MEXICO
Kellogg’s cereals seized
The country has seized 380,000 boxes of Corn Flakes, Special K and other Kellogg’s cereals, claiming the boxes had cartoon drawings on them in violation of recently enacted laws aimed at improving children’s diets. While Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies are clearly not the worst thing Mexican children eat, the laws prohibit food companies from using marketing tactics that might appeal to children, like cartoons or mascots. The consumer protection agency also said on Friday that the cereal boxes did not clearly state nutritional values like calories, fats, salt or sugar, or did not have the proper warning signs for levels of those ingredients that are considered excessive.
RUSSIA
Hacker group broken up
Moscow on Friday said that it had dismantled the prominent hacking group REvil, which last year carried out a high-profile attack on US software firm Kaseya, following a request from Washington. The announcement came on the same day that Ukrainian government sites were hit by hackers in an attack that Kiev linked to Moscow, which has amassed tens of thousands of troops on the border. Russia’s Federal Security Service said in a statement that it had “suppressed the illegal activities” of members of the group during raids on 25 addresses that swept up 14 people. The searches were carried out following an “appeal from the relevant US authorities.”
UNITED STATES
Militia leader remains jailed
The founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group remained in jail after his first court appearance on Friday, a day after his arrest on charges he plotted with others to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The seditious conspiracy charges against Stewart Rhodes and 10 other Oath Keepers members or associates are the first to be levied in connection with the riot. They are also the first to be brought by the Department of Justice in more than a decade. A federal magistrate judge in Plano, Texas, ordered Rhodes, 56, of Granbury, Texas, to be held in custody until a detention hearing on Thursday.
UNITED STATES
Baldwin hands over phone
Actor Alec Baldwin has handed his cellphone to authorities as they investigate the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the Rust movie set, almost a month after a warrant was issued for the device. The actor was holding a Colt gun during a rehearsal for the Western being filmed in New Mexico in October last year when it discharged a live round, killing Halyna Hutchins. Police are investigating why live ammunition was present on set, and last month requested Baldwin’s phone on the grounds “there may be evidence on the phone” that could be “material and relevant to this investigation.”
UNITED STATES
Students stage walkout
Hundreds of Chicago students staged a walkout on Friday, saying there were not enough precautions in place to protect them from COVID-19, despite an agreement between the teachers’ union and school district to return to classrooms. The walkout at schools across the city culminated outside district offices downtown, where the students waved signs, chanted and briefly blocked traffic. “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Lori Lightfoot’s got to go,” they said, a reference to the Chicago mayor.
Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting “one-person companies” that have artificial intelligence (AI) do most of the work. Smaller start-ups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political goal of “technological self-reliance.” “The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” said Karen Dai
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
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