Новости за 14.08.2023

UBS will pay U.S. authorities $1.44 billion to settle the last lingering legal case over Wall Street’s role in the housing bubble of the early 2000s, which ultimately led to the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession. The Swiss bank agreed to pay a civil penalty over how it handled the sale of 40 mortgage-backed securities issued in 2006 and 2007. The settlement argues that UBS bankers gave false and misleading statements about the health of the mortgages in those bonds to the buyers in violation of federal securities law.

The destruction and suffering caused by the Maui wildfires in Hawaii prompted many to immediately look for ways to help. However, experts say immediate donations may not be the most useful following a natural disaster like the Maui wildfires. They suggest waiting a week or two until needs are assessed and support lines have been established. But they know that some people will not be able to wait. For those, experts recommend donating to nonprofits based on Hawaii that have provided rapid response services in the past. Читать дальше...

A panel of federal judges on Monday began a review Alabama’s redrawn congressional map which opponents argue blatantly defies the court’s mandate to create a second district where Black voters have an opportunity to influence the outcome of an election. The three-judge panel, which blocked the use of the state’s old map last year, will decide whether to let Alabama’s new districts go forward or step in and draw new congressional districts for the state. Lawyers for Black voters in the case argued that the new plan... Читать дальше...

A national political movement that could offer a bipartisan presidential ticket in 2024 as an alternative to major-party nominees has now won ballot access in 10 states. The latest happened in North Carolina when the State Board of Elections voted Sunday to recognize the No Labels Party as an official party following a successful petition effort. The group says it would offer a bipartisan “unity ticket” for president and vice president if Democrats and Republicans select divisive presidential nominees. Читать дальше...

Federal officials are looking into another close call between planes, this time in San Diego. The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it is investigating the incident, which happened Friday. A Cessna Citation business jet had to abort a planned landing because a Southwest plane was still on the runway. The FAA says an air traffic controller cleared the private jet to land and then told the Southwest pilots to taxi on to the same runway to prepare for takeoff. The FAA and National Transportation... Читать дальше...

Hawaii’s governor is warning that scores more people could be found dead following the wildfires on Maui. His statement comes as search crews go street by street through neighborhoods where the flames galloped as fast as a mile a minute across the landscape. The blazes consumed most of the historic town of Lahaina and are already the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The death toll stands at 96. Gov. Josh Green said 10 to 20 people might be found dead each day for the next several days. Читать дальше...

Donald Trump is attacking the federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against him days after she warned him not to make inflammatory statements about the case. The former president made posts very early Monday on his social media network calling U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan “highly partisan” and “ VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” because of her past comments in a separate case overseeing the sentencing of one of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Chutkan... Читать дальше...

An airline flight from Australia to Malaysia has returned to Sydney where a passenger was arrested hours later in what police described as an emergency incident. The emergency on Monday caused dozens of flight cancellations and delays at Australia’s busiest airport. Malaysia Airlines said flight MH122 left Sydney Airport with 199 passengers and 12 crew on board on an eight-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur and returned more than three hours later because of a “disruptive passenger.” Australian Federal... Читать дальше...

Former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick often touts his deep connection to Pennsylvania as he lays the groundwork for another likely Senate run. McCormick says he lives in the state and points to his $2.8 million home in Pittsburgh. But public records and footage from home interviews with McCormick show the multimillionaire Republican spends much of his time living in Connecticut, where he rents a $16 million mansion on the coast. McCormick previously criticized Dr. Mehmet Oz because he said the 2022... Читать дальше...

Shoppers are looking beyond just the price tag of a skirt or a pair of pants in the wake of still stubbornly high inflation. Some are adopting a new calculation: how many times will they wear a piece of clothing to be able to justify the cost? Retailers like Kohl’s and Untuckit are taking note and have recently revamped their marketing campaigns to focus on durability. But the high upfront cost of some items makes the cost-per-wear calculation a nonstarter for those who can’t afford it. And fast-fashion... Читать дальше...

Authorities are warning that the effort to find and identify the dead in the Maui wildfire is just beginning. 

South Africa's official unemployment rate of 33% is the highest in the world, outstripping those of Gaza and the West Bank, Djibouti and Kosovo. Economists say it's even higher, around 42%, if you count those who have given up looking for work and have dropped out of unemployment systems. The devastating figure is at odds with South Africa's position as Africa's most modern economy and a nation that's meant to embody the aspirations of the developing world. A United Nations report delivered to the... Читать дальше...

Asian stock markets have tumbled after mixed U.S. economic data revived worries the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates again. Hong Kong’s main market index plunged 2.4% and Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney also fell on Monday. Oil prices retreated. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index slipped 0.1% on Friday after government data showed producer price inflation accelerated in July. Earlier data showed consumer prices also rose faster in July. The price data clashed with investor hopes the Fed... Читать дальше...

Officials in Maui are warning residents that it remains too early to return to some parts of the island where firefighters have extinguished flames. The fire melted metals and plastics from cars, homes and gas stations, leaving behind a stench of noxious fumes, toxic debris and particulate matter that could make people sick. Officials and scientists warn that the particulate matter may require substantial cleanup and pose health hazards for weeks or months. That could prolong recovery, compound residents'... Читать дальше...

A small central Kansas police department is facing a torrent of criticism after it raided the offices of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher and owner. Marion County Record Publisher and Editor Eric Meyer said police raided the newspaper's office on Friday, seizing the newspaper's computers, phones and file server and the personal cellphones of staff, based on a search warrant investigating alleged identity theft. Police simultaneously raided Meyer's home, seizing computers, his cellphone and the home's internet router. Читать дальше...

Six former Mississippi law officers who tortured two Black men will plead guilty to state-level charges for the racist assault. The episode ended with one officer shooting one of the victims in the mouth. The ex-officers admitted their guilt in a connected federal civil rights case last week. Prosecutors say the corrupt officers, all of whom are white, nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their tendency to use excessive force and cover it up. The state charges include home invasion, obstruction of justice... Читать дальше...

Children are heading back to classes and fall sports practices, and four more states are expecting their K-12 schools to keep transgender girls off their girls sports teams. Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming had new laws restricting transgender athletes in place before classes resumed, and a Missouri law takes effect at the end of this month. That brings the number of states with restrictions to 23. The restrictions have been imposed since 2020, and most are aimed at transgender girls. Almost all... Читать дальше...

Just one month after Donald Trump’s January 2021 phone call to suggest Georgia’s secretary of state could overturn his election loss, district attorney Fani Willis announced she was looking into possibly illegal “attempts to influence” the results. As she built her case, she called a parade of witnesses before a special grand jury, presiding over an investigation that was so public it seemed she would become the first prosecutor in U.S. history to indict a former president. She is instead poised... Читать дальше...

This week’s new entertainment releases include albums from Irish singer-songwriter Hozier and Idina Menzel, the animated “The Monkey King” from Stephen Chow and Jennifer Lawrence’s R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings.” The star-studded TV fundraiser for cancer research co-founded by Katie Couric called “Stand Up to Cancer” returns with Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Biel, Don Cheadle, Danai Gurira and Justin Timberlake. Parents looking for fresh animated offerings should rejoice that Netflix has “The Monkey King” from Stephen Chow... Читать дальше...

United States Steel Corp. said Sunday that it rejected a $7.3 billion buyout proposal from rival Cleveland Cliffs and was reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said it rejected the offer because Cleveland-Cliffs was pushing it to accept the terms without being allowed to conduct proper due diligence. Cleveland-Cliffs announced earlier Sunday that it had made an offer valuing the U.S. Steel at $7.3 billion, based on $17.50 a share... Читать дальше...

This week’s confrontation that ended with FBI agents fatally shooting a 74-year-old Utah man who threatened to assassinate President Joe Biden was just the latest example of how violent rhetoric has created a more perilous political environment across the U.S. Threats against public officials have been steadily climbing in recent years, creating new challenges for law enforcement, civil rights and the health of American democracy. Experts warn the escalating rhetoric could increase the risks of violence... Читать дальше...

A small central Kansas police department is facing a firestorm of criticism after it raided the offices of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher and owner. The Marion County Record said in its own published reports that police raided the newspaper's office on Friday, seizing the newspaper's computers, phones and file server and the personal cellphones of staff, based on a search warrant investigating alleged identity theft. Police simultaneously raided the home of Eric Meyer, the newspaper's publisher and owner... Читать дальше...

White House officials concerned about AI chatbots' potential for societal harm and the Silicon Valley powerhouses rushing them to market are heavily invested in a three-day competition ending Sunday at the DefCon hacker convention in Las Vegas. Some 3,500 competitors have tapped on laptops seeking to expose vulnerabilities in eight leading large-language models representative of technology’s next big thing. But don’t expect quick results. Identifying and fixing flaws will take time and many millions of dollars. Читать дальше...