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Showing posts from August, 2024

Harris Wants Hot Mics For Debate Against Trump—Reigniting Debate Rule Spat

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  Harris made the proposal in a tweet Saturday morning. Vice President Kamala Harris again proposed Saturday that former President Donald Trump agree to unmuted microphones for their debate on ABC, as Democrats still hope to lure Trump into a format that they believe could exploit his temper. Key Facts Harris  tweeted  Saturday her and Trump should debate “in a transparent way—with the microphones on the whole time,” doubling down on her campaign’s belief the former president’s “ intemperate outbursts ” will spell trouble for him in a hot microphone debate. The demand comes after Trump’s and President Joe Biden’s campaigns both agreed to rules establishing muted microphones for the candidates while they are not speaking earlier in the year. But Trump told reporters this week he preferred hot microphones and did not like the muted microphones in his debate against President Joe Biden in June, according to  Reuters , seeming to disagree with Jason Miller, his longtime adviser. The debate

Trump Will Vote ‘No’ On Florida’s Abortion Amendment After Earlier Comments Stirred Confusion

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  Trump clarified his comments in a Friday interview with Fox News. Former President Donald Trump said in an  interview  with Fox News on Friday he will vote against Florida’s Right to Abortion initiative, doing so a day after he made comments  critiquing  the state’s six-week abortion ban that caused confusion among conservatives and anti-abortion supporters. Key Facts Trump said he will vote “no” on Amendment 4 in Florida, which seeks to nullify laws restricting abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health,” though he reiterated that he believes there should be “more time” than six weeks. Trump’s commitment against the initiative comes a day after he told  NBC News  that Florida’s six-week abortion ban is “too short,” without clarifying how he would vote, triggering speculation the former president was in support of the Right to Abortion initiative and sparking criticism from figures like Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler Jr

Uber Fined Record $324 Million In Netherlands For Transferring Sensitive EU Driver Data To U.S.

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  The Dutch privacy regulator has ordered Uber to pay a fine of nearly $325 million. Dutch privacy regulators hit Uber with a record $324 million (€290 million) fine Monday for violating the European Union’s data protection laws by transferring sensitive personal data of its drivers to the U.S. without adequate safeguards. Key Facts The Dutch Data Protection Authority said its investigation found Uber had transferred the personal data of European cab drivers—including taxi licenses, IDs, location data, photos, payment details, and “in some cases even criminal and medical records,” to the U.S. The agency said Uber transferred this data to the U.S. for over two years without proper transfer tools designed to protect user privacy—in violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Uber ended this violation and has implemented the proper safeguards since late last year, the Dutch DPA said. According to  Bloomberg , the $324 million penalty is the biggest issued by the Dutch

Trump Signals He May Skip ABC News Debate After Bashing Network

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  Former U.S. President Donald Trump once again raised the possibility of skipping the ABC News  presidential debate. Former President Donald Trump attacked ABC News Sunday—calling it “FAKE NEWS”—and raised the possibility of dropping out of a presidential debate hosted by the network next month, the only one both his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign have so far agreed to participate in. Key Facts In a  post  on his Truth Social platform, Trump attacked ABC News reporter Jonathan Carl’s interview of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calling it “ridiculous and biased” and referring to the network’s pundits as a “Panel of Trump Haters.” Asking why he should debate Harris on ABC News, the former president suggested the network’s contributor Donna Brazile may “give the questions” to Harris—referencing the 2016 scandal about Brazile  leaking  a CNN town hall question to Hillary Clinton. Trump claimed Harris has refused to debate him on “Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN.” While the former presid

Trump Would Veto National Abortion Ban, Vance Says—As Democrats Hit GOP On Abortion

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  Ohio Sen. JD Vance said he and former President Donald Trump are opposed to banning abortion  nationally—though Trump has signaled some openness to federal restrictions that stop short of a ban. Former President Donald Trump would veto a national abortion ban if one reached his desk as president, his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance said on NBC Sunday—as Democrats argue Trump could heavily restrict the procedure if he returns to office. Key Facts Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet The Press” asked Vance whether he would commit that if he and Trump are elected, they would not impose a federal ban on abortion, to which  Vance said  he “can absolutely commit that.” Vance said Trump “wants to end this culture war over this particular topic” and said the federal government should be focused on things like “big economic and immigration questions” rather than abortion policies, which he said should be left to the states—echoing a view Trump has increasingly expressed. When pressed by Welker on wh

‘Inside Out 2’ Sets Another Record: First Animated Film To Pass $1 Billion Overseas

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  (L-R) Liza Lapira, June Squibb, Yvette Nicole Brown, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Amy Poehler,  Ayo Edebiri, Tony Hale and Lewis Black attend the World Premiere of Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out 2" at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 10. Pixar’s “Inside Out 2”—the top-grossing movie of 2024—continues to break records: In its eleventh weekend in theaters it became the first animated movie ever to gross more than $1 billion at the international box office alone,  multiple   outlets  reported. Key Facts “Inside Out 2” passed the milestone after bringing in another $9.1 million internationally this weekend to bring its international total to about $1.002 billion,  Deadline  reported. The film has also grossed $646.3 million in U.S. theaters, according to  BoxOfficeMojo . Going into this weekend, the top five international markets for “Inside Out 2” were Mexico ($102 million), Brazil ($79.8 million), U.K. ($70.8 million), South Korea ($63 million) and F

Billionaire Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested In France: Here’s What We Know

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  Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was reportedly arrested in relation to an investigation into whether  Telegram is used for criminal activity. Billionaire Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on Saturday,  multiple   outlets  reported, amid an apparent investigation into whether Telegram—a freewheeling and sometimes controversial messaging and social networking platform—allows crime on its app in part due to a lack of moderation. Key Facts Durov, 39, was detained after landing at Le Bourget Airport in Paris from Azerbaijan on Saturday night, after an arrest warrant was issued, according to  multiple   outlets , citing unnamed sources. He was  reportedly arrested  as part of an investigation into Telegram’s content moderation practices, with investigators believing the messaging app—which has over 950 million users—hasn’t mitigated criminal users or properly cooperated with law enforcement when the app is used for drug trafficking, child sexual content and fraud. It was not clear a