer served cold fries Police: McDonald's employee shot by son of customer served cold fries 02:40 A 23-year-old man is in critical condition after, police say, he was shot while on the job at a McDonald's in Brooklyn, CBS New York's Natalie Duddridge and Alecia Reid report.The shooting happened at around 7 p.m. Monday outside the eatery. Some of the victim's colleagues described him as a good guy, and said the shooting left them on edge about going back to work. "That something could happen like that over something so simple as food, that's crazy," one person in the neighborhood said. "He was working, at work, this happened at work? It's kind of sad, because he's trying to make a living," another person remarked. It started when a customer, who sources told CBS2 was angry her fries were cold, approached the worker, identified as Matthew Webb, 23, and started arguing with him. The argument moved outside and that's when, sources said, the woman called over her 20-year-old son to "take care of the problem." He then pulled out a gun and shot Webb in the neck. Webb was rushed to a hospital and the son was taken into custody. "Cold French fries should not result in a shooting. At the end of the day, it's gun violence all over this country, particularly in this city, that has to be brought under control, and fast food restaurants are not the safe havens they used to be," attorney Sanford Rubenstein told Reid. Rubenstein represents the family of Kristal Nieves, the 19-year-old who was killed in January while working the overnight shift at an East Harlem Burger King. The suspect, who was later arrested, allegedly demanded money, then shot and killed her."Her family is not doing well. It's a tragedy they will never get over," Rubenstein said.There have been other attacks against fast food workers this year. In March, an East Harlem McDonald's employee was stabbed multiple times with a box cutter while trying to break up a fight, and in July, three women violently attacked Bel Fries workers with glass bottles when told extra dipping sauce would cost them less than $2."I'm deeply concerned. My children have come to this McDonald's over the years, and from time to time I have meetings in this McDonald's," said Rev. Conrad Tillar. "It's sad. It shows that we're in a level of crisis in this city.""My daughter wants to work in fast food. She's 17, and I'm scared of things like that. It's horrible," Alison Mason said. "You could be angry and say, 'Hey, I didn't get my order right' — but to shoot someone?"Duddridge spoke with a man who works at another fast food spot. He said he's thankful his boss recently installed a glass barrier, but staffers are still scared. "One of our workers, he called me today, he don't want to work no more ... because of this. They said they're scared," Habib Sayed said. "That's why I don't want to work at night. I told my boss, if you want to pay me like $100 an hour, I'm not going to work, because it's crazy." Police said there didn't appear to be any previous connection between the employee and the suspect. Staff at the McDonald's said there is security, but the hours were recently scaled back.  Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

McDonald's employee Matthew Webb shot in neck after argument sources say was about cold fries.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard speaks at a public lecture in Singapore October 8, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar SuRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will be steadfast in raising interest rates to bring inflation running at four-decade highs back to the central bank's 2% target, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Wednesday."We are going to be tough and get that to happen," Bullard said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC. "I think we can take robust action and get back to 2%."Bullard, who also repeated his assertion on Tuesday the Fed will also probably have to keep rates "higher for longer" in order to gather enough evidence that inflation is coming down in a sustainable way.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"We're going to need to see convincing evidence across the board, headline and other measures of core inflation, all coming down convincingly before we'll be able to feel like we're doing enough."Fed policymakers across the board on Tuesday signaled the central bank remains resolute on getting U.S. interest rates up to a level that will more significantly curb economic activity and put a dent in the highest inflation since the 1980s. read more The central bank last week raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point for a second straight meeting, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicating another "unusually large" rate hike may be appropriate again in September if inflation does not ease enough.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Fed's Bullard: We're going to be tough to get inflation back to 2%.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJOHANNESBURG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - South African power utility Eskom said it would implement "Stage 2" scheduled power cuts from 1600 until midnight local time (1400 to 2200 GMT) on Wednesday and Thursday due to a shortage of generation capacity.Eskom said in a statement that there had been a delay returning several generation units to service, while others had broken down.Locals walk past electricity pylons during frequent power outages from South African utility Eskom, caused by its aging coal-fired plants, in Soweto, South Africa, July 3, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoThe struggling state-owned company suspended scheduled electricity outages 11 days ago, following several weeks of regular power cuts that prompted public anger and hampered businesses.Eskom has an ageing power station fleet comprised mainly of coal plants that are highly prone to faults.Government efforts to add additional capacity have been slow, and this year a record among of electricity is set to be cut from the grid. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Alexander Winning and Bhargav Acharya Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-MtamboOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

South Africa's Eskom to resume power cuts after 11-day pause.

Politics August 3, 2022 / 9:01 AM / CBS News Primaries test Trump's hold on Republican Party Primaries test Trump's hold on Republican Party 02:15 Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican who testified at a House Jan. 6 committee hearing about former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, lost his bid in Tuesday's GOP primary for a state Senate seat to a Trump-backed candidate, CBS News projects.Former state Sen. David Farnsworth was leading with 64% of the vote to Bowers' 36% as of Wednesday morning, according to the Arizona secretary of state's office. Trump supported Farnsworth in the race, and blasted Bowers as a "RINO coward" at a rally last month.Bowers testified on June 21 before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The hearing focused on a plan by Trump's allies to put forward alternate electors that supported Trump in seven battleground states in the 2020 election that President Biden won, including Arizona. Bowers resisted that effort, telling the committee that the scheme to replace Mr. Biden's electors with a fake slate for Trump was a "tragic parody." Rusty Bowers, Arizona state House Speaker, testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Jacquelyn Martin / AP Earlier this year, Bowers helped block a bill to empower the legislature to choose its own electors, regardless of how the people voted. Bowers has been a Republican for 30 years. But ahead of a visit by Trump to Arizona in July, the state Republican Party voted to censure him. Kelli Ward, chair of the Arizona GOP, announced the condemnation by the panel on Twitter, saying Bowers is "no longer a Republican in good standing & we call on Republicans to replace him at the ballot box in the August primary."In an interview ahead of Tuesday's primary, Bowers' told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe said he had heard from people who called the censure ahead of a visit by Trump "cheap theatrics." But he admitted that the attacks hurt. "Sure it hurts, but knowing who they are, and the character that they've displayed over the last few years," Bowers said. "It's not like it's a surprise."Bowers testified that after Trump and his allies made baseless claims of voter fraud in Arizona and called to put forward fake electors, Trump supporters began descending on his neighborhood and family, claiming he was a pedophile and a corrupt politician.  He said his family had begun to dread Saturdays, when the supporters descended on his neighborhood. "At the same time ... we had a daughter who was gravely ill, who was upset by what was happening outside and my wife — that is a valiant person, very strong, quiet, very strong woman," he said, growing emotional. "So it was disturbing."Bowers' daughter died in January 2021. Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

Rusty Bowers, Arizona House speaker who testified at Jan. 6 hearing, loses GOP primary for state Senate seat.

Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew KellyRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Shares of AMTD Digital on Wednesday extended an eye-popping rally fueled by retail investors this week that briefly took the Hong Kong-based fintech's market value past that of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms.AMTD's shares rose another 6% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The company's market capitalization surged above $450 billion in a 244% jump on Tuesday, reminding investors of the meme stock mania last year that drove record rallies in shares of companies such as GameStop (GME.N) and AMC (AMC.N).The stock has soared about 21,000% since its July IPO, when it listed at a price of $7.80.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"It is clearly the newest meme stock with bands of retail traders purchasing the stock at the same time, pushing the price sharply higher," said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.Scholar added that the bullish momentum was being exacerbated by short covering to offset losses by hedge funds with bearish positions on the stock.AMTD Digital was the most-mentioned stock on Reddit.com, the social media platform central to the meme stock craze of 2021. read more The fintech company, which provides loans and services to startups in exchange for fees, has a low float and is tightly controlled by parent company AMTD Idea (AMTD.N).AMTD Idea's shares also surged 27.9% after closing Tuesday with a market value of $2.6 billion.AMTD Digital said on Tuesday there was no material change or event related to the company's business and operating activities since the IPO date and that it was monitoring the share volatility.There has been a similar surge in some other recently listed U.S. companies, including Getty Images which jumped over 200% since its debut on July 25."There is no quantifiable reason for the behaviour, or trajectory, as moves are sentiment driven, with these feelings being based on little information," said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb ChakrabartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Meme stock traders have a new favorite: Hong Kong's AMTD Digital.

For parents already stretching budgets to pay for groceries and gasoline, stocking up on school supplies will be a little harder this year."Back-to-school shopping is stressful even in the best economic times," said Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst at LendingTree."With inflation running rampant and supply chain issues lingering, these are definitely not the best of times," he added. "Lots of families are going to have to make some real sacrifices and have some uncomfortable conversations this back-to-school shopping season."More from Personal Finance:Anxiety about recession as inflation cuts spending powerCredit card balances jump as inflation outpaces wage growthWhat a recession could mean for youFamilies are already struggling this season amid rising prices, several recent studies show.In 2022, total back-to-school spending is expected to match last year's record high of $37 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $864 on school supplies, $168 more than in 2019, the NRF found.There is also less wiggle room when it comes to the required items, or at least it often feels that way. "Families consider back-to-school and college items as an essential category," said Matthew Shay, the NRF's president and CEO.Customers shop at a Walmart in Houston on Aug. 4, 2021.Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesA separate report from Deloitte found that 37% of parents will spend even more this year — up to $661 per child. However, 75% of parents are stressed about paying the tab, up 12% from last year, according to LendingTree.More than one-third, or 37%, of parents with school-age children said they are unable to afford back-to-school shopping due to inflation, and nearly half said they will take on debt shopping for their kids, another study by Credit Karma found.How to save on back-to-school supplies"Americans are very resourceful," said Beverly Harzog, a consumer finance analyst at U.S. News & World Report.In addition to shopping around, employing a number of money-saving hacks — such as taking advantage of upcoming sales tax holidays and using credit card rewards or cash-back bonuses — can lower the total cost, she said.If you qualify, Harzog also recommends applying for a new card with a sign-up bonus or offering a 0% intro APR for 12 to 21 months and then paying it off over the course of the year without interest charges."That's a better win if you do a little bit of strategizing," she said.Otherwise, swap gently used supplies with neighbors, Harzog, who often gave and received winter coats this way, suggested.As a general rule, stick to only buying what you need right now, advised Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com.Students may have to start the school year with notebooks, binders, paper, pens and pencils, but other purchases, such as a new backpack or lunchbox, can be put off until they go on sale.If you don't need a new laptop or headphones right away, Ramhold recommends waiting until Labor Day or even Black Friday when the discounts on electronics will be greater.A price-tracking browser extension like Camelcamelcamel or Keepa can help to keep an eye on price changes and alert you when the price drops.Then, use a cash-back site like CouponCabin.com to earn money back on online purchases, including back-to-school supplies from Target, Walmart and Macy's."As long as it's a good deal, go for it," Ramhold said.Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Parents are spending a lot more on back-to-school shopping, even if it means going into debt.

A.P. Moller-Maersk, is one of the world's biggest container shippers with a market share of around 17%, and is widely seen as a barometer of global trade.Andia | UIG via Getty ImagesAP Moller-Maersk on Wednesday predicted a slowdown in global shipping container demand this year amid weakening consumer confidence and supply chain congestion.The Danish shipping and logistics company — one of the world's largest and a broad barometer for global trade — said it loaded 7.4% fewer containers onto ships in the second quarter when compared to the same period in 2021, prompting it to revise the full-year outlook for its container business.Maersk now expects demand to be at the lower end of its range, between -1% and 1% in 2022, as rising inflation and energy prices darken the global economic outlook."Geopolitical uncertainty and higher inflation via higher energy prices continued to weigh on consumer sentiment and growth expectations," the company said in a statement."Given this background, in 2022 global container demand is now expected to be at the lower end of the -1% to +1% forecasted range," it said.Stockpiles build-upMaersk warned that the slowdown was especially pronounced in Europe, where stockpiles have been building up at ports and in warehouses as consumer demand wanes.Russia's war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China have only exacerbated such congestion woes, it added."In Europe, supply chain congestion remained as retailers and manufacturers kept containers in ports and warehouses due to weak final demand. Port lockdowns in China due to the Covid-19 zero-tolerance policy as well as consequences from the war in Ukraine also caused strains in key areas of the logistics network," the company said.Continued congestion and dislocation of supply and demand fundamentals in the logistics industry increases the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for freight rates.It comes as Maersk confirmed forecast-beating second-quarter results Wednesday as freight rates soar.The company said trade congestion had lifted global freight prices, creating "exceptional market conditions" for the logistics business and prompting it to raise its profit outlook for the year.Shipping company Maersk warned that stockpiles have been building up at ports and in warehouses amid waning consumer demand.Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesMaersk now expects to record underlying operating profits of around $31 billion in 2022, up from an earlier estimate of $24 billion. Meantime, it anticipates underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $37 billion, up from $30 billion.In the second quarter, the company's revenue rose 52% year-on-year to $21.7 billion while underlying operating profits more than doubled to $8.9 billion.The container shipping industry at large has benefited from higher freight rates as companies have had to pay record sums to transport their goods amid a plethora of market disruptions. On Thursday, shipping group Hapag-Lloyd AG raised its profit forecast after it said average freight rates rose around 80% in the first half of the year.Maersk said that while freight rates had recently softened slightly, they remain at historic highs, and ongoing congestion issues pointed to continued fluctuation in prices."The continued congestion and dislocation of supply and demand fundamentals in the logistics industry increases the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for freight rates," the company said.

Shipping firm Maersk, a barometer for global trade, warns of weak demand and warehouses filling up.

OPEC has refused to switch to bigger output increases as group sources have cited a lack of spare capacity among members to add more barrels as well as the need for further cooperation with Russia as part of the wider OPEC+ group.Dado Ruvic | ReutersOPEC+ is set to raise oil output by a tiny 100,000 barrels per day in what analysts described as an insult to U.S. President Joe Biden after his trip to Saudi Arabia last month to persuade OPEC's leader to pump more to help the U.S. and global economy.The increase, equivalent to 86 seconds of global oil demand, comes after weeks of speculation that Biden's trip to the Middle East and Washington's clearance of missile defence systems sales to Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates will bring in more oil.An OPEC+ document showed the group was set to raise output by 100,000 bpd from September and two sources said it has been effectively rubber-stamped by a close-door meeting."That is so little as to be meaningless. From a physical standpoint it is a marginal blip. As a political gesture it is almost insulting," said Raad Alkadiri, managing director for energy, climate, and sustainability at Eurasia Group.OPEC and its allies led by Russia have been previously increasing production by about 430,000-650,000 bpd a month although they have struggled to meet full targets as most members have already exhausted their output potential.The United States has put OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates under pressure to pump more oil to help rein in prices boosted by rebounding demand and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.U.S. and Western sanctions on Russia have caused prices of all types of energy to soar, resulting in inflation at multi-decade highs and central bank interest rate hikes.Biden travelled to Riyadh last month to mend ties with Saudi Arabia, which collapsed after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi four years ago.U.S. inflation hit 40-year highs this year and threatens Biden's approval ratings unless gasoline prices fall.Saudi de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom Western intelligence accused of being behind the Kashoggi murder - which he denies - also travelled to France last month as part of efforts to rebuild ties with the West.On Tuesday, Washington approved $5.3 billion worth of defensive missile sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia but it has yet to roll back on its offensive weapon sales ban to Riyadh.OPEC has refused to switch to bigger output increases as group sources have cited a lack of spare capacity among members to add more barrels as well as the need for further cooperation with Russia as part of the wider OPEC+ group.Benchmark Brent oil futures jumped by around $3 per barrel on OPEC's decision on Wednesday, trading close to $102 per barrel.By September, OPEC+ was meant to have wound down all of the record production cuts it implemented in 2020 after the pandemic slashed demand.By June, however, OPEC+ was almost 3 million barrels per day below its quotas as sanctions on some members and low investment by others crippled its ability to boost output.Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE are believed to have some spare capacity left to increase production.French President Emmanuel Macron has said he had been told that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had very limited ability to increase oil production.

OPEC+ set to approve minuscule oil output rise in rebuff to Biden.

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, as traders tried to regain their footing following back-to-back losing sessions.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 149.87 points, or 0.46%. The S&P 500 gained 0.55% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.85%, boosted by rising tech stocks. Shares of Amazon, Tesla, Apple and PayPal all opened higher. Earnings season continued, giving investors hope that the market can recover. Moderna and CVS Health both rose after reporting earnings beats. Comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard also boosted sentiment. He told CNBC Wednesday morning that he doesn't think the U.S. is currently in a recession, and that rate hikes to tame high inflation will continue. "We're going to have to see convincing evidence across the board, headline and other measures of core inflation, all coming down convincingly before we'll be able to feel like we're doing our job," Bullard said during a live "Squawk Box" interview. That was similar to earlier comments from Bullard and other Fed leaders. Bullard said Tuesday he was confident that the U.S. economy could achieve a "soft landing." Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bank's work to tame inflation is "far from done," while Chicago Fed's Charles Evans said there's a chance for a smaller rate hike at the next monetary policy meeting.Traders shook off anxiety that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan could further strain already tense U.S.-China relations. China had spent weeks warning her not to make the trip. Markets fell further after three Federal Reserve presidents hinted that further rate hikes would be necessary to combat high inflation."Despite the fact most of today's attention is still riveted on the Federal Reserve and its ongoing fight to bring inflation under control, many economic policies have already embarked on a new easing cycle," said The Leuthold Group's Jim Paulsen. "The prospect of lower inflation is not only helping to usher in a new easing cycle but is apt to stoke a private-sector confidence revival that has untapped potential."Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:Traders are also anticipating another batch of second-quarter earnings. Lucid Group and Spirit AeroSystems report after the bell. In economic data, investors this week are awaiting PMI data out Wednesday. They will also be watching the July nonfarm payrolls report, due Friday. Stocks rise at market open Stocks were higher at Wednesday's open, rebounding after two days of losses. The S&P 500 gained 0.73%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.19% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 221.31 points, or 0.68%. — Carmen ReinickeOPEC+ set to increase oil production by tiny amount OPEC and its allies on Wednesday agreed to raise oil production by a small amount, 100,000 barrels per day, in response to President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia last month. During the visit, Biden had aimed to persuade the group's leader to pump more oil to help the U.S. economy and global supply. The miniscule raise is seen as a rebuff. — Carmen ReinickeStarbucks shares tick up after earnings release Shares of Starbucks gained nearly 2% in premarket trading after the coffee chain posted quarterly earnings Tuesday after the bell. The company beat expectations on earnings and revenue, boosted by U.S. demand for cold drinks even amid high inflation. "We had actually record customer counts and record average weekly sales," during the last quarter, Rachel Ruggeri, Starbucks chief financial officer, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." — Carmen ReinickeModerna rises after beating earnings expectationsShares of Moderna rose nearly 4% in premarket trading after the covid-19 vaccine maker posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street's expectations for both profit and revenue. In addition, the company announced $3 billion in share buybacks, and maintained its full-year outlook.— Carmen ReinickePotential earnings revisions are a risk for second half, RBC's Calvasina says This earnings season, results have generally come in higher than Wall Street's expectations, showing that companies are faring current economic conditions better than analysts hoped, RBC head of U.S. equity strategy Lori Calvasina wrote in a Wednesday note. "The good news for the US equity market is that evidence of resilience continues to be seen in corporate earnings," Calvasina said. "The bad news for the US equity market is that the possibility of further downward earnings revisions remains a risk as we get deeper into the 2 nd half of the year."So far, estimates for earnings and revenue in the second half of 2022 and for the full-year 2023 have come down. Still, the strength of corporate earnings this quarter may suggest that any upcoming economic downturn will be short and shallow, according to Calvasina. That's good for stocks now, but could set them up for further volatility. "That's been supportive of stock prices over the past few weeks, but going forward it also tells us that the rally in stocks is fragile given the possibility of further downward earnings revisions as 2023 comes into view," she said. — Carmen ReinickeCVS gains on earnings beatShares of CVS Health rose more than 3% in premarket trading after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings before the opening bell. The company also lifted its earnings outlook for the year, saying health services is helping boost sales. — Carmen ReinickePelosi leaves TaiwanHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after a visit that increased tensions with China and rattled financial markets a bit.Pelosi met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday. China, which considers the disputed island part of its territory, increased military drills in the Taiwan strait amid her visit. The S&P 500 is down about 1% this week as traders worried about the ramifications of Pelosi's trip for China relations. But the market was set for a bit of a relief rally on Wednesday following her departure.—John MelloyAMD shares fall on weak revenue guidanceShares of AMD traded 5% lower in the premarket after the chipmaker issued third-quarter revenue guidance that was below analyst expectations. AMD said it expects $6.7 billion in revenue for the third quarter, below a Refinitiv forecast of $6.82 billion.The disappointing guidance overshadowed better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter. —Fred ImbertEuropean markets mixed as cautious sentiment persists; Avast up 42%European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, continuing the cautious regional trend this week.The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2% in early trade, with autos falling 1.5% while tech stocks gained 1.2%.It's a busy day for earnings in Europe, with Commerzbank, SocGen, BMW, Banco BPM, Siemens Healthineers, Veolia and Wolters Kluwer among the companies reporting before the bell.Shares of Czech cybersecurity firm Avast soared 42% after the U.K.'s competition regulator provisionally cleared its $8.6 billion sale to U.S. peer NortonLifeLock.— Elliot SmithFocus on data, not what Fed speakers are saying, Art Hogan saysDespite the "parade of Fed speakers," that's not what investors should focus on, according to Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial."I think that investors have to pay more attention to what the data is telling us than what every individual Fed speaker, whether they're a voter or not, has to say about what our expectations should be," Hogan told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."Still, he said Fed officials have been able to shift expectations for where Fed policy is heading.St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Tuesday said the central bank will need to keep hiking rates, and the Fed funds rate likely will have to go to 3.75%-4% by the end of 2022. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said "our work is far from done" in fighting inflation, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said another large rate hike is possible, though he hopes it can be avoided.After last week's meeting, some expected the Fed would continue hiking to reach 3.25%-3.5% before pivoting in 2023, Hogan said."I think the parade of Fed speakers this week has done a pretty good job of pulling that back, tamping down those expectations," he said.— Abigail NgThese stocks are poised for a comeback if inflation peaks, Jefferies saysA slowdown could be on the horizon, and more earnings downgrades ahead have been predicted. If inflation also peaks, as some analysts expect it to, that mix of factors will favor one class of stocks, Jefferies says.Jefferies produced a screen of such stocks that investors can buy, based on a list of metrics which include high profitability, reasonable valuations and good cashflows. Pro subscribers can read the story here.— Weizhen TanPayPal rises on earnings, share buyback announcementPayPal shares soared by more than 11% after hours. The payments company beat analysts' earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter and issued upbeat full-year guidance. PayPal also announced a $15 billion share repurchasing program.Stock buybacks provide a way for companies to boost their per-share earnings and enhance the value of their stock, particularly while the market across the board suffers steep price declines this year. The company kicked off a $10 billion program four years ago.Elliott Management said it has a $2 billion stake in the payments giant. PayPal announced that it entered an information-sharing agreement on value creation with the activist investor.— Tanaya MacheelDespite Fedspeak about fighting inflation, an ‘easing cycle’ is emerging says Leuthold’s Jim PaulsenLeuthold Group chief investment strategist Jim Paulsen said that despite the Federal Reserve's "ongoing lip service toward fighting inflation" by tightening monetary policy, there are several factors that suggest the market may be entering an "emerging easing cycle."Bond yields have achieved a sizable rate cut, the dollar is finally rolling over and junk spreads have pulled back, he said in a note to investors late Tuesday. "The media, policy officials, and investors focus primarily on the war against inflation and how aggressively the Fed will need to keep hiking rates," Paulsen said. "Yet, with real economic growth already reduced to a crawl and evidence building that inflation is easing, the case for further Fed tightening at its September meeting is rapidly falling apart.""Investors should place appropriate weight on the leading nature of economic policies," he added. "Tightening today means lower real and nominal growth tomorrow."— Tanaya MacheelMatchGroup shares tumble after hoursShares of the dating app operator Match Group tumbled as much as 23% after the company reported revenue of $795 million for the second quarter, compared with FactSet estimates of $803.9 million. Match also issued weak guidance around adjusted operating income and revenue for the current quarter.— Tanaya Macheel

Stocks rebound after a two-day slide as traders look past U.S.-China tension.

U.S. August 3, 2022 / 8:32 AM / CBS News Sandy Hook dad blames Alex Jones for "hell" Sandy Hook parent blames Alex Jones for years of "hell" 01:47 Scarlett Lewis' 6-year-old son Jesse was among the 20 children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. For years, she and her husband have faced harassment from people believing that her child's death was staged – but on Tuesday, she had the chance to confront the man who's been at the helm of propagating such falsehoods.Lewis took the witness stand in the defamation trial against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his media company for his repeated claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was "staged." Lewis and her husband, Neil Heslin, are seeking at least $150 million in damages, and have outlined how they have been harassed, threatened and even had their home shot at by people believing Jones' lies about the mass shooting. Sitting at the witness stand and looking Jones straight in the eyes, Lewis said, "I wanted to tell you to your face. ... I am a mother, first and foremost, and I know you're a father. And my son existed."  Lewis accused him of repeatedly implying on his show Infowars that she and other victims and their families are actors. On the day of the shooting, Jones published an episode of InfoWars in which he says, "Don't ever think this couldn't be staged." He repeatedly suggested that the mass shooting could have been a "staged event."  Politifact has also tracked several instances of Jones' comments. In an Infowars show from January 13, 2015, Jones told a caller that "Sandy Hook is a synthetic completely fake with actors, in my view, manufactured.""I knew they had actors there, clearly, but I thought they killed some real kids. And it just shows how bold they are, that they clearly used actors," he said.In another episode published on December 28, 2014, Jones said the shooting was a "giant hoax" and falsely claimed that "the whole thing was fake." "You're still on your show today trying to say that, implying, that I'm an actress, that I'm deep state. You have, this week. And I don't understand," Lewis told jones on Tuesday. "Truth – truth is so vital to our world. Truth is what we base our reality on and we have to agree on that to have a civil society. Sandy Hook is a hard truth." She continued to press him on his false claims about the reality of the shooting, at one point directly asking him if she thinks she's an actor. "No I don't think you're an actor," Jones responded. "Jesse was real. I am a real mom," she said. "...I know you know that, and that's the problem." As she addressed him, Jones shook his head, to which she responded, "I know you believe me and yet you're going to leave this court house and you're going to say it again on your show." Before the hearing on Tuesday, Jones broadcasted on his show that Lewis' husband Neil Heslin is "slow" and being manipulated. Last week, an article posted on the Infowars website details Jones' statement to the press following a hearing in which he said the judge of the case is only doing it "for political reasons." He also said the case is "one of the greatest show trials ever to happen" and is "the murder of your rights to due process." Heslin, who also testified on Tuesday, said that Jones made their lives a "living hell" filled with abuse and trauma from his followers. He and Lewis described people shooting at their home and car, harassment and even receiving threatening emails. "I can't even describe the last nine and a half years, the living hell that I and others have had to endure because of the recklessness and negligence of Alex Jones," Heslin said. "It's fear for your life," Lewis said. "You don't know what they were going to do."Jones is facing several lawsuits from Sandy Hook families who allege that his claims led to years of abuse. He has already been found liable for defamation by courts in Texas and Connecticut for how he portrayed the mass shooting as a hoax.  In: alex jones Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Connecticut Mass Shooting Sandy Hook Li Cohen Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending reporter for CBS News, focusing on social justice issues. Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

Mother of 6-year-old killed in Sandy Hook takes witness stand and confronts Alex Jones about his lies: "My son existed".

Taliban fighters drive a car on a street following the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a U.S. strike over the weekend, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Ali KharaRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKABUL, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Top leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban were holding discussions on Wednesday about how to respond to a U.S. drone strike in Kabul that the United States said killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, three sources in the group said.The United States killed Zawahiri with a missile fired from a drone while he stood on a balcony at his Kabul hideout on Sunday, U.S. officials said, the biggest blow to the militants since Osama bin Laden was shot dead more than a decade ago. read more Two Hellfire missiles fired from a drone killed the leader of al Qaeda, causing surprisingly little damage beyond the target, suggesting they may be a version of the missile used by the United States to avoid non-combatant casualties.The Taliban have not confirmed Zawahiri's death.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOfficials of the Islamist group, long-time allies of al Qaeda, initially confirmed the Sunday drone strike but said the house that was hit was empty."There are meetings at a very high level on whether they should react to the drone strike, and in case they decide to, then what is the proper way," a Taliban leader who holds an important position in Kabul told Reuters.The official, who said there had been lengthy leadership discussions for two days, declined to be identified. He did not confirm that Zawahiri was in the house that the missile struck.How the Taliban react could have significant repercussions as the group seeks international legitimacy, and access to billions of dollars in frozen funds, following their defeat of a U.S.-backed government a year ago.Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, was closely involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and was one of the world's most wanted men.His death in Kabul raises questions about whether he received sanctuary from the Taliban, who had assured the United States as part of a 2020 agreement on the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces that they would not harbour other militant groups.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban had "grossly violated" the agreement by hosting and sheltering Zawahiri.Outside a tight circle of top Taliban leaders, group members appeared in the dark about whether Zawahiri was actually in Kabul, let alone his fate.Another Taliban official confirmed the high-level meetings but said he did not know what was being discussed and he did not believe Zawahiri was in the house.Suhail Shaheen, the designated Taliban representative to the United Nations, who is based in Doha, told journalists he had received no word on the Taliban position."I am awaiting details and reaction from Kabul," he told reporters in a message.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Tight-lipped Taliban leaders gather after U.S. says Zawahiri killed.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKINSHASA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo has asked the spokesman of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, to leave the country, blaming him for stoking tensions that led to deadly protests last week.Thirty-six people, including four U.N. peacekeepers, were killed last week as hundreds of protesters vandalised and set fire to U.N. buildings in several cities in Congo's east. read more Civilians accuse the mission, which has been active for more than a decade, of failing to protect them from militia violence that has long plagued the region.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe government said that the spokesman, Mathias Gillmann, had made "indelicate and inappropriate" statements which contributed to the tensions between the population and MONUSCO.United Nations peacekeeping troops patrol the streets in armoured personnel carriers on election day in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa July 30, 2006. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly/File Photo"The Congolese government considers that the presence of this official on the national territory is not likely to promote a climate of mutual trust and calm between Congolese institutions and MONUSCO," said the statement from the foreign affairs ministry dated July 28 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.Gillmann and MONUSCO's deputy spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The Congolese government also said this week that it would reassess the mission's withdrawal plan in light of the protests, a decision which MONUSCO said it supported. read more The mission is due to withdraw by 2024 according to a plan drawn up last year, but the government aims to speed up its departure, said foreign affairs minister Christophe Lutundula.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Stanis Bujakera; Writing by Nellie Peyton, Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Congo expels U.N. peacekeeping mission spokesman after protests.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani arrives at Palais Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran take place in Vienna, Austria, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Leonhard FoegerRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comDUBAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator and a senior U.S. envoy will travel to Vienna this week for talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear pact, officials from both governments said on Wednesday, rekindling a process that stalled in June.Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Tehran was ready to reach a deal that guarantees its rights, according to state media."(Iranian negotiator) Bagheri Kani will leave Tehran in a few hours ... In this round of talks, which will be held as usual with the coordination of the European Union, ideas presented by different sides will be discussed," Kanaani saidRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comProviding no further details, a U.S. official said Rob Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, will travel to Vienna for talks this week on reviving the nuclear agreement. read more Last month, top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell said he had proposed a new draft text to revive the accord under which Iran curbed its nuclear programme in return for relief from economic sanctions.In 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh U.S. sanctions, spurring Tehran to begin breaching the nuclear limits set in the pact.The deal seemed near revival in March after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and President Joe Biden's administration in Vienna.But talks then broke down over obstacles including Tehran's demand that Washington should give guarantees that no U.S. president would abandon the deal as Trump did.Biden cannot promise this because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally-binding treaty.In June, the EU-mediated, indirect talks between Bagheri Kani and Malley aimed at breaking an impasse over how to salvage the 2015 nuclear pact ended in Qatar without the progress."Iran is determined to reach a stable agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of the Iranian nation," Kanaani said, calling on Washington to "provide the conditions for the effective progress of the talks by taking the necessary decisions".An Iranian official told Reuters that the talks in Vienna will be "in the format of the Doha meeting", where EU envoy Enrique Mora shuttled between Bagheri Kani and Malley because Tehran refused to hold direct talks with Washington.Earlier on Wednesday, Mora tweeted: "On my way to Vienna to discuss #JCPOA back to full implementation on the basis of the coordinator's text tabled on 20 July."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting By Arshad Mohammed in Saint Paul, Minn. Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Iran, U.S. top negotiators to travel to Vienna for nuclear pact talks.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesThis content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Aug 3 (Reuters) - As the world's biggest soft drinks makers cut their Russian ties, local producer Chernogolovka is aiming for a 50% share of the country's near $9 billion market, its boss told Reuters.A mass exodus of Western firms due to sanctions and restrictions over Russia's actions in Ukraine has created an unexpected opportunity for Russian businesses and entrepreneurs.Chernogolovka, named after the town outside Moscow where it was founded in 1998, makes snacks, bottled water, herby lemonades, energy drinks and, since May, Cola Chernogolovka.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe privately-owned company is more than doubling its business this year, its CEO Natalia Sakhnina said in an interview, and expects to reach a 30% market share within two years, up from around 8.5% at the end of 2021."We were, are and will be the main Russian producer of drinks," Sakhnina said. "We hope and are working on gaining absolute leadership in the Russian market."Revenue in Russia's non-alcoholic drinks market totals $8.8 billion, according to data provider Statista.Although fizzy drinks made by Coca-Cola (KO.N) and PepsiCo are still available in Russia, they are set to disappear over time as existing stocks are run down, leaving local manufacturers to step in.PepsiCo suspended soda production and sales in Russia in March, one of many Western consumer brands to curtail operations after Russia sent troops into Ukraine. read more Coca-Cola also suspended operations in March. In June, it said bottler Coca-Cola HBC AG (CCH.L) and its existing customers in Russia were depleting stock. read more Chernogolovka has almost doubled volume in the southern city of Krasnodar and increased capacity by 50% in Siberia's Novosibirsk so far in 2022 when compared to 2021, Sakhnina said.COLA PUSHNewly launched cola brands, including Chernogolovka's and competitor Ochakovo's CoolCola, jumped to a 5% share of sales in the category in the first half of 2022, NielsenIQ Russia said.A view shows bottles and cans of soft drinks at a plant of the Chernogolovka company in the town of Chernogolovka in the Moscow region, Russia July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Reshetnikov"Our company was not present in the cola segment," Sakhnina said of an area that accounts for around 50% of the market."This year we entered this segment and this coincided with international players in this flavour leaving. So if we evaluate our prospects and ambitions, they are almost limitless."To meet the anticipated ramp up in demand, Chernogolovka is building a 40,000 square metre production plant in the town. The facility will cost over 3 billion roubles ($50 million) and its first stage is slated for completion in March 2023.Some additional demand has come from fast food outlets.Chernogolovka started supplying soft drinks to the Russian outlets of Burger King and KFC in April. It is in talks to do the same for Vkusno & tochka, the renamed chain of McDonald's restaurants that opened after the world's largest fast-food chain sold to a local licensee, Sakhnina said.Vkusno & tochka is looking for a new drinks provider, as Coca-Cola is depleting its Russia stock, Chief Executive Oleg Paroev told Reuters in June. read more "We are currently considering options, choosing a supplier that according to taste will suit our guests the most," a Vkusno & tochka spokesperson said on Wednesday, when asked about any talks with Chernogolovka.Like all Russian companies, Chernogolovka faced supply headaches after Western governments and companies targeted Russia with sanctions and restrictions, Sakhnina said, adding that aluminium lids and adhesive labels were a particular issue.However, the Moscow region's government pushed for Chernogolovka's inclusion in a list of firms producing crucial goods, allowing it to tap preferential lending in April and May.Interest rates leapt to 20% in late February, and although they have since steadily decreased to 8%, Chernogolovka said it was at one point able to borrow money now being used to fund expansion at a discount of 10 percentage points.While Sakhnina did not rule out the possibility of a stock market listing, she said growth was the priority. And while acquisitions are possible, including from departing Western firms, there have been no talks to date, she said."This is just the beginning," Sakhnina said. "This market, if the competitive situation remains the same, will look completely different in a year, unrecognisable."($1 = 60.1000 roubles)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Russian soft drinks maker targets 50% of market to fill gap left by Coke, Pepsi.

A CVS Pharmacy store is seen in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.Shannon Stapleton | ReutersCVS said Wednesday that it plans to acquire or take a stake in a primary-care company by the end of the year, as competition heats up with Amazon and Walgreens.CEO Karen Lynch said on the company's second-quarter earnings call that the company wants to team up with a provider that has a strong management team and tech background and the ability to grow quickly.CVS, best known for its many drugstores, has touchpoints across the health-care industry. It has acquired insurer Aetna and pharmacy benefits manager Caremark. Customers can get vaccines or urgent care at MinuteClinic outposts inside of its stores. And the company keeps adding more health services to those locations, too — it recently introduced therapy services at some stores. CVS doesn't yet have doctor offices where patients can go for an annual checkup or appointments with a physician or nurse practitioner, though. At an investor day last year, Lynch said CVS wants to change that by buying or partnering with a company.At the time, Dr. Alan Lotvin, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Caremark, said he envisioned CVS standing out in primary care. The company wants to offer longer hours at its doctor offices so people can visit as early as 6 a.m., as late as 9 p.m., or on the weekends. It also wants to utilize simple, streamlined tech, so customers don't have to fill out piles of paperwork.Other health-care players have already made moves in the space. Rival Walgreens Boots Alliance is opening hundreds of doctor offices in partnership with VillageMD and became the majority owner of the company. Walmart has a small, but growing number of clinics where people can visit a doctor, dentist or therapist for a low price.Amazon ratcheted up pressure by announcing last month that it would acquire primary-care provider One Medical for about $3.9 billion. The boutique health-care company has 188 medical offices across 25 markets, according to its latest quarterly results.Lynch said CVS has a competitive edge with the size of its business. She said nearly 4.8 million customers interact with the company each day at CVS locations. Plus, she said, MinuteClinic visits increased 12% in the fiscal second quarter.CVS can build "from the strong foundation that we already have," Lynch said.

CVS says it plans to get into primary care by year end.

Crime August 3, 2022 / 5:40 AM / CBS/AP Dadeville, Ala. — A 12-year-old girl held captive in a rural Alabama mobile home escaped and was discovered walking along a road, prompting an investigation that led police to discover two decomposing bodies at the home where she had been kept, authorities said Tuesday.José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, was jailed on a kidnapping count, Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett told a news conference. District Attorney Jeremy Duerr said "multiple" additional capital murder charges were likely. A motorist driving through a rural residential area spotted a child on the road on Monday morning and stopped, authorities said. The driver picked up the girl and called 911, prompting an investigation and search that led to police officers finding two decomposing bodies inside the residence where Pascual-Reyes lived and the girl was believed to have been held, Abbett said. Other people lived at the residence, but no one else was there when police arrived, he said.Detectives say the girl was tied to bed posts for more than a week and given alcohol to keep her in a drugged state, CBS Columbus, Georgia affiliate WRBL-TV reports. Investigators say she escaped by chewing out of her restraints, damaging the braces on her teeth in the process. Detectives believe the girl was abducted around July 24 and the suspect intended to hurt or sexually abuse her, the station says.The metal underpinning of the mobile home was ripped off, according to WRBL, and it appears investigators were focusing their attention along the ground under the mobile home.The man was arrested in Auburn, Abbett said. It wasn't clear what information the girl might have provided to authorities, but Abbett called her a hero.Police didn't immediately release the names of the dead people or a cause of death, and court records didn't include the name of a defense lawyer who could speak on behalf of Pascual-Reyes. Authorities didn't release any information about the girl, including whether she had any relationship to the suspect. She hadn't been reported missing, the sheriff said. "We gave her medical attention,'' Abbett said. "She is safe now, and so we want to keep her that way."The FBI and Department of Homeland Security were also involved in the investigation, WRBL reports.   Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

"Hero" abducted girl chews through restraints and her escape leads to discovery of two bodies.

People walk past the R&D centre of Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) in Ningde, Fujian province, China, December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Jake Spring/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSHANGHAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - China's CATL (300750.SZ), the world's largest battery maker, is pressing ahead with plans to deliver lower-cost lithium iron batteries to Ford Motor Co (F.N) and with plans for battery production in North America by 2026, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that CATL was delaying a decision on a North American plant after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, saying that an announcement could still come by September or October.The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that before Pelosi's visit, which China sees as a provocation, CATL had been planning to announce its North American investment plans this month.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReuters could not independently confirm whether CATL had delayed any announcement on its long-anticipated investment in North America, an expansion that has been previously complicated by tensions between the United States and China.CATL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The person with knowledge of the company's planning told Reuters CATL had not changed its plan to start local battery production for North America from 2026.The expansion is expected to provide EV batteries for Ford, BMW and potentially other automakers, including Tesla.In May, Reuters reported CATL was in the final stage of vetting sites including in South Carolina and Kentucky for battery production. read more CATL has been considering building a plant in Mexico that could ship cells for assembly into battery packs at facilities in the United States, the person said. Subsidies and cost-sharing arrangements with automakers for those plants are still being negotiated, the person said.Last month, Ford (F.N) announced that it would use imported lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from CATL for its North American electric pickup trucks and SUVs.Ford said it expected to be able to secure LFP batteries from a new 40 GWh factory to be built in North America from 2026.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China's CATL presses ahead with battery plans for North America -source.

Andy Jassy, chief executive officer of Amazon.Com Inc., during the GeekWire Summit in Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSocial media giants Meta and Snap are telling investors that the online advertising market is experiencing some turbulence due to the economic slowdown. Amazon is sending a very different message.While the bulk of its business comes from e-commerce and cloud computing, Amazon has built a robust online ad division by getting brands to pay big bucks to promote their products on the company's website and app.As of late last year, Amazon commanded 14.6% of the U.S. digital ad market, third to Google at 26.4% and Facebook at 24.1%, according to Insider Intelligence.In the second quarter, Amazon grew faster than either of its larger peers in the market and also beat out the rest of the major players. Amazon's ad revenue rose 18% from a year earlier to $8.76 billion, topping analysts' expectations and underscoring the unit's rapid ascent and increasing importance to brands.By contrast, Facebook's ad business shrank for the first time ever, missing analyst estimates, and the company forecast a second consecutive decline in revenue in the current period.Here are the growth rates in descending order for the top online ad platforms.Amazon — 18%Snap — 13%Google — 12%Pinterest — 9%Twitter — 2%Facebook — (1.5%)It wasn't just the social media companies calling out the challenging ad environment. Streaming service Roku reported disappointing second-quarter results and said in a shareholder letter that the current ad market is reminiscent of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, "when marketers prepared for macro uncertainties by quickly reducing ad spend across all platforms."Meanwhile, Amazon provided a level of reassurance to Wall Street in giving guidance for revenue growth in the third quarter of 13% to 17%. That's going to be a boon for the ad division, because "the ads business goes as the commerce business goes," said Andrew Lipsman, an analyst at Insider Intelligence."Long term I think Amazon is building an absolute advertising juggernaut," Lipsman said. "That engine is going to become transformative to advertising."Amazon has a distinct advantage over several of the social media platforms that have struggled of late. In 2021, Apple's iOS privacy change made it harder for ad-supported sites to track users, a move that's had an outsized impact on Facebook and Snap. Amazon, by contrast, is its own separate silo, where advertisers go directly to build campaigns.Lipsman said that companies concerned about a potential recession are allocating more of their ad budgets to places like Amazon, where they can more likely see a return on their investment."It's a flight to safety for ad dollars right now, and that safety is when you can show measurable returns on ad spend," Lipsman said.The prospect of ads leading to direct sales is guiding much of Pinterest's current strategy. The company is investing heavily in e-commerce and recently landed former Google commerce lead Bill Ready as its new CEO, succeeding co-founder Ben Silbermann.  Justin Patterson, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said there are signs that Pinterest is seeing some success in e-commerce and that its "algorithms helping people discover contact or discover items on Pinterest to shop also continue to improve."Pinterest's revenue slightly missed analyst estimates and the company also issued a disappointing forecast for growth in the mid single digits. But the stock climbed 12% after activist investor Elliott Management disclosed that it's the biggest shareholder in the company and said, "Pinterest occupies a unique position in the advertising and shopping ecosystems."Despite all the doom and gloom about the broader online ad market, Kate Scott-Dawkins, global director of business intelligence for media investment firm GroupM, sees plenty of reasons for optimism. Facebook parent Meta is still bringing in lots of cash, and while social media platforms aren't experiencing the kind of booming growth they did during the pandemic, they still have the attention of top advertisers, she said.Brand awareness is important for companies in the consumer packaged goods industry and elsewhere, regardless of the current economic environment, Scott-Dawkins said."We've heard from CPG brands in the past about the importance they place on advertising and brand advertising in recessionary times, just in terms of continuing to make sure that consumers choose their brand over a generic brand," she said.The big question will be whether consumers cut back on spending as the year progresses, which could have a more profound impact on company ad budgets. If that's the case, Amazon could still pick up share, but in a market with fewer dollars to go around.WATCH: Big tech companies paint an ugly picture of the U.S. economy.

Amazon is bucking the online ad trend and just beat out Google and Meta.

It has been a rough month for the crypto sector, and it's only the third day of August.From cross-chain bridge hacks draining hundreds of millions of dollars in customer funds to the Securities and Exchange Commission coming after crypto ponzi schemes, this corner of the market can't catch a break.The developments add to an already torrid year for the crypto market, which has seen huge declines as fears around tightening monetary policy and a lack of liquidity set in.The flood of news is difficult for even insiders to track, so here's a rundown of what you've missed since Monday.MondayThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington on Feb. 23, 2022.Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed a civil complaint charging 11 people for their roles in creating and promoting an allegedly fraudulent crypto-focused pyramid scheme that raised more than $300 million from investors.The scheme, called Forsage, claimed to be a decentralized smart contract platform, allowing millions of retail investors to enter into transactions via smart contracts that operated on the ethereum, tron and binance blockchains. The SEC alleges that for more than two years, the setup functioned like a standard pyramid scheme, in which investors earned profits by recruiting others into the operation. In the SEC's formal complaint, Wall Street's top watchdog calls Forsage a "textbook pyramid and Ponzi scheme," in which Forsage aggressively promoted its smart contracts through online promotions and new investment platforms, all while not selling "any actual, consumable product." The complaint adds that "the primary way for investors to make money from Forsage was to recruit others into the scheme."The SEC said Forsage operated a typical Ponzi structure, wherein it allegedly used assets from new investors to pay earlier ones."As the complaint alleges, Forsage is a fraudulent pyramid scheme launched on a massive scale and aggressively marketed to investors," wrote Carolyn Welshhans, acting chief of the SEC's Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit."Fraudsters cannot circumvent the federal securities laws by focusing their schemes on smart contracts and blockchains."Forsage, through its support platform, declined to offer a method for contacting the company and did not offer comment.Four of the eleven individuals charged by the SEC are founders of Forsage. Their current whereabouts are unknown, but they were last known to be living in Russia, the Republic of Georgia and Indonesia.The SEC has also charged three U.S.-based promoters who endorsed Forsage on their social media platforms. They were not named in the commission's release.Forsage was launched in January 2020. Regulators around the world have tried a couple of times to shut it down. Cease-and-desist actions were brought against Forsage first in September of 2020 by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines. In March 2021, the Montana commissioner of securities and insurance tried the same. Despite this, the defendants allegedly continued to promote the scheme while denying the claims in several YouTube videos and by other means.Two of the defendants, both of whom did not admit or deny the allegations, agreed to settle the charges, subject to court approval.TuesdaySo-called blockchain bridges have become a prime target for hackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in the world of decentralized finance.Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesCrypto startup Nomad lost almost $200 million in a devastating security exploit. Nomad is known as a "bridge," where users can transfer tokens from one blockchain to another. Hackers exploited a security flaw that let users enter any value into the system and siphon off the funds, even if there weren't enough assets available in Nomad's deposit base.The nature of the bug meant that users didn't need any programming skills to exploit it. Others caught on and deployed armies of bots to carry out copycat attacks."Without prior programming experience, any user could simply copy the original attackers' transaction call data and substitute the address with theirs to exploit the protocol," said Victor Young, founder and chief architect of crypto startup Analog."Unlike previous attacks, the Nomad hack became a free-for-all where multiple users started to drain the network by simply replaying the original attackers' transaction call data."Blockchain bridges are a popular way of moving tokens off of networks like Ethereum, which has gained a reputation for slow transaction times and high fees, into cheaper, more efficient blockchains. But sloppy programming choices have made them a prime target for hackers seeking to swindle investors out of millions. More than $1 billion worth of crypto has been lost to bridge exploits so far in 2022, according to blockchain analysis firm Elliptic."I can only hope that developers and projects will learn that they are running a critical piece of software," said Adrian Hetman, tech lead at Web3 security firm Immunefi, told CNBC."They need to keep the security first be security first at every business decision because they are dealing with people's money a lot of that money is locked in those contracts."Nomad said it's working with crypto security firm TRM Labs and law enforcement to trace the movement of funds, identify the perpetrators behind the attack and return stolen tokens to users."Nomad is committed to keeping its community updated as it learns more in the coming hours and days and appreciates all those who acted quickly to protect funds," the company said in the statement.Michael Saylor, chairman and chief executive officer of MicroStrategy, first got into bitcoin in 2020, when he decided to start adding the cryptocurrency to MicroStrategy's balance sheet as part of an unorthodox treasury management strategy.Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLater on Tuesday, MicroStrategy announced CEO Michael Saylor is leaving his role to become Executive Chairman of the company. The company's president, Phong Le, will take the reins from Saylor.Saylor has been the CEO since he launched the company in 1989. MicroStrategy went public in 1998.MicroStrategy's stock is down over 48% this year. Bitcoin is down over 51% during that same time period."I believe that splitting the roles of Chairman and CEO will enable us to better pursue our two corporate strategies of acquiring and holding bitcoin and growing our enterprise analytics software business. As Executive Chairman I will be able to focus more on our bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives, while Phong will be empowered as CEO to manage overall corporate operations," Saylor said in the release.The announcement comes as the company announces its second quarter earnings, in which its total revenues dropped by 2.6% compared to a year ago. The company also reported an impairment charge of $918 million on the value of its digital assets, presumably primarily bitcoin.MicroStrategy may technically be in the business of enterprise software and cloud-based services, but Saylor has said the publicly traded company doubles as the first and only bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund in the U.S."We're kind of like your nonexistent spot ETF," Saylor told CNBC on the sidelines of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami in April.Late Tuesday, early WednesdaySolana logo displayed on a phone screen and representation of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on August 21, 2021.Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesAnd then on Tuesday night, unknown attackers came after hot wallets connected to solana's blockchain.Nearly 8,000 digital wallets have been drained of just over $5.2 million in digital coins including solana's sol token and USD Coin (USDC), according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The Twitter account Solana Status confirmed the attack, noting that as of Wednesday morning, approximately 7,767 wallets have been affected by the exploit. Elliptic's estimate is slightly higher at 7,936 wallets.Solana's sol token, one of the largest cryptocurrencies after bitcoin and ether, fell about 8% in the first two hours after the hack was initially detected, according to data from CoinMarketCap. It's currently down about 1%, while trading volume is up about 105% in the last 24 hours.Starting Tuesday evening, multiple users began reporting that assets held in "hot" wallets — that is, internet-connected addresses, including Phantom, Slope and Trust Wallet — had been emptied of funds.Phantom said on Twitter that it's investigating the "reported vulnerability in the solana ecosystem" and doesn't believe it's a Phantom-specific issue. Blockchain audit firm OtterSec tweeted that the hack has affected multiple wallets "across a wide variety of platforms."Elliptic chief scientist Tom Robinson told CNBC the root cause of the breach is still unclear, but "it appears to be due to a flaw in certain wallet software, rather than in the solana blockchain itself." OtterSec added that the transactions were being signed by the actual owners, "suggesting some sort of private key compromise." A private key is a secure code that grants the owner access to their crypto holdings.The identity of the attacker is still unknown, as is the root cause of the exploit. The breach is ongoing."Engineers from multiple ecosystems, with the help of several security firms, are investigating drained wallets on solana," according to Solana Status, a Twitter account that shares updates for the entire solana network.The solana network is strongly encouraging users to use hardware wallets, since there's no evidence those have been impacted."Do not reuse your seed phrase on a hardware wallet - create a new seed phrase. Wallets drained should be treated as compromised, and abandoned," reads one tweet. Seed phrases are a collection of random words generated by a crypto wallet when it is first set up, and it grants access to the wallet.A private key is unique and links a user to their blockchain address. A seed phrase is a fingerprint of all of a user's blockchain assets that is used as a backup if a crypto wallet is lost.The Solana network was viewed as one of the most promising newcomers in the crypto market, with backers like Chamath Palihapitiya and Andreessen Horowitz touting it as a challenger to ethereum with faster transaction processing times and enhanced security. But it's been faced with a spate of issues lately, including downtime in periods of activity and a perception of being more centralized than ethereum.

It has been a miserable month for crypto — and it's only the third day of August.

Crime August 3, 2022 / 10:11 AM / CBS/AP A Southern California office who was named "detective of the year" in 2019 allegedly sent graphic messages to a decoy pretending to be a 14-year-old girl and some of the communications occurred while he was on duty, prosecutors said Tuesday.The civilian decoy contacted Orange County Crime Stoppers and reported that a person claiming to be a 45-year-old police officer had sent them inappropriate messages in December and January, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.Santa Ana Police Detective Gregory Beaumarchais allegedly also created a second social media account after a technology platform revoked his original access, prosecutors said. Beaumarchais, 43, turned himself in Tuesday. He is charged with one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a victim believed to be under the age of 18. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Detective Gregory Beaumarchais  Santa Ana Police Department Beaumarchais, a member of the police department since 2011, has been on administrative leave since mid-December, when the agency was notified of his alleged conduct. Beaumarchais was named by the Santa Ana Police Department as its 2019 "detective of the year," according to a 2021 tweet from the department. "Our Department will not tolerate inappropriate behavior or alleged criminal conduct that infringes on the trust provided by the community we are hired to serve," Santa Ana Police Chief Chief David Valentin said in a news release.Beaumarchais faces up to a year in jail and would have to register as a sex offender if convicted."It is beyond disturbing that a sworn police officer would engage in inappropriate conversations with someone he believed to be a child," District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release. "Our children should not have to worry about being preyed upon by the very people we teach them who are there to protect them."The U.S. Department of Homeland Security assisted in the investigation. "Today's filing of criminal charges for showing sexual interest in children shows no one is above the law when it comes to keeping communities free from predators," said Shawn Gibson, acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. In: California Santa Ana Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

California officer, once "detective of the year," accused of sending graphic photos to person he thought was 14-year-old girl.

A barista makes coffee for a customer in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 10, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. services industry unexpectedly picked up in July amid strong order growth, while supply bottlenecks and price pressures eased, supporting views that the economy was not in recession despite output slumping in the first half of the year.The Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing PMI rebounded to a reading of 56.7 last month from 55.3 in June. The increase ended three straight monthly declines.Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the non-manufacturing PMI decreasing to 53.5. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe surprise rebound followed on the heels of the ISM's manufacturing survey on Monday showing factory activity slowing moderately last month. It was in stark contrast with the S&P Global survey showing the services sector shrinking in July.The government reported last week that the economy contracted 1.3% in the January-June period.Wild swings in inventories and the trade deficit tied to snarled global supply chains have been largely to blame. Overall economic momentum has, however, cooled as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightens monetary policy to fight inflation.Services activity is being supported by a shift in spending from goods. The ISM's measure of new orders received by services businesses shot up to 59.9 from 55.6 in June. Businesses reported a rise in exports.Its services industry employment gauge improved to 49.1 from 47.4 in June, which was the lowest reading since July 2020.Though demand for workers in industries like construction, wholesale and retail trade is easing, labor remains in short supply. The government reported on Tuesday that there were 10.7 million job openings at the end of June, with 1.8 openings for every unemployed person. read more The ISM survey's measure of supplier deliveries fell to 58.3 from 61.9 in June, helping to slow the pace of increase in services inflation. A gauge of prices paid by services industries for inputs dropped to 72.3, the lowest reading since February 2021, from 80.1 in June.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. service sector unexpectedly picks up in July; price growth slows - ISM survey.

U.S. August 3, 2022 / 10:44 AM / CBS News Airbnb came under fire this week after a TikTok video went viral showcasing a listing that the owner had described as an "1830s slave cabin." The company has since apologized and vowed to make changes to other listings of "former slave quarters." The TikTok, captioned "This is not ok," shows screenshots of the housing rental, which was listed as "The Panther Burn Cottage @ Belmont Plantation" in Greenville, Mississippi. "This particular structure, the Panther Burn Cabin, is an 1830s slave cabin from the extant Panther Burn Plantation to the south of the Belmont. It has also been used as a tenant sharecroppers cabin and a medical office for local farmers and their families to visit the plantation doctor," a screenshot of the listing reads.  According to its website, the Belmont Plantation is the "last antebellum mansion along the river in the Mississippi Delta." A cached page of the website shows the listing said it was the "sharecroppers cottage at the back of the property; the most private space on the property & the only one with a TV."The man who posted the TikTok, Wynton Yates, continues to show photos of the cabin, saying, "How is this OK in somebody's mind to rent this out? A place where human beings were kept as slaves, rent this out as a bed and breakfast?" The listing had 4.97 out of 5 stars and 68 reviews, which the TikToker said was particularly notable. Photos of the cottage show a clawfoot tub, and tile and lighting fixtures. The listing also describes it as having "exquisite antique furnishings" and "turn down service." It also says the cabin is the "last surviving structure" from the Panther Burn Plantation.  Screenshots of reviews in the TikTok show people saying it was a "memorable" stay. Another person said they "enjoyed everything about our stay" and that it "made for a perfect stop in our cross-country trek." This past March, one person said it was a "delightful place to step into history, southern hospitality, and stay a night or two." "The history of slavery in this country is constantly denied and now it's being mocked by being turned into a luxurious vacation spot," the TikToker said, pointing to photos of the listing which show a clawfoot tub and nice tile and lighting fixtures among other amenities. Airbnb told CBS News that "properties that formerly housed the enslaved have no place on Airbnb." "We apologize for any trauma or grief created by the presence of this listing, and others like it, and that we did not act sooner to address this issue."  The company said that it has removed the listing and is removing other listings in the U.S. known to include former slave quarters. The company also said it's "working with experts" to create new policies that address properties that might otherwise be associated with slavery. It was not clear how long the listing was live on Airbnb. The Tiktok shows reviews dating back to August 2021.Following Airbnb's apology, Yates posted another video with the apology from the property's owner, Brad Hauser, who said he has only owned the property for three weeks. "I apologize for the decision to provide our guests a stay at 'the slave quarters' behind the 1857 antebellum home that is now a bed and breakfast. I also apologize for insulting African Americans whose ancestors were slaves," Hauser wrote. He continued to say that he "strongly opposed" the previous owner marketing the building as a place where slaves resided and that the building was "never part of any plantation." "I am not interested in making money off slavery," he said. "The plan is and has been to no longer advertise the slave quarters. ... I will be providing guests a historically accurate portrayal of life when The Belmont was built and occupied by both the owners of the family home as well as the 80 or so slaves they purchased who had no control over their own lives." According to Hauser, the original owner of the building told its previous owner Josh Cain, who listed the property on Airbnb, that it was not used as slave quarters and was not old enough to have housed slaves. Rather, the building was used as a doctor's office. State property records show that Joshua B. Cain was previously listed as the property owner. "He also asked Cain to stop advertising it as a slave quarters when the building was acquired, he said. "Cain refused."He also said he will find experts to provide more information about the property and that he is hoping to "right a terrible wrong."  In: slavery mississippi Airbnb Li Cohen Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending reporter for CBS News, focusing on social justice issues.

Airbnb and new owner apologize for "1830s slave cabin" listing marketed as luxurious stay.

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty ImagesSmall business confidence has hit an all-time low as the majority of Main Street expects runaway inflation and a Federal Reserve that is incapable of engineering a soft landing for the economy.In fact, the majority of small business owners (57%) taking part in the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for Q3 2022 think the recession has already begun, while another 14% predict recession before the end of the year. The CNBC/SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted July 25-31, 2022 among a national sample of 2,557 self-identified small business owners.The pessimism on Main Street is more widespread than in the general population, according to the survey, which included a companion poll of nearly 12,000 non-business owners. Among this group, 45% believe the U.S. economy has entered a recession.More than three-quarters (77%) of small business owners polled expect prices to continue going up. And while many large corporations continue to pass along price increases to customers and report healthy profits, only 13% of small businesses said now is a good time to raise prices. While inflation in input costs, energy prices and labor have been a top concern for small business owners throughout the year, its dominance in the minds of entrepreneurs continues to climb. According to the Q3 survey, 43% of small business owners say inflation is the biggest risk to their business right now, up again from last quarter, when it was 38%, and the highest this reading has reached in the past four quarters of surveys.Only a minority of small business owners (26%) have confidence in the Federal Reserve to successfully battle inflation — a finding that is consistent with the Q2 survey results.The Fed has continued to message inflation as its top priority and that interest rates will continue to increase until it has prices under control, but Fed senior leadership including Chair Jerome Powell have said they do not believe the economy is in a recession. "We're not in a recession right now. ... To some extent, a recession is in the eyes of the beholder," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC on Wednesday.The economic view on Main Street differs significantly.According to SurveyMonkey, which conducts the poll for CNBC, nearly every index component worsened quarter-over-quarter, but the confidence indicator that looms largest this quarter is a weaker sales outlook on Main Street. As the Fed attempts to cool demand throughout the economy with higher interest rates, over one-quarter (28%) of small business owners expect their revenue to decrease over the next 12 months, up from 21% last quarter. This was the biggest swing factor in the overall confidence index hitting an all-time low in Q3.More small businesses also anticipate cutting staff over the next year, up from 14% to 18% quarter over quarter. The percentage of small business owners who describe business conditions as good (33%), went down again, from 36% in Q2 2022. Just over half (51%) of small business owners say the economy is "poor," up from 44% last quarter.Partisan politics and the economyThe small business demographic skews conservative and the confidence index reflects some partisan sentiment and persistent gaps in survey answers based on politics. For example, 69% of Republican small businesses owners believe the economy is in a recession, compared to 34% of Democrats polled. This gap is even wider in how small business owners describe the economy, with 68% of Republicans using the word "poor," compared with 19% of Democrats.More troubling for President Biden, though, is the significant percentage of small business owners who identify as Democrats and think inflation will continue to rise. While that figure is 89% among Republicans, and the partisan gap is wide, more than half of Democrats (51%) agree.President Biden's approval rating on Main Street hit the lowest level of his administration, with 31% of small business owners approving of how he has handled the job of president.While 81% of small business owners who are Democrats approve of Biden, pollsters have noted during this period of high inflation that presidents expect the vast majority of their party to offer support, often north of 90%. And as the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey has shown this year, Biden's approval rating will not improve unless inflation goes down. Biden's approval among important swing voters who identify as independents is at 29%.Only 9% of Republicans approve of Biden's handling of the presidency.

Small business confidence hits all-time low on worsening sales outlook and belief on Main Street recession is here.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Wednesday that the central bank will continue raising rates until it sees compelling evidence that inflation is falling.The central bank official said he expects another 1.5 percentage points or so in interest rate increases this year as the Fed continues to battle the highest inflation levels since the early 1980s."I think we'll probably have to be higher for longer in order to get the evidence that we need to see that inflation is actually turning around on all dimensions and in a convincing way coming lower, not just a tick lower here and there," Bullard said during a live "Squawk Box" interview on CNBC.That message of continued rate hikes is consistent with other Fed speakers this week, including regional presidents Loretta Mester of Cleveland, Charles Evans of Chicago and Mary Daly of San Francisco. Each said Tuesday that the inflation fight is far from over and more monetary policy tightening will be needed.Both Bullard and Mester are voting members this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. The group last week approved a second consecutive 0.75 percentage point increase to the Fed's benchmark borrowing rate.If Bullard has his way, the rate will continue rising to a range of 3.75%-4% by the end of the year. After starting 2022 near zero, the rate has now come up to a range of 2.25%-2.5%.Consumer price inflation is running at a 12-month rate of 9.1%, its highest since November 1981. Even throwing out the highs and lows of inflation, as the Dallas Fed does with its "trimmed mean" estimate, inflation is running at 4.3%."We're going to have to see convincing evidence across the board, headline and other measures of core inflation, all coming down convincingly before we'll be able to feel like we're doing our job," Bullard said.The rate hikes come at a time of slowing growth in the U.S., which has seen consecutive quarters of negative GDP readings, a common definition of recession. However, Bullard said he doesn't think the economy is really in recession."We're not in a recession right now. We do have these two quarters of negative GDP growth. To some extent, a recession is in the eyes of the beholder," he said. "With all the job growth in the first half of the year, it's hard to say there's a recession. With a flat unemployment rate at 3.6%, it's hard to say there's a recession."The second half of the year should see reasonably strong growth, though job gains probably will slow to their longer-run trend, he added. July's nonfarm payroll growth is expected to be 258,000, according to Dow Jones estimates.Even with the slowing trend, markets are pricing in another half percentage point rate hike from the Fed in September, though the chances of a third consecutive 0.75 percentage point move are rising. The market then expects future increases in November and December, taking the benchmark fed funds rate to a range of 3.25%-3.5% by the end of the year, below Bullard's target."We're going to follow the data very carefully, and I think we'll get it right," Bullard said.

Fed's Bullard sees more interest rate hikes ahead and no U.S. recession.

British Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss speaks at the Conservative Party leadership campaign event at Biggin Hill Airport, Westerham, Britain July 30, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/PoolRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is leading the race to become Britain's next prime minister, with two opinion polls putting her well ahead of former finance minister Rishi Sunak. read more Below are details of the policies has Truss proposed during the leadership contest.TAX- Hold an emergency budget and review of government spendingRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com- Reverse a 1.25 percentage point rise in payroll tax known as National Insurance. The rise was introduced by Sunak in April to help pay for the health and social care system. read more - Cancel a planned increase in corporation tax. The tax is due to rise from 19% to 25% from 2023 under plans announced by Sunak in March 2021- Apply a temporary moratorium on environmental and social levies added to consumers' electricity bills- Not impose any new levies on unhealthy food and ditch plans to restrict multi-buy deals on food and drink high in fat, salt, or sugar read more - Review the way families are treated by tax authorities, with a view to easing the tax burden when family members are not working in order to care for children or relativesECONOMY AND DOMESTIC- Review the Bank of England's mandate without compromising its independence read more - Create low regulation "investment zones"- Introduce minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure and raise ballot thresholds to limit strike action read more - Reform mortgage assessments to help those currently renting gain access to the housing market- Scrap home-building targets, incentivise local authorities to build more houses and speed up the planning system- Review how Britain will reach its 2050 net zero target to see how it can be done in a more "market-friendly" way- No new Scottish independence referendum.- A six point education reform package, including measures to cut childcare costs- Temporarily expand seasonal workers scheme to ensure farmers have access to labour- Tackle violence against women and girls including criminalising street harassmentINTERNATIONAL- Increase defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030- Make Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelenskiy the first foreign leader she calls as prime minister, and work with G7 allies to provide more lethal and humanitarian aid for Kyiv- Commit Britain to a lead role in a “new Marshall Plan” for Ukraine- Update Britain's foreign policy to include new focus on China and Russia- Seek a trade deal among Commonwealth members to act as a bulwark against China- Scrap all remaining European Union laws that still apply in Britain by 2023, including Solvency II regulation and seek regulatory divergence from the EU read more - Pursue more third country immigration processing partnership schemes, similar to the existing agreement to send some migrants to Rwanda.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by William James and Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Factbox: What will Liz Truss do if she becomes UK prime minister?.

"Stranger Things" cinematographer Caleb Heymann knew he was stepping into a big job when he signed on for season four. In fact, his schedule was as packed as the season's super-sized episodes."It was a solid 11 months where I was averaging about 90 hours of work a week, mostly on set," he tells CNBC Make It. "They're extraordinarily long hours that don't leave a lot of time for any sort of work-life balance." Heymann shot seven of the season's nine episodes. To get through the long days, he had to make sure to take care of his body. He stuck to an exercise routine, waking up before 4 a.m. three or four days a week to get a workout in, "even if I could only squeeze in 25 minutes."It was really important to keep my body healthy. Maintaining focus and energy levels over a long stretch like that, it's super grueling.Caleb HeymannCinematographer, "Stranger Things""It was really important to keep my body healthy," he says. "Maintaining focus and energy levels over a long stretch like that, it's super grueling."On top of staying fit, Heymann avoided eating too much from the on-set catering, and instead would meal prep for the week every Sunday. He would arrive to set each day carrying not only his camera equipment, but also a cooler containing his protein-packed salads.Cinematographer Caleb Heymann (right) on the set of 'Stranger Things' season four.Caleb Heymann"You want to be in control of the fuel that you're putting into your body," he says. "Even on a big production like ['Stranger Things'], the quality of ingredients and catering might not be the best. So taking control over what you're eating and what's going to be fueling you becomes very important to your stamina and your mental vitality."After leaving set, Heymann made an effort to not bring his work home with him. Though there was always more prep to be done for the next day's shoot, he made time to relax and "switch off" his mind with a glass of wine and some reading.But Heymann says that the fan response to the season — which last month became the second Netflix title to cross the billion-hour viewing mark — has made the whole experience worthwhile."It's been absolutely beyond anything that I could have ever imagined and made all those months of 90-plus hour weeks very much worth it," he says. "Seeing the reach of the show … it's really gratifying and humbling." Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletterDon't miss: From 'Game of Thrones' to 'She-Hulk', here are 8 of the biggest shows streaming in August

How 'Stranger Things' cinematographer survived 90-hour weeks while shooting season four: 'It's super grueling'.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission logo adorns an office door at the SEC headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday published a staff bulletin that seeks to clarify how broker dealers and investment advisors must address conflicts of interest when providing advice and recommendations to investors.The guidance aims to spell out expectations amid industry "misconceptions," an SEC official told reporters, adding that while all financial firms and professionals have some conflict, the "nature and expense" of those conflicts can vary.The guidance specifically clarifies brokers' and advisors' obligations around disclosing conflicts of interest under the SEC's long-standing Investment Advisor Fiduciary Standard and its Regulation Best Interest rule, passed in 2019.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"The steps firms take to address conflicts of interest need to be tailored to their particular business model," an SEC official said."They need to be designed to prevent those conflicts of interests that are present at that particular firm from causing the firm and its financial professionals to place their own interests ahead of the retail investors' interests and thereby to violate their best interests obligation."Firms are also expected to identify areas in their particular business where their own interests are in conflict with their customers and to think carefully about how those conflicts, if not adequately addressed, might negatively affect retail investors. Firms must determine what steps they must take to address those conflicts.Wednesday's bulletin is designed to help firms with this process, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.Specifically, the guidance, which is the second in a series, identifies some common sources of conflicts of interest for broker dealers, investment advisors, dual registered firms and their financial professional by outlining factors firms can consider in determining whether a particular conflict needs to be vacated, as well as possible approaches to conflict mitigation when that is necessary.The Republican-led SEC finalized the Regulation Best Interest rule in 2019 in what was widely seen as a win for Wall Street after its 10-year battle over regulation of the investment advice industry. It fought off a more onerous proposal by the Department of Labor.Consumer groups criticized the Regulation Best Interest rule for being too vague in its definition of "best interest" while not addressing all conflicts, including the higher payments that brokers receive for selling products that are more expensive to trade.Wednesday's measure under the current Democratic-led SEC seeks to plug some of these gaps, analysts said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Katanga Johnson in Washington; Editing by Alison Williams and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Katanga JohnsonThomson ReutersWashington-based reporter covering U.S. regulation at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, previously in Ecuador, alumnus of Morehouse College and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

U.S. SEC addresses Wall Street 'misconceptions' about conflicts of interest.

A Wall Street sign is pictured outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, October 28, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Authentication software firm Ping Identity (PING.N) said on Wednesday Thoma Bravo would take it private for $2.4 billion, joining the firms in the cybersecurity space acquired by the buyout firm after the pandemic drove up demand for the sector.Shares of Ping Identity, which offers identity solutions and services to prevent fraud and protect passwords, surged 60% in trading before the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange.Thoma Bravo, which has more than $103 billion in assets under management, will offer $28.50 for each share of Ping Identity, representing a premium of 63% to the company's last closing price. The offer has an equity value of $2.4 billion, according to a Reuters calculation.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe enterprise value of the deal is $2.8 billion.Vista Equity Partners is the company's largest shareholder with a nearly 10% stake, according to Refinitiv. Vista had acquired Ping Identity in 2016 and then taken it public three years later, when the firm was valued at about $1.16 billion.The PE firm has agreed to vote its shares in favor of the transaction, Ping Identity said on Wednesday.Separately, Ping Identity reported second quarter revenue of $72 million below estimates of $73.2 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Nivedita Balu and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thoma Bravo to take Ping Identity private for $2.4 bln.

Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss speaks during a hustings event, part of the Conservative party leadership campaign, in Exeter, Britain, August 1, 2022. REUTERS/Peter NichollsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Wednesday urged China to de-escalate tensions with the United States following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.“I do not support China’s inflammatory language on this issue. It’s perfectly reasonable what is taking place and I urge China to de-escalate,” Truss, who is the leading candidate to become British prime minister next month, told reporters.(This story fixes typo in headline)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

UK's Truss urges China to de-escalate tension with U.S.

U.S. August 3, 2022 / 10:54 AM / CBS News 1st Black Air Force Academy head on diversity First Black Air Force Academy Superintendent: Lack of diversity "will weaken us" 07:13 U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley has been confirmed as a general, making history as the first Black four-star Marine general in 246 years, the Marine Corps announced this week.Congress confirmed Langley's promotion on Monday. He will become commander of U.S Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and will command all U.S. military forces in Africa, according to the Marines.Langley, who is from Shreveport, Louisiana, has served in Okinawa, Japan, and Afghanistan and commanded Marines at every level – from platoon to regiment.  U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley, the new commander of U.S. Africa Command, made history as the first Black four-star Marine general in 246 years, the Marine Corps announced this week. Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images In June, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced that President Biden nominated Langley to be appointed general.  Langley grew up in a military family. His father, retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Willie C. Langley, served in the Air Force for 25 years, Langley said at a confirmation hearing in June. "As many nominees have said in testimony before me, military families form the bedrock upon which our Joint Force readiness stands. My family is no different," he said.His stepmother, Ola Langley, whom Langley said he "affectionally refer[s] to as Momma." was a U.S. Post Office supervisor.  Langley graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington. His formal military education includes U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School and College of Naval Command and Staff. He also holds multiple advanced degrees, including a master's degree in National Security Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.Austin, who is a retired four-star Army General and the nation's first Black secretary of defense, spoke about the importance of diversity in the military earlier this year. "Diversity is really important to us. The … military has led the way in a lot of cases," he said at Black History Month roundtable. "With respect to diversity, I've got to make sure that we continue to make strides. And I equate diversity with being invited to the dance. Inclusion is actually being asked to dance." Lt. General Richard Clark, who became the first Black superintendent of the Air Force in 2020, spoke about his commitment to diversity and inclusion in the military on CBS News earlier this year. "If we don't start really opening up the entire population for us to draw talent from – and there's talent there – we limit ourselves, it will weaken us," he said. "And it's not just the military it's across all segments of society.""We in the military have traditionally been fairly diverse, very diverse, but we have some work to do there," Clark said.  Caitlin O'Kane Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift. Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

Michael E. Langley named Marine Corps' first Black four-star general in its 246-year history.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesPelosi tells President Tsai "we will not abandon Taiwan"China steps up military activity around TaiwanTaiwan's military increases alertness levelChina summoned U.S. ambassador in BeijingTAIPEI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.China demonstrated its outrage over the highest-level U.S. visit to the island in 25 years with a burst of military activity in surrounding waters, summoning the U.S. ambassador in Beijing and halting several agricultural imports from Taiwan.Some of China's planned military exercises were to take place within Taiwan's 12 nautical mile sea and air territory, according to Taiwan's defence ministry, an unprecedented move a senior defence official described to reporters as "amounting to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan".Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTaiwan scrambled jets on Wednesday to warn away 27 Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone, the island's defence ministry said, adding that 22 of them crossed the median line separating the island from China. read more Pelosi arrived with a congressional delegation on her unannounced but closely watched visit late on Tuesday, defying China's repeated warnings, in a trip that she said demonstrated unwavering U.S. commitment to Taiwan's democracy. read more "Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan," Pelosi told Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence - a red line for China. read more "Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that's the message we are bringing here today," Pelosi said during her roughly 19-hour visit.A long-time China critic, especially on human rights, Pelosi met with a former Tiananmen activist, a Hong Kong bookseller who had been detained by China and a Taiwanese activist recently released by China.The last U.S. House speaker to go to Taiwan was Newt Gingrich in 1997. But Pelosi's visit comes amid sharply deteriorating Sino-U.S. relations, and during the past quarter century China has emerged as a far more powerful economic, military and geopolitical force.China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control. The United States warned China against using the visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.In retaliation, China's customs department announced a suspension of imports of citrus fruits and certain fish - chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel - from Taiwan, while its commerce ministry banned export of natural sand to Taiwan.While there was little sign of protest against U.S. targets or consumer goods, there was a significant police presence outside the U.S. consulate in Shanghai and what appeared to be more security than usual outside the embassy in Beijing.Fury on the mainland over Pelosi's defiance of Beijing was evident all over Chinese social media, with one blogger railing: "this old she-devil, she actually dares to come!" Pelosi is 82. read more U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu before boarding a plane at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS MILITARY DRILLSShortly after Pelosi's arrival, China's military announced joint air and sea drills near Taiwan and test launches of conventional missiles in the sea east of the island, with Chinese state news agency Xinhua describing live-fire drills and other exercises around Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday.China's foreign ministry said Pelosi's visit seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, "has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."Before Pelosi's arrival, Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese military said it was on high alert and would launch "targeted military operations" in response to Pelosi's visit.White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said after Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan that the United States "is not going to be intimidated" by China's threats or bellicose rhetoric and that there is no reason her visit should precipitate a crisis or conflict.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the potential for Pelosi's visit with counterpart Wang Yi during a G20 meeting in Bali last month, and said any such trip would be entirely Pelosi's decision and independent of the U.S. government, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. read more 'CHINA'S AMBITION'The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by American law to provide it with the means to defend itself. China views visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the island. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island's future.Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said during a visit to Myanmar that Pelosi's trip was a deliberate U.S. attempt to irritate China. read more North Korea's foreign ministry criticised Pelosi's visit as U.S. "imprudent interference" in China's internal affairs, the official KCNA said. read more Taiwan's military increased its alertness level. Its defence ministry said China was attempting to threaten key ports and cities with drills in the surrounding waters."The so-called drill areas are falling within the busiest international channels in the Indo-Pacific region," a senior Taiwan official familiar with its security planning told Reuters."We can see China's ambition: to make the Taiwan Strait non-international waters, as well as making the entire area west of the first island chain in the western pacific its sphere of influence," the official said.China's foreign ministry said it has not seen its military drills around Taiwan causing any freedom-of-navigation issues.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Stephen Coates and Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Pelosi offers praise, support for Taiwan during visit that angered China.

Wages are rising — and yet not enough to keep up with the soaring cost of living.Although average hourly earnings are up 5.1% from a year ago, prices have been rising much faster. The Consumer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices for consumer goods and services, jumped a higher-than-expected 9.1% in June, the fastest pace in over four decades.To bridge the gap, more consumers are relying on credit cards to get by, which has helped propel total credit card debt to $890 billion.More from Personal Finance:What a recession could mean for youBest money moves after the Fed's interest rate hikesNearly half of all Americans are falling deeper in debtOverall, credit card balances rose 13% in the second quarter of 2022, notching the largest year-over-year increase in more than 20 years, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.Even so, balances remain slightly below their pre-pandemic levels, after sharp declines in the first year of the pandemic.An additional 233 million new credit accounts were opened in the quarter, the most since 2008.Consumers don't feel 'financially secure' for a recessionIn an effort to cool down the economy, in July the Federal Reserve hiked its target federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points a second consecutive time.Amid fears of a recession and rising interest rates, more than half, or 56%, of consumers said they are already seeing their standard of living declining, according to a recent report from digital wealth manager Personal Capital.Even more, roughly 69%, think their income isn't keeping up with inflation and fewer than half said they feel "financially secure enough" for another recession, according to the survey, which polled over 2,000 adults in April.Americans now say they need to be making about $107,800 a year to feel "financially healthy," roughly double the national average but down 13% in the past six months, the report found."If everything is costing more, that may reset your expectations on what you need to feel financially healthy," said Paul Deer, a certified financial planner and vice president of advisory service at Personal Capital."People are putting a higher priority on simply having a job and lowering their expectations," he added.How to feel 'financially healthy'Tetra Images | Tetra Images | Getty ImagesHow much money you need to earn to cover expenses and save for the future comes down to understanding your net worth and your goals, Deer said.Your net worth is essentially the sum of all of your assets, including cash, retirement accounts, college savings, house, cars, investment properties and valuables such as art and jewelry minus any liabilities, or long-term debt, such as a mortgage, student loans, revolving credit card balances and any other personal loans."First and foremost, is your net worth growing or shrinking over time?" If your net worth is in the red, you'll need to work on saving more and spending less. First and foremost, is your net worth growing or shrinking over time?Paul Deervice president at Personal CapitalFrom there, consider the milestones you want to achieve going forward, Deer said, whether that's retiring, buying a home or paying for your child or grandchild's education."Laying those out can really help provide clarity over what you should be prioritizing today."Most people agree that they need to cut costs to build up their savings, and yet reports show consumers haven't pulled back on food, entertainment or travel.Meanwhile, as long as consumers keep spending, there will be continued upward pressure on prices.  Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Credit card balances jump 13%, highest leap in over 20 years, as inflation outpaces wage growth.

If you aren't up-to-date on your Covid vaccines or booster shots, Dr. Anthony Fauci has a stark warning for you: Get those doses now, or prepare for a harsh Covid fall and winter."If they don't get vaccinated or they don't get boosted, they're going to get into trouble," Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, told Los Angeles radio station KNX News 97.1's "KNX In Depth" on Tuesday.That applies to a clear majority of Americans. Nearly 228 million, or roughly 70%, of Americans were unvaccinated, hadn't completed their primary vaccine series or hadn't gotten their first booster dose as of July 21, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.The uptake is particularly low for booster shots. All Americans age 5 and older are eligible for a booster five months after finishing their primary vaccine series, but only 48.4% of those eligible people have actually gotten boosted, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.Among adults 50 and over who are eligible for a second booster shot, only 30.9% have gotten it, the data said.That's a problem heading into the fall and winter. The U.S. could experience a major Covid surge with 100 million new infections and a wave of deaths in those upcoming months, White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha projected in May.Fauci called the country's vaccine and booster rates "quite discouraging" and pointed to one potential reason why people aren't up-to-date: They simply think they don't need the additional doses, because they fall outside of high-risk populations for Covid. Those populations include the elderly, those with underlying or immunocompromising conditions and fully unvaccinated people."People say, 'Well the risk to me is low. So why get it?'" Fauci said. The reason, Fauci explained, is that the longer the virus circulates, the more of a chance it gets to mutate into a new variant that could threaten even low-risk populations. In other words, if you get Covid and fully recover without much fuss, you might personally be fine — but you're actively extending the virus's lifespan and giving it a chance to adapt even further.Omicron's BA.5 subvariant, the country's currently dominant Covid strain, is already adept at partially evading protective antibodies triggered by vaccines, Fauci said. But that's no reason to avoid vaccine doses: Some protection against infection is better than no protection at all, and the vaccines still work exceptionally well at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death.Fauci said booster shots targeting Covid variants like BA.5, which will enhance immunity against those particular strains, will likely be available next month. Get one when you're eligible, Fauci said — and in the meantime, don't wait to catch up on the doses you're currently missing.If you aren't worried about your own personal risk, do it for your "communal responsibility," Fauci said."If you want to get your arms around ... the outbreak, you want to get as many people in our community — and by community, I mean our nation and the world — vaccinated and boosted, so you don't give this virus such ample opportunity to really circulate," he said.Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletterDon't miss:Dr. Fauci: BA.5-specific booster shots are the country's 'best guess' for dealing with Covid this fallOmicron-specific Covid vaccines could finally be here this fall—here's what you need to know

Dr. Fauci: If you aren't up-to-date on Covid vaccines and boosters, you’re ‘going to get into trouble’.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks with Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu before boarding a plane at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - China cannot prevent world leaders from traveling to Taiwan, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday after concluding a visit to the self-ruled island."Sadly, Taiwan has been prevented from participating in global meetings, most recently the World Health Organization, because of objections by the Chinese Communist Party," Pelosi said in statement."While they may prevent Taiwan from sending its leaders to global forums, they cannot prevent world leaders or anyone from traveling to Taiwan to pay respect to its flourishing Democracy, to highlight its many successes and to reaffirm our commitment to continued collaboration."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Doina Chiacu and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Caitlin WebberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China cannot prevent world leaders from traveling to Taiwan, Pelosi says.

Surface damage seen on Qatar Airways' airbus A350 parked at Qatar airways aircraft maintenance hangar in Doha, Qatar, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Imad Creidi/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) has revoked its entire outstanding order from Qatar Airways for A350 jets, severing all new jetliner business with the Gulf carrier in a dramatic new twist to a dispute clouding World Cup preparations, two industry sources said.No comment was immediately available from Airbus or Qatar Airways.The two aviation titans have been waging a rare public battle for months over the scarred condition of more than 20 long-haul jets that the airline says could pose a risk to passengers and which Airbus insists are completely safe.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comQatar Airways, which was the first airline to introduce the intercontinental jet to the skies in 2015, is suing Airbus for at least $1.4 billion after almost half its A350 fleet was grounded by Qatar's regulator over premature surface damage.It has refused to take delivery of more A350s until it receives a deeper explanation of damaged or missing patches of anti-lightning mesh left exposed by peeling paint. read more Backed by European regulators, Airbus has acknowledged quality problems on the jets but denied any safety risk from gaps in the protective sub-layer, saying there is ample backup.Until now, the dispute has had a piecemeal effect on the order book for Europe's biggest twin-engined jet as first Airbus, then Qatar Airways, terminated some individual jets.Now, however, Airbus has told the airline it is striking the rest of the A350 deal from its books, the sources said, asking not to be identified as discussions remain confidential. read more At end-June, the European planemaker had outstanding orders from Qatar Airways for 19 of the largest version of the jet, the 350-passenger A350-1000, worth at least $7 billion at catalogue prices or closer to $3 billion after typical industry discounts.Airbus' share were up 0.41% at 1401 GMT, having halved earlier gains.WORLD CUPThe sweeping new A350 cancellation comes six months after Airbus also revoked the whole contract for 50 smaller A321neo jets in retaliation for Qatar refusing to take A350 deliveries.The spillover to a different model was branded "worrying" by the head of a body representing global airlines, the International Air Transport Association. read more The latest move is likely to widen a rift between two of the flagship companies of close allies France and Qatar.Barring an elusive settlement, the dispute is already set for a rare corporate trial in London next June. read more It comes as the airline industry grapples with an uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and as Qatar Airways is preparing to handle the bulk of some 1.2 million visitors expected for the FIFA World Cup in November and December.Airbus has argued that the airline is using the dispute to bolster its finances and reduce its fleet of costly long-haul jets as its target long-haul market recovers sluggishly.Qatar Airways, which in June posted its first annual profit since 2017, maintains it needs more capacity for the World Cup, forcing it to lease planes and bring less efficient A380s out of retirement to plug a gap left by grounded A350s.The row centres on whether the A350's problems - including what appears to be damage to parts of the wings, tail and hull according to two jets seen by Reuters - stem from a cosmetic issue or, as the airline claims, a design defect. read more A Reuters investigation in November revealed that several other airlines had found surface damage since 2016, the second year of A350 operations, prompting Airbus to accelerate studies of an alternative mesh that also saves weight. read more .So far, however, none of the A350's other roughly three dozen operators has joined Qatar in voicing concerns over safety as a result of surface flaws, as they continue to fly the jet.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

EXCLUSIVE Airbus axes remaining A350 jet deal with Qatar Airways -sources.

Smoke rises above Ozon e-commerce firm's warehouse, which is on fire in Istrinsky District of the Moscow region, Russia August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, Aug 3 (Reuters) - At least one person was killed and 13 injured when a huge fire broke out at a warehouse north west of Moscow owned by e-commerce firm Ozon (OZON.O) on Wednesday, RIA quoted the emergency services as saying.Dozens of firefighters battled to douse the fire using helicopters and 100 tonnes of water as a large plume of dark smoke billowed from the roof of the bright blue warehouse.RIA reported that the emergency services were considering arson as the likeliest cause of the fire at the warehouse near the settlement of Istra.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOzon said all employees had been safely evacuated from the warehouse and that none had been injured. The fire broke out in a standalone block at its fulfilment centre, Ozon said, a site that holds and processes thousands of goods slated for delivery.The emergencies ministry said the fire had spread to an area of 35,000 square metres. A fire-pumping station, an Mi-8 helicopter, two Ka-32 helicopters, 150 firefighters and 40 other pieces of equipment were deployed to the scene, it said.Ozon said it had removed the goods in the warehouse from its online marketplace."Customers will be refunded for lost orders," Ozon said in a statement. "Sellers will receive compensation for damaged or lost goods."Nasdaq-listed Ozon is one of Russia's largest e-commerce players. It was not immediately clear what value or number of goods were affected.Ozon's Moscow-listed depositary receipts were up 0.4% at 1349 GMT after earlier slipping to a near two-week low.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

One killed in huge blaze at retailer Ozon's warehouse near Moscow - RIA.

U.S. August 3, 2022 / 12:11 PM / CBS/AP Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was "100% real," a day after the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the attack testified about the suffering, death threats and harassment they've endured because of what Jones has trumpeted on his media platforms."It was ... especially since I've met the parents. It's 100% real," Jones testified at his trial to determine how much he owes for defaming the parents of a 6-year-old who was among the 20 students and six educators killed in the 2012 attack at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.But the parents who sued Jones said a day earlier that an apology wouldn't be enough and that the Infowars host needed to be held accountable for repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the attack. They are seeking at least $150 million. Alex Jones walks into the courtroom in front of Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of 6-year-old Sand Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, July 28, 2022.  BRIANA SANCHEZ/POOL Closing arguments are expected to begin later Wednesday after more testimony from Jones, who has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights. Jones is the only person testifying in defense of himself and his media company, Free Speech Systems. His attorney asked him if he now understands it was "absolutely irresponsible" to push the false claims that the massacre didn't happen and no one died.Jones said he does, but added, "They (the media) won't let me take it back." He also complained that he's been "typecast as someone that runs around talking about Sandy Hook, makes money off Sandy Hook, is obsessed by Sandy Hook."Jones' testimony came a day after Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse Lewis was killed in the attack, testified that Jones and the false hoax claims pushed by Jones and his Infowars website made their lives a "living hell" of death threats, online abuse and harassment.They led a day of charged testimony Tuesday that included the judge scolding the bombastic Jones for not being truthful with some of what he said under oath.In a gripping exchange, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was sitting about 10 feet away. Earlier that day, Jones was on his broadcast program telling his audience that Heslin is "slow" and being manipulated by bad people. "I am a mother first and foremost and I know you are a father. My son existed," Lewis said to Jones. "I am not deep state ... I know you know that ... And yet you're going to leave this courthouse and say it again on your show."At one point, Lewis asked Jones: "Do you think I'm an actor?""No, I don't think you're an actor," Jones responded before the judge admonished him to be quiet until called to testify.Heslin and Lewis are among several Sandy Hook families who have filed several lawsuits alleging that the Sandy Hook hoax claims pushed by Jones have led to years of abuse by him and his followers.Heslin and Lewis both said they fear for their lives and have been confronted by strangers at home and on the street. Heslin said his home and car have been shot at. The jury heard a death threat sent via telephone message to another Sandy Hook family."I can't even describe the last nine and a half years, the living hell that I and others have had to endure because of the recklessness and negligence of Alex Jones," Heslin said.Scarlett Lewis also described threatening emails that seemed to have uncovered deep details of her personal life. "It's fear for your life," Scarlett Lewis said. "You don't know what they were going to do."Heslin said he didn't know if the Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theory originated with Jones, but it was Jones who "lit the match and started the fire" with an online platform and broadcast that reached millions worldwide."What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world," Heslin said. "As time went on, I truly realized how dangerous it was."Jones skipped Heslin's Tuesday morning testimony while he was on his show - a move Heslin dismissed as "cowardly" - but arrived in the courtroom for part of Scarlett Lewis' testimony. He was accompanied by several private security guards."Today is very important to me and it's been a long time coming ... to face Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore the honor and legacy of my son," Heslin said when Jones wasn't there.Heslin told the jury about holding his son with a bullet hole through his head, even describing the extent of the damage to his son's body. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin didn't hold his son.The jury was shown a school picture of a smiling Jesse taken two weeks before he was killed. The parents didn't receive the photo until after the shooting. They described how Jesse was known for telling classmates to "run!" which likely saved lives. An apology from Jones wouldn't be good enough, the parents said."Alex started this fight," Heslin said, "and I'll finish this fight."In 2017, Heslin went on television, he told CBS News, to directly address the Sandy Hook deniers. "I lost my son. I buried my son. I held my son with a bullet hole through his head," he said.After which, the harassment only got worse, Heslin said."I've had many death threats," Heslin told CBS News in 2018. "People say, 'You should be the ones with a bullet hole in your head.'"Jones later took the stand and was initially combative with the judge, who had asked him to answer his own attorney's question. Jones testified he had long wanted to apologize to the plaintiffs.Later, the judge sent the jury out of the room and strongly scolded Jones for telling the jury he had complied with pretrial evidence gathering even though he didn't and that he is bankrupt, which has not been determined. The plaintiffs' attorneys were furious about Jones mentioning he is bankrupt, which they worry will taint the jury's decisions about damages. "This is not your show," Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones. "Your beliefs do not make something true. You are under oath."Last September, the judge admonished Jones in her default judgment over his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families. A court in Connecticut issued a similar default judgment against Jones for the same reasons in a separate lawsuit brought by other Sandy Hook parents.At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. The parents have asked the jury to award $150 million in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury will then consider whether Jones and his company will pay punitive damages.Jones has already tried to protect Free Speech Systems financially. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. Sandy Hook families have separately sued Jones over his financial claims, arguing that the company is trying to protect millions owned by Jones and his family through shell entities. In: alex jones Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Alex Jones concedes Sandy Hook massacre was "100% real" as he testifies at defamation trial.

People walk on Wall Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street’s most closely watched gauge of market anxiety shows expectations of choppy trading ahead despite a recent snapback in U.S. stocks, though institutional investors' low exposure to equities may help curb gyrations.The Cboe Volatility Index (.VIX), an options-based indicator that reflects demand for protection against drops in the stock market, recently stood at 23, following a sharp rally in stocks that has taken the S&P 500 index (.SPX) up 12% from its mid-June low on expectations that the Federal Reserve may be less hawkish than anticipated in its fight against inflation. read more VIX readings above 20 are generally associated with an elevated sense of investor anxiety about the near-term outlook for stocks, while readings north of 30 or 35 point to acute fear.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe VIX is well above its long-term median of 17.7, signaling continued unease about the longer-term outlook for stocks. Still, it is down from its year high of almost 40 and has oscillated between 20 and 30 for six weeks, its longest time within that 10-point range in a year-and-a-half.VIX has slipped toward the year's lows but remains well above its long-term medianMeanwhile, the VVIX index (.VVIX) - a gauge of expected swings in the fear index, slumped to a three-year low earlier this week, signaling investors do not expect sharp swings in either direction from the VIX."There is just less of a concern of an outlier kind of move in the market," said Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna International Group.The lowered expectations for extreme volatility come as investors assess whether stocks can sustain a rally in which the S&P 500 in July notched its best one-month percentage gain since November 2020. The July rally followed stocks' worst first half of the year since 1970.San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly on Tuesday pushed back on expectations of a so-called dovish pivot from the Fed, saying that the central bank’s fight against inflation was "nowhere near" done, and data on U.S. employment on Friday and consumer prices next week could bolster the case for Fed hawkishness. read more Meanwhile, several Wall Street banks have cast a skeptical eye on the recent rebound in stocks and warned of more downside ahead."We view this as a bear market rally," wrote Savita Subramanian, equity and quant strategist at BofA Global Research in a report, noting that such rebounds have occurred an average of 1.5 times per bear market since 1929. The bank has a year-end target of 3,600 on the S&P 500, about 14% below current levels.LOW EXPOSUREOne factor that could help dampen market volatility in coming months is limited exposure to stocks among institutional investors, who earlier this year raced to cut their stock allocations as the Fed ramped up expectations that it will fight inflation with market-bruising interest rate hikes.Despite the recent bounce, big investors' exposure to stocks remains low. Equity positioning for both discretionary and systematic investors remains in the 12th percentile of its range since January 2010, according to a July 29 note by Deutsche Bank analysts."Institutional positioning in equities is at the low end of its historical range," said Anand Omprakash, head of derivatives and quantitative strategy at Elevation Securities. "You have a situation where the catalyst for an explosive equity crash is not as prevalent as it might have been in the past."Lighter positioning means investors are not exhibiting the same rush to load up on options insurance against a downside move in stocks, a factor that can moderate the VIX's rise even if stocks come in for another bout of weakness.The 10-day average daily trading volume in VIX options has slipped to about 360,000 contracts, the lowest since early January, according to a Reuters analysis.Lighter allocations to equities may also take the edge off potential selloffs, said Max Grinacoff, U.S. equity derivatives strategist at BNP Paribas. His firm has a year-end target of 4,400 on the S&P 500 - some 7% above current levels."Because of how clean positioning has become through the year ... you are not having the impact from everyone running for the exit at once," he said.Reuters GraphicsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Analysis: Wall Street's 'fear gauge' in limbo as big investors keep shunning stocks.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during the 2022 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations in New York City on August 1, 2022.Ed Jones | AFP | Getty ImagesWASHINGTON — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged governments on Wednesday to tax excessive oil and gas profits as the world grapples with an energy crisis triggered in part, by Rusisa's war in Ukraine."It is immoral for oil and gas companies to be making record profits from this energy crisis on the backs of the poorest people and communities," Guterres said in a speech before the international forum.He added that the funds, which equate to $100 billion in the first quarter of this year should instead be used to support vulnerable communities."This grotesque greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people while destroying our only home," Guterres said, calling for governments to also address the mounting climate crisis.Guterres added that the consequences of the Kremlin's war have extended beyond Ukraine's borders and have exacerbated global food insecurity, rising energy costs and crippling debt around the world, but specifically in developing countries."Many developing countries drowning in debt, without access to finance and struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic could go over the brink, Guterres warned."We are already seeing the warning signs of a wave of economic, social and political upheaval that would leave no country untouched," he added.This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

UN Secretary General urges governments to tax 'immoral' oil and gas profits.

Politics August 3, 2022 / 12:17 PM / CBS News Washington — President Biden is set to sign an executive order Wednesday aimed at making it easier to travel to obtain an abortion and enforcing federal non-discrimination laws for those seeking the procedure, his latest unilateral effort to secure abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade.The order directs the secretary of health and human services to consider actions to support patients traveling out of state for abortions, including through the use of waivers that would allow states where abortion is legal to cover the cost of the procedure under Medicaid for out-of-state residents. The order also directs the secretary to make sure health care providers comply with federal non-discrimination laws, and asks him to evaluate and improve research and analysis on maternal health outcomes. The president is signing the executive action Wednesday at during a virtual appearance at the first meeting of his newly created Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access. Mr. Biden is still recovering from a "rebound" case of COVID-19 and isolating at the White House. The White House has said it continues to look for actions the president can take on his own to protect access to abortions in light of Roe's reversal, but the steps the president has taken so far shed light on just how limited his powers are without congressional action. The president has alluded to his limitations without the legislative branch before, and consistently encourages Congress to enshrine abortion protections into federal law. "The only way we can secure a woman's right to choose and the balance that existed is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law," the president said in remarks after the Supreme Court overturned the decision in Roe v. Wade. "No executive action from the president can do that." At the task force meeting, Cabinet heads will report on progress they've made on executing a July 8 directive the president issued to preserve abortion access. That executive order asked the Justice Department to do everything in its power to protect women seeking an abortion, including protecting their right to travel to another state and access approved abortion drugs. It also sought to ensure all women and girls experiencing the loss of a pregnancy can receive the medical care they need, no matter their state.The Justice Department filed suit against the state of Idaho on Tuesday, claiming a law that bans virtually all abortions runs afoul of a federal law guaranteeing treatment, including abortion, to women facing medical emergencies. The suit is the first legal challenge the Biden administration has mounted to a state law since Roe was reversed.Some Democrats were underwhelmed by Mr. Biden's initial response to the Supreme Court's decision, arguing the White House should have been more prepared. The president, while taking all actions the administrative believes it can do at a given point in time, has suggested the ball is in Congress' court. The House has approved legislation to protect abortion rights, but the Senate lacks the votes to follow suit.Meanwhile, both those who support abortion rights and those who oppose them have begun to take matters into their own hands at the state level. On Tuesday night, voters in deep-red Kansas overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have nixed abortion access protections from the Kansas Constitution. "Kansans stood up for fundamental rights today," tweeted Kansas' Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. "We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic future & put women's health care access at risk. Together, we'll continue to make incredible strides to make KS the best state in the nation to live freely & do business."Sean Conlon contributed reporting. Kathryn Watson Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.

Biden to sign executive order to support travel for abortions in latest move aimed at protecting access.

Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew KellyRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 3 (Reuters) - Shares of AMTD Digital plunged 40% on Wednesday to snap an eye-popping rally fueled by retail investors this week that briefly took the Hong Kong-based fintech's market value past that of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms.The company's market capitalization closed above $300 billion in a 128% jump on Tuesday, reminding investors of the meme stock mania last year that drove record rallies in shares of companies such as GameStop (GME.N) and AMC (AMC.N).The stock has risen about 21,000% since its July IPO, when it listed at a price of $7.80. It was trading at $1014.98 on Wednesday.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"It sure looks a lot like a pump-and-dump," Nate Anderson, founder of Hindenburg Research, said, adding that it does not have a position in AMTD Digital. "It seems to have caught on among retail investors, which is often the fuel for these situations."In a typical pump-and-dump scheme, investors create artificial demand to boost companies' stock prices and then sell their own shares at a profit causing prices to fall, saddling others investors with losses.AMTD Digital was also the most-mentioned stock on Reddit.com, the social media platform central to the meme stock craze of 2021. read more The company said on Tuesday there was no material change or event related to the company's business and operating activities since the IPO date and that it was monitoring the share volatility.The fintech firm, which provides loans and services to startups in exchange for fees, has a low float and is tightly controlled by parent company AMTD Idea (AMTD.N).AMTD Idea's shares also slid 4% after closing Tuesday with a market value of $2.6 billion."(AMTD Digital) is clearly the newest meme stock with bands of retail traders purchasing the stock at the same time, pushing the price sharply higher," said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.There has been a similar, but smaller, surge in some other recently listed U.S. companies, including Getty Images which jumped over 200% since its debut on July 25."Should this market rebound have more legs, we expect retail investors' appetite for speculative stocks to continue, as they seek the opportunity to further scratch back the losses they’ve accumulated through the year," said Lucas Mantle, a data science analyst at Vanda Research.Retail investors snap up shares of AMTD and othersRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb ChakrabartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Newly minted meme stock darling AMTD slides after eye-popping surge.

Politics Updated on: August 2, 2022 / 6:54 PM / CBS News How drone strike took out al Qaeda leader Logistics of the drone strike that took out al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri 03:46 Two Hellfire missiles ended al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's life in a safehouse balcony in a wealthy neighborhood in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, at 6:18 a.m. Sunday, a senior administration official said Monday. The missiles were launched by an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, killing him instantly. The nature of the strike as described by a senior administration official signals that the U.S. may have used the R9X Hellfire variant, also known as the "Ninja" or "Flying Ginsu" missile, nicknamed for knives famously sold on TV in the 1980s. This variant has been used in the recent past to kill other extremist leaders.  The R9X Hellfire has six blades that rotate at high speed and deploy before impact — instead of conventional warhead explosives, according to Janes, a defense intelligence provider. The missile pierces and cuts its target, rather than blowing it up. The design makes it easier to take out an intended target, while lessening the likelihood of causing additional casualties.  Ayman Al-Zawahiri in an undated image from video Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images The White House has not shared details about the type of Hellfire missiles used. A reporter asked a senior administration official on a call Monday about the nature of the missile, but the official did not answer. The senior administration official who briefed reporters said the strike only killed al-Zawahiri, avoiding civilian casualties and that the strike did not completely destroy the safehouse where al-Zawahiri was hiding with his family. It is unclear whether the missiles inflicted structural damage beyond the patio. Two intelligence sources familiar with the matter said the CIA carried out the strike. Hellfire missiles are air-to-surface missiles initially designed for anti-armor strikes, but later versions have been used for precision drone strikes. The arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin developed the missiles with the name "Heliborne, Laser, Fire, and Forget Missile," which evolved into the Hellfire missile, as it is now known. The R9X variant was initially deployed in secret in 2017, according to a U.S. Army equipment guide, and was used to kill Abu Khayr al-Masri, a member of al Qaeda's leadership. Photos of the aftermath on social media showed the car where al-Masri was purportedly killed as having damage to the passenger compartment of the beige Kia sedan but no damage to the engine block. The roof was blown open on the right side of the vehicle. An image from video posted online by Syrian activists in Idlib province shows people inspecting a sedan damaged heavily by a purported U.S. airstrike on Feb. 26, 2017. There were unconfirmed reports that al Qaeda deputy leader Abdullah Muhammad Rajab Abdulrahman, aka Abu al-Khayr al-Masri, was killed in the strike.  The Hellfire variant became public knowledge after it was used in 2019 to take out Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Al Badawi, who was behind the 2000 USS Cole Bombing.  The Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that a weapon similar to the R9X was considered as an alternative way to kill former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, but officials ultimately decided to use special forces fighters.  Eleanor Watson CBS News reporter covering the Pentagon. Twitter Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue

Al-Zawahiri was on his Kabul balcony. How Hellfire missiles took him out.