News Headlines - 31 March 2019
▽Who Is Lucy Flores, the Woman Accusing Joe Biden of Kissing Her? - The New York Times
Lucy Flores, a former Nevada state assemblywoman, published an essay Friday in which she described Joseph R. Biden Jr. touching her inappropriately and kissing her on the head during a Democratic campaign rally in 2014, when he was vice president.
With Mr. Biden expected to announce whether he will enter the race for president in April, Ms. Flores’s story attracted scrutiny on his interactions with women over his long career in national politics. On Sunday, Mr. Biden released a statement defending himself, saying he did not believe he had ever acted inappropriately on the campaign trail.
▽Jamal Khashoggi’s murder has rocked the U.S.-Saudi partnership - The Washington Post
Some members of the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group that was sent to Istanbul received training in the United States, according to U.S. and Saudi sources. The CIA has cautioned other government agencies that some of this special-operations training might have been conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company, under a State Department license. The training occurred before the Khashoggi incident, as part of ongoing liaison with the Saudis, and it hasn’t been resumed... The Istanbul team’s alleged leader was Maher Mutreb, a colonel in the Saudi intelligence service and member of a wealthy and respected Saudi family. A Saudi source said he had served in London from 2002 to 2007 as deputy chief of station.
▽Microsoft leads the way in banning April Fools’ Day pranks - The Verge
Everyone hates April Fools’ Day, and Microsoft is taking a stand against its own corporate pranks. Microsoft’s marketing chief Chris Capossela has warned all employees to not participate in the process of annoying hoaxes on Monday. In an internal memo, obtained and verified by The Verge, Capossela explains that “data tells us these stunts have limited positive impact and can actually result in unwanted news cycles.” He encourages all teams inside Microsoft not to do any public-facing April Fools’ Day stunts.
After weeks of intraparty bickering, the New York State Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday signed off on a $175 billion budget that was wreathed with progressive initiatives, including changes to the cash bail system, a new tax on high-end homes and a groundbreaking plan to charge motorists to drive into Manhattan’s busiest stretches.
German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen has agreed to buy U.S. rival Wabco for over $7 billion, an acquisition it has long targeted to bolster its expertise in autonomous-driving technologies.
The all-cash deal, announced by the two companies on Thursday, is for $136.50 per share. That represents a 13 percent premium to Wabco’s closing price on Feb. 26, the day before the American company said it had been approached by ZF.
