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United States says Ronald Greene's death showed Louisiana police utilized excessive force
The fatal 2019 arrest of unarmed Black motorist Ronald Greene and its aftermath showed severe failures at Louisiana State Cops like use of excessive force and breakdowns in accountability, the U.S. Justice Department said in a report launched on Friday. WHY IT is necessary Greene, 49, died in May 2019 on a roadside in rural northern Louisiana after a violent fight with officers that followed a high-speed car chase. His death further fueled a. nationwide dispute over cops brutality, especially against Black. males. Officials initially stated Greene had died driving his car however. body-camera footage that was eventually revealed exposed the. white officers dragging and beating Greene who was shrieking in. fear. KEY QUOTES Mr. Greene's death and its aftermath demonstrated severe. failures at LSP-- excessive force, improper supervision,. inefficient training, and breakdowns in responsibility, the. Justice Department stated. These failures were not separated, but part of a bigger. pattern or practice of police conduct that deprives. individuals in Louisiana of their rights under the Constitution, the. 32-page report added. The report said the Justice Department has sensible. trigger to believe that the Louisiana State Cops take part in a. statewide pattern or practice of using extreme force. Republican Louisiana Guv Jeff Landry slammed the. report stating it attempted to reduce the service and. exceptionality of LSP. The January 16 report by the Justice Department did not say. whether it would take any action. CONTEXT The report stated the Justice Department looked into whether. the police took part in racially discriminating authorities but at this. time it made findings only regarding excessive force. Greene's household said on Tuesday they were informed federal. district attorneys would not bring charges in his death. The Justice Department report acknowledged that authorities had. made some reforms after Greene's death that led to enhancements. but advised more reforms like improved training, particularly on. use of force to lay emphasis on less invasive alternatives. before using force.
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Democratic senator prompts Delta Air, DraftKings to stop in-flight gaming collaboration
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal urged Delta Air Lines and DraftKings on Friday to stop a partnership to use inflight gaming to passengers. Blumenthal corresponded to the business noting a 1962 law that outlaws betting on commercial aircraft. This collaboration appears to be aimed at attracting the flying public ... to take part in a high-risk activity from their seatbacks, while in the air and unable to leave, Blumenthal wrote. Delta stated on Friday it is checking out a partnership with DraftKings as it broadens its video games portfolio but said it is not preparing to offer gambling. While particular information on the agreement and the kind of DraftKings offerings coming to Delta Sync will be shared when they're finalized, the capability to gamble is not currently part of that exploration, Delta stated, referring to the airline's. entertainment system. DraftKings did not instantly comment. Betting companies have actually leveraged data collected on. customers to attract them through rewards and promos to hook. them on this addictive product-- resulting in a public health. crisis that is producing substantial costs in addiction, financial. ruin, household interruption and a lot more, Blumenthal said.
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Thirteen dead in clashes between police and gangs in Brazilian Amazon city
Thirteen people have actually died in gang violence in the past 4 days in Porto Velho, the capital of Rondonia state in the Brazilian Amazon, where gang members have encountered cops, raising issues about the growing power of gangs in the area. 8 individuals were killed in attacks by criminal gangs and another five died in clashes with the authorities considering that Tuesday morning, according to Rondonia's security department. Lawbreakers set fire to 20 buses, most of them coming from schools, likely to object police retaliation. The attacks triggered authorities to limit the hours when public transportation is offered and designate authorities escorts to city buses. The crisis led the federal government to send national public security force troops to Rondonia to help the state police include the wave of violence for at least 90 days. Porto Velho police claim that the attacks are a retaliation by the Comando Vermelho criminal faction against cops operations in a real estate complex that the gang controls in the city, according to G1 news website. Though the Comando Vermelho was created in the state of Rio de Janeiro, countless miles away, it has actually ended up being one of the most powerful gang in the Amazon area in recent years. A current report by Brazilian Public Security Forum, a think tank, revealed criminal offense rates are rising fast in the Amazon, home of the world's largest rain forest. In 2023, the region registered 34 homicides for every 100,000 individuals, nearly two times the nationwide rate. While Brazil's Amazon area has for decades dealt with conflicts over land as farms expanded into the forest, the more recent violence is connected to disagreements among gangs to manage key drug trade routes that link drug producers to consumers, said Renato Sergio de Lima, the think tank's. president. Rondonia borders Bolivia, an essential cocaine manufacturer, and has. recently end up being a key drug trade path, cops examinations. program. In the last years, police seized 20 lots of drug in. the state, among the largest volumes in the nation. The Amazon is a perfect environment for criminal offense. The gangs. manage the territory and specify the guidelines, Lima said. Eventually, the authorities show up..
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Stocks rally to liquidate strong week, wait for Trump policies
U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to liquidate a strong week on optimism over the health of the economy and course of interest rates as investors braced for a slew of policy changes under the inbound Trump administration. The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials registered their most significant weekly percentage gains considering that early November and the Nasdaq taped its best considering that early December. Data this week allayed worries that inflation would resurge while expectations have grown that the Federal Reserve will bump up the timing and magnitude of rate hikes this year. The Commerce Department reported on Friday that U.S. single-family homebuilding rose to a 10-month high although need will likely be suppressed by increasing home loan rates and an oversupply of new homes. A different report exposed a surge in manufacturing output last month. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Monday, when U.S. markets will close for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Uncertainty over the capacity for a few of Trump's. policies such as tariffs to rekindle increasing inflation pressures. and slow the path of Fed rate cuts has actually weighed on equities in. recent weeks. But a solid start to the business revenues season with. results from many huge banks has actually likewise helped buoy stocks this. week, with the S&P 500 bank index up almost 7% on the. week. Stronger development, feeding into better corporate. revenues, you're sort of leaving to a start to the year here. that there's lots of questions both in regards to fiscal and. financial policy and what the Trump agenda will look like, or. what shape it will take, said Jim Baird, chief financial investment. officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Southfield,. Michigan. Regardless of all those concerns, we're beginning the year on. a reasonably much better footing than we have actually been on perhaps in the. last couple of years. According to initial information, the S&P 500. acquired 59.48 points, or 1.01%, to end at 5,996.82 points,. while the Nasdaq Composite acquired 291.91 points, or. 1.51%, to 19,630.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average. increased 338.82 points, or 0.79%, to 43,491.95. The benchmark U.S. 10-year note yield was little. changed at 4.609%, but has actually alleviated off a 14-month high of 4.809%. struck earlier today. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack stated inflation stays a problem, as recent data has indicated a resistant. economy. Nevertheless, Fed Guv Christopher Waller showed on Thursday the reserve bank could cut rates faster and. faster than expected as inflation is likely to continue to relieve. The Fed is widely anticipated to keep rates constant at its. policy meeting later on this month, with the marketplaces prices in a. higher than 50% chance for a cut of a minimum of 25 basis points. up until June, LSEG information revealed. 10 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors increased, led by a gain of. more than 2% in customer discretionary stocks, while. health care was the sole decliner. Nvidia and Broadcom advanced after. Barclays raised its price targets on the stocks, helping to. enhance the PHLX semiconductor index by almost 3%. In addition, Intel rose on speculation of a takeover and Qorvo shot up after activist. financier Starboard Worth divulged a 7.7% stake in the chipmaker. Shares of social media companies such as Meta had actually a. muted reaction after the Supreme Court ruled versus TikTok's. obstacle to a law that would force its app's sale or restriction in the. United States. Meta shares increased decently while Snap. dipped.
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Tens of thousands sign up with student-led protests in Belgrade
Tens of countless antigovernment protesters in Belgrade on Friday stood in silence in front of the state tv RTS structure for 15 minutes to celebrate victims of a railway station roofing system collapse for which they blame Serbian authorities. The demonstration was arranged and led by students of the Belgrade state university who are demanding that those accountable for the roofing system collapse that killed more than a lots people are taken to court. Twin bros, Lazar and Luka Stojakovic, activists at the Faculty of Organisational Science at the Belgrade University, had been recognized by a pro-government everyday Vecernje Novosti as protest leaders paid by Croatia's secret service. Their passports, pictures and personal information had actually been published in the everyday. However Lazar and Luka did not get frightened and continued with protests. They were amongst protesters in front of the RTS on Friday. Corruption went into every single layer of our society and it is the primary reason for roof collapse and killing of 15 people, Luka Stojakovic stated, discussing why they object. The primary problem is there is no system here, one guy makes all decisions, Lazar Stojakovic said. The trainees blame the judgment Serbian Progressive Celebration ( SNS) of President Aleksandar Vucic for corruption and nepotism, which he and the party reject. Trainees at state universities in Belgrade, Kragujevac and Nis have been blockading classes for weeks to require the release of all files relevant to the remodelling of the station, as well as prosecution of authorities responsible for the disaster. Every day they obstruct traffic in front of their professors for 15 minutes to celebrate the 15 victims. The concrete awning of the recently refurbished roof of Novi Sad station caved in on Nov. 1, eliminating 14 and injuring three. Among the hurt died later.
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Wall St climbs on financial optimism, awaits Trump policies
U.S. stocks rallied on Friday on optimism over the health of the economy and path of interest rates as investors braced for a. multitude of policy modifications under the inbound Trump administration. The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials were poised for their. greatest weekly portion gains because late November and the. Nasdaq fared its best because early December. Information this week. eased fears that inflation would resurge while expectations. have actually grown that the Federal Reserve will bump up the timing and. magnitude of rate walkings this year. The Commerce Department reported on Friday that U.S. single-family homebuilding rose to a 10-month high although demand will likely be curbed by. rising home mortgage rates and an oversupply of new residential or commercial properties. A different report revealed a rise in production. output last month. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated on. Monday, when U.S. markets will be closed for the Martin Luther. King Jr. Day vacation. Unpredictability over the potential for a few of Trump's. policies such as tariffs to rekindle increasing inflation pressures. and slow the course of Fed rate cuts has actually weighed on equities in. current weeks. A solid start to the corporate earnings season with. results from lots of big banks has also buoyed stocks, with the S&P. 500 bank index up almost 7% on the week. More powerful growth, feeding into much better business. profits, you're type of leaving to a start to the year here. that there's lots of concerns both in terms of financial and. financial policy and what the Trump agenda will look like, or. what shape it will take, said Jim Baird, chief financial investment. officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Southfield,. Michigan. Regardless of all those concerns, we're beginning the year on. a reasonably better footing than we have actually been on maybe in the. last couple of years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 397.40. points, or 0.92%, to 43,550.93, the S&P 500 climbed 68.27. points, or 1.15%, to 6,005.61 and the Nasdaq Composite. gotten 319.95 points, or 1.65%, at 19,658.24. The benchmark U.S. 10-year note yield edged up. 0.1 basis indicate 4.607%, however has actually alleviated off a 14-month high of. 4.809% hit previously today. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack stated inflation stays an issue, as current information has indicated a resistant. economy. Nevertheless, Fed Governor Christopher Waller suggested on Thursday the central bank might cut rates faster and. faster than expected as inflation is likely to continue to relieve. The Fed is widely expected to keep rates consistent at its. policy conference later on this month, with the markets pricing in a. greater than 50% possibility for a cut of a minimum of 25 basis points. up until June, LSEG data showed. 10 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors increased, led by a gain of. more than 2% in consumer discretionary stocks, while. healthcare, down 0.26%, was the sole decliner. Nvidia gained 3.2% and Broadcom rose. 3.6% after Barclays raised its cost targets on the stocks,. assisting to boost the PHLX semiconductor index by 2.8%. In addition, Intel rose 8.6% on speculation of a takeover and Qorvo soared 13.5% after. activist investor Starboard Value divulged a 7.7% stake in the chipmaker. Shares of social media firms such as Meta had actually a. muted response after the Supreme Court ruled versus TikTok's. obstacle to a law that would force its app's sale or restriction in the. United States. Meta shares edged up 0.4% while Snap. lost 2.5%. Advancing problems outnumbered decliners by 2.32-to-1 on. the NYSE and by 1.76-to-1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and no brand-new lows,. while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 brand-new highs and 61 new. lows.
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Colonial Pipeline reboots main gasoline artery after repairing leak in Georgia
Colonial Pipeline rebooted its primary fuel artery, which provides fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to East Coast markets, on Friday after it was shut previously this week due to a leak in Paulding County, Georgia. Colonial Pipeline securely completed repairs Friday morning on our gas pipeline, Line 1, in Paulding County, Ga., and returned the line to service, the company said in a declaration. Line 1, one of 2 mainlines on the more than 5,500 mile Colonial Pipeline system, was shut on Monday night after the company received reports of a leak. The pipeline provides some 1.5 million barrels of gasoline every day from Houston, Texas, to storage tanks in Greensboro, North Carolina, from where the motor fuel is distributed in your area or shipped to other markets all the way as much as the New York Harbor. Market disturbances from the blackout were very little, although supply had actually tightened in some areas, U.S. fuel distributor Mansfield informed customers previously on Friday. U.S. fuel futures costs eased about 0.1% to $ 2.12 per gallon by 12:56 a.m. EST. It will take the lion's share of next week to get terminals fully caught up after missing the bulk of 4 days' worth of batches, fuel distributor TACenergy stated. However, demand is likewise likely to slow as fuel terminals that had filled up just in case will now have extra stock to clear, TACenergy included. Colonial said that website work, consisting of remediation efforts, will continue in Paulding County in coordination with state and regional firms. The business did not provide information on how the line was harmed, or the quantity of fuel that was launched.
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Automaker group submits suit to block US automatic emergency situation braking guideline
A group representing major automakers stated on Friday it filed a claim to obstruct a. landmark rule from the administration of President Joe Biden. requiring nearly all brand-new cars and trucks and trucks by 2029 to have. innovative automated emergency situation braking systems. The Alliance for Automotive Development, representing General. Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and. other automakers, said the guideline settled in April by the. National Highway Traffic Security Administration is almost. difficult with offered technology. The group asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District. of Columbia to overturn the rule. NHTSA declined to comment. The alliance stated the requirement that cars and trucks must. be able to stop and avoid striking lorries in front of them at. approximately 62 miles per hour (100 kph) is impractical, and it. unsuccessfully asked NHTSA in 2015 to reconsider the guideline. The new security guideline is among the most far-reaching U.S. auto-safety regulations in recent years. NHTSA stated in April the. rule will conserve at least 360 lives yearly and prevent a minimum of. 24,000 injuries as traffic deaths surged after the pandemic. Alliance CEO John Bozzella called the decision wrong on the. benefits. Wrong on the science. Truly a disastrous choice. Bozzella wrote in November to President-elect Donald Trump,. prompting him to reevaluate the policy. Congress directed NHTSA in the 2021 infrastructure law to. establish minimum-performance standards for automatic emergency. braking systems, which use sensors such as cams and radar to. discover when a car is close to crashing and after that. instantly apply brakes if the chauffeur has not done so. In 2016, 20 car manufacturers willingly accepted make automated. emergency situation braking requirement on almost all U.S. automobiles by 2022. By late 2023, all 20 had actually equipped at least 95% of automobiles with. AEB, but critics say there is no other way to make sure effectiveness. without federal government guidelines. NHTSA in May 2023 proposed needing lorries to comply in. three years, however automakers are now getting five years.
Russian fuel exports will fall by 2024 due to drone attacks and bans adding pressure
Sources in the industry said that Russian exports of oil products by sea fell by almost 10 percent in 2024, after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged refineries. Higher funding costs as well as a government ban on gasoline exports added to the pressure from Western sanctions.
Since the West imposed sanctions in 2022 over Moscow's military action in Ukraine, Russia has tried to access new markets, particularly in Asia and South America.
Russia's oil companies have to increase crude exports to maintain revenue due to lower fuel exports. However, this option is limited to India, China, and Turkey who still purchase Russian crude despite the sanctions and own their large refineries.
Two market sources, citing data, said that total Russian fuel exports, including jet kerosene, diesel, fuel oil and naphtha, were 113.7 million tons in 2018. This is a 9.1% drop from 2023.
If the crude oil conversion rate of 7.33 barrels to tons is used, then 2024's export figure will be approximately 2.3 millions barrels per day. It was unknown the exact breakdown of all products, which each use a different conversion rate.
Calculations based on market data showed that Russia's total oil processing dropped to 267 million tons (5.4 millions bpd), its lowest level since 2012. This was due to unplanned downtimes and lower refining margins.
DRONE ATTACKS
Ukraine has attacked several Russian fuel and refinery facilities. These include Lukoil’s Volgograd refinery and Gazprom’s Omsk oil refining facility in western Siberia. Also, Slavyansk, Novoshakhtinsk, and Rosneft’s Black Sea oil and refinery at Tuapse.
Market sources also said that the refineries were under pressure from falling fuel prices, increasing interest rates, and Russia's ban of gasoline exports.
Data showed that the total oil exports through the Baltic ports Primorsk Vysotsk St. Petersburg Ust-Luga dropped by 9% from the previous years to 61.96 millions tons in 2024.
Fuel exports through Russia's Black Sea port and Azov Sea port fell by 10% to 42.75 millions tons.
Market sources said that exports through the Russian Black Sea Port of Tuapse dropped by a third, to 9,1 million tons, due to disruptions after drone attacks and suspensions in processing at Rosneft’s refinery.
Data showed that exports via the Black Sea port Novorossiisk increased by 4%, to 19 million tonnes.
Fuel exports from Far East ports dropped 3% since 2023, to 7.97 millions tons.
Sources and calculations revealed that Russia's seaborne exports of oil products rose 10.8% on a month-to-month basis in December, to 10.37 millions tons. This included 4.17 million tonnes loaded through Black Sea and Azov Sea port, 5.49million tons via Baltic Sea ports and 637,000 tons via Russias Far East. (Reporting and Editing by Alexander Smith).
(source: Reuters)