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Month: September 2024

Russia-linked actors are seeding disinformation about Harris as election nears, Microsoft says

Russia-linked actors are seeding disinformation about Harris as election nears, Microsoft says

By ALI SWENSON

NEW YORK (AP) — The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago.

In an emotional retelling from a wheelchair, the alleged victim said she “cannot remain silent anymore” and lamented that her childhood had “ended too soon.”

Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco’s KBSF-TV, didn’t exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. The woman’s X-ray images shown in the video were taken from online medical journals. And the video and the text story on the website spelled the alleged victim’s name differently.

The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. read more

Orlando-based Hawkers filing for bankruptcy but keeping restaurants open

Orlando-based Hawkers filing for bankruptcy but keeping restaurants open

Orlando-based restaurant Hawkers announced this week it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from what the company called a “hyper-aggressive” lender.

Hawkers, which serves Asian street food, operates 15 restaurants in seven states and said all locations will remain open and continue normal operations during bankruptcy proceedings.

The company entered into a “debt capital agreement” in early 2023, borrowing $23 million to grow the company nationally. Hawkers was started by four friends who opened the first Hawkers on Mills Avenue in Orlando in 2011.

Scott Shuker, the restaurant’s bankruptcy attorney, said Hawkers has never missed a loan payment. But in the last 60 days, he said, the lending company revealed its intentions to take over the restaurant by replacing its leadership.

The lender is ABC Funding, LLC, acting as an administrative agent for Summit Partners Subordinated Debt Fund IV, based out of Boston, Shuker said. The lending company could not be reached for comment. read more

The Biden administration is letting Alaska Airlines buy Hawaiian Air but with conditions

The Biden administration is letting Alaska Airlines buy Hawaiian Air but with conditions

By DAVID KOENIG

The Biden administration is letting Alaska Airlines complete its $1 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airlines after the carriers agreed to certain conditions, including maintaining current service on routes between Hawaii and the mainland U.S. where they don’t have much competition.

Transportation Department officials said Tuesday that no obstacles remain to the airlines closing the deal and beginning to merge, although some final approvals were still pending.

Alaska Airlines said it expected to close the deal “in the coming days.”

Alaska’s stock closed down 1%, while shares in Hawaiian Holdings rose 4% to $18, the price per share that Alaska agreed to pay for its smaller rival.

The decision to clear the way for the airlines to merge stands in contrast to the administration’s adamant opposition to previous airline deals. The Justice Department successfully sued to block JetBlue from buying Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion, and it went to court to kill a partnership between JetBlue and American Airlines. read more