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The Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday to pressure the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop its lawsuit opposing the construction of a $400m ballroom at the former East Wing of the White House. “It's time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the preservationist group until 9am this morning to dismiss its lawsuit. The White House ballroom “will ensure the safety and security of the President for decades to come and prevent future assassination attempts on the President at the Washington Hilton,” Shumate wrote.

 

Chicago Tribune

Forbes

Chinese state-sponsored hackers are using botnets of compromised IoT (Internet of Things) and SOHO (small-office home-office) devices as their cybercriminal infrastructure, according to a new 10-country joint security advisory. Security agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.K. National Cyber Security Centre and U.S. National Security Agency have published a paper titled “Defending against China-nexus covert networks of compromised devices,” which says hackers are using the botnets to steal people’s data, or disrupt activities. "Anyone who is a target of China-nexus cyber actors may be impacted by the use of covert networks," the report says. "The use of covert networks of compromised devices - also known as botnets - to facilitate malicious cyber activity is not new, but China-nexus cyber actors are now using them strategically, and at scale."

 

Financial Times

TechRadar

Supreme Court justices are set today to consider pharmaceutical and biotech giant Bayer's effort to have dismissed thousands of lawsuits which accuse the company of failing to warn users that the active ingredient in its ​Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The court is due to hear arguments in Bayer's appeal of a jury verdict in Missouri state court which awarded $1.25m ‌to John Durnell, who said he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of exposure to glyphosate in Roundup. Bayer argues that a federal law governing pesticides should prevent failure-to-warn claims, such as Durnell's, that are brought under state law from moving forward in court.

 

Bloomberg

New York Times

Reuters

Italy has approved the extradition of a Chinese citizen sought by the U.S. for industrial espionage over alleged efforts to steal Covid-19 vaccine secrets at the height of the pandemic in 2020. The U.S. Department of Justice had alleged Xu Zewei was directed to conduct the operations at the behest of the Chinese government. The Italian government's decision follows a ruling by ​a court earlier this month which said Xu could be extradited. A spokesperson for China's Foreign ​Ministry said China opposed the U.S. "fabricating charges through political manipulation" and urged Italy to "respect facts and law, immediately correct its mistake" and avoid "becoming an accomplice ​of the U.S."

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

The White House has accused China of undertaking industrial-scale theft of American AI labs’ intellectual property and warned that it would crack down on a practice that exploits U.S. innovation.

 

Financial Times

U.S. consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level on record in April, with the University of Michigan’s index dropping to 49.8 from 53.3 in March, reflecting widespread anxiety driven largely by geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran war. The decline, which surpasses previous lows seen during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis, has been broad-based across income groups, ages, and political affiliations, although sentiment improved slightly later in the month following a temporary ceasefire. Inflation concerns have intensified, with short-term expectations rising sharply, raising potential concerns for Federal Reserve policymakers about credibility on price stability. Despite the sharp deterioration in sentiment, consumer spending has remained relatively resilient, with strong retail sales reported in March and banks indicating that household finances are still holding up, highlighting a growing disconnect between consumer confidence and actual economic activity.

 

CNN

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The International Association of ​Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Spirit Airlines' ramp service employees, has said any U.S. bailout of ​the bankrupt low-cost carrier must protect employees. The union said any ​bailout must require "no furloughs, no layoffs, and no shifting the burden ⁠onto the very people who keep this airline running." The Trump administration has reportedly made ‌a financing offer to help the airline exit bankruptcy that is being reviewed by its major creditors.

 

Reuters

The Department of Labor has announced a proposed rule that would narrow the circumstances in which a business can be considered the "joint employer" of another company's workers under the federal law requiring a minimum wage and ​overtime pay, in a move that Reuters says will make it more difficult to hold companies liable when their contractors or franchisees ‌violate federal wage laws. Acting Labor ⁠Secretary Keith Sonderling said the proposal would make it easier for employers ​to comply with the law, and would ultimately be to the benefit of workers. "A clear standard on joint employment would give businesses more ​confidence to invest in partnerships, help employees understand their rights, and make the department’s investigations more efficient," Sonderling said.

 

Reuters

A new U.S. Senate report has found that drug companies involved in price deals with President Donald Trump have continued to raise prices on hundreds of meds. Some new drugs are also launching with very high costs; on average, new drugs carried a price tag of about $353,000 a year, the report said. “American people continue to pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, ” Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, said. The report looked at drugs used to treat conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis and rare diseases.

 

NBC News

The surge in oil and petrochemical prices after the Iran conflict is putting significant pressure on polyester producers across Asia, with key raw materials such as PTA and MEG rising by around 30%, forcing manufacturers in India and Bangladesh to cut output, idle capacity and consider price increases of up to 15%. This cost shock is rippling through the global apparel supply chain, where polyester accounts for nearly 60% of fiber production, affecting everything from clothing to footwear, while labor shortages and energy constraints are compounding operational challenges and reducing production volumes. Although major retailers such as Primark, H&M, and Inditex are currently shielded by forward purchasing and inventory, suppliers are beginning to pass on higher costs, raising the prospect of price increases and weaker demand if pressures persist, with industry analysts warning of potential “demand destruction” if consumers cut spending in response to rising prices.

 

Reuters

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said that a report showing the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has been ​blocked from being published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ‌and Prevention's flagship scientific journal. COVID-19 vaccines roughly halved the chances that a U.S. adult would need to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized with their infections last fall and winter, according to two sources familiar with the findings of the study. "Scientific reports are routinely reviewed at multiple levels to ensure they ​meet the highest standards before publication," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said. Concerns about the "methodological approach estimating vaccine ⁠effectiveness" meant "the manuscript was not accepted for publication" in the CDC's ​Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), he said.

 

CNN

Reuters

Washington Post