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Russia Is Relying On Unwitting Americans To Spread Election Disinformation, US Officials Say
RUSSIA | Amazon is liable under federal safety legislation for dangerous products offered on its site by third-party vendors and distributed by the corporation, a US government body said Tuesday.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission unanimously concluded that the e-commerce company was a “distributor” of faulty items sold on its website and packed and dispatched through its fulfilment service.
According to the agency, the corporation is legally responsible for the recalls of over 400,000 devices, including hairdryers and defective carbon monoxide detectors. It directed Amazon to develop a system for notifying customers who purchased defective items and removing the objects from circulation by creating incentives for their return or destruction.
Russia Is Relying On Unwitting Americans To Spread Election Disinformation, US Officials Say
According to Emarketer, Amazon accounts for around 40% of all e-commerce sales in the United States. The company offers various things directly to customers and also works with roughly 2 million third-party sellers, who account for the majority of sales on the site.
The online shop has been fighting the “distributor” classification since 2021 when the Consumer Product Safety Commission filed an administrative complaint against it for delivering hazardous products.
Amazon argued to an administrative law judge and a five-member commission that it should not be classed as a distributor under the Consumer Product Safety Act. The commission stated that the judge rejected the company’s argument, and Tuesday’s decree affirmed that decision.
According to the commission, Amazon neglected to tell customers about hazardous materials and “did not take adequate steps to encourage” users to return or destroy them, putting them at risk of harm.
Groups tied to the Kremlin increasingly use Russian-based marketing and communications firms to outsource some of the labour of developing digital propaganda while also masking their tracks, authorities said during a press briefing.
In March, the United States issued fresh sanctions against two of these corporations. According to authorities, the two Russian businesses constructed phony websites and social media profiles to promote Kremlin disinformation.
The disinformation can focus on the candidates or the voting process, or on problems that are already being debated in the United States, such as immigration, crime, or the Gaza conflict.
The ultimate goal is for Americans to share Russian disinformation without investigating its source. People are significantly more likely to trust and share information they feel came from a domestic source, according to officials. Fake websites that replicate U.S. news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are only two examples.
In certain situations, Americans, as well as American tech businesses and media outlets, have willingly amplified and repeated Kremlin messaging.
“Foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hand and convincing Americans to do it,” said the official, who was joined by officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Sen. Mark Warner, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed concern last month that the United States may be more vulnerable to foreign disinformation this year than it was before to the 2020 election. On Monday, he stated that intelligence agencies’ warnings reveal that the US election is “in the bullseye of bad actors across the globe.”
“It also, disturbingly, emphasises the extent to which foreign actors — and particularly Russia — rely on both unwitting and witting Americans to promote foreign-aligned narratives in the United States,” Warner, a Democratic senator from Virginia, said in a statement.
In one measure of the threat, officials monitoring foreign disinformation report that they have given twice as many warnings to political candidates, government leaders, election offices, and others targeted by foreign groups in the 2024 election cycle as they did in the 2022 cycle.
Officials would not say how many warnings were provided or who received them, but say the considerable increase reflects increased interest in the presidential race by America’s foes, as well as improved government efforts to identify and warn of such dangers.
Russia Is Relying On Unwitting Americans To Spread Election Disinformation, US Officials Say
Russia and other countries are also fast shifting to capitalise on recent developments in the presidential election, like as the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race in favour of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Following the attack on Trump, Russian disinformation services swiftly pushed accusations that Democratic rhetoric caused the shooting, as well as unfounded conspiracy theories claiming that Biden or the Ukrainian government coordinated the effort.
“These pro-Russian voices sought to tie the assassination attempt with Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine,” concluded the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which monitors Russian misinformation.
Intelligence officials have previously assessed that Russian propaganda appeared to be intended to support Trump, and they stated Monday that their conclusion has not changed.
Russian disinformation continues to focus on eroding support for Ukraine, while Trump has previously lauded Russian President Vladimir Putin and is perceived to be less supportive of NATO.
While China launched a massive disinformation effort ahead of Taiwan’s last election, the country has been far more cautious when it comes to the United States. Beijing may employ disinformation to target congressional campaigns or other down-ballot races where a candidate has expressed strong views about China. However, authorities suggested Monday that China is unlikely to try to influence the presidential race.
The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, stated on Monday that his country has no intention of interfering with US politics.
However, Iran has adopted a more assertive stance. Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, stated earlier this month that the Iranian government had surreptitiously sponsored American protests against Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. According to Haines, Iran-linked groups have posed as online activists, supported protests, and provided financial support to some protest groups.
Iran opposes candidates who are likely to exacerbate tensions with Tehran, authorities added. That description suits Trump’s government, which terminated a nuclear agreement with Iran, reimposed sanctions, and ordered the assassination of a senior Iranian commander.
Messages left with Russian and Iranian government spokespeople were not returned promptly on Monday.
SOURCE | AP
News
Trump Media Stock Is Up 100% From Its Recent Low As The DJT Continues To Rise On Heavy Trade.
(VOR News) – On Thursday morning, the shares of Trump Media resumed their upward trend, reaching a high of 19% for the fourth consecutive day.
This continued the momentum of a resurgence that has succeeded in recouping a fraction of the huge losses that the Truth Social operator experienced during a recent sell-off that lasted for several weeks. There has been a significant length of time that has passed since this growth began.
A little over two weeks ago, DJT stock had reached an intraday trading low of $11.75; but, immediately after the market opened, it was selling at more than $24 per share, which is more than double the price that it had reached at that point.
Since then, the stock of Trump Media DJT has increased by more than twice.
It was notable because it corresponded with a number of recent polls on the presidential election as well as other indicators that fans of former President Donald Trump, who is the largest stakeholder in the company, perceived to be encouraging signs.
This was the reason why it was significant. An increase was seen in spite of the fact that there was very little positive news around the company. Despite this, the growth was recorded.
Trump Media has been referred to as a meme stock by a number of industry professionals. This stock is being bought and sold by supporters of Donald Trump in a substantial chunk of the present market.
These supporters believe that investing in the firm is a way to show their support for the Republican presidential candidate at the same time that they are placing a wager on the possibility that he will win the presidency.
When asked about it in an interview with CNBC, Anne Stevenson-Yang, the founder and research director of short seller J Capital Research, stated that “it does not have anything to do with fundamentals.” This was in response to a question regarding the matter. This was the conclusion that she reached in response to the inquiry.
A single syllable was all that she said when she made her declaration, and it was, “It’s a bet on Trump.”
During the most recent rise, which occurred during an extraordinarily busy trading session, the volume of Trump Media shares had already surpassed the 30-day average volume, which was approximately 15.1 million shares, as reported by FactSet.
This took place a little over an hour after the market had started business.
Trump Media rose during a busy trading session.
There were already more than 27 million shares of Trump Media that were being traded at the time that the clock struck 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. This signifies that the market is already active.
As a result of the developments, Trump Media is on track to have its fifth strong day in a straight, and it is also on track to have its best week since late March, when the company had just begun publicly trading after completing a corporate combination with a blank-check firm. Both of these developments are expected to occur.
Both of these achievements are anticipated to take place as a consequence of the advances that have taken place.
More than eighty percent of Trump Media’s value had been erased from its post-merger highs prior to the most recent rise, which represented the completion of a slide that had been underway for some months already. This slide had been occurring for several months. The decrease has been going on for some time.
When the company was initially listed on Nasdaq, the share price reached an intraday high of $79.38 per share immediately after the listing. The price of the corporation, on the other hand, has remained far lower than that high level. This was the situation beginning on Thursday and ongoing.
SOURCE: CNBC
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Ratan Tata, Indian Tycoon Who Took His Empire Global, Dead At 86
Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Indian giant Tata Group, died at the age of 86, according to a company statement.
The industrialist ascended to global fame through a succession of high-profile multinational transactions. In 2008, he famously supervised Tata Motors’ acquisition of British automobile companies, such as Jaguar and Land Rover, from Ford.
“It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation,” said a statement released on Wednesday.
Ratan Tata, Indian Tycoon Who Took His Empire Global, Dead At 86
In a post on X, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to Ratan’s death, calling him a “visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being.”
Ratan was born in 1937 to a Parsi family, an ethno-religious community of Persian heritage in India who practice the Zoroastrian religion. He graduated from Cornell University, where he studied architectural and structural engineering.
He returned to India in 1962 and joined the family business, which his great-grandfather began in 1868. Since its humble beginnings, Ratan has been responsible for India’s first steel mill, luxury hotel, and domestic airline.
“I think the one thing the family has done is it created a lot of industries in the early days, prior to independence, which were national industries,” Tata said in a rare interview with CNN’s Sara Sidner in 2011. “And then donated the majority of it away through charity gifts. And that has been carried on by their successors over the years.
Tata took over as chairman in 1991, the same year that India implemented major economic changes, including weakening the rupee, in order to open up its economy to the outside world. Ratan, too, expanded its horizons as India did.
Ratan Tata, Indian Tycoon Who Took His Empire Global, Dead At 86
In 2000, the group paid $432 million to British manufacturer Tetley, which owns one of the world’s top tea brands. Seven years later, Tata Steel won the $12.1 billion struggle for control of Corus, a British steel manufacturer.
Ratan stepped down as global chairman in 2012 and became chairman emeritus of the holding firm Ratan Sons before his death. Since stepping away from his day-to-day duties, the billionaire has dedicated himself to helping the lives of India’s many stray animals.
SOURCE | AP
News
The Hurricane Center Chief Urges Immediate Evacuation As Hurricane Milton Approaches.
(VOR News) – In light of the fact that Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall close to the western coast of Florida, which is now anticipated to take place as early as Wednesday night, inhabitants of Florida are rapidly running out of time to escape to higher ground in order to get ready for the hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center released a statement on Wednesday.
It was said that “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”
The exceedingly serious nature of the situation is brought to light by this comment.
“You need to prepare for catastrophic impacts,” said Deanne Criswell, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who advised anyone who was in Franklin’s path or was in the vicinity of Franklin.
It is anticipated that this storm will be a significant one, and it has the ability to bring about changes in the lives of communities that are still in the process of recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helene.
After that, she proceeded by declaring, “We do not need to lose any lives as a result of this storm.” Her message was that people should look for protection wherever they may find it.
President Biden and Vice President Harris addressed the storm in their message that was delivered on Wednesday afternoon. They urged people to seek shelter as quickly as possible and stressed the need for doing so.
After being questioned about the preparations that had been made for Hurricane Milton, Harris responded by saying, “We have been working around the clock all day.” Her words were directed toward individuals who were in the path of the hurricane.
According to the statement, it would be different from what other residents might have experienced in the past. Taking this storm seriously is something that you are highly recommended to do. The storm that is expected to occur is expected to be of a size that has never been seen before in the history of the world.
During his speech, the Vice President of the United States addressed a number of issues that are associated with the storm and the aftermath of it. He also referenced a campaign of disinformation.
Since the beginning of the onslaught, former President Donald Trump has been at the vanguard of the attack. He stated, “This must come to an end,” and made the statement.
Hurricane Harris continued, “We will hold accountable anyone who takes advantage of customers.”
In addition, at the time that the sun rose on Wednesday morning, both tornado watches and warnings were issued for certain regions in south Florida.
An observation of a tornado was made along Interstate 75 in the neighborhood of the Miccosukee Service Plaza, as reported by the National Weather Service office in Miami. After being spotted, the tornado traveled along the freeway as it had been observed.
The United States experienced some of the first direct affects of the hurricane on Wednesday morning, when heavy rain began to sweep into the southwestern and west-central portions of Florida.
This was one of the first times that the hurricane had hit the United States. Because the weather is getting worse as the day goes on, individuals who are in the path of the storm are being asked to finish any preparations they have made and to leave if they are given the order to do so.
This is because the storm is getting stronger as the day advances. Gas stations have been negatively impacted as a result of the movement of a significant number of people away from coastal areas.
The GasBuddy platform reported that more than 23 percent of gas stations in the state of Florida were out of gas as of 9:36 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. This information was gathered from gas stations.
SOURCE: NPR
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