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Las tendencias de Facebook se consideran altamente influyentes entre sus miles de millones de seguidores.

Las tendencias o trending topics tienen a Facebook navegando aguas profundas y un tanto turbulentas.

La red social negó las acusaciones de que lo que muestra como tendencia a miles de millones de usuarios obedece a ciertos criterios políticos.

Y en concreto, rechazó la versión según la cual no da visibilidad a historias con puntos de vista conservadores.

El jefe de búsqueda de la red, Tom Stocky, dijo en una entrada en su página que no hay ninguna evidencia de que esas acusaciones “sean ciertas”.

La historia se produce unas semanas después de que el fundador de Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, denunciara públicamente las políticas del precandidato presidencial del Partido Republicano, Donald Trump.

Y aunque ese punto de vista, según la empresa, no tiene influencia en la selección de historias que aparecen como tendencia, deja al descubierto lo que quizás muchos no saben: cuál es la participación humana en lo que pudiera parecer el resultado objetivo de una simple operación matemática.

Qué son

Quienes acceden a la red social en ciertos países de habla inglesa encuentran en la esquina superior derecha una caja que muestra varios términos que están en boca de muchos.

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Estas noticias eran tendencia en Reino Unido este martes 10 de mayo.

Es un modelo que Facebook introdujo en 2014 emulando, hasta cierto punto, el concepto de los trending topics de Twitter.

Contrario a lo que pudiera pensarse, para ser tendencia no basta con ser mencionado muchas veces.

“Las tendencias muestran una lista de temas y hashtags que recientemente han ganado mucha popularidad en Facebook. La lista es personalizada, sobre la base de un número de factores, incluidas las páginas a las que le has dado ‘me gusta’, tu ubicación y qué es tendencia en Facebook en general”, explica la página de Preguntas Frecuentes de la red.

Ahora bien, no menciona cómo se efectúa esa selección en la práctica. Y si Twitter ha sido alguna vez cuestionado por una elección de tópicos supuestamente parcializada, ahora es el turno de Facebook.

Y cómo se escogen

Todo comenzó con la publicación de una historia en la página especializada en tecnología Gizmodo.

“Los trabajadores de Facebook suprimen noticias de interés para lectores conservadores de la influyente sección de tendencias noticiosas en forma rutinaria, según un experiodista que trabajó en el proyecto”, reseña la nota.

Un momento: ¿”trabajadores” de Facebook suprimen o destacan noticias?

En efecto, en su respuesta a la acusación, Facebook explicó que esa la lista no la elabora un complejo algoritmo sino que la editan seres humanos. Esto tiene el objeto de evitar tópicos recurrentes, como “almuerzo”.

“Las tendencias están diseñadas para mostrar la conversación que está teniendo lugar en Facebook“, dijo el portavoz Tom Stocky.

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Tom Stocky (primero a la izquierda, junto al ingeniero Lars Rasmussen y Mark Zuckerberg en un evento en 2013) aseguró que hay lineamientos muy estrictos para mantener neutral la selección de lo que es tendencia.

“Los tópicos populares primero son señalados por un algoritmo, luego auditados y revisados por un equipo de personas que confirman que los tópicos son, de hecho, noticia en el mundo real y no, por ejemplo, tópicos que suenan parecido o una palabra inapropiada”.

De acuerdo con Gizmodo, un “pequeño grupo de jóvenes periodistas, educados fundamentalmente en universidades de la Ivy League o privadas de la Costa Este” están a cargo de ese trabajo de revisión y curaduría.

“Los curadores escriben los titulares y los sumarios de cada tópico e incluyen vínculos a los sitios de noticias”.

Sala de prensa tradicional

En ese sentido, sostiene la publicación, “la sección de noticias de Facebook funciona como una redacción de prensa tradicional, reflejando los prejuicios de sus trabajadores y los imperativos institucionales de la corporación”.

Y para apoyar este punto de vista, cita a varios excuradores, que colaboraron con la publicación bajo condición de anonimato.

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Facebook asegura que las opiniiones de su fundador no determinan lo que aparece como tendencia.

Stocky no entró en los detalles operacionales, pero aseguró que la compañía tiene “lineamientos muy estrictos” a los que los curadores deben atenerse cuando “auditan los tópicos que surgen del algoritmo”.

“Facebook no permite ni le pide a su revisores que discriminen sistemáticamente fuentes de cierto origen ideológico y hemos diseñado nuestras herramientas para hacer que eso no sea posible“, añadió.

“Al mismo tiempo, las acciones de nuestros revisores son registradas y chequeadas, y violar nuestros lineamientos es algo que se pena con la posibilidad de un despido”.

Source Article from http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2016/05/160510_tecnologia_como_funcionan_tendencias_facebook_yv

 El ciclista colombiano se impuso en la mítica Milán-Turín y después dio una entrevista que se volvió viral.

Pasión Ciclismo on Twitter

“Estoy muy feliz, es una buena victoria para mí y mi equipo. Mi táctica fue todo el equipo junto trabajando para mí. Conocía la subida que era muy difícil, esperé, esperé y traté de atacar una vez y mi condición es muy buena. Era una subida muy y había grandes corredores en esta carrera, viene Lombardía (sábado) pero mi condición es muy buena. Para mí cada día es una buena temporada, gane o no gane para mí es lo mismo, lo más importante es disfrutar cada día entrenando y corriendo”, fueron las palabras de Rigoberto Urán en la entrevista, tras ganar la carrera más antigua del calendario europeo.

Algunos aficionados se pronunciaron tras la entrevista en inglés del colombiano. 

Francoise Rachez on Twitter

ypareja on Twitter

Iván Mora on Twitter

 

Source Article from https://noticias.caracoltv.com/deportes/ciclismo/lo-volvio-hacer-rigoberto-uran-la-saco-del-estadio-hablando-en-ingles

El diario británico “The Times” anunció que dejará de publicar noticias en tiempo real en su página web y aplicaciones para móviles y pasará a actualizar sus contenidos tres veces al día entre semana y en dos ocasiones los fines de semana.

En una carta abierta a los lectores, el director del diario, John Witherow, y el responsable de la edición dominical “The Sunday Times”, Martin Ivens, explican que el objetivo de la medida es ofrecer “artículos fiables y en profundidad, análisis actualizado y opiniones estimulantes”.

La dirección, que puso en marcha el proceso para rediseñar el diario hace 18 meses, quiere “dotar de sentido al torrente de últimas noticias” con los que “bombardean” a los lectores los medios digitales.

“Por ese motivo, desde hoy vamos a actualizar nuestra edición digital diaria en tres momentos fijos -a las nueve de la mañana, al mediodía y a las cinco de la tarde, entre semana, así como al mediodía y a las seis de la tarde los fines de semana”, informaron ambos directores.

“Por supuesto, si se produce una gran noticia, actualizaremos de forma inmediata”, puntualizan.

Según la dirección de “The Times”, cuyos contenidos digitales se encuentran detrás de un muro de pago, los cambios “están basados en una investigación exhaustiva” sobre los hábitos de los lectores.

El diario británico comenzó a cobrar en julio de 2010 a los usuarios de su página web, que cuenta con 152.000 suscriptores, según datos de noviembre de 2015.  

Source Article from http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/techbit/2016/03/31/la-web-de-times-deja-de-publicar-noticias-en-tiempo-real

São Paulo – The Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and the Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe) are establishing this week the Edward Said Chair of Post-Colonial Studies of the Unifesp. The launching ceremony will be on Tuesday (22nd) and Wednesday (23rd).

Press release

Said was also a musician

 “The chair is a way to gather people from different disciplines to study the topic,” explains Soraya Smaili, dean of Unifesp. According to her, the post-colonialism studies involve many disciplines and the chair, associated to the university, will involve professors, researchers and students from different courses in the post-graduate program of the university.

According to the dean, the theme of the chair is closely linked to the work done by Edward Said. The Palestinian intellectual, says Smaili, was also known as “king of post-colonialism.” Said died in September 2003. “He described exile and alterity,” points out the professor. She explains that gender issues, such as the ones involving women’s role and its anthropologic context are influenced by post-colonialism, as are the issues related to displacement and refugees.

The chair will initially involve the delivery of seminars and later on, research projects, courses and a specialization program. From the start, the chair will involve professor from different areas of Unifesp, such as Philosophy, History, Art History, Social Sciences, Political Science, Foreign Affairs, Economy, Social Service and Languages.

Smaili also highlights that the chair’s studies will include the history of the Arab world. “The Arab world is a product of post-colonialism,” she points out. According to the dean, the participation of the Icarabe will enable the Unifesp’s chair studies to be taken closer to society. The launching event is also part of the 10-year anniversary celebration of Icarabe.

Launching

The launching of the Edward Said Chair will start on Tuesday (22nd) with the screening of the movie Knowledge is the Beginning, which tells the story of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, created by Said in a partnership with Argentinian Jewish musician Daniel Baremboim. After the screening, there will be a roundtable with the participation of Mariam Said, the Palestinian intellectual’s widow.

“She will speak about Said’s life and the steps which were important in the creation of the orchestra. Afterwards, we will sign the decree for the launching of the chair and she will receive homage,” reveals Smaili. The dean also says that Mariam will follow  up on the workings of the chair, and, in the future, there are plans to bring the orchestra to perform in Brazil.

The second day of the launching will be Wednesday. One of the highlights is the lecture of Argentinian professor Saad Chedid, director of the Palestinian Studies Chair at the University of Buenos Aires.

Smaili also reveals that she plans to expand the operations of the chair. “The idea is that, in a second phase, we will be able to invite researchers from other universities,” she adds.

Service
Launching of the Edward Said Chair of Post-Colonial Studies

July 22nd
Edward Said: A contemporary author
2pm – Screening of the film “Knowledge is the Beginning”
4pm – Solo of Arab music presentation and homage to Edward Said and his multicultural legacy
4.45pm – Table 1: Edward Said : legacy of a contemporary author
Lecturer: Mariam Said – President of the Barenboim-Said Foundation
Debater : Milton Hatoum
Mediator: Francisco Miraglia
Place: Amphitheater – Rectory Building – Rua Sena Madureira, 1500 – Ground floor

July 23rd
Edward Said: Post-colonial studies
4pm – Table 2: Post-colonial studies: a chair for the Brazilian University
Lecturer: Saad Chedid and José Arbex Jr.
Mediator: Geraldo Campos
Place: Amphitheater – Rectory Building – Rua Sena Madureira, 1500 – Ground floor

*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça

Source Article from http://www2.anba.com.br/noticia/21864352/education/unifesp-and-icarabe-establish-edward-said-chair/

The discovery of two hate-filled Facebook groups for former and active Border Patrol agents leaves US Customs and Border Patrol with only one choice: It’s time to clean house. And conservatives should be leading the calls for change.

On a Facebook page with 9,500 members called “I’m 10-15” (a reference to the Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody”), members posted racist, sexist and xenophobic comments and memes. They joked about the deaths of migrants and children being carried through the Rio Grande in trash bags.

A member posted a sexually explicit, Photoshopped image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with the caption: “Lucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special, Starring AOC.” One member shared the photo of the drowned bodies of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, musing whether the picture could been faked and asking: “Have y’all ever seen floaters this clean?”

Similar posts were found on a second Facebook page called “The Real CBP Nation,” including a meme of a border agent with a man against the hood of his car and the caption: “Feelin kinda cute. Might separate some families today.”

The news site ProPublica, which first blew the lid off the secret groups, was able to connect certain participants to Facebook profiles that appeared to belong to real CBP agents. The bigoted, dehumanizing language used by these agents is even more stomach-turning in the face of increased reports of neglect and mistreatment of migrants at the border after a group of lawyers visited a facility in Clint, Texas.

Agents punished lice-infected children for losing a shared comb by forcing them to sleep on the floor without mattresses or blankets, according to The New Yorker. The New York Times reported that “children as young as 7 and 8, many of them wearing clothes caked with snot and tears, are caring for infants they’ve just met.” The lawyers claimed that children were denied showers, clean clothes, toothbrushes and soap.

The rhetoric on the Facebook pages gives credence to these accounts and ammunition to critics of the Trump administration’s handling of the border crisis. After all, it’s much easier to believe stories of hostile and vindictive agents at the border when agents on Facebook seem to be confirming that they see migrants as less-than-human.

If this is how they speak about the people under their care online, how do they treat them in person?

Top Department of Homeland Security officials condemned the posts and promised to open an investigation into the Facebook group. Border Patrol chief Carla Provost promised that “any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”

But according to a report by Politico, officials at CBP have known about the Facebook page for years. Indeed, concerned agents reported bad behavior on the group in 2016. A former DHS agent told Politico that CBP staffers would monitor the page to see “what people are talking about.” So if the agency knew, why didn’t it crack down years ago?

If Provost understands how serious the situation is, and how bad this looks for CBP, she won’t just hold an investigation behind closed doors and quietly get rid of a few of the worst offenders. With reports of abuse flooding in and public trust in the professionalism of Border Patrol agents disappearing altogether, the CBP needs to make it clear that bigotry and abuse won’t be tolerated.

Institutions build culture from the top down. Kicking out the bad eggs dense enough to reveal their disdain for migrants online won’t repair a broken institutional culture. If racists who could have a tendency to abuse migrants are slipping through the cracks, the entire system of how agents are vetted needs to be changed. People at the top should be held accountable.

Conservatives, who emphasize the inherent, God-given dignity of every person, should be especially outraged. As should immigration restrictionists, who shouldn’t want their cause to be conflated with racist abuse. It’s possible to be tough-minded on immigration — and humane.

Twitter: @BKERogers

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2019/07/07/border-patrol-bigotry-is-a-crisis-all-its-own/

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., answers questions during a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. The House is expected to vote on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress.

Win McNamee/Getty Images


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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., answers questions during a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. The House is expected to vote on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

The executive branch and the legislative branch are deadlocked. The House could vote soon about whether to hold the attorney general — and maybe others — in contempt of Congress.

What does that mean? How did this happen? What could happen next?

Here’s what you need to know:

What’s behind it all?

Information. Democrats who control the House of Representatives want it. The Republican administration of President Trump doesn’t want to give it up.

What do members of Congress want?

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., wants the full, unredacted report of special counsel Robert Mueller. The Justice Department says it can’t comply under federal regulations.

Nadler also wants Mueller himself to testify, as well as documents from former White House counsel Don McGahn — and, potentially for McGahn or others to testify, too.

The White House says McGahn cannot give up the documents the Judiciary Committee has requested, and McGahn’s lawyer says he’s not going to do anything until this dispute is resolved.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal, D-Mass., wants Trump’s tax returns. The Treasury Department won’t provide them. So Neal issued subpoenas on Friday to try to compel their release.

The leaders of the House intelligence and the House financial services committees want financial records about Trump’s business dealings from some of his creditors, Deutsche Bank and Capital One. Trump and his family are suing those banks, seeking to block them from complying.

There could be other requests for documents or testimony — and Trump has made clear they’ll likely be challenged by the administration.

Why does Congress want all this?

Lawmakers say they have a duty under the Constitution to conduct oversight of the administration, and there are many lingering questions about the president, even after the conclusion of the Mueller investigation.

What is contained in the redacted portions of Mueller’s report? Is Trump subject to coercion based on his finances? Did Trump and his family break any laws in the conduct of their business?

The president’s decision not to release his tax returns, as all his recent predecessors have done, suggest to critics that he may be hiding something.

The account of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, also led opponents to believe there may be evidence of wrongdoing.

Cohen told members of Congress earlier this year that Trump routinely inflated the real value of his assets in order to qualify for bank loans or misrepresent his apparent wealth — and also that Trump deflated the value of property he reported to authorities in order to pay less taxes.

Financial records from Trump’s creditors, evidence from his tax records or now-secret findings by Mueller all could reveal more — and Democrats are eager for as much political ammunition as they can fire.

Why won’t the administration comply?

Trump calls all this “presidential harassment.”

Democrats didn’t get what they wanted from Mueller’s investigation, he argues, and so they’re desperate to scrape together whatever else they can.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the House leaders want to distract from the good news Trump continues to deliver about the economy and drag out the Russia investigation.

Administration officials also say they have the law on their side.

Attorney General William Barr argues that he’s prohibited from revealing the grand jury material in the Mueller report to anyone, including members of Congress, because of the vital principle that the workings of a grand jury must be secret.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and others argue that Congress’ power of oversight under the Constitution doesn’t amount to a license to snoop into the affairs of private Americans for no reason — as he says lawmakers are doing with Trump’s taxes.

The request, he said, does not have a “legitimate legislative purpose.”

Also, there is a longstanding practice that enables an administration to shield some of its workings form the public under “executive privilege,” the doctrine that emphasizes the importance of those within government being able to confer among themselves confidentially.

Barr argued that privilege is what protects the underlying material from the Mueller report and White House counsel Pat Cipollone argued it means McGahn’s notes are beyond the reach of the Judiciary Committee.

Mueller’s report describes Trump asking McGahn to fire Mueller — which McGahn didn’t agree to do — and then Trump asking McGahn later to lie about the earlier request. Democrats want to reveal more about those incidents.

What’s going to happen next?

The Judiciary Committee has voted to recommend that the full House find Barr in contempt.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hasn’t said when the chamber may take that vote, but it could happen later this month — and it could include more subjects than just the attorney general.

Mnuchin, McGahn or others also could find themselves in contempt of Congress, depending on the way this dispute runs.

The Justice Department argues that Barr can’t be in contempt because he continued negotiating with Nadler’s committee to try to reach an accommodation about Mueller’s material.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee made the same point — and ranking member Doug Collins of Georgia also observed how much more time had elapsed before Congress held then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt in 2012.

Democrats are just speeding ahead for the sake of a rabble-rousing political scrap, he said — not with any real interest in negotiating. When these cases go to court, a judge could decide as much, Collins said, and rule against the Congress.

Will there be court battles?

Oh yes — and they likely will be where these disputes ultimately are resolved. Members of Congress could ask a judge to order the administration to comply with their wishes; administration lawyers would ask to stand by their earlier positions.

It’ll take awhile, though. Holder’s case was still active until a settlement last week.

The time issue is part of the political strategy for both sides. Democrats want to strike while the iron is hot and keep their investigations into Trump in the headlines ahead of next year’s election.

Trump and Republicans know that a court fight will take years, especially one involving big Constitutional questions about the powers of co-equal branches of government. Meanwhile, much the material in question likely will remain under wraps.

At least one dispute could be resolved before next year’s election — a federal judge in Washington, D.C., said Thursday that he wanted to expedite the dispute over Trump’s records from an accounting firm.

Is this a “Constitutional crisis”?

Some Democrats are calling it that; others call it a “Constitutional confrontation.”

A truly unprecedented impasse might open if a judge were to order the administration to give Congress material under dispute and it refused. In past showdowns like this one, court have usually resolved them one way or another.

There is always tension between Congress and the executive branch, even at times when those on either side belong to the same party.

That push-and-pull relationship is built into the Constitution and it often becomes exacerbated when one party controls the White House and another controls one or both chambers of Congress, as now.

Democrats battled the administration of President George W. Bush when Pelosi was last the speaker. Republicans in Congress voted Holder in contempt over a gun investigation scandal and spent months pursuing the administration of President Barack Obama over the Benghazi attack.

Each time, each side accused the other of doing what Republicans and Democrats are accusing the others of doing now: disregarding the other’s powers and responsibilities under the Constitution in an attempt to win in the political arena.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/05/11/722106580/congress-showdown-with-the-executive-branch-here-s-what-you-need-to-know

via press release:

NOTICIAS  TELEMUNDO  PRESENTS:

“MURIENDO POR CRUZAR,” AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCREASING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANT DEATHS ALONG THE BORDER, THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 AT 6 P.M./5 C

Carmen Dominicci and Neida Sandoval present the Telemundo and The Weather Channel co-production

Miami – July 31, 2014 – Telemundo presents “Muriendo por Cruzar”, a documentary that investigates why increasing numbers of immigrants are dying while trying to cross the US-Mexican border near the city of Falfurrias, Texas, this Sunday, August 3 at 6PM/5 C.  The Telemundo and The Weather Channel co-production, presented by Noticias Telemundo journalists Carmen Dominicci and Neida Sandoval, reveals the obstacles immigrants face once they cross into US territory, including extreme weather conditions, as they try to evade the border patrol.  “Muriendo por Cruzar” is part of Noticias Telemundo’s special coverage of the crisis on the border and immigration reform.

 

“‘Muriendo por Cruzar’” dares to ask questions that reveal the actual conditions undocumented immigrants face as they try to start a new life in the United States,” said Alina Falcón, Telemundo’s Executive Vice President for News and Alternative Programming.  “Our collaboration with The Weather Channel was very productive. They have a unique expertise in covering the impact of weather on people’s lives, as we do in covering immigration reform and the border crisis. The result is a compelling documentary that exposes a harrowing reality.”

“Muriendo por Cruzar” is the first co-production by Telemundo and The Weather Channel.  Both networks are part of NBCUniversal.

Source Article from http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/07/31/noticias-telemundo-presents-muriendo-por-cruzar-this-sunday-august-3-at-6pm/289119/

En varios estados de Venezuela se llevarán a cabo homenajes al líder juvenil y diputado por el Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), Robert Serra, y su compañera María Herrera, asesinados la noche de este miércoles en Caracas (capital).

Los actos incluyeron un reconocimiento a su trabajo como líderes revolucionarios en la Sala Plenaria de Parque Central y en el Cuartel de la Montaña (Caracas), en la parroquia 23 de Enero, donde descansa el Comandante Hugo Chávez.

Otras eventos se realizaron en el estado Sucre (oriente), Carabobo (centro), y Zulia (occidente).

En Sucre las actividades se realizaron en la Plaza Miranda de Cumaná y fue presidida por representantes de la Juventud del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (JPSUV), quienes destacaron el carácter revolucionario de Serra, quien logró convertirse en el diputado más joven de la historia venezolana.

En Carabobo, el homenaje se realizó en el Centro Comunal Comunitario Alexander Núñez, de Valencia.

Por su parte, los militantes de la JPSUV en Zulia se congregaron en la Plaza Bolívar de Maracaibo, en horas de la tarde.

Robert Serra fue asesinado con un objeto corto punzante la noche del pasado miércoles a sus 27 años de edad. Según información del ministro de Interior, Justicia y Paz, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, el homicidio fue intencional y premeditado. Junto a Serra, también fue asesinada su compañera María Herrera, militante revolucionaria.

El presidente Nicolás Maduro aseguró este viernes que las investigaciones sobre el asesinato del diputado Robert Serra apuntan que los autores intelectuales están vinculados al expresidente colombiano Álvaro Uribe, cuya relación con el paramilitarismo ha sido denunciada en reiteradas ocasiones por el Ejecutivo venezolano.

Source Article from http://www.telesurtv.net/news/Venezuela-rindio-homenaje-a-Robert-Serra–20141004-0039.html

La Secretaría de Inteligencia, a través de su titular Oscar Parrilli y el subsecretario Martín Mena, solicitó una medida cautelar para impedir que la revista Noticias siga publicando nombres de espías e información que según la Ley de Inteligencia Nacional sería secreta porque “compromete la seguridad nacional”.

Según confirmaron fuentes judiciales a la agencia oficial de noticias Télam, en el escrito presentado este mediodía se aclara, citando jurisprudencia de la Corte Suprema, que la denuncia no afecta a la libertad de expresión de la revista propiedad de la Editorial Perfil, dado que se trata de un delito en curso por la publicación, en la última edición de Noticias, de una nómina de 138 supuestos agentes de Inteligencia que habrían ingresado recientemente al organismo. En esa lista, figuraban varios allegados a funcionarios públicos y simpatizantes de la Cámpora.

La denuncia involucra al dueño de editorial Perfil, Jorge Fontevecchia; al editor de la revista, Edi Zunino, y al periodista Rodis Recalt.

La presentación de Parrilli no ahorra críticas al medio: “La línea editorial del medio gráfico involucrado, anterior y posterior a la publicación de la noticia que motiva esta denuncia, evidencia un deliberado desprecio hacia la norma infringida“, dice. Y también que “es llamativa la preocupación que ha despertado en cierto sector del periodismo, del que los denunciados forman parte, la incipiente evolución de la inteligencia nacional hacia paradigmas más transparentes y democráticos”.

En la medida cautelar el Gobierno solicita que los denunciados se abstengan de “realizar publicaciones que impliquen la continuidad del delito atribuido”, y “abstenerse de revelar información a la que de cualquier forma pudieran haber accedido y cuya divulgación infrinja la Ley de Inteligencia”.

Source Article from http://www.clarin.com/politica/Oscar_Parrilli-cautelar-Noticias-espias-publicar-informacion-secreta_0_1323468079.html

President Trump vowed to fight against the opioid epidemic and took credit for recent progress combating the public health emergency at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta on Wednesday.

“Everyone here today is united by the same vital goal, to liberate our fellow Americans from the grip of drug addiction and to end the opioid crisis once and for all,” the president said.

“My administration is deploying every resource at our disposal to empower you to support you, and to fight right by your side. That’s what we are doing. We will not solve this epidemic overnight, but we will stop — nothing is going to stop us,” Trump said.

Combating the opioid epidemic has been a top domestic policy prioity for the administration and a focus of the first lady’s Be Best campaign that has found widespread, bipartisan support. The Trump administration secured $6 billion in new funding over the next two years to combat opioid abuse. Earlier this month, HHS announced a $350 million plan to reduce opioid deaths by 40 percent in three years in certain communities.

Earlier Wednesday, speaking from the South Lawn, the president also claimed credit for progress combating the epidemic.

“It’s a big problem, it’s a big addiction, and we’re handling it,” Trump said. “The doctors are working with us, the labs are working, the clinics are working, the pharmaceutical companies are working with us, and we’ve made a tremendous amount of progress.”

Despite the president’s claims of progress, the statistics surrounding the epidemic remain staggering: On average, 130 Americans die each day from opioid overdose and opioids were involved in 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017 (67.8% of all drug overdose deaths), per the Centers for Disease Control.

The president also claimed — without providing specifics — that the problem is down “17 percent from last year.”

White House spokesperson Judd Deere clarified the president’s statement and noted that since President Trump took office, “the total number of opioid prescriptions dispensed monthly (by retail and mail-order pharmacies) has declined by at least 17%.”

Before speaking in Atlanta, the president was introduced by the first lady, who referenced the work she has done with her Be Best campaign.

“I have seen firsthand both the medical and personal results of this crisis. I have visited hospitals and treatment centers around the country. I have met with doctors, nurses, mothers, and children,” the first lady said. “We will continue to raise awareness of the dangers of opioids to unborn babies. We are also committed to supporting more treatment facilities that have both bond of addiction with the bond of love between a mother and her child.”

“My husband is here today because he cares deeply about what you are doing to help the millions of Americans affected by the opioid epidemic.”

The president also veered off script during his remarks, and claimed that he was victim of a rigged system when talking about foreign pharmaceutical company drug pricing.

“At long last we’re stopping the drug companies in foreign countries from rigging the system,” Trump said. “I know all about the rigging the system because I had the system rigged on me.”

He also touted the work of drug-sniffing dogs like German Shepherds who work alongside CBP officers at the border.

“Dogs do a better job than four hundred million dollars worth of equipment,” Trump said. “We have a lot of dogs and they’re great dogs and we cherish them.”

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-takes-credit-progress-combating-opioid-crisis/story?id=62604618

A 12-year-old in Texas has been charged with capital murder after allegedly breaking into the home of a professional boxer and killing him. The boy could face a maximum of 40 years if convicted, a sentence that juvenile justice advocates are hoping he can avoid.

Boxer John Duane VanMeter, 24, was killed in his home on Wednesday evening, according to Uvalde, Texas, police, who said a woman in the house called 911 to report someone had broken in and shot her boyfriend.

Witnesses told NBC affiliate News 4 San Antonio that a male was seen running from the residence dressed in black, with a black bandana covering part of his face, before he was transported to Jourdanton Juvenile Detention Center.

Police did not identify the suspect. Numerous legal experts told NBC News they believe he is one of the youngest people to be charged with capital murder, the most serious type of felony.

The capital murder charge differs from first-degree murder in that it typically involves a special circumstance, such as a kidnapping, or the murder of a firefighter or police officer who is on duty.

In the Uvalde boy’s case, prosecutors likely considered the robbery component to be the special circumstance, said Mandy Miller, a Houston-area attorney who represents several juveniles who were convicted of capital murder years ago and are trying to get their sentences reduced.

“It’s a common practice for district attorney’s offices to charge as high as they believe they can possibly make it and work their way down,” Miller, who is not involved in the Uvalde case, said. “This case is obviously going to be complicated.”

In states such as Texas that have the death penalty, crimes by adults charged with capital murder are punishable by death. But a Supreme Court case from 2005 banned capital punishment for juveniles in the United States.

Jason Chein, a psychology professor at Temple University who has studied adolescent brain development and decision-making, said that ruling was one of several important acknowledgments from the Supreme Court of the biological differences between juvenile and adult brains.

“Impulse control is something that we see continuing to develop at least into mid- to late adolescence. You’re going to see improvements in impulse control even up to 16 years old. That’s when it starts to level off and look like that of an adult,” he said.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/12-year-old-charged-capital-murder-spotlights-justice-system-ill-n962886

Image copyright
Getty Images

Image caption

The US has accused Oleg Deripaska of operating for the Russian government

The Trump administration has lifted sanctions on three firms linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, an ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Curbs on aluminium giant US Rusal, En+ Group and JSC EuroSibEnergo were lifted after Mr Deripaska ceded control.

The oligarch has been linked to the probe into alleged Russian interference in US elections, and Democrats wanted the sanctions to continue.

But the Treasury Department said curbs on oligarch himself remained in force.

The companies were blacklisted last April when the Trump administration targeted people and businesses it said had profited from a Russian state engaged in “malign activities” around the world.

That included Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, as well as international cyber attacks.

But earlier this month, Republicans in the US Senate blocked an effort to continue the sanctions against Rusal, the world’s second largest aluminium firm and other Deripaska-linked firms.

They and the Trump administration argued the curbs could have an impact on the global aluminium industry. They also said Mr Deripaska had lowered his stakes in the firms so that he no longer controlled them, a sign the sanctions were working.

Image copyright
Reuters

Image caption

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced sanctions against Deripaska and other powerful Russians last April.

Analysis

Kim Gittleson, Business reporter

There has been pressure on the Trump administration by business groups to lift the sanctions on these three firms. That’s because the announcement of the sanctions in April led global aluminium prices to briefly spike, as Rusal is one of the world’s biggest suppliers.

But when the Treasury Department signalled its intentions in December, US politicians cried foul. They wanted the Trump administration to wait until a special investigation into Russia’s interference into the 2016 US Presidential election had finished.

Earlier in January, in a significant break, 136 members of President Trump’s Republican Party voted with House Democrats on a measure to oppose the lifting of sanctions. Although it was a largely symbolic vote – a similar measure the day before failed to get the necessary 60 votes to pass in the Senate – the large number of party defections was notable.

While the Treasury Department has insisted that the three firms have agreed to stringent new reporting requirements and that the Russian oligarch at the centre of the dispute, Oleg Deripaska, has significantly lowered his ownership stake, the lifting of sanctions less than a year after they were imposed is sure to once more raise questions about the Trump administration’s commitment to punishing Russia for meddling in the 2016 election.

Mueller concerns

In a statement on Sunday, the US Treasury Department said the three companies had also agreed to “extensive, ongoing auditing” to ensure they had no ties with the Russian billionaire.

And Power company EN+, in which Mr Deripaska owned a controlling stake, welcomed the news from Washington. The London-listed company’s shares plummeted when sanctions were announced last April have not recovered.

The firm’s chairman, Lord Barker of Battle said: “This is the first time independent directors of a London listed Russian company, with the strong support of minority shareholders, have successfully removed control from a majority shareholder as a direct response to US sanctions policy.”

But lawmakers across the political spectrum have said it is inappropriate to ease sanctions on companies tied to the oligarch while Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigates whether Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Moscow.

Mr Deripaska, 51, has been a recurring figure in the investigation and has ties to President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who pleaded guilty in September 2018 to attempted witness tampering and conspiring against the United States.

Last week Belarussian model Nastya Rybka was briefly detained by Russian police, having claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in the election campaign obtained from Mr Deripaska.

Mr Deripaska has denied the allegations and successfully sued her.

President Trump denies collusion, and Moscow has denied seeking to influence the US election on Mr Trump’s behalf, despite US intelligence agencies’ finding that it did so.

Source Article from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47023004

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Republican in the country’s last undecided congressional election testified Thursday that a political operative now accused of ballot fraud assured him “again and again” that he wouldn’t collect absentee ballots in violation of state law.

GOP congressional candidate Mark Harris described during a special state elections board hearing how he accepted the word of political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless that he was able to get results for candidates because of his relationships in rural Bladen County.

Harris said he met with Dowless in person before hiring him and came away thinking the operative used a labor-intensive process to convince people to request and send mail-in ballots. He said Dowless assured him his operatives would never touch the completed absentee ballots.

“I’ll never forget. He said it again and again. He said: We do not take the ballot,” Harris testified. He was “convinced that it all comes down to relationships.”

Harris said after a single meeting he believed Dowless and local GOP political leaders that Dowless’ methods were legal. That was despite repeated warnings from his son that data showed the operative was likely crossing legal lines and exposing ballots to potential manipulation. Harris said he never investigated further and never checked whether the results Dowless claimed to be delivering were real.

A Harris text message revealed Thursday from March 2017 indicated he wanted a local political ally to introduce him to Dowless because had Dowless worked on Harris’ unsuccessful 2016 primary campaign it “could have put me in the US House this term, had I known, and he had been helping us.”

Lawyers for Harris have argued in legal briefs that the board should certify his November victory and send him to Washington. Democrat Dan McCready’s lawyers contend the race was tainted and a new election should be ordered.

McCready trailed Harris by 905 votes out of about 280,000 cast in November’s election, but then allegations surfaced that in the eastern corner of the 9th congressional district, Dowless was manipulating mail-in ballots.

North Carolina’s elections director said this week that Dowless conducted an illegal and well-funded ballot-harvesting operation during the 2018 election cycle while working for Harris. Dowless’ workers in rural Bladen County testified they were directed to forge signatures, collect blank or incomplete ballots voters handed over, and even fill in votes for local candidates who hadn’t earned them.

In testimony Wednesday, the candidate’s son, John Harris, said he’d warned his father about Dowless’ operation since mid-2016.

John Harris said his warnings were overridden because local Republican figures recommended Dowless to Mark Harris, who was gearing up for a primary rematch against incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger. Mark Harris and his wife met Dowless in April 2017, when Dowless insisted his method for maximizing mail-in vote results was legal and grounded in local relationships, John Harris said Wednesday.

Local politicians knew and had used Dowless since at least 2010, and the community had even voted him to a local soil and water conservation board, Harris’ lawyer, David Freedman, said. Harris largely went along with those local recommendations, the attorney said.

“I think he’s much too trusting,” Freedman said.

Mark Harris previously told The Associated Press he sought out and hired Dowless because he delivered votes, including for a Republican rival in the 2016 GOP primary. Harris said he discussed with an attorney after that primary whether to challenge Dowless’ incredible results for a GOP rival with mail-in ballots in Bladen County. Dowless’ methods in the 2016 general election were referred to federal prosecutors, who took no action.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-congressional-candidate-says-he-was-assured-operative-s-methods-n974106

The White House will lift the travel restrictions it imposed on eight African countries last month after the Omicron variant was first reported in South Africa, White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz said on Friday.

Driving the news: The restrictions will end on Dec. 31, according to Munoz. He said the decision to lift travel restrictions was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • “The restrictions gave us time to understand Omicron and we know our existing vaccines work against Omicron, esp boosted,” Munoz said in a tweet.
  • People traveling from the countries will now be subject to the same protocols the U.S. has imposed elsewhere — requiring foreigners be vaccinated and that all travelers get a negative COVID-19 test within a day of their departure.

Flashback: President Biden in late November restricted entry from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi at the recommendation of medical experts and the COVID-19 response team.

  • The restrictions apply to people who were in the countries during the 14-day period before they tried to enter the U.S. It does not apply to American citizens and permanent residents.
  • Reuters first reported on the decision to lift the restrictions.

Between the lines: Officials in South Africa had criticized countries that imposed travel bans on the nation, saying it was being punished, rather than praised, “for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker.”

  • The World Health Organization also condemned restrictions, saying they place a “heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.”

Source Article from https://www.axios.com/biden-travel-restrictions-african-omicron-038f74e6-9aca-45dd-a07a-c291bb5843db.html

More countries reported their first coronavirus fatalities and the toll grew in places such as China, as the number of deaths from the epidemic globally nears 3,000.

Hours after the U.S. reported its first fatality, Australia on Sunday announced its first death from the disease known as Covid-19. So did Thailand, more than a month after it became the first country outside of China to report an infection. Italy added five more deaths, with 528 new confirmed cases since Saturday.

Source Article from https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-will-be-a-long-battle-more-countries-report-first-coronavirus-deaths-11583056323

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is finalizing guidance aimed at clarifying what Americans who have received COVID-19 vaccines should and shouldn’t do, according to two sources at the agency familiar with its drafting. 

The upcoming guidance, first reported by Politico, is expected to include that fully vaccinated individuals should be able to gather in small groups with other people who have also been vaccinated. The CDC currently does not recommend in-person gatherings with the general public, saying “gathering virtually or with the people you live with is the safest choice.” 

Even for people who have been fully vaccinated, other mitigation measures will still be recommended, including wearing a mask in public and social distancing.

A source at the CDC who is familiar with the guidance confirms that it won’t be released Thursday, when it was expected to be. There was no word on when it would be issued.     

At the White House COVID-19 response briefing Monday, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, previewed the guidance by saying that small gatherings among people who are “doubly vaccinated” are low risk — “so low that you would not have to wear a mask, that you could have a good social gathering within the home.” 

Both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines require two doses; Johnson & Johnson‘s will only require one shot. That vaccine received an Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration over the weekend and doses are beginning to be administered this week.


“A Shot of Hope: Vaccine Questions Answered”

01:01:52

The guidance comes as the nation is at a crossroads in its fight against the virus. In the last month, average daily cases nationwide have fallen more than 50%, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, but that progress has plateaued. In the last week, data from the CDC indicates average new cases have ticked up nearly 2%. 

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at Monday’s briefing that she remained “deeply concerned about a potential shift in the trajectory of the pandemic.” States around the country, including New York, Massachusetts and Arkansas, are loosening COVID-related restrictions on businesses, adding to fears that the U.S. could be letting its guard down too early. On Tuesday, Texas became the third state to rescind its statewide mask mandate in recent days, joining Montana and Iowa. 

At the same time, the pace of vaccinations continues to increase, and with more Americans vaccinated, the need for new guidance on what this population can safely do has grown. But Walensky stressed that now is not the time to resume travel or disregard other safety measures. 

“The goal in those first 100 days has always been to sort of make sure that we are in a place to be out of this pandemic,” she said. “At 70,000 cases per day, we’re not in that place right now.”


“A Shot of Hope”: Getting the vaccine

17:02

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-guidelines-after-covid-vaccine/