US News Updates

R. Kelly must spend another year in prison on top of the 30 years he is already serving for his crimes. After a trial in New York in June 2022, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years for sex trafficking and racketeering. Several months later, in a second federal trial in Chicago, he was found guilty of trying to get minors to have sex with him and making child sexual images. He is now serving a 20-year sentence for these crimes, but 19 of those years will be served at the same time as the first sentence. If he stays in jail until the end of his sentence, he will be in his mid-80s. In the second case, federal prosecutors wanted a 25-year sentence longer than what federal sentencing guidelines called for. They said that Kelly’s crimes were worse because he filmed them, and some videos were later posted online. The memo said that R. Kelly wants to abuse children “until he dies” and needs a long sentence to “protect the community” from more harm. Jennifer Bonjean, Kelly’s defense lawyer, asked t...

  Last year, trade between the US and China hit a record high, even though US relations with China were getting worse. Official figures show that trade between the two countries was worth $690.6 billion (£572.6 billion) in 2022. After a Chinese balloon flew across the US, US relations with China are now at an all-time low. Beijing denies that we used it to spy. Since 2018, the two largest economies in the world have also been in a trade war. The new numbers show that US imports from China rose to $536.8 billion last year. This is because more Americans bought toys and cell phones made in China. The US sent $153.8 billion worth of goods to China during the same period. Some of the increase in trade between the US and China is due to the rising cost of living, but the numbers also show how dependent the two countries still are on each other, even after years of fighting over trade. In 2018, the Trump administration began to increase trade restrictions on China. After years of risin...

  The market value of India’s Adani Group fell after a US investment firm accused it of fraud. Can it reach its ambitious growth goals? How did the stock market crash happen? The ports-to-energy conglomerate, made up of seven publicly traded companies, was worth $220bn until two weeks ago. But since January 24, when a short seller named Hindenburg Research accused the group of “brazen” stock manipulation and accounting fraud, its value has dropped by almost half. The group’s founder, Gautam Adani, has lost billions of dollars and is no longer in the top 20 wealthiest people globally. The Adani Group has denied the claims, calling them “malicious” and “baseless,” and says that its plans have not changed. But investors are still worried. In a statement released Monday, the group said it would pay off loans worth $1.1 billion that was taken out using shares as collateral before their due date next year. It said this was partly because of “continued market volatility” and to give reass...

  Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire, lost more than $20 billion (£16 billion) on Friday when investors fled his companies for a second day because of fraud claims by a US investment firm. The Adani Group said the report was untrue, but that hasn’t stopped the uproar. The main opposition party in India has asked for a probe. The market value of the company’s publicly traded companies has dropped by about $50bn. Friday, shares of the group’s biggest company, Adani Enterprises, fell by nearly 20%. Shares of some of the group’s other publicly traded companies fell even more, stopping trading in Mumbai. Forbes says that Mr. Adani has gone from being the third richest person in the world to the seventh, even though his estimated net worth is still more than $96 billion. The fallout comes just days after Hindenburg Research, a company specializing in “short-selling,” or betting against a company’s share price in the hopes that it will fall… Read More Source —  Atlanta Wire

  Boeing is being charged with fraud in two plane crashes that killed 346 people. The company will have to go to court soon to defend itself. Both accidents were caused by problems with the 737 Max’s flight control systems, which led to nosedives. Boeing was found to have kept information about the system secret, but a trial was avoided when the company agreed to pay $2.5 billion (£1.8 billion) in fines and compensation. Families of the people who died are trying to get the settlement back up and running. It means that for the first time, Boeing will be charged in court for the two crashes and will have to plead guilty or not guilty. Boeing has said that reopening the agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) would be “unprecedented, impossible to implement, and unfair.” However, it didn’t say anything about the court case. After the crashes in 2019, Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded. However, they will be… Read More Source —  Atlanta Wire

Meta was fined $410 million (€390 million) for violating EU data rules. According to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s request for permission to use people’s data for adverts on Facebook and Instagram was illegal. Meta, the company that owns both platforms, has three months to modify how it acquires and utilizes data to target advertisements. Meta expresses “disappointment” and plans to appeal, emphasizing that the judgment does not preclude tailored advertising on its platforms. According to the authority, Facebook and Instagram cannot “forced consent” by requiring users to agree on how their data is handled or leave the platform. Because Facebook and Instagram have European headquarters in Ireland, the DPC guarantees that they follow EU data protection laws. Privacy advocates say the judgment is a significant victory because it requires Meta to give people meaningful control over how their data is used to target online adverts. It implies Meta will have to adjust ho...