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Meduza.io : Russian independent news outlet Meduza says Apple removed its flagship podcast from Apple Podcasts; source: Roskomnadzor asked Apple to remove the show   —  Meduza has received a notice from Apple, informing our media that our flagship podcast “What Happened” has been removed from the Apple Podcasts streaming platform.

A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked a new Illinois law that targeted crisis pregnancy centers , saying it violated free speech.  U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston, who was appointed by former President Trump, called the law "painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment." The ruling came after four hours of testimony from pro-life advocates who said the law had infringed on their free speech and ability to hand out literature that gives alternatives to abortion. "It’s going to stop us from offering mothers a choice," Kevin Rilott, director of the Rockford Family Initiative and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said.  ILLINOIS GOV. PRITZKER SIGNS SWEEPING ABORTION PROTECTIONS INTO LAW He said before the law passed around 100 people regularly attended their prayer vigils, but that dwindled to around 30 afterward.  On July 27, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act  that allows the sta...

The Department of Homeland Security this week renewed its call for volunteers within the agency to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with migrant processing and other related tasks at the southern border amid reports migrant crossings are again on the rise. An internal memo sent to staff by acting Deputy Secretary Kristie Canegallo and obtained by Fox News Digital says that while there have been "positive trends" at the border since the end of Title 42 in May, "we need to remain vigilant and prepared for evolving trends and future increases in migration." "To support this critical mission, I ask that you consider registering to be part of the DHS Volunteer Force (VF)," it said. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SENDING SURGE OF ICE SPECIAL AGENTS TO BORDER AMID INCREASE IN NUMBERS The email says that registering does not mean immediate deployment "but it does signal that you are willing to be part of the team of volunteers who could be called upon...

Donald Trump's legal team is being ordered to respond to a protective order from Special Counsel Jack Smith regarding a social media post from the former president.  The filing came after Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday stating, in capital letters, "If you go after me, I’m coming after you!" Prosecutors say that a "substantial" amount of evidence is about to be handed over to Trump's legal team, "much of which includes sensitive and confidential information." The protective order would limit what Trump as well as his legal team can publicly share about the case. PROTESTERS GATHER OUTSIDE WASHINGTON, DC COURTHOUSE AS TRUMP FACES FEDERAL CHARGES RELATED TO JANUARY 6 U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan gave Trump's lawyers until Monday at 5:00 p.m. to respond to the proposed protective order. Trump faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt ...

Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine this week called on parents across the country to speak up in favor of vaccines in school board meetings and other public settings, and said failing to do so will make it easier for "misinformation" about vaccines to spread. "Misinformation is eroding public confidence in them," Levine said in a Friday blog post on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website. "If we want vaccines to continue to protect our children, we need to speak up and protect vaccines." "As a pediatrician, I know firsthand how challenging this can feel," Levine said. "But we need to push past our discomfort because these conversations are essential to the health and safety of our children." TRANSGENDER BIDEN OFFICIAL RACHEL LEVINE SAYS HORMONES CAN HELP KIDS ‘GOING THROUGH THE WRONG PUBERTY’ The blog post from Levine, the highest ranking openly transgender official in the Biden administration, was titled, ...

Wall Street Journal : How Waymo and Cruise are struggling to win over San Francisco residents, showing the challenges they may face in expanding driverless cars across the US   —  Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors' Cruise are struggling to win over San Francisco residents and officials, a major hurdle in their nationwide expansion.

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Friday vetoed two packages of bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that would have created new requirements for unemployment assistance and prevented local governments from banning gas-powered engines. Evers, who was criticized as soft on crime by Republicans in last year's midterm, also signed into law measures to increase transparency in the parole process and set harsher criminal penalties for people who sell drugs that lead to fatal overdoses. People receiving unemployment assistance in Wisconsin must already perform four work-search activities each week. The five unemployment bills Evers struck down Friday sought to allow employers to report benefits recipients who either turn down or don't show up to a job interview. The measures also proposed requiring the Department of Workforce Development to audit more work-search activities and increase drug testing for certain occupations. WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT FLIPS FRO...

Amir Efrati / The Information : SoftBank sues former IRL CEO Abraham Shafi for fraud after investing $150M in IRL in 2021 on user metrics claims; IRL allegedly paid to fill the site with bots   —  SoftBank sued former IRL CEO Abraham Shafi and five siblings and cousins for allegedly misleading the investor about the messaging app's growth …

Texas Greg. Abbott’s office says Mexico is "flat-out wrong" to tie the death of a migrant to a recently-installed floating border barrier on the Rio Grande -- amid objections to the barrier from both Mexico and the Biden administration. Mexico announced this week that it had been notified to a dead body stuck in the southern part of the buoys that had been placed by Texas in the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from crossing across the treacherous river. A second body was later found about 3 miles upriver. "We reiterate the position of the Government of Mexico that the placement of wire buoys by the Texas authorities is a violation of our sovereignty," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of migrants that these state policies will have, which run counter to the close collaboration between our country and the federal government of the United States. BODY FOUND STUCK IN FLOATI...

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch : A profile of Window Snyder, who helped secure the early internet while at Microsoft and Mozilla, and pushed Apple to enable encryption by default in its devices   —  Snyder has made Windows, Mac computers, iPhones, and other technologies more secure for almost 25 years.

The Army on Friday joined the Marine Corps as the second branch of the U.S. Armed Forces without a Senate-confirmed leader, as a battle over the Pentagon's abortion policy has frozen confirmation of all military appointees. It is the first time in U.S. history that two branches of the military will be led by people in "acting" positions. The Senate's inaction has both sides pointing fingers – Democrats blame Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for refusing to allow quick consideration of military appointees because of the Pentagon's abortion policies that he opposes, while Republicans say Democrats are ignoring options for getting around this protest. Without naming Tuberville directly, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized the failure of the Senate to move on 301 Department of Defense nominees during the formal relinquishing-of-command ceremony for Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville. "In our dangerous world, the security of the United States demand...

Leah Nylen / Bloomberg : Google will face a scaled-down antitrust lawsuit over search after a judge ruled that state AGs didn't show that Google's search results harmed rivals like Yelp   —  - Google still faces DOJ, state suits over search contracts  — Combined trial over claims set for Sept. 12 in federal court

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is running ads to promote the impending one-on-one debate against rival Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom amid their ongoing coast-to-coast feud. Newsom said he would participate in a debate against DeSantis during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity in June. "Let's get it done. Just tell me when and where. We'll do it," DeSantis said Wednesday, accepting Newsom's challenge. DeSantis' campaign is fully embracing the debate as a potential springboard. "This isn’t about California vs. Florida — that debate has already been settled as people have been voting with their feet for years by moving to Florida," according to talking points that the campaign circulated among supporters. "This is about two very different visions for the future of our country." "Ron DeSantis is debating Gavin Newsom to highlight the choice facing American voters next year," the talking points added lat...

Brian Fung / CNN : Sensor Tower: Threads' DAUs fell to 8M on July 31, down 82% from launch; daily average time spent fell to 2.9 minutes/day on August 1, down from 19 at launch   —  Threads, Meta's Twitter rival, is struggling to retain users roughly a month after its highly publicized launch …

EXCLUSIVE : The Biden administration is increasing the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents who are part of the enforcement agency’s investigative arm, dispatching them to the southern border amid what officials say is an increase in migrant numbers. An email sent to ICE agents last week and seen by Fox News Digital says there has been a rise in migrant encounters, so Homeland Security Investigations is increasing its Operation Expanded Impact (OEI) numbers from 60 to 200 Agents are being deployed to key sectors in Texas, Arizona and California.  Agents are being sent Wednesday and more will be deployed Monday. OEI was launched last year as part of a DHS effort to target transnational criminal organizations involved in smuggling and human activity. FLORIDA STING TARGETING CHILD SEX EXPLOITATION FINDS NEARLY 40% OF ARRESTEES IN US ILLEGALLY  The agency has been deploying agents to the border for months on 30-day rotations and had reduced dep...

Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch : FCC fines a robocaller, which placed 5B+ calls pretending to sell auto warranties to collect personal information from people, a record $300M   —  The FCC's robocaller penalties are growing as the agency tracks down and terminates their operations — this time resulting in a record $300 million forfeiture.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley reacted to the most recent indictments filed against former President Donald Trump on a New Hampshire radio show on Thursday. Haley, speaking on the Pulse of NH-News Talk radio network, said she intentionally refrained from publishing a statement about the indictments following their announcement because she was tired of the spectacle. "Unlike the other candidates, I didn't rush out with a statement yesterday on Trump's indictment for one simple reason – like most Americans, I'm tired of commenting on every Trump drama. I've lost track of whether this indictment is the third or fourth or the fifth," Haley said on the "Good Morning New Hampshire with Jack Heath" radio show. Haley cited other national security and economic issues as more important focuses for her attention rather than the ongoing legal drama. TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN. 6 She continued, "We sh...

Kif Leswing / CNBC : Qualcomm reports Q3 revenue down 23% YoY to $8.45B, vs. $8.5B est., handset chip revenue down 25% YoY to $5.26B, and net income down 52% YoY to $1.8B   —  - Qualcomm reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat Wall Street expectations, but revenue and guidance for the fourth quarter came up short.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Wednesday he doesn't believe the U.S. government "has told the truth" concerning the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, specifically on the possible involvement of the Saudi Arabian government. Ramaswamy made the comments during an appearance on BlazeTV.  "I don't believe the government has told us the truth," Ramswamy said. "Again, I'm driven by evidence and data. What I've seen in the last several years is we have to be skeptical of what the government does tell us."  VIVEK RAMASWAMY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, WILL DONATE MONEY "I haven't seen evidence to the contrary, but do I believe everything the government told us about it? Absolutely not. Do I believe the 9/11 Commission? Absolutely not," he said. When reached for comment, Ramswamy's campaign pointed to a post he made on social media following the interview in which he reiterated the go...

The Pentagon is removing most of the troops who were deployed to the southern border ahead of a feared post-Title 42 surge after their 90-day mission ended, although 400 will remain in place until the end of the month. A defense official confirmed to Fox News Digital that 1,100 active-duty troops that were deployed have already begun to return to their home bases. The 90-day deployment window will end on Aug. 8. The development was first reported by the Associated Press. The official said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized up to 400 active-duty troops to remain at the border until Aug 31. The troops were deployed after a request from the Department of Homeland Security in May for support ahead of the end of the Title 42 public health order, which allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MIGRANT NUMBERS CROSSING DARIEN GAP SET NEW RECORD, DESPITE US EFFORTS  It was feared that the ending of the order would be...

Charlotte Hughes-Morgan / Bloomberg : Uber paid £386M, or $490M, to UK tax authorities as part of a dispute over how its ride hailing app applies VAT to UK trips, but plans to appeal the decision   —  - HMRC is challenging Uber's use of Tour Operators Margin Scheme  — Uber said it will appeal the VAT assessment in UK Court

President Biden  appears positioned to benefit from massive sums in undisclosed donations from the main outside super PAC backing his 2024 candidacy, records indicate. Biden's team promoted the Future Forward PAC as the leading external group to rake in big money to help his candidacy, The New York Times reported in July. At the time, Future Forward told the publication it had raised $50 million this year. Records show that money is presumably in its affiliated dark money nonprofit, Future Forward USA Action. During the first half of the year, the Future Forward PAC reported just $67,000 in contributions, according to its recently released mid-year report. The receipts came entirely from a vendor refund and in-kind donations from the nonprofit for staff time and overhead.  Future Forward's nonprofit, which hides its donors, has transferred tens of millions to the PAC for electoral activity in recent years. This setup positions Biden's candidacy to receive a boost from an...

Amy Lewin / Sifted : Hopin, the struggling virtual events startup valued at $7.75B in August 2021, sells its Events and Session units to RingCentral; CEO Johnny Boufarhat steps down   —  UPDATED: The startup, which was once the fastest-growing in Europe, has also sold its flagship product

The federal grand jury investigating election interference convened Tuesday in Washington D.C., spurring speculation that a possible federal indictment related to the investigation into Jan. 6 against former President Trump may be imminent, Fox News has learned. Sources told Fox News that the grand jury left the federal courthouse for the day just after 2:00pm on Tuesday afternoon.  Trump's legal team met with Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team in Washington D.C. last week. Sources told Fox News that Trump's legal team was not given any specific timing about a possible indictment, but that they heard nothing suggesting an indictment would not happen at some point. After the meeting ended last Thursday, the former president posted on his Truth Social account:  "My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Countr...

Financier  George Soros  is almost single-handedly bankrolling a mysterious Texas entity working to build up progressive infrastructure across the Lone Star State in attempts to elect more Democrats, records reviewed by Fox News Digital show.  According to Federal Election Commission filings released Monday, George Soros's Democracy PAC II has provided $750,000 to the Texas Majority PAC during the year's first half. Meanwhile, the Texas Majority PAC's state filings show that the group raised $752,040 during that time, meaning Soros has financially propelled the group. Texas Majority PAC has maneuvered in the shadows, and virtually no information about the group is available online. Texas incorporation records show it registered in December 2022. Its website doesn't appear in search engines like Google but can be found at texasmajoritypac.com. Even so, there are sparse details about the entity on its site. ALEX SOROS' ACCESS TO BIDEN'S WHITE HOUSE CONTINUES AS...

Annie Palmer / CNBC : How illicit data brokers on apps like Telegram peddle internal Amazon market data and offer services like attacking rivals' product listings   —  - Amazon internal information is finding its way onto messaging apps like Telegram, where brokers are selling data to third-party sellers.

Chavi Mehta / Reuters : Meta says it has begun ending access to news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, following a new law that would force it to negotiate deals to pay publishers   —  Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Tuesday it has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada.

GOP presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told former President Trump to "sell Trump Tower" to offset some of his legal fees, rather than dip into campaign funds. "The fact is when you look at just his campaign filing yesterday … most of the money that middle class Americans have given to him, he spent on his own legal fees. I mean this guy’s a billionaire, and how about go down the street – maybe just sells Trump Tower and pay for his legal fees that way," Christie said during an appearance on CNBC’s "Squawk Box" Tuesday. "Or maybe sell the plane, he could do that, or one of the golf courses. But instead, he’s taking $25, $50, $100 from everyday Americans who believe they’re giving it to him to help elect him president, and he’s paying his legal fees. And one of the most astonishing ones yesterday was $108,000 for Melania’s stylist, and they called that political strategy consulting."  New campaign finance disclosur...

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry was blasted on social media over the weekend by critics who accused him of trying to destroy the agriculture industry in order to achieve "net zero" emissions. "Agriculture contributes about 33% of all the emissions of the world depending a little bit on how you count it but it’s anywhere from 26 to 33 and we can’t get to net zero, we don’t get this job done unless agriculture is front and center as part of the solution," Kerry told a climate change summit in May. "You just can’t continue to both warm the planet, while also expecting to feed it," Kerry added. "It doesn’t work. So we have to reduce emissions from the food system." That clip was widely shared over the weekend after being posted by the Twitter account Wide Awake Media, which led to a new wave of criticism against the Biden administration's top climate envoy. Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller who called them an "attac...

New York Times : How popular gaming platforms like Minecraft and Roblox are being used to promote Russia's war narrative, influencing some young and Russian-speaking audiences   —  Propaganda is appearing in Minecraft and other popular games and discussion groups as the Kremlin tries to win over new audiences.

Hunter Biden’s former associate Devon Archer said Hunter would sometimes put then-Vice President Joe Biden on speakerphone while meeting with business partners, two lawmakers said Monday. Archer spoke to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday in a closed-door meeting. The panel is investigating Hunter Biden and what, if any, role his father played in his foreign business dealings. Archer said that Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand," one source told Fox News. These phone calls included a dinner in Paris with a French energy company and in China with Jonathan Li of BHR. Archer testified there was value of adding Hunter Biden to Burisma’s board was "the brand," the source said. The argument was that then-Vice President Joe Biden brought the most value. Archer also stated that Burisma would have gone under if not for "the brand." But Republicans and Democrats were split on whether Archer's comments were a sign that now-...

Sheila Dang / Reuters : X says Elon Musk will lead product and engineering teams, CEO Linda Yaccarino will lead teams including legal and sales, and both will oversee trust and safety   —  X owner Elon Musk and Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino will both oversee the trust and safety team at the company formerly known as Twitter …

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters Monday that the House Oversight Committee’s hearing with Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s longtime friend and fellow Burisma board member, was "very productive." Jordan said during a lunch recess that he looked forward to discussing the revelations of the hearing with the committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.  The congressman also said, "yep," when asked if he heard any new information from Archer. Archer, who co-founded Hunter Biden’s now-dissolved investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners, ignored questions from reporters upon entering the hearing Monday morning. BIDEN'S NARRATIVE ON NEVER DISCUSSING BUSINESS DEALS WITH HUNTER CONTINUES TO CRUMBLE Archer smiled as he was peppered with several questions upon entering the O'Neill House Office Building, where he was expected to sit down for an interview before the House Oversight Committee on President Biden's involvement with Hunter Biden's business de...

Hunter Biden told his longtime friend and business partner Devon Archer that they would get the "last laugh" after Archer said that the judge threw out his conviction, according to 2018 text messages reviewed by Fox News Digital. Archer, who is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee Monday and is reportedly preparing to tell lawmakers about President Biden's interactions with dozens of Hunter's business associates while he was serving as vice president, informed Hunter Biden in a November 2018 text message that the "judge threw out my conviction today." "Thank f---ing god! First good news in way too long my friend. I am so happy for you. I know its [sic] been a living hell but put it behind you now and take great steps forward," Hunter replied. "Love you brother," Archer said.  DEVON ARCHER, THE MAN WHO WILL TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT HIS BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH HUNTER BIDEN: WHO IS HE? Hunter then appeared to refer to th...

Mark Townsend / The Guardian : Source: UK Home Office officials aim to lobby the ICO for expanded use of facial recognition in shops, in contrast to the EU's ban of the tech in public spaces   —  Covert government strategy to install electronic surveillance in shops raises issues around bias and data …

Kari McMahon / The Block : A look at nine under-the-radar lobbying firms helping influence US crypto legislation in 2023 on behalf of Binance, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and others   —  - Crypto companies are looking for a seat at the table in Washington as scrutiny on the industry intensifies this year.

Hunter Biden was spotted in the early hours Friday morning as he arrived at a California airport less than two days after he contradicted his father's claims about nobody in the Biden family receiving "money from China." The first son made his first appearance in a Delaware federal court on Wednesday, pleading not guilty after Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected a proposed plea deal that was criticized by Republicans as too lenient. Less than 48 hours later he would be spotted shortly before 1 a.m. PT at the Los Angeles’ Van Nuys Airport after getting off a private jet, according to photos obtained by Fox News Digital. One photo shows Hunter talking to a man with a New York Yankees baseball cap before later embracing him for a hug. DEVON ARCHER, THE MAN WHO WILL TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT HIS BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH HUNTER BIDEN: WHO IS HE? Other photos, which were first reported by the New York Post, show a man who got off the private jet while carrying a camera with him...