Neewday 365

Supreme Court to Hear Challenges to State Laws on Social Media

1Oct

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Technology

Supreme Court to Hear Challenges to State Laws on Social Media

The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether Florida and Texas may prohibit large social media companies from removing posts based on the views they express, setting the stage for a major ruling on how the First Amendment applies to powerful tech platforms.The laws’ supporters argue that the measures are needed to combat what they called Silicon Valley censorship, saying large platforms had removed posts expressing conservative views on issues like the coronavirus pandemic and claims of election fraud. In particular, they objected to the decisions of some platforms to bar President Donald J. Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.Two trade groups, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, had challenged the laws, saying the First Amendment p...

UEFA Opens a Door to Russia’s Return in Soccer, and Faces a Backlash

1Oct

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Sports

UEFA Opens a Door to Russia’s Return in Soccer, and Faces a Backlash

European soccer’s governing body is facing angry criticism and open defiance from some of its member nations after a vote by its executive committee earlier this week partially lifted a blanket ban on Russian teams that was imposed after last year’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The proposal to allow Russia’s teams to participate in qualifying for the European men’s and women’s under-17 championships that will be held next year, and for which qualifying has already begun, came as a surprise to many members of the governing body, UEFA. Its approval has reopened what many believed was a bitter but settled debate about solidarity with Ukraine.Ukraine’s national soccer federation quickly objected to the vote, arguing that allowing even Russian youth teams to return to tournaments “tolerates R...

Inflation Measure Favored by the Fed Cooled in August

1Oct

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Economy

Inflation Measure Favored by the Fed Cooled in August

Federal Reserve officials received more good news in their battle against rapid inflation on Friday, when a key inflation measure continued to slow, the latest evidence that a return to normal after the pandemic and higher interest rates are combining to wrestle rapid price increases back to a more normal pace.The Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, which the central bank uses to define its 2 percent inflation goal, rose slightly more quickly last month as higher gas prices gave it a boost. It rose 3.5 percent in August from a year earlier, up from 3.4 percent in July.But after stripping out food and fuel costs, both of which are volatile, a “core” inflation measure that Fed officials watch closely is beginning to cool notably. That measure picked up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, w...

‘Close to the Line’: Why More Seniors Are Living in Poverty

1Oct

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Health

‘Close to the Line’: Why More Seniors Are Living in Poverty

It has never been easy for Mary Cole to support herself and the 19-year-old grandson who lives with her in Bristol, Va., on her monthly $914 Supplemental Security Income check.But it’s getting harder. “I’ve been struggling a lot,” Ms. Cole said.Because benefits counselors at her local agency on aging have helped her apply for several kinds of public assistance, she pays only $158 in rent for her apartment in a subsidized Section 8 building.A federal program helps Ms. Cole, 69, with heating costs. The state underwrites her Medicare premiums, and a Medicare savings program allows her to fill prescriptions for heart disease, hypertension, pulmonary disease and diabetes.But benefits that increased in the early years of the coronavirus pandemic have been rolled back since the federal government...

Iraq Wedding Fire’s Death Toll Rises, as Investigators Point to Safety Violations

30Sep

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

News

Iraq Wedding Fire’s Death Toll Rises, as Investigators Point to Safety Violations

The sounds of mourning have coursed through the small Christian town of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq since late Tuesday, when a fire destroyed a wedding hall in the middle of a reception, touching not only this village, but Iraq’s entire Christian community.As of Friday night, at least 119 people were dead and an unknown number of others were still missing of the roughly 1,000 guests in attendance. About 80 people remained in hospitals, including more than a dozen who were flown to burn centers in neighboring countries.The sense of loss here is mixed with anger and disbelief as a report from the initial investigation into the fire’s cause found what many witnesses had already said: The wedding hall violated basic safety requirements and lacked emergency exits and a sprinkler system. The build...

A Founder of the Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Is Arrested

30Sep

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Technology

A Founder of the Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Is Arrested

Su Zhu, a founder of the cryptocurrency fund Three Arrows Capital, was arrested on Friday in Singapore while trying to leave the country, the liquidators of the company said.Mr. Zhu, 36, was arrested at Changi Airport, the liquidators said. A Singaporean court on Monday had issued what are known as “committal” orders for Mr. Zhu and another Three Arrows founder, Kyle Davies, sentencing both to four months in prison after they failed to cooperate with the liquidators investigating their failed hedge fund. Mr. Davies’s location is unknown, according to Teneo, the firm that is working on the fund’s liquidation.Last summer, Three Arrows, which is based in Singapore and managed $4 billion at its peak, filed for bankruptcy after the cryptocurrency markets melted down. When the fund collapsed, a ...

How John DeMarsico Made SNY’s Mets Broadcasts Go Viral

30Sep

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Sports

How John DeMarsico Made SNY’s Mets Broadcasts Go Viral

On a sticky August evening at Citi Field, toward the end of a crucial Mets victory against division rival Atlanta, closer Edwin Díaz threw his last warm-up pitch and began his long, familiar journey from the right-field bullpen to the mound for the top of the ninth inning. But something unusual happened: The television broadcast did not cut to a commercial.Instead, the camera trailed behind Díaz as he walked through the bullpen door, broke into a jog and traversed the outfield grass. The trumpets of “Narco,” Díaz’s beloved entrance song, were fed from the stadium public-address system directly into the broadcast, making fans at home feel like they were watching it all happen in person. Or maybe that they were in a bullfighting arena in Spain. Regardless, there were chills.The broadcasting ...

30Sep

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Economy

The Harvard Professor and the Bloggers

The day almost two years ago when Harvard Business School informed Francesca Gino, a prominent professor, that she was being investigated for data fraud also happened to be her husband’s 50th birthday. An administrator instructed her to turn in any Harvard-issued computer equipment that she had by 5 p.m. She canceled the birthday celebration she had planned and walked the machines to campus, where a University Police officer oversaw the transfer.“We ended up both going,” Dr. Gino recalled. “I couldn’t go on my own because I felt like, I don’t know, the earth was opening up under my feet for reasons that I couldn’t understand.”The school told Dr. Gino it had received allegations that she manipulated data in four papers on topics in behavioral science, which straddles fields like psychology,...

For Black Mothers, Birthing Centers, Once a Refuge, Become a Battleground

30Sep

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

Health

For Black Mothers, Birthing Centers, Once a Refuge, Become a Battleground

Gabrielle Glaze felt scolded and shamed when she delivered her first son in a Birmingham, Ala., hospital, forced to observe strict rules about lying stationary through her contractions and enduring countless cervical checks from “total strangers” who seemed disappointed by her body’s progress.So when Ms. Glaze, 33, gave birth to a second son in a birthing center in April, surrounded by a team of midwives who said they would let her body lead the way, it seemed as if her previous labor experience had finally been redeemed.Ms. Glaze found herself telling every woman she knew about Oasis Family Birthing Center in Birmingham, which was run by an obstetrician and midwives — many of them Black, like her — and encouraged patients through an unhurried, uninterrupted, natural labor process. She sai...

Republicans Ease Off ‘Woke’ Rhetoric on Education Issues

30Sep

By Nicolas H. SpeedNo Comments

News

Republicans Ease Off ‘Woke’ Rhetoric on Education Issues

Earlier this year, the Republican presidential primary looked as though it would be driven by conservative cultural battles, especially fights over education that had animated the party’s base since the pandemic.Gov. Ron DeSantis seemed poised to lead the charge, thanks to an “anti-woke” agenda he put into effect in Florida, restricting how schools teach America’s racial history, banning lessons about gender identity and empowering parents to have books removed from libraries and classrooms.Even Donald J. Trump seemed to be trying to outflank Mr. DeSantis on education policies, promising to root out “Marxists” in the Education Department.But anti-wokeness has not played as large a role as expected in the Republican race so far. On the campaign trail, Mr. DeSantis has refocused his stump sp...