Biden and Sunak sit down at 10 Downing Street as US president starts high-stakes European trip
President Joe Biden on Monday kicked off the first full day of his trip abroad with a London visit aimed at bolstering the US-UK "special relationship" -- including his first meeting with King Charles III since the monarch's coronation -- on the eve of a high-stakes summit with NATO leaders.
2023-07-10 17:51
Ted Kaczynski, known as the 'Unabomber,' dies
Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski, the man known as the "Unabomber," has died, according to a law enforcement official.
2023-06-11 02:22
Russia accuses Ukraine of damaging a nuclear waste warehouse as the battle for Avdiivika grinds on
Russia has accused Ukraine of damaging a nuclear waste storage facility in a drone strike on the Kursk nuclear power plant and said its air defenses shot down a total of eight Ukrainian drones
2023-10-28 22:55
'Hajj is not Mecca': Why prayers at Mount Arafat are the spiritual peak of Islamic pilgrimage
Muslim pilgrims gather on the rocky hill Mount Arafat outside Mecca for a day of prayer on the second day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage
2023-06-27 18:46
How the Trump fake electors scheme became a 'corrupt plan,' according to the indictment
The role fake electors played in Donald Trump’s desperate effort to cling to power after his 2020 election loss is at the center of a four-count indictment against the ex-president
2023-08-02 18:57
Steve Bannon subpoenaed in January 6 probe
Steve Bannon, a right-wing podcast host and former White House adviser to Donald Trump, was subpoenaed to provide documents and testimony to a federal grand jury investigating January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter.
2023-06-08 07:24
Australia joins G7-backed 'climate club' and promises to drive down greenhouse gas emissions
Australia is joining the ’climate club’ backed by the Group of Seven major economies last year aimed at taking more ambitious action to tackle global warming, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday
2023-07-10 21:57
James Comer called Devon Archer’s interview about the Bidens a ‘bombshell’. He wasn’t actually there
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee didn’t bother spending a single minute listening to testimony from a former business partner of Hunter Biden who he’d hyped up as a star witness who could prove many of the salacious allegations he and his Republican colleagues have levelled at the 46th president. According to a transcript of the closed-door interview that committee members and staff conducted with Devon Archer, the convicted fraudster who once had a business relationship with President Biden’s youngest and only surviving son, Mr Comer was not among the Republican committee members who participated in the session. Only two Republican members, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan and Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, deigned to make themselves available for the interview with Archer, who will soon begin a year-and-a-day prison sentence stemming from a 2019 conviction for attempting to defraud a Native American tribe. Yet Mr Comer had no problem allowing himself to be portrayed as having led the session, which House Republicans had suggested would provide them with proof that President Joe Biden had engaged in the unlawful activities they claim he is guilty of despite lacking any proof for the allegations. On Monday, Mr Comer appeared on Newsmax to discuss the interview, and he did not make clear that he didn’t attend when pressed on what had happened by host Greg Kelly. When Kelly stated that Mr Comer had been “in the room” and asked if Democrats were “recognising that this is beyond their control now,” the Kentucky Republican replied: “The walls are closing in on the Bidens”. He did not correct Kelly’s assertion that he’d participated in the interview. The Independent has requested comment from Mr Comer. According to The Daily Beast, the Oversight Committee chairman had spent the weekend before the interview at a family barbeque and playing golf. And while Congress is on recess until the end of August, his committee arranged the interview with Archer, who Mr Comer subpoenaed to testify in June. Archer repeatedly denied that President Biden spoke with any of his son’s business partners, but he did tell the panel that the president frequently was put on speakerphone by his son so he could sell the “illusion” of access to his father. Read More Fox Business deflects from Trump indictment with ‘Biden’s scandal distractions’ graphic House Oversight chair admits GOP can’t back up Biden bribery accusations Biden recognises Hunter’s daughter Navy as his seventh grandchild in first interview
2023-08-04 00:17
Jim Jordan takes speaker vote to the House floor in bid to end GOP leadership vacuum
Conservative Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is bringing the House back to the floor Tuesday to vote on whether he will succeed ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy and finally end the chamber's prolonged paralysis amid deep GOP divisions.
2023-10-17 17:18
Fast fashion retailer Shein accused of racketeering and copyright infringement in lawsuit
Fast fashion retailer Shein has been accused by independent designers of infringement-related racketeering activities in a new lawsuit. According to The Fashion Law, a lawsuit was filed on Tuesday (11 July) in California federal court that accused the clothing giant of using a “secretive algorithm” to identify trending art and allegedly reproducing the independent designs for its fast fashion website. The three independent artists suing Shein – Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Baron – claimed both Shein and its parent company, Zoetop Business Company, Ltd, engaged in “produc[ing], distribut[ing], and selling exact copies of their creative works,” which they allege is “part and parcel of Shein’s ‘design’ process and organizational DNA.” In the suit, Perry, Martinez and Baron claim Shein replicated “truly exact copies of [their] copyrightable graphic designs” such as Berry’s artwork titled “Make It Fun” and Blintz’s “Orange Daises” design. Barron’s “Trying My Best” artwork, which they claim was also copied by Shein, is not only a registered copyright but the phrase was also trademarked by Barron. As a result, the plaintiffs argue that they “have suffered and will continue to suffer substantial damage” to their businesses and “a diminishment in the value of their designs and art, their rights, and their reputations”. In the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that Shein created a “secretive algorithm” to identify growing fashion trends and “produce very small quantities of [its] item for sale” – as 100-200 units per SKU – in the case that an artist claims “the design was stolen”. “The brand has made billions by creating a secretive algorithm that astonishingly determines nascent fashion trends – and by coupling it with a corporate structure, including production and fulfillment schemes, that are perfectly executed to grease the wheels of the algorithm, including its unsavory and illegal aspects,” the artists argue in the suit. “When Shein copies a small or independent designer, the most likely outcome (without brand protection specialists and specialized software on the lookout) is that the infringement will go unnoticed,” the complaint reads. The lawsuit named Chris Xu as the maker behind the algorithm, a “mysterious tech genius” who has allegedly made Shein “the world’s top clothing company through high technology, not high design.” While Shein has faced many lawsuits in recent years, the newest complaint is notable for its Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claim. RICO is a federal law designed to combat organized crime in the United States, and individuals or organisations can use the RICO Act to file civil claims against racketeering activities performed as an ongoing criminal enterprise. Another requirement to file a RICO claim is that the offending party is not just an individual or business but a criminal organization, as the suit claims Shein’s alleged infringement activity is “committed not by a single entity, but by a de-facto association of entities.” The plaintiffs claim that Shein’s “confusing corporate structure” allows the company to “avoid liability” in the case of intellectual property infringement, adding that the brand’s “first line of defense” when facing a copyright or trademark cease and desist is “removing the product from its sites with blaming the misconduct on another [Shein entity] actor (implying such actor is independent).” As a result, the artists have accused Shein of “multiple acts of racketeering and criminal copyright infringement” and are seeking past and future damages, as well as compensation for legal fees and injunctive relief to “prevent further racketeering activity”. This is not the first time Shein has faced accusations of infringement. In May, artist Maggie Stephenson settled with Shein for an undisclosed amount after she filed a $100 million lawsuit last year. That same month, Italian fashion designer Giuliano Calza claimed the retailer stole shoe designs from his streetwear label, GCDS. The new lawsuit comes after a Shein-sponsored influencer trip made headlines for promoting Shein’s factory in Guangzhou, China. The influencers were invited to tour Shein’s “innovation factory”, as they posted videos showing a clean, brightly lit factory with automated bots assisting in processing and packaging orders. However, the influencer trip faced backlash as many pointed out the fast fashion company’s accusations of labour abuse and its negative impact on the environment. The Independent has contacted Shein for comment. Read More Italian designer launches scathing attack on Shein over ‘stolen ideas’: ‘Maybe I am the fool’ Influencers face backlash for promoting Shein factory during PR trip in China Parent company of fast-fashion brand Shein to pay New York state $1.9m for data breach Shein accused of racketeering and copyright infringement in lawsuit Barbie premiere: All the best pink carpet looks as Margot Robbie film shows in London Why these women are – and aren’t – shaving their armpits this summer
2023-07-14 13:47
Olivia Dunne: How good is 'golden girl' of sports? Exploring gymnastics career of LSU star
Amid her rising online popularity, Olivia Dunne has continued to follow her passion for gymnastics, constantly accomplishing milestones in the sport
2023-07-24 16:20
Natalee Holloway's mother Beth says she is proud of her daughter for fighting ‘like hell’ with her killer
Beth Holloway said that the never-ending nightmare 'was over' and for her, it was 'better than closure'
2023-10-21 05:55
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