Mexico’s Viva Signs Preliminary Deal for 90 Airbus A321 Jets
Mexico’s Grupo Viva Aerobus SAB signed a preliminary order for 90 Airbus SE A321 jets as the carrier
1970-01-01 08:00
Tennessee lawmaker raised $860k in campaign donations after Republican expulsion over gun control protest
State Representative Justin Pearson of Tennessee said he raised $860,000 after he was expelled from the state legislature after participating in a gun control protest on the House floor. Mr Pearson, who represents a district in Memphis, was one of three Democratic legislators who faced expolsion from the chamber after their participation in a protest sparked by a mass shooting that claimed six lives at a Nashville school in March. But the explosion of Mr Pearson and Rep Justin Jones seems to have backfired on the Republican majority in several ways. Mr Pearson and Mr Jones were both re-appointed to their seats, and now Mr Pearson has revealed the effect his brief expolsion from the chamber had on his fundraising. Mr Pearson recieved donations from more than 31,000 people, the majority of whom donated in the week between his expulsion and his reinstatement by a unanimous vote of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners. The amount of money Mr Pearson recieved is all the more notable because Tennessee legislators are barred from fundraising during legislative sessions. “To see so much support, particularly from these tens of thousands of small-dollar donations, is a testament to what I believe is a people-powered movement, which is that we all have something to contribute, and our little bits of contribution makes a lot,” Mr Pearson told the Associated Press. Now, however, Mr Pearson has the kind of money in his campaign coffers that some state legislators never amass. The 28-year-old graduate of Bowdoin College, only raised around $144,000 during his successful campaign for the state House earlier this year. The Associated Press reported that the entire Tennessee House Democratic Caucus only raised around $233,000 during the 2022 election year. But that was a long time ago. When Republicans singled out Mr Pearson, Mr Jones, and Rep Gloria Johnson for their participation in the gun control protest, they quickly elevated them to national stardom. Mr Pearson, Mr Jones, and Ms Johnson became consistent presences on national television, visited the White House, and made appearances outside of Tennessee. National Democrats like Sen Chris Murphy of Connecticut helped fundraise. Now, given his considerable profile and youth, Mr Pearson has been mentioned as a potential rising star in a Tennessee Democratic Party that has fallen on hard times in recent years. It’s a remarkable rise for an environmental activist who wasn’t even in elected office until January. Read More After expulsion and reinstatement, Tennessee Reps. Pearson, Jones advance past Democratic primaries In Tennessee, expulsions echo a decades-old protest movement
1970-01-01 08:00
Justice Department had video of boxes being moved at Mar-a-Lago before FBI search, unredacted document shows
"WITNESS 5 is observed moving twenty-five to thirty boxes, some of which were brown cardboard boxes and others of which were Bankers boxes."
1970-01-01 08:00
Giannis undergoes surgery, FIBA World Cup in doubt
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has had surgery on his left knee, the team confirmed Wednesday, leaving the basketball star's participation for Greece in August's...
1970-01-01 08:00
Mike Trout has surgery on his broken left wrist; timetable for return unknown
All-Star center fielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels had surgery on his fractured left wrist, two days after he was injured while fouling off a pitch
1970-01-01 08:00
White Sox All-Star Luis Robert Jr. says he will participate in baseball's Home Run Derby
Chicago White Sox All-Star Luis Robert Jr. plans to participate in baseball’s Home Run Derby in Seattle on Monday
1970-01-01 08:00
Can 'good cop' Janet Yellen help fix US-China relations?
The US Treasury secretary's trip to Beijing comes as tensions between the two countries remain high.
1970-01-01 08:00
Former Red Sox hero expresses regret over leaving Boston
Nathan Eovaldi was a hero for the Red Sox en route to the 2018 World Series. Now starring with the Rangers, he expressed regrets leaving Boston.There's no question that Nathan Eovaldi is thriving with the Texas Rangers after signing with the club on a two-year, $34 million this offseason af...
1970-01-01 08:00
In Trump case, Justice Dept. unseals previously blacked-out portions from search warrant application
The Justice Department has disclosed some of the previously blacked-out portions of a warrant application it submitted last year to gain authorization to search former President Donald Trump’s Florida property for classified documents
1970-01-01 08:00
Iowa GOP governor calls special session with 'sole purpose' of passing abortion restrictions
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that she will convene a special legislative session next week for the sole task of passing abortion restrictions.
1970-01-01 08:00
Meta officially launches Twitter rival Threads
Facebook has tried to compete with Twitter in numerous ways over the years, including copying signature Twitter features such as hashtags and trending topics. But now Facebook's parent company is taking perhaps its biggest swipe at Twitter yet.
1970-01-01 08:00
Instagram Threads: Meta launches its new Twitter rival amid terrible week for Elon Musk
Meta has launched its new “Threads” app, widely thought to be an attempt to succeed Twitter. Threads is branded as an Instagram app and built by its team, but is focused on text updates, like Twitter. Users log into the separate app using their Instagram account and can then post up to 500 character text updates, which can also include photos and videos. Meta says that it has built the foundations of the app to be “open” and “interoperable” so that it can work alongside other social networks in the future. The company intends to support the ActivityPub technology that has been developed as a way of allowing other apps – such as Mastodon and Tumblr – to work together. Twitter was not mentioned in the announcement of Threads, despite its clear competition with the app. The launch of Threads comes at a difficult time for Twitter, which has faced serious technical issues and lost some of its central functionality in recent days. Threads is just the latest in a range of apps looking to take over from Twitter amid criticism of that service. Others, such as Mastodon and Bluesky, have struggled with technical issues and other problems. The launch also comes as Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg plots a mixed martial arts fight with Mr Musk. Meta said that Threads was intended to “take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas”. “Just like on Instagram, with Threads you can follow and connect with friends and creators who share your interests – including the people you follow on Instagram and beyond,” it said in its announcement. A number of those influencers and celebrities had already signed up to post on Threads, Meta said. That included everyone from Netflix to Shakira, and from mixed martial arts champion Francis Ngannou to novelty song creators Ladbaby. For everyone else, Meta said the app had been built to be easy to get started with. While users must download the separate Threads app, they can use their existing Instagram account to log in, which will bring over their username and verification status, before their profile can be customised for Threads. Other data will be carried over from the main Instagram account, including profiles that have been blocked. Other safety features include the ability to block certain words or hide particular profiles. Like with Instagram, the Threads feed will push content from creators that people have not explicitly chosen to follow. The main Instagram app has received some criticism from users over its heavily algorithmic feed, with users arguing that the algorithm is pushing content that they would prefer not to see over updates from people they have actually opted to follow. The app is available in the US and UK at launch. It is not available in the European Union, apparently because of privacy concerns over the fact that data will be shared between different Meta apps. Perhaps the biggest departure from both rival services and other Meta apps is the decision to allow the app to be interoperable with other similar social platforms. By building on the ActivityPub protocol, Threads will allow users to take their posts into another app, for instance, or follow updates from different platforms. “Threads is Meta’s first app envisioned to be compatible with an open social networking protocol – we hope that by joining this fast-growing ecosystem of interoperable services, Threads will help people find their community, no matter what app they use,” Meta said in its announcement. The company has already announced that it plans to bring similar interoperable design to its existing, more popular apps, by integrating Instagram DMs with WhatsApp, for instance. Those tools are yet to be announced. Read More Meta to launch Threads app that will rival Twitter - live Judge blocks Biden agencies from communicating with social media platforms Meta’s Twitter alternative Threads to be launched this week Instagram and Facebook reveal how their AI decides what you see Celebrity impersonators banned from Facebook protest outside Meta offices Meta rejects accusation of censorship of language around female body
1970-01-01 08:00
