Caitlin Clark, the record-breaking NCAA basketball star, was selected first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. However, her rookie salary with the professional league has sparked outrage over pay disparity in women's basketball. ... She will earn $76,535 in her rookie season this summer, and is projected to earn an annual salary of $97,582 by the end of her four-year contract.
Nike unveiled uniforms that U.S. track athletes can don in the Paris Olympics this summer, and one particular female outfit has drawn most of the attention -- for apparently being skimpy and revealing.
Switzerland joins the project to create a unified European air defense system, according to NZZ. read more
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing ramped up pressure from both sides of the aisle to hold a vote this week on a foreign aid package that includes military assistance to Ukraine. read more
With the IRS' deadline for tax filing season 2024 counting down to midnight, the Treasury Department reported Monday that $80 billion additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act meant the IRS had easily exceeded new targets. read more
Related...
Microsoft Sees Slowdown in Russia, China Efforts to Sway US Vote
finance.yahoo.com
... Russia is working to undermine US support for Ukraine ahead of the 2024 election, while Chinese influence campaigns aim to divide Americans and undercut their faith in democracy, according to new research from Microsoft Corp.
But both countries' persistent efforts to shape American politics through propaganda and cyberattacks have been less pronounced during this year's election cycle than they were in 2016 and 2020, the company said in a report published Wednesday. It also found that widespread fears of voters being influenced by deepfake videos made with artificial intelligence haven't yet happened, while simpler efforts have been more persuasive.
Representatives for the Chinese and Russian embassies in Washington didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Microsoft researchers found several "Russia-affiliated" efforts to push disinformation to hurt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or cause Americans to question their government's support for Ukraine as it continues to battle Russia's 2022 invasion. These campaigns have been conducted in English and Spanish, and they often take the form of purported whistleblowers or amateur journalists posting disinformation that is then covered by seemingly unaffiliated websites, the report states.
Microsoft found that the most prolific pushers of these narratives "are backed by or affiliated with" the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the disinformation gets taken up by Americans who are likely unaware of its source. The company also said it's observed an uptick in recent months of a hacking group affiliated with the Russian military targeting Western policy think tanks. ...
@#12 ... as courtroom artists ...
Courtroom sketch that appears to show Mr Trump dosing off
static.independent.co.uk
@#5 ... Maybe he should stop wasting billions of dollars in Ukraine ...
Maybe he should listen to a democracy-supporting majority, instead of a democracy-hating minority.