Trump’s Truth Social is now a public company. Experts warn its multibillion-dollar valuation defies logic

Trump’s Truth Social is now a public company. Experts warn its multibillion-dollar valuation defies logic

CNN reports: For the first time in almost 30 years, part of Donald Trump’s business empire has gone public. Trading started with a bang, but the frenzy eased considerably by the closing bell, with shares ending well off their highs of the day. Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of struggling social media platform Truth Social, began its long-delayed journey as a public company at Tuesday’s opening bell under the ticker symbol “DJT.” The stock surged about 56% at…

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UN demand for Gaza cease-fire provokes strongest clash between U.S. and Israel since war began

UN demand for Gaza cease-fire provokes strongest clash between U.S. and Israel since war began

The Associated Press reports: The United Nations Security Council on Monday issued its first demand for a cease-fire in Gaza, with the U.S. angering Israel by abstaining from the vote. Israel responded by canceling a visit to Washington by a high-level delegation in the strongest public clash between the allies since the war began. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release…

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UN rights expert report to call for Israel arms embargo over ‘acts of genocide’

UN rights expert report to call for Israel arms embargo over ‘acts of genocide’

The Guardian reports: A UN human rights expert will deliver a report on Tuesday saying that Israel has carried out acts of genocide in Gaza and should be placed under an arms embargo. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said in her report there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel was carrying out three of the five acts defined as genocide: killing Palestinians, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, and “deliberately…

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Budget deal slashes U.S. funding for Palestinians’ U.N. lifeline

Budget deal slashes U.S. funding for Palestinians’ U.N. lifeline

The Washington Post reports: Congress voted early Saturday to strip hundreds of millions of dollars from the United Nations agency that distributes most of the food, medicine and basic services to Palestinians in Gaza and across the Middle East, marking what critics say is a devastating blow to a region in crisis. The United States, along with several other countries, suspended funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in January after Israel alleged that 12 of the agency’s…

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Russia refuses to blame ISIS for concert hall attack despite growing evidence

Russia refuses to blame ISIS for concert hall attack despite growing evidence

The Guardian reports: The Kremlin has declined to comment on growing evidence that the Afghan branch of Islamic State (IS), known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), masterminded the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow that left 137 people dead. Asked by reporters whether the Kremlin recognised IS was behind the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said: “You ask a question related to the progress of the investigation. We do not comment on that in any…

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How is abortion shaping 2024? Look at Arizona

How is abortion shaping 2024? Look at Arizona

Politico reports: Democrats are counting on abortion rights to carry them to victory this fall in races across the country. But nowhere more so than in Arizona. Abortion-rights activists are gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures to put a measure on the ballot enshrining protections in the state’s constitution. Doing so, Democrats believe, will juice turnout on the left, giving them a chance to break the GOP’s narrow majority in the state legislature, win a pivotal Senate seat and deliver…

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Why Chuck Todd’s scorcher against NBC matters

Why Chuck Todd’s scorcher against NBC matters

Jack Shafer writes:As if responding to an alarm setting on a cosmic, biological clock, the press and its minders set to ringing and clanging bloody murder over the weekend as NBC News moved Ronna McDaniel — the recently sacked Republican National Committee chair — to a paid gig in its studio. The hottest criticism took place on NBC News’ own Sunday edition of Meet the Press after McDaniel made her first appearance, when Chuck Todd, Meet the Press’ former host,…

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Individual neurons tune to complex speech sounds and cues

Individual neurons tune to complex speech sounds and cues

The Transmitter reports: Individual neurons in the cerebral cortex are finely tuned to the sounds of human speech—beyond just picking out consonants and vowels, two new independent studies show. The cells encode small sounds called phonemes that are said in a similar way; the order in which syllables are spoken; the beginning of sentences; vocal pitch; and word stress, among other features of speech. The studies were able to reveal this new level of detail by using Neuropixels probes, which…

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The UN Security Council is set to vote on a resolution demanding a Ramadan ceasefire

The UN Security Council is set to vote on a resolution demanding a Ramadan ceasefire

The Associated Press reports: The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a resolution demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but the United States warned the measure could hurt negotiations to halt Israeli-Hamas hostilities. The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China, who vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 22-nation Arab…

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Does Israel need to be forced by the U.S. to end the war in Gaza?

Does Israel need to be forced by the U.S. to end the war in Gaza?

  All of Israel’s modern wars have ended with US intervention, but the current war in Gaza has gone on for half a year because “Biden is a slow learner”, argues University of Pennsylvania political scientist Ian Lustick. Israel needs an outside power to blame when it cannot achieve its aims. “That’s because the war aims are fundamentally political, and the military cannot achieve them,” says Lustick. Lustick and Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti talk to host Steve Clemons about the…

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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls for ceasefire ahead of Easter

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls for ceasefire ahead of Easter

Middle East Eye reports: The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a ceasefire in Gaza ahead of the Christian Easter holidays. “Thousands of innocent people have died in this conflict, and thousands more have been displaced and face tremendous suffering. This must stop,” the group said in a statement. “To move forward, a cease fire and a permanent cessation of war and violence is absolutely necessary. To move forward, those held hostage must be released and civilians must…

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Hundreds more rabbis demand ceasefire as call gains mainstream traction

Hundreds more rabbis demand ceasefire as call gains mainstream traction

The Forward reports: More than 450 rabbis called on President Joe Biden Friday to end the war in Gaza, adding momentum to growing calls for a ceasefire among liberal American Jews who have become deeply uncomfortable with Israel’s military operation. “There is no military solution to this conflict,” the rabbis, including leaders of large synagogues, stated in a letter organized by T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights group. “A ceasefire is the only reliable, proven means for securing the release of…

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Biden is building a ‘superstructure’ to stop Trump from stealing the election

Biden is building a ‘superstructure’ to stop Trump from stealing the election

Rolling Stone reports: For years, Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that if he doesn’t win the 2024 presidential election, he is willing to cheat and steal it. Since President Joe Biden’s inaugural address, according to sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, Biden and his inner circle have been drawing up meticulous plans and creating a large legal network focused on wargaming a close election finish, in which the former president and Republican Party launch a scorched-earth, Big…

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Crows are too smart to be domesticated

Crows are too smart to be domesticated

Ben Crair writes: At around 9 a.m. every weekday, a crow caws in the Jardin des Plantes, the oldest botanical garden in Paris. The sound is a warning to every other crow: Frédéric Jiguet, a tall ornithologist whose dark hair is graying around the ears, has shown up for work. As Jiguet walks to his office at the French National Museum of Natural History, which is on the garden’s grounds, dozens of the black vandals take to the trees and…

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