Weekend Papers Summary
FINANCIAL TIMES
-Kamala Harris's advisers have approached top crypto companies to "reset" relations between her Democratic party and a sector that has become an important backer of Donald Trump, her rival for the US presidency. The vice-president's team has contacted people close to crypto companies, including Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple Labs. Harris's overture to crypto companies comes as Trump is enjoying strong levels of support from the sector. Crypto groups are likely to be an important source of funding for candidates in the election, as pro-crypto super Pac Fairshake has raised over $200M from backers.
-Kamala Harris made her most clear pitch for the White House in a social media video, using Beyoncé's "Freedom" as a soundtrack. With 100 days until the US presidential election in November, Harris's first official campaign video allowed her to reintroduce herself to the American electorate and preview messages for her campaign. The video highlighted the stark choice Americans will face when they head to the ballot box in November, with a sharper contrast across generations, gender, and race. Republicans will frame Harris as a dangerous radical, while Democrats will highlight the distinction between a 59-year-old prosecutor and a 78-year-old former president.
-The Paris Olympics began with an extravagant opening ceremony, carrying 10,500 athletes along the Seine. The event was expected to be watched by a billion people. However, criminal sabotage caused nationwide transport chaos and heavy rain delayed the three-hour show. Interior minister Gérald Darmanin assured that no specific threats had been detected and that the railway sabotage would not directly affect the Olympics or the ceremony. The event featured a massive cast of dancers, orchestras, and pop stars.
-Four of the Magnificent Seven technology stocks that have driven the US market rally for the past nine months have ended the week in correction territory, having fallen by more than 10% from recent peaks. Microsoft and Amazon are close to double-digit falls that define a correction. Investors are looking ahead to further tech earnings updates next week amid worries about punchy valuations and the risks that returns from vast artificial intelligence-related spending may not live up to early hopes. Nvidia and Tesla are each down 17% from their recent peaks, while Meta and Google parent Alphabet have fallen 14% and 12% respectively. Apple is the best performer in the group, having lost just 7%, while Microsoft and Amazon have slid about 9% each. Alphabet sparked a wider market sell-off when its shares fell more than 5% on concerns about AI-related investments.
-Donald Trump has expressed his desire to ease tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for the immediate return of hostages held by Hamas. The relationship between the two was close during Trump's presidency, but soured in late 2020 when Trump criticized Netanyahu for congratulating Biden for winning the 2020 election and backing out of an operation to kill former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani. Trump also criticized Democratic opponent Kamala Harris' call for a ceasefire and criticism of the humanitarian suffering in Gaza, calling her remarks disrespectful. Netanyahu's far-right allies also criticized Harris for her comments after meeting Netanyahu, who expressed more empathy for Palestinian suffering and a tougher stance on Israel than Biden.
-Europe's data protection watchdog is investigating X, Elon Musk's social media platform, for allowing users' data to be automatically used for xAI's artificial intelligence systems. Users discovered that they had been 'opted-in' to have their posts and interactions with its Grok chatbot used for training and fine-tuning xAI's systems without obtaining explicit consent. The move was made without first obtaining users' explicit consent for data sharing. The Data Protection Commission, responsible for holding internet companies to EU privacy law, has been engaging with X for months over its plans to use users' data to create AI systems. The regulator has sent questions to the company about transparency for users and is seeking clarity on the matter.
-A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has charged prominent short seller Andrew Left with over a dozen counts of fraud, alleging he made profits of at least $16mn from a long-running market manipulation scheme. The Department of Justice stated that Left knowingly exploited his ability to move stock prices by targeting popular stocks with retail investors and posting recommendations on social media to manipulate the market and make fast, easy money. The grand jury indictment charged him with 17 counts of securities fraud, one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators. The indictment alleged that Left publicly claimed that companies' share prices were too high or low, creating the false pretense that Left's economic incentives aligned with his public recommendation.
-A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has charged Andrew Left with over a dozen counts of fraud, alleging he made at least $16M from a market manipulation scheme. The Department of Justice claims Left knowingly exploited his ability to manipulate stock prices by targeting popular stocks with retail investors and posting recommendations on social media. The indictment charges him with 17 counts of securities fraud, one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.
-The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has declined to approve a new Alzheimer's treatment, Leqembi, due to concerns about rare brain swelling side-effects. The decision comes after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for US patients last year. Leqembi, which is expected to generate $154M in revenue worldwide this year, is expected to be approved in the EU, with thousands of patients already receiving infusions in the US. The EMA has raised concerns about amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or Aria, caused by the drug, which could lead to serious events and hospitalizations.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
-Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed her concern for Palestinian suffering in the Gaza war, marking a shift in emphasis from the president's statements. This move aims to establish herself as the leader of her party and show the public who she is while demonstrating loyalty to President Biden. Harris has been the quiet understudy for nearly four years, relegated to the role of the supportive deputy while President Biden made pronouncements. Now, she has suddenly been thrust to the fore as the new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and neither silence nor agreeable head nods are sufficient anymore. The challenge for Harris over the next 100 days is to find her own voice without overtly breaking with Biden, a delicate political high-wire act without a reliable net.
-Kamala Harris is considering Arizona Senator Mark Kelly as her running mate for Vice President. Kelly, a Navy veteran and former astronaut, has a strong political background and expertise on the Southern border. He has won two elections to the Senate in Arizona and has a deep understanding of the terrain around Douglas, Arizona. The rugged border lands around Douglas, Arizona, are difficult for a 30-foot steel bollard wall but not for cartels smuggling people and contraband from Mexico. Even the state's Republicans acknowledge this fact. Kelly has pushed for the expansion of Douglas as an official, expanded port of entry into the United States, which both the senator and Douglas' G.O.P. mayor, Donald Huish, see as a way to inject economic stability into the region and potentially defang the cartels and coyotes that roam the region. Both parties believe the plan could inject economic stability into the region and potentially deter drug traffickers.
-Kamala Harris, has been gaining attention as a presidential candidate. The Obamas called her to offer their endorsement, and the former president and first lady sounded like parents in a Lifetime movie talking to their child at summer camp. The Biden-turned-Harris campaign managed to make the Obamas sound like parents in a Lifetime movie.
-The XXXIII Olympiad in Paris marked a significant milestone, marking the first Olympics in a century, with equal gender participation, the first opening ceremony in full air, and the first sponsored by a global luxury company. The opening ceremony featured a red carpet, a runway show, and vignettes showcasing the history and spirit of the host country, including the French Revolution and Notre Dame reconstruction. The event was centered around the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, and Place de la Concorde, with LVMH as a premium partner. The goal was to showcase French savoir-faire through cabaret, heavy metal, dance, acrobats, and 1,800 outfits from both new and old brands. The fashion competition stakes were set high, raising the competition for every other national team.
-The arrest of Ismael Zambada García, the founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel, at a small airport outside El Paso, Mexico, is a tale of subterfuge and betrayal. García, known as El Mayo, had for decades evaded capture by Mexican and American authorities, living a life of luxury in the mountains of Sinaloa. Despite the $15M U.S. bounty on his head, García lived a life of luxury in the mountains of Sinaloa. However, U.S. officials said that he was betrayed by the son of his closest criminal ally, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the infamous drug lord known as El Chapo. The son of Guzmán Loera, the son of his closest criminal ally, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is now serving a life sentence in an American federal prison. The arrest of García, who is now serving a life sentence in an American federal prison, is a significant step towards capturing one of Mexico's biggest drug lords.
-The FBI has provided the most definitive explanation for the injury to former President Donald Trump's ear during an assassination attempt this month. The FBI said that Trump was struck by a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces. This explanation was the most definitive to date after the bureau's director had earlier suggested the former president might have been hit by shrapnel. The controversy surrounding Trump's injury turned into a political firestorm as the former president and his political allies attacked the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, for comments he made before Congress. The FBI's statement has sparked a political firestorm.
- Donald Trump has intensified his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of attempting to impose left-wing values on the nation. In a speech to religious conservatives in Florida, Trump accused Harris of being overly liberal on immigration and abortion, and calling her a "bum." Speaking at the Believers Summit, a faith-focused conference hosted by Turning Point Action, Trump invoked the specter of San Francisco, a liberal city used as a shorthand by conservatives to denigrate Democrats. He argued that Harris would impose far-left values on the country if elected, a claim that Trump made in his second campaign speech since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Trump's barbs seemed more focused than earlier in the week, when he unleashed a flurry of wide-ranging attacks.
-The Justice Department has defended a US law that could force the sale or ban of TikTok, arguing that the proposed changes would not prevent China from using the app to collect US users' data or spread propaganda. The Justice Department's first detailed response to TikTok's lawsuit challenged the new US law that could ban the social media app, stating that measures TikTok previously offered to address the government's security concerns, such as walling off US user data domestically, were insufficient. The agency argued that the Chinese government could still collect sensitive data on Americans or manipulate content, and it has incentive to misuse the app due to larger geopolitical goals.
-California Governor Gavin Newsom has expressed his desire for cities to clear homeless encampments, a controversial issue that has faced strong opposition in Los Angeles. Newsom's declaration urged state and local officials to take action, stating that there are no longer any excuses for the encampment's existence. In a video statement, Newsom stated that there are no longer any excuses for the encampment's existence, which has seen items like a box fan and a plastic kiddie pool stashed. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass responded with visuals from a different encampment cleanup, highlighting that 15 residents who had been displaced from this particular encampment had been "brought inside." The clearing of encampments has long been framed as a partisan issue, with Democrats on one side reluctant to remove homeless people and Republicans demanding citations and arrests.
-Former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Florida, a day after their main opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, criticized Israel's conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip. Trump and Netanyahu remained on good terms after the meeting, and Trump would be a stronger ally of Israel than Vice President Kamala Harris. The two were close allies during Trump's presidency, but their ties became strained after the 2020 election. Trump said that they don't have to rebuild their ties if he won in November, as they have had a good relationship.
-Japan's Labor Ministry and labor union have found that one in 10 to half of workers have experienced customer harassment. Companies and service providers are warning customers against mistreatment and developing rules to guide staff on what constitutes a legitimate complaint and unacceptable behavior. Employers have removed surnames from name tags to protect employees from doxxing on social media. SoftBank is developing an "emotion canceling" voice alteration service for call centers to reduce anger from incoming complaints.
THE NEW YORK POST
-A Democrat running for statewide office has criticized her party mate and governor, Josh Shapiro, leading to a war of words with the Pennsylvania party chief. Treasurer nominee Erin McClelland accused Shapiro of sexism and covering up sexual harassment, implying he wouldn't be satisfied playing second fiddle. McClelland is running against GOP incumbent Treasurer Stacy Garrity and wants a VP pick that is secure enough to be second under a woman, content to be VP, won't undermine the President, and doesn't sweep sexual harassment under the rug. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is another potential veep pick for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
-The Justice Department has accused TikTok of using an internal web-suite system called Lark to gather bulk information on users based on views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion, and religion. TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance used Lark to enable TikTok employees to speak directly with ByteDance engineers in China. This led to the sending of sensitive data about US users, which has since been stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees in China. The filing states that one of Lark's internal search tools allows ByteDance and TikTok employees in the US and China to gather information on users' content or expressions, including views on sensitive topics. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported TikTok tracking users who watched LGBTQ content through a dashboard the company said it had since deleted.