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Crime Updated on: August 3, 2022 / 11:16 PM / CBS News A suspect who was mistakenly released from jail after being arrested on attempted murder charges in the Los Angeles shooting of Lady Gaga's dog walker has been recaptured, authorities said. James Howard Jackson, 19, was taken into custody in the northern L.A. County city of Palmdale during a raid by deputies and U.S. Marshals, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department announced Wednesday. Jackson was one of five people arrested in April of 2021 for their alleged involvement in the shooting of Lady Gaga's dog walker and theft of two of her French bulldogs on a street in the L.A. neighborhood of Hollywood. Police believe Jackson was the gunman who opened fire on the singer's dog walker, Ryan Fischer, who sustained a gunshot wound, but survived. Jackson was charged with attempted murder. Jackson was accidentally released from jail on April 6 of this year due to what the sheriff's department called a "clerical error," and authorities had been searching for him ever since. The sheriff's department did not provide any details as to how Jackson was located, only stating that he was "apprehended without incident." Also on Wednesday, another suspect in the shooting and robbery, 20-year-old Jaylin White, pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree robbery and was sentenced to four years in prison, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office said. All other charges against White were dismissed, the DA's office said.On Feb 24, 2021, Fischer was walking Lady Gaga's three French bulldogs when a sedan pulled up alongside him, two suspects emerged and stole two of the bulldogs, Gustave and Koji. During the chaos, as Fischer was trying to fight the men off, he was shot once in the chest. The incident was caught on surveillance video. The third bulldog, Miss Asia, ran away but was later found safe. Lady Gaga, who was shooting a movie in Italy, offered a $500,000 reward for the safe return of her dogs and praised Fischer, saying he risked his life "to fight for our family. You're forever a hero." Two days after the attack, Gustave and Koji were turned in by one of the suspects, police said.  In: Los Angeles Shooting Lady Gaga 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

Suspect in L.A. shooting of Lady Gaga's dog walker recaptured after being accidentally released from jail.

The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/StaffRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesRetailer Next lifts outlook on strong clothing demandCredit Agricole tops France's CAC40 on Q2 beatLufthansa sees return to annual profit as travel picks upSTOXX 600 adds 0.3%Aug 4 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday following strong results from a slew of companies, with focus squarely on Britain's central bank that is expected to lift interest rates by the most since 1995.The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) gained 0.3%, with Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) up 0.7%.The Bank of England is expected to lift borrowing costs by a bigger 50 basis points to 1.75%, according to a Reuters poll, as it battles inflation running at a four-decade high. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"There has been a pattern in recent meetings, like the Reserve Bank of Australia this week, where central banks have struggled to convince markets they are going to follow through with hikes that have been priced in," Jonas Goltermann, senior economist at Capital Economics, said."Because the stock market was so beat up going into the earnings season, there's been a degree of relief that earnings have been bad, but not awful."British retailer Next (NXT.L) climbed 3% on raising its full-year sales and profit forecasts. The retail sector (.SXRP) jumped 2.7%, boosting the European benchmark index.Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) rose 4.5% as it joined French lenders BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) in announcing a better-than-expected quarterly profit amid record activity at its investment banking division. read more European banks advanced 0.3%, but gains were capped by a 2.8% drop in the Netherlands' ING Groep NV (INGA.AS) even as it posted a better-than-expected quarterly pre-tax profit."ING beats expectations, but results difficult to read with Turkey hyperinflation impact," Jefferies analysts said in a note, adding that the bank's fees and costs were a slight miss.Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) rose 4.8% as it said it expects a return to group operating profit for the full year. read more However, the German airline warned it would offer only around 80% of "pre-crisis" passenger capacity in the third quarter, less than previously planned, amid staffing shortages at airports and airlines. read more Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's independent board said parent company Unilever (ULVR.L), with which it is locked in a dispute over the sale of its Israeli business, had frozen its directors' salaries in July as a pressure tactic ahead of a mediation on the matter. Unilever's shares fell 1.5%. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Robust earnings support European shares; eyes on BoE rate decision.

A logo of Tencent is seen at its booth at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu WangRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHONG KONG, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) plans to raise its stake in French video game group Ubisoft Entertainment SA (UBIP.PA) as the Chinese gaming giant pivots to the global gaming market, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.China's largest social network and gaming firm, which bought a 5% stake in Ubisoft in 2018, has reached out to the French firm's founding Guillemot family and expressed interest in increasing its stake in the firm, the sources said.It is not clear how much more Tencent plans to own in Ubisoft, valued at $5.3 billion, but Tencent aims to become the single largest shareholder of the French company with an additional stake purchase, two of the sources said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTencent plans to buy a part of the additional stake in Ubisoft, the maker of the blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise, from the Guillemot family, which owns 15% of the firm, three of the sources said.Tencent could offer up to 100 euros ($101.84) per share to acquire the additional stake, two of the sources with knowledge of the internal discussions, said. It paid 66 euros per share for the 5% stake in 2018.Ubisoft shares surged more than 10% after the Reuters report.Two of them added the Chinese firm will also seek to acquire shares from public shareholders of Ubisoft, to boost its ownership and become the single-largest shareholder.About 80% of the French firm's shares are owned by public shareholders, according to its latest annual report.All the sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.Tencent and Ubisoft declined to comment.Representatives of the Guillemot family could not be immediately reached for comment.The details of the deal have yet to be finalised and are subject to change, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is private.The planned stake purchase, Tencent's latest major foreign deal since a regulatory crackdown in late 2020, will help it offset some of the pressures in the domestic gaming market. China's video games market, the world's largest, has become fiercely competitive."Tencent is very determined to nail down the deal as Ubisoft is such an important strategic asset for Tencent," one of the people said.At the top end of 100 euros per share, Tencent's offer will be a premium of 127% to the stock's 44 euros average price over the past three months, and is close to its historical price ceiling at 108 euros in 2018.Tencent has submitted to the Guillemot family a term sheet - a non-binding offer describing the basic terms and conditions of an investment, said one of the people, with a price "way above" the company's current price to ward off potential competition.The aggressive offer also comes as global gaming power houses have been rushing to snap up quality independent game makers in recent years, which are in scarcity, two of the sources said.Tencent's senior executives flew to France in May to meet the Guillemot family about the purchase, two of the people said.($1 = 0.9819 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Richard Lough in Paris; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Tencent aims to raise stake in 'Assassin's Creed' maker Ubisoft - sources.

A TV screen shows that China's People's Liberation Army has begun military exercises including live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding the island of Taiwan, as reported by Chinese state television, in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTAIPEI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Using force won't solve problems and differences, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said at a regular news briefing on Thursday, the same day China filed multiple missiles around the self-ruled island in unprecedented military drills.The drills followed a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday and Wednesday to Taiwan, which Beijing regards as its sovereign territory.The Council said these drills will not change the fact that the two sides don't belong to each other, and urged the Communist Party to immediately stop intimidating Taiwan.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council: Military force will not solve problems.

A general view of pipelines on the gas storage facility at the gas trading company VNG AG in Bad Lauchstaedt, Germany July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Annegret HilseRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryEurope gas storage 70% full, surpassing 5-year averageFilling EU tanks to targets costs 50-55 bln euros-analystsEurope raised LNG imports to compensate for reduced Russia flowsDespite building up gas storage, uncertainties remainLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - European countries are on track to reach a gas storage filling target by the start of this winter, but the cost of replenishing stocks will be over 50 billion euros ($51 billion), 10 times more than the historical average of filling up tanks for winter.European governments had been concerned that Russia's cut in supplies through its main gas pipeline to Germany would leave countries unable to meet goals to refill storage for winter.They have managed to build up gas storage steadily by curbing demand, switching from gas to coal for some power plants and increasing imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEuropean gas storage levels were 70.54% full on Tuesday, surpassing the 5-year average of 70.32%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) released on Thursday. The levels were also not far from a 10-year average of around 71.40%.The European Union aims to refill storage to 80% of capacity by Nov. 1 to provide a buffer for peak demand winter months. The EU has also set interim targets for each country for each month.Germany, hardest-hit by Russia's reduced gas flows, has set a higher goal for itself and aims to be 95% full by November.Reuters Graphics"The EU already surpassed its September 1 interim filling target in early July and is still on pace to reach the November 1 target," said Jacob Mandel, senior associate for commodities at Aurora Energy Research.Ramped-up LNG imports have helped. The EU imported 21.36 million tonnes of LNG in the first half of 2022, up from 8.21 million tonnes in the same period a year ago, according to ICIS.In June, for the first time in history, U.S. LNG contributed more gas supply to Europe than pipeline gas from Russia.However, despite being on track to meet the target, analysts cautioned against complacency and warned that Europe's dependence on Russian gas is far from over."Europe remains dependent on two things: how cold the winter will be and how Russian flows will evolve into spring. Uncertainty on both will likely keep prices supported even if inventories keep rising over the coming months," UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.Analysts and industrial experts have warned filling up gas storage to target levels would be impossible if Russia totally cuts supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany. read more HIGH PRICESPrivate firms are primarily responsible for storage injections. European governments have offered incentives such as credit lines, loans and subsidies to help them buy gas as prices hit record highs. read more The price of the front-month Dutch TTF gas contract , the benchmark for Europe, has almost tripled since the start of the year due to the slowdown of Russian gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 and a tight global market. read more Reuters GraphicsThis makes buying wholesale gas a costly enterprise."Hypothetically, replacing the North Stream 1 flow over this winter based on the TTF future price for the winter season, would cost Europe over 50 billion euros, about 10 times higher than it would have been historically," said Callum Macpherson, head of commodities at Investec.Simone Tagliapietra, senior fellow at think-tank Bruegel estimates that Europe would have to spend 26 billion euros to fill up gas storage to 80% from current levels.Europe's natural gas imports from RussiaAurora's Mandel estimated the total cost of gas injected into EU storage since the introduction of the targets in June is about 19.8 billion euros, assuming that all gas injected into storage has been and will be purchased at spot prices at the Dutch TTF hub.He expected an extra 35.5 billion euros is now needed to fill EU storage to the targets, bringing the total to over 55 billion euros."I would also estimate an additional 300 million to 600 million euros for the cost of using the storage," he said.The cost of filling up the storage could be passed to consumers by ever higher energy bills or through taxation, analysts said.The European Commission, the EU executive, proposed last month a target for all member states to cut gas use by 15% from Aug. 1 to allow storage to fill more quickly. read more EU gas inventories were around 78.81 billion cubic metres (bcm), UBS said, still 25 bcm below the level the bank estimates would allow the EU to ride out a complete cut-off of Russian supplies without significant demand-rationing.Map showing how gas and oil-rich Russia is linked to European energy markets through a series of critical pipelines, the biggest flowing through Ukraine.($1 = 0.9817 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, additional reporting by Marwa Rashad and Susanna Twidale, Edited by Nina Chestney and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

European gas storage on track to meet target but at a cost.

Convicted Russian agent Maria Butina is accompanied by federal agents after her release from a Florida prison, during her transfer onto a jet bound for Moscow at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, U.S. October 25, 2019. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - In the five months since the U.S. Department of Justice launched a task force to seize Russian oligarchs' assets to pressure Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, prosecutors also have targeted something less tangible: Russia's influence.Prosecutors in that period have charged five Russians with acting on the Kremlin's behalf without registering as foreign agents, as the Justice Department broadly ramps up enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and a related law known by its code number, 951.FARA and 951 let prosecutors go after broader activity - such as lobbying or running media campaigns - than espionage statutes, which focus on agents seeking classified or military information, experts said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"The Russian playbook is so much bigger than that," said David Aaron of law firm Perkins Coie, a former national security prosecutor.In the latest instance, federal prosecutors in Tampa, Florida, last week charged Russian national Aleksandr Ionov with 951 conspiracy for financially supporting U.S. political groups. read more In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Ionov - who is in Russia - called the U.S. charges "complete nonsense" and a "political decision." read more The charges against the Russians come as U.S. prosecutors increasingly wield the two foreign-influence laws, which they previously used only rarely, against a variety of defendants.Since 2018, the United States has accused 52 people - including Russian, Chinese and American citizens - of violating or conspiring to violate FARA, 951 or both, according to a Reuters analysis of Justice Department statements and records from seven major district courts. In the prior six-year period, just 13 people were charged under those laws, the analysis shows.Of the 52 people, 13 have since pleaded guilty, including Maria Butina, a Russian student who in 2018 admitted to 951 conspiracy by trying to create back channels between Moscow and Republican politicians.Others charged include Thomas Barrack - a fundraiser for former president Donald Trump's 2016 campaign – who will stand trial next month on charges under 951 of illegally lobbying for the United Arab Emirates. Barrack pleaded not guilty. read more Federal prosecutors have also charged several alleged Chinese agents this year and in 2020. Some have pleaded not guilty and others are at large. read more The Justice Department declined to comment. Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election and calls its campaign in Ukraine a "special military operation." Its embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.CONFERENCE IN YALTA, FORT IN HAWAIISection 951 was passed as part of the 1917 Espionage Act - enacted partly to combat resistance to the World War One draft - and criminalizes acting as a foreign agent without notifying the U.S. attorney general. While once mainly used against traditional espionage, cases brought in recent years have targeted lobbying and influence operations.FARA was enacted in 1938 to counter Nazi propaganda. It requires foreign lobbyists to register with the Justice Department. Prosecutors brought a handful of FARA cases in the postwar era; in recent decades, they were wary of bringing charges under an untested statute, experts said.But in 2019, a Justice Department official said at a legal conference that prosecutors would focus more on FARA in a "big shift" spurred by Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election."For national security issues, FARA has become one of the first tools out of the bag," said Matthew Sanderson of Caplin & Drysdale.In addition to Ionov, the other Russians charged recently include Aleksandr Babakov - a Vladimir Putin-aligned Russian parliament member - and two of his staffers. They were accused in April of hiring consultants to lobby U.S. members of Congress to advance Russia's interests. read more Babakov directed an unnamed U.S. associate to invite a U.S. congressman to a 2017 conference in Yalta sponsored by the U.S.-sanctioned leader of Crimea, prosecutors said. The unnamed congressman did not attend.Babakov could not be reached for comment.In March, prosecutors accused Elena Branson, a U.S.-Russian dual national, of violating 951 and FARA by receiving $170,000 in Russian state funds to organize an "I Love Russia" campaign for U.S. youth. She also lobbied Hawaiian officials not to change the name of a formerly Russian fort, prosecutors said. read more In an October 2021 interview with Russian state broadcaster RT after returning to Russia, Branson said she did not communicate with U.S. politicians. In a March 8 Facebook post, Russia's embassy in Washington called the charges against Branson "unfounded."Branson, Babakov and Ionov are believed to be in Russia.They are unlikely to be arrested by U.S. authorities, but charging fugitives sends a message to Moscow to thwart further activity, said Brandon Van Grack, a partner at Morrison Foerster and former chief of DOJ's FARA unit."It is a way to deter the other government - to say 'look, we know what you're doing here, so stop it,'" he said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Luc Cohen in New York Editing by Noeleen Walder, Amy Stevens and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Analysis: Beyond yachts and planes - U.S. turns to foreign agent laws to curb Russian influence.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesSees FY adj EBIT of more than 500 mln eurosPosts Q2 adj EBIT of 393 mln euros vs yr-earlier lossPlans to offer around 80% of capacity in Q3Shares rise more than 5%FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said on Thursday it expected demand for short-haul flights in Europe to drive growth at its passenger airlines this year, forecasting a return to group operating profit for the full year, pushing its shares higher.Travellers have returned to the skies following COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions in 2020 and 2021, helping airlines, such as Lufthansa, Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) and British Airways-owner IAG to return to profit this summer.Lufthansa said bookings for August to December were now at an average of 83% of the pre-pandemic level, and it hoped that business travel bookings would reach 70% in the fourth quarter.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comChief Executive Carsten Spohr said the airline group was seeing more and more wealthy people who were willing to spend money on hotels, rental cars, expensive restaurants as well as air tickets."These people are less sensitive to economic up- and downturns," he said.Lufthansa now expects to generate full-year adjusted operating profit (EBIT) of more than 500 million euros ($510 million), bouncing back from last year's 2.3 billion euro loss.Analysts are even more optimistic, on average predicting 569 million euros, according to a consensus published on Lufthansa's website.Shares in the carrier jumped more than 5% on Thursday.INDUSTRIAL ACTIONPlanes of German air carrier Lufthansa are parked at Frankfurt airport in Frankfurt, Germany, June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach//File PhotoThe airline industry, particularly in Europe, has struggled to cope with the rapid rebound in demand, with huge queues building at many airports because of staff shortages, prompting last-minute cancellations and travellers' frustration.The travel chaos has led airlines to trim capacity, with Lufthansa cancelling more than 2,000 flights this summer. It said it expected to offer about 80% of pre-crisis capacity in the third quarter, less than previously planned, and 85-90% in 2023.That should, however, help it markedly improve quarterly adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) compared with the second quarter, it said.Lufthansa reported adjusted EBIT of 393 million euros for the three months through June thanks to booming demand for air cargo flights, up from a year-earlier loss of 827 million euros.Its passenger airline business reported an adjusted loss before interest and tax of 86 million euros in the quarter because of costs related to flight disruptions.Lufthansa still faces uncertainty, though, from possible walkouts by its workers. Management was in talks on Thursday with ground staff, whose one-day strike last week forced the airline to cancel more than 1,000 flights.One day of strikes costs Lufthansa 30 to 35 million euros in lost revenues.The carrier is also due to hold talks next with pilots, who have already voted in favour of industrial action.($1 = 0.9841 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Maria Sheahan Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Mark Potter and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Maria SheahanThomson ReutersCo-bureau chief leading coveriage of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Balkans.

Lufthansa sees return to full-year profit as travel picks up.

World August 4, 2022 / 5:23 AM / CBS/AFP China fired ballistic missiles and deployed fighter jets and warships on Thursday as it began its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, a show of force sparked by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island. Pelosi was the highest-profile U.S. official to visit Taiwan in years, defying a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its territory. In retaliation, China launched a series of exercises in multiple zones around Taiwan, straddling some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and at some points just 12 miles from the island's shore. The drills involved a "conventional missile firepower assault" in waters to the east of Taiwan, the Chinese military said. The aim was to test the precision of the missiles and their ability to deny an enemy access to or control of an area, Eastern Theater Command spokesman Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement. Taiwan said the Chinese military fired several Dongfeng-class ballistic missiles, and condemned the exercises as "irrational actions that undermine regional peace." A TV screen shows that China's military started exercises including live firing on the waters and the airspace surrounding Taiwan, as reported by Chinese state television, in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2022. TYRONE SIU / REUTERS Taipei didn't say where the missiles landed or whether they flew over the island. Agence France-Presse journalists on the border island of Pingtan saw several small projectiles flying into the sky followed by plumes of white smoke and loud booming sounds. On the mainland, at what is said to be China's closest point to Taiwan, AFP saw a batch of five military helicopters flying at a relatively low altitude near a popular tourist spot. Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the median line dividing thee Taiwan Strait several times, the Reuters news agency quoted a Taiwanese source who'd been briefed on the exercises as saying.Taiwan sent jets and deployed missile systems to keep tabs on numerous Chinese aircraft that crossed the line.Reuters reported that its source said, "They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us."The drills will conclude at midday on Sunday, Beijing has said.China's nationalist state-run tabloid Global Times had said, citing military analysts, that the exercises were "unprecedented" and that missiles would fly over Taiwan for the first time.Beijing has defended the drills as "necessary and just," pinning the blame for the escalation on the United States and its allies. "In the current struggle surrounding Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the United States are the provocateurs, China is the victim," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing Wednesday. A Chinese military source also told AFP the exercises would be staged "in preparation for actual combat". "If the Taiwanese forces come into contact with the PLA on purpose and accidentally fire a gun, the PLA will take stern countermeasures, and all the consequences will be borne by the Taiwanese side," the source said. The maneuvers are taking place along some of the busiest shipping routes on the planet, used to supply vital semiconductors and electronic equipment produced in East Asian factory hubs to global markets. Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau has issued warnings to ships to avoid the areas being used for the Chinese drills. The Taiwanese cabinet said the drills would disrupt 18 international routes passing through its flight information region (FIR). Taiwan's 23 million people have long lived with the possibility of an invasion, but that threat has intensified under President Xi Jinping, China's most assertive ruler in a generation. Analysts said the Chinese leadership is eager to project strength ahead of a crucial ruling party meeting this autumn at which Xi is expected to be given an unprecedented third term. "China's announced military exercises represent a clear escalation from the existing baseline of Chinese military activities around Taiwan and from the last Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995-1996," said Amanda Hsiao, senior analyst for China at the International Crisis Group. "Beijing is signaling that it rejects Taiwan's sovereignty." Nevertheless, analysts have told AFP that China isn't aiming to escalate the situation beyond its control -- at least for now. Titus Chen, an associate professor of political science at the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan, said: "The last thing Xi wants is an accidental war." In: Taiwan Nancy Pelosi China

China starts biggest-ever military drills around Taiwan in wake of Pelosi's visit.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comUTOEYA, Norway, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine is the most dangerous moment for Europe since World War Two, and Russia must not be allowed to win, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.To prevent Moscow from succeeding, NATO and its member countries may have to continue to support Ukraine with arms and other assistance for a long time to come, he said."It's in our interest that this type of aggressive policy does not succeed," the former prime minister of Norway said in a speech in his native country.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"What happens in Ukraine is terrible but it would be much worse if there was a war between Russia and NATO," he said.Describing what Moscow calls a "special military operation" as an attack on the current world order, Stoltenberg said the alliance had to prevent the war from spreading."This is the most dangerous situation in Europe since World War Two.""If President (Vladimir) Putin even thinks of doing something similar to a NATO country as he has done to Georgia, Moldova or Ukraine, then all of NATO will be involved immediately," Stoltenberg said.The war has led previously non-aligned Finland and Sweden to seek NATO membership, with the request so far ratified by 23 of the 30 member states, including the United States. read more "This is not just an attack on Ukraine, an independent democratic nation with more than 40 million people, it's also an attack on our values and the world order we want," the NATO chief said of the war.Stoltenberg spoke at Utoeya island where a far-right extremist in 2011 killed 69 people in a shooting spree targeting members of the governing Labour Party's youth wing. In the years since the attack, the small Norwegian island has become a centre for teaching democratic values.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Nerijus Adomaitis; Writing by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Alison Williams and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NATO chief: Ukraine war is Europe's most dangerous time since WW2.

COUTTS, Alberta/TORONTO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - In late January five friends, just a few years out of high school, piled into a rented camper van and drove 37 hours in the Canadian winter from southern Alberta to Ottawa to join anti-government protests led by a convoy of truckers."We were worried about vaccine mandates and our freedom, and it all just going to hell," said Ursula Allred, 22, from her small, rural hometown of Magrath.Another member of the group, Justin Martin, excitedly phoned home to say the protest -- which occupied Ottawa with tractor-trailers, hot tubs, bouncy castles and scattered symbols of hate for weeks until it was broken up by police -- was "the best experience, ever," said his mother, Lynette Atwood.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"They wanted their freedom back. These were young men who wanted to date, hadn't been able to date, wanted to have a life," she said, referring to the impact of lockdowns and restrictions imposed by provincial and federal governments to curb infections during the coronavirus pandemic."They just felt that no one was listening."Their excitement came to an abrupt end a few weeks later, when all five were arrested at another protest they had joined near the U.S.-Canada border in Coutts, Alberta.But the reverberations from the so-called "Freedom Convoy" protests against mandatory vaccination policies had only just begun. The protests, featuring hundreds of trucks and thousands like Allred and Martin, had already paralyzed downtown Ottawa and international border crossings for more than three weeks.Copycat protests featuring trailers and trucks followed in the United States and France. At home, the protests amplified anti-government sentiment among Canadians angry at COVID-19 restrictions and, less visibly, offered a hook for anti-establishment and far-right voices to draw a bigger audience.Extremists used the convoy "as a pulpit to get their ideas across and, in that sense, it was a success," said David Hofmann, associate professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, who has been researching extremism in Canada for about a decade.They did that directly, with talk of deposing and prosecuting the heads of Canadian government during the protests, as the convoy's organizers declared was their goal in a "Memorandum of Understanding" leading up to the blockade.But they were also able to do that less directly, by talking up the merits of the convoy on social media and podcasts that also promoted more extremist rhetoric and conspiracy theories.They were helped by a relatively high level of sympathy for the protesters' frustrations -- which stood at 46% in one Ipsos poll in February -- even if most Canadians did not agree with the convoy's main message of opposing public health measures.Around 30% of Canadians agreed with the convoy's message in February at the height of the protests, a number that has since shrunk to 25% in July, according to polling research firm Ekos Research Associates."This has become a lightning rod, a magnet to kind of focus all of this insecurity, disaffection, anger which predated COVID but which has been reinforced and strengthened by COVID," Ekos President Frank Graves said of the convoy movement.Its message has become: "You're not alone. You're not the only one who thinks vaccines are unnecessary... Come on out," Graves said.Though most COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, wearing masks and vaccine requirements have been lifted in recent months, smaller anti-government protests have continued, with some held as recently as the national holiday on July 1.'GATEKEEPING ELITE'Among the most prominent to tap into sympathy for the convoy is Pierre Poilievre, the frontrunner in a leadership race for Canada's opposition Conservative party, who dueled with rivals in a debate over who was first to support the movement.Fashioning himself as an anti-establishment force determined to free Canadians from a "gatekeeping elite," Poilievre posted footage of himself supporting the convoy rolling into Ottawa.He promises, among other things, to take on the "state media" by defunding the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the public broadcaster, and to sack the Bank of Canada governor.He has also pledged to ban federal ministers from attending the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland -- a popular whipping boy for convoy participants and far-right supporters more globally.Anger against the forum has been buoyed by viral videos falsely claiming the WEF used the pandemic to put in motion a plan by "global elites" to subjugate society in a "Great Reset" - a twist on the WEF's stated plan to identify solutions to major challenges facing the world."The gatekeeping elites will try to destroy anyone who threatens their power," Poilievre said on Twitter in response to criticism that he is pushing authoritarian populism."I want to become PM to give you back control of your life & make Canada the freest country on earth," he wrote in another post.Poilievre's campaign did not respond to requests for an interview or to questions on his support for the convoy.Ekos's Graves says his polling shows that Canadians who support the convoy have "an authoritarian, populist outlook" and could be "the strongest force in the Canadian political landscape" because they are energized and motivated to vote.Not surprisingly, Canadian conservative politicians are trying to appeal to convoy supporters and tap into the rising populist sentiment, says Jared Wesley, political science professor at the University of Alberta."There's a group out there that conservative politicians want to bring back into the fold," Wesley said."That results in constant escalation of anti-establishment demands, that has the leading candidate for the Conservative Party promising to fire the Governor of the Bank of Canada."SIMMERING RESENTMENT IN ALBERTAThe boldness of the convoy movement -- with days of honking in downtown Ottawa, border crossing blockades and the open display of a swastika and confederate flags -- took many outside Canada by surprise.But those involved and people close to the protesters said it was a natural progression of frustration and disenfranchisement, especially in parts of western Canada, where resentment towards Ottawa has simmered for decades.Researchers point to a history of anti-government sentiment in largely conservative, oil-rich Alberta. The province prides itself on a frontier spirit and has long felt alienated from eastern Canada, accusing the federal government of relying on its fossil fuels without offering respect or autonomy in return."Albertans see themselves as the people who pay for everyone else in Canada," said Peter Smith, a researcher for the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a non-profit organization that examines hate crimes and hate groups.In Magrath and the nearby town of Raymond, where Allred's four camper van companions lived, anti-government sentiment and worries about federal over-reach remain strong.Shortly after Allred and her friends were arrested in Coutts in February, a large black flag reading "Fuck Trudeau," with a red maple leaf replacing the first word's "u," flew in a backyard along the main road into Raymond.Another house bore "Hold the Line for Freedom" painted in red across a downstairs window, while many vehicles sported Canadian flags and symbols of support for the blockades.There was widespread sympathy for Allred and her companions, who were each charged, along with five others, with possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose and mischief. They have since been released on bail.In the most serious charges related to the convoy movement, four men from southern Alberta involved in a border blockade were arrested in February and accused of conspiring to kill police officers. They remain in custody awaiting trial.Two weeks after the Coutts blockade disbanded, another protest camp remained on the side of the highway farther north in Milk River: a small encampment of trailers and a food truck in a large open field, monitored by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser parked a discreet distance away."That is waking the country up," said Elliot McDavid, one of the camp organizers, adding the protests had achieved their goal of forcing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act to disband them.In the Ipsos survey in February, 58% of Albertans found convoy participants' frustration legitimate and worthy of sympathy, compared to the 46% national figure.'A DANGEROUS TIME'With broad support for policies like universal healthcare and gun control, Canada has long been viewed as more moderate than its southern neighbor. But analysts say right-wing extremism has long had a home north of the U.S. border -- and the "Freedom Convoy" movement and related anti-government protests against COVID-19 restrictions have given it new momentum.A 2015 study identified about 100 far-right extremist groups. The number has tripled since then, Hofmann said.Larger groups have splintered but the overall number of participants has also grown, Hofmann said.He and his colleagues have identified about 1,200 visibly active participants who have either had contact with police or the media or have been active on social media, he said.This is up from previous counts but changing methodologies make comparisons difficult, he said.One group that has drawn the attention of analysts in recent months is the Hammerskins, an offshoot of a U.S. neo-Nazi organization. It had been quiet in Canada for nearly a decade but now has a presence in cities like Hamilton, Oshawa, and the Greater Toronto Area, with members also recruiting in British Columbia, said the Canadian Anti-Hate Network's Smith.Attempts to contact the Hammerskins for comment were unsuccessful."The convoy was huge and significant and will be a propaganda tool for a long time," Smith said.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino in February alluded to the link between the convoy protests and extremism, saying: "We need to be clear-eyed about the seriousness of these incidents."He said that some of those charged had "strong ties to a far-right extreme organization," which a source in his office said at the time referred to the Diagolon right-wing network.Patches featuring Diagolon's flag were affixed to body armor police seized in connection with arrests at the Coutts border blockade in February.Jeremy MacKenzie, the de facto founder of Diagolon -- a fictional breakaway state that has become a symbol of anti-government sentiment among right-wing Canadians -- has given prominent space to the convoy on his podcast and Telegram channel.In an interview with Reuters, MacKenzie said Diagolon started as a joke and is a loose social network of "patriotic people", rather than a political movement. He says he is being unfairly targeted by Canadian authorities.The convoy was a success for Diagolon "because it is part of their goal is to destabilize and to sow doubt, and to delegitimize the government and the state," a federal government source familiar with the matter said in February.Another group, Veterans 4 Freedom, emerged from the protests and aims to protect anti-establishment protesters and opposes COVID-19 restrictions, said Andrew MacGillivray, a military veteran who is part of the group."The rights and freedoms of Canadians are eroding and we are going to work to sustain lawful civic action in order to restore those fundamental rights," MacGillivray said in an interview."We just want to make sure that if there's any sort of protest and counter-protest that our volunteers can help keep the peace."The group helped organize a June 30 protest in Ottawa featuring a veteran who walked thousands of kilometers to protest vaccine mandates and who now faces a court martial for criticizing vaccine policies while in uniform.Other anti-establishment voices have also been galvanized.Outspoken Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski, who reckons he racked up about 40 tickets for violating pandemic restrictions, was charged with inciting people to damage or obstruct essential infrastructure during a speech at the Coutts blockade.Out on bail, he told Reuters he is fighting the charges and that the convoy had "awakened" people to fight for freedom."The truth is I have become a symbol of freedom," he said, later adding he is considering running for office."I would clean your swamp. That’s what I do."His son Nathaniel Pawlowski said he worries about what will happen if people angry at government restrictions are pushed too far: "If you study history, you know this is a dangerous time."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEditing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Anna Mehler PapernyThomson ReutersToronto-based correspondent covering among other topics migration and health.

In protests and politics, Canada's 'Freedom Convoy' reverberates.

A logo of Tencent is seen at its booth at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu WangRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHONG KONG, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) plans to raise its stake in French video game group Ubisoft Entertainment SA (UBIP.PA) as the Chinese gaming giant pivots to the global gaming market, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.China's largest social network and gaming firm, which bought a 5% stake in Ubisoft in 2018, has reached out to the French firm's founding Guillemot family and expressed interest in increasing its stake in the firm, the sources said.It is not clear how much more Tencent plans to own in Ubisoft, valued at $5.3 billion, but Tencent aims to become the single largest shareholder of the French company with an additional stake purchase, two of the sources said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTencent plans to buy a part of the additional stake in Ubisoft, the maker of the blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise, from the Guillemot family, which owns 15% of the firm, three of the sources said.Tencent could offer up to 100 euros ($101.84) per share to acquire the additional stake, two of the sources with knowledge of the internal discussions, said. It paid 66 euros per share for the 5% stake in 2018.Ubisoft shares surged more than 15% after the Reuters report. Shares in Guillemot Corp SA (GTCN.PA), the holding company in which the Guillemot family owns the majority shareholding, were trading up more than 7%.Two of them added the Chinese firm will also seek to acquire shares from public shareholders of Ubisoft, to boost its ownership and become the single-largest shareholder.About 80% of the French firm's shares are owned by public shareholders, according to its latest annual report.All the sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.Tencent and Ubisoft declined to comment.Representatives of the Guillemot family could not be immediately reached for comment.The details of the deal have yet to be finalised and are subject to change, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is private.The planned stake purchase, Tencent's latest major foreign deal since a regulatory crackdown in late 2020, will help it offset some of the pressures in the domestic gaming market. China's video games market, the world's largest, has become fiercely competitive."Tencent is very determined to nail down the deal as Ubisoft is such an important strategic asset for Tencent," one of the people said.At the top end of 100 euros per share, Tencent's offer will be a premium of 127% to the stock's 44 euros average price over the past three months, and is close to its historical price ceiling at 108 euros in 2018.Tencent has submitted to the Guillemot family a term sheet - a non-binding offer describing the basic terms and conditions of an investment, said one of the people, with a price "way above" the company's current price to ward off potential competition.The aggressive offer also comes as global gaming power houses have been rushing to snap up quality independent game makers in recent years, which are in scarcity, two of the sources said.Tencent's senior executives flew to France in May to meet the Guillemot family about the purchase, two of the people said.DOMESTIC PRESSURESChina's gaming regulator has not granted any new game licences to Tencent at home since June last year, before it froze gaming approvals for nearly nine months. Since it resumed approvals in April this year, none of the past four batches included the company. read more In May, Tencent reported that its domestic game revenue dropped 1% in the first quarter while international game revenue rose 4%.Tencent, which has stakes in U.S. video game developers Epic Games and Riot Games, said in June it would release its flagship mobile game "Honor of Kings" globally by the end of the year. read more In 2016, it bought a majority stake in "Clash of Clans" mobile game maker Supercell for roughly $8.6 billion, one of the world's biggest ever gaming deals.It also owns 9% of UK video gaming firm Frontier Developments and said last year it would buy another British developer Sumo in a $1.3 billion deal. read more Ubisoft, whose titles also include "Prince of Persia" and "Rainbow Six", in May forecast lower operating profit for 2022-23 after the company reported operating income for 2021-22 that missed estimates. read more ($1 = 0.9819 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Richard Lough in Paris; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Tencent seeks to raise stake in 'Assassin's Creed' maker Ubisoft - sources.

The Bank of England (BoE) building is reflected in a sign, London, Britain, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBy William Schomberg and David MillikenLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England raised interest rates by the most in 27 years on Thursday, despite warning that a long recession is on its way, as it rushed to smother a rise in inflation which is now set to top 13%.Reeling from a surge in energy prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 for a half percentage point rise in Bank Rate to 1.75% - its highest level since late 2008 - from 1.25%.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe 50-basis-point increase had been expected by most economists in a Reuters poll as central banks around the world scramble to contain the surge in prices.MPC member Silvana Tenreyro cast a lone vote for a smaller 25-basis-point increase.The BoE warned that Britain was facing a recession with a peak-to-trough fall in output of 2.1%, similar to a slump in the 1990s but far less than the hit from COVID-19 and the downturn caused by the 2008-09 global financial crisis.The economy would begin to shrink in the final quarter of 2022 and contract throughout all of 2023, making it the longest recession since after the global financial crisis.Ushering in the slowdown, consumer price inflation was now likely to peak at 13.3% in October - the highest since 1980 - due mostly to the surge in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.That would leave households facing two consecutive years of declines in their disposable incomes, the biggest squeeze since these records began in 1964.British consumer price inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.4% in June, already more than four times the BoE's 2% target, triggering industrial action and putting pressure on whoever succeeds Boris Johnson as Britain's next prime minister to come up with further support.The BoE had previously expected inflation to peak at above 11% and almost no growth in Britain's economy before 2025 at the earliest.In its new forecasts, the BoE saw inflation falling back to 2% in two years' time as the hit to the economy took its toll on demand.The British central bank has now raised rates six times since December but Thursday's move was the biggest since 1995.The pressure on Governor Andrew Bailey and colleagues to move in larger steps intensified after recent big rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other central banks.Those moves weakened the value of the pound, which can add to inflation.The BoE repeated that it was ready to move forcefully if needed to stem more persistent inflationary pressures.But it stressed that there were "extremely large" uncertainties about the economy - which could make the slowdown more or less severe than its core forecasts - and it would judge what its next moves should be as events unfold."Policy is not on a pre-set path," the BoE said. "The scale, pace and timing of any further changes in Bank Rate will reflect the Committee's assessment of the economic outlook and inflationary pressures."On top of everything else, the BoE's inflation-fighting record has been called into question by Liz Truss, the front-runner to be Britain's next prime minister.She wants to set "a clear direction of travel" for monetary policy and to review the BoE's mandate. read more The BoE said it expected to start selling down its huge stockpile of government bonds, with active sales of around 10 billion pounds a quarter, shortly after its next meeting in mid-September.The gilt holdings peaked at 875 billion pounds in December and have since fallen to 844 billion pounds after the BoE stopped reinvesting the proceeds of maturing bonds in February.(Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg)(([email protected]; +44 20 7513 4034))Keywords: BRITAIN BOE/Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Bank of England raises rates by most since 1995 even as long recession looms.

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves, France, August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Pascal RossignolRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Amazon workers at a warehouse in Tilbury in southeast England have walked out in protest over pay, the trade union GMB said, the latest sign of labour force discontent as the rising cost-of-living sparks strikes across sectors.Amazon, which dominates the online retail marketplace, has faced criticism from workers in many countries over pay and conditions."Amazon continues to reject working with trade unions to deliver better working conditions and fair pay. Their repeated use of short-term contracts is designed to undermine worker’s rights," the union said on Thursday.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comGMB said 800 workers walked out of the warehouse on Wednesday and Thursday over a 35 pence per hour pay increase, with the union seeking a two pound ($2.44) rise to cope with the higher cost of living and to better match the demands of the role.The U.S. tech giant, which has 70,000 workers in the UK, said starting pay would increase to a minimum of between 10.50 pounds an hour and 11.45 pounds in an e-mail.Workers from across industries, including railway, airline and telecommunication, have staged strikes in recent months in Britain as wage increases lag the rise in the price of goods.($1 = 0.8202 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Muvija M; editing William James and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers walk out over pay, UK union says.

Crime August 4, 2022 / 6:05 AM / CBS/AP Targeted killings of Mexican journalists Growing public outrage in Mexico as journalists are targeted and killed 04:43 A journalist was among four people killed inside a bar in central Mexico, becoming at least the 13th media worker killed in the country this year.San Luis de la Paz Mayor Luis Sánchez said Ernesto Méndez, director of the news site Tu Voz, or Your Voice, was with four other men when they were attacked. The fifth person was seriously wounded and taken to a hospital, he said.Guanajuato Gov. Diego Rodríguez Vallejo "strongly condemned" the Tuesday night killings via Twitter Wednesday. Sánchez said that at this point it was unknown whether the attack was related to Méndez's journalistic work, his role as representative of local businesses in the planning of an upcoming fair or something else.Press freedom organization Article 19 called on the government to offer protection to Méndez's colleagues and relatives. ⚠️ ARTICLE 19 conoce del asesinato de Ernesto Méndez, director del medio “Tú Voz,” ocurrido ayer alrededor de las 23 hrs en San Luis de la Paz, #GuanajuatoEl crimen se perpetró cuando un comando armando irrumpió en un bar propiedad de la familia de Méndez📸: Zona Franca pic.twitter.com/FekBVdSNpT— ARTICLE 19 MX-CA (@article19mex) August 3, 2022 Méndez had also worked until three years ago at the news site Zona Franca, according to its director Carmen Martínez. Zona Franca said that he had received threats in the past, AFP reported. It said he was celebrating with family and friends when a bar his family owned was attacked.It was not immediately clear whether Méndez was enrolled in the federal government's protection program for journalists and human rights defenders under threat.While organized crime is often involved in journalist killings, small town officials or politicians with political or criminal motivations are often suspects as well. Journalists running small news outlets in Mexico's interior are easy targets.Guanajuato, a thriving industrial region, has become one of Mexico's most violent states due to turf wars between rival gangs fighting for control of trafficking routes for drugs and stolen fuel. Other Mexican journalists killed in 2022In June, journalist Antonio de la Cruz was shot to death in northeastern Mexico as he was leaving his house with his 23-year-old daughter. His daughter later died from wounds suffered in the attack that killed her fatherIn May, two colleagues at a news site were shot to death in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. The Veracruz State Prosecutor's Office said it was investigating the killings of Yessenia Mollinedo Falconi and Sheila Johana García Olivera, the director and a reporter, respectively, of the online news site El Veraz in Cosoleacaque.In March, prosecutors in the western state of Michoacan said reporter Armando Linares was shot to death at a home in the town of Zitacuaro. His killing came six weeks after the slaying of a colleague, Roberto Toledo, from the same outlet, Monitor Michoacan. It was Linares who announced Toledo's death Jan. 31 in a video posted to social media.In early March, gunmen killed Juan Carlos Muñiz, who covered crime for the online news site Testigo Minero in the state of Zacatecas.Jorge Camero, the director of an online news site who was until recently a municipal worker in the northern state of Sonora, was killed in late February.In early February, Heber López, director of the online news site Noticias Web, was shot to death in the southern state of Oaxaca.Reporter Lourdes Maldonado López was found shot to death inside her car in Tijuana on Jan. 23. In a news conference in 2019, Maldonado Lopez told Mexico's president she feared for her life. Reporter José Luis Gamboa was killed in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz on Jan. 10Crime photographer Margarito Martínez was gunned down outside his Tijuana home on Jan. 17.  Guillermo Arias, whose photographs chronicle life and death in the streets of Tijuana, worked with Martinez for many years.He recalled the painful experience of covering the murder of his friend and fellow journalist."His daughter arrived and asked me not to photograph her dad's body," Arias told CBS News. In: Mexico 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

Journalist among 4 people killed inside bar in Mexico, adding to the country's media death toll.

New evidence shows how Myanmar's military planned its brutal purge of the Rohingya War crimes investigators have obtained thousands of documents that shed new light on planning around the expulsion of the country’s Muslim minority, as well as efforts to hide military operations from the world. The group that amassed the document cache, which it shared with Reuters, is already handing its material to prosecutors in the Hague. A Reuters Special ReportNew evidence shows how Myanmar’s military planned its brutal purge of the Rohingya “National project”An official document from 2014, three years before the Rohingya were expelled, refers to plans for their removal “Clearance operations”A term used by senior Burmese commanders in military campaigns against the Muslim Rohingya minority “Similar facial resemblance”An official record posited that Burmese authorities may have struggled to police the Rohingya because many of them looked alike War crimes investigators have obtained thousands of pages of documents that shed new light on Myanmar’s campaign to expel the country’s Muslim minority, as well as efforts to hide it from the world. The group that collected the documents, many of which it shared with Reuters, is already handing its material to prosecutors in the Hague. By POPPY MCPHERSON and WA LONE Filed: 4 August, 2022, 11 a.m. GMT In mid-2017, in a remote area of Myanmar, senior Burmese military commanders held secret talks about operations against the minority Rohingya Muslim population. They discussed ways to insert spies into Rohingya villages, resolved to demolish Muslim homes and mosques, and laid plans for what they clinically referred to as “area clearance.” The discussions are captured in official records seen by Reuters. At one meeting, commanders repeatedly used a racial slur for the Rohingya suggesting they are foreign interlopers: The “Bengalis,” one said, had become “too daring.” In another meeting, an officer said the Rohingya had grown too numerous. The commanders agreed to carefully coordinate communications so the army could move “instantly during the crucial time.” It was critical, they said, that operations be “unnoticeable” to protect the military’s image in the international community. Weeks later, the Myanmar military began a brutal crackdown that sent more than 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. Ever since, the military has insisted the operation was a legitimate counter-terrorism campaign sparked by attacks by Muslim militants, not a planned program of ethnic cleansing. The country’s civilian leader at the time, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, dismissed much of the criticism of the military, saying refugees may have exaggerated abuses and condemnations of the security forces were based on “unsubstantiated narratives.” But official records from the period ahead of and during the expulsion of the Rohingya, like the ones in 2017, paint a different picture. The records are part of a cache of documents, collected by war crimes investigators and reviewed by Reuters, that reveal discussions and planning around the purges of the Rohingya population and efforts to hide military operations from the international community. The documents show how the military systematically demonized the Muslim minority, created militias that would ultimately take part in operations against the Rohingya, and coordinated their actions with ultranationalist Buddhist monks. For the past four years, these war crimes investigators have been working secretly to compile evidence they hope can be used to secure convictions in an international criminal court. Documents spanning the period 2013 to 2018 give unprecedented insight into the persecution and purge of the Rohingya from the perspective of the Burmese authorities, especially two “clearance operations” in 2016 and 2017 that expelled about 800,000 people. The documents were collected by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), a nonprofit founded by a veteran war crimes investigator and staffed by international criminal lawyers who have worked in Bosnia, Rwanda and Cambodia. Beginning work in 2018, CIJA amassed some 25,000 pages of official documents, many related to the expulsion of the Rohingya, who since fleeing their homes have been languishing in squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh with little hope of returning. Some of the documents relate to military actions against other ethnic groups in Myanmar’s borderlands. The group’s work has been funded by Western governments. CIJA allowed Reuters to review many of the documents, which include internal military memos, chain-of-command lists, training manuals, policy papers and audiovisual materials. Some documents contained redactions, which the group said were necessary to protect sources. The organization also asked Reuters not to disclose the location of its office for security reasons. The documents do not contain orders explicitly telling soldiers to commit murder or rape – such smoking-gun records are rare in the field of international justice. But key in the CIJA cache is the evidence of planning, said Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues who now sits on CIJA’s board. “Everything in it points to this intention to engage in this kind of mass removal process,” he said. Through interviews with former Burmese soldiers, Rohingya and Rakhine civilians and ex-government officials, and a review of social media and official statements, Reuters was able to independently corroborate many details in the documents. (See related story.) Myanmar’s military junta didn’t respond to questions from Reuters. The cache illustrates the obsession authorities had with reducing a population they viewed as an existential threat. In a private meeting with officials in Rakhine, which CIJA said was held around the time of the 2017 expulsion, the then-army chief and current junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, told the Buddhist population to remain in place, and pointed to a demographic imbalance between Rohingya and the rest of the Rakhine population, the documents show. Some of the officers who spearheaded the Rohingya expulsion and whose names appear in the documents have since been promoted. Rohingya, who are mostly Muslim, trace their roots in Myanmar’s Rakhine area back centuries, a reading of history supported by independent scholars. While they now comprise a slim majority in the north of Rakhine state, they are a minority overall compared to the ethnic Rakhine, a mostly Buddhist group. Nationalists from the country’s Buddhist majority see the Rohingya as illegitimate migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. The August 2017 pogrom was carried out with a ferocity that stunned the world. Refugees described massacres, gang rapes and children thrown into raging fires. The nonprofit Médecins Sans Frontières estimated at least 10,000 people died. Hundreds of Rohingya villages were burned to the ground. In March this year, the United States formally declared that the military’s actions amounted to genocide. Many in Myanmar, where about 90% of people are Buddhist, supported the military, which denied committing atrocities and said the Rohingya had burned their own homes. Burmese rallied around Suu Kyi, whose political party came to power in 2015 after half a century of military rule, as she dismissed reports of atrocities as an “iceberg of misinformation.” In 2019, she went to the Hague to defend Myanmar against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). But the military early last year toppled the democratically elected government under Suu Kyi, who has been detained since her overthrow. The coup has altered views in Myanmar and opened an unexpected window on the 2017 atrocities. After the military seized control, the country plunged into worsening civil war, as new armed resistance groups joined forces with existing ethnic armed actors in an effort to topple the junta. More than 2,000 civilians have been killed by the army, according to the rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The public outrage over the coup and the killings has led to mass defections in the military. Some soldiers are now shedding light on the army’s practices for the first time. One soldier, Captain Nay Myo Thet, told Reuters he was in Rakhine in 2017, where he said he was involved in logistical support, including transport and supplies, for the military. He described the looting of Rohingya villages after they were emptied. Soldiers took cattle, furniture and solar panels the Rohingya used to power their homes. Large items were loaded onto trucks, under the watch of a senior officer, he said. He was tasked with catching three goats belonging to Rohingya for a dinner party for the troops, he said. Nay Myo Thet said he deserted in November and fled to a neighboring country. While the Burmese military faces grave allegations under international law, there is no easy road to convictions. Myanmar hasn’t signed the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has the power to try individual perpetrators for international crimes. As a result, the United Nations Security Council would typically have to refer allegations against Myanmar to the ICC. Such a move would likely be blocked by allies of Myanmar, say international law experts. But other paths to trial exist. The ICC set a legal precedent in 2019 by allowing its chief prosecutor to begin investigating crimes against the Rohingya population, including deportation, because they fled to Bangladesh, which is a party to the court. Also in 2019, majority-Muslim Gambia brought a case against Myanmar for genocide at the ICJ, on behalf of the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. In July, the court cleared the case to proceed, rejecting objections filed by Myanmar. The non-profit Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK also filed a lawsuit against both Min Aung Hlaing and Suu Kyi in Argentina under “universal jurisdiction,” a legal principle that allows brutal acts to be tried in any court in the world. A spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party said at the time that such a case would violate Myanmar’s national sovereignty. Legal experts say the chances senior military leaders will be tried soon are slim. They rarely leave Myanmar, and then only to friendly nations like Russia and China, which aren’t parties to the ICC. Min Aung Hlaing didn’t respond to questions sent to the military junta. Reuters was unable to contact Suu Kyi, who in June was moved from an undisclosed location where she had been held to solitary confinement in a prison in the capital Naypyitaw, the junta said. A spokesman for the newly formed civilian parallel government, which includes members of the former democratically elected administration who have escaped arrest, said it was their view that the Rohingya “were the victims of genocide.” It was of “dire importance,” the spokesman added, that the evidence of atrocities be presented to the ICJ. CIJA has had success securing some convictions in tough environments. In Syria and Iraq, its investigators smuggled out more than a million pages of documents that implicated insiders from the Bashar al-Assad regime and Islamic State. The documents formed the basis of convictions in Germany and the Netherlands, including of a former Syrian regime member and an Islamic State militant, who are both now in prison. CIJA has begun handing its Myanmar material to prosecutors in the Hague. The organization says the records implicate more than a dozen Burmese officials, most in the military. CIJA asked Reuters not to publish most of their names to ensure any future legal proceedings aren’t jeopardized. Bill Wiley, the Canadian founder and director of CIJA, says he is confident the Myanmar material will help with prosecutions. “If anyone’s ultimately convicted of genocide, it’s going to be based on the CIJA-collected materials,” he told Reuters. Wiley, a veteran of the Rwanda and Yugoslavia war crimes tribunals, is a former Canadian military officer. In his office, cloaked in a cloud of cigar smoke, Wiley, who is 58, recalled being contacted by Canadian officials at the height of the Rohingya exodus. The foreign minister at the time and current deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, set up a working group of people from different government departments to tackle the crisis, he said. The brief was to “do something,” Wiley said. Because Canada helped fund CIJA in Iraq and Syria, the group asked him if he could replicate the model in Myanmar. Freeland’s office confirmed the account but declined to comment further. This time, though, different methods were needed. In the early days of the Syrian uprising, CIJA had its investigators follow anti-Assad rebels as they took over government outposts. Their goal was to sweep up documents left behind by defeated forces. In Myanmar, though ethnic rebels were battling the military, such opportunities were few because the rebels weren’t taking control of large swathes of territory. The focus was on working with insiders willing to leak information and documents. The Rohingya have long faced crushing discrimination and have had their citizenship rights stripped away. In the 1990s, authorities stopped issuing birth certificates for their children. Rohingya were forced to seek permits to marry or leave their villages. They had restricted access to university and were barred from holding government jobs. They were banned from having children out of wedlock, and married couples were barred from having more than two children. The CIJA documents provide a snapshot of this bureaucracy of repression, including the creation in 2013 of a new Border Guard Police, a force charged with preventing “the dominance of Indians and Bengalis.” This new force was to be given upgraded weapons and vehicles to prevent immigration and implement “response plans in times of crisis,” according to a 2014 document from a military-controlled department. The border police were also to enforce “population control activities” against the Rohingya and conduct an educational campaign that would “increase public knowledge about the danger of migration movement of Indians and Bengalis.” The 2014 document emphasized the role of militias in various villages populated by taingyintha, members of officially recognized ethnic groups in Myanmar. These militias would serve as “the pillars for providing security to local ethnic people and the prevention of illegal immigration.” The document advocates for a “national project” that would push “Bengalis” who want to avoid inspection by the authorities to leave the country. It calls for a campaign resembling an operation in 1977 that drove out hundreds of thousands of Muslims. Such an operation “should be implemented as before, when the rise of ethnic mixing is detected,” the document says. “Everything in it points to this intention to engage in this kind of mass removal process.” An opportunity to implement these plans presented itself in the early hours of October 9, 2016. A group of Rohingya overran several border guard posts in northern Rakhine state, killing nine police officers. The army sealed off the area and began hunting the attackers. Nay Myo Thet, the soldier who deserted, said he and others in his battalion were told they were conducting “clearance operations” in Rakhine. But their superiors didn’t give specific orders of what to clear. They should have given the soldiers a target – “who was the leader, who were the followers, which weapons they had,” he said. The military cleared out entire populations, he added. For months, security forces pillaged and burned villages across the north of Rakhine, according to human rights groups and the United Nations, which said about 70,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in that purge. Security forces carried out killings and gang rape, according to a UN report. In February 2017, the military declared the operations over. But hostility towards the Rohingya continued. In July 2017, a group met in private to discuss operations in Rakhine, one record shows. Those present included Maung Maung Soe, the head of the Western Command, which had overseen the previous year’s crackdown, and Thura San Lwin, the head of the Border Guard Police. There were also commanders from the Military Operation Command-15 division and several local administrators. One senior official said that at least 50% of the Rohingya population supported terrorism. A senior member of the security forces said Muslim villages were providing “protection” to militants. Maung Maung Soe expressed frustration about the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the security forces in Muslim villages. A MOC-15 commander spoke about recruiting “kalars as spies and underlings” to obtain the latest news. “Kalar” is another racial slur for Muslims. In the end, the group agreed to send health workers to villages to gather “valuable information.” They also determined that the army’s actions needed to be concealed from the outside world. Thura San Lwin and Maung Maung Soe didn’t respond to questions sent to the military junta. At another meeting in August between a MOC-15 commander and local administrators, the commander complained there were too many Muslims living near a military detachment. The majority of “Bengali” villages had been “trained for terrorism,” the group concluded. They resolved to demolish their homes and mosques, according to one record. Around this time, according to another record, national and state-level officials visited a group of ultranationalist Buddhist monks in northern Rakhine state, who told them “illegal migrant Bengalis” were killing ethnic people to occupy the region. One of the monks said action needed to be taken. Thura San Lwin, the border guard police chief, told the monks that forces were deployed for patrols and would carry out “area clearance” in cooperation with the military, according to the document. He didn’t specify where the clearance would take place. The officials urged the monks and other locals to cooperate with the security forces and share information. By mid-August 2017, hundreds of troops had been flown into northern Rakhine, including two elite Light Infantry Divisions, the 33rd and 99th. The military said publicly it was trying to stabilize the situation there and that Muslim attackers had killed both Rakhine and Muslim villagers. Reuters couldn’t confirm this. In the early hours of August 25, some 30 police posts were attacked by Rohingya men across the north of Rakhine state, killing 12 members of the security forces, authorities said. The men were largely untrained and carrying mostly sticks, knives and homemade bombs, according to the UN. A group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which said it was seeking political rights for Rohingya, claimed responsibility for the attacks. ARSA didn’t respond to a request for comment. Nay Myo Thet and another member of the security forces told Reuters they were surprised by the army’s disproportionate response to what they said were small and poorly organized attacks compared with insurgencies conducted by well-equipped militias in other parts of the country. A log of army activities compiled by military authorities and obtained by CIJA records 18 attacks that morning by “Bengali insurgents,” starting with several explosions from handmade bombs. The log doesn’t record the deaths of any members of the security forces, though it does say militants killed Rohingya informers and several Rakhine civilians. The next morning, the burning of Rohingya villages began. The log describes “arson attacks” in the Rakhine township of Maungdaw, with lists of houses, shops, mosques and Arabic language schools destroyed. Hundreds of houses are recorded as burned after “a fire broke out.” The arson continued for weeks. More than 7,000 structures are recorded in the log as having been burned to the ground between August 25 and mid-September. Sometimes the arson is ascribed to “Bengali insurgents.” Sometimes no perpetrator is listed. Moe Yan Naing, a police captain who was stationed in Rakhine, told Reuters there were no attacks by ARSA after August 25, but his superiors ordered him and his colleagues to burn villages. There were many dead bodies in the villages, said Moe Yan Naing. “The troops shot into the village before entering,” he said, referring to the village of Inn Din, where Reuters uncovered a massacre of civilians. “They shot and killed whoever they found in the village.” Moe Yan Naing was the police captain who testified in the 2018 trial of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were arrested after they uncovered the killings in Inn Din and spent 511 days behind bars. Moe Yan Naing undercut the official narrative in court, saying that the two reporters had been set up by the authorities. He fled the country after the coup, fearing arrest by junta forces. Approximately 392 villages were either partly or completely destroyed, largely by fire, according to UN investigators, who blamed the arson on the Myanmar security forces and local Rakhine residents. This amounted to 40% of all villages in northern Rakhine state. Army chief Min Aung Hlaing traveled to northern Rakhine around the time of the expulsion of the Rohingya, CIJA said. A CIJA document records previously unreported comments he made to officials in Rakhine during his trip. He ordered non-Rohingya locals to remain in their homes “instead of leaving,” referring to a large discrepancy in population size between Muslims and other ethnic groups in Rakhine. He told the audience he understood they “do not want to keep Bengali villages near.” During the expulsion of the Rohingya, troops were given instructions to delete photos that might be incriminating, said Nay Myo Thet. He and Moe Yan Naing, the former police captain, said security force members placed machetes beside the bodies of dead Rohingya and took photographs so it would look like they were insurgents. Sensitive orders from senior commanders were given by phone rather than in writing, said Nay Myo Thet. Documents in the CIJA cache show how the military feared international retribution over the Rakhine operation. A 2018 presentation that CIJA said was shown in officer training sessions assessed the possibility of foreign intervention triggered by an invocation of the UN’s “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine. R2P, as it’s known, has been used to support international intervention in countries where rulers are committing atrocities. One of the documents in the CIJA cache deals with the likelihood of foreign intervention in Myanmar over the expulsion of the Rohingya. It is titled “The R2P (Responsibility to protect) and Myanmar’s politics” If R2P come in Myanmar The country will become a failed state The document raises some points for discussion: Difficulty to counter their (Rohingya) narratives and stories that appear on Google and social media due to their (the Rohingya’s) extensive financial and technology resources Various developments: preparation by the EU for sanctions; a Myanmar representative was not allowed to join “The Berlin Conference on Myanmar Genocide”; the American ambassador based in Yangon stating that Myanmar’s security forces committed ethnic cleansing Whether R2P could be triggered Perspective of Myanmar political observers: Despite pressure from the UN and international community on the military regarding the issues in northern Rakhine and demands on the Myanmar government to accept Bengali refugees, there is no likelihood of R2P being triggered and violating Myanmar’s sovereignty. The government’s effort (to prevent R2P) Negotiated with Bangladesh’s government multiple times to take back the displaced people Acting on the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State led by Dr. Kofi Annan, humanitarian support and resettlement in Rakhine state, and implementation of development projects Conclusion Excessive pressure could harm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country The strategic game of the government: Give and take with China, prevention by diplomacy The document also points to the actions of other states: The United States: Anti-terrorism campaigns in the Middle East; blaming Myanmar for the Rakhine conflict to win support from the Muslim world England: Left the EU in fear of accepting refugees If R2P comes to Myanmar, the country will become “a failed state,” reads one slide. The presentation concluded that international uproar over the military operation was creating “excessive pressure” and that could “harm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.” A 2018 internal report by military authorities that assessed the Rakhine operation said the Rohingya had been “eager to take over” northern Rakhine. Muslim religious scholars in Myanmar, the report said, were trying to implement a plan for the world to become Islamic in the 21st century and were “recklessly” accelerating birth rates to increase the Muslim population. The authorities, it said, may have had trouble policing in Rakhine because “many Bengalis have similar facial resemblance with each other.” The report points to democratic reforms in the country as having emboldened the Rohingya. Control over “extremist Bengalis” had weakened, the report said, when two Rohingya became members of parliament after power was transferred to a semi-civilian government following an election in 2010. One of the two MPs, Shwe Maung, who had been critical of the authorities’ treatment of the Rohingya, has been in the United States since 2015 for fear of being arrested if he returns to Myanmar. His advocacy for the Rohingya in parliament had made him “a target,” he told Reuters. Rohingya weren’t allowed to vote in the election that brought Suu Kyi to power in 2015, and Shwe Maung was barred from running. Since the purge in Rakhine, some people named in the CIJA documents have been promoted. Among them is the former head of the 33rd Light Infantry Division, Aung Aung, who was promoted to head the Southwestern Command, according to local media. Border Guard Police chief Thura San Lwin was transferred to a top police post in the capital Naypyitaw, according to local reports. Aung Aung didn’t respond to questions from Reuters. A United Nations body also has been gathering evidence about the military’s actions in Rakhine, and since the coup has expanded its work to cover the junta’s actions. In March, the UN said the army’s actions since seizing power – including extrajudicial killings, air strikes and arson in populated areas – could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. CIJA wound down its Myanmar fact-finding operation in late April. Wiley said international criminal justice is a “long game,” but he believes CIJA has amassed “really good evidence.” “We get convictions,” he added. “The challenge is arrests.” Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York, Steve Scherer in Ottawa and A S M Suza Uddin. Planned Purge By Poppy McPherson and Wa Lone Graphics: Aditi Bhandari Photo editing: Edgar Su Art direction: Catherine Tai Edited by Peter Hirschberg Follow Reuters Investigates

New evidence shows how Myanmar's military planned the Rohingya purge.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTHAI NGUYEN, Vietnam, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has scaled back production at its massive smartphone plant in Vietnam, employees say, as retailers and warehouses grapple with rising inventory amid a global fall in consumer spending.America's largest warehouse market is full and major U.S. retailers such as Best Buy (BBY.N) and Target Corp (TGT.N) warn of slowing sales as shoppers tighten their belts after early COVID-era spending binges. read more The effect is acutely felt in Vietnam's northern province of Thai Nguyen, one of Samsung's (005930.KS) two mobile manufacturing bases in the country where the world's largest smartphone vendor churns out half of its phone output, according to the Vietnam government.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comUS business inventories climb on restocking, slower consumer spendingSamsung, which shipped around 270 million smartphones in 2021, says the campus has the capacity to make around 100 million devices a year, according to its website."We are going to work just three days per week, some lines are adjusting to a four-day workweek instead of six before, and of course no overtime is needed," Pham Thi Thuong, a 28-year-old worker at the plant told Reuters."Business activities were even more robust during this time last year when the COVID-19 outbreak was at its peak. It's so tepid now."Reuters could not immediately establish whether Samsung is shifting production to other manufacturing bases to make up for reduced output from the Vietnamese factory. The company also makes phones in South Korea and India.Samsung told Reuters it has not discussed reducing its annual production target in Vietnam.The South Korean tech giant is relatively optimistic about smartphone demand in the second half, saying on its earnings call last week that supply disruptions had mostly been resolved and that demand would either stay flat or even see single-digit growth. read more It is aiming for foldable phone sales to surpass that of its past flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note, in the second half. It is expected to unveil its latest foldables on Aug. 10.But a dozen workers interviewed by Reuters outside the factory almost all said business is not good.Employees make their way to work at the Samsung factory in Thai Nguyen province, north of Hanoi, Vietnam October 13, 2016. REUTERS/KhamThuong and her friends who have been working for Samsung for around five years said they had never seen deeper production cuts."Of course there is a low season every year, often around June-July, but low means no OT (overtime), not workday cuts like this," Thuong said.She said managers had told workers inventories were high and there were not many new orders.Research firm Gartner expects global smartphone shipments to decline by 6% this year due to consumer spending cuts and a sharp sales drop in China.SAMSUNG TOWNSamsung is Vietnam's biggest foreign investor and exporter, with six factories across the country, from northern industrial hubs Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh where most phones and parts are manufactured, to Ho Chi Minh City's plant making fridges and washing machines.The South Korean company has poured $18 billion into Vietnam, powering the country's economic growth. Samsung alone contributes one fifth of Vietnam's total exports.Its arrival nearly a decade ago in Thai Nguyen, about 65 km (40 miles) from the capital Hanoi, transformed the area from a sleepy farming district into a sprawling industrial hub that now also manufactures phones for Chinese brands including Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK).Generous benefits including subsidised or free meals and accommodation have lured tens of thousands of young workers to the region, but reduced workhours have now left many feeling the pinch."My salary was cut by half last month because I just worked four days and spent the remaining week doing nothing," said worker Nguyen Thi Tuoi.Job cuts are on some workers' minds but so far none have been announced."I don’t think there will be job cuts, just some working hour cuts to suit the current global situation," said one worker, declining to be named because she did not want to risk her team leader role."I do hope that the current cut will not last long and we will soon be back to normal pace."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Samsung workers in Vietnam bear brunt of slowdown in global demand for electronics.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesQ1 operating profit 578.66 bln yen vs 997.4 bln yen year-agoSlammed by global chip shortage, COVID curbs in ChinaSticks to FY profit, output forecasts citing strong demandRaises FY materials costs estimate by 17%; shares drop 3%TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) profit slumped a worse-than-expected 42% in its first quarter as the Japanese automaker was squeezed between supply constraints and rising costs.Operating profit for the three months ended June 30 sank to 578.66 billion yen ($4.3 billion) from 997.4 billion yen in the same period a year ago, Toyota said on Thursday, capping a tough period. It has repeatedly cut monthly output goals due to the global chip shortage and COVID-19 curbs on plants in China.The scale of the earnings hit was far beyond expectations - analysts polled by Refinitiv had estimated a 15% drop - and appeared to catch investors by surprise. Shares of Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, extended losses, sliding 3%.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"It's extremely bad," said Koichi Sugimoto, an analyst at the Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.While production snarls had already been flagged by the automaker, Sugimoto said some of the higher costs stood out.The automaker said rising material prices cost it 315 billion yen.Despite the grim quarter, the automaker stuck to its forecast for full-year operating profit and a plan to produce 9.7 million vehicles this fiscal year, citing what it said was strong residual demand.A Toyota spokesperson said the car company would be able to procure the chips that had hampered production and expected staffing shortages at some domestic factories due to COVID-19 outbreaks to be resolved.Production would pick up towards the second half of the financial year, the spokesperson said.Sugimoto, the analyst, said supply problems looked likely to improve thanks to an easing in both the global chips shortage and the COVID-19 situation in China.The Toyota emblem is seen on the tyre rim of a vehicle during the media day of the 41st Bangkok International Motor Show after the Thai government eased measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Thailand July 14, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaLike other auto manufacturers, Toyota is grappling with higher costs and fears that global inflation could put the brakes on consumer demand.Toyota lifted its full-year net profit outlook by 4% to 2.36 trillion yen, helped by the weakness of the yen, which means sales booked in overseas currencies become more valuable.Still, the boost from the weaker yen was not sufficient to fully offset the impact from rising material costs, said Seiji Sugiura, senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.Toyota expects material costs for the full year to increase by 17% to 1.7 trillion yen from its previous estimate - the majority of that from the rising prices of steel and aluminium.Toyota's current production woes mark a departure from its initial success in navigating supply chain problems in the early stages of the pandemic.The carmaker cut its monthly production targets three times during the April-June quarter, falling 10% behind its initial goals, due to shortages of semiconductors and the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in China. read more "We were not able to produce enough, with customers globally waiting for their vehicles to be delivered," the Toyota spokesperson said.Toyota shares, which were down 0.5% just before the release of the earnings, closed down 3% at 2,091 yen, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 index (.N225) was slightly firmer.Toyota's Japanese rival Honda Motor Co (7267.T) is set to report its first-quarter earnings next week.($1 = 133.7200 yen)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Additional reporting by Noriyuki Hirata; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell, David Dolan and Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hit by rising costs and supply snarls, Toyota profit tumbles 42%.

World August 4, 2022 / 6:06 AM / AP The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni sails under Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge after being inspected by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials at the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Emrah Gurel / AP The first grain ship to leave Ukraine and cross the Black Sea under a wartime deal passed inspection Wednesday in Istanbul and headed on to Lebanon. Ukraine said 17 other vessels were "loaded and waiting permission to leave," but there was no word yet on when they could depart. A joint civilian inspection team spent three hours checking the cargo and crew of the Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which left Odesa on Monday carrying Ukrainian corn, a U.N. statement said.The Joint Coordination Center team included officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, who signed deals last month to create safe Black Sea shipping corridors to export Ukraine's desperately needed agricultural products as Russia's war upon its neighbor grinds on. Ukraine is a major global grain supplier but the war had blocked most exports, so the July 22 deal aimed to ease food security around the globe. World food prices have been soaring in a crisis blamed on the war, supply chain problems and COVID-19. Although U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni's journey a "significant step," no other ships have left from Ukraine in the past 48 hours and no explanations have been given for that delay. A U.N. statement said inspectors "gained valuable information" from the Razoni's crew about its voyage through the Black Sea maritime humanitarian corridor and the coordination center was "fine-tuning procedures." The Turkish Ministry of National Defense tweeted a picture of an inspector reaching into the Razoni's hold and touching some of its 26,527 tons of corn for chicken feed. The Razoni's horn rang out as the inspectors left the ship, and then it headed off to Lebanon.The checks seek to ensure that outbound cargo ships carry only grain, fertilizer or food and not any other commodities, and that inbound ships are not carrying weapons. An estimated 20 million tons of grain — most of it said to be destined for livestock — has been stuck in Ukraine since the start of the 6-month-old war. Ukraine's top diplomat said Wednesday that more ships are ready to carry much-needed grain and food out of the country's Black Sea ports."Further ships are already ready for departure. They will depart from the ports that are part of the grain initiative in accordance with the agreed schedule, and we hope that everything will work out and the Russian Federation will not take any steps that would destroy these agreements," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a joint press conference in Kyiv with his Estonian counterpart. Kuleba said the U.N.-backed deal "is beneficial to Ukrainian farmers, it is beneficial to the Ukrainian economy, and it is beneficial to the world.""It is now Ukraine that is, literally, saving the world from further growth in food prices and from hunger in individual countries," he said.Still, a Black Sea voyage entails significant risks because of the war. Two civilian ships hit explosive devices there last week near the Danube River's Bystre estuary, according to Bridget Diakun, a data reporter at Lloyd's List, a global shipping publication.Analysts say authorities' first priority is bringing out vessels that have been stuck for months at the three Ukrainian ports covered by the deal. Sixteen ships loaded with grain have been stuck at the ports of Odesa and Chernomorsk since Russia's invasion, according to Lloyd's List.The U.N. official who helped negotiate the Russian deal with the U.N. aimed at ensuring unrestricted access to world markets for the country's food and fertilizer says there are still obstacles to overcome.U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan told a U.N. news conference Wednesday by video from Geneva that some obstacles Russia faces in terms of finance, insurance, shipping and transport of its grain and fertilizer have been clarified by the United States and European Union.But she said there is still a major bottleneck: getting the private sector to accept that the U.N.-Russia agreement will enable their companies to be involved in getting Russian grain and fertilizer shipped to global markets without the threat of sanctions. There are no U.S. or EU sanctions on food or fertilizer exports, but companies engaged in related fields have been reluctant to take part.Russia's war with Ukraine has had "a chilling effect on the private sector," Grynspan said. "So, an important part of the private sector has stopped their dealings in food and fertilizer."Grynspan, the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, said some grain and fertilizer are being exported from Russia but at very high costs. She explained that half the increase in grain prices comes from increases in transport and logistics costs."That is the pressure that we want to ease," she said.Grynspan said the U.S. and EU clarifications are being evaluated by the private sector "as we speak." Grain stockpiles are expected to keep growing. Despite the war, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal estimated his country would harvest up to 67 million tons of grain this year, up from 60 million tons last year.A senior official from a leading Ukrainian farm association reckoned Ukraine would have about 50 million tons of grain for export this year. Before the war, Ukraine exported around 5-6 million tons of grain per month, according to Denys Marchuk, the deputy head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council. In: Antony Blinken War Economy Turkey Agriculture Ukraine Russia United Nations Volodymyr Zelenskyy Prisoner of War European Union 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

First Ukraine grain ship passes inspection in Turkey and heads to Lebanon.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks during the Jeddah Security and Development Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2022. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS//File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON/DUBAI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates stand ready to deliver a "significant increase" in oil output should the world face a severe supply crisis this winter, sources familiar with the thinking of the top Gulf exporters said.When the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) decided on Wednesday to raise oil output by a mere 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), it broke a taboo with a rare reference to the group's spare production capacity.The statement referred to "the severely limited availability" of spare capacity, saying that meant it needed to kept it in reserve for "severe supply disruptions".Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAt first glance, that reads as an acknowledgement that OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia has almost no room to raise output, as mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in a conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden last month.Three sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Saudi Arabia and the UAE could pump "significantly more", but would only do so if the supply crisis worsened."With possibly no gas in Europe this winter, with a potential price cap on Russian oil sales in the New Year, we can’t be throwing every barrel on the market at the moment," one of the sources said.The sources did not quantify any increase, but said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and some other OPEC members possessed around 2.0-2.7 million bpd of spare production capacity."The only time we can prove we have more spare capacity is when it comes to a long-lasting crisis," the source said, adding that would be when OPEC members would raise output.That could be as soon as this winter, the sources said, as the political and economic standoff between Russia, a member of OPEC+, and the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine show no sign of easing.The invasion, begun on Feb. 24, which Moscow terms a "special military operation" sent European gas prices to records and lifted international Brent crude to 14-year-highs.As a result, inflation has hit multi-decade highs and central banks have begun raising interest rates sharply.International oil prices have however fallen since the March peaks and dropped again on Wednesday after U.S. data indicated weak fuel demand - in part as high prices have limited consumption.Analysts said OPEC+ saw no logic in adding oil to a falling market."With spare capacity below 2 mbpd (million barrels per day) in August, we believe OPEC+ preferred to keep their powder dry and use their buffer to address potential future disruptions," PVM's Tamas Varga said in a note."There are growing fears of demand destruction and if the current trend continues, additional barrels would put unwanted downside pressure on prices and, at the same time, would unnecessarily deplete thinning spare capacity."GOODWILL GESTUREAfter Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July to press for extra oil to cool international markets, analysts had speculated OPEC+ would increase supply.The Saudi trip was scheduled only after OPEC+ announced in early June that it would increase output in July and August. Wednesday’s meeting discussed output for September.Most OPEC+ members have struggled to meet production targets having already exhausted their output potential following years of under-investment in new capacity.In that context, Wednesday's decision to increase production targets by 100,000 bpd, one of the smallest increases since OPEC quotas were introduced in 1982, was a goodwill gesture, one of the sources said."It is small, yes, but it shows that OPEC+, given the fact that it includes so many countries, like Russia, Iran, Venezuela with all their grievances, managed to garner consensus and move forward," the source said.Following Wednesday's decision, the White House said President Biden would remain focused on keeping fuel prices down.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting By Dmitry Zhdannikov in London and Maha El Dahan in Dubai; additional reporting by Rowena Edwards; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Exclusive: Saudi, UAE save oil firepower in case of winter supply crisis.

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:Eli Lilly (LLY) – The drug maker's stock fell 3.6% in the premarket after it missed estimates with its quarterly results and cut its full-year forecast. Lilly's performance during the quarter was impacted by lower prices for insulin and falling sales of its Covid-19 treatment.Cigna (CI) – The insurance company reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook. Cigna was helped by lower costs resulting from a slow rebound in non-urgent medical procedures. Cigna rose 2.6% in premarket trading.Restaurant Brands (QSR) – The parent of Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Burger King beat top- and bottom-line estimates for its latest quarter, with comparable restaurant sales also rising more than expected. Restaurant Brands added 1.8% in premarket action.Alibaba (BABA) – Shares of the China-based e-commerce giant jumped 5.2% in premarket trading after better-than-expected quarterly results. That came despite flat revenue growth for the first time ever, due to Covid-19-related lockdowns in China.Paramount Global (PARA) – Paramount fell 4% in the premarket despite better-than-expected quarterly results, which got a boost from the success of "Top Gun: Maverick." Paramount did note that it spent more on its direct-to-consumer services during the quarter, with its flagship Paramount+ streaming service gaining 4.9 million subscribers.Shake Shack (SHAK) – The restaurant chain's shares slid 5.7% in the premarket despite avoiding an expected loss with a breakeven quarter on an adjusted basis. Shake Shake's revenue missed Wall Street forecast, and the company said June sales were below its expectations after April and May sales came in as expected.Booking Holdings (BKNG) – The parent of Priceline and other travel services reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, but revenue missed forecasts and the company said travel difficulties like flight cancellations cut into its July growth. Booking Holdings fell 3.1% in the premarket.Clorox (CLX) – Clorox shares slid 5.9% in premarket trading as higher costs offset price hikes for the company's consumer products in its latest quarter. Revenue fell slightly below estimates, though earnings did match Wall Street forecasts.Toyota Motor (TM) – The automaker's shares fell 3.5% in premarket action after it reported a 42% drop in profit from a year ago for its latest quarter. Toyota was impacted by supply chain issues and rising costs, which prevented it from producing as many cars as it had intended.

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Eli Lilly, Cigna, Restaurant Brands and more.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Soe Zeya TunRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comPHNOM PENH, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The United States opposes any unilateral efforts to change the Taiwan status quo, especially by force, and its policy on Taiwan has not changed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian counterparts on Thursday.Cross-Straits stability was in the interests of the whole region, he told a meeting in Cambodia, adding also that Washington was eager to hear ideas from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on how it could cooperate with the Quad.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by David Brunstrom; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. opposes any effort to change Taiwan status quo - Blinken.

U.S. August 4, 2022 / 6:25 AM / CBS/AP MOVE bombing victims’ remains uncovered Families search for closure 36 years after MOVE bombing 07:05 The remains of two children killed in the 1985 bombing by police of a Philadelphia home used as the headquarters of a Black radical group have been returned to their brother, the man said Wednesday.The remains of Katricia and Zanetta Dotson will be cremated and taken to North Carolina to be buried, Lionell Dotson told reporters outside the Philadelphia medical examiner's office."For the city to give me this is a momentous occasion," Dotson, who was 8 when his sisters died, told WCAU-TV. Katricia was 14 and Zanetta was 12. "It's not about me; it's about them. Finally giving them a resting place permanently – I can do this for them." The city said officials were meeting with next of kin but wouldn't provide details "out of respect for the families."MOVE members, led by founder John Africa, practiced a lifestyle that shunned modern conveniences, preached equal rights for animals and rejected government authority. They took the last name Africa. In this May, 1985 photo, scores of row houses burn in a fire in the west Philadelphia neighborhood. Police dropped a bomb on the militant group MOVE's home on May 13, 1985 in an attempt to arrest members, leading to the burning of scores of homes in the neighborhood AP The group clashed with police and neighbors, and police seeking to oust members used a helicopter to drop a bomb on the house on May 13, 1985. Five children and six adults inside died, and the resulting fire destroyed more than 60 row houses. A 1986 commission report called the decision to bomb an occupied row house "unconscionable." MOVE survivors were awarded a $1.5 million judgment in a 1996 lawsuit.The city's health commissioner resigned in May last year after officials said partial remains from the bombing had been cremated in 2017. The city later said, however, that the remains had not been destroyed and had been found at the medical examiner's office.Last month, a long-awaited report was released on the injustice relating to the bombing, CBS Philadelphia reported. But the 257-page report failed to answer the key questions that prompted the probe last year: Who put the box of remains in a storage room at the medical examiner's office prior to its discovery in 2017? Also unclear, why did the employee that was instructed to cremate the remains four years ago under city health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley defy the order to do so? "I've been very sincerely sorry that it happened," Mayor Jim Kenney said. "Again, a lot of the mishandling happened back in the '80s when the tragedy occurred. We'll make sure it doesn't happen again." In: Philadelphia 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

Remains of 2 children killed in controversial 1985 Philadelphia bombing by police returned to family, brother says.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (not pictured) at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTAIPEI/BEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - As U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a brief visit to Taiwan this week that enraged Beijing, the welcome she received from government officials and the public was in sharp contrast with a different sort of message that began popping up elsewhere on the island.On Wednesday, in some branches of 7-11 convenience stores in Taiwan, the television screens behind cashiers suddenly switched to display the words: "Warmonger Pelosi, get out of Taiwan!"The largest 24-hour convenience store chain on the island was the victim of what Taiwanese authorities are calling an unprecedented amount of cyber attacks on government websites belonging to the presidential office, foreign and defence ministries as well as infrastructure such as screens at railway stations, in protest against Pelosi's visit.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTaipei has not directly blamed the attacks on the Chinese government, but has said that the attacks on government websites -- which paralysed the sites' operations -- originated from addresses in China and Russia. It also said the firms whose displays were changed had used Chinese software that could have contained backdoors or Trojan horse malware.Taiwan's digital minister Audrey Tang said the volume of cyber attacks on Taiwan government units on Tuesday, before and during Pelosi's arrival, surpassed 15,000 gigabits, 23 times higher than the previous daily record.Lo Ping-cheng, Taiwan Cabinet spokesman, said on Wednesday that the government had stepped up security at key infrastructure including power plants and airports and increased the cyber security alertness level across government offices. On Thursday, he said no related damage had been detected so far."Government departments have been very careful. In these past few days, in terms of public security, we have set up a three-tier government security and communication mechanism, it is already tough and defensive enough so these adaptations have been beneficial," he told a briefing.THEATRE, RATHER THAN THREATPelosi's visit triggered furious responses from the Chinese public and Beijing, who said the trip to the self-ruled island it regards as its territory infringed its sovereignty. On Thursday, China fired missiles around Taiwan as part of a series of unprecedented military drills. read more A cybersecurity research organisation said the attacks against Taiwanese government websites before Pelosi's visit were likely launched by Chinese activist hackers rather than the Chinese government. read more Hacker group APT 27, which has been accused by Western authorities of being a Chinese state-sponsored group, claimed responsibility for the cyber attacks on Taiwan on Wednesday, saying on YouTube that they were done to protest how Pelosi had defied China's warnings with her visit. It also claimed it had shut down 60,000 internet-connected devices in Taiwan.Asked about the cyber attacks in Taiwan on Thursday at a regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing, a spokesperson declined to comment. The Cyberspace Administration of China, which regulates the country's internet, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Experts said that the cyber attacks, combined with China's live firing exercises, provide Taiwan's leaders with a preview of what an invasion from China would look like.In recent years, several reports from think tanks in Taiwan and the United States have emphasised the high likelihood that, in the event of a military assault of Taiwan, China would first launch a debilitating cybersecurity attack on Taiwan’s key infrastructure, such as its power grid.Still, Eryk Waligora, a cyber threat intelligence specialist at Accenture, said the latest ones appeared to be "more theatre than threat" so far. He said past attacks, like a campaign between November last year to February that forced several financial institutions in Taiwan to suspend online transactions, were more sophisticated technically, and damaging.“There have certainly been far worse cyber-attacks,” he said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Sarah Wu and Eduardo Baptista; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee and Martin Pollard, Writing by Brenda Goh; Editnig by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

From 7-11s to train stations, cyber attacks plague Taiwan over Pelosi visit.

Pedestrians walk by a large Adidas logo inside the German multinational sportswear shop.Miguel Candela | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty ImagesAdidas on Thursday said operating profit fell by 28% in the second quarter to 392 million euros ($398.43 million), as results suffered from suspending business in Russia, higher supply chain costs and Covid-19 lockdowns in China and Vietnam.The German sportswear firm said currency-neutral sales rose 4% in the quarter but net income from continuing operations declined to 360 million euros from 387 million euros in the same period last year.The company had cut its 2022 outlook in July, citing slower than expected recovery in China, and now expecting currency-neutral revenues to grow at a mid- to high-single-digit rate this year.

Adidas posts 28% decline in second quarter operating profit despite sales increase.

National Guard troops pose for photographers on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol the day after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time January 14, 2021 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla | Getty ImagesIn an earnings call Wednesday morning, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs expressed the confusion many people are feeling as they try to figure out what's going on with the U.S. economy right now:"This is truly one of the most complex environments we've ever seen in our industry to operate in. Because we're not just dealing with economic issues like inflation and lapping stimulus and things like that. But also the social issues of people returning to mobility after lockdown, working from home and just the change in consumer patterns."Three months earlier, during the company's prior call with analysts, Gibbs said economists who call this a "K-shaped recovery," where high-income consumers are doing fine while lower-income householders struggle, are oversimplifying the situation."I don't know in my career we've seen a more complex environment to analyze consumer behavior than what we're dealing with right now," he said in May, citing inflation, rising wages and federal stimulus spending that's still stoking the economy.At the same time, societal issues like the post-Covid reopening and Russia's war in Ukraine are weighing on consumer sentiment, which all "makes for a pretty complex environment to figure out how to analyze it and market to consumers," Gibbs said.Gibbs is right. Things are very strange. Is a recession coming or not?There is ample evidence for the "yes" camp.Tech and finance are bracing for a downturn with hiring slowdowns and job cuts and pleas for more efficiency from workers. The stock market has been on a nine-month slump with the tech-heavy Nasdaq off more than 20% from its November peak and many high-flying tech stocks down 60% or more.Inflation is causing consumers to spend less on nonessential purchases like clothing so they can afford gas and food. The U.S. economy has contracted for two straight quarters.Downtown San Francisco doesn't quite have the ghost town feel it did in February, but still has vast stretches of empty storefronts, few commuters and record-high commercial real estate vacancies, which is also the case in New York (although Manhattan feels a lot more like it's back to its pre-pandemic hustle).Then again:The travel and hospitality industries can't find enough workers. Travel is back to nearly 2019 levels, although it seems to be cooling as the summer wanes. Delays are common as airlines can't find enough pilots and there aren't enough rental cars to satisfy demand.Restaurants are facing a dire worker shortage. The labor movement is having its biggest year in decades as retail workers at Starbucks and warehouse laborers at Amazon try to use their leverage to extract concessions from their employers. Reddit is filled with threads about people quitting low-paying jobs and abusive employers to ... do something else, although it's not always exactly clear what.A shrinking economy typically doesn't come with high inflation and a red-hot labor market.Here's my theory as to what's going on.The pandemic shock turned 2020 into an epoch-changing year. And much like the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the full economic and societal effects won't be understood for years.Americans experienced the deaths of family members and friends, long-term isolation, job changes and losses, lingering illness, urban crime and property destruction, natural disasters, a presidential election that much of the losing party refuses to accept, and an invasion of Congress by an angry mob, all in under a year.A lot of people are dealing with that trauma — and the growing suspicion that the future holds more bad news — by ignoring propriety, ignoring societal expectations and even ignoring the harsh realities of their own financial situations. They're instead seizing the moment and following their whims.Consumers aren't acting rationally, and economists can't make sense of their behavior. It's not surprising that the CEO of Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, can't either.Call it the great unrest.How might that manifest itself? In a decade, how will we look back at the 2020s?Perhaps:Older workers will continue to leave the workforce as soon as they can afford it, spending less over the long term to maintain their independence, and stitching together freelance or part-time work as needed. The labor market will remain tilted toward workers.Workers in lower-paying jobs will demand more dignity and higher wages from their employers, and be more willing to switch jobs or quit cold if they don't get them.People will move more for lifestyle and personal reasons rather than to chase jobs. Overstressed workers will continue to flee urban environments for the suburbs and countryside, and exurbs one-to-three hours' drive from major cities will see an upswing in property values and an influx of residents. Dedicated urban dwellers will find reasons to switch cities, creating more churn and reducing community bonds.The last vestiges of employee loyalty will disappear as more people seek fulfillment ahead of pay. As one tech worker who quit her job at Expedia to work for solar tech company Sunrun recently put it, "You just realize there's a little bit more to life than maxing out your comp package."Employees who proved they could do their jobs remotely will resist coming back to the office, forcing employers to make hybrid workplaces the norm. Spending patterns will change permanently, with businesses catering to commuters and urban workers continuing to struggle.Those with disposable income will vigorously spend it on experiences — travel, restaurants, bars, hotels, live music, outdoor living, extreme sports — while curbing the purchase of high-end material goods and in-home entertainment, including broadband internet access and streaming media services. The pandemic was a time to hunker down and upgrade the nest. Now that we've got all the furniture and Pelotons we need, it's time to go out and have fun.It's possible that this summer will be the capstone to this period of uncertainty and consumers will suddenly stop spending this fall, sending the U.S. into a recession. Further "black swan" events like wars, natural disasters, a worsening or new pandemic, or more widespread political unrest could similarly squash any signs of life in the economy.Even so, some of the behavioral and societal shifts that happened during the pandemic will turn out to be permanent.These signals should become clearer in earnings reports as we move further from the year-ago comparisons with the pandemic-lockdown era, and as interest rates stabilize. Then, we'll find out which businesses and economic sectors are truly resilient as we enter this new era.WATCH: Jim Cramer explains why he believes inflation is coming down

The great unrest: How 2020 changed the economy in ways we can't understand yet.

A Chinese military helicopter flies past Pingtan island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan on August 4, 2022. China's largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan follow a visit to the self-ruled island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Hector Retamal | AFP | Getty ImagesChina launched unprecedented live-fire military drills in six areas that ring Taiwan on Thursday, a day after a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory.Soon after the scheduled start at 0400 GMT, China's state broadcaster CCTV said the drills had begun and would end at 0400 GMT on Sunday. They would include live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan, it said.Taiwan officials have said the drills violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan's territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation.China is conducting drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes and that is "irresponsible, illegitimate behavior," Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party said.Taiwan's cabinet spokesman, expressing serious condemnation of the drills, said also that websites of the defense ministry, the foreign ministry and the presidential office were attacked by hackers.Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line several times on Thursday morning, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters.By midday on Thursday, military vessels from both sides remained in the area and in close proximity.Taiwan scrambled jets and deployed missile systems to track multiple Chinese aircraft crossing the line."They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us," the Taiwanese source said.On Wednesday night, just hours after Pelosi left for South Korea, unidentified aircraft, probably drones, flew above the area of Taiwan's outlying Kinmen islands near the mainland coast, Taiwan's defense ministry said.China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and reserves the right to take it by force, said on Thursday its differences with the self-ruled island were an internal affair."Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is reasonable, lawful," China's Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office said.China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Pelosi's visit to Taiwan a "manic, irresponsible and highly irrational" act by the United States, state broadcaster CCTV reported.Wang, speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said China had made the utmost diplomatic effort to avert crisis, but would never allow its core interests to be hurt.The foreign ministers in a statement had earlier warned that volatility caused by tensions in the Taiwan Strait could lead to "miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers."'Comrade Pelosi'Unusually, the drills in six areas around Taiwan were announced with a locator map circulated by China's official Xinhua news agency earlier this week — a factor that for some analysts and scholars shows the need to play to both domestic and foreign audiences.On Thursday, the top eight trending items on China's Twitter-like Weibo service were related to Taiwan, with most expressing support for the drills or fury at Pelosi."Let's reunite the motherland," several users wrote.In Beijing, security in the area around the U.S. Embassy remained unusually tight on Thursday as it has been throughout this week. There were no signs of significant protests or calls to boycott U.S. products."I think this (Pelosi's visit) is a good thing," said a man surnamed Zhao in the capital's central business district. "It gives us an opportunity to surround Taiwan, then to use this opportunity to take Taiwan by force. I think we should thank Comrade Pelosi."Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visitor to Taiwan in 25 years, praised its democracy and pledged American solidarity during her brief stopover, adding that Chinese anger could not stop world leaders from travelling there.China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing in protest against her visit and halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan."Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan," Pelosi told Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence — a red line for China."Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that's the message we are bringing here today."The United States and the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations warned China against using Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.White House national security spokesman John Kirby said earlier in the week that Pelosi was within her rights to visit Taiwan, while stressing that the trip did not constitute a violation of Chinese sovereignty or America's longstanding "one-China" policy.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.. ambassador in Beijing in protest against her visit and halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan.

China begins live-fire military drills around Taiwan, a day after Pelosi visit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the development of the country's metallurgical sector, via a video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia August 1, 2022. Sputnik/Pavel Byrkin/Kremlin via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that China had the sovereign right to hold major military drills around Taiwan and accused the United States of artificially fuelling tensions in the region.China fired multiple missiles around Taiwan on Thursday as it launched unprecedented military drills a day after a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory.Asked about China's drills, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is China's sovereign right.""The tension in the region and around Taiwan was provoked... by the visit of Nancy Pelosi," Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "It was an absolutely unnecessary visit and an unnecessary provocation."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Kremlin says China has the right to hold military drills around Taiwan.

The hometown of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is looking increasingly vulnerable, coming under repeated attacks from Russian forces in recent days, with Ukraine's southern army unit saying Russia is building a military "strike force" to target Kryvyi Rih.Early Thursday, Ukraine's southern military command said the situation in its operational area — where fighting is intensifying around Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih as well as Zaporizhzhia to the east and Mykolaiv and Kherson to the south — is "tense and complex."Ukraine has warned that Russia is carrying out a "massive redeployment" of troops from the east to the south of Ukraine as it tries to defend its territorial gains against Ukraine's attempts to reclaim occupied Kherson and areas around Zaporizhzhia. The battle for eastern Ukraine is ongoing, however, with Zelenskyy describing the situation in the Donbas as hellish, adding that Russia still has the upper hand in the region.Kyiv has ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents in the Donbas amid intense fighting.Kremlin rebuffs NATO criticism, accuses alliance of creating a 'threat to the world order'The Kremlin rebuffed criticism from NATO's secretary-general and instead accused the Western military alliance of destabilizing the world order.Earlier, NATO's Jens Stoltenberg said Russia's war in Ukraine is an attack on the current world order and that Europe was "experiencing its most dangerous situation since World War II." In addition, he said that Russia must not be allowed to win the war.But Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov dismissed those comments, claiming NATO had fueled the conflict."This situation has been maturing for several decades and in many ways it was fueled by the policy of NATO because they brought the borders closer to Russia, this created additional threats for us," Peskov said.Kremlin Press Secretry Dmitry PeskovAnadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesPeskov claimed that the origins of the "real threat to the world order on our continent — that is, in Europe" was what he described as a "coup" in 2014. He claimed this was "carefully orchestrated, including by the member countries of the NATO, despite the guarantees they gave us.""This is where the danger and threat to the world order flows from. Therefore, we agree with Stolenberg's statement," Peskov said.Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 came after pro-democracy protests in Ukraine that began in late 2013 and continued into the new year. In February 2014, the protests culminated in the ousting of Ukraine's then pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in what many Ukrainians termed the Maidan Revolution or Revolution of Dignity.Russia said the ousting was the result of a Western-promoted, illegal "coup" and annexed Crimea and stoked pro-Russian unrest in eastern Ukraine, which has continued to this day. Pro-Western and particularly pro-European young Ukrainians supported the ousting of Yanukovich, seeing it as a step toward political independence from Russia and toward membership in the European Union.— Holly EllyattRussia's war in Ukraine is attack on world order, NATO chief saysNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg delivers remarks to the news media as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2022.Leah Millis | ReutersRussia's war in Ukraine is an attack on the current world order, according to NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.Stoltenberg, speaking in his native Norway, said Europe was "experiencing its most dangerous situation since World War II" and that Russia must not be allowed to win."It's in our interest that this type of aggressive policy does not succeed," Stoltenberg said in comments reported by Reuters. Stoltenberg added that if Russian President Vladimir Putin considered doing anything similar to a NATO country, the full alliance will react.A central tenet of the Western military alliance is that an attack on one member is an attack on the whole 30-member organization, with members pledging to come to each other's mutual aid.— Holly EllyattUkraine tells Lebanon to reverse decision to clear grain shipment for travelA picture shows a view of the bow of the grain-laden Syrian-flagged ship Laodicea, docked in Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli, on July 30, 2022.Fathi Al-masri | Afp | Getty ImagesUkraine called on Lebanon on Thursday to reverse a decision by a court in Tripoli to authorise the departure of a seized Syrian ship carrying what Kyiv says is stolen Ukrainian grain, Reuters reported Thursday.In a statement, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said it was disappointed by the court's decision to clear the Syrian-flagged Laodicea for departure and said that Kyiv's position had not been taken into account.— ReutersRussian forces feeling the threat from Ukraine's Western-supplied weapons, UK notesA Ukrainian army unit shows the rockets on HIMARS vehicle in eastern Ukraine on July 1, 2022.The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty ImagesUkraine's offensive to retake occupied territory in the south of the country and its use of Western-supplied weapons is putting mounting pressure on Russia's forces, according to the latest intelligence update from the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence."Ukraine's missile and artillery units continue to target Russian military strongholds, personnel clusters, logistical support bases and ammunition depots," the ministry said on Twitter Thursday."This will highly likely impact Russian military logistical resupply and put pressure on Russian military combat support elements."A picture taken on July 21, 2022 shows a car moving past a crater on Kherson's Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river caused by a Ukrainian rocket strike, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine.Stringer | AFP | Getty ImagesThe U.K. said Russia was feeling threatened by Western-supplied weapons systems that are allowing Ukraine's forces to counterattack the Russian army more effectively, citing efforts by Russia to hide damage the Antonovsky Bridge, which leads to occupied Kherson and is vital for their military supplies to the city, that was hit by Ukrainian missiles last week."Russian forces have almost certainly positioned pyramidal radar reflectors in the water near the recently damaged Antonivskiy [Antonovsky] Bridge and by the recently damaged nearby rail bridge, both of which cross over the Dnipro River in Kherson, southern Ukraine," the U.K. noted."The radar reflectors are likely being used to hide the bridge from synthetic aperture radar imagery and possible missile targeting equipment. This highlights the threat Russia feels from the increased range and precision of Western-supplied systems."— Holly EllyattRussian 'strike force' building to target Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi RihKryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is looking increasingly vulnerable with Ukraine saying Russia is building a military "strike force" to target the industrial city in central-southern Ukraine.Early Thursday, Ukraine's southern military command saying the situation in its operational area — where fighting is intensifying around Kryvyi Rih as well as Zaporizhzhia to the east, and Mykolaiv and Kherson to the south — is "tense and complex.""The enemy continues to conduct hostilities on the occupied line of defense. In order to prevent the advance of our troops and restore the lost position, the composition of the group in the Kryvyi Rih direction is increasing due to the transfer of units of the 35th Army of the Eastern Military District," the unit said, saying that Russian aircraft were becoming "more active" and attacking the area south of Kryvyi Rih.Residential buildings and industrial plants across the city skyline in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesUkraine's southern military command said in a previous update on Wednesday that it believed Russia was creating a military "strike group in the Kryvyi Rih region" and that "it's also quite likely that the enemy is preparing a hostile counter-offensive with the subsequent plan of getting to the administrative boundary of Kherson region."Officials in Ukraine have repeatedly warned in recent days that Russia is redeploying a massive number of troops to the south of the country, where Ukraine has launched counteroffensives to try to regain lost territory, particularly the occupied city of Kherson.Ukrainian artillerymen in the military assembly center check the weapons and special equipment to make them ready before they go to their duties at the frontline in Kherson, Ukraine on July 15, 2022.Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesIn his nightly address on Sunday evening, Zelenskyy praised the bravery of residents in his hometown, as well as other cities under repeated attack as Russia looks to extend its territorial gains in east and southern Ukraine."I want to thank every resident of Mykolaiv for their indomitability, for protecting the city and the region. I also thank Nikopol, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and the entire Dnipropetrovsk region, the strong people of Zaporozhzhia and the region, all Ukrainians of the Kherson region, everyone who defends the approaches to Odessa and the region ... Thank you for your courage." "Strategically, Russia has no chance of winning this war," he added.— Holly EllyattZelenskyy says he wants to speak with Chinese President Xi JinpingUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seen during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on July 4, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Zelenskyy is seeking an opportunity for direct talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine, the South China Morning Post reported.Alexey Furman | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to speak directly with Xi Jinping in hopes China's president could use the country's influence to end Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine.In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has pursued talks with China since the beginning of the war. He told the newspaper that Russia would feel much more economically isolated without the Chinese market and could use that to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war.China has repeatedly said it supports a "peaceful resolution" to the situation in Ukraine, but has so far refused to call Russia's war an "invasion."— Natalie ThamU.S. Senate approves Finland and Sweden's membership to NATOSweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto attend a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, after signing their countries' accession protocols at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 5, 2022.Yves Herman | ReutersThe U.S. Senate voted 95 to 1 to ratify Finland and Sweden's entrance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, calling expansion of the Western defensive bloc a "slam-dunk" for U.S. national security and a day of reckoning for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.Senators invited the ambassadors of the two Nordic nations to witness the debate and the vote, a crucial step in opening a new era for the now 30-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its 73-year-old pact of mutual defense among the United States and democratic allies in Europe.President Joe Biden has sought quick entry for the two previously non-militarily aligned northern European nations. Their candidacies have won ratification from more than half of the NATO member nations in the roughly three months since the two applied, a purposely rapid pace meant to send a message to Russia over its six-month-old war against Ukraine's West-looking government."It sends a warning shot to tyrants around the world who believe free democracies are just up for grabs," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in the Senate debate ahead of the vote."Russia's unprovoked invasion has changed the way we think about world security," she added.— Associated PressUkraine nuclear plant is 'out of control,' UN nuclear chief saysInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attends a joint news conference after talks in Tokyo, Japan May 19, 2022.Issei Kato | ReutersThe U.N. nuclear chief warned that Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine "is completely out of control" and issued an urgent plea to Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the sprawling complex to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear accident.Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that the situation is getting more perilous every day at the Zaporizhzhia plant in the southeastern city of Enerhodar, which Russian troops seized in early March, soon after their Feb. 24. invasion of Ukraine."Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated" at the plant, he said. "What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous."Grossi cited many violations of the plant's safety, adding that it is "in a place where active war is ongoing," near Russian-controlled territory.— Associated PressZelenskyy says 'global security architecture' is not working, cites tensions in the Balkans and TaiwanUkraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a working session of G7 leaders via video link, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 27, 2022.Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | via ReutersUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the "global security architecture" is not working, and referenced tensions in the Balkans, Taiwan and in the Caucasus."If it worked, there wouldn't be all these conflicts," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on the Telegram messaging app."And this is actually something that Ukraine has been paying attention to not only 161 days after the start of a full-scale war, but for years. Ever since Russia completely ignored international law, the interests of humanity as such," he added.— Amanda MaciasRead CNBC's previous live blog here:

Kremlin claims NATO is 'real threat' to world order; Russian 'strike force' builds around Zelenskyy's hometown.

People protest during a rally calling for more government action to combat the spread of monkeypox at Foley Square on July 21, 2022 in New York City. The Biden administration is undergoing a course correction in its response to the monkeypox outbreak after weeks of logistical and bureaucratic delays providing testing, treatments and vaccines.Jeenah Moon | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe Biden administration is undergoing a course correction in its response to the monkeypox outbreak after weeks of logistical and bureaucratic delays providing testing, treatments and vaccines.Biden officials acknowledge they are now playing catch-up as case numbers grow faster than initially expected, said people close to the administration, noting the number of infections has jumped from dozens to thousands in a short amount of time.As part of its new approach, the administration is working to drastically increase the number of people vaccinated against monkeypox and improve access to an experimental treatment for those infected, in addition to naming a monkeypox coordinator to manage the response from the White House across agencies and with state and local governments.Still, the administration faces a maze of obstacles, according to a dozen doctors on the frontlines and former public health officials who spoke with NBC News."I feel like we still have the opportunity to continue to control this, but it's really a matter of getting the resources," said Julie Morita, who advised President Joe Biden on Covid during the transition and led the Chicago Department of Public Health for nearly two decades."Public health needs to be resourced adequately, the vaccine supply needs to be increased, and communication efforts really need to be ramped up. But all those things can happen and can lead to control of this outbreak. It's not too late," Morita said.This week, New York and California were among numerous states that declared public health emergencies, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported infections in all but two states. According to an NBC News analysis of CDC data, the seven-day average of reported new cases increased from 45 on July 11 to 214 just two weeks later.In total, the U.S. has reported nearly 6,000 cases since the beginning of May. The total worldwide exceeds 20,000.With the virus currently spreading almost entirely among men who have sex with men, the administration's strategy has largely been focused on vaccinating the most high-risk individuals, which include men who have had multiple male partners in a two-week period or those with known exposure.More recently, though, administration officials have urged other men who have sex with men to cut down on high-risk behavior, like having multiple partners, until the outbreak is under control. They're attempting to get that word out to gay, transexual and bisexual communities through dating apps, at events and engagement with community leaders.That's a shift in strategy from earlier in the summer when officials were focused on vaccinating only those who had been infected and their close contacts. But as infections ballooned in the past month, state and local health officials were not able to keep pace with the rate of infections, said a person familiar with the efforts.The White House on Tuesday appointed Robert Fenton the national monkeypox response coordinator, with Demetre Daskalakis as deputy coordinator. The two will hold their first press briefing on the response efforts Thursday."The President is always looking at ways we can do more to stop the spread of Monkeypox," said an administration official. "And by having Bob Fenton and Dr. Daskalakis at the helm as White House coordinators, we will ramp up our urgent, whole of government response even more."The federal government has said it plans to ship more than 700,000 doses to states, on top of the 300,000 already allocated, but officials haven't detailed plans for any additional doses."Once the data showed that this outbreak was different than past ones and transmitting rapidly, we scaled up our comprehensive response, rapidly accelerating timelines to make over one million doses of vaccines available," the administration official said.Doctors and public health officials say doses of the vaccine have been slow to arrive, and doctors are concerned there won't be enough to meet demand, driven in part now from those at lower risk of getting infected, like health care workers and men in monogamous relationships.In San Francisco, local officials requested 35,000 doses for the city but so far have only around 12,000 doses, said Tyler Temeer, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. His clinic has 10,000 people on a waiting list and has gotten just over 1,000 doses, he said.For the vaccine to be most effective, a person needs to receive two doses.In New York City, demand has also far outstripped supply. But among one key group where infections have been particularly high — Black men who have sex with other men — demand has been low, said Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist in New York. She said more work needs to be done to reach those most at risk, many of whom lack health insurance, don't have a primary care doctor or are stigmatized for having sex with other men."What we're seeing among cases is that some 30% to 40% of cases are in men of color or trans women of color, and yet, if you look at who's lining up for vaccination, the vast majority is white men, whether it's in New York City where I am or my colleagues down in Atlanta, we are seeing the same thing play out," said Gounder. "And that is a concern because you're not reaching that high risk population."Some states may also see a delay in getting their vaccine doses because the federal government has said it won't ship a state's full allotment of vaccines until they begin sharing data on infection rates and demographics, something some states argue they can't do because of privacy laws, said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.For those who do get infected, doctors say they face hours of paperwork in order to get access to a smallpox treatment called Tpoxx that's believed to work on monkeypox patients. That process has discouraged some providers from treating monkeypox patients, Gounder and other doctors said.The federal government has tried to streamline the process, but because Tpoxx isn't approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating monkeypox, government officials want to ensure they are getting data on who is receiving it to gauge its safety and effectiveness, said a person familiar with the process. Public officials and doctors said they are pushing for the White House to declare a public health emergency, a move that could free up Covid funding to be used for monkeypox, remove some administrative barriers to accessing Tpoxx and improve data sharing between states and the federal government."The declaration of a federal public health emergency will help alleviate some of the problems we currently have, but resources must follow," said David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors.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 monkeypoxInternally, frustrations over the administration's response have led to some finger-pointing between the White House and Department of Health and Human Services, said people close to the administration.The White House has said it will let Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra decide whether to declare a public health emergency.Many of the issues doctors and health officials have been grappling with around the response to monkeypox are similar to those faced during the Covid pandemic — a lack of testing, mixed messaging and not enough vaccines to meet demand. While monkeypox is a much different virus than Covid — it is believed to be spread mostly through skin-to-skin contact, not through the air — it has highlighted the flaws that remain in the government's ability to respond to new outbreaks."We're not fundamentally set up in public health for crisis response," said Andy Slavitt, who led the White House response to Covid during Biden's first year in office. "And we've got a very beleaguered public health system to boot. Those are things that Congress needs to fix, that those within the administration needs to fix. There are big requests for that work, and there are reforms that need to happen."

White House scrambles to play catch-up on monkeypox response.

The IMF said governments should strive to protect the most vulnerable households with targeted support, but noted that existing policies aimed at cushioning all consumers were short-sighted.Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesThe International Monetary Fund warned European governments against intervening in the region's worsening energy crisis with broad-based financial support, saying instead that consumers should bear the brunt of higher prices to encourage energy saving and aid the wider shift to green power.The IMF on Wednesday said governments should strive to protect the most vulnerable households with targeted support, but noted that existing policies aimed at cushioning all consumers from rising costs would dent European economies — many already on the verge of a recession — and deter the energy transition."Governments cannot prevent the loss in real national income arising from the terms-of-trade shock. They should allow the full increase in fuels costs to pass to end-users to encourage energy saving and switching out of fossil fuels," the European arm of the IMF wrote in a blog post.Sweeping price controls seen as short-sightedUntil now, European policymakers have introduced sweeping price controls, subsidies and tax cuts to soften the blow of rising energy costs, which have surged across the continent following Russia's war in Ukraine and a wider supply glut.But the Washington-based institute warned that such sweeping support was short-sighted, costing some governments an estimated 1.5% of gross domestic product this year while continuing to inflate demand — and therefore prices."Suppressing the pass-through to retail prices simply delays the needed adjustment to the energy shock by reducing incentives for households and businesses to conserve energy and enhance efficiency. It keeps global energy demand and prices higher than they would otherwise be," the report said.Europe is facing an unprecedented gas crisis.Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesInstead, the IMF said that policymakers should "shift decisively away from broad-based measures to targeted relief policies," specifically supporting poorer households who are most vulnerable to higher prices but least able to cope with them.Fully offsetting the increase in the cost of living for the bottom 20% of households would cost governments a comparatively lower 0.4% of GDP on average for the whole of 2022, it said. To do so for the bottom 40% would cost 0.9%, it added.The paper added that it was "appropriate" for governments to support some otherwise viable businesses during a short-lived price surge, for instance, if Europe were to face a complete cut-off of gas flows from Russia.However, it added that with prices expected to remain higher for several years, the overall case for supporting businesses is "generally weak."Europe scrambles to cut energy consumptionThe IMF's comments come as European countries are scrambling for ways to reduce energy consumption and reliance on Russian oil and gas.Spain on Tuesday announced new energy-saving measures, including limits on air conditioning and heating temperatures in public areas. It follows similar moves by the German city of Hanover last week, which said it was banning hot water in public buildings, swimming pools, sports halls and gyms.Meantime, energy giants continue to reap the benefits of higher prices, with BP on Tuesday reporting its biggest quarterly profit in 14 years.The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed oil and gas companies on Wednesday for their apparent profiteering from the energy crisis."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.Guterres, like the IMF, said that the funds from energy companies — which equate to $100 billion in the first quarter of 2022 — should be redirected to support vulnerable communities.

IMF tells Europe to let consumers bear the brunt of higher bills to encourage energy saving.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a parade marking Navy Day in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 31, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday called for restraint from both sides after Azerbaijan said its forces had crushed an Armenian attack near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. read more The dispute over the region, a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan controlled since the 1990s by ethnic Armenians, flared in 2020 into a six-week war in which Azeri troops regained swathes of territory.Both sides accused each other of violating the terms of a Russia-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday, which prompted international calls for an end to the 30 years of fighting.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"We are watching very closely, we are naturally concerned about the situation worsening," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We ask the parties for restraint and most importantly to implement all provisions of the trilateral documents."Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to work on a peace plan after a ceasefire but the two sides periodically accuse each other of firing shells.Peskov said there were currently no plans for President Vladimir Putin to speak to his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, but that any contact could be quickly arranged.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Kremlin calls for restraint from Azerbaijan, Armenia over Karabakh fighting.

World August 4, 2022 / 7:41 AM / CBS News Scientists use mini-satellites to save coral reefs Scientists use satellites in fight to save coral reefs 03:23 The central and northern stretches of Australia's Great Barrier Reef are showing the highest coral cover seen in 36 years, showing that the fragile UNESCO World Heritage site could still recover from decades of damage, a monitoring group reported Thursday. Coral cover in the southern region of the reef decreased, however, and the reef is vulnerable to increasingly common disturbances like mass bleaching events, the group said.There was an increase in average hard coral cover in the northern region of the reef to 36% in 2022 from 27% in 2021, and an increase in in the central region to 33% in 2022 from 27% in 2021, the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) said in its annual summary report.Despite this, "a third of the gain in coral cover we recorded in the south in 2020/21 was lost last year due to ongoing crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks," Dr. Paul Hardisty, CEO of AIMS, said in a statement. "This shows how vulnerable the Reef is to the continued acute and severe disturbances that are occurring more often, and are longer-lasting." Tourists flock to natural wonders being affected by climate change 05:07 AIMS has been monitoring the Great Barrier Reef since 1986. It said the increase in frequency of mass bleaching events — when coral, in response to stressful conditions like heat, loses its pigments and symbiotic algae, turns white, and potentially dies — were "uncharted territory." "In our 36 years of monitoring the condition of the Great Barrier Reef we have not seen bleaching events so close together," Hardisty said. "Every summer the Reef is at risk of temperature stress, bleaching and potentially mortality and our understanding of how the ecosystem responds to that is still developing."Dr. Mike Emslie, also from the AIMS monitoring program, said that most of the coral increase in the north and central parts of the reef was driven by fast-growing but fragile Acropora corals, and could therefore be reversed quickly. "These corals are particularly vulnerable to wave damage, like that generated by strong winds and tropical cyclones," Emslie said. "The increasing frequency of warming ocean temperatures and the extent of mass bleaching events highlights the critical threat climate change poses to all reefs, particularly while crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and tropical cyclones are also occurring. Future disturbance can reverse the observed recovery in a short amount of time." In: Climate Change Great Barrier Reef Australia Haley Ott Haley Ott is a digital reporter/producer for CBS News based in London. 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

Parts of Great Barrier Reef show highest coral cover seen in 36 years, report finds.

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey at the Bank of England, in London, Britain July 5, 2022. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England raised interest rates by the most in 27 years on Thursday, despite warning that a long recession is on its way, as it rushed to smother a rise in inflation which is now set to top 13%.Reeling from a surge in energy prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 for a half percentage point rise in Bank Rate to 1.75% - its highest level since late 2008 - from 1.25%. read more MARKET REACTION:Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSTOCKS: British stocks (.FTSE) extended gains after the central bank decision and were up nearly 0.5% on the day. Banking stocks (.FTNMX301010) jumped briefly before consolidating gains.FOREX: The pound edged higher immediately after the rate decision but then turned lower on the day as the central bank said the economy will enter into a recession by the fourth quarter of 2022.MONEY MARKETS: Interest rate markets were pricing in about 32 bps of rate hikes by September compared to 34 bps before the rate decisionCOMMENTS:JANET MUI, HEAD OF MARKET ANALYSIS, BREWIN DOLPHIN:“The move is in line with the outsized rate increases other major central banks have done recently. Financial markets expect Bank rate to eventually peak at close to 3% sometime in 2023, so there is some way to go before the Bank pause.“With the forthcoming jumbo increases in energy bills and further tightening in financial conditions for some households and corporates, the cost of living crisis will be a burning policy issue for the contenders of the next Prime Minister.”SAM COOPER, VICE PRESIDENT, MARKET RISK SOLUTIONS, SILICON VALLEY BANK:“No surprise in the headline decision to hike the interest rate by a 0.50% increment. However, the bleak outlook for GDP and rising inflation forecasts included in the meeting minutes have dampened market confidence and this has translated into a weaker sterling.”STUART COLE, HEAD MACRO ECONOMIST, EQUITI CAPITAL:"What I think is very telling is that the forecast for inflation for end 2023 is higher than CPI is at the moment. It is hard not to see more 50bps hikes being delivered given that fact.""Add onto that the upwards revision to CPI, which is now seen peaking at 13.3% and remaining elevated throughout next year, and it all points to a tough policy dilemma for the BoE going forward."PAUL CRAIG, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, QUILTER INVESTORS, LONDON:"In the back of the mind of policy makers will be the current public mood. Sentiment is shifting against the Bank of England with a recent survey pointing to more people being dissatisfied with the job it is doing than satisfied people.“The other significant shift from the BoE in recent weeks was the dropping of mortgage affordability rules. With the economic picture looking incredibly challenging, and mortgage rates subsequently rising off the back of the BoE’s moves, the decision to drop those rules is looking more and more circumspect by the day. There is a concern the lessons of 2008 are beginning to be forgotten."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by the London Markets and Finance Team; Compiled by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Reactions: Bank of England raises rates by most since 1995.

The logo for ConocoPhillips is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips (COP.N) on Thursday raised its planned annual shareholder returns by $5 billion after the U.S. oil producer's quarterly profit beat estimates on surging energy prices, sending shares up 3% in premarket trade.Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed with Western sanctions on major producer Russia throttling supply amid a rebound in demand from pandemic lows.Global crude benchmark Brent was trading at $96.81 a barrel on Thursday, around 25% higher this year.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHouston, Texas-based ConocoPhillips' average realized price per barrel of oil equivalent rose 77% to $88.57 in the quarter from a year earlier. The company has not hedged any of its oil and gas sales to make the most of higher market prices, it said.ConocoPhillips now plans to return $15 billion to shareholders this year, joining oil major Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and others in increasing payouts after years of pressure on shale drillers over low returns.The company, which kept its spending forecast intact, slightly lowered its full-year production outlook on uncertainty in Libya.The company's second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.91 per share beat Wall Street estimates of $3.80 per share, according to Refintiv IBES data.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ConocoPhillips sweetens shareholder returns by $5 bln as profit jumps.

Alex Jones attempts to answer questions about his emails asked by Mark Bankston, lawyer for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, during trial at the Travis County Courthouse, Austin, Texas, U.S., August 3, 2022. Briana Sanchez/Pool via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - A Texas judge on Thursday denied Alex Jones's motion for a mistrial in a defamation case over the U.S. conspiracy theorist’s false claims about the Sandy Hook mass shooting.The mistrial request came after it was disclosed at trial that Jones's lawyer accidentally sent two years of the U.S. conspiracy theorist's text messages to the plaintiffs.Federico Andino Reynal, an attorney for Jones, told Judge Maya Guerra Gamble that attorneys for the plaintiffs should have immediately destroyed the records. An attorney for the parents, Mark Bankston, used the texts to undercut Jones’ testimony during cross-examination Wednesday.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJones, founder of the Infowars radio show and webcast, is on trial to determine the amount of damages he owes for spreading falsehoods about the killing of 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of slain first-grader Jesse Lewis, are seeking as much as $150 million from Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems LLC, for what their lawyer has called a "vile campaign of defamation."Heslin told jurors on Tuesday that Jones' falsehoods had made his life “hell” and led to a campaign of harassment and death threats against him by people who believed he lied about his son’s death.Jones previously claimed that the mainstream media and gun-control activists conspired to fabricate the Sandy Hook tragedy and that the shooting was staged using crisis actors.Jones, who later acknowledged that the shooting took place, told the Austin jury on Wednesday that it was “100% real.”Gamble issued a rare default judgment against Jones in the case in 2021.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Judge denies Alex Jones request for mistrial in U.S. defamation case.

U.S. special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan April 2, 2022. Picture taken April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Jehad ShelbakRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comDUBAI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi movement continues to hold 12 current and former employees of the United States and United Nations, a U.S. official said on Thursday, calling on the group to release them in "a demonstration of good faith".The United States said in November that the Houthis had detained several Yemeni staff at the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Sanaa, without disclosing how many. UNESCO and U.N. Human Rights have said two staff members are being held. read more "We condemn the Houthi detention of 12 of our current and former U.S. and U.N. staff. They're still being held incommunicado," U.S. envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking told reporters.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"This detention...sends an extremely negative signal. We want to see a demonstration of good faith by the Houthis in releasing these individuals unconditionally."He did not specify how many of the 12 were embassy staff.The U.S. mission in Sanaa has been closed since 2015 after the Houthis ousted Yemen's internationally recognised government from the capital in late 2014, prompting a Saudi Arabian-led military coalition to intervene months later.The movement, the de facto authority in north Yemen, has criticised Washington for "abandoning" local staff but has not commented on the detentions.Yemen's warring sides on Tuesday renewed a two-month truce sponsored by the U.N. that first took hold in April. The organisation is pushing for an extended and expanded deal. read more "We're going to need compromise from all sides to make progress, which includes initial Houthi action to open the main roads to Taiz," Lenderking said, referring to Yemen's third largest city, which is effectively under Houthi siege.The group accuses the coalition of not delivering on the agreed number of fuel ships into Houthi-held Hodeidah port and select commercial flights from Sanaa under the truce. The Saudi-back government blames the Houthis for not opening main roads in Taiz and accuses them of not sharing port tax revenues.Lenderking said flights from Sanaa to Jordan "are working very well" and that talks would continue with Egypt, which has not allowed more than one flight to Cairo.Sources at Cairo airport have said Egypt needed more security checks for the flights. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. urges Yemen's Houthis to release embassy, U.N. staff.

A Sunoco station with current gasoline and diesel prices is seen during a fill up in Colesville, Maryland February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron//File Photo/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. distillate fuel oil inventories are depleting to critically low levels; either an imminent recession reduces consumption or prices are likely to surge higher.Distillate fuel oil is the lifeblood of industry and the worsening shortage shows the economy is hitting hard capacity constraints in the short term.Stocks of diesel, heating oil and other distillate fuel oils fell by more than 2 million barrels to 109 million barrels last week, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comDistillate inventories have declined in 66 of the last 109 weeks by a total of 65 million barrels since the start of July 2020 (“Weekly petroleum status report”, EIA, Aug. 3).The drawdown has more than offset the 45 million barrels accumulated in the second quarter of 2020 when consumption was hit by the first wave of the coronavirus and widespread lockdowns.Stocks are now in only the 8th percentile for all weeks since 2000, down from the 68th percentile at this point last year and a record at the end of July 2020.Inventories are more than 21 million barrels below the corresponding point in 2008, when prices were just coming off a record high, and at the lowest level for the time of year since 1996.(Chartbook: https://tmsnrt.rs/3zWMDZH)EXPORT DEMANDDistillate inventories usually increase during the third quarter as refineries boost crude processing to make more gasoline for the summer driving season.But this year, inventories have failed to rise, and have actually fallen by 2-3 million barrels since the end of June, the largest seasonal drawdown since at least 1990.Internal demand, measured by the volume of distillate supplied to the domestic market, is running 100,000-200,000 barrels per day below the corresponding point in 2021.But external demand, measured by net exports, is running at very high levels as refiners export to Latin America, Europe and Asia in response to strong consumption and to compensate for the loss of distillate exports from Russia.Net exports of distillate fuel oil averaged 1.4 million barrels per day in the most recent five weeks, one of the fastest rates in the last five years.RECESSION AHEADRebuilding distillate inventories will require a reduction in internal demand via a domestic business cycle downturn and a reduction in external demand via a global recession and/or easing of sanctions on Russia’s exports.Interest rate increases by the U.S. central bank are already spreading around the world and are likely to induce the required slowdown in industrial activity at home and abroad.In the United Kingdom, the governor of the Bank of England has forecast the economy will enter a recession before the end of year (“Bank of England raises rates by most since 1995 even as long recession looms”, Reuters, Aug. 4). read more The other major European economies are likely to enter a recession on a similar timescale as surging inflation and energy prices dampen household and business spending.China is struggling with its own worsening cyclical slowdown created by repeated lockdowns to control the spread of coronavirus.Recessionary forces will also propagate through the middle-income countries that are major industrial suppliers to North America, Europe and China - including Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.ENERGY CONSTRAINTU.S. interest rate traders now anticipate a recession is virtually certain, with the Treasury yield curve between two-year and ten-year maturities at its most inverted since before the dotcom crash in 2000.Distillate prices are incorporating a high probability that recession will dampen consumption and rebuild inventories over the course of 2023.The European gas oil futures calendar spread between December 2022 and December 2023 has softened to a backwardation of $15 per barrel from more than $32 in the middle of June.Macroeconomists sometimes employ a KLEMS model to identify the contributions of capital (K), labour (L), energy (E), materials (M) and services (S) as well as multifactor productivity to economic growth.Much of the recent discussion about growth and inflation has focused on the labour component (L) where economists and policymakers are divided on whether there is still unused spare capacity.But the U.S. economy has already hit a binding constraint on energy (E) which is showing up in the shortage of distillate (and to some extent gas and electricity), rising inflation, and will force a slowdown in growth in the short term.Related columns:- Low U.S. oil inventories imply deeper economic slowdown will be needed (Reuters, July 28) read more - Oil and interest rate futures point to cyclical downturn before end of 2022 (Reuters, July 22) read more - Global diesel shortages herald imminent economic slowdown (Reuters, May 19) read more - Diesel is the U.S. economy’s inflation canary (Reuters, Feb. 9) read more John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his ownRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEditing by Kirsten DonovanOur 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.John KempThomson ReutersJohn Kemp is a senior market analyst specializing in oil and energy systems. Before joining Reuters in 2008, he was a trading analyst at Sempra Commodities, now part of JPMorgan, and an economic analyst at Oxford Analytica. His interests include all aspects of energy technology, history, diplomacy, derivative markets, risk management, policy and transitions.

Column: U.S. diesel shortage shows economy hitting capacity limit.

Apple launches the iPhone 13 in the UKMing Yeung | Getty ImagesApple, Google, Amazon, Samsung and other firms are teeing up for a busy fall filled with lots of new gadget launches.It's like clockwork. Big tech companies launch the latest products, like phones, watches, or even robots and flying security drones, beginning in August and up through November, to gear up for the holiday shopping rush.Samsung kicks it off next week, on August 10, when it will announce new folding phones, giving it a chance to attract consumers before Apple holds its iPhone event in September. The new products at Apple's fall events have a direct impact on the company's balance sheet. The holiday quarter is typically Apple's biggest. It reported record revenue last year for the three months ended Dec. 25, for example.Meanwhile, Google has promised to launch its next phone with a brand new chip, and its first Apple Watch competitor, this fall. And don't forget Amazon: It typically announces new Echos, Fire TV products and sometimes tosses in a few surprises, like last year's Astro Robot, at an event held sometime between September and November.There's a lot, so here's a rundown of what to expect.SamsungSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 2SamsungHere's what to expect: Samsung will debut the next generation of its foldable smartphones — the teasers have confirmed that — including the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4.Customers can already reserve one of these new smartphones, even though they haven't been announced yet. Some of the chief complaints surrounding foldable phones have been the price of the higher-end Galaxy Z Fold model and the obvious seam that interrupts the phone's display. Any price drop or upgrades to make the fold less obvious will be notable. Samsung typically announces new earbuds, tablets and smartwatches to compete with Apple's iPad, AirPods and Apple Watch, too.Here's what it launched last August: Last year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which was priced at $1,799 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 for $1,000. It also announced the Galaxy Buds 2 headphones and the Galaxy Watch 4.Apple Customers walk past a digital display of the new green color Apple iPhone 13 pro inside the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, in New York, March 18, 2022.Mike Segar | ReutersHere's what to expect:Apple's reportedly planning four iPhone 14 models this year, according to Bloomberg, which said we can expect new features like an always-on display on the higher-end Pro models. The same report said Apple may ditch the 5.4-inch iPhone mini and instead launch a more affordable big-screened iPhone with a 6.7-inch screen. That suggests Apple will launch an iPhone 14, an iPhone 14 with a bigger screen, the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.Apple is also set to unveil three new Apple Watch variations, including a new entry-level SE model, a standard Series 8, and a rugged edition aimed at extreme sports, according to Bloomberg. The AirPods Pro earbuds are due for an update, and there's still talk of Apple's first mixed reality headset, but those could also come later.Still, Apple's mixed reality headset would mark the company's first major product launch since it unveiled the Apple Watch in 2015. The headset will combine elements of virtual and augmented reality, allowing users to place digital content on top of the real world, according to Bloomberg. Apple has been working hard on VR content, enlisting Jon Favreau to develop video content for its headset, the New York Times said in June.What it launched last September: Last year at its fall product event Apple announced a new iPad and iPad mini, the Apple Watch Series 7, the iPhone 13, the iPhone 13 mini and the iPhone 13 Pro Max.Google Google Pixel 7 and 7 ProGoogleWhile Google doesn't make much revenue from its hardware business, it will launch its first smartwatch and the Google Pixel 7 as it continues to try to build momentum in the hardware market.Here's what to expect: Google has announced gadgets in October for years. Back in May at its I/O event, Google teased what's on deck. Its newest phone, the Pixel 7 will have a second-generation Tensor processor and a glass design with a new aluminum camera bar. A larger Pixel 7 Pro model will ship with a triple-lens camera. But we don't know much about what else is new about the phones, like the prices, or what the cameras and new chip are capable of, so expect to hear all about that.Google also teased its Pixel Watch, the company's first smartwatch, which will launch this fall. In a tweet on May 11, Google said the watch, "features the best of Google, plus Fitbit health and fitness experiences." So, expect some sort of software tie-in that provides new fitness and health features.It's possible we could see updates to at least one Google Nest product. A recent FCC filing by Google described a product their working on as a "wireless device," with connectivity ports similar to current Nest devices, according to 9to5Google. It hasn't announced new Nest thermostats or speakers since 2020, so those could be on deck.What it launched last year: Last August, Google announced new Nest cameras and doorbells. Then, in October, Google unveiled all the details of its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones. Those were the first smartphones to run on Google's Tensor chip instead of Qualcomm's processor.Amazon Amazon Echo Show 15AmazonHere's what to expect: Amazon historically holds its hardware event sometime in the fall, when it announces a slew of gadgets, ranging from new Echos (like last year's Echo Show 15, pictured above) to glasses with Alexa built-in and more.The fourth-generation Echo speaker launched in October 2020, so that's due for an update unless Amazon continues to experiment with new form factors. Likewise, Amazon typically announces updates to its Fire TV products in the fall.For the past two years, Amazon's Ring has been teasing the Ring Always Home Cam, a flying drone camera for home security. It still hasn't launched, so it's possible we'll find out when it will hit the market.Here's what it launched last year: Amazon had few surprises in store last year, so this year could be just as exciting. Amazon debuted its Astro home robot, which is still only available by invite-only. It also announced its first smart thermostat, the first Amazon-branded TV sets, the Echo Show 15 and a new Halo View fitness tracker.FacebookThis photo from Oculus shows what it might be like to play it in an apartment. OculusHere's what to expect: Meta, formerly Facebook, could have a new virtual reality headset on deck.Bloomberg said in July that Meta is gearing up to announce the Meta Quest Pro virtual reality set later this year. It will reportedly cost more than $1,000 and will have a better screen, improved cameras and support for improved graphics.Meta's Quest 2 headset is currently the most popular on the market. As other players enter the race to develop the so-called "metaverse," Facebook's parent company will need to continue to advance its hardware to stay in the lead. And it may want to get something out ahead of whatever Apple is planning.Here's what it launched last year: Last September Facebook unveiled its updated Portal video-calling devices. It hasn't released a new version of its Oculus device since September 2020.

Gadget season is here — new folding phones, watches and earbuds are coming.

A person arrives to receive a monkeypox vaccination at the Northwell Health Immediate Care Center at Fire Island-Cherry Grove, in New York, U.S., July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo MunozRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - The United States has declared a monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Thursday, a move expected to free up additional funding and tools to fight the disease.The World Health Organization has also declared monkeypox a "public health emergency of international concern," its highest alert level. The WHO declaration last month was designed to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments. read more Biden on Aug. 2 appointed two top federal officials to coordinate his administration's response to monkeypox, following declarations of emergencies by California, Illinois and New York. read more Cases have crossed 6,600 in the United States, as of Wednesday's data, almost all of them among men who have sex with men.First identified in monkeys in 1958, the disease has mild symptoms including fever, aches and pus-filled skin lesions, and people tend to recover from it within two to four weeks, according to the World Health Organization.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru, Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Leela de Kretser; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. govt declares monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric HolderPaul Morigi | WireImage | Getty ImagesFormer President Donald Trump "probably" will be indicted on criminal charges along with officials in his White House as part of a Justice Department investigation of efforts to reverse the 2020 election results nationally, ex-Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview Thursday.But Holder suggested that before that happens, Trump is more likely to first face possible criminal charges from the Georgia state prosecutor who is investigating attempts by Trump and his allies to undo the win there by President Joe Biden in 2020.Holder, who led the Justice Department during the Obama administration, made those predictions during an interview with the SiriusXM Urban View satellite radio show Joe Madison The Black Eagle.Madison asked whether he would seek to indict Trump if he still were attorney general.Holder demurred, saying he did not have access to all the material that the Justice Department currently has regarding Trump.Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational - Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 28, 2022 in Bedminster, New Jersey.Cliff Hawkins | Getty ImagesBut he told Madison that, based on his experience as a federal prosecutor who filed public corruption cases against elected officials, as "more evidence is elicited, you will see people start to cut deals.""My guess is that by the end of this process, you're going to see indictments involving high-level people in the White House, you're going to see indictments against people outside the White House who were advising them with regard to the attempt to steal the election," said Holder."And I think ultimately you're probably going to see the president, former president of the United States indicted as well," he said.The Justice Department reportedly is presenting evidence and testimony before two federal grand juries in Washington, D.C., one of which is eyeing a plan by Trump's lawyers and others to have so-called fake electors claim that the then-Republican incumbent won the election in their individual states.The other grand jury is investigating events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, when a mob of Trump supporters interrupted for hours the confirmation of Biden's Electoral College win by Congress.Pat Cipollone, who served as Trump's White House counsel, has been subpoenaed to appear before one of those grand juries, multiple news outlets reported Wednesday.Trump for weeks after the November 2020 popular election had falsely claimed that he defeated Biden, and argued his Democratic opponent's Electoral College victory was based on widespread ballot fraud in several swing states.The former president since leaving the White House has continued to dispute the 2020 election results, and has said hat the investigations into his conduct and that of his allies are politically motivated witch hunts.Holder in his interview said the pace of the Justice Department investigation into election meddling is likely to proceed in the same way that a character in the Ernest Hemingway novel "The Sun Also Rises" answered when another character asked how he went bankrupt: "Gradually, then suddenly.""I expect you're going to see the pace of this investigation, or these investigations pick up," Holder told Madison.But Holder also said that he expected the Justice Department to "go dark" and not take public action in the case until after this fall's midterm elections.The department in a long-standing practice in the months leading up to elections does not tend to file criminal charges or issue statements that might influence the outcome of elections."You watch the Justice Department in 2023," Holder said."But I think before that, I expect something coming of that prosecutor in Atlanta," he added.That prosecutor, Fulton County [Georgia} District Attorney Fani Willis, is presenting evidence and testimony to a special grand jury empaneled to investigate possible criminal meddling in her state's election by Trump and his surrogates.That grand jury has issued subpoenas to a number of fake Trump electors, as well to the former president's lawyers and to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C."I think in terms of time, that is the more advanced" investigation, Holder said Thursday."The case is in some ways less complicated," he said, noting that Trump is known to have phoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state's top election official, on Jan. 2, 2021, and pressured Raffensperger to help find enough votes to overcome Biden's margin of victory there."You have the former president on tape saying, 'Find me 11,780 votes,' " Holder said."Now people argue: 'What was his intent?' Holder said, referring to questions about whether Trump had criminal intent in asking such a question."Really?" Holder said sarcastically. "Put that before a jury ... Regular people, looking at the evidence, I think will get to what I think is an appropriate conclusion.""So my eyes are on Fulton County first. Look at the Justice Department in 2023," Holder said.

Trump likely to be criminally charged in DOJ election probe along with other former White House officials, Obama AG Holder says.

U.S. Updated on: August 4, 2022 / 2:48 PM / AP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the elected state prosecutor of Tampa on Thursday for pledging not to enforce the state's new 15-week abortion ban and for supporting gender-affirming treatments for minors.The Republican governor announced the suspension of Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren at a news conference in the county's sheriff's office, where DeSantis and law enforcement officers criticized Warren for not prosecuting certain crimes. "When you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty, you have neglected your duty and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties," DeSantis said to cheers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference on gas prices. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Warren, a Democrat, was elected as state attorney by Hillsborough County voters in 2016 and in 2020. In a statement, Warren said "the people have the right to elect their own leaders — not have them dictated by an aspiring presidential candidate who has shown time and again he feels accountable to no one." "Today's political stunt is an illegal overreach that continues a dangerous pattern by Ron DeSantis of using his office to further his own political ambition. It spits in the face of the voters of Hillsborough County who have twice elected me to serve them, not Ron DeSantis," he said.The suspension comes as DeSantis runs for reelection in Florida and builds his national profile as a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate through near constant criticism of liberal policies on abortion, policing and other culture war issues. Asked whether he's overriding the will of the voters by suspending their choice for prosecutor, DeSantis said Warren's conduct has fallen "below the standard of the Florida Constitution" and that he's neglected his duty to state law."I don't think the people of Hillsborough County want to have an agenda that is basically woke, where you're deciding that your view of social justice means certain laws shouldn't be enforced," the governor said.Rep. Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat and leader-designate of the Florida House Democratic Caucus, said Warren has been using his prosecutorial discretion appropriately."I'm not going to mince words: this is a shocking political attack on an elected official serving the people of Hillsborough County," she said. "Andrew Warren is being removed because he assured our community that he will not be a foot soldier in Ron DeSantis' extremist agenda." In an executive order formally suspending Warren, DeSantis focused heavily on Warren's signing of statements where prosecutors from across the country said they won't use their offices to pursue criminal cases against seekers or providers of abortion or gender-affirming treatments. Critics condemn Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law 04:59 Florida has not enacted laws criminalizing gender-affirming treatments for minors but "these statements prove that Warren thinks he has the authority to defy the Florida Legislature and nullify in his jurisdiction criminal laws with which he disagrees," the executive order reads. The state's new abortion restriction became effective July 1. It prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant woman's life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.Violators could face up to five years in prison. Physicians and other medical professionals could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation.The executive order also accuses Warren of having a "flawed and lawless understanding of his duties as a state attorney" in his "presumptive non-enforcement for certain criminal violations, including trespassing at a business location, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution.""The governor's suspension of State Attorney Warren is not political to me. It's about law and order. It's about ensuring our loved ones are safe. It's about the victims and their voices," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. He said Warren has been acting as a kind of "supreme authority by reducing charges, dropping cases and singlehandedly determining what crimes will be legal or illegal in our county." DeSantis appointed Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez to serve in Warren's place during his suspension. "I have the utmost respect for our state laws and I understand the important role that the state attorney plays in ensuring the safety of our community and the enforcement of our laws," Lopez said. In: Abortion civil rights Ron DeSantis Florida Crime

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends prosecutor over his stance on new abortion law, gender-affirming care.

A sign for hire is posted on the door of a GameStop in New York City, U.S., April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryWeekly jobless claims increase 6,000 to 260,000Continuing claims rise 48,000 to 1.416 millionTrade deficit shrinks 6.2% to $79.6 billion in JuneWASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week, suggesting some softening in the labor market, though overall conditions remain tight.That was underscored by other data on Thursday showing a sharp decline in layoffs announced by U.S.-based companies in July. The still-low level of unemployment claims and brisk pace of hiring support views that the economy is not in recession despite gross domestic product contracting in the first half."The risk is that claims continue to drift higher as labor market conditions slowly cool, but we don't anticipate a sharp rise from current levels any time soon as demand for workers continues to outstrip supply," said Lydia Boussour, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comInitial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 260,000 for the week ended July 30, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 259,000 applications for the latest week.Some of the recent increase in claims could be the result of difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations. Motor vehicle manufacturers normally shutdown assembly plants for annual retooling in July, resulting in temporary layoffs.But chip shortages could have disrupted the timing of the retooling, potentially throwing off the model that the government uses to strip seasonal fluctuations from the data.Unadjusted claims fell 9,825 to 205,587 last week. A big jump in filings in Connecticut was offset by notable decreases in Massachusetts, Kentucky and Ohio.Seasonally adjusted claims broke above 230,000 at the beginning of June, hitting an eight-month high of 261,000 in mid-July. However, they remain below the 270,000-300,000 range that economists say would signal a slowdown in the labor market."If initial claims start to hover around that level, it would be cause for concern, since it would increase the risk that employment starts declining and the unemployment rate begins to rise," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "A rising unemployment rate sends an ominous warning of recession."The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 48,000 to 1.416 million during the week ending July 23. The so-called continuing claims, a proxy for hiring, were the highest in three months.Stocks on Wall Street were little changed. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices rose.LOW LAYOFFSThe economy contracted 1.3% in the first half, meeting the definition of a recession. Wild swings in inventories and the trade deficit tied to snarled global supply chains have been largely to blame for the two straight quarterly declines in gross domestic product.There were 10.7 million job openings at the end of June, with 1.8 openings for every unemployed worker.For now, layoffs remain very low. A separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday showed job cuts announced by U.S.-based companies dropped 20.6% to 25,810 in July.So far this year, employers have announced 159,021 layoffs, down 31.3% from the same period last year and the lowest January-July since 1993.Job cuts this year have been concentrated in the automotive, technology and financial sectors. Semiconductor shortages have hampered the auto industry, while layoffs in the technology and financial sector reflect cooling demand because of higher interest rates.The Federal Reserve last week raised its policy rate by another three-quarters of a percentage point. The U.S. central bank has now hiked that rate by 225 basis points since March."Job cut levels are nowhere near where they were in the 2001 and 2008 recessions right now, though they may be ticking up," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "If we're in a recession, we have yet to feel it in the labor market."The claims data has no bearing on July's employment report, which is scheduled to be released on Friday. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 250,000 jobs last month after rising by 372,000 in June.A third report from the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the trade deficit narrowed 6.2% to $79.6 billion in June as exports surged to a record high. Trade was the economy's only bright spot in the second quarter, adding 1.43 percentage points to GDP after being a drag for seven straight quarters."That provides a decent base for net exports to continue boosting GDP growth going in the third quarter," said Andrew Hunter, an economist at Capital Economics. "But with the latest survey evidence suggesting that faltering global growth and the stronger dollar are set to hit export demand over the coming months, that support probably won't be sustained."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Bill RigbyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. weekly jobless claims increase, but labor market remains tight.

In this photo provided by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority the Hardy Reef is viewed from the air near the Whitsunday Islands, AustraliaJumbo Aerial Photography | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority via APTwo-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia recorded the highest amount of coral cover in nearly four decades, though the reef is still vulnerable to climate change and mass bleaching, a monitoring group said Thursday.The northern and central parts of the UNESCO world heritage-listed reef have experienced some recovery while the southern region has seen a loss of coral cover due to crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, according to a report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, a government agency.AIMS CEO Paul Hardisty said that while the coral in the north and central regions was a sign the reef could recover from disturbances, the loss of coral in the southern region demonstrated how the reef is still vulnerable to "continued acute and severe disturbances that are occurring more often and are longer-lasting."The Great Barrier Reef has suffered from widespread and severe bleaching because of rising ocean temperatures. The reef was hit especially hard in 2016 and 2017 by underwater heat waves that prompted bleaching events. This year, it's suffering a sixth mass bleaching due to heat stress caused by climate change."Every summer the Reef is at risk of temperature stress, bleaching and potentially mortality and our understanding of how the ecosystem responds to that is still developing," Hardisty said in a media release."The 2020 and 2022 bleaching events, while extensive, didn't reach the intensity of the 2016 and 2017 events and, as a result, we have seen less mortality," Hardisty said. "These latest results demonstrate the Reef can still recover in periods free of intense disturbances."The report comes after UNESCO last year proposed adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of world heritage sites that are in danger. A meeting to discuss the future of the reef was supposed to be held in Russia in June but was canceled after the invasion of Ukraine.On the central and northern regions, hard coral cover reached 33% and 36% this year, respectively, the highest level recorded in the past 36 years of monitoring, the report said. Meanwhile, regionwide hard coral cover on reefs in the southern area fell to 34% this year, compared with 38% in the year prior.

Parts of Great Barrier Reef show highest coral cover seen in 36 years.

If you took out a loan earlier this year, there's a chance you'll be hearing from your bank about a flub that may have been part of its lending decision.One of the three big credit-reporting companies, Equifax, announced this week that a coding issue resulted in the company providing inaccurate consumer credit scores to lenders between March 17 and April 6. Millions of scores were affected, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.While most of the scores did not experience a material difference, Equifax said, a sizable number — less than 300,000 — saw a shift of 25 points or more due to the error. That's more than enough to cause a different lending decision.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 habitsEquifax said in its announcement that it is collaborating with its customers — i.e., the lenders — to determine the "actual impact to customers." The company did not respond to a CNBC query seeking specifics on how consumers will be notified and what they can expect if they were among those impacted.The revelation also has led to a class-action lawsuit being filed against Equifax in U.S. District Court in North Georgia, according to an NBC News report. The suit seeks a jury trial for damages suffered by affected consumers.Why the credit scoring mistake mattersAs consumers know, credit scores play a big role in determining whether you are approved for a loan or credit card, and, if so, what interest rate or fees you will pay. The higher the score, the better the terms you're able to qualify for (and vice versa).FICO scores — which typically range from 300 to 850 — are what most lenders use to inform their decisions. For mortgage and auto loans, there are generally 20-point bands within that range, each associated with particular loan terms, said Al Bingham, a credit expert and mortgage loan officer with Momentum Loans.For example, if your score falls in the 700 to 719 bracket, you get the same rate regardless of whether your score is 700 or 719."As long as the change in the Equifax credit score stayed within that [band], there is no issue," Bingham said.Yet if the mistake caused the score to jump outside that band in one direction or the other, "it becomes an issue for rates and fees," he said. In other words, those 300,000 or so consumers whose scores were wrong by 25 points or more either received worse terms than they should have — or they could even have been rejected altogether — or qualified for better terms than their actual score would have allowed.How to tell if you were affected by the coding issueIt's unclear when consumers will hear directly from their bank or other lender if they were materially affected by an inaccurate score. A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., said, "We are proactively working with Equifax and our customers to address [the issue] on a case-by-case basis."If you wonder whether you could have been impacted because you took out a loan (or tried to but were rejected) during the affected time frame, you should be able to check your documents from the transaction to see if the lender provided your FICO score in disclosure forms, Bingham said.Be aware that lenders handle various consumer loans differently when it comes to the information they acquire to make a lending decision. For auto and personal loans, banks usually ask only one of the three big credit-reporting firms — Equifax, TransUnion or Experian — for a score, Bingham said. So if you don't see Equifax in your paperwork, you are not affected.Keep in mind, however, that even if you discover that Equifax provided your score to your lender, this doesn't mean the number was inaccurate enough to change the terms of your loan.Added complication for mortgage applicantsFor mortgages, it could be more complicated to determine how a faulty score impacted the loan terms you qualified for. Lenders check the FICO score from all three of those companies and use the middle one — and that's what is disclosed to the mortgage applicant, Bingham said."If the Equifax score was so compromised that it dropped or increased below or above one of the other FICO scores, that is a bigger challenge," he said. "That means the Experian or TransUnion score was used and should not have been."Or, he said, the inaccurate Equifax score could have been the middle one used by the lender."It is going to be really difficult for any lender or consumer to correct the Equifax FICO score [that was used]," Bingham said.

Equifax coding error caused millions of inaccurate credit scores. How to know if you are affected.

In this photo provided by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority the Hardy Reef is viewed from the air near the Whitsunday Islands, AustraliaJumbo Aerial Photography | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority via APTwo-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia recorded the highest amount of coral cover in nearly four decades, though the reef is still vulnerable to climate change and mass bleaching, a monitoring group said Thursday.The northern and central parts of the UNESCO world heritage-listed reef have experienced some recovery while the southern region has seen a loss of coral cover due to crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, according to a report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, a government agency.AIMS CEO Paul Hardisty said that while the coral in the north and central regions was a sign the reef could recover from disturbances, the loss of coral in the southern region demonstrated how the reef is still vulnerable to "continued acute and severe disturbances that are occurring more often and are longer-lasting."The Great Barrier Reef has suffered from widespread and severe bleaching because of rising ocean temperatures. The reef was hit especially hard in 2016 and 2017 by underwater heat waves that prompted bleaching events. This year, it's suffering a sixth mass bleaching due to heat stress caused by climate change."Every summer the Reef is at risk of temperature stress, bleaching and potentially mortality and our understanding of how the ecosystem responds to that is still developing," Hardisty said in a media release."The 2020 and 2022 bleaching events, while extensive, didn't reach the intensity of the 2016 and 2017 events and, as a result, we have seen less mortality," Hardisty said. "These latest results demonstrate the Reef can still recover in periods free of intense disturbances."The report comes after UNESCO last year proposed adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of world heritage sites that are in danger. A meeting to discuss the future of the reef was supposed to be held in Russia in June but was canceled after the invasion of Ukraine.On the central and northern regions, hard coral cover reached 33% and 36% this year, respectively, the highest level recorded in the past 36 years of monitoring, the report said. Meanwhile, regionwide hard coral cover on reefs in the southern area fell to 34% this year, compared with 38% in the year prior.

Parts of Great Barrier Reef show highest coral cover seen in 36 years.

A representation of the cryptocurrency is seen in front of Coinbase logo in this illustration taken, March 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Shares in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O)soared more than 16% on Thursday after it announced that it had partnered with BlackRock (BLK.N), the world's largest asset manager, to provide its institutional clients with access to crypto trading and custody services. [nL1N2ZG1E4]The agreement offers some positive news for the company which, like many in the crypto sector, has been battered by a slump in crypto asset prices as investors fled risky assets amid geopolitical turmoil, rising rates and worries of an impending recession. read more Coinbase has been among the worst hit, with shares down over 60% so far this year.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe company's institutional trading platform for crypto assets, Coinbase Prime, will provide crypto trading, custody, prime brokerage and reporting capabilities to institutional clients on BlackRock's Aladdin, who are also clients of Coinbase.Aladdin offers a suite of software tools designed to help institutional investors manage their portfolios.The news underscores how traditional institutions including pension funds, hedge funds, and banks have been pushing into crypto assets over the past 18 months, wagering the alternative asset class is here to stay.“Our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of these assets,” said Joseph Chalom, Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock in a statement.Coinbase has been building out its institutional client base via its Prime platform which services hedge funds, corporate treasuries and other financial institutions, it says.Institutional trading volumes on Coinbase in the first quarter of 2022 were $235 billion compared with $74 billion for retail customers, its filings show. While that institutional volume was down compared with the previous three quarters, it was up just over 9% compared with the same quarter last year.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Michelle Price in Washington DC; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Janet McBrideOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Coinbase shares soar on deal to provide crypto services for BlackRock clients.

Millions of people are taking online courses to level up their goal-setting, communication and technical skills this year, according to LinkedIn Learning, which recently released its top 20 most popular classes of 2022 so far.The e-learning platform says some 7.3 million people have tuned into the top classes on the site — nearly double the audience during the same time period last year.The most popular course, a 34-minute series on goal-setting taught by Google people development expert Jessie Withers, teaches learners how to set and reach strategic objectives with their teams — an important skillset at any time but perhaps even more so as companies respond to mounting economic pressures.Interest in e-learning spiked during Covid with people stuck at home, and it remains high. According to LinkedIn Learning user data, users are logging on in droves to learn both soft skills (especially around communication and teamwork) and technical ones (like Excel, Python and SQL). Notably, economists say some of the most "recession-proof" skills include communication, flexibility and project management.LinkedIn Learning is making its top 20 most popular courses of the year free to access through Aug. 31. Here's what's available:1. Goal Setting: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)Instructor: Jessie WithersCourse description: Understand the power of strategic goals through how to set, manage and measure OKRs. 2. Excel Essential Training (Office 365/Microsoft 365)Instructor: Dennis TaylorCourse description: Learn basic Excel skills such as organizing data and performing calculations with simple functions, then preview intermediate skills like building charts, PivotTables and more. 3. Interpersonal CommunicationInstructor: Dorie ClarkCourse description: Advice for dealing with interruptions, receiving critical feedback and communicating across cultures.4. Cultivating a Growth MindsetInstructor: Gemma Leigh RobertsCourse description: Hear examples of growth-mindset success, backed by research in the fields of performance and psychology, plus real-world advice that you can put to use.5. Project Management Foundations   Instructor: Bonnie Biafore  Course description: Learn to set clear project goals and objectives, meet deadlines and close out projects. Plus, tips on how to communicate effectively with your project team.6. Using Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and CuriosityInstructor: Joshua MillerCourse description: Learn how curiosity and critical thinking can help you open doors and opportunities. Plus, a look at social media's role in asking questions, and how to effectively answer thought-provoking questions.7. Essentials of Team CollaborationInstructor: Dana BrownleeCourse description: Keep teams in sync by exploring communication styles, clarifying team and individual purposes, and creating opportunities for collaborative work.8. Unconscious BiasInstructor: Stacey GordonCourse description: Identify some of the most common forms of unconscious bias and learn strategies for effectively addressing them within yourself and your organization.9. Learning PythonInstructor: Joe MariniCourse description: Unpack basic Python syntax and learn how to construct and run a simple Python program.10. Communicating with ConfidenceInstructor: Jeff AnsellCourse description: Organize your thoughts, use body language to better express ideas and overcome anxiety.11. Speaking Confidently and EffectivelyInstructor: Pete MockaitisCourse description: Deliver impactful presentations by shifting your focus away from yourself to gain confidence, using body language and tone to deliver consistent messaging, and crafting a plan to recover from a worst-case-scenario incident.12. Learning the OWASP Top 10Instructor: Caroline WongCourse description: Get an overview of the 2021 Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Top 10 security threats, with insights about the prevalence and impact of each threat.13. Power BI Essential TrainingInstructor: Gini von CourterCourse description: Learn to use Power BI, the business analytics tools, to create and share impactful visualizations.14. Strategic ThinkingInstructor: Dorie ClarkCourse description: Embrace a strategic mindset, use past lessons to shape your future vision, be detailed in your strategic thinking and share this skill with your team.15. SQL Essential TrainingInstructor: Bill WeinmanCourse description: Learn the major features of SQL using SQLiteStudio, an intuitive and accessible database management software.16. Developing Your Emotional IntelligenceInstructor: Gemma Leigh RobertsCourse description: Learn about emotional intelligence, why it's important in the workplace and how to hone it.17. Communication FoundationsInstructor: Brenda Bailey-Hughes and Tatiana KolovouCourse description: Learn about the four building blocks of communication — people, message, context and listening — and how to apply them in meetings, email messages, pitches and presentations.18. Agile FoundationsInstructor: Doug RoseCourse description: Learn about the values covered in the Agile Manifesto, plus how to enhance communication with user stories and cross-functional teams.19. Digital Marketing FoundationsInstructor: Brad BatesoleCourse description: Learn about online marketing, plus how to define your value proposition, identify your target market, and establish your goals and key performance indicators (or KPIs).20. Critical ThinkingInstructor: Mike FigliuoloCourse description: Define the problem you're trying to solve and develop critical thinking skills.Check out:4.2 million people quit in June despite recession worries: 'A paradox in our economy'What's a good salary or raise to ask for right now? How to find your number in this wild job marketThis recruiter got laid off and landed a new job two weeks later—her best job-search tipsSign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

LinkedIn's 20 most popular courses in 2022 are all free to take right now.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesH1 op profit falls to 125 mln pounds, 24% below consensusExpects "modestly" positive cashflow for the full yearSays managing inflation and supply-chain disruptionLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Aero-engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.L) disappointed investors by reporting a bigger-than-expected fall in first-half profit on Thursday, underscoring the challenge facing its new chief executive of restoring the health of its civil aviation business.Shares in Rolls-Royce fell 7.5% after the British company, whose engines power the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787, reported its underlying operating profit fell to 125 million pounds ($152 million) from 307 million pounds a year earlier, missing consensus by 24%.Its civil aviation business reported an underlying operating loss of 79 million pounds ($96 million) despite a 43% increase in flying hours, a key driver of revenue.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comChief Executive Warren East, who will be succeeded by ex-BP executive Tufan Erginbilgic at the end of the year, pointed to an improvement in free cash flow of 1.1 billion pounds and strong order intake in its power systems business.He said cash flow was still expected to be "modestly" positive for the whole year, after a cash burn of 68 million pounds in the first half.That compares to cash burn of 1.5 billion pounds in 2021, and 4.2 billion pounds in 2020 when the pandemic grounded jets worldwide.Rolls Royce engine of the first Fiji Airways A350 XWB airliner is seen at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File PhotoEast said the company was facing headwinds from higher inflation and supply-chain disruption, such as chip shortages and finding alternative suppliers of titanium."We are actively managing the impacts of a number of challenges, including rising inflation and ongoing supply chain disruption, with a sharper focus on pricing, productivity and costs," he said.The company's shares were briefly boosted on Wednesday when it received final clearance for the sale of ITP Aero.Analysts at J.P. Morgan Cazenove questioned how Rolls-Royce expected to generate free cashflow when its profit was so low.They said the answer was that the vast majority of cash flow in the next four years would likely come from pre-payments on long-term serviced agreement and not accrue to shareholders.($1 = 0.8218 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEditing by Kate Holton and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Rolls-Royce profit slumps as it battles inflation, supply-chain disruption.

U.S. actor Tom Cruise attends the premiere of 'Top Gun: Maverick' in London, Britain May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Henry NichollsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryCompaniesDirect-to-consumer losses climb to $445 mlnQ2 operating income down 33% to $819 mlnRemoves 3.9 mln streaming subscribers related to Russia exitShares down 2.5%, adding to 19% YTD lossesAug 4 (Reuters) - Paramount Global (PARA.O) beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly revenue and profit on Thursday, powered by the May release of blockbuster Tom Cruise-starrer "Top Gun: Maverick" even as streaming subscriber growth slowed.The sequel to the 1986 action flick "Top Gun" surged past Disney's Marvel adventure "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" as the highest-grossing movie of the year and garnered $1 billion in global box office sales, bringing much needed relief to the film unit struggling since the pandemic outbreak.Still, shares slipped 2.5% on widening losses in its streaming business.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLosses in direct-to-consumer segment surged to $445 million from $143 million as the company, also home to CBS and Pluto TV, has been spending on content and international expansion."We expect the company to step up investment in content and international market expansions, which will drag OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) and free cash flow through 2023," J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note.Paramount's reliance on advertising has also dragged its TV media business, as inflation-hit marketers reined in spending."They are short-term challenges that we've got to work through," Chief Executive Bob Bakish told analysts.The company is also likely to face pressure as bigger streaming rivals Netflix (NFLX.O) and Walt Disney's (DIS.N) Disney+ dip their foot into advertising.In the second quarter ended June, Paramount+, the company's flagship streaming platform, added 4.9 million subscribers, compared to 6.8 million in the preceding quarter.The company removed a total of 3.9 million streaming subscribers related to its Russia exit."Though we don't have any imminent price changes, they will happen in the future," Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra said.Paramount earned 64 cents per share on revenue of $7.78 billion, while analysts expected 61 cents profit on revenue of $7.57 billion, according to Refinitiv data.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Paramount gets lift from 'Top Gun' but streaming losses a drag.

An employee checks out a customer at Paulina Meat Market in the Lakeview neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, June 28, 2022.Bianca Flowers | ReutersEmployers likely added fewer jobs in July, but the monthly employment report is still expected to show a robust pace of hiring that should edge lower in coming months. Economists expect 258,000 jobs were added, down from 372,000 in June, according to Dow Jones. Unemployment is expected to hold at 3.6%, and wages are expected to rise by 0.3%. The jobs report is released Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. "I think it should be a right down the strike zone kind of report ," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "You've got more layoffs, initial claims are up and you have fewer hires because unfilled positions have come down...We were close to 400,000 [new jobs] last month, 500,000 the month before. The models say 225,000."The labor market is in a state of flux. Hiring is expected to slow as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to cool inflation — and the economy. But companies are still looking to hire as they struggle with worker shortages.That and a shift by consumers to spend on services, such as travel, rather than goods means some industries see strong growth while others potentially decline. For instance, more jobs are expected in health care and leisure and entertainment but fewer in manufacturing. Construction jobs could show a loss."As long as you're above 200,000, you're still doing better than pre-pandemic and it's still strong, "said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. "It doesn't feel very good because it's being accompanied by inflation."Companies including Walmart, Amazon and Tesla have already planned layoffs, and economists expect to see more job losses from companies in construction, technology, retail and finance, among others.As the Fed continues to raise interest rates, economists expect more and more steam to come out of the labor market. By the end of the year, some say the huge gains in monthly job growth could turn into actual declines. By then, the Fed's target interest rate, at zero before its March rate hike, could stand at 3.25% to 3.5%, according to the central bank's latest forecast.Equal opportunity scourge "At the moment, inflation is hurting everyone. It's an equal opportunity scourge at this point," said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Bank of America. "What policy makers are faced with is pushing the unemployment rate higher."Inflation continued to soar in June, with the consumer price index jumping 9.1%. But economists expect inflation has peaked, and job growth now seems to have as well."Somewhere in here, there's going to be an inflection point," said Gapen. "The trend in unemployment claims suggests that's in front of us. Jobless claims have been moving higher since April, but they're still super low by historical trends." Weekly unemployment claims rose by 6,000 to 260,000 for the week ended July 30, near the highest level since last November.Gapen expects by the end of the year, job growth could turn negative, and there could then be several monthly reports with job losses as high as 150,000. He expects a shallow recession to take hold by then.Swonk said she also expects payrolls to turn negative, with monthly job losses between 100,000 and 200,000.Zandi said he is not currently expecting a recession, and thinks the Fed is trying to engineer a soft landing without big job losses. He said the payroll numbers could get to around zero."If the Fed could draw a line, the line they would draw is you go right up to negative numbers and you have unemployment notch higher. You take the steam out of any wage growth. You get it consistent with any productivity growth. That's what they have in mind," Zandi said.Zandi said job growth in a healthy economy can be more like 100,000 than the huge monthly numbers that came as the economy rebuilt after the Covid shutdowns. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private sector payrolls have surpassed the number of workers in February 2020 by 140,000 employees.Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has pointed to the strong labor market as one reason he does not believe the economy is actually in a recession now, despite two quarters of negative gross domestic product. Typically two quarters of contraction could indicate a recession, along with other factors, such as rising unemployment but, for now, the economy is seen as being in just a technical recession.This employment report is one of two the Fed will see before it decides how much to raise interest rates at its September meeting. Some economists expect the Fed will slow down its rate hikes and raise by just a half percentage point instead of the three-quarter point hikes it made in both June and July.Keying on wage growthMarkets will be keying on the strength of the number of workers added, and on wage growth, which is expected to slow slightly. Wages are expected to rise by 4.9% from a year ago, slower than June's 5.1% pace."Given the fact we've rallied pretty well into the number, there's more opportunity for disappointment than there is for markets to be positively surprised," said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "If you do get positive information that the labor market is cooling down and cooling quickly that could spur an additional rally from here."Samana said if wages are hotter than expected, investors would be disappointed. "That could trigger a little bit of a sell-off because people are leaning toward this expectation that inflation is coming down and the Fed could pivot soon. That, to us, is misguided."Wells Fargo Investment Institute expects unemployment to tick up to 4.3% by the end of the year. "It could be that much of that happens in the fourth quarter as a lot of the layoff announcements start to feed into the claims and employment data," said Samana."You could see companies becoming much more hesitant to hire," he said. Samana added that there could be some labor hoarding. "We're hearing from companies that it's so difficult to hire that they'll hold onto employees through the recession." Gapen said if the job number is as expected or stronger, it would reinforce the hawkish stance of the Fed."What does that bring from the Fed? It brings more tightening," said Gapen. "Stronger data right now means more Fed tightening. It's not a world where the Fed is going to lean against a slowdown in the labor market. It actively wants that."

Job growth was likely strong in July but could slow in coming months with more layoffs.

Soldiers stand next to the mine shaft of a coal mine that collapsed leaving miners trapped, in Sabinas, in Coahuila state, Mexico, August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Antonio Ojeda Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMEXICO CITY, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Rescue teams will work non-stop to free 10 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in Mexico's northern border state of Coahuila, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday.The miners became trapped on Wednesday after three wells at the mine overflowed, causing an inner wall to collapse."With all my soul, I want us to rescue the miners," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comFive others were able to escape received medical treatment, and two of them have been discharged from a public clinic, Laura Velazquez, head of Mexico's civil protection agency, said.Several hundred local and federal officials were responding to the accident, according to authorities, underscoring a "firm commitment" to rescuing the trapped miners, which requires pumping wells to send rescue teams down to the mines."We haven't slept, we're working day and night ... Time is key," she said in a video at the president's news conference.Lopez Obrador added investigations into those responsible for the mine's safety would come only after the rescue effort."We'll leave all of that for later … we're going to try to save the miners," he said.According to the Labor Ministry, the mine, which began operations in January, had no existing safety complaints.In one of Mexico's worst mining disasters, at a coal mine in Coahuila in 2006, 65 men were killed with only two bodies ever recovered. Lopez Obrador has vowed to find the bodies of the other victims. The technically complex work is expected to last through 2024.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Kylie Madry, Daina Beth Solomon, Ana Isabel Martinez and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Mexican president promises non-stop effort to save 10 trapped miners.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., on Wednesday announced that they have struck a long-awaited deal on legislation that aims to reform the tax code, fight climate change and cut health-care costs.The reconciliation bill would invest more than $400 billion over 10 years, to be fully paid for by closing tax loopholes on the richest Americans and corporations, the senators said in a joint statement. It would reduce deficits by $300 billion over that decade, the senators said, citing estimates from nonpartisan congressional tax and budget offices.The package would raise an estimated $739 billion, including:$313 billion through a 15% corporate minimum tax$288 billion through prescription drug pricing reforms, including measures to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and cap out-of-pocket costs to $2,000$124 billion through the IRS enforcement of a reformed tax code$14 billion through closing the carried interest loopholeThe bill would also invest a total of $433 billion:$369 billion from a suite of energy and climate-related programs$64 billion from extending an expanded Affordable Care Act program for three years, through 2025The full Senate will consider the bill next week, Schumer and Manchin said. They hope that the legislation will meet the Senate Parliamentarian's budget reconciliation rules, allowing Democrats to pass it without needing GOP votes.The Democrats' razor-thin majority in the Senate includes Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who caucuses with the Democrats, and Vice President Kamala Harris' ability to cast the tie-breaking vote. With a single defection, Democrats' hopes to pass any legislation strictly along party lines fall apart.Manchin has flexed that power before: In December, he announced he would refuse to back President Joe Biden's sweeping $1.75 trillion plan to fund a range of social and climate issues. The White House at the time accused him of breaking his promises to the Biden administration.Biden, who made a similar but more sweeping proposal the centerpiece of his first-term domestic agenda, lauded the senators' agreement Wednesday."This is the action the American people have been waiting for," said in a statement of support."This addresses the problems of today – high health care costs and overall inflation – as well as investments in our energy security for the future," the president said.Schumer and Manchin billed the package as a way to fight runaway inflation while addressing other Democratic agenda items, including cutting down on carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.The package was revealed hours after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness with China by subsidizing the domestic production of semiconductors.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had previously warned that Republicans would not back that China competition bill if Democrats continued to pursue unrelated reconciliation legislation.Spokesmen for McConnell did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.The provisions of the deal came as a surprise to many after Manchin, just weeks earlier, signaled reluctance to quickly pass the Biden administration's climate agenda due to his concerns about inflation. Manchin's stance infuriated some of his colleagues who have vented frustration about the conservative Democrat's outsize power in the Senate, which is split 50-50 with Republicans.Schumer had said earlier this month that Democrats would instead work toward a slimmer bill that addressed drug pricing and health care funding.This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Schumer, Manchin announce deal on reconciliation bill with tax, climate, energy provisions.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryBoE raises Bank Rate by 50 bps to 1.75%Bank warns UK economy to start shrinking in Q4Returning inflation to target 'absolute priority' - BaileyBoE expects to start selling gilts stockpile from SeptAug 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England raised interest rates by the most in 27 years on Thursday in an attempt to smother surging inflation on track to top 13%, even as it warned a long recession is coming.Reeling from a surge in energy prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the BoE's rate-setters voted 8-1 for a half percentage-point rise in Bank Rate to 1.75%, its highest since late 2008.The big hike had been expected by most economists in a Reuters poll as central banks around the world scramble to contain soaring prices.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSterling fell as the BoE said Britain would enter a recession at the end of 2022 and not emerge until early 2024.Governor Andrew Bailey said economic uncertainty was exceptionally large and that all options are open. "Returning inflation to the 2% target remains our absolute priority," he said. "There are no ifs or buts about that." read more As well as surging energy costs, Britain is also adjusting to Brexit and a political leadership change. The BoE said Britain was facing its biggest slump in living standards since records began in the 1960s.On Wednesday, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, a think tank, said more than a million households would soon have to choose between heating and buying enough food. read more Bailey said he had "huge sympathy" for households facing rising borrowing costs but "I'm afraid the alternative is even worse, in terms of persistent inflation."Feedback from business leaders and the BoE's own surveys showed inflation pressure building in the labour market because of a severe shortage of jobs candidates, he said.The favourite to become the next prime minister, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, has pledged big tax cuts. Many economists say that would fuel inflation and push up rates further.Truss also wants to review the BoE's inflation-fighting mandate. read more Bailey declined to comment on the race for Downing Street, or the criticisms of the BoE from Truss and her supporters. But he noted that British inflation had averaged around 2% over the 25 years since the BoE gained operational independence, "not the case for all central banks, certainly."Truss responded to the BoE's gloomy forecasts by saying she would immediately announce an emergency tax-and-spending plan if she becomes prime minister. read more RECESSION COMINGThe Bank of England (BoE) building is reflected in a sign, London, Britain, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo/File PhotoThe BoE said Britain was facing a recession with a peak-to-trough fall in output of 2.1%, similar to a slump in the 1990s but far less than the hits from COVID-19 and the 2008-09 global financial crisis.The new forecast was worse than recent projections by the International Monetary Fund, which has said Britain will have the slowest growth and the highest inflation in 2023 among the world's big developed economies.The BoE said consumer price inflation was now likely to peak at 13.3% in October - the highest since 1980 - due mostly to the surge in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Reuters Graphics"The shocks to UK headline inflation just keep coming thick and fast," said Brian Coulton, chief economist of Fitch Ratings."This will probably not be the last 50bps move."Analysts at Citi, meanwhile, predicted two more 25 basis-point rate hikes and then a cut in a year's time.Investors priced in a 25-basis-point rise in interest rates at the next BoE meeting in September.The BoE also forecast inflation falling sharply in two to three years as the recession saps demand.NO PRE-SET PATHThe British central bank has now raised rates six times since December. Thursday's move was the biggest since 1995.The pressure on Bailey and his colleagues to move in larger steps intensified after big rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other central banks.The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee repeated it was ready to move forcefully if needed but would assess its next moves as events unfold. "Policy is not on a pre-set path," the MPC said.The BoE also said it expected to start selling down its huge stockpile of government bonds - currently worth 844 billion pounds - shortly after its September meeting, with active sales of around 10 billion pounds a quarter. read more MPC member Silvana Tenreyro cast the lone vote on Thursday for a smaller 25-basis-point increase.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAdditional reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Toby Chopra and Paulo Prada.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Bank of England raises rates by most since 1995 despite recession's approach.

Politics August 4, 2022 / 3:34 PM / CBS News Jury deliberates in Jones defamation case Texas jury deliberates in Alex Jones defamation case 06:15 Washington — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol is seeking text messages from Alex Jones, the far-right broadcaster and conspiracy theorist, a lawyer representing a pair of parents who are suing him over false statements about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting confirmed in court Thursday.Mark Bankston, the attorney representing the parents of Jesse Lewis, a student who was killed in the massacre, told Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, who is presiding over the trial in Austin, Texas, that he is "under request from various federal agencies and law enforcement" to provide the records."Absent a ruling from you saying, 'You cannot do that, Mr. Bankston,' I intend to do so immediately," he said. Bankston clarified he has received requests from the House panel and intended to comply.Bill Ogden, who is on the legal team representing Lewis' parents, confirmed to CBS News that they have been contacted by the select committee but have not received a subpoena. A member of the committee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, told Sirius/XM in an interview set to air Friday that House investigators continue to pursue an interview with Jones and noted the new developments in his "communications." Jones' "advocacy of violence ... quite clearly played a role on the 6th," she said. "We'd like to know more about it."Bankston revealed in court Wednesday that Jones' attorney, Andino Reynal, mistakenly sent him two years' of his client's cell phone records several weeks ago. The disclosure prompted Reynal to file a request for a mistrial and ask the judge to order Bankston to return the documents and destroy what they kept.Reynal said Jones' legal team is "very concerned about the records that have been disclosed," and specifically cited medical records that were included in the tranche of documents mistakenly sent.But in arguing against Reynal's request, Bankston accused his counterpart of putting a "fig leaf over his own malpractice" and "absolute breach of his duties to his own client." While Bankston said he has not yet received a subpoena for the records, Gamble predicted one could be forthcoming."They're going to now," she told Reynal. "They know about them, they know they exist, they know you have them. I think they're going there either way."Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, sued Jones and his corporation Free Speech Systems, the parent company of InfoWars, for defamation in 2018. The case is now in the final phase, with deliberations by the jury now underway over how much in damages Jones must pay to Heslin and Lewis. The pair are seeking at least $150 million in compensatory damages. Jones has repeatedly claimed, both on his show and website, that the Sandy Hook massacre, which left 20 children and six adults dead, was a "giant hoax" and "false flag" devised by the "deep state" for more stringent gun laws. He has also falsely claimed the families whose loved ones were killed in the shooting were government actors. Heslin and Lewis both detailed in testimony this week how Jones' conspiracy theories upended their lives and led to death threats and harassment against them. Jones on Tuesday conceded the shooting was "100% real."Scott MacFarlane and Ellis Kim contributed to this report. 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

Jan. 6 committee wants Alex Jones' text messages, lawyer for parents of Sandy Hook victim says.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryBiden calls ruling unacceptableDefence lawyers say they will appealGriner weeps as she pleads for leniencyBrittney Griner's lawyers sought her acquittalUnited States has made Russia a prisoner swap offerKHIMKI, Russia, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that U.S. President Joe Biden called "unacceptable."Griner was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by police after the ruling, turning to reporters and saying: "I love my family".Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, was arrested in mid-February as she arrived to play for a Russian side during the WNBA offseason. Her case threw the Texan into the geopolitical maelstrom triggered when President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, propelling U.S.-Russian relations to a new post-Cold War low.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHer sentencing could now pave the way for a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that would include the 31-year-old athlete and an imprisoned Russian who was once a prolific arms dealer.Griner had admitted having the vape cartridges containing hashish oil but said she had made an honest mistake by inadvertently packing them.Before the verdict, she tearfully pleaded with a Russian judge not to "end her life" with a harsh prison sentence. The court also fined her 1 million roubles ($16,990). read more Biden, under pressure to bring home Americans held in Russia, called on Russia to free Griner immediately and said his administration would continue to work for her release."Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney," he said in a statement."It's unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates."Griner's lawyers said they would appeal a verdict they said was "absolutely unreasonable". Her defence team said the court had ignored all evidence they had presented, as well as Griner's guilty plea."She is very upset, very stressed," said Maria Blagovolina, partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners, after the hearing. "She can hardly talk. It's a difficult time for her."The Russian prosecutor had called for Griner to be sentenced to 9-1/2 years prison if she was found guilty of bringing illegal drugs into the country.'HONEST MISTAKE'Griner was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17 with the cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. While she pleaded guilty, she said she had neither intended to bring a banned substance to Russia nor to hurt anybody."I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling, that it doesn't end my life here," Griner said in court on Thursday before breaking down in tears."My parents taught me two important things: one, take ownership of your responsibilities and two, work hard for everything that you have. That's why I pled guilty to my charges."U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool"I want to say again that I had no intent on breaking any Russians laws," she told the court. "I had no intent, I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime."Griner also referred to the international politics around her case, saying: "I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that is far from this courtroom".Cannabis is illegal in Russia for both medicinal and recreational purposes.Griner's defence team had called for her to be acquitted. Alexander Boikov, one of her lawyers, said some of the case files had been drawn up in violation of the law.PRISONER SWAPThe United States has offered to exchange Russian prisoners for American citizens including Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.One source familiar with the situation said that Washington was willing to exchange convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, whose life helped inspire the 2005 Hollywood film "Lord of War" starring Nicholas Cage.Russian officials have said a deal has not been reached. They argue that Griner - known as "BG" to basketball fans - violated laws and should be judged accordingly.USA Basketball said in a message on Twitter it was disappointed at Thursday's ruling but it would remain engaged with the U.S. State Department in the effort to get Griner home."We will not be satisfied until BG is back in the U.S. and reunited with her loved ones, teammates and fans," it said.WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that the verdict against Griner was "unjustified and unfortunate."Griner appeared at the hearing in a grey T-shirt and round-rimmed glasses. Before taking a seat in the defendant's cage, she held up a picture of UMMC Ekaterinburg, the team she played for in Russia during the WNBA offseason.In her testimony last week, Griner expressed puzzlement as to how the vape cartridges ended up in her luggage as she was flying back to Russia to join UMMC Ekaterinburg for the playoffs."I still don't understand to this day how they ended up in my bag," said Griner, the first pick overall in the 2013 WNBA draft. "If I had to guess on how they ended up in my bags, I was in a rush packing."Griner had been prescribed medical marijuana in the United States to relieve pain from chronic injuries, a treatment method that is common among elite athletes because it has fewer side effects than some painkillers.($1 = 58.8500 roubles)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Cawthorne and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Russia sentences Griner to 9 years in jail, Biden calls for her release.

Alex Jones speaks with media after day six of trial at the Travis County Courthouse, in Austin, U.S. August 2, 2022. Briana Sanchez/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - A Texas judge denied Alex Jones's motion for a mistrial on Thursday as jury deliberations resumed in a defamation case over the U.S. conspiracy theorist’s false claims about the Sandy Hook mass shooting.The mistrial request followed the disclosure during the two-week-long trial that Jones's lawyer accidentally sent two years of the U.S. conspiracy theorist's text messages to the plaintiffs.Federico Andino Reynal, an attorney for Jones, told Judge Maya Guerra Gamble that attorneys for the plaintiffs should have immediately destroyed the records. An attorney for the parents, Mark Bankston, used the texts to undercut Jones’ testimony during cross-examination on Wednesday.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJones, founder of the Infowars radio show and webcast, is on trial to determine the amount of damages he owes for spreading falsehoods about the killing of 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of slain six-year-old Jesse Lewis, are seeking as much as $150 million from Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems LLC, for what their lawyer has called a "vile campaign of defamation."Heslin told jurors on Tuesday that Jones' falsehoods had made his life “hell” and led to a campaign of harassment and death threats against him by people who believed he lied about his son’s death.Jones previously claimed that the mainstream media and gun-control activists conspired to fabricate the Sandy Hook tragedy and that the shooting was staged using crisis actors.Jones, who later acknowledged that the shooting took place, told the Austin jury on Wednesday that it was “100% real.”Gamble issued a rare default judgment against Jones in the case in 2021.Free Speech Systems declared bankruptcy last week. Jones said during a Monday broadcast of Infowars that the filing will help the company stay on the air while it appeals.Jones faces a similar defamation suit in Connecticut state court, where he has also been found liable in a default judgment.The Sandy Hook gunman, Adam Lanza, 20, used a Remington Bushmaster rifle to carry out the massacre. It ended when Lanza killed himself with the approaching sound of police sirens.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Amy Stevens and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Mistrial denied as jury weighs damages against Alex Jones in Sandy Hook defamation trial.

Politics August 4, 2022 / 3:16 PM / CBS News FILE: Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced speaks during a press conference to announce strict new rules for all passengers flying into Puerto Rico to curb coronavirus cases in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 30, 2020. RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images Former governor of Puerto Rico Wanda Vazquez-Garced was arrested Thursday by federal officials for bribery charges linked to her 2020 gubernatorial campaign. Vazquez-Garced is accused of seven charges and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. She's scheduled to make her initial court appearance Thursday in federal court in the District of Puerto Rico.  According to the indictment, she allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme from December 2019 through July 2020 with multiple individuals, including the Venezuelan-Italian bank owner Julio Martin Herrera Velutini; the bank's president, Frances Diaz; former FBI agent Mark Rossini and political consultant John Blakeman.A Justice Department news release said that Diaz and Blakeman have pleaded guilty to participating in the bribery scheme.  Early in 2019, Puerto Rico's Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF), which oversees financial institutions operating in Puerto Rico, began investigating Herrera Velutini's bank. In a press conference, Puerto Rican authorities alleged that Rossini and Herrera Velutini agreed to financially support Vazuqez-Garced's reelection campaign if she terminated OCIF's commissioner and appointed a new consultant. "The accusation allegedly says that Vazquez-Garced accepted the bribery deal," Stephen Muldrow, U.S. attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, said Thursday. In February 2020, Vazquez-Garced asked the OCIF commissioner to resign, according to Muldrow.Four months later, she named the new commissioner, whom the U.S. alleges was "personally selected" by Herrera Velutini.  In return, prosecutors say Herrera Velutini and Rossini supported Vazquez-Garced's campaign by paying over $300,000 in political consultants' fees.  Vazquez-Garced lost her primary to incumbent Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.The indictment also alleges that Herrera Velutini sought to bribe Pierluisi, who succeeded Vazquez-Garced, to end the investigation against his bank. In exchange, he would fund and support Pierluisi's campaign."This accusation is not alleging any illegal or illicit acts against the active governor," Muldrow clarified. A judge set bail at $50,000 after Vazquez-Garced was arrested in her home in San Juan. "To my people of Puerto Rico and to everyone, I'm innocent. They've committed a huge injustice… I can say that I have not committed any crime," Vazquez-Garced told reporters as she was leaving the federal courthouse in Puerto Rico. Vazquez took office in August 2019 after weekslong protests led to the resignation of then-Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. Before she was sworn in, she led Puerto Rico's Justice Department and was district attorney for over 20 years. This is Vazquez-Garced's second scandal. She was under some scrutiny after firing a government official who had called for an independent investigation into how aid was distributed in the aftermath of the 6.4 earthquakes that hit the island in Jan. 2020.  After her arrest, Pierluisi said in a statement, "Once again, we see today that no one is above the law in Puerto Rico." "I reiterate that in my administration, we will continue to have a common front with the federal authorities against anyone who commits an improper act… under my administration there is zero tolerance against corruption," Pierluisi added.  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

FBI arrests Wanda Vazquez-Garced, former governor or Puerto Rico, for bribery.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attends a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Susana VeraRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comUTOEYA, Norway, Aug 4 (Reuters) - NATO members are working closely with defence companies to ensure Ukraine gets more supplies of weapons and equipment to be prepared for the long haul in its war with Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday."We are providing a lot of support but we need to do even more and be prepared for the long haul," Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview."Therefore we're also now in close contact and working closely with the defence industry to produce more and to deliver more of different types of ammunition, weapons and capabilities," he said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comIn recent months, the United States and other Western countries have begun shipping more advanced conventional weapons systems to Ukraine, including high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) that offer a longer range and more precision. read more Stoltenberg said separately in a speech in Norway to local Labour party activists on Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", had created the most dangerous moment for Europe since World War Two and that Russia could not be allowed to win. read more He also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of engaging in "reckless and dangerous" rhetoric regarding the potential use of nuclear arms.While NATO members are not directly involved in the war, NATO is closely involved in coordinating the Western response to the invasion.Stoltenberg reiterated his position that the war would likely end only after negotiations."We know most wars end at the negotiating table. We also know that the outcome of those negotiations will be totally dependent on the strength on the battlefield," he told Reuters."It's not for me to tell Ukraine what those terms exactly should be. It's for me and NATO to support them to strengthen their hands, so we maximize the likelihood of an acceptable solution," reiterating similar comments he made in June.The war has led previously non-aligned Finland and Sweden to seek NATO membership, with the request so far ratified by 23 of the 30 member states, including the United States."This is the fastest accession protocol in NATO's modern history. I expect the other seven remaining allies to do the same," Stoltenberg said.He said Turkey's demand for extraditions from Sweden and Finland of terrorism suspects would have to be decided by courts in the two Nordic nations."The rule of law applies in Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Writing by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NATO members working with defence companies to boost weapons supplies to Ukraine -Stoltenberg.

Visa and Mastercard said Thursday card payments for advertising on Pornhub and its parent company MindGeek would be suspended after a lawsuit stoked controversy over whether the payments giants could be facilitating child pornography.A federal judge in California on Friday denied Visa's motion to dismiss a lawsuit by a woman who accuses the payment processor of knowingly facilitating the distribution of child pornography on Pornhub and other sites operated by parent company MindGeek.Visa CEO and Chairman Al Kelly said in a statement Thursday that he strongly disagrees with this court and is confident in his position. "Visa condemns sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse," Kelly said. "It is illegal, and Visa does not permit the use of our network for illegal activity. Our rules explicitly and unequivocally prohibit the use of our products to pay for content that depicts nonconsensual sexual behavior or child sexual abuse. We are vigilant in our efforts to deter this, and other illegal activity on our network."Kelly said the court decision created uncertainty about the role of TrafficJunky, MindGeek's advertising arm, and accordingly, the company will suspend its Visa acceptance privileges until further notice. During this suspension, Visa cards will not be able to be used to purchase advertising on any sites, including Pornhub or other MindGeek-affiliated sites, Kelly said."It is Visa's policy to follow the law of every country in which we do business. We do not make moral judgments on legal purchases made by consumers, and we respect the rightful role of lawmakers to make decisions about what is legal and what is not," Kelly said. "Visa can be used only at MindGeek studio sites that feature adult professional actors in legal adult entertainment."Separately, Mastercard told CNBC it's directing financial institutions to suspend acceptance of its products at TrafficJunky following the court ruling. "New facts from last week's court ruling made us aware of advertising revenue outside of our view that appears to provide Pornhub with indirect funding," a statement from Mastercard said. "This step will further enforce our December 2020 decision to terminate the use of our products on that site."At that time, Visa also suspended sites that contained user-generated content and acceptance on those sites has not been reinstated. The woman is suing Visa and MindGeek over a sexually explicit video her boyfriend filmed of her when she was 13 years old.U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, of the Central District of California in Santa Ana, said Visa made the decision to continue to recognize MindGeek as a merchant, despite its alleged knowledge that MindGeek monetized child porn.Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman recently spoke out about the controversy, calling on Visa to pressure Pornhub to remove child pornography from its site.MindGeek didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Visa and Mastercard suspend payments for ad purchases on PornHub and MindGeek amid controversy.

Politics August 4, 2022 / 2:47 PM / CBS News Aiding families of officers who die by suicide Aiding families of officers who die by suicide 05:34 Erin Smith fought for months for death benefits after her husband, a D.C. Metropolitan police officer, died of suicide nine days after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. In an interview with CBS News, she said she was initially skeptical that legislation would pass, having fought for over a year to have his suicide designated as a line-of-duty death in the District of Columbia."I tried to keep my hopes within the right space, if you will. And once it got approved last night, I was just overly thrilled," she said. "Obviously, this is going to help a lot of people. It's not just me, but others who have gone through this, as well."After the bill passed on Monday, Erin Smith was "thrilled" that these officers and their families "will get the recognition that they're due from the federal government." Legislation qualifying families of public safety officers who die by suicide to seek death benefits cleared the Senate on Monday, part of a larger effort to recognize the emotional impacts of traumatic events on first responders nationwide. The measure was passed in by unanimous consent.Erin Smith's husband, Jeffrey Smith, was a 12-year veteran of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. He was the target of several attacks on Jan. 6, after responding to the mob of rioters who breached the Capitol.  "He left with that one personality and came home with a different one," Smith said. "He just didn't want to do or be around anyone. Kept to himself and was struggling to really just, you know, understand what happened that day, his injuries, and ultimately we know the end."Like many parts of the country, Washington, D.C., where Jeff Smith served, did not consider suicide a line-of-duty death, which left Erin Smith without health insurance and income following her husband's death. In March, the District of Columbia recognized that the injury her husband sustained on Jan. 6, 2021, while performing his duties was the "sole and direct cause" of his death.Jeff Smith was one of four law enforcement officers who responded to the Jan. 6 attack to have died by suicide within seven months of the insurrection. More than 140 officers with the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department were injured in the Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Capitol Police Labor Committee.The bill was introduced by Reps. David Trone, Democrat of Maryland, and Guy Reschenthaler, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois,and John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. The legislation expands the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program to provide coverage for officers who die by suicide or become permanently disabled because of traumatic service-related experiences.  Presently, the program only covers physical injuries, but the new legislation would permit public safety officers to seek disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder tied to severe trauma. Families of law enforcement and first responders who die by suicide are now entitled to seek death benefits now that suicide is recognized as a line-of-duty death.For Erin Smith, this recognition brings a sense of "peace.""The firefighters, EMS, police, anyone considered a first responder will, their families will, benefit from this as long as they meet one of the three criteria," she explained.Erin Smith is now petitioning to have her husband's name added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C., and to see that he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, next to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of natural causes a day after defending the Capitol. Sicknick was laid to rest in February 2021. The House passed the bill in May with overwhelming bipartisan support, with just 17 Republican lawmakers voting against it.The legislation now heads to President Biden's desk for his signature.If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email [email protected]. In: Police Officers 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

Widow of D.C. police officer who died by suicide after Jan. 6 praises Senate action to extend benefits.

Nassma Cheaito, kisses the hand of her sister, Liliane Cheaito who is mostly paralyzed from August 2020 Beirut port blast, as she lies on hospital bed at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Issam Abdallah/File Photo/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Lebanese mother Liliane Cheaito, stuck in the hospital since the Beirut blast two years ago, saw her son for the first time on Thursday following a court ruling in a protracted family dispute with her husband.Cheaito has not left the American University of Beirut's Medical Center since August 4, 2020, when she was brought in bruised and bleeding after the enormous explosion at Beirut's port, which was caused by improperly stored chemicals.She sustained severe damage to her frontal brain cortex that left her mostly paralyzed and unable to speak.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTwo of her four sisters told Reuters that her husband, Hassan Ali Hodroj, had barred her from seeing their son Ali, now two years old, during her stay in the hospital. Liliane's family in 2020 filed a complaint with Shi'ite religious authorities seeking to compel Hodroj to allow the child to visit his injured mother.Iqbal Cheaieb, a lawyer for Hodroj, said the father had kept Ali from the hospital because he was "scared" to let the boy see his mother in such a state. The couple remain married.On Thursday, Ali visited Liliane at the hospital for the first time following an order by a Shi'ite court in Lebanon, where personal affairs including custody of children are determined by tribunals pertaining to the individual's sect."The court issued a final decision on Wednesday mandating weekly visits and our father and lawyer met with Mufti Ahmed Qabalan this morning," said Nawal Cheaito, Liliane's sister.Qabalan is the top Shi'ite cleric in Lebanon.A photo shared by the family showed Liliane in her hospital bed, extending her left hand to a curly-haired boy in a black shirt that the family identified as two-year-old Ali."She didn't take her eyes off of him for one second," Nawal told Reuters, saying she hoped the visits would boost Liliane's morale and speed up her recovery.In July, Liliane uttered her first word in nearly two years – "mama" – understood by her siblings to be a cry for Ali.Her sisters had earlier told Reuters that Liliane represented the "agony" of Lebanon's multiple crises: the devastating blast and its aftermath for grieving families, and the daily struggle of many citizens to survive as the country's economy has crumbled.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Maya Gebeily and Layla Bassam; editing by Marla DickersonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lebanese woman sees son for first time since blast two years ago.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comDAKAR, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A United Nations Group of Experts said it has "solid evidence" that Rwandan troops have been fighting alongside the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and providing it with weapons and support.The findings were contained in a confidential report seen by Reuters on Thursday.Rwanda has previously denied accusations by Congo's government that it supports the M23 and that it has sent troops into the country. The M23 has denied it receives Rwandan support.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe U.N. group "obtained solid evidence of the presence of, and military operations conducted by, RDF (Rwandan Defence Force) members in Rutshuru territory between November 2021 and July 2022," the report said.RDF members conducted joint attacks with M23 fighters against Congo's army and Congolese armed groups, and provided the rebels with weapons, ammunition and uniforms, it said.Yolande Makolo, Rwanda's government spokesperson, said in a statement the government wouldn't comment on an "unpublished and unvalidated report." She said an earlier report by the experts' group in June "contained none of these false allegations."Congo's government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said he welcomed the work of the U.N. group."The truth always triumphs in the end. We hope that conclusions will be drawn quickly to put an end to Rwanda's interference and bring back lasting peace," he wrote on Twitter.The M23 insurgency stems from the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The group was formed in 2012 claiming to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis, the ethnic group shared by Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, against Hutu militias.Since May, the M23 has waged its most sustained offensive in years, killing dozens and displacing tens of thousands of people. By July, it controlled a territory almost three times as large as it did in March, the U.N. group said.The M23's resurgence has inflamed regional tensions and spurred deadly protests against the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, which civilians accuse of failing to protect them. read more The U.N. group detailed evidence including photos of Rwandan soldiers in an M23 camp, drone footage showing columns of hundreds of soldiers marching near the Rwandan border, and photos and videos showing M23 fighters with new uniforms and equipment similar to those of the Rwandan army.Rwandan troops and the M23 jointly attacked the Congolese army camp in Rumangabo in May, it said. When the M23 took control of the strategic border town of Bunagana in June, Rwandan soldiers were either present or had provided equipment to the rebels, the report said. read more Rwanda and neighbouring Uganda have a long history of military intervention inside Congo. The two countries invaded in 1996, and again in 1998, claiming they were defending themselves against local militia groups.A target of the M23 and Rwandan operations in Congo has been the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu militia which Rwanda accuses Congo of using as a proxy. Congo's government has denied this.Some members of Congo's army have supported and fought alongside a coalition of armed groups including the FDLR, the U.N. report said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Nellie Peyton and Hereward Holland; Additional reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Paulo Prada.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.N. experts: Rwanda has intervened militarily in eastern Congo.

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted after the court's verdict in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comKHIMKI, Russia, Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner said "I love my family" as she was led out of a Russian courtroom in handcuffs after being jailed for nine years on drugs charges, a Reuters reporter at the court said.Her voice quavering and visibly in tears, Griner said she understood the sentence before being led away.Outside the courtroom, Griner's lawyer Maria Blagovolina said: "She is very upset, very stressed. She can hardly talk. It's a difficult time for her.""When we saw Brittney on Tuesday, we told her 'see you on Thursday'. She said, 'see you on doomsday. So it looks like she was right," Blagovolina said.Griner was convicted on charges of drugs possession and smuggling after she entered Russia with cannabis-infused vape cartridges. During her closing remarks, she said it had been "an honest mistake". read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In handcuffs and in tears, Griner says: 'I love my family'.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney looks on as his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., takes the oath of office on the House floor on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017.Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesFormer Vice President Dick Cheney assailed ex-President Donald Trump as a "coward" and a prime threat to the United States in a new campaign ad for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney, days before her Republican primary election in Wyoming."In our nation's 246-year history, there has never been an individual who has posed a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," the elder Cheney said in a straight-to-camera ad, which was shared online Thursday afternoon."He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him," said Cheney, 81, who served for eight years as vice president in the George W. Bush administration."He is a coward. A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters," Cheney said. "He lost his election and he lost big. I know it, he knows it, and deep down, I think most Republicans know it."The 60-second spot, titled "He Knows It," will run across Wyoming and online starting Friday, the Cheney campaign said. The ad came less than two weeks before the Wyoming Republican primary, where the incumbent Cheney appears to be in trouble.Cheney is Trump's biggest Republican critic in Congress and a leading member of the House select committee investigating him over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. For her refusal to let up on the former president, she has been largely ostracized by her party and condemned by Trump's loyal base of Republican voters.Polls of the Aug. 16 Wyoming primary show Cheney trailing her top Republican opponent, Trump-backed Harriet Hageman, by wide margins. Hageman has echoed Trump's false claims that his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election was "rigged" by widespread fraud.Yet Cheney, unlike some other House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 riot, has kept up her vocal attacks on Trump over the "Big Lie."Her persistence may have damaged her standing among some Republican voters, but it has not hampered her fundraising efforts: She has far outraised her competitors while assuring key donors and supporters that she will continue to hold Trump accountable. Dick Cheney has been involved in these talks as well, CNBC previously reported."Lynne and I are so proud of Liz for standing up for the truth, doing what's right, honoring her oath to the Constitution when so many in our party are too scared to do so," Dick Cheney said in the ad."Liz is fearless. She never backs down from a fight. There is nothing more important she will ever do than lead the effort to make sure Donald Trump is never again near the Oval Office. And she will succeed," he said."I'm Dick Cheney. I proudly voted for my daughter. I hope you will too."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney rips 'coward' Trump in election ad for daughter Liz.

Photography by Alexandre Meneghini Reporting by Nelson Acosta Filed August 4, 2022, 14:00 p.m. GMT Cuban 8-year old Kevin Kindelan, a hot-handed shortstop for a Central Havana junior league baseball team and teammate and first baseman Leoni Venego, 7, both dream of stardom. Kindelan says he wants to play for Cuba’s national baseball club, but Venego, recovering his composure after a big swing and a miss during a recent practice session, admits he’s set his sights on a bigger prize. “I want to get to the Major Leagues and be like Yuli Gurriel,” he said, referring to a Cuban all-star first-baseman for the Houston Astros, a baseball team in the United States, Cuba’s long-time rival to the north. Success in baseball, Cuba’s national past time and a favorite pursuit of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is increasingly measured beyond its borders. That mirrors a broader exodus of Cubans from the stagnating communist-run island racked by social and economic crisis. Kindelan is dressed by his father Luis Ramires, 26, prior to attending a baseball lesson, July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Cuba’s economy shrank 11% in 2020 and has only inched upward since, official figures show, plagued by the pandemic and further throttled by the United States' Cold War-era embargo. Long lines for food, medicine and fuel are the norm, driving a nearly unprecedented exodus of more than 157,000 Cubans to the United States since October, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. “In the past six years the number of baseball players that have left the country has also tripled compared with the decade between 2000 and 2010,” said Francis Romero, a Cuban baseball expert and book author who lives in Florida. “No baseball league...could survive that.” And many young players are no longer as motivated by communist ideology or love of country, Romero told Reuters, a force that for decades helped drive Cubans to great achievements including gold medals in baseball in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004. “Players once waited a long time to emigrate, to prove themselves. Now they leave at 16 or 17 years of age,” he said. “Many of the Cuban players are no longer aligned with the ideology or the politics of the government.” Children from the Downtown Havana baseball team listen to instructions from a baseball coach during a match, May 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini BIG LEAGUE DREAMS At the “Ponton” ballfield in central Havana, with its muddy infield and weed-shrouded foul lines, some of Cuba’s youngest players train, taking their first excited swings, playing catch and slapping hands. But no one - not even these children - escapes the impact of Cuba’s grinding economic crisis - or the draw of migration, says youth coach Irakly Chirino, a former player in Cuba’s national league who began his career at Ponton. “Here, we don’t have gloves, bats, shoes, or even balls to play with...and when we do, they are too expensive,” Chirino told Reuters on the sidelines of a late-spring practice. Lack of supplies has led once avid ballplayers to the less gear-intensive sport of soccer, the favorite elsewhere in Latin America, or to dream of playing abroad from a younger age, Chirino said. “Let’s not fool ourselves...we’re losing our best ballplayers before they even make it to the national series,” he said. That is a bittersweet reality for coach Nicolas Reyes, 73, who has seen more than a dozen of his “alumni” sign contracts in leagues outside Cuba. “They started with me and now they’re in the [U.S] Major Leagues. It makes me proud,” he said. Bus driver Nestor Garcia, 57, argues with a neighbor as he watches a baseball match at his home in Havana, June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini But he acknowledges the draw of fame and fortune increasingly trumps love of country. “When I played, it wasn’t like that. You would never betray your country.” STAY HOME Juan Reinaldo Pérez, president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, told Reuters the continuing pipeline of talent - including those that leave Cuba - still fuels hope for the future of Cuban baseball. “We are a country with a baseball tradition and that continues to grow,” he told Reuters. A child watches a baseball match between Industriales and Artemisa at the Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana, May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Cuba’s limited resources, he says, now focus on keeping budding ballplayers from leaving. In May, the Cuban federation inked a deal with World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) that makes formal the right of Cubans to contract with professional leagues across the globe, without needing to abandon their home or nationality. A similar deal, inked with Major League Baseball in the United States in 2018, would have granted Cubans the same right. Snuffed out by U.S. President Donald Trump before it could be implemented, many Cubans with big league aspirations felt they had little choice but to leave. Industriales baseball team member David Mena practices before a match at the Latinoamericano Stadium, May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini That lack of such a deal continues to be a major hurdle to keeping talent at home, says Guillermo Carmona, manager of Cuba’s Industriales team told Reuters. “Without a doubt, {that deal} was a great motivation {for our players},” said Carmona. “Now, many have left us.” The Wider Image Photography: Alexandre Meneghini Reporting: Nelson Acosta Picture editing: Eve Watling Text editing: Dave Sherwood and Diane Craft Design: Eve Watling

Young Cuban ballplayers dream of U.S. major leagues.

Photography by Alexandre Meneghini Reporting by Nelson Acosta Filed August 4, 2022, 14:00 p.m. GMT Cuban 8-year old Kevin Kindelan, a hot-handed shortstop for a Central Havana junior league baseball team and teammate and first baseman Leoni Venego, 7, both dream of stardom. Kindelan says he wants to play for Cuba’s national baseball club, but Venego, recovering his composure after a big swing and a miss during a recent practice session, admits he’s set his sights on a bigger prize. “I want to get to the Major Leagues and be like Yuli Gurriel,” he said, referring to a Cuban all-star first-baseman for the Houston Astros, a baseball team in the United States, Cuba’s long-time rival to the north. Success in baseball, Cuba’s national past time and a favorite pursuit of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is increasingly measured beyond its borders. That mirrors a broader exodus of Cubans from the stagnating communist-run island racked by social and economic crisis. Kindelan is dressed by his father Luis Ramires, 26, prior to attending a baseball lesson, July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Cuba’s economy shrank 11% in 2020 and has only inched upward since, official figures show, plagued by the pandemic and further throttled by the United States' Cold War-era embargo. Long lines for food, medicine and fuel are the norm, driving a nearly unprecedented exodus of more than 157,000 Cubans to the United States since October, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. “In the past six years the number of baseball players that have left the country has also tripled compared with the decade between 2000 and 2010,” said Francis Romero, a Cuban baseball expert and book author who lives in Florida. “No baseball league...could survive that.” And many young players are no longer as motivated by communist ideology or love of country, Romero told Reuters, a force that for decades helped drive Cubans to great achievements including gold medals in baseball in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004. “Players once waited a long time to emigrate, to prove themselves. Now they leave at 16 or 17 years of age,” he said. “Many of the Cuban players are no longer aligned with the ideology or the politics of the government.” Children from the Downtown Havana baseball team listen to instructions from a baseball coach during a match, May 11, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini BIG LEAGUE DREAMS At the “Ponton” ballfield in central Havana, with its muddy infield and weed-shrouded foul lines, some of Cuba’s youngest players train, taking their first excited swings, playing catch and slapping hands. But no one - not even these children - escapes the impact of Cuba’s grinding economic crisis - or the draw of migration, says youth coach Irakly Chirino, a former player in Cuba’s national league who began his career at Ponton. “Here, we don’t have gloves, bats, shoes, or even balls to play with...and when we do, they are too expensive,” Chirino told Reuters on the sidelines of a late-spring practice. Lack of supplies has led once avid ballplayers to the less gear-intensive sport of soccer, the favorite elsewhere in Latin America, or to dream of playing abroad from a younger age, Chirino said. “Let’s not fool ourselves...we’re losing our best ballplayers before they even make it to the national series,” he said. That is a bittersweet reality for coach Nicolas Reyes, 73, who has seen more than a dozen of his “alumni” sign contracts in leagues outside Cuba. “They started with me and now they’re in the [U.S] Major Leagues. It makes me proud,” he said. Bus driver Nestor Garcia, 57, argues with a neighbor as he watches a baseball match at his home in Havana, June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini But he acknowledges the draw of fame and fortune increasingly trumps love of country. “When I played, it wasn’t like that. You would never betray your country.” STAY HOME Juan Reinaldo Pérez, president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, told Reuters the continuing pipeline of talent - including those that leave Cuba - still fuels hope for the future of Cuban baseball. “We are a country with a baseball tradition and that continues to grow,” he told Reuters. A child watches a baseball match between Industriales and Artemisa at the Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana, May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini Cuba’s limited resources, he says, now focus on keeping budding ballplayers from leaving. In May, the Cuban federation inked a deal with World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) that makes formal the right of Cubans to contract with professional leagues across the globe, without needing to abandon their home or nationality. A similar deal, inked with Major League Baseball in the United States in 2018, would have granted Cubans the same right. Snuffed out by U.S. President Donald Trump before it could be implemented, many Cubans with big league aspirations felt they had little choice but to leave. Industriales baseball team member David Mena practices before a match at the Latinoamericano Stadium, May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini That lack of such a deal continues to be a major hurdle to keeping talent at home, says Guillermo Carmona, manager of Cuba’s Industriales team told Reuters. “Without a doubt, {that deal} was a great motivation {for our players},” said Carmona. “Now, many have left us.” The Wider Image Photography: Alexandre Meneghini Reporting: Nelson Acosta Picture editing: Eve Watling Text editing: Dave Sherwood and Diane Craft Design: Eve Watling

Young Cuban ballplayers dream of U.S. major leagues.

Switzerland's national flag flies in front of the headquarters of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Zurich, Switzerland July 27, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) is discussing slashing thousands of jobs globally, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.Hours after the news, Fitch Ratings cut Credit Suisse's rating and kept a negative outlook for the bank, joining Moody's Investors Service, which earlier this month had downgraded Switzerland's second-biggest bank.Credit Suisse has named restructuring expert Koerner as CEO to scale back investment banking and slash costs to help the bank recover from a string of scandals and losses. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe Swiss bank is expected to finalize plans over the next couple of months and is examining inefficiencies in its middle and back office, in addition to efforts to reshape its investment bank, Bloomberg reported."We have said we will update on progress on our comprehensive strategy review when we announce our third-quarter earnings; any reporting on potential outcomes before then is entirely speculative," a spokesperson for Credit Suisse said.Fitch said it has cut Credit Suisse Group AG's long-term issuer default rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB+.The rating agency said that a further restructuring plan after the strategic review will give rise to material execution risk, particularly if the restructuring requires material costs given the bank's weak earnings generation.Late in July, Credit Suisse reported a 1.59 billion Swiss franc ($1.65 billion) second-quarter loss, badly missing market expectations. read more The bank has previously said it aimed to bring cost savings forward, speeding up measures introduced as part of its reorganisation in November targeting 1.0 billion to 1.5 billion francs in annual structural cost savings by 2024.The bank has been tightening controls after suffering billions in losses via risk-management and compliance blunders.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Credit Suisse mulls cutting thousands of jobs globally, report says.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives at Yokota U.S. Air Force Base in Fussa, on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Issei KatoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - The United States urged China not to overeact to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan after Beijing deployed planes and fired live missiles near Taiwan, some of which Japan said appeared to land in its economic zone. read more "We're watching this closely. We continue to urge the Chinese not to overreact here. There's no reason to react the way that they have or to escalate the tensions," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told MSNBC.He urged China to "bring down the tensions, just like we are doing," adding: "We're not saber rattling. Bring down the tensions and work through this so that there's no change in the status quo of a unilateral or forceful nature."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Michelle Nichols and Caitlin Webber; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. urges China not to overeact to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

In this weekly series, CNBC takes a look at companies that made the inaugural Disruptor 50 list, 10 years later.In 2006, after attending a soccer game with a bulky, unimpressive production setup, LiveU founders Avi Cohen, Samuel Wasserman, and Rony Ohayon were inspired to create a product that would consolidate video production materials, making live video broadcasting a smoother and simpler process. In its first year, the Israel-based startup's demo hardware, which was only half the size of a laptop, and claimed to reliably and cheaply deliver up to 2 MB per second, impressed investors. And so did their mission — to use existing cellular, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX signals to transmit live video and provide a more reliable and affordable alternative to television news satellite transmission trucks. LiveU launched at a crucial time, as both traditional broadcasters and online outlets provided a fast-growing demand for cellular-based live video transmission. Not only were television broadcasters being held to higher standards of both quality and turnaround time, but mass streaming services, like YouTube and Justin.tv (now Twitch), were gaining mainstream popularity, and creating a demand for online video consumption and livestreaming. That promise led to a combined $23 million in series A-C funding. And LiveU was ready to meet that demand. By 2012, due to its evolving technology, the company had become the go-to for many companies looking to uplink HD video while on the field, including BBC and NBC. That same year, the company raised another $27,000,000 in Series D funding.This marked a turning point for the company, as it moved beyond its roots in hardware, specifically its 3G/4G LTE backpack that hooked up to a video camera to let a producer transmit high-quality video streams in real time, instead focusing on being a solutions-based company. One of these solutions was LiveU Solo, which allowed users to livestream from professional cameras directly onto platforms like YouTube Live and Facebook. But ultimately, LiveU made the greatest disruption within news broadcasting. While certainly improving stand-alone broadcasting events, like the soccer games that first inspired the company, LiveU's technology helped bring "newsgathering into the internet age," Ronen Artman, vice president of marketing at LiveU, described in a company blog post. LiveU's technology allowed journalists and broadcasters to get close to the action – and stream it instantaneously.ABC News President James Goldston, in a memo to staffers in 2014, directly accredited its evolution for news broadcasters to LiveU — "From the streets of Ferguson to the Pope's daily mass, everyone at ABC News now has the ability, using the app LiveU on their mobile devices, to live stream what's happening on the ground across our digital, broadcast, and Apple TV platforms at anytime from anywhere." LiveU found a promising niche within political news, as networks increasingly relied on LiveU technology to broadcast elections globally, including the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections. That growth helped put it in the spotlight for private equity firmIn 2019 Francisco Partners, a global technology-focused private equity firm, together with co-investor IGP Capital, acquired LiveU for $200 million. Then 25 months later in TK, LiveU was acquired by the Carlyle Group for $400 million. A near doubling of its valuation in less than two years pointed not only to the increased sophistication of its solutions but also to the surge in demand for live video content that continued to grow alongside the internet.This demand was then dramatically intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, as important events like weddings, graduations, and sporting events were forced to be attended virtually. And it was particularly those large, heavily trafficked, events that required new streaming sophistication. Because of this, LiveU's new product evolutions have been focused on disrupting sports much like it did the broadcast news industry.In 2020, during the Tokyo Olympic games, which were unable to have a live audience, LiveU allowed for a deeply intimate streaming experience, covering not only the main events, "but also letting viewers experience so many other moments – athletes' reactions after the finish, fans watching outside the stadiums, coaches' feedback in the locker rooms and the medal ceremonies," according to CEO Samuel Wasserman. "With the growing demand for live content, our solutions help to build a bridge between the athletes and viewers worldwide, delivering the full sports experience," he continued.  LiveU clients now include global broadcasters and news agencies, as well as NASA, American Airlines and Amazon, with its products being behind the coverage of some of the most trafficked live broadcasted events, such as the U.S. Presidential Election, the FIFA World Cup, Winter and Summer Olympic Games, and the Super Bowl.Earlier this year, LiveU set its ambitions on the cloud, launching a solution for automatic recording and metadata tagging of live video, further following the evolution of LiveU from a hardware alternative to satellite trucks to a end-to-end video contribution, production and distribution solution.Sign up for our weekly, original newsletter that goes beyond the annual Disruptor 50 list, offering a closer look at list-making companies and their innovative founders.

How LiveU has defined the industry it once disrupted — and brought major media players along for the ride.

World August 4, 2022 / 3:47 PM / CBS/AP The Sydney apartment where the bodies of two Saudi sisters were found in June is back on the rental market with a real estate ad advising their deaths were "not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community."Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and her 23-year-old sister, Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, were found dead June 7 in separate bedrooms of the apartment in the southwest suburb of Canterbury. Asra Abdullah Alsehli (left) and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli New South Wales Police Police believe they died in early May. The decomposed state of their remains complicated the task of determining the causes of death. The first-floor Canterbury Road apartment was open for inspection on Monday with rent set at 520 Australian dollars ($362) a week. That is AU$40 ($28) more than the sisters were charged.An online ad said the apartment had been designated a crime scene and the mysterious deaths remained under police investigation. "According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community," the ad said.But police would not confirm or deny the realtor's advice."As the investigation is ongoing, police continue to appeal for information in relation to the deaths of the two women," a police statement said. "No further information is available at this stage."Police released the sisters' names and photographs last week in an appeal for more public information about how they died, but investigators have remained tight-lipped about many details, including how the sisters came to Australia as teenagers in 2017, their visa status and how they earned money. "Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen or who may have information about the women's movements in the days and weeks prior to their deaths – which we believe occurred in early May," Detective Insp Allcroft said.Multiple sources with knowledge of the case said the sisters had been seeking asylum in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. They had worked for a time as traffic controllers, a common job for backpackers and new immigrants. They drove a luxury BMW 5 Series coupe, the newspaper reported.Police Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft said their family in Saudi Arabia was cooperating with police and there was "nothing to suggest" that they were suspects.She described the decomposition of the bodies as "problematic." Police last week had yet to see the results of toxicology tests.There was no evidence of forced entry to the apartment, where the sisters kept to themselves, Allcroft said."The deaths are suspicious in nature as we don't know the cause of death," Allcroft said."The girls were 23 and 24 years old and they have died together in their home. We don't know the cause of death, it's unusual because of their age and the nature of the matter," Allcroft added. The sisters seemed fearful and suspicious that food delivered to their apartment had been tampered with, unidentified associates told Sydney media.An unidentified senior police source told Sydney's The Daily Telegraph: "It really does appear to be a tragic suicide."The sisters were able to show "significant savings" in a bank account when they applied to lease their apartment, property manager Jay Hu told the newspaper, but they had stopped paying rent early this year."They had always paid on time before then. ... They were good tenants," Hu told the newspaper.The overseas-based landlord had begun legal action to recoup the unpaid rent before the sisters' bodies were found, Hu said.The real estate ad said the apartment's bedrooms both had new flooring.Last week, Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at Saudi human rights organization ALQST, told the BBC it was possible the sisters were killed abroad after fleeing domestic violence. "There are no protections for women who are victims of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia, so they flee abroad," she told the BBC.She added: "I'm not saying that is the case here, just that we need a thorough investigation. It is frustrating not to have any information." In: Australia saudi arabia

Deaths of sisters in Sydney apartment "not a random crime," realtor says.

World Updated on: August 4, 2022 / 12:01 PM / CBS/AP Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years WNBA star Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian drug trial 10:30 U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison following a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine and could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the two world powers.The 31-year-old Griner, a two-time U.S. Olympic champion and a eight-time all-star with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury listened with a blank expression as an interpreter translated the verdict by Judge Anna Sotnikova. The judge also fined 1 million rubles (about $16,000) fine."I never meant to hurt anybody to put in jeopardy the Russian population or violate any Russian laws. I made an honest mistake and I hope that your ruling, that it doesn't end my life here," Griner told the court earlier Thursday, apologizing to her family, her teammates, her fans, and the Russian people. U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, stands inside a defendants' cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / REUTERS "I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that that is far from this courtroom... I hope you take into account all the documents, all the character lists that everybody has sent in on my behalf... This is my second home, and all I wanted to do was just win championships and make them proud," she said. U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the verdict and sentence as "unacceptable.""I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates," Biden said, adding that he would continue to work to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction. As Griner was taken from the court after the verdict, she told reporters: "I love my family." Her lawyers said she was very upset, stressed, and could hardly talk.Earlier in the session, with a conviction all but certain, an emotional Griner made a final appeal to the court for leniency. She said she had no intention to break the law by bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil when she flew to Moscow in February to play basketball in the city of Yekaterinburg."I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them," Griner said, her voice cracking. "I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home."Under Russian law, the 31-year-old Griner faces up to 10 years in prison, but judges have considerable latitude on sentencing. If she does not go free, attention will turn to the possibility of a high-stakes prisoner swap that was proposed last week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to his Russian counterpart.Griner said Yekaterinburg, a city east of the Ural Mountains, had become her "second home.""I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans, my teammates would make such a great impression on me over the 6 1/2 years that I spent here," she said. "I remember vividly coming out of the gym and all the little girls that were in the stands there waiting on me, and that's what kept making me come back here."Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasenko insisted that Griner packed the cannabis oil deliberately, and he asked the court to hand Briner a fine of 1 million rubles (about $16,700) in addition to the prison sentence.Lawyers for the Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist have sought to bolster Griner's contention that she had no criminal intent and that the canisters ended up in her luggage by mistake. They presented character witnesses from the Yekaterinburg team that she plays for in the WNBA offseason and written testimony from a doctor who said he prescribed her cannabis for pain treatment from injuries sustained in her basketball career.Her lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, argued that Griner used the cannabis only in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal.She emphasized that Griner was packing in haste after a grueling flight and suffering from the consequences of COVID-19. Blagovolina also pointed out that the analysis of cannabis found in Griner's possession was flawed and violated legal procedures. Blagovolina asked the court to acquit Griner, noting that she had no past criminal record and hailing her role in "the development of Russian basketball."Another defense attorney, Alexander Boykov, emphasized Griner's role in taking her Yekaterinburg team to win multiple championships, noting that she was loved and admired by her teammates. He told the judge that a conviction would undermine Russia's efforts to develop national sports and make Moscow's call to depoliticize sports sound shallow.Boykov added that even after her arrest, Griner won the sympathy of both her guards and prison inmates, who supported her by shouting, "Brittney, everything will be OK!" when she went on walks at the jail.Before her trial began in July, the State Department designated her as "wrongfully detained," moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government's chief hostage negotiator.Then last week, in an extraordinary move, Blinken spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, urging him to accept a deal under which Griner and Whelan would go free.The Lavrov-Blinken call marked the highest-level known contact between Washington and Moscow since Russia sent troops into Ukraine more than five months ago. The direct outreach over Griner is at odds with U.S. efforts to isolate the Kremlin.People familiar with the proposal say it envisions trading Griner and Whelan for the notorious arms trader Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States. It underlines the public pressure that the White House has faced to get Griner released. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Russia has made a "bad faith" response to the U.S. government's offer, a counteroffer that American officials don't regard as serious. She declined to elaborate.Russian officials have scoffed at U.S. statements about the case, saying they show a disrespect for Russian law. They remained poker-faced, urging Washington to discuss the issue through "quiet diplomacy without releases of speculative information."In a handwritten letter from Griner that was delivered to the White House last month, the WNBA player wrote how terrified she is that she may be imprisoned in Russia "forever." Griner's wife Cherelle told "CBS Mornings" that when she read the letter, she could feel the fear that Griner was experiencing. "She is probably the strongest person that I know, so she doesn't say words like that lightly. That means she truly is terrified that she may never see us again. You know, I share those same sentiments," Cherelle said.  In: Brittney Griner 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

Brittney Griner trial: WNBA star convicted, sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison.

Politics August 4, 2022 / 11:15 AM / CBS News At least five Republican primary winners in battleground states won by Joe Biden embraced Donald Trump's baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Several took action to try to overturn the 2020 election results when Trump lost their states, and if elected in November, they could have the power to block or delay the certification of election results in their states in the 2024 presidential election.  Here are some candidates to watch:Kari Lake, candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake, Republican gubernatorial candidate for Arizona, during an election night party in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022.  Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images Trump-backed former TV news anchor Kari Lake is currently holding a narrow lead over her opponent Karrin Taylor Robson, the lawyer endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and the state's sitting governor, Doug Ducey, though the race has not been called yet. It's one of at least three primary showdowns so far this year between the former president's preferred candidates and those of his vice president. In a June debate, Lake called the 2020 election "more than unfair" and reiterated the false claim that President Joe Biden "lost the election and shouldn't be in the White House." In that same debate, Lake asked her opponents to raise their hand if they thought the election was "stolen." Robson responded, "I'm not going to play your — your stunt."Last year, Lake said if she were Arizona's governor in 2020, she would not have certified Mr. Biden's win in state. Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes, and a controversial audit and hand recount of the ballots in the state's most populous county actually found Mr. Biden's lead increased by a couple hundred votes.  Leading up to Tuesday's primaries, Lake continued to cast doubt on the election process. "We're already detecting some stealing going on, but you guys know I'm a fighter, right?" she told a conservative group in late July. After her election night remarks late Tuesday night, when ballots were still being counted, Lake repeatedly predicted she'd win as long as "all the legal" ballots were counted. Mark Finchem, nominee for Arizona secretary of state Mark Finchem, a Republican candidate for Arizona secretary of state, waves to the crowd as he arrives to speak at a Save America rally on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Prescott, Ariz. Ross D. Franklin / AP Arizona state House Rep. Mark Finchem won the GOP primary for Arizona secretary of state, the top election official in the state. The position was left open by Democrat Katie Hobbs who is running for governor. Over a year after Mr. Biden took office, Finchem was still trying to overturn the results.In February, he introduced a resolution to decertify the 2020 election results in Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties. Mr. Biden won the state's most populous county, Maricopa, and Pima County by more than 142,000 votes, while Trump won Yuma by over 4,000 votes. "That there is no process under current law for the Arizona Legislature to 'decertify' an election, does not mean that the Legislature cannot provide a remedy for outcome-determinative fraud and illegality in the conduct of the election," Finchem wrote in the resolution. "The 2020 General Election is irredeemably compromised, and it is impossible to name a clear winner of the contest." Finchem attended Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6 and was near the Capitol as rioters stormed the building, according to the Arizona Mirror.Last October, Finchem called for the decertification of Mr. Biden's victory during an appearance at a Trump rally in Iowa. He also supported the Maricopa County audit, a lengthy hand recount of ballots by private contractors who ultimately found Mr. Biden had won the county by about 45,000 votes.  Finchem is also a member of the far right Oath Keepers who helped organize the "#StopTheSteal" movement in Arizona. He was endorsed by Trump in Sept. 2021.Blake Masters, nominee for U.S. senator from Arizona Blake Masters, a Republican candidate running for U.S. Senate in Arizona, speaks at a Save America rally on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Prescott, Ariz. Ross D. Franklin / AP Blake Masters, a venture capitalist and former executive at billionaire Peter Thiel's investment firm, defeated Mark Brnovich, Arizona's attorney general, and Army veteran Jim Lamon in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Trump endorsed Masters in June.In a campaign ad released in November, Masters said, "I think Trump won in 2020," adding that the "election was really messed up." It's a sentiment that's echoed on Masters' website. There he wrote that the 2020 election "was a rotten mess" and added "if we had had a free and fair election, President Trump would be sitting in the Oval Office today."Like other Republicans who have spread Trump's claim of a stolen election, Masters has expressed suspicion of the $400 million grant by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to state and local election officials. He also calls for a photo ID requirement, the elimination of drop boxes and "ending indiscriminate mass mailing of ballots." In 1991, Arizona passed a law for no-excuse mail ballots. The state allowed for voters to remain on a list to get a mail ballot for every election, and according to Politifact, three of every four Arizona voters were on that permanent list.  Tudor Dixon, nominee for Michigan governor Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon speaks at her primary election night party after winning the nomination at the Amway Grand Plaza on August 2, 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Dixon, a conservative radio host and activist, will be the Republican nominee facing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who led the state during the 2020 presidential election. Mr. Biden beat Trump in the Midwestern state by 154,188 votes, just under 3 points.In 2016, Trump won Michigan by 10,704 votes. In one primary debate, Dixon had raised her hand along with the rest of the Republican gubernatorial field when asked if there was enough fraud to impact the 2020 election results. In another debate she asked if she believed Trump had legitimately won the state. She replied, "Yes."Days after the November election in 2020, Dixon tweeted the election had been stolen and said Democrats committed "sloppy and obvious" voter fraud, according to Bridge Michigan, but offered no evidence to support her claim.However, in an interview last week with "Fox News Sunday," Dixon did not explicitly say she thought the 2020 election was stolen. Instead, she directed her criticism at Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson."We have to make sure our elections are secure and what happened in 2020 doesn't happen again," she told Fox News. "We are calling for common-sense election law."Kristina Karamo, candidate for Michigan secretary of stateKristina Karamo, the likely GOP nominee, was a poll watcher in 2020 who signed an affidavit claiming she had witnessed voter fraud during the ballot counting in Detroit. Her claim has been debunked. She signed onto a lawsuit to overturn Biden's 154,188 vote win in 2020 and called for a "forensic audit" of the election.  In Michigan, there is no primary to choose a nominee for secretary of state; instead the state's respective parties vote for their preferred candidate. Karamo won the majority of the vote at a Michigan GOP party convention in April. In December, Karamo tweeted that "corrupt politicians with the help of the lying media were trying to steal the election, ain't going to happen." Karamo gained a following after the 2020 election, when she claimed to have witnessed fraudulent activity where Detroit was counting absentee ballots and later testified in front of a state Senate committee. She made several cable news appearances to spread unfounded claims of widespread fraud and filed to intervene in Texas' case at The Supreme Court that sought to overturn the 2020 election. One of Karamo's central fraud claims was about a ballot that had straight-ticket voting bubbles filled out for Democrats and Republicans. She claimed a worker wanted to count the ballot for Democrats and a supervisor told the worker to "push it through." Chris Thomas, the longtime elections director in Michigan who was at the absentee counting facility in Detroit, told CBS News that "push it through" meant that the ballot would be registered as an overvote and would not count for either party. During New Jersey's gubernatorial election in Nov. 2021, Karamo baselessly claimed that ballots for Democrat incumbent Governor Phil Murphy were "magically" appearing. "Can't make this stuff up, but again you're "insurrectionist" and a "big lie proponent" for pointing out the obvious," she tweeted. Like DePerno, Karamo was endorsed by Michigan Republicans in April and is expected to become the formal nominee in August.Eric Schmitt, nominee for U.S. senator from Missouri In this Sept. 9, 2019, file photo, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.  Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Coming into primary day, Missouri Republican Eric Schmitt had received national attention as an "ERIC" in the race. Former President Trump had endorsed "ERIC" for the Missouri U.S. Senate seat, and Eric Schmitt, one of three "Eric's" on the campaign trail, embraced Trump's endorsement and said he was "grateful" for it. Schmitt has also embraced Trump's assertion that the 2020 election was stolen, leading a lawsuit with 17 other attorneys general in 2020.   On July 5, Schmitt released a campaign ad on Twitter in which he said that when he was  Missouri's 43rd attorney general, he "stood with President Trump to stop election fraud." John Gibbs, nominee for Congress, Michigan's 3rd District Republican congressional candidate John Gibbs speaks to reporters after voting in Byron Township, Michigan, on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. Sarah Rice for The Washington Post via Getty Images Gibbs is a former Trump-era Housing and Urban Development official who won his primary challenge against Republican Rep. Peter Meijer, a moderate freshman Congressman who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 attacks.During a debate with Meijer in late June, Gibbs claimed there were "anomalies" with the 2020 election results "that are simply mathematically impossible." On his campaign website, Gibbs calls for a "full forensic audit" of the 2020 election and wrote that there should be an ID required to vote, an elimination of the early voting period and says the "mass mailing of ballots to every voter… would be considered corrupt if used in any developing country."In 2020, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, mailed ballot applications — not ballots —to every registered voter because of the pandemic. This year, Michigan voters applied to receive absentee ballots, and state election officials said that just over half the votes in the primary were absentee ballots. In: Republican Party Elections 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

Multiple GOP candidates who won Aug. 2 primaries believe 2020 election was stolen.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Following are reactions after U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced in a Russian court on Thursday to nine years in prison for illegally bringing hashish-infused vape cartridges into the country. She had admitted having the cartridges but called it an honest mistake. read more GRINER, BEING LED OUT OF COURT IN HANDCUFFS"I love my family."GRINER'S LAWYER, MARIA BLAGOVOLINA"She is very upset, very stressed. She can hardly talk. It's a difficult time for her.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"When we saw Brittney on Tuesday, we told her, 'See you on Thursday'. She said, 'See you on doomsday'. So it looks like she was right."GRINER'S DEFENCE TEAM, WHICH SAID IN A STATEMENT IT WOULD APPEAL"Taking into account the amount of the substance - not to mention the defects of the expertise - and the plea, the verdict is absolutely unreasonable."U.S PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, IN A STATEMENT"Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney."It's unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates."U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN"Nothing about today's decision changes our determination that Brittney Griner is wrongfully detained, and we will continue working to bring Brittney and fellow wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan home."U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, walks after the court's verdict in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaGRINER'S AGENT, LINDSAY KAGAWA COLAS, IN TWEETS"Today's sentencing of Brittney Griner was severe by Russian legal standards and goes to prove what we have known all along, that Brittney is being used as a political pawn. We appreciate and continue to support the efforts of @POTUS (Biden) and @SecBlinken to get a deal done swiftly to bring Brittney, Paul and all Americans home."... This is a time for compassion and a shared understanding that getting a deal done to bring Americans home will be hard, but it is urgent and it is the right thing to do. #WeAreBG"WNBA COMMISSIONER CATHY ENGELBERT AND NBA COMMISSIONER ADAM SILVER, IN A STATEMENT"Today's verdict and sentencing is unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected and Brittney Griner remains wrongly detained."The WNBA and NBA's commitment to her safe return has not wavered and it is our hope that we are near the end of this process of finally bringing BG home to the United States."PHOENIX MERCURY, GRINER'S WNBA TEAM, IN A STATEMENT"While we knew it was never the legal process that was going to bring our friend home, today’s verdict is a sobering milestone in the 168-day nightmare being endured by our sister, BG."We remain heartbroken for her, as we have every day for nearly six months."USA BASKETBALL, IN A STATEMENT"We continue to support BG however we can and remain engaged with the U.S. State Department as it works diligently to being her home. The bravery Brittney is demonstrating in the face of these unimaginable circumstances speaks to the person she is and the strength she possesses."We will not be satisfied until BG is back in the U.S. and reunited with her loved ones, teammates and fans."WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION"Whatever conversations Secretary Blinken and his Russian counterpart need to have, we trust that they are having them with all deliberate speed. Because it's time. It's just time. This is critically important to BG, to her family, to our country. We're counting on this Administration."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comCompiled by Frances Kerry and Frank Pingue; Editing by Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Reactions after U.S. basketball star Griner sentenced in Russia.

Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott FarquharAtlassianAtlassian shares rose as much as 12% after the collaboration software maker disclosed more quarterly revenue than analysts had expected, while meeting consensus on earnings.Here's how the company did:Earnings: 27 cents per share, adjusted, vs. 27 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.Revenue: $760 million, vs. $724 million as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.Revenue rose 36% year over year in the quarter, which ended on June 30, according to a statement. The company reported a $105.5 million net loss, narrowing from a $213.1 million loss in the year-ago quarter.Atlassian said it had 242,623 customers at the end of the quarter, more than the 242,300 consensus among analysts polled by StreetAccount.Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian's dual CEOs, gave upbeat commentary on the company's prospects in the current economy in a letter to investors."We've observed over the years that developers tend to be the last roles companies scale back on," they wrote. "We believe this will continue to prove true, especially for the overwhelming number of organizations undergoing digital transformation. Second, whilst our products punch above their weight in terms of value, Atlassian is a relatively small line item in overall IT budgets and likely not where customers look to reduce costs."They said customers wouldn't save money by switching because Atlassian's products are already cost less than those that competitors offer. The CEOs reiterated their previous guidance of 50% cloud revenue growth in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years.Atlassian's quarterly forecast calls for more revenue than analysts had projected. Management called for adjusted net earnings of 37 cents to 38 cents per share on $795 million to $810 million in revenue in the fiscal first quarter. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected 37 cents in adjusted earnings per share and $773.5 million in revenue.The company said it has tapped Joe Binz, a former corporate vice president at Microsoft, to be its new finance chief.Notwithstanding the after-hours move, Atlassian shares have fallen about 40% so far this year, trailing the S&P 500 U.S. stock index, which has declined by 13% over the same period.Executives will discuss the results on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.This story is developing. Please check back for updates.WATCH: Wells Fargo's Michael Turrin likes Atlassian, Intuit and Workday, here's why

Atlassian says customers unlikely to reduce spending as the software maker surpasses revenue expectations.

Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Director, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; speaks during the COVID Federal Response Hearing on Capitol Hill on June 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 1.7 million men who have sex with men face the biggest threat from monkeypox right now.CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters on a call Thursday that gay and bisexual men who are HIV positive or who are taking medicines, called PREP, to reduce their chance of contracting HIV face the greatest health risk from monkeypox."That's the population we have been most focused on in terms of vaccination," Walensky said.The U.S. has secured 1.1 million doses of the two-dose vaccine Jynneos so far, according to the Health and Human Services Department. The federal government has delivered more than 600,000 doses of the vaccine since May, according to HHS.The Food and Drug Administration approved Jynneos in 2019 for adults ages 18 and older who are at high risk of smallpox or monkeypox. Jynneos, made the Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic, is the only approved monkeypox vaccine in the U.S.Walensky acknowledged last month that demand for the vaccine has outstripped supply, leading to long lines outside clinics in many cities. Sexual health clinics that serve the LGBTQ community have said the vaccination campaign needs to expand to anyone who thinks they're at risk of getting monkeypox to bring the outbreak under control."What we really want to do is get to the point where we can vaccinate everyone who wants it," said Dr. Ward Carpenter, co-director of health services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which is administering monkeypox vaccines, conducting screenings and prescribing antiviral treatments."We're still not anywhere close to that. We are really trying to focus on the people who are most at need, most at risk. But that's not a successful public health strategy," Carpenter said.Monkeypox has been spreading primarily through skin-to-skin contact during sex among gay and bisexual men, public health officials say. About 98% of patients who provided demographic information to clinics identified as men who have sex with men, according to the CDC. But public health officials have repeatedly emphasized that anyone can catch the disease through physical contact with someone who has it or contaminated materials such as bedsheets and towels.But as infections rise, the risk grows that the virus could start spreading more broadly. At least two children in the U.S. have caught monkeypox likely through transmission within their families, according to the CDC."We're trying to contain this disease in the people who have it right now," Carpenter said. "This is a moment, an opportunity for us to do so because it is in a relatively close knit community right now. If this gets out of that community, people have totally lost the capacity to contain this," he said.The U.S. has confirmed more than 6,600 cases of monkeypox in 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico as of Thursday, according to the CDC. The actual number of infections is likely higher because people can only get tested for the virus after they develop the rash, which can take a week or more in some cases. Clinicians swab the rash to take the specimen for the test.Monkeypox is rarely fatal and no deaths have been reported in the U.S. so far. But patients can suffer debilitating pain from the rash caused by the virus.

CDC estimates 1.7 million gay and bisexual men face highest risk from monkeypox.

Products from Beyond Meat Inc, the vegan burger maker, are shown for sale at a market in Encinitas, California, U.S., June 5, 2019. REUTERS//File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Beyond Meat Inc (BYND.O) lowered its forecast for 2022 revenue on Thursday and said it would cut several jobs at a time when demand for its plant-based products is fizzling out in the United States.Analysts have said alternative meat makers should improve their products' taste to attract consumers as a few restaurants including McDonald's Corp have ended U.S. tests of their plant-based menu items without confirming a broader launch."We recognize progress is taking longer than we expected," Beyond Meat Chief Executive Officer Ethan Brown said in a statement. He also said consumers "traded down among proteins" at a time when inflation squeezes spending power.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBeyond Meat forecast 2022 revenue between $470 million and $520 million. It had previously projected $560 million to $620 million.Brown also said Beyond Meat would aim to cut costs, including in manufacturing, as net loss for the second quarter ended July 2 widened to $97.1 million, or $1.53 per share, from $19.7 million, or 31 cents, a year earlier.The loss also came in bigger than expectations of $1.18 as it spent heavily to launch its plant-based jerky.Net revenue was $147 million for the second quarter, compared with $149.4 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by Refinitiv on average had expected $149.2 million.Beyond Meat also said it would cut roughly 4% of its global workforce to record nearly $8 million in annualized savings.As of Dec. 31, Beyond Meat had 1,108 full-time employees and 311 full-time contract workers.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Beyond Meat cuts jobs, revenue expectation as plant-based boom fizzles out.

The company's LV0010 rocket stands on the launchpad at Florida's Cape Canaveral ahead of the NASA TROPICS-1 mission.AstraSmall rocket-builder Astra said Thursday it would not have any additional flights this year after the company reported another quarterly loss."Whether we'll be able to commence commercial launches in 2023 will depend on the success of our test flights" for a new rocket system, Astra CEO Chris Kemp added during the company's second-quarter conference call.Shares of Astra fell 5% in after hours trading from its close of $1.58, with the stock down more than 80% in the past 12 months.Astra said it is moving away from its Rocket 3.3 system earlier than expected, and will now focus on the next version of its launch vehicle. The upgraded system, called Rocket 4.0, is more powerful and more expensive, with a price tag of up to $5 million per launch.The switch comes after the company launch in June, with a Rocket 3.3 carrying a pair of satellites for NASA's TROPICS-1 mission – the first of a set of three missions for the agency. But the TROPICS-1 mission failed mid-launch, with the company unable to deliver the satellites to orbit.The Federal Aviation Administration is leading the investigation into the TROPICS-1 failure alongside Astra, with NASA having put the schedule on hold. The TROPICS-1 investigation is still ongoing, but Kemp on Thursday said that NASA remains to committed to flying the remaining two missions at an undetermined time.For the three months ended June 30, Astra reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $48.4 million, with revenue of $2.7 million. The company has $200.7 million in cash on hand, and recently announced a $100 million equity facility through B. Riley Principal Capital.The company stressed that its line of products extend beyond rockets, with Astra saying it has 103 orders for its spacecraft engines.

Astra pausing rocket launches until at least 2023, as quarterly losses and a failure investigation continue.

Space August 4, 2022 / 12:23 PM / CBS News Jeff Bezos says he's humbled by trip to space Inside the Blue Origin training capsule with Jeff and Mark Bezos 06:15 Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched its sixth New Shepard passenger flight Thursday, taking a half dozen space tourists on a supersonic dash to the edge of space and back, complete with a few minutes of weightlessness and out-of-this world views from 66 miles above west Texas. Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket and capsule blast off from the company's West Texas launch site Thursday, carrying an international six-member crew on a 10-minute flight to the edge of space and back. Blue Origin As the spacecraft coasted up to the high point of its trajectory, a microphone in the crew cabin captured cries of elation and wonder as the passengers unstrapped, began floating about and marveling at the spectacle of Earth far below and the deep black of space above."We're doing it!" one shouted. "Oh my God!" gasped another. "Look at the blackness," someone exclaimed. One crew member offered a bit of advice: "take it in, take it in!" The flight began when the New Shepard's single-stage rocket roared to life and the rocket blasted off from Blue Origin's Van Horn, Texas, flight facility at 9:57 a.m. EDT, shooting straight up into a clear blue sky atop a brilliant jet of flaming exhaust.On board: a British-American mountain climber, an Egyptian space enthusiast, a Portuguese investor and adventurer, a telecom executive-turned restauranteur, an engineer and a co-founder of the YouTube channel "Dude Perfect." The hydrogen-burning BE-3 first-stage engine boosted the New Shepard crew capsule to a velocity of 2,239 mph and an eventual altitude of 351,232 feet, well above the U.S. and international standards used to define the "boundary" between the discernible atmosphere and space.The capsule then arced over and fell back to Earth. Moments after the spacecraft's three main parachutes unfurled and inflated, a crew member loudly joked: "We're not going to die!" Also: "Our poor families!"Mission duration, from launch to landing: 10 minutes and 20 seconds.For Sara Sabry, a 29-year-old Egyptian mechanical and biomedical engineer who lives in Berlin while studying for a Ph.D. in aerospace sciences, the length of the flight was not as important as what it symbolized. "When we dare to dream big, we achieve things deemed impossible, we break boundaries, write history and set new challenges for the future," she told Space for Humanity, the organization sponsoring her flight."I am incredibly excited that Space For Humanity has offered me this opportunity and I am honored to be representing Egypt in space for the first time. My ancestors have always dreamt big and achieved the impossible, and I hope to bring that back. This is just the beginning."Also on board: Coby Cotton, one of five co-founders of "Dude Perfect," one of the internet's most heavily subscribed sports channels; Mario Ferreira, a Portuguese investor; mountain climber Vanessa O'Brien; Clint Kelly III, an engineer with expertise in autonomous driving systems; and Steve Young, former CEO of a large telecommunications company and now a restaurant developer in Melbourne, Florida. The New Shepard Flight 22 crew (left to right): Sara Sabry, the first Egyptian to reach space, restauranteur Steve Young, "Dude Perfect" co-founder Coby Cotton, mountaineer Vanessa O'Brien, engineer Clint Kelly III and Mario Ferreira, the first native of Portugal to make a space flight. Blue Origin "With the sale of the company came lots of stupid money," Young told the Florida Today newspaper. "And with stupid money, you can do stupid things. ... I have always been a bit of a braggart-slash-showoff. And what's better than to be able to say you went to space when your buddies can't?"Blue Origin does not discuss how much it charges for a flight aboard the New Shepard. But Quartz reported MoonDAO, a "decentralized autonomous organization" built on the ethereum blockchain, paid $2,575,000 for two New Shepard seats, including Cotton's. The second seat has not yet been assigned."Thanks to the transparency of the blockchain, we know it cost MoonDAO $2,575,000," Quartz reported. "Some of that is transaction fees, but the figure suggests that a seat on New Shepard costs $1.25 million."The NS-22 mission marked the 12th piloted commercial, non-government sub-orbital spaceflight and the sixth for Blue Origin, which is the early leader in a high-stakes competition between Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of Virgin Galactic. The New Shepard booster, completing its eighth flight, flies itself back to a safe touchdown on a landing pad at the launch site. Blue Origin Branson won the commercial sub-orbital space race in 2018 when his company launched its first piloted test flight above 50 miles, the boundary of space recognized by NASA and the FAA. Branson flew as a passenger on the company's fourth flight in July 2021, its most recent, joining two pilots and three other Virgin Galactic employees. Bezos, his brother Mark, aviation pioneer Wally Funk and Danish teenager Oliver Daeman took off on Blue Origin's first piloted sub-orbital flight on July 20, 2021, nine days after Branson's launch.Virgin Galactic has not yet announced a date for its next flight, but Blue Origin followed up the Bezos flight by launching a suite of NASA experiments on an unpiloted mission the next month. Then, on October 13, 2021, William Shatner and three crewmates were launched on the company's 18th flight overall and the second carrying passengers.Three more crewed New Shepard flights followed on Dec. 11, 2021, March 31 this year and most recently on June 4.Unlike Virgin's VSS Unity spaceplane, which is launched from a carrier jet and glides to a runway landing after a brief visit to the lower edge of space, Blue Origin's New Shepard is a much more traditional rocket and capsule.In a little more than two minutes, the single-stage booster propels the capsule and its crew straight up to an altitude of about 32 miles and a velocity of some 2,200 mph before main engine shutdown.A few seconds later, at an altitude of about 45 miles, the crew capsule is released to fly on its own.While the reusable booster heads back to landing on a nearby pad, the crew capsule continues upward on an unpowered, ballistic trajectory, reaching a maximum altitude of just above 65 miles three-and-a-half minutes after takeoff. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), an international body based in Switzerland that certifies aerospace records, considers an altitude of 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, as the dividing line between the discernible atmosphere and space.NASA and the FAA say 50 miles is the point where wings and aerosurfaces no longer have any effect on a vehicle's motion and thus defines the starting point of "space." Virgin Galactic uses that guideline while Blue Origin meets both standards.After release from the New Shepard rocket, passengers experience about three minutes of weightlessness, enough time to unstrap and float about the cabin while enjoying spectacular views of Earth through six windows more than a three feet tall and nearly two-and-a-half feet wide.Plunging back into the lower atmosphere, the capsule rapidly decelerates, briefly subjecting the passengers to more than five times the normal force of gravity, before three large parachutes unfurl, lowering the craft to a gentle touchdown a few miles from the launch pad.All of that appeared to go like clockwork Thursday. In: Jeff Bezos Virgin Galactic Blue Origin Richard Branson William Harwood Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News. He covered 129 space shuttle missions, every interplanetary flight since Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune and scores of commercial and military launches. Based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood is a devoted amateur astronomer and co-author of "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia." 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

Blue Origin launches six passengers on supersonic flight to the edge of space.

A DoorDash sign is pictured on a restaurant on the day they hold their IPO in New York, December 9, 2020.Carlo Allegri | ReutersCheck out the companies making headlines after the bell: DoorDash — Shares of the food delivery company popped 12% after a revenue beat. DoorDash reported revenue of $1.61 billion in the second quarter, higher than the $1.52 billion analysts were expecting, according to Refinitiv. DoorDash said the total number of orders it delivered grew 23% year over year to 426 million, an all-time high. It did report a loss larger than expected for the quarter, however.Beyond Meat — The alternative meat producer's shares fell more than 2% after the company lowered its revenue forecast for 2022. Beyond Meat also announced it will trim its workforce by 4%, citing broader economic uncertainty. Beyond reported second-quarter net loss of $97.1 million, or $1.53 per share, wider than a net loss of $19.7 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.AMC Entertainment — Shares of the movie theater chain dropped 4% after the company said it plans to issue a dividend to shareholders in the form of preferred shares listed on the NYSE under the ticker APE. The name is a nod to its retail investors who supported the company during the meme-stock mania.Virgin Galactic — The space stock tumbled more than 7% in after-hours trading after the company's quarterly report. Virgin Galactic posted a net loss of $111 million in the second quarter, compared to a $94 million net loss in the same period a year ago. The company also delayed its commercial service launch to the second quarter of 2023.Warner Bros. Discovery — Shares of the media giant fell 9% after the combined company disclosed a total direct-to-consumer subscriber base of 92.1 million. It marked the first time the company reported quarterly earnings since WarnerMedia and Discovery merged earlier this year.

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: DoorDash, Beyond Meat, AMC, Virgin Galactic & more.

The Warner Bros logo is seen during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (WBD.O) said on Thursday it would merge the HBO Max streaming service with Discovery+ as a single offering, combining WarnerMedia's dramas, comedies and movies with Discovery's reality shows.The move, which confirms a Reuters report, is seen as an attempt to lure more customers as streaming services face a slowdown in subscriber growth after a boom during the pandemic and steadily rising frequency of cancellations.Warner Bros. Discovery also said it was exploring the opportunity for a fast or free ad-supported streaming offering.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe newly merged company, which reported a second-quarter net loss of $3.4 billion and a slight decline in revenue, is aiming to reconfigure overlapping businesses from WarnerMedia and Discovery.The media giant was forged by the $43 billion merger of Discovery Inc and AT&T's (T.N) WarnerMedia, home to the "Harry Potter" and "Batman" franchises, cable networks such as CNN and the streaming service HBO Max.Warner Bros. Discovery, which reported combined results for the first time, also disclosed 92.1 million streaming subscribers at the end of the second quarter.Prior to the merger, HBO and HBO Max boasted a combined 76.8 million subscribers, including 48.6 million in the United States. Discovery+ ended the first quarter with 24 million subscribers.The net loss includes about $2 billion of amortization of intangibles, about $1 billion of restructuring and other charges, and $983 million of transaction and integration expenses, the company said.Customers ending their services hover at around 37% in the United States - a rate that could well increase as surging inflation forces a paring of discretionary spending.Shares of the company, which reported revenue of $9.83 billion, fell 8% in extended trading.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Warner Bros. Discovery to merge streaming services HBO Max, Discovery+.

An Amgen sign is seen at the company's office in South San Francisco, California October 21, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Amgen Inc on Thursday agreed to buy ChemoCentryx Inc (CCXI.O) for $3.7 billion to gain access to a potential blockbuster treatment for inflammatory disorders and beat quarterly revenue estimates on demand for its bone disease drug.The deal, announced before markets opened, will also hand the company control of at least two experimental therapies for immune disorders, a field in the spotlight following AstraZeneca's 2020 purchase of Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion.Amgen has been facing stiff competition for its top-selling arthritis drug, Enbrel, from newer branded treatments and patents for the therapy are expected to expire in 2029.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSales of Enbrel fell 8% to $1.05 billion in the second quarter.Still, the drugmaker's revenue rose 1% to $6.59 billion, lifted by a 13% jump in sales of osteoporosis drug Prolia to $922 million. Analysts' on average had estimated revenue of $6.53 billion, according to Refinitiv data.The company, which kept its full-year adjusted profit forecast unchanged at between $17 and $18 per share, would pay $52 in cash for each share of ChemoCentryx, a premium of nearly 116% to the target's last close.ChemoCentryx's shares surged to trade just $1 shy of the offer price."We view Amgen as a logical partner to take the torch from (ChemoCentryx) and continue the launch of Tavneos," said SVB Securities analyst Joseph Schwartz.Approved late last year to treat patients with a rare form of blood vessel inflammation or vasculitis, Tavneos brought in sales of $5.4 million in the first full quarter of its launch.Vasculitis is caused by an over-activation of the immune system and affects about 40,000 people in the United States, according to ChemoCentryx.Analysts expect over $1 billion in Tavneos sales by 2027, Refinitiv data shows.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Aditya Soni and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Amgen bets on ChemoCentryx's rare disease drug in $3.7 bln deal.

World August 4, 2022 / 1:54 PM / AFP After a sinkhole opened up in nearly the exact spot another hole swallowed a sleeping man in 2013, many are wondering what causes them Science behind what causes sinkholes 04:29 Experts in Chile on Tuesday were investigating an enormous sinkhole, bigger than a tennis court, that has appeared near a copper mine in the Atacama desert.Experts were dispatched to examine the hole, some 32 meters (104 feet) in diameter and twice as deep, which appeared in an area nearly 500 miles north of Santiago over the weekend, the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin) said in a statement. Aerial view taken on August 1, 2022, showing a large sinkhole that appeared over the weekend near the mining town of Tierra Amarilla, Copiapo Province, in the Atacama Desert in Chile. JOHAN GODOY/AFP via Getty Images A 100-meter security perimeter has been erected around the hole in the Tierra Amarilla municipality, near the Alcaparrosa mine operated by Canadian firm Lundin Mining. The company said in a statement there had been "no impact to personnel, equipment or infrastructure," and the sinkhole has remained stable since its detection.As a preventive measure, "development work in an area of the Alcaparrosa underground mine has been temporarily suspended," the company said. Sernageomin director David Montenegro said experts would seek to determine the cause of the collapse and "ensure that all safety measures are taken to safeguard the lives of workers and communities close to the site."Cristian Zuniga, mayor of the Tierra Amarilla municipality of some 13,000 inhabitants, told journalists the sinkhole was unprecedented."We ask that the cause be clarified: whether the collapse is the product of mining activity or something else," he said.Chile is the world's largest copper producer, responsible for a quarter of global supply. Giant sinkholes 39 photos In: Chile 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

Experts investigate mysterious 200-foot-deep sinkhole near copper mine in Chile.

Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) on Thursday dismissed Elon Musk's claims in a Delaware court filing that he was hoodwinked into signing the deal to buy the social media company, saying that it was "implausible and contrary to fact."Musk made the claims in a countersuit that he filed under seal last Friday, which was made public on Thursday."According to Musk, he — the billionaire founder of multiple companies, advised by Wall Street bankers and lawyers — was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a $44 billion merger agreement. That story is as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds," the filing released by Twitter on Thursday said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTwitter's filing is the latest salvo in what is building up to be a major legal showdown between the world's richest person and the social media giant.The San Francisco-based company is pushing to resolve months of uncertainty over its fate as Musk tries to walk away from the deal for what he says is Twitter's misrepresentation of fake accounts.Musk agreed to buy Twitter on April 25, but sought to back out on July 8 without paying a $1 billion breakup fee, citing Twitter's failure to provide details about the prevalence of bot and spam accounts.Twitter sued him four days later, accusing him of sabotaging the deal because it no longer served his interests, and demanding he complete it. An Oct. 17 trial is scheduled.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Anirban Sen in New York, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Twitter rejects Musk's claims that he was hoodwinked.

Crime August 4, 2022 / 5:32 PM / CBS News Alex Jones testifies Sandy Hook massacre was "100% real" Alex Jones testifies Sandy Hook massacre was "100% real" 05:21 A Texas jury awarded the parents of one of the victims of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School over $4 million in the damages trial of "Infowars" host Alex Jones. The conspiracy theorist and far-right broadcaster had earlier been found liable for defamation in a default judgment issued by District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble over his false claims the 2012 shooting was "a hoax" in repeated comments over the past decade. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was one of 20 children and six adults killed during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012, sued Jones and his media company, Free Speech Systems, in 2018. The couple originally sought at least $150 million in compensatory damages. Jurors voted first to determine how much of that Jones should be ordered to pay, and arrived at over $4 million. They will deliberate again to decide whether Heslin and Lewis are given an additional award for punitive damages, and, if they are, what that number will be.Judge Guerra Gamble, who presided over the defamation suits brought against Jones in Texas, issued rare default judgments last fall that found Jones and Infowars liable for defamation and emotional distress. The judge's orders cited the harassment that Heslin, Lewis and other families of Sandy Hook victims endured at the hands of Jones' followers as a direct result of his allegations about the shooting, in addition to the defendant's "flagrant bad faith and callous disregard" for court procedures throughout the hearings. Alex Jones walks into the courtroom in front of Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on July 28, 2022. BRIANA SANCHEZ/POOL The Sandy Hook tragedy remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Jones acknowledged in court Wednesday that he knows "it's 100% real." But for years Jones claimed the shooting was "staged," a "false flag" devised with intent to increase gun control, with "crisis actors" supposedly posing as the victims' grieving family members. He publicized these allegations on his Infowars website, which features stories and videos promoting outlandish conspiracy theories and is widely considered a "fake news" machine. The site has published, and in several instances retracted, a number of blatantly false stories in addition to those related to the Sandy Hook massacre. Jones has faced multiple lawsuits — including some filed by other families of Sandy Hook victims — as well as accusations of discrimination and sexual harassment.Court records show Jones made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018 selling items like survivalist gear and dietary supplements on Infowars. Free Speech Systems, the Austin, Texas-based parent company of Infowars, filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. On Tuesday, Jones was scolded by the judge in court for telling the jury that he had complied with pretrial evidence gathering protocols and was bankrupt, when the latter had not yet been determined.Jones lost several defamation cases by default last year. Lawsuits brought by families of Sandy Hook victims in Texas and Connecticut allege that Jones' characterization of the shooting as a "giant hoax" led to years of subsequent abuse from his followers. A group of families involved in one lawsuit have additionally accused him of diverting funds away from Free Speech Systems before the bankruptcy filing.Both Heslin and Lewis took the witness stand at the Austin trial this week and testified about how Jones' efforts to spread lies about the mass shooting made their lives "a living hell." The parents said those who believed the conspiracist and his claims about Sandy Hook went on to harass and threaten them verbally and physically. They recalled people shooting at their home and car and sending them threatening emails.  Scarlett Lewis, mother of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, appears in court for the trial against Alex Jones, in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 2, 2022. Briana Sanchez/Pool via REUTERS "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 appeared in court on Tuesday, allowing the plaintiffs to address him in person. "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 said, referencing Jones' comments on Infowars suggesting she was an actor fronting some sort of government scheme. As Lewis noted, Jones seemed to continue promoting the idea on his talk series as recently as the morning before closing arguments."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. "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.""Jesse was real. I am a real mom," she said. "... I know you know that, and that's the problem." The Associated Press contributed reporting. In: alex jones Gun Violence Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting 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

Texas jury orders Alex Jones to pay parents of Sandy Hook victim more than $4 million in defamation suit.

The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) aircraft carrier is seen during a port visit in Hong Kong on October 2, 2017.Anthony Wallace | AFP | Getty ImagesWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will keep an American naval aircraft carrier strike group in the South China Sea longer than originally planned in response to Chinese missile tests and heightened aggression around Taiwan, the White House announced Thursday.At the same time, Biden will postpone a previously scheduled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, said a White House spokesman.The twin announcements signal an approach that seeks to raise American military vigilance in the region, while simultaneously limiting opportunities for Beijing to point to any U.S. action as a provocation for increased aggression toward Taiwan and neighboring countries.The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and her escort ships will remain in the South China Sea "for a little bit longer than they were originally planned to be there," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at the White House on Thursday.The goal of the strike group's prolonged stay in the region will be "to monitor the situation," he said. He added that "the president believed that it was the prudent thing to do, to leave her and her escort ships there for just a little bit longer."The Ronald Reagan carrier strike group has been operating in the South China Sea since the middle of July, according to the U.S. military.Kirby said the postponement of the "Minuteman 3" ballistic missile test aims to demonstrate "the behavior of a responsible nuclear power by reducing the risks of miscalculation" while China "engages in destabilizing military exercises around Taiwan."Still, the United States does not expect China to scale back its aggressive actions any time soon. "We're expecting more exercises, more bellicosity and rhetoric, and we're expecting more incursions" into non-Chinese territories, he said.Tensions between Washington and Beijing have increased significantly in the past week, driven in part by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to visit Taiwan with a delegation of congressional Democrats.The White House and Pentagon reportedly cautioned the powerful California lawmaker not to make the trip when she did, due to the potential for increased bilateral tensions.But Pelosi wrote in an op-ed that she believes China poses a grave threat to the independence of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a Chinese province. She said her trip was necessary to show American support for democracy in Taiwan and around the world.But as Biden tries to balance a desire to flex American muscle in the South China Sea and not provoke further actions from Beijing, experts say the distinction could be lost on the Chinese government."China doesn't want or need to convince itself that we're serious and parsing between 'serious' and 'provocative' is like angels dancing on a pin," said Andrew Mertha, director of the China Global Research Center at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies."This 'splitting the difference' exhibits precisely the confusion and incoherence that Beijing likely sees as some sort of deliberate, aggressively opaque strategy," he said in an interview with CNBC."If cooler heads are prevailing behind the scenes — in both Beijing and Washington — this will be a prelude to a shift to a more sustained, substantive diplomatic engagement," said Mertha.To wit, Kirby emphasized Thursday that key lines of communication between the U.S. and China are open, despite the heightened tensions."We're using those lines of communication, and I think you'll see that in days to come as well," he said, somewhat cryptically.The White House did not immediately respond to an email asking for further details on what Kirby meant.

Biden will keep aircraft carrier group in the South China Sea but postpone missile test.

Crime August 4, 2022 / 10:46 AM / CBS/AP Authorities in Alabama on Wednesday released horrific details of how a woman and boy were allegedly killed a day after an abducted 12-year-old girl escaped by chewing her way out of restraints, leading investigators to the discovery of two bodies.Already charged with first-degree kidnapping in connection with the girl's mistreatment, José Paulino Pascual-Reyes also was charged with capital murder and corpse abuse in the deaths of a woman and a boy younger than 14 who were found inside the mobile home in the central Alabama town of Dadeville, according to Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett and court documents. Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes Tallapoosa County Jail According to arrest warrants obtained by CBS affiliate WRBL, investigators believe Reyes killed his girlfriend, Sandra Vazquez Ceja, by smothering her with a pillow. Reyes is also charged with killing Ceja's son, who was younger than 14, by striking him with his hands and feet. The boy's full name has not been released.  Both bodies were cut into small pieces at the joints to hide evidence.Authorities haven't released information about the surviving girl, a possible motive or whether any of the victims and Pascual-Reyes were related, but Abbett said additional charges were possible. Ceja, 29, used an address that matched the location of the mobile home when she received traffic tickets for speeding and driving without a license in April, court records showed.The records don't include the name of a defense attorney who could speak on behalf of Pascual-Reyes, 37, who was being held in the Tallapoosa County Jail following his arrest in Auburn, about 25 miles from Dadeville.Abducted from an undisclosed location around July 24, the girl was restrained to bedposts for about a week so she could be sexually abused, according to a complaint filed in court by authorities. The two people were killed around the time of the alleged abduction, records show.The girl was kept in a "drugged state" with alcohol and assaulted in the head before chewing her way out of the restraints, the document said. With her braces damaged from the chewing and marks on her wrists indicating she'd been tied up, the girl was spotted on the road outside the mobile home on Monday morning, authorities said.A driver picked up the girl and notified authorities, prompting an investigation and search that led to police officers discovering two decomposing bodies inside the mobile home where Pascual-Reyes lived and the girl was believed to be held, Abbett said. Other people lived at the residence, he said, but no one else was there when police arrived.The girl, who authorities said had not been reported missing, received medical attention and was placed in the custody of child welfare officials, said Abbett, who described her as a "hero." "She is safe now, and so we want to keep her that way," Abbett said.The FBI and Department of Homeland Security were also involved in the investigation, WRBL reports.     In: Alabama Murder 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

Horrific details revealed about victims after abducted girl's dramatic escape leads to discovery of 2 bodies.

Alex Jones attempts to answer questions about his emails asked by Mark Bankston, lawyer for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, during trial at the Travis County Courthouse, Austin, Texas, August 3, 2022.Briana Sanchez | Pool | ReutersAn Austin jury on Thursday decided Infowars host Alex Jones must pay at least $4.1 million to the family of a 6-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for the suffering he and his website and broadcast caused them by spreading lies about the 2012 massacre.Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, whose son Jesse died alongside 19 of his classmates and six educators at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, had sought $150 million for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.An attorney for Jones, who has repeatedly suggested that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, asked jurors to award Heslin and Lewis only $1.The jury was only asked to decide whether Jones, who has already been found liable by a judge because he did not hand over critical evidence before the trial began, must also pay Jesse's parents for the emotional distress and reputational damage caused by his false claims. The jury will also decide whether to award punitive damages. The panel will hear testimony on that subject Friday.The trial included testimony from both parents and Jones, who has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights. Following the shooting, he had asserted that it was fabricated and included crisis actors. He later acknowledged that it took place.His attorney, Andino Reynal, argued that Jones has paid for his mistake by losing millions of followers after he was removed from social media platforms in 2018."He made a terrible mistake," Reynal told jurors, referring to Jones. "That mistake was weaponized by the same political forces that had descended upon Sandy Hook when it happened."As the jury deliberated Thursday, Reynal requested a mistrial because his team accidentally sent the contents of Jones' cell phone to lawyers for Heslin and Lewis. A lawyer for Heslin and Lewis used some of the information on Wednesday to point out inconsistencies in Jones' testimony. The judge denied the request.Heslin and Lewis testified on Tuesday that Jones' lies left them in fear for their lives and compounded their grief."Having a 6-year-old son shot in front of his classroom is unbearable and you don't think you're going to survive and then to have someone on top of that perpetuate a lie that it was a hoax, that it was a false flag," Lewis said, speaking directly to Jones during her testimony. "I don't think you understand the fear you perpetuate, not just to the victim's family but to our family, our friends and any survivor from that school."The crux of the trial is a 2017 episode of NBC's "Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly," on which Heslin appeared and challenged Jones' denial of the shooting. Heslin says in the episode: "I held my son with a bullet hole through his head."Jones and another Infowars host, Owen Shroyer, later implied that Heslin had lied. Heslin and Lewis are among several Sandy Hook families who have filed lawsuits against Jones arguing that his statements that the mass shooting was a hoax have led to years of abuse from his followers.

Alex Jones must pay at least $4.1 million to parents of a Sandy Hook school massacre victim in defamation case, jury rules.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryBiden calls ruling unacceptableDefence lawyers say they will appealGriner weeps as she pleads for leniencyGriner's lawyers sought her acquittalUnited States has made Russia a prisoner swap offerKHIMKI, Russia, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A Russian court sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that U.S. President Joe Biden called "unacceptable."Griner was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by police after the ruling, turning to reporters and saying: "I love my family".Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, was arrested in mid-February as she arrived to play for a Russian side during the WNBA offseason. Her case threw the Texan into the geopolitical maelstrom triggered when President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, propelling U.S.-Russian relations to a new post-Cold War low.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHer sentencing could now pave the way for a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that would include the 31-year-old athlete and an imprisoned Russian who was once a prolific arms dealer.Griner had admitted having the vape cartridges containing hashish oil but said she had made an honest mistake by inadvertently packing them.Before the verdict, she tearfully pleaded with a Russian judge not to "end her life" with a harsh prison sentence. The court also fined her 1 million roubles ($16,990). read more Biden, under pressure to bring home Americans held in Russia, called on Russia to free Griner immediately and said his administration would continue to work for her release."Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney," he said in a statement."It's unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates."National security spokesperson John Kirby later on Thursday urged Russia to accept a "serious proposal" Washington made weeks ago for Griner's release.Griner's lawyers said they would appeal a verdict they said was "absolutely unreasonable". Her defence team said the court had ignored all evidence they had presented, as well as Griner's guilty plea."She is very upset, very stressed," said Maria Blagovolina, partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners, after the hearing. "She can hardly talk. It's a difficult time for her."The Russian prosecutor had called for Griner to be sentenced to 9-1/2 years prison if she was found guilty of bringing illegal drugs into the country.'HONEST MISTAKE'Griner was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17 with the cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. While she pleaded guilty, she said she had neither intended to bring a banned substance to Russia nor to hurt anybody."I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling, that it doesn't end my life here," Griner said in court on Thursday before breaking down in tears."My parents taught me two important things: one, take ownership of your responsibilities and two, work hard for everything that you have. That's why I pled guilty to my charges."U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted in a court building in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS"I want to say again that I had no intent on breaking any Russians laws," she told the court. "I had no intent, I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime."Griner also referred to the international politics around her case, saying: "I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that is far from this courtroom".Cannabis is illegal in Russia for both medicinal and recreational purposes.Griner's defence team had called for her to be acquitted. Alexander Boikov, one of her lawyers, said some of the case files had been drawn up in violation of the law.PRISONER SWAPThe United States has offered to exchange Russian prisoners for American citizens including Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.One source familiar with the situation said Washington was willing to exchange convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, whose life helped inspire the 2005 Hollywood film "Lord of War" starring Nicholas Cage.Russian officials have said a deal has not been reached. They argue that Griner - known as "BG" to basketball fans - violated laws and should be judged accordingly.USA Basketball said in a message on Twitter it was disappointed at Thursday's ruling but it would remain engaged with the U.S. State Department in the effort to get Griner home."We will not be satisfied until BG is back in the U.S. and reunited with her loved ones, teammates and fans," it said.WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that the verdict against Griner was "unjustified and unfortunate."Griner appeared at the hearing in a grey T-shirt and round-rimmed glasses. Before taking a seat in the defendant's cage, she held up a picture of UMMC Ekaterinburg, the team she played for in Russia during the WNBA offseason.In her testimony last week, Griner expressed puzzlement as to how the vape cartridges ended up in her luggage as she was flying to Russia to join UMMC Ekaterinburg for the playoffs.Teammates and friends urged the Biden administration and Putin's government to negotiate her release. read more "I hope that, now that the sentencing has occurred, the trial is over, no more court, that the negotiations will proceed," her high school basketball coach Debbie Jackson told Reuters."I’m praying that both sides will negotiate in good faith and that Brittney and other Americans that are in Russian prison can come back home."($1 = 58.8500 roubles)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Cawthorne, Frances Kerry and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Russia sentences Griner to 9 years in prison, White House calls for her release.

Buses travel past the Bank of England (BoE) building, London, Britain, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Bank of England looks set to become the first major central bank to sell some of the government bonds it purchased during more than a decade of quantitative easing, with a 40 billion pound ($49 billion) sales programme likely to start next month.The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee said on Thursday it was "provisionally minded" to start sales in the second half of September, subject to economic and market conditions and a confirmatory vote at its next meeting on Sept. 15.Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden told a news conference that there would be a "high bar" to amending gilt sales due to market conditions, once the programme had begun.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe BoE does not expect the gilt sales to play a significant role in tightening monetary conditions, relative to raising interest rates or the initial gilt purchases, but wants to ensure it has scope to undertake QE again if needed.HSBC economists said the sales should not have much impact on gilt yields "if well communicated", but there was a risk of volatility due to a lack of short-dated gilts in Britain's repo market.As part of Thursday's announcement, the BoE said it would set up a new weekly 7-day short-term repo facility to keep market rates close to its Bank Rate."Other central banks with hefty balance sheets will be watching on with interest at the BoE's pioneering move," HSBC economists Liz Martins and Simon Wells said.The BoE doubled the size of its QE programme during the COVID-19 pandemic but stopped reinvesting the proceeds of maturing gilts in February, since when its portfolio has shrunk to 844 billion pounds, from 875 billion pounds.However, the long average maturity of its holdings compared with other major central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve means it needs to undertake active sales if it wishes to reduce its holdings faster.Governor Andrew Bailey said last month he expected the BoE would seek to reduce its gilt holdings by 50-100 billion pounds in the first year of quantitative tightening.The BoE said on Thursday it expected to cut its holdings by 80 billion pounds in the year from September, through gilts maturing and 10 billion pounds of sales per quarter.Sales will be timed to avoid clashes with the United Kingdom Debt Management Office's gilt auctions.The sales will largely mirror the BoE's purchases, which were made through reverse auctions of buckets of gilts with maturities of 3-7 years, 7-20 years and more than 20 years.($1 = 0.8241 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by David Milliken; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Bank of England set to become first big central bank to sell QE bonds.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - The United States has declared monkeypox a public health emergency, the health secretary said on Thursday, a move expected to free up additional funding and tools to fight the disease.The U.S. tally topped 6,600 on Wednesday, almost all of the cases among men who have sex with men."We're prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at a briefing.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe declaration will improve the availability of data on monkeypox infections that is needed for the response, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said, speaking alongside Bacerra.The U.S. government has come under pressure for its handling of the outbreak.The disease began spreading in Europe before moving to the United States, which now has the most cases in the world. Vaccines and treatments have been in short supply and the disease often left for historically underfunded sexual health clinics to manage. read more The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a "public health emergency of international concern," its highest alert level. The WHO declaration last month sought to trigger a coordinated international response and unlock funding to collaborate on vaccines and treatments. read more A person arrives to receive a monkeypox vaccination at the Northwell Health Immediate Care Center at Fire Island-Cherry Grove, in New York, U.S., July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File PhotoGovernments are deploying vaccines and treatments that were first approved for smallpox but also work for monkeypox.The U.S. government has distributed 600,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic's (BAVA.CO) Jynneos vaccine and deployed 14,000 of Siga Technologies' (SIGA.O) TPOXX treatment, officials said, though they did not disclose how many have been administered.Walensky said the government aims to vaccinate more than 1.6 million high-risk individuals.U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said the agency was considering freeing up more Jynneos vaccine doses by allowing doctors to draw 5 doses of vaccine from each vial instead of the current 1 dose by using a different subcutaneous method of inoculation.U.S. President Joe Biden this month appointed two federal officials to coordinate his administration's response to monkeypox, following declarations of emergencies by California, Illinois and New York. read more First identified in monkeys in 1958, the disease has mild symptoms including fever, aches and pus-filled skin lesions, and people tend to recover from it within two to four weeks, the WHO says. It spreads through close physical contact and is rarely fatal.Anthony Fauci, Biden's chief medical adviser, told Reuters on Thursday that it was critical to engage leaders from the gay community as part of efforts to rein in the outbreak, but cautioned against stigmatizing the lifestyle."Engagement of the community has always proven to be successful," Fauci said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru, Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, Caroline Humer and Leela de Kretser, Editing by Anil D'Silva, Deepa Babington and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. declares monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.

Rachel Bloomekatz, a public interest lawyer nominated to the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah SilbigerRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryLaw firmsU.S. Senate Judiciary Committee failed to move 6th Circuit nominee Rachel Bloomekatz to full Senate voteCommittee advanced the nominations of Doris Pryor for the 7th Circuit and Ana Reyes as D.C. federal judge(Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel on Thursday deadlocked on President Joe Biden's nomination of attorney Rachel Bloomekatz to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, while advancing several other judicial nominations to the full Senate.The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 10-10 along party lines on whether to advance Bloomekatz, an Ohio public interest lawyer, meaning she will face an additional procedural hurdle as the Senate must vote to discharge her nomination from the committee before any final vote.During her nomination hearing on June 22, Senate Republicans questioned Bloomekatz about her work on behalf of Everytown Law, the legal arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, defending gun safety ordinances and challenging an Ohio school district's decision to allow teachers to be armed.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBloomekatz told the committee during her hearing she would follow the U.S. Supreme Court's "very clear" precedents supporting gun rights.Bloomekatz launched public interest law firm Bloomekatz Law in 2019 after working at Washington, D.C.-based Gupta Wessler. Her firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote Thursday.The panel on Thursday also voted 13-9 to move U.S. Magistrate Judge Doris Pryor's nomination to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals forward. She would become the first Black person from Indiana to serve on the Chicago-based appeals court.The panel also advanced the nomination of Ana Reyes for U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C. Reyes, a Williams & Connolly litigator who immigrated to the United States as a child, would become the first Hispanic woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve as a district court judge in D.C.The panel advanced the nominations of Maria del Antongiorgi-Jordan, Gina Mendez-Miro and Camille Velez-Rive, each to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico.Senate Democrats are racing to confirm as many judicial nominees as they can before the November midterm elections while they retain their narrow 50-50 control of the chamber.Read more:Biden nominates abortion rights lawyer in U.S. Supreme Court case to federal judgeshipGOP senators withhold opposition to Sinema-backed judicial nomineeRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. Senate panel deadlocks in vote to advance 6th Circuit judicial nominee.

Workers sit outside of D.C. Health's first monkeypox vaccination clinic, which is administering the first Jynneos vaccine doses distributed in the U.S. capital, in Washington, U.S., June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Gavino Garay/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - The United States declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, a move that may increase health agency access to funds and allow the government new avenues for increasing production and use of existing vaccines. read more The move follows the declaration by the World Health Organization in July. A Reuters tally has counted more than 25,800 cases globally and three countries outside of Africa have reported deaths. read more HOW DANGEROUS IS IT?First identified in monkeys, the virus is transmitted chiefly through close contact with an infected person. It typically causes mild symptoms including fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes and pus-filled skin lesions. Severe cases can occur though people tend to recover within two to four weeks, according to the WHO.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAnyone can spread the virus, but the current outbreak outside of Africa is concentrated almost exclusively among men who have sex with men.Monkeypox spreads primarily via intimate skin-to-skin contact, usually with someone who has an active rash, as well as via contact with contaminated clothes or bedding. It is not as easily transmitted as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that spurred the COVID-19 pandemic.WHY IS IT AN EMERGENCY?The United States hopes the public health emergency declaration will help it contain the disease before it becomes endemic. This status unleashes funding and gives health agencies regulatory flexibility that could help increase access to vaccines and treatments.Health officials from several countries had urged the WHO to label monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern due to the quick escalation of cases and concerns it may become endemic in more countries.The emergency declaration aims to spur global action and collaboration on everything from testing to the production and distribution of vaccines and treatments.The fatality rate in preceding monkeypox outbreaks in Africa of the strain currently spreading has been around 1%, but so far this outbreak appears to be less lethal in the non-endemic countries, many of which have stronger healthcare infrastructure. Until this year, the viral disease has rarely spread outside Africa where it is endemic.Scientists are trying to determine what caused the initial cases and if the virus has changed. Increased global travel as well as climate change have generally accelerated the emergence and spread of viruses, experts say.Infectious disease experts say that years of financial neglect has left sexual health clinics on the frontline of the current monkeypox response ill-prepared to curb further spread. read more PROTECTIVE MEASURESHealth officials say that people should avoid close personal contact with someone who has a illness presenting with a distinctive rash or who is otherwise unwell. People who suspect they have monkeypox should isolate and seek medical care.Health officials have also been offering monkeypox vaccines to high-risk individuals and those that have recently been in close contact with an infected person.Danish company Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) has a vaccine that goes by the brand name Jynneos, Imvamune or Imvanex - depending on geography. It has U.S. and European approval for the prevention of both smallpox and the closely related monkeypox.An older vaccine, currently made by Emergent Biosolutions , is called ACAM2000, but its uptake has been limited due to a severe side-effect warning.Bavarian Nordic says it can produce 30 million doses of its vaccines - including the monkeypox one - each year, and has tapped a U.S.-based contract manufacturer to increase monkeypox vaccine capacity. read more TREATMENTMonkeypox symptoms often resolve on their own within weeks. Patients may receive extra fluids and additional treatment for secondary bacterial infections.An antiviral agent called tecovirimat - branded as TPOXX and made by SIGA Technologies (SIGA.O) - has U.S. and EU approval for smallpox, while its European approval also includes monkeypox and cowpox.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Natalie Grover in London, Michael Erman in New Jersey and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Michele Gershberg, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Explainer: How worried should we be about the monkeypox health emergency?.

U.S. Updated on: August 4, 2022 / 5:54 PM / CBS News A red sculpture portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin mounted on a war tank has been installed in a playground in New York City's famed Central Park.  Children play by a statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin riding a tank created by French artist James Colomina in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 2, 2022. ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS French artist James Colomina, who is known for placing his red statues in unconventional areas without prior announcement, created the piece, according to Reuters."This sculpture aims at denouncing the absurdity of war and at highlighting children's courage when faced with violent, catastrophic situations triggered by others," the street artist wrote in an Instagram post about the statue. Colomina appeared to be referencing Russia's war with Ukraine — and the Russian president's role in it. A child points a water pistol at a statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin riding a tank by French artist James Colomina in a playground in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 2, 2022. ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS A child pours sand on a statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin riding a tank created by French artist James Colomina in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 2, 2022. ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS Images provided by Reuters show children playing with the sculpture — pouring sand on and aiming what appeared to be small water guns at the sculpture's head. Children put sand on a statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin riding a tank created by French artist James Colomina in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 2, 2022. ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS Colomina's Instagram showcases two other identical red Putin statues placed in parks around the globe. In July, one was set up in Barcelona's Parc de Joan Miró. A month before, one appeared in Paris' Jardin du Luxembourg. In: New York City Vladimir Putin Central Park

Statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin appears in New York City's Central Park playground.

Leslie Grace attends Warner Bros. Premiere of "The Suicide Squad" at The Landmark Westwood on August 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.Axelle/bauer-griffin | Filmmagic | Getty ImagesWarner Bros. Discovery is eyeing a "reset" of its DC cinematic universe and setting up a team with a 10-year plan for the franchise, taking a page from Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe, CEO David Zaslav said Thursday.The revelation comes two days after the company announced it would shelve its straight-to-streaming DC film "Batgirl," surprising fans and offering a glimpse into the streaming strategy and new no-nonsense era under recently installed Zaslav."We think that we could build a long-term, much stronger, sustainable growth business out of DC," Zaslav said during an earnings call Thursday when asked about the decision to axe "Batgirl." "And as part of that, we're going to focus on quality."While Zaslav stopped short of commenting on the quality of "Batgirl" explicitly, his statements suggest the film didn't fit the company's new vision for Warner Bros. or the DC franchise. Part of that vision is reestablishing a commitment to theatrical-only releases for Warner Bros. films."We've seen, luckily, by having access now to all the data, how direct-to-streaming movies perform," Zaslav said. "And our conclusion is that expensive direct-to-streaming movies ... is no comparison to what happens when you launch a film in the motion picture, in the theaters."Zaslav took the helm at the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery in April and has prioritized cost-cutting measures and sought to refocus the company's content strategy, taking a vastly different direction than former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who prioritized streaming and digital media."This idea of expensive films going direct to streaming, we cannot find an economic case for it," Zaslav said. "We can't find an economic value for it. And so we're making a strategic shift."While "Batgirl" had a more modest budget than its theatrical counterparts — around $90 million after Covid protocols hiked costs — Warner Bros. Discovery, a newly minted merger between Warner Media and Discovery, has been combing its books for places to save money. Shelving the "Batgirl" film allows the company to take a tax-write off as part of a wider effort to pare down overall company debt.The film completed production in March and was in the early stages of editing by the directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah ("Bad Boys for Life," "Ms Marvel"), but it won't be released on the company's streaming service, premier in theaters or be sold to another studio if the company opts for the tax write-down.Burying the film also saves Warner Bros. Discovery potential marketing costs and any back-end payouts in original film contracts that may have pre-dated the merger.Big name actors are often compensated after a film's release based on box office markers or viewership metrics. And "Batgirl" had some big names attached: Michael Keaton reprised his role as Batman, J.K. Simmons was cast as Commissioner Jim Gordon and Brendan Fraser was tapped to portray the villain Firefly."Although the stated explanation for the scrapping of 'Batgirl' concerns the changing strategies with regards to feature films being released directly to streaming platforms, this still seems to be a remarkable decision given how far along the production was," said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and a pop culture expert. "Like burning down your house just before you pay off the mortgage."The decision seems to pass "at least some judgement" on the quality of the film, Thompson said, since Warner Bros. Discovery sees no future for it in either streaming or theatrical release.Still, with "Batgirl" in such early stages of post-production, further editing could have addressed issues with the film in time for its scheduled debut in late 2022.While shelving the movie may make some financial decision, it comes at a social cost. Not only were fans of DC comics disappointed, but many questioned why the company had axed a project helmed by an Afro-Latina star, Leslie Grace.Warner Bros. Discovery was already under fire for not openly addressing ongoing allegations against "The Flash" star Ezra Miller.The decision to shelve "Batgirl" also raised questions about the future of other HBO Max film and television projects, with many subscribers taking to social media worried that their favorite programs could be next on the chopping block.

Warner Bros Discovery's DC universe, and its streaming strategy, are getting a reset.

The Lyft Driver Hub is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAug 4 (Reuters) - Ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) on Thursday reported a record adjusted operating profit, benefiting from a surge in demand for rides and a dramatic slowdown in company-wide hiring that helped manage costs, sending its shares up 5%.Earlier this week, bigger rival Uber Inc (UBER.N) reported upbeat quarterly results and turned cash flow positive for the first time, signaling demand for rideshare even as high inflation forces several consumers to cut back on spending. read more Lyft last quarter said it would make investments to attract drivers as ride-hailing companies struggled with fewer cars on the road when consumers were returning to offices and taking more airport trips. Both Uber and Lyft are seeing more driver sign-up, as cost of living increases.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"We had the majority of new drivers come in organically ... There is a tailwind as more and more people are enjoying this supplemental income," Lyft President John Zimmer said in an interview with Reuters.Zimmer said the growth also came as it focused on product and engineering to improve marketplace efficiency.He said the company sees more room for growth as it works on how it matches riders and drivers and introduces new programs for users that come at different price points.Lyft was also among a slew of tech companies that slowed hiring to cope with an economic slowdown.The company's adjusted EBITDA, a metric that excludes stock-based compensation and some other costs, was $79.1 million for the second quarter and surpassed its own forecast of a range between $10 million and $20 million.Active riders were 19.9 million in the second quarter, up 12% from the prior quarter, and the highest on Lyft's platform since COVID-19 began. Airport trips made up 10.2% of total rides, a historic high, Zimmer said, adding that there was strong demand for rideshares.Revenue grew 30% to $990.7 million in the quarter ended June 30 from a year ago. Analysts on average had expected $990.5 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lyft's operating profit surges on rideshare demand, hiring slowdown.

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday advised investors to take advantage of falling commodity prices by adding to their portfolios."Oil's down big, gasoline's down big and you can now buy all sorts of stocks that benefit from cheaper fuel, especially the travel and leisure plays," he said.The "Mad Money" host earlier this week criticized Federal Reserve leaders for their aggressive inflation statements that he warned could drag down the market. He also called out Congress for its two spending bills, warning that they could cause wage inflation to stay elevated.Cramer reiterated those sentiments on Thursday: Fed officials and Congress are "the ones behind the bear market of 2022, not the companies and certainly not you," he said.He added that while it's usually apt to sell industrial stocks during an economic slowdown, declining prices of commodities such as oil, grains and metals means investors can consider purchasing shares of companies that have reported great quarters recently. However, investors should remain disciplined in their buying, he warned.Here is Cramer's list of stocks:Toll BrothersLennarDisneyWaste ManagementHoneywellFordDoorDashExpediaDisclosure: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of Disney and Honeywell.

Jim Cramer says to consider buying these 8 stocks now that commodity prices are down.

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban speaks during the general session at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, U.S., August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Go NakamuraRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBUDAPEST, Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. and Hungarian conservatives must join forces in 2024 elections to "take back" institutions in Washington and Brussels from liberals who threaten western civilization, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday.Orban, a Hungarian nationalist who was addressing a conservative gathering in Dallas, also said the United States needs a strong leader to negotiate a peace deal for Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Hungary's neighbor."Only a strong leader can negotiate peace," Orban said, speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a prominent U.S. political organization. "We need a strong America with a strong leader."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOrban didn't specifically refer to former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has hinted publicly that he will seek the presidency again in 2024. Trump has endorsed over 100 conservative candidates ahead of this year's mid-term U.S. elections.But Orban and Trump had warm relations and the Hungarian leader endorsed Trump ahead of the 2020 U.S. vote. Before the CPAC conference, he wished Trump success in a video message.As with Trump in the United States, Orban has been widely criticized in Europe. Leaders of the European Union, of which Hungary is a member, have said he has undermined democracy with measures that restrict immigration and give his government control over the media and non-governmental organizations.Orban, who was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in April, said the stakes are high for 2024. In addition to the U.S. election, Europeans will vote on European Parliament seats that year."These two locations will define the two fronts in the battle for western civilization," Orban said.Calling himself "an old fashioned freedom fighter," Orban said Hungary and his government were "under the siege of progressive liberals."He said progressives seek to separate western civilization from its Christian roots. His government's fierce anti-immigration stance, pro-family policies and rejection of gender ideology resist those efforts, he added."This war is a culture war," Orban said. "We have to revitalize our churches, our families, our universities and our community institutions."In a speech last month, Orban said that in contrast to Western Europe, where locals mixed with non-European immigrants, Hungary was not a "mixed-race" country. His words drew condemnation from the United States, the European Union, Jewish groups and academics.A few days later Orban backtracked, saying sometimes he said things in a way "that can be misunderstood." read more He told CPAC that those who accused him or his government of racism were "idiots." He said his government had adopted a "zero tolerance" policy on racism and antisemitism."Accusing us is fake news," he added.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Krisztina Than. Edited by Paulo PradaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hungary's Orban urges U.S. conservatives to join forces in 2024 elections.

Team Hy Flyers Phil Mickelson of the U.S. speaks to the media after the first round of the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational, June 9, 2022.Paul Childs | Action Images via ReutersEleven professional golfers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour Wednesday after being suspended from playing in the tour over their involvement with the Saudi-backed LIV league.The complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ratchets up an ongoing battle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Talor Gooch, among others, allege in the filing that the PGA's restrictive policies are an attempt to choke off the supply of professional golfers to LIV, thus limiting LIV's ability to compete with the tour.The golfers are asking that their suspensions be lifted and for unspecified monetary damages. Three of the plaintiffs — Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones — are further requesting a temporary restraining order against the Tour allowing them to participate in the FedEx Cup Playoffs for which they qualified and which start next week."These suspended players – who are now Saudi Golf League employees – have walked away from the TOUR and now want back in," PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan wrote Wednesday in a memo to members. "To allow reentry into our events compromises the TOUR and the competition, to the detriment of our organization, our players, our partners and our fans."The tour suspended Mickelson in March for recruiting players to LIV Golf, according to the complaint. In June, the tour denied Mickelson's appeal of the decision — at the time reported as an initial suspension — and barred 16 additional players from participating in league events for playing in the LIV Golf Tournament without getting the proper media clearances.Mickelson has faced criticism for and acknowledged the human rights offenses surrounding the Saudi kingdom, but has defended LIV Golf as a necessary disruptor of the PGA Tour.The lawsuit highlights what it describes as restrictive media rights and conflicting event regulations in calling the PGA Tour "an entrenched monopolist with a vice-grip on professional golf" executing a "carefully orchestrated plan to defeat competition."The complaint alleges that, beyond suspensions and regulations, the PGA Tour threatened sponsors, vendors and agents to coerce players into leaving LIV Golf, which is funded mainly by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund."The players are right to have brought this action to challenge the PGA's anti-competitive rules and to vindicate their rights as independent contractors to play where and when they choose," LIV Golf said in a statement. "Despite the PGA Tour's effort to stifle competition, we think golfers should be allowed to play golf."Last month, the PGA Tour confirmed the Justice Department is also investigating potential antitrust violations tied to LIV Golf.Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has been lobbying lawmakers and White House officials, pushing for opposition to the Saudi league.—CNBC's Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

Mickelson, DeChambeau and other LIV golfers file antitrust lawsuit against PGA Tour over suspensions.

FILE PHOTO - Corn kernels are seen inside a storage at a farm in the village of Yerkivtski, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv region, Ukraine June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Anna VoitenkoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comISTANBUL, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Three ships carrying a total of 58,041 tonnes of corn have been authorised to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday as part of a deal to unblock grain exports, the organisation arranging the operation said on Thursday.A first vessel carrying Ukrainian grain set sail from Odesa on Monday, arriving at the Bosphorus Strait some 36 hours later under a deal between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, that aims to ease a global food crisis stemming from the war.The Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which groups Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. personnel, said two ships would leave from Chornomorsk and one from Odesa on Friday.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"The three outbound vessels are estimated to depart in the morning from their respective ports," it said.From Chornomorsk, the Polarnet would leave for Karasu in Turkey with 12,000 metric tons of corn and the Rojen would take 13,041 tons of corn to Teesport in Britain.From Odesa, the Navistar would take 33,000 tons of corn to Ringaskiddy in Ireland.Turkey earlier said there were plans for three ships to set out from Ukrainian ports on Friday, adding Defence Minister Hulusi Akar had held talks with Ukraine's defence and infrastructure ministers to discuss grain deliveries.A spokesperson for the regional administration of Odesa said late on Wednesday a Turkish bulk carrier was expected to arrive in Ukraine's Chornomorsk port on Friday, making it the first ships to arrive at a Ukrainian port during Russia's invasion.He identified the bulk carrier as Osprey S, flying the flag of Liberia. read more As of Thursday afternoon, Osprey S was anchored in the Sea of Marmara, around 1 kilometre (0.62 mile) off Istanbul's Asian coast, along with other ships waiting to cross the Bosphorus in to the Black Sea, according to a Reuters journalist.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Yesim Dikmen in Istanbul and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Three ships with corn authorised to set out from Ukrainian ports on Friday.

Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak attends a hustings event, part of the Conservative party leadership campaign, in Cardiff, Britain, August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - British foreign minister Liz Truss clashed over the future of the economy with former finance minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday as the two contenders to be Britain's next prime minister debated the Bank of England's warnings of a long recession.Truss is up against Sunak to win the votes of 200,000 members of the Conservative Party who will by Sept. 5 choose a replacement for Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign after a series of scandals.The Bank of England said on Thursday that Britain faces a protracted recession as energy price-driven inflation squeezes household budgets. Tackling that crisis in the economy will fall to Truss or Sunak in a month's time. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTruss, the frontrunner in the leadership contest, said the central bank's prediction can be changed by cutting taxes. She said the government's decision to raise the tax burden to the highest level since the 1950s was to blame for pushing the economy towards a recession."We can change the outcome and we can make it more likely that the economy grows," Truss said in a televised debate."You simply can't tax your way to growth. I'm afraid that the taxes we have at the moment, a 70-year high, are likely to lead to a recession."As finance minister, Sunak implemented the tax increases to pay for government support offered during the COVID-19 pandemic and to help Britons subsidise soaring energy bills. That has drawn criticism from many activists in the historically low-tax party.Sunak said the projected surge in inflation reinforced his view that Truss would be reckless to increase borrowing and cut taxes now."We in the Conservative Party need to get real and fast, because the lights on the economy are flashing red and the root cause is inflation," he said.Sunak said Truss's plan would lead to higher inflation and has instead pledged to cut taxes over time."Now, I am worried that Liz Truss's plans will make the situation worse," he said."If we just put fuel on the fire this inflation spiral, all of us, all of you, will end up with higher mortgage rates, savings and pensions that are eaten away and misery for millions. I don't want that for you."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

UK PM hopefuls Sunak and Truss clash over recession warning in debate.