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Microsoft lays off its DEI team as fired staff complain diversity ideals were 'no longer business-critical'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13640823/microsoft-lays-dei-team-mass-business-email.html

Microsoft sparked internal revolt after it fired its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) team, leading the program's leader to slam the company's 'changing business needs.'

The tech giant's move was exposed in an email obtained by Business Insider, which appears to show the DEI internal team leader criticizing the fact diversity was 'no longer business critical.'

Microsoft joins a number of tech companies in walking back DEI commitments that were made in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, including Google, Meta and Zoom.

It is unclear how many employees were laid off, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.

In a statement to Business Insider, Microsoft insisted that its 'D&I commitments remain unchanged.'

But according to the reported email leak, the former DEI team leader felt the company had quietly given up on the DEI initiatives it pushed during the BLM protests.

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President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, the White House confirmed Wednesday after a conference leader where the president was scheduled to speak made the announcement.

“Regrettably, I was just on the phone with President Biden and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for Covid," said Janet Murguia, president of UnidosUS.

Biden had been expected to deliver remarks at the group's event in Las Vegas and had been about an hour and a half late before the announcement was made.

In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden tested positive earlier in the day "following his first event in Las Vegas."

"He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms," Jean-Pierre said. "He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The White House will provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation."

Biden has kept a full schedule in Nevada this week, following questions about his health and capabilities after a dismal debate performance in late June. He last tested positive for Covid in 2022.

News of his Covid test was first announced by a conference leader where the president was scheduled to speak Wednesday.

“Regrettably, I was just on the phone with President Biden and he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for Covid," said Janet Murguia, president of UnidosUS, which bills itself as the largest Latino advocacy organization in U.S.

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ew York — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has been convicted of accepting bribes of cash, gold and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen.

The jury’s verdict was still being read Tuesday at a federal courthouse in New York City.

Over a nine-week trial, prosecutors said the New Jersey Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.

Menendez did not testify, but insisted publicly he was only doing his job as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said gold bars found in his New Jersey home by the FBI belonged to his wife.

The conviction comes four months before Election Day and potentially dooms any hope Menendez had of campaigning for reelection as an independent candidate.

https://time.com/6999212/sen-bob-menendez-convicted-trial-bribes-gold-cars-cash/

US authorities obtained intelligence from a human source in recent weeks on a plot by Iran to try to assassinate Donald Trump, a development that led to the Secret Service increasing security around the former president, multiple people briefed on the matter told CNN.

There’s no indication that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who attempted to kill the former president on Saturday, was connected to the plot, the sources said.

The existence of the intelligence threat from a hostile foreign intelligence agency — and the enhanced security for Trump — raises new questions about the security lapses at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and how a 20-year-old man managed to access a nearby rooftop to fire shots that injured the former president.

A US national security official said the Secret Service and Trump campaign were made aware of the threat before Saturday’s rally.

“Secret Service learned of the increased threat from this threat stream,” the official told CNN. “NSC directly contacted USSS at a senior level to be absolutely sure they continued to track the latest reporting. USSS shared this information with the detail lead, and the Trump campaign was made aware of an evolving threat. In response to the increased threat, Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former President Trump. All of this was in advance of Saturday.”

The Trump campaign would not disclose whether it was made aware of the Iran threat. “We do not comment on President Trump’s security detail. All questions should be directed to The United States Secret Service,” the campaign said in a statement.

Secret Service officials have warned the Trump campaign repeatedly against holding outdoor rallies, which pose greater risks than events to which the agency can better control access, people briefed on the matter said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/16/politics/iran-plot-assassinate-trump-secret-service/index.html

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Sorry Chud. The Facts can be inconvenient some times.

Thomas Matthew Crooks Had Donald Trump Signs in His Yard—Neighbor
Published Jul 16, 2024 at 5:38 AM EDT
Updated Jul 16, 2024 at 10:13 AM EDT

https://www.newsweek.com/thomas-matthew-crooks-donald-trump-sign-yard-neighbor-assassination-attempt-1925678


A neighbor of the 20-year-old who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump said there have been pro-Trump signs on display in the yard of his family's home.

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The following is the most recent story, then I'll post the earlier story after.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/police-fatal-shooting-rnc-convention-milwaukee-columbus-b2580929.html

A man has been shot and killed near the Republican National Convention by an officer pulled in from out of state to work security for the event.

According to local media, the individual – a 43-year-old Milwaukee resident identified by friends as Samuel Sharpe – had brandished two knives near police before being shot and killed near the Fiserv Forum on Tuesday.

Milwaukee law enforcement later confirmed that the incident had involved members of police from Columbus, Ohio. No officers had been injured, a statement from FOP Lodge 9 said. Columbus police confirmed the incident and said it did not appear to be connected to the convention. Columbus police referred questions to Milwaukee officials.

Milwaukee police later released a statement that stated the incident happened around 1:10 p.m. Officers observed a man armed with a knife in each hand engaged in a fight with another unarmed individual.

Despite the officers identifying themselves as police officers and making several commands to the man to drop the knife, he did not and instead charged at the other individual.

“At this time, several officers discharged their firearms subsequently striking the suspect,” the police statement said.

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The U.S. intelligence community has received an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that Iran is actively working on plots to kill former President Donald Trump, potentially in the lead up to the election in November.

Two senior U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said the Biden administration has gathered information from various sources, including human sources, on threats from Tehran that are linked to physical acts of violence — acts that could kill Trump, they said, without providing further details.

Iran has for years considered a plan to get back at Trump for his killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020. But the officials said the intelligence has ratcheted up in recent months and officials have become more confident in Tehran’s intentions. They also said there may be more attempts on Trump’s life in the coming weeks.

Both officials were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive intelligence.

CNN previously reported that the U.S. received intelligence about an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump before Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, tried to kill the former president at his rally in Pennsylvania Saturday. The two officials stressed to POLITICO that there was no evidence Saturday’s shooting had a connection to Iran.

The Office for the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We have repeatedly and consistently briefed the public and Congress on the existence of these threats. We have repeatedly met at the highest levels of our government to develop and implement a comprehensive response to these threats,” said NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson. “We have invested extraordinary resources in developing additional information about these threats, disrupting individuals involved in these threats … and directly warning Iran.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/16/iran-plot-assassinate-trump-00168830

There was recent news of a capsized ship named Prestige Falcon and that 10 people were rescued by the Indian Navy, of which 1 is deceased and 9 survived. Of the 9, 8 are Indian and 1 is Sri Lankan. Could someone help me figure out who is the 1 that passed away is? Also whether there is any info on the remaining 7. Full list of shipmates are attached. I'm worried sick...

URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2g4ywezv3o

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https://www.forexlive.com/news/trump-running-mate-vance-a-supporter-of-us-dollar-devaluation-make-it-easier-to-export-20240715/
https://archive.md/pGgA5
Donald J. Trump’s selection of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance to be his vice-presidential nominee pairs him with a kindred spirit on trade, taxes and a tough stance on China. But it is their shared affinity for a weak dollar that could have the most sweeping implications for the United States and the global economy.

“As your president, one would think that I would be thrilled with our very strong dollar,” Trump said in 2019, explaining that U.S. companies like Caterpillar and Boeing were struggling to compete. “I am not!”

It is not clear how Trump would go about weakening the dollar. His Treasury Department could try to sell dollars to buy foreign currency or try to persuade the Federal Reserve to just print more dollars.

“I know the strong dollar is sort of the sacred cow of the Washington consensus, but when I survey the American economy, and I see our mass consumption of mostly useless imports on the one hand, and our hollowed-out industrial base on the other hand, I wonder if the reserve currency status also has some downsides, and not just some upsides as well,” J.D. Vance said.

Mr. Powell responded by noting that the United States benefits from its reserve currency status, which makes it possible to buy goods all over the world with dollars. He also said there was not an obvious currency to replace it.

The 2024 Republican Party platform calls for keeping the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, but Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance could still try to weaken it if elected this year. Robert Lighthizer, Mr. Trump’s former trade adviser, who could be a candidate to be his next Treasury secretary, has been mulling ways to devalue the dollar if the former president wins, Politico reported this year.

Trump has called for imposing a 10 percent levy on all imports and a 60 percent duty on imports from China.

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After Donald Trump selected J.D. Vance for his running mate in 2024, more and more of his previous gripes with Trump keep popping up, much to the Republican Party’s dismay.

In two 2016 audios uncovered by CNN’s Andy Kaczynski, Vance appeared on a podcast to promote his book The Hillbilly Elegy and argued that Trump is a fraud who preyed on white voters’ fears to achieve victory.

“I don’t think he actually cares about folks,” said Vance on The Matt Jones Podcast in August 2016. “I think I’m going to vote third party because I can’t stomach Trump. I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place,” he told NPR that same month.

https://x.com/KFILE/status/1813212585010794840

Vance criticized Trump throughout his press tours at the time. “I’m definitely not gonna vote for Trump because I think that he’s projecting very complex problems onto simple villains,” Vance told CNN’s Jake Tapper before the 2016 election. “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us,” he wrote in October 2016.

Vance built his early political brand on being a “Never Trump” Republican, and the receipts show it. He called Trump a total fraud in public and asked if Trump may be “America’s Hitler” in private. Before the election, in a since-deleted tweet, Vance claimed he would be writing in Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer who ran as an independent. In 2018, he revealed that he did in fact vote for a third-party candidate in 2016.

Since winning his Senate seat in 2022 with Trump’s backing, Vance has changed his tune, deleted tweets, and retracted his negative statements about the former president.

https://newrepublic.com/post/183892/audio-jd-vance-hated-trump

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According to post-assassination plot polling, Joe "Old Man Scranton" Biden is losing every swing state to Donald "The Ironman" Trump.
That's right.
Weekend at Bernie's part III: The Democrat Nominee is losing to The Man Who Can't Be Killed in every swing state
Every.
Single.
Swing.
State.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4774563-donald-trump-joe-biden-2024-election-swing-states/
Trump leading Biden in all 7 major swing states
Former President Trump is leading President Biden across seven major swing states, according to recent polling.

The new survey from The Times/SAY24 found Biden trailing Trump in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The closest races, according to the polls, were in Michigan and Pennsylvania. You may remember the latter from a recent event where a Democrat donor later registered as a Republican and tried to murder trump. It was on TV and the Internet. Not sure if you heard, but there was a lot of discussion about it. He missed his shot and the images that merged are historic.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/15/trump-shooter-motive

As mystery continues surrounding the possible motivations of the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump at a campaign rally, one former classmate of his has come forward to describe him as being “definitely conservative” while they were in school together.

“It makes me wonder why he would carry out an assassination attempt on the conservative candidate,” Max R Smith told the Philadelphia Inquirer of the shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.

The FBI has not disclosed any details on a possible motive in connection with Saturday’s shooting, which killed one spectator, injured two others and wounded one of the former US president’s ears – before Crooks was shot to death himself by US Secret Service agents.

Agents were seen Monday canvassing Crooks’ neighborhood, knocking on people’s doors and asking them if they knew anything about him. They had previously seized several of his electronic devices in an effort to piece together some of his communications before the rally.

Smith’s recollection potentially adds contours to the emerging, complicated portrait of Crooks, who donated $15 as a 17-year-old to a progressive political action committee in early 2021 – and then registered to vote as a Republican months later at age 18, according to federal finance records and Pennsylvania voter data.

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It's expected to be appealed and overturned, but the Trump installed judge did her job of delaying the case until after the election.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump in Florida dismissed the prosecution on Monday, siding with defense lawyers who said the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, which can be appealed and may be overruled by a higher court, brings at least for now a stunning and abrupt conclusion to a criminal case that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most perilous of all the legal threats the Republican former president confronted.

Though the case had long been stalled, and the prospect of a trial before the November election already was an unrealistic scenario, the judge’s order is a mammoth legal victory for Trump as he recovers from a weekend assassination attempt and prepares to accept the Republican nomination in Milwaukee this week.

In one of four criminal cases against Trump, he had faced dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back. He had pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

Defense lawyers filed multiple challenges to the case, including a legally technical one that asserted that special counsel Jack Smith had been illegally appointed under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause because he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, rather than being confirmed by Congress, and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.

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Biden has a blueanon problem
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-response-donald-trump-shooting-assassination-attempt-blue-anon-1925328
As Biden Appeals for Unity, He Is Called Out for His 'Blue Anon' Problem

Joe Biden has faced scrutiny from a number of critics following his call for unity after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, with some arguing he is responsible for the current political climate and has garnered his own "Maga-like cult."

The U.S. President addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Sunday, condemning the violence which took place on Saturday, when Trump's ear was shot during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Biden on Sunday said, "There's no place in America for this kind of violence—for any violence ever. Period, no exceptions. We can't allow this violence to be normalized

"You know the political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated—it's time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that.

"Yes, we have deeply felt strong disagreements. The stakes in this election are enormously high. Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy, it's part of human nature. But politics must never be a literal battlefield, and God forbid, a killing field."

Biden critics quickly responded to the message.

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https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/15/us/trump-shooting-investigation#trump-shooting-conspiracy-theories

Four minutes after the first report of a shooting at a rally for Donald J. Trump on Saturday, an anonymous account on X posted, “Joe Biden’s antifa shot President Trump.”

Within half an hour, another account on X with links to the QAnon conspiracy theory claimed without proof that the attack against Mr. Trump had most likely been ordered by the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly after that, the far-right activist Laura Loomer posted on X about some recent remarks that President Biden made about Mr. Trump and then wrote, “They tried to kill Trump.” She did not provide evidence.

An hour later, with official details of the assassination attempt still scant, the narrative that President Biden and his allies had engineered the attack on Mr. Trump was being amplified by Republican lawmakers, Russian sympathizers and even a Brazilian political scion. By the time 24 hours had elapsed, posts about the unverified claim had been viewed and shared millions of times.

The idea that President Biden was behind the shooting of Mr. Trump was perhaps the most dominant conspiracy theory to emerge after the attack in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. The unproven conjecture surfaced almost instantly, hardened into a narrative and then catapulted between platforms large and small, even as information about the incident was limited. It was a striking example of the speed, scale and stickiness of rumors on social media, which often calcify into accepted truth far more efficiently than efforts to debunk or pleas for restraint.