politics – The News Desk

Trump New York hush money criminal trial

15Apr

By adminNo Comments

Money

Trump New York hush money criminal trial

Prosecutors are introducing a motion to sanction Donald Trump for his social media posts they allege violate the judge's gag order.Prosecutor Chris Conroy told the judge they are seeking permission to hold Trump in contempt for violating the gag order and sanction Trump $1,000 for each of the three posts that violate the order.Conroy also said that prosecutors want the judge to take down the three posts and to remind the defendant that "further violations could result in jail time."They also note they want to include his post from this morning, too. He said it was posted at 9:12 a.m. this morning and it is "entirely possible that it was done while in this courthouse."

News organizations urge Biden and Trump to commit to presidential debates during the 2024 campaign

14Apr

By adminNo Comments

Entertainment

News organizations urge Biden and Trump to commit to presidential debates during the 2024 campaign

NEW YORK -- Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates, saying they were a “rich tradition” that have been part of every general election campaign since 1976.While Trump, who did not participate in debates for the Republican nomination, has indicated a willingness to take on his 2020 rival, the Democratic president has not committed to debating him again.Although invitations have not been formally issued, the news organizations said it was not too early for each campaign to say publicly that it will participate in the three presidential and one vice presidential forums set by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that ...

Bluesky now allows heads of state to join the platform

14Apr

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Bluesky now allows heads of state to join the platform

Now that Bluesky has opened itself up to the public and , the team’s decided it’s finally time to allow world leaders on board, too. A post from the official account on Friday notified users, “By the way... we lifted our ‘no heads of state’ policy.” The policy has been in place for the last year as Bluesky worked through all the early growing pains of being a budding social network.Bluesky remained an invite-only platform from its launch in February 2023 until February of this year, when it finally ditched the waitlist. had said last May that it wasn’t ready for heads of state to join, and even asked users to give its support team notice “before you invite prominent figures.” It’s since grown to more than 5 million users, alone in the day after it stopped requiring invite codes. ...

Robert MacNeil, creator and first anchor of PBS ‘NewsHour’ nightly newscast, dies at 93

13Apr

By adminNo Comments

Entertainment

Robert MacNeil, creator and first anchor of PBS ‘NewsHour’ nightly newscast, dies at 93

NEW YORK -- NEW YORK (AP) — Robert MacNeil, who created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died on Friday. He was 93.MacNeil died of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, according to his daughter, Alison MacNeil.MacNeil first gained prominence for his coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings for the public broadcasting service and began his half-hour “Robert MacNeil Report” on PBS in 1975 with his friend Lehrer as Washington correspondent.The broadcast became the “MacNeil-Lehrer Report” and then, in 1983, was expanded to an hour and renamed the “MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour.” The nation's first one-hour evening news broadcast, and recipient of several Emmy ...

Trump Loyalists Kill Vote on US Wiretap Program

10Apr

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Trump Loyalists Kill Vote on US Wiretap Program

For the third time since December, House Speaker Mike Johnson has failed to wrangle support for reauthorizing a critical US surveillance program, raising questions about the future of a law that compels certain businesses to wiretap foreigners on the government’s behalf.Johnson lost 19 Republicans on Tuesday in a procedural vote that traditionally falls along party lines. Republicans control the House of Representatives but only by a razor-thin margin. The failed vote comes just hours after former US president Donald Trump ordered Republicans to “Kill FISA” in a 2 am post on Truth Social, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, under which the program is authorized.The Section 702 surveillance program, which targets foreigners overseas while sweeping up a large amount of U...

The Motion Picture Association will work with Congress to start blocking piracy sites in the US

10Apr

By adminNo Comments

Technology

The Motion Picture Association will work with Congress to start blocking piracy sites in the US

At CinemaCon this year, the Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin has revealed a plan that would make "sailing the digital seas" under the Jolly Roger banner just a bit harder. Rivkin said the association is going to work with Congress to establish and enforce a site-blocking legislation in the United States. He added that almost 60 countries use site-blocking as a tool against piracy, "including leading democracies and many of America's closest allies." The only reason why the US isn't one of them, he continued, is the "lack of political will, paired with outdated understandings of what site-blocking actually is, how it functions, and who it affects."With the rule in place, "film and television, music and book publishers, sports leagues and broadcasters" can ask the ...

Steak, cherry blossoms and Paul Simon will be featured at the White House state dinner for Japan

10Apr

By adminNo Comments

Entertainment

Steak, cherry blossoms and Paul Simon will be featured at the White House state dinner for Japan

WASHINGTON -- Dry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and the music of Paul Simon are on tap for more than 200 guests who are expected to attend a swanky White House state dinner on Wednesday to celebrate the relationship between the United States and Japan.A lavish state dinner is a tool of U.S. diplomacy, a high honor that is doled out sparingly and only to America's closest allies. In the case of Japan, President Joe Biden has chosen to celebrate an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region. Biden and his wife, Jill, are hosting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko, during the couple's official visit to the United States this week. The first lady on Tuesday described a “flourishing” relationship between the U.S. and its Pacific partner a...

Disney allowed to pause its federal lawsuit against Florida governor as part of settlement deal

9Apr

By adminNo Comments

Entertainment

Disney allowed to pause its federal lawsuit against Florida governor as part of settlement deal

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An appellate court on Monday granted Disney’s request for a two-month pause in a federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees to Walt Disney World’s governing district after the two sides reached a settlement on separate litigation in state court.Disney’s request last Friday to the federal appellate court was motivated by last month’s settlement deal involving two Florida lawsuits between Disney and the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. After DeSantis took over the theme park’s governing board, the company and the district began fighting in state court over how Disney World will be developed in the future.As part of the settlement, Disney agreed to pause the separate federal lawsuit, which is being appealed, pending neg...

U.S. is pushing China to change a policy threatening American jobs, Treasury Secretary Yellen says

8Apr

By adminNo Comments

Money

U.S. is pushing China to change a policy threatening American jobs, Treasury Secretary Yellen says

The Biden administration is pushing China to change an industrial policy that poses a threat to U.S. jobs, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday after ending four days of talks with Chinese officials.She also said she and Chinese officials had "difficult conversations" about national security, including American concerns that Chinese companies are supporting Russia in its war in Ukraine.But the focus of her trip was industrial policy, and what the U.S. and Europe describe as manufacturing overcapacity in China. Wealthy nations fear a wave of low-priced Chinese exports that will overwhelm factories at home, undercutting prices from U.S. manufacturers and risking job losses. Still, Yellen also stressed that the U.S. is seeking "a healthy economic re...

A Breakthrough Online Privacy Proposal Hits Congress

8Apr

By adminNo Comments

Technology

A Breakthrough Online Privacy Proposal Hits Congress

Congress may be closer than ever to passing a comprehensive data privacy framework after key House and Senate committee leaders released a new proposal on Sunday.The bipartisan proposal, titled the American Privacy Rights Act, or APRA, would limit the types of consumer data companies can collect, retain, and use to what they need to operate their services. Users would also be allowed to opt-out of targeted advertising and have the ability to view, correct, delete, and download their data from online services. The proposal would also create a national registry of data brokers, and force those companies to allow users to opt out of having their data sold.“This landmark legislation gives Americans the right to control where their information goes and who can sell it,” Cathy McMorris Rodgers,...