WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge in the nation's capital agreed on Thursday to permanently dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a move that could prevent federal prosecutors from reviving the case under political pressure from President Donald Trump.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ordered the dismissal of David Hearn's case with "prejudice," which would block U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office from refiling the felony charge against him. The judge ruled nearly a month after hearing attorneys' arguments.
Hearn's lawyers say Trump administration officials have continued to falsely accuse the Maryland resident of vandalizing the reflecting pool despite Pirro's decision to drop the case on July 31. Trump responded by saying Pirro "choked" and "folded like an umbrella."
Edelman said the case presents "exceptional circumstances" that warrant dismissing the case permanently. He agreed with defense attorneys that the government "shot first and asked questions later" by charging Hearn in a "a lightning-fast indictment process."
"While the government wishes to hold open the possibility of the development of evidence that would support a future prosecution, its own representations make plain that such a possibility is theoretical at best, and more likely, is simply fanciful," the judge wrote.

#reflecting

FleetCor and CEO Ronald Clarke agreed to a $100 million payment resolving Federal Trade Commission litigation. The settlement follows years of court action over hidden charges involving commercial fuel cards. Harm reached tens of thousands among small-business customers seeking lower operating costs. Regulators say promised savings disappeared beneath undisclosed billing practices.
Federal regulators accused FleetCor, which now operates as Corpay, of imposing unauthorized fees totaling hundreds of millions. Investigators found improper late penalties despite timely remittance or company barriers that prevented payment. Officials cited misleading claims about gas savings, fraud controls, plus card-related expenses. Those practices harmed operators across the United States, according to a 2019 complaint.
Regulators found FleetCor often waited several billing cycles before adding many charges. Delayed timing made extra costs harder for customers to notice. Invoices omitted fee disclosures, pushing account holders toward separate management reports. Even those documents obscured some amounts among unrelated details or excluded them entirely.
"FleetCor deceived its small business customers by promising fuel savings that never materialized," Christopher Mufarrige said. He directs FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Agency officials also criticized hidden and unauthorized charges. Settlement terms channel restitution toward harmed account holders.
In 2023, one federal district court granted summary judgment to the FTC on every count. Its ruling found hidden charges and false representations involving savings, fees, plus fraud-control features. Permanent injunction terms barred FleetCor from billing without informed consent alongside clear disclosures. That order also prohibited deceptive fuel-card claims or hiding material information behind hyperlinks.

#fleetcor #savings

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The SEC isn't waiting for clarity with a capital C to give tokenized stocks the go-ahead.
On Thursday, Wall Street's watchdog issued a five-year order allowing trading venues to offer digital representations of company shares. The move ushers in a 24/7 type of trading that proponents say reduces counterparty risk through faster settlement. It also comes just days after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act, which would have provided a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. The new rule is "designed to resolve challenges that have prevented responsible innovation from taking root in the United States while providing investor protections and market integrity standards," SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said.
The "Innovation Exemption," which has been in the works for more than a year, shows the SEC is willing to set rules that could push crypto-related offerings forward without lawmakers' buy-in at a time when investors are hungry for digital ****** ets and trading firms are eager to meet their demand. That's good news for Robinhood and Coinbase, which both offer tokenized stocks overseas and whose own stocks climbed 5% and 6% respectively on Thursday.
Sign up for The Daily Upside at no cost for premium ****** ysis on all your favorite stocks.

#upside #clarity #market

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Launched ReefIQ in June as a proprietary substrate layer designed to convert unstructured biological data into structured representations for pharmaceutical AI models.
Transitioned the commercial strategy from discrete fee-for-service projects to broader platform partnerships where MindWalk participates in the long-term economics of created ****** ets.
Achieved a significant infrastructure milestone by validating OpenFold3 on AMD Instinct MI325X GPUs, enhancing discovery scale and ReefIQ's biological context layer.
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Launched ReefIQ in June as a proprietary substrate layer designed to convert unstructured biological data into structured representations for pharmaceutical AI models.
Transitioned the commercial strategy from discrete fee-for-service projects to broader platform partnerships where MindWalk participates in the long-term economics of created **** ets.
Achieved a significant infrastructure milestone by validating OpenFold3 on AMD Instinct MI325X GPUs, enhancing discovery scale and ReefIQ's biological context layer.
Leveraged a deep wet-lab discovery franchise, including relationships with 19 of the top 20 global pharma companies, as a primary distribution channel for new AI platform adoption.

#reefiq

Alexandra Eala aced her New York Fashion Week debut on Thursday night and during the day on Friday with appearances at Tory Burch and Michael Kors' respective spring 2027 ready-to-wear presentations.
The rising Filipino tennis star made her official debut at Tory Burch's show on Thursday night. Sporting a long-sleeve jacket in bold strawberry red with black ****** ons running down the front placket, the look was twee and tailored.
More from WWD
Inside Acne Studios' 30th Anniversary Party With Lily-Rose Depp, Troye Sivan, 070 Shake and More
Amanda Seyfried Slips Into Tory Burch's Twisted Peep-toe Pumps at New York Fashion Week

#york #fashion #thursday

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New York Fashion Week is here again! From September 10 through September 15, the city's biggest designers will unveil their Spring/Summer 2027 collections, and the action-packed week will be followed, as per tradition, by shows taking place in London, Milan, and Paris.
Over the past few years, some designers have chosen to start the festivities a bit early, and the same was true this season, with houses like Ralph Lauren, Cult Gaia, and Rachel Comey all showing their collections ahead of the official CFDA calendar.
And while the schedule may be stretching, so is the map of show locations. This year, presentations will take fashion fans across the greater NYC metropolitan area, with Collina Strada hosting its show at Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York, while threeASFOUR will present its show at the Mana Contemporary center in Jersey City.
This year also features a few exciting debuts, like Connor Ives, who is showing in his home country for the first time ever, in a switch from his usual slot during London Fashion Week. Yesterday also saw Henry Zankov present his debut collection for Diane von Furstenberg, where he took over as artistic director this past May.

#fashion

Netflix is now eight months into its entry into the podcasting realm. Despite a lack of transparency on viewership and whether the content is driving subscriptions, the company continues to lean in. On Tuesday, Netflix announced it is renewing its entire original lineup of video podcasts while also announcing a number of deals for new podcasts, including the popular Pivot Podcast featuring Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor.
When it comes to the sports properties Netflix signed for exclusive video distribution, many of them seem to have become out of sight and out of mind months later. Video continues to become an every day way that people discover programs. Clips fill social feeds and algorithms push content to the masses, but the Netflix paywall does prevent easy access to some of the more popular ***** les. That's why with the NFL season beginning next week, could this be the final proving ground for the first wave of sports podcasts on Netflix?
Currently, 19 podcasts streaming their full video presentations on Netflix fit into the sports genre. Three come from Barstool Sports, 10 from The Ringer, two from iHeartMedia, three are Netflix originals, and The Pivot will join the lineup beginning September 8.
What we know is that the Barstool arrangement is a multiyear agreement, while the deals with iHeartMedia and Spotify, which owns The Ringer, did not include terms.
What we don't know is how viewership is trending for the sports ***** les Netflix added to its slate. In July, Netflix lumped all podcast viewing into a vague "other shows" label during its Q2 earnings call. The company also has not revealed which podcasts are driving the most subscriptions.

#podcasts

HANOI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Vietnam said on Friday it strongly opposed all foreign activities in the Paracels archipelago in ‌the disputed South China Sea, following a report earlier this ‌week of new Chinese construction on an islet there.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that new installations had been sighted on Yagong Island, called Ba Ba Island by Vietnam, citing satellite imagery, with security **** ysts saying it could be the start of an early-warning radar facility.
"Vietnam resolutely opposes this, ‌has made serious representations ⁠and affirmed its position on the matter, and demands an immediate end to such activities and that ⁠they not be repeated," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told Reuters in an emailed statement.
China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when it seized them from the navy of the former South ‌Vietnam. Vietnam, which claims the entire grouping as its own, has moved in recent years to expand its own network of bases in the Spratlys, which lie further south.
The Spratlys and nearby waters are also claimed, fully or in part, by Vietnam, the Philippines, ‌Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

#activities

Brian Hickerson's second attempt to clear felony domestic violence convictions involving Hayden Panettiere was denied three days before the actress died, after prosecutors challenged representations that he was now sober.
At an Aug. 13 hearing in Los Angeles, the prosecution cited a May interview Hickerson gave about his past relationship with Panettiere and alleged that he appeared to be under the influence of a stimulant. Court records obtained by PEOPLE show prosecutors also pointed to his 2025 encounters with law enforcement while opposing the petition.
Hickerson had asked the court to dismiss two felony convictions for corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant from a domestic violence case in which Panettiere was a victim. Judge Olivia Rosales rejected the request, saying Hickerson had not remained free of new offenses.
The hearing took place three days before Panettiere died at age 36 in Greenville, South Carolina. Her death remains under investigation, and authorities have not established any connection between the allegations raised during Hickerson's court hearing and the circumstances of her death.
The interview cited in court was conducted by TMZ's Charlie Neff in May, ahead of the publication of Panettiere's memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. In the original TMZ interview, Hickerson discussed Panettiere's account of their abusive relationship and acknowledged conduct described in the book, including an incident in which he threatened her with a phone. "I did it. I did it," Hickerson said while discussing that episode.

#hickerson #panettiere #hearing

IMAX develops motion picture technologies and presentations, offering content, technology, and production solutions to customers around the world. The company's second-quarter fiscal 2026 report showed revenue of $103 million (a 12% year-over-year gain), with "The Odyssey" generating $52 million in global opening-weekend box office sales, adjusted per-share earnings of $0.43 (up 65%), and adjusted EBITDA of $48 million (a nearly 47% margin).
No wonder IMAX shares are up 42% so far this year – and they could rise more. MoneyFlows data shows how Big Money investors are again betting heavily on the stock.
Institutional volumes reveal plenty. In the last year, IMAX has enjoyed strong investor demand, which we believe to be institutional support.
Each green bar signals unusually large volumes in IMAX shares. They reflect our proprietary inflow signal, pushing the stock higher:
A year's worth of institutional inflows pushed IMAX shares higher by 103.5%. Source: www.moneyflows.com

#year #higher

Selena Gomez's legal representation says a new lawsuit alleging the star defrauded investors in her mental health star-up Wondermind is "completely meritless, both factually and legally."
Lawyer Mathew S. Rosengart issued a statement to People on Saturday: "The allegations that Selena Gomez engaged in any way whatsoever in any purported 'fraud' or other wrongdoing are completely meritless, both factually and legally. We will vigorously defend these false allegations and indeed are filing a motion to dismiss the baseless claims against her."
In a lawsuit filed Thursday by two companies, Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind LLC, Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefey and Wondermind co-founder Daniella Pierson were accused of defrauding investors in the mental health startup, alleging the trio made false representations of the business to stakeholders, including a plan that Gomez would be "intimately involved" in the business's operations. The suit claims damages of around $1.2 million.
"Gomez purported to sign a contract obligating her to perform and then ignored it," the lawsuit read. "The partnerships did not exist. The initiatives never materialized. The app was never built. And for three years, while the Company quietly collapsed around them, not one of its founders, officers or directors said a word to the investors whose money was funding the collapse."
Gomez, Teefey and Pierson first launched Wondermind in 2021 as "a **** e to work it all out every day with candid conversations, physical tools, daily content, and a supportive community." In the lawsuit, investors claim that they did not learn about alleged management issues or struggles at the company – like employees not being paid on time – until The Cut reported on the startup's working conditions last year.

#teefey #star

OpenAI has acquired the presentation technology startup NextSlide, integrating the company's team into the development of ChatGPT.
The acquisition was disclosed in a note by NextSlide founder Ahmed Beshry, who stated on LinkedIn that although the announcement is being made now, the transaction took place "earlier this year."
Financial terms of the deal have not been made public.
According to a statement on the NextSlide website, the company developed a product intended to convert prompts, notes, documents, or research into polished, editable presentations.
Beshry said: "Presentations help ideas move through the world. They teach, persuade, share research, and move important work forward. But creating a great presentation has traditionally required hours of work, design experience, or both."

#nextslide #presentations #work #chatgpt

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.
To the editor: OSU is adding a JPMorgan Chase logo patch to all 36 varsity sport teams uniforms. The football team uniforms will also have a Nike logo and a Big Ten patch. In couple more years the uniforms will look like NASCAR driver suits. What next, naming rights for the team benches and medic tents? How about all the team support staff and managers having patches like the NASCAR pit crews? Next, they can add bus wraps for home and away rental busses with all kinds of additional sponsorships. Finally, we can start to add patches all over the uniforms of TBDBITL. Is the day very far away when the players and coaches will have to wear custom gear anytime they are on campus? The quest to grab more money to buy more players and build bigger facilities is beyond the pale.
Raymond D'Angelo, Westerville
To Raymond: If that's what it takes to pay the next Jeremiah Smith, I wouldn't put it past them. And neither would most of their fans.
Dear Brian: One thing became very clear after LeBron James announced his intent to take his talents (less than what they used to be) to Philadelphia: He never had any loyalty to the city, fan base or organization in Cleveland — a fan base that revered him, one that hoped he'd sign with the Cavs and end his career on a fairy tale note with one last hope of another championship. It was not to be. It was James' right to sign anywhere he wanted, no questioning that, but he was never the King of Cleveland, not even close. Yes, he helped bring a long-awaited championship to the city of Cleveland, and for that I am ever grateful! The Indians should have in 1997, but that is another story. It's apparent James didn't revere Cleveland as much as we would have liked to think. Remember him yelling "This is for you, Cleveland" after the Game 7 Finals victory in 2016? I think that was more about redemption for himself after he bungled the first free agency decision than about Cleveland ending its 52-year championship drought. The true face of Cleveland is Jose Ramirez. No doubt about it, not even close. The future Hall of Famer has shown his love for the city, the fans and the organization time and time again, signing extensions for less than what he could get on the open market. One could argue Joe Thomas and even Joel Bitonio are better representations of Cleveland than LeBron ever was. I'll always be grateful for the 2016 championship, but leave LeBron out of the King of Cleveland discussions.

#cleveland #lebron #next

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is expanding its tokenized stock offerings to include equities from the United Kingdom and several Asian jurisdictions.
The company said that it plans to add tokenized versions of stocks from the U.K., Hong Kong, and South Korea to its xStocks platform, subject to regulatory approvals.
Tokenized stocks are digital representations of equities that are blockchain-based and provide ownership of or price exposure to traditional company shares.
More From Cryptoprowl:
MEXC Reports 7.1 Billion USDT in ******* eX Futures Volume as Q2 Closes the Gap to Wall Street

#tokenized #company #Cryptocurrency #hong

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is expanding its tokenized stock offerings to include equities from the United Kingdom and several Asian jurisdictions.
The company said that it plans to add tokenized versions of stocks from the U.K., Hong Kong, and South Korea to its xStocks platform, subject to regulatory approvals.
Tokenized stocks are digital representations of equities that are blockchain-based and provide ownership of or price exposure to traditional company shares.
More From Cryptoprowl:
MEXC Reports 7.1 Billion USDT in ******* eX Futures Volume as Q2 Closes the Gap to Wall Street

#tokenized #Cryptocurrency #united #kingdom

BEIJING, July 14 (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry on Tuesday called the European ‌side to be cautious in ‌its words and deeds on the South China Sea and stop endorsing the "illegal ruling" to prevent impact on China-EU ties and cooperation.
"Europe is not a party to the ‌South China ⁠Sea issue and has no right to comment on China's legitimate ⁠territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea," foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a daily ‌press briefing.
The comments came after a joint statement issued on Sunday by countries including some European nations said China's expansive maritime claims in the South China ‌Sea have no legal basis, followed by a relevant statement from the EU.
China has ‌also summoned officials of the embassies of relevant countries in China and the EU delegation to China and lodged serious ‌representations with them, Lin said.
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPSC) is one of the 10 Fastest Growing Tech Penny Stocks to Buy.
On July 9, 2026, Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPSC) announced that its abstracts were accepted for oral presentations at two upcoming scientific congresses. Both presentations will highlight CNTY-813, Century's iPSC-derived islet replacement therapy program engineered with Allo-Evasion™ 5.0 for patients with type 1 diabetes.
The presentations are scheduled for the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European **** ociation for the Study of Diabetes, taking place September 28-October 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy, and the Breakthrough T1D Clinical & Research Congress 2026, taking place October 9-11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Century said CNTY-813 is designed to enable durable engraftment without chronic systemic immunosuppression, and the company is targeting an IND submission in the fourth quarter of 2026.
On June 9, Century Therapeutics announced new preclinical data for CNTY-813 at the American Diabetes **** ociation Scientific Sessions. In preclinical models, the therapy demonstrated durable glucose control for over eight months and maintained insulin secretion under allogeneic immune pressure without immunosuppression. CEO Brent Pfeiffenberger said the data advance the company's case for a "potentially functional cure" for type 1 diabetes, while noting that the IND submission remains on track for the fourth quarter of 2026 and initial clinical data are anticipated in the second half of 2027.
Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPSC) develops allogeneic cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, hematological malignancies, and autoimmune diseases.

Just months after companies urged employees to use AI for everything from writing emails to building presentations, some are now hitting the brakes as the bills start rolling in.
The sudden reversal — dubbed the "Tokenpocalypse" — comes as businesses discover that widespread AI adoption can come with a hefty price tag.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
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Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not taken any decision on reducing One-Day Internationals from 50 overs to 40 overs, putting to rest speculation that a major format change was imminent following its Annual Conference in Edinburgh.

Despite media reports suggesting that the governing body was considering shortening the format, no proposal was approved during the meeting. While the ICC Board discussed its long-term strategy for the game and heard presentations on restructuring cricket in the next commercial cycle, there was no formal decision regarding the future of the ODI format.
The conference also failed to produce any breakthrough on expanding the World Test Championship (WTC) from nine to 12 teams. Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe remain outside the competition, with the ICC Board making no announcement on their inclusion in future editions.

The annual gathering featured presentations on the ICC's strategic roadmap for the next cycle, while official media rights partner JioStar also addressed the Board. However, the details of those discussions have not been made public.
Another major outcome of the conference was the decision to continue the suspension of USA Cricket (USAC) and Cricket Canada. USAC has been under suspension since September 2025, and although the ICC acknowledged the importance of restoring its membership ahead of cricket's return at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the Board decided to maintain the status quo.

Cricket Canada, suspended in June, will also remain under suspension until it resolves its internal governance issues. The ICC is also monitoring the possibility of a Canadian franchise joining Major League Cricket (MLC) before taking any further decision.

Meanwhile, France Cricket has been placed on notice by the ICC, while the Mauritius Cricket Federation (MCF) was officially admitted as an ****** ociate Member. The addition takes the ICC's global membership to 111 nations, comprising 12 Full Members and 99 ****** ociate Members.

The ICC Annual Conference was held in Edinburgh from July 8 to July 11.

"Freestyle Biomechanics: The Science Behind The Strokes," a book by former University of Hawaii swimming coach Jan Prins, is now available via Amazon.
The book focuses on freestyle, but also touches on "the three other competitive strokes," said Prins, who earned a doctorate in kinesiology at Indiana in 1978 and still teaches at UH. "(It) covers … every freestyle movement from stroke pattern, body position, flutter kick, hand entry to recovery and much more."
It is the culmination of nearly 50 years of coaching, presentations, research and video workshops Prins has conducted for competitive swimmers and coaches.
"It will become a continuous shelf reference for all swimmers, especially triathletes and adults," said Garry Rodrigues, swim consultant to USA Triathlon for the 2028 Olympics.

Walmart has agreed to pay more than $13 million and overhaul how it communicates pay to delivery drivers in Texas, resolving a state investigation that alleged the retailer misled workers about tips, base pay and incentive earnings through its Spark Driver platform.
The settlement, announced Monday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, provides approximately $6.69 million in restitution to affected Texas Spark drivers while requiring Walmart to pay an equal amount in civil penalties, attorneys' fees and costs to the state. In total, the agreement exceeds $13.3 million.
The settlement resolves allegations that Walmart violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act through its Spark Driver Program, which provides same-day grocery and merchandise deliveries from Walmart stores and warehouses. Walmart denied any wrongdoing and said the agreement does not constitute an admission of liability.
Spark is Walmart's (Nasdaq: WMT) last-mile delivery platform, connecting independent contractors with grocery and merchandise delivery opportunities from local Walmart stores.
According to the ******* urance of Voluntary Compliance filed in Collin County, Texas, investigators alleged Walmart made misleading representations to delivery drivers dating back to at least 2021 involving three primary categories of compensation: customer tips, base pay and incentive bonuses.

The prime minister and Foreign Office were involved in arguing for the kick-off time for England's World Cup match against Mexico not to be moved earlier - as mooted by Fifa in the days before the game.
Sir Keir Starmer instructed officials to make the case, backed by the Football ****** ociation, that the match should remain in its original time slot, as first reported by the Sun newspaper.
Foreign Office officials were also in touch with British diplomats in Mexico City, to request they made representations against a change, to try to ensure that the 3,000 travelling England fans didn't miss the match.
Fifa had been set to bring the match forward by six hours, due to a forecast of storms.
In the end, Fifa stuck to the scheduled start time, but kick-off was then delayed by an hour because of the weather.

The prime minister and foreign secretary were involved in arguing for the kick-off time for England's World Cup match against Mexico not to be moved earlier - as mooted by Fifa in the days before the game.
Sir Keir Starmer instructed officials to make the case, backed by the Football ***** ociation, that the match should remain in its original time slot.
Yvette Cooper spoke to the British Ambassador to Mexico, to ask that British diplomats in the country made representations against a change, to ensure that the 3,000 travelling England fans didn't miss the match as a result.
Fifa had been set to bring the match forward by six hours, due to a forecast of thunderstorms.
In the end, Fifa stuck to the scheduled start time, but kick-off was then delayed by an hour because of the weather.

By David Thomas
WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz's bid to revive his defamation lawsuit against CNN over the network's coverage of his remarks defending Donald Trump during the president's first Senate impeachment trial ‌in 2020.
The justices turned away the retired Harvard Law professor's appeal of a lower court's ruling throwing out his case against CNN, ‌which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery. In his appeal, Dershowitz had urged the justices to roll back protections against defamation claims that the Supreme Court established in its landmark 1964 ruling in a case called New York Times v. Sullivan.
In Sullivan and subsequent decisions, the Supreme Court said that to win a libel suit, a public figure must demonstrate the offending statement was made with "actual malice," meaning with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard as to whether it was false.
Dershowitz in his petition argued that Sullivan has become "an impregnable fortress that protects media irresponsibility while denying public figures any remedy for egregious misrepresentations."

Laying the groundwork for a free trade agreement that would remake his nation's economy, Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari loaned crates of art to the United States in the autumn of 1990. Bolstered by a $10 million advertising campaign, the works were destined to be shown in a series of one hundred and fifty exhibitions and events intended to counter Americans' derisive views of Mexico. Illustrating many of the ads was a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo.
Frida Kahlo, Untitled [Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird] 1940. Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art.
The selection of Kahlo's mestiza visage as the face of Salinas's neoliberal propaganda was as prescient as it was improbable. Within a decade, Frida would become one of Mexico's leading exports. Championed by celebrities including Madonna – who deemed Kahlo her "soul mate" – the artist grew into a global brand in the years that Salinas privatized the Mexican economy and NAFTA lifted his country to the pinnacle of globalization. Mattel brought a Frida Kahlo Barbie doll to market. Frida's name and likeness, known only to an elite in her lifetime, have been licensed for products ranging from sneakers to cosmetics. For those manufacturers, and for the neoliberals who appropriated Kahlo to sell free trade with Mexico, her life of political radicalism is left unmentioned. (Mattel never considered making a doll of her lover Leon Trotsky.)
The peculiarities of "Fridamania" provide the leitmotif of Frida: The Making of an Icon, a sprawling exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, now on view at Tate Modern. The MFAH curator Mari Carmen Ramírez suggests an underlying cause for Kahlo's many conflicting representations in the opening paragraphs of her astute catalogue essay. Kahlo's iconicity "is not limited to a single image but is plural, resulting from the seemingly infinite number of competing icons that today comprise and perpetuate her myth," Ramírez writes, making the case that the myth entails much more than even the legends of Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. "The Frida phenomenon is unlike anything else in past or recent history. It is not limited to Kahlo's art-making but extends to all aspects of her social image, innermost character, as well as her attire."
As a "polyvalent" icon with a lifelong habit of narcissistic theatricality, Kahlo has been put in the service of causes ranging from Chicano identity to Mexican dignity, from socialism to feminism, from queerness to disability. All of these have a basis in her life, which also included the role of devoted wife and muse to the muralist Diego Rivera, and the part of avant-garde painter creatively mixing Mexican folk art with Surrealism. Each of these dimensions of her character has attracted different constituencies to the cult of Frida. And many aspects of her identity have come into fashion recently, decades after her premature death in 1954.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the 15 Best AI Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years.
On June 26, 2026, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)-backed OpenAI is leaning toward waiting until next year for its public listing, the New York Times' Rob Copeland and Mike Isaac reported, citing three people involved in the company's deliberations. OpenAI had tapped bankers and lawyers for an IPO previously intended for as soon as the third or fourth quarter of 2026. CEO Sam Altman had pushed advisers to find a path to a $1T valuation, according to the report.
Also on June 26, Microsoft announced that, effective August 1, Xbox console prices worldwide will increase by $100 for 512 GB models and $150 for 1 TB models. Microsoft will also sunset its 2 TB model. The company said console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and that it expects another doubling by the fall of 2027. Microsoft said the "current components crisis" is particularly difficult for consoles, since they are typically sold for less than their manufacturing cost.
On June 25, PitchBook announced a new federated Copilot connector with Microsoft, bringing private capital market data into Microsoft 365 Copilot, including Copilot in Excel, Copilot Chat, and Researcher. Licensed users of Microsoft 365 Copilot and PitchBook can use the PitchBook Copilot agent in Microsoft 365 applications to surface insights, build models, summarize research, and create presentations. In Copilot in Excel, the connector lets finance teams build target lists, run diligence workflows, and screen investments using PitchBook's company profiles, deal histories, fund data, and **** yst research.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide.

Whether Wall Street's interest in tokenization translates into demand for companies closely tied to the technology is set to be tested next week alongside Securitize's expected debut.
The BlackRock-backed firm, which specializes in digital representations of real-world **** ets, announced plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SECZ," following the completion of a merger with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed blank-check firm.
The transaction's realization inched closer this week when investors owning less than 30% of Cantor Equity Partners II's common shares elected to redeem their holdings in the **** . As a result, Securitize expects to receive roughly $400 million in proceeds from the combination and related private financing ahead of the deal's closing.
Securitize's public debut, coming eight years after the firm was established, marks a pivotal milestone for tokenization, underscoring the technology's shift from abstract market plumbing to an emerging bedrock for modern finance, according to CEO Carlos Domingo.
"The idea that major institutions would embrace tokenized securities was still largely theoretical," he said. "Today, tokenization is moving into the mainstream, and we believe becoming a public company gives us the visibility, credibility, and capital to lead."

Iran and Egypt are scheduled to play a World Cup group stage match at Seattle's Lumen Field on Friday in what the city has designated a "Pride Match."
This weekend, June 27-28, is Pride Weekend in Seattle to celebrate Pride Month, which honors the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) culture and community, noting their contributions and achievements. Festivities include the Pride Parade through downtown Seattle on Sunday and PrideFest celebrations in various parts of the city, including Capitol Hill and the Seattle Center.
However, Egypt and Iran playing in the match has created friction as both countries have anti-gay laws and philosophies.
Before the World Cup draw determined which countries would be playing in Seattle, the city’s host committee planned for Friday’s game to be part of Pride Weekend festivities.
The Iran Football Federation has asked FIFA to prevent "ceremonies and activities" supporting the LGBTQ+ community, in addition to symbols and other representations during Friday's match, both surrounding and inside the stadium, according to The Athletic.

While the city of Paris is juggling the noise, attention, and celebrity arrivals of Fashion Week, one of the biggest stories on the internet happened far away from any official runways.
Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie has been one of the most anticipated guests at the fashion presentations, with fans and paparazzi lining up for hours in the Parisian heat for a glimpse at the beloved newcomer. But when Storrie departed his hotel on Tuesday to attend the Saint Laurent Men's Spring/Summer 2027 show, the power of stan culture erupted into surprising violence. And one woman at the center of the drama? A 59-year-old writer and professional stan named Simone Cromer, better known online for her now-viral handle, Club Chalamet.
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