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Tag: press release

  • Trump administration moves to overhaul how H-1B visas are granted, ending lottery system

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    The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers.The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say has become a pipeline for overseas workers willing to work for lower pay, but supporters say drives innovation.”The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser.Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee on highly skilled workers, which is being challenged in court. The president also rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals.A press release announcing the new rule says it is “in line with other key changes the administration has made, such as the Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility.” Historically, H-1B visas have been awarded through a lottery system. This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient, with more than 10,000 visas approved, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Apple and Google. California has the highest concentration of H-1B workers.The new system will “implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid” foreign workers, according to Tuesday’s press release. It will go into effect Feb. 27, 2026, and will apply to the upcoming H-1B cap registration season.Supporters of the H-1B program say it is an important pathway to hiring healthcare workers and educators. They say it drives innovation and economic growth in the U.S. and allows employers to fill jobs in specialized fields.Critics argue that the visas often go to entry-level positions rather than senior roles requiring specialized skills. While the program is intended to prevent wage suppression or the displacement of U.S. workers, critics say companies can pay lower wages by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even when the workers hired have more experience.The number of new visas issued annually is capped at 65,000, plus an additional 20,000 for people with a master’s degree or higher.

    WASHINGTON —

    The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers.

    The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say has become a pipeline for overseas workers willing to work for lower pay, but supporters say drives innovation.

    “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser.

    Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee on highly skilled workers, which is being challenged in court. The president also rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals.

    A press release announcing the new rule says it is “in line with other key changes the administration has made, such as the Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility.”

    Historically, H-1B visas have been awarded through a lottery system. This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient, with more than 10,000 visas approved, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Apple and Google. California has the highest concentration of H-1B workers.

    The new system will “implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid” foreign workers, according to Tuesday’s press release. It will go into effect Feb. 27, 2026, and will apply to the upcoming H-1B cap registration season.

    Supporters of the H-1B program say it is an important pathway to hiring healthcare workers and educators. They say it drives innovation and economic growth in the U.S. and allows employers to fill jobs in specialized fields.

    Critics argue that the visas often go to entry-level positions rather than senior roles requiring specialized skills. While the program is intended to prevent wage suppression or the displacement of U.S. workers, critics say companies can pay lower wages by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even when the workers hired have more experience.

    The number of new visas issued annually is capped at 65,000, plus an additional 20,000 for people with a master’s degree or higher.

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  • The first home has been rebuilt in the wake of the Palisades Fire

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    Less than a year after 6,822 structures burned in the Palisades Fire, the first rebuilding project has reached the finish line in Pacific Palisades: a two-story showcase home located at 915 Kagawa St.

    In a press release, Mayor Karen Bass announced that the home received a certificate of occupancy from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety on Friday, meaning it passed inspection and is safe to inhabit.

    “Today is an important moment of hope,” Bass said in a statement. “With more and more projects nearing completion across Pacific Palisades, the City of Los Angeles remains committed to expediting every aspect of the rebuild process until every family is back home.”

    The house was built by developer Thomas James Homes. Jamie Mead, the chief executive, said the permitting process took two months and the rebuild took six.

    “Given that the community needs housing, we thought this would be a great opportunity to show them what we can do,” Mead said.

    Plenty of rebuilding permits have been issued — nearly 2,000 in both the Palisades and Eaton fire zones, according to the state’s rebuilding dashboard — and the first few are reaching the finishing line. Earlier this week, an Altadena ADU received a certificate of occupancy as well.

    The Palisades property, however, is much bigger in scope with four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms across nearly 4,000 square feet. It replaces a 1,600-square-foot ranch that burned down in January.

    Fire-resistant features include closed eaves to block embers, as well as plumbing for a fire defense system that homeowners can choose to add, which covers the home in water and fire retardant when flames get close.

    The first rebuilt home in Pacific Palisades – which just received a certificate of occupancy – on Kagawa Street.

    (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

    Real estate records show Thomas James Homes bought the property before it was destroyed. It sold for $3.4 million last November.

    The house was built as a showcase home — an advertisement of sorts for other residents looking to rebuild. Mead said the company is building homes for 30 families in the Palisades and expects to build 100 more next year. On its website, the company claims it can complete a rebuild in 12 months.

    A grand opening, in which the home will be opened to the community, is set for Saturday, Dec. 6.

    Rebuilding timelines vary from community-to-community and project-to-project. According to the press release, roughly 340 projects have started construction in Pacific Palisades.

    Some residents are still deciding whether to stay or build, while others filed plans in the first months after the fires, taking advantage of government initiatives to streamline the process.

    Times Staff Writers Hailey Branson-Potts and Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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    Jack Flemming

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  • D.C.’s Crime Problem Is a Democracy Problem

    D.C.’s Crime Problem Is a Democracy Problem

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    Matthew Graves is not shy about promoting his success in prosecuting those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. By his count, Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has charged more than 1,358 individuals, spread across nearly all 50 states and Washington, D.C., for assaulting police, destroying federal property, and other crimes. He issues a press release for most cases, and he held a rare news conference this past January to tout his achievements.

    But Graves’s record of bringing violent criminals to justice on the streets of D.C. has put him on the defensive. Alone among U.S. attorneys nationwide, Graves, appointed by the president and accountable to the U.S. attorney general, is responsible for overseeing both federal and local crime in his city. In 2022, prosecutors under Graves pressed charges on a record-low 33 percent of arrests in the District. Although the rate increased to 44 percent last fiscal year and continues to increase, other cities have achieved much higher rates: Philadelphia had a 96 percent prosecution rate in 2022, while Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, and New York City were both at 86 percent. D.C.’s own rate hovered in the 60s and 70s for years, until it began a sharp slide in 2016.

    These figures help account for the fact that, as most major U.S. cities recorded decreases in murders last year, killings in the nation’s capital headed in the other direction: 274 homicides in 2023, the highest number in a quarter century, amounting to a nearly 50 percent increase since 2015. Violent crime, from carjackings to armed robberies, also rose last year. Some types of crime in the District are trending down so far in 2024, but the capital has already transformed from one of the safest urban centers in America not long ago to one in which random violence can take a car or a life even in neighborhoods once considered crime free.

    Journalists and experts have offered up various explanations for D.C.’s defiance of national crime trends. The Metropolitan Police Department is down 467 officers from the 3,800 employed in 2020; Police Chief Pamela Smith has said it could take “more than a decade” to reach that number again. But the number of police officers has decreased nationwide. The coronavirus pandemic stalled criminal-court procedures in D.C., but that was also the case across the country. The 13-member D.C. city council, dominated by progressives, tightened regulations on police use of force after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, but many local councils across the country passed similar laws. Reacting to public pressure, the D.C. council this month passed, and Mayor Muriel Bowser signed, a public-safety bill that rolls back some policing restrictions and includes tougher penalties for crimes such as illegal gun possession and retail theft.

    Jeff Asher: The murder rate is suddenly falling

    As a journalist who has covered crime in the District for four decades, I believe that one aspect of the D.C. justice system sets it apart, exacerbating crime and demanding remedy: Voters here cannot elect their own district attorney to prosecute local adult crimes.

    The District’s 679,000 residents and the millions of tourists who visit the capital every year could be safer if D.C. chose its own D.A., responsive to the community’s needs and accountable to voters. D.C. residents have no say in who sits atop their criminal-justice system with the awesome discretion to bring charges or not. Giving voters the right to elect their own D.A. would not only move the criminal-justice system closer to the community. It would also reform one of the more undemocratic, unjust sections of the Home Rule Act. The 1973 law, known for granting the District limited self-government, also maintained federal control of D.C.’s criminal-justice system; the president appoints not just the chief prosecutor but also judges to superior and district courts.

    “Putting prosecution into the hands of a federal appointee is a complete violation of the founding principles this country was built on,” Karl Racine, who served as D.C.’s first elected attorney general, from 2015 to 2023, told me. (The District’s A.G. has jurisdiction over juvenile crime.) “Power is best exercised locally.”

    Allowing the District to elect its own D.A. would not solve D.C.’s crime problem easily or quickly. Bringing criminals to justice is enormously complicated, from arrest to prosecution to adjudication and potential incarceration; this doesn’t fall solely on Graves or any previous U.S. attorney. The change would require Congress to revise the Home Rule charter, and given the politics of the moment and Republican control of the House, it’s a political long shot. In a 2002 referendum, 82 percent of District voters approved of a locally elected D.A. Four years later, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s longtime Democratic delegate to Congress, began introducing legislation to give D.C. its own prosecutor. But her efforts have gone nowhere, regardless of which party controlled Congress or the White House.

    Many Republicans in Congress—as well as former President Donald Trump—like to hold up the District as a crime-ridden example of liberal policies gone wrong, and they have repeatedly called for increased federal control to make the city safer. Ironically, what distinguishes the District from every other U.S. city is that its criminal-justice system is already under federal control. If Republicans really want to make D.C. safer, they should consider empowering a local D.A. who could focus exclusively on city crime.

    In two interviews, Graves defended his record of prosecuting local crime and pointed to other factors contributing to D.C.’s homicide rate. “The city is lucky to have the career prosecutors it has,” he told me. He questioned whether a locally elected D.A. would be any more aggressive on crime. But he also said he is fundamentally in favor of the District’s right to democratically control its criminal-justice system.

    “I personally support statehood,” he said. “Obviously, if D.C. were a state, then part of that deal would be having to assume responsibility for its prosecutions.”

    The District’s porous criminal-justice system has long afflicted its Black community in particular; in more than 90 percent of homicides here, both the victims and the suspects are Black. Since the 1980s, I have heard a constant refrain from Washingtonians east of the Anacostia River that “someone arrested Friday night with a gun in their belt is back on the street Saturday morning.”

    In the District’s bloodiest days, during the crack epidemic, murders in the city mercilessly rose, peaking in 1991 at 509. From 1986 to 1990, prosecutions for homicide, assault, and robbery increased by 96 percent. Over the next two decades, homicides and violent crime gradually decreased; murders reached a low of 88 in 2012. That year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecution rate in D.C. Superior Court was 70 percent. But the District’s crime rate seemed to correspond more to nationwide trends than to any dramatic changes in the prosecution rate.

    David A. Graham: America’s peace wave

    The rate of federal prosecution of local crime in the District stood at 65 percent as recently as 2017 but fell precipitously during a period of turbulence in the U.S. Attorney’s Office under President Trump, when multiple people cycled through the lead-prosecutor spot. (“That is your best argument about the danger of being under federal control,” Graves told me.) After a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and Graves took office later that year, he temporarily redeployed 15 of the office’s 370 permanent prosecutors to press cases against the violent intruders in D.C. federal court. The prosecution rate for local crime stood at 46 percent in 2021 but plummeted to the nadir of 33 percent in 2022.

    “It was a massive resource challenge,” Graves said of the January 6 prosecutions. “It’s definitely a focus of mine, a priority of mine.” But he added: “We all viewed the 33 percent as a problem.”

    Graves, 48, an intense, hard-driving lawyer from eastern Pennsylvania, told me that his job, “first and foremost, is keeping the community safe.” He has a track record in the District: He joined the D.C. federal prosecutor’s operation in 2007 and worked on local violent crime before moving up to become the acting chief of the department’s fraud and public-corruption section. He went into private practice in 2016 and returned when President Joe Biden nominated him to run the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in July 2021. He has lived in the District for more than 20 years. “It’s my adopted home,” he said.

    Graves attributes D.C.’s rising murder rate in large part to the fact that the number of illegal guns in D.C. “rocketed up” in 2022 and 2023: Police recovered more than 3,100 illegal firearms in each of those years, compared with 2,300 in 2021. “D.C. doesn’t appropriately hold people accountable for illegally possessing firearms,” he told me. According to Graves, D.C. judges detain only about 10 percent of defendants charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

    He attributed his office’s low prosecution rates to two main causes: first, pandemic restrictions that dramatically cut back on in-person jury trials, including grand juries, where prosecutors must present evidence to bring indictments. Without grand juries, Graves said, prosecutors could not indict suspects who were “sitting out in the community.” Second, the District’s crime lab lost its accreditation in April 2021 and was out of commission until its partial reinstatement at the end of 2023. Without forensic evidence, prosecutors struggled to trace DNA, drugs, firearm cartridges, and other evidence, Graves explained: “It was a massive mess that had nothing to do with our office.” Police and prosecutors were unable to bring charges for drug crimes until the Drug Enforcement Agency agreed in March 2022 to handle narcotics testing.

    Even with these impediments, Graves said his office last year charged 90 percent of “serious violent crime” cases in D.C., including 137 homicides, in part by increasing the number of prosecutors handling violent crime cases in 2022 and 2023.

    But accepting Graves’s explanations doesn’t account for at least 18 murder suspects in 2023 who had previously been arrested but were not detained—either because prosecutors had dropped charges or pleaded down sentences (in some cases before Graves’s tenure), or because judges released the defendants. (The 18 murder suspects were tracked by the author of the anonymous DC Crime Facts Substack and confirmed in public records.) “Where the office does not go forward with a firearms case at the time of arrest, it is either because of concerns about whether the stop that led to the arrest was constitutional or because there is insufficient evidence connecting the person arrested to the firearm,” Graves told me in an email.

    Andrew Exum: We need to learn to live with guns

    Last month, the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, a research and advocacy nonprofit, released a report showing that in 2021 and 2022, homicide victims and suspects both had, on average, more than six prior criminal cases, and that most of those cases had been dismissed. Police and nonprofit groups working to tamp down violence described “a feeling of impunity among many people on the streets that may be encouraging criminal behavior.” Police “also complained of some cases not being charged or when they are, the defendant being allowed to go home to await court proceedings,” according to the report, which cited interviews with more than 70 Metropolitan Police Department employees.

    “Swift and reliable punishment is the most effective deterrent,” Vanessa Batters-Thompson, the executive director of the DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for increased local governance, told me.

    In January, the Justice Department announced that it would “surge” more federal prosecutors and investigators to “target the individuals and organizations that are driving violent crime in the nation’s capital,” in the words of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Graves welcomed the move, which he said has added about 10 prosecutors so far and will create a special unit to analyze crime data that could provide investigators with leads. Similar “surges” have been deployed in Memphis and Houston.

    “But [D.C. has] no control over what that surge is,” Batters-Thompson said—how large or long-lasting it is. Even if federal crime fighters make a dent in the District’s violence and homicide rates, the effort would amount to a temporary fix.

    Electing a D.A. for D.C. would not only take Congress reforming the Home Rule Act. There’s also the considerable expense of creating a district attorney’s office and absorbing the cost now borne by the federal government. (It’s an imperfect comparison, but the D.C. Office of the Attorney General’s operating budget for fiscal year 2024 is approximately $154 million.) Republicans in control of the House are more intent on repealing the Home Rule Act than granting District residents more autonomy.

    Hannah Giorgis: D.C. statehood is more urgent than ever

    But if Republicans want D.C. to tackle its crime problem, why shouldn’t its residents—like those of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Denver, Boston, Seattle, and elsewhere—be able to elect a district attorney dedicated to that effort? Crime is often intimate and neighborhood-based, especially in a relatively small city such as the District. Effective prosecution requires connection and trust with the community, both to send a message about the consequences of bad behavior and to provide victims and their families with some solace and closure. Those relationships are much more difficult to forge with a federally appointed prosecutor whose jurisdiction is split between federal and local matters, and who is not accountable to the people he or she serves.

    Racine, the former D.C. attorney general, was regularly required to testify in oversight hearings before the city council. Graves doesn’t have to show up for hearings before the District’s elected council, though he couldn’t help but note to me that progressive council members have in the past accused D.C.’s criminal-justice system of being too punitive.

    Graves told me that his office has a special community-engagement unit, that he attends community meetings multiple times a month, and that his office is “latched up at every level” with the police, especially with the chief, with whom Graves said he emails or talks weekly.

    “Given our unique role,” he said, “we have to make ourselves accountable to the community.”

    Sounds like the perfect platform to run on for D.C.’s first elected district attorney.

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    Harry Jaffe

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  • Adorable ocelot kitten is born at L.A. Zoo. Here's when you'll be able to meet him

    Adorable ocelot kitten is born at L.A. Zoo. Here's when you'll be able to meet him

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    Visitors to the Los Angeles Zoo will soon have the chance to catch a glimpse of a new ocelot kitten, which zoo officials said is almost big enough to enter the animal’s public habitat.

    Zoo officials announced Monday the arrival of the baby ocelot, a 19-ounce male born Sept. 12 to mother Maya, who was described as “an experienced nurturing mom,” according to the press release.

    The kitten has been living “behind the scenes” under the care of his mom and zoo staff while he grows, receives vaccinations and is closely monitored. In the last three months, the kitten has already seen rapid development, now weighing 6 1/2 pounds — about five times his birth weight.

    “His eyes opened after nine days and his teeth began to erupt after 20 days,” said Los Angeles Zoo animal keeper Stephanie Zielinski. “At first he was toddling around on unsteady legs, but he’s become stronger and more agile every day. He has a big personality now, and he’s brave and curious.”

    The kitten, which hasn’t yet been named, will move to his outdoor habitat “in the coming days,” when zoo officials are confident he can safely do so, the release said.

    Ocelots, scientifically known as Leopardus pardalis, are listed as endangered by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, as the population native to Texas and Arizona has drastically declined due to habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as hunting. However, in Mexico, Central and South America, the ocelot’s population remains much healthier, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

    The solitary cat requires about seven miles of dense vegetation for its nocturnal hunting, making it particularly vulnerable to urban development, agriculture and transportation corridors, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

    The ocelot is a midsize cat — larger than a house cat but smaller than a bobcat, according to the zoo. They develop much faster than larger cats; by age 2, the ocelot kitten will be fully independent.

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    Grace Toohey

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  • FixNation's Ongoing Crusade for Feline Wellness Reaches a Milestone: 250,000th Fixed Feline! – Catster

    FixNation's Ongoing Crusade for Feline Wellness Reaches a Milestone: 250,000th Fixed Feline! – Catster

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    On a sunny Wednesday in late November 2023, FixNation, a groundbreaking non-profit based in Los Angeles, celebrated the sterilization of its 250,000th cat.

    With a mission to provide free spay/neuter services for community cats (feral, abandoned, and free-roaming felines) and affordable services for companion cats, FixNation has played a pivotal role in reducing feline overpopulation in Southern California with its high-volume/high-quality clinics and Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program.

    Given its pleasant climate and urban sprawl, Los Angeles is home to a persistent and uncountable stray cat community. Emphasizing the importance of sterilization, FixNation executive director Karn Myers said, “Of those 250,000 cats, our efforts prevented each female from giving birth to multiple litters of kittens, as well as the generations of offspring that unneutered males would have fathered.”

    She added, “Over time, that adds up to a massive, mind-boggling number—millions of cats that otherwise would have been born and struggling to survive on the streets.”

    A Mission of Compassion

    Jaquie, Karn, and Jackson, proud to be posing with Cloud.

    Founded in 2007 by Karn Myers and her late husband Mark Dodge, FixNation started as an all-volunteer program in 1999, sterilizing six cats on opening day. Currently, the clinic performs over 100 surgeries daily, sparing millions of cats from a life of hardship.

    Meet Cloud, the 250,000th Cat

    Cloud the gorgeous kitty, 250,000th successful spay/neuter

    To honor this milestone, a friendly female community cat named Cloud was chosen as the 250,000th cat spayed or neutered at FixNation. Dr. Kiyoko Ishiwata performed the surgery. Luxe Paws founder Jacquie Navratil, the trapper who brought in Cloud, was presented with cat-themed merchandise donated by FixNation board members Jackson Galaxy and Kimberlie Hamilton, and a supply of food to aid street cats in downtown L.A.

    Jacquie and Cloud the vip cat

    “Shelter Me” Episode

    Earlier in 2023, FixNation welcomed two-time Emmy-winning producer/director Steven Latham, who brought a film crew and spent the day filming for an upcoming “Shelter Me” episode on PBS. The episode documented the sterilization of 222 cats in a single day, and captured the dedication of FixNation’s team.
    “While other groups are decreasing funding for spay/neuter,” Latham said, “FixNation is running into the burning building to help…. The love, compassion and respect that every single person at FixNation gives to these cats will restore your faith in humanity.”

    Funding Setbacks vs. High Demand

    With anywhere from 50 to 100 million stray cats roaming the streets and neighborhoods in the US, every major city has a feral cat population. The crisis will continue as long as our communities struggle to allocate the resources for animal control programs.

    “It’s a frustrating situation, as the clear solution for the cat population boom is mass sterilization. There simply aren’t enough homes out there for all the kitties that need them. Los Angeles will never adopt its way out of this crisis,” Myers explained.

    Despite the organization’s staunch commitment to its mission, FixNation is currently facing serious funding obstacles. The clinic is expecting to fix over 17,000 cats this year, and is experiencing a surge of appointment requests. This funding crisis has been exacerbated by economic challenges and a pivot in donor preferences toward foster and adoption programs.

    “Grants and private donations enabled us to fix 250,000 cats thus far, yet now—at a time when our services are needed more than ever—our funding has plummeted,” said Myers. “Only with adequate funding will we be able to continue our compassionate mission using the most natural means of population control, sterilization, the only humane and effective alternative to mass euthanasia.”

    Looking Forward

    kiyoko ishiwata dvm of fixnation
    Dr. Kiyoko Ishiwata DVM and Karn Myers of Fixnation

    FixNation’s pioneering Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program stands firm at the frontlines of the battle against feline overpopulation. Based on the principles of high-volume/high-quality spay/neuter services, free TNR training, and loaning humane traps to the public, the organization will continue its mission one way or another.

    If you are interested in contributing toward their cause, visit www.fixnation.org

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    Catster Editorial Team

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  • How Biden Might Recover

    How Biden Might Recover

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    A press release that President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign issued last week offered a revealing window into his advisers’ thinking about how he might overcome widespread discontent with his performance to win a second term next year.

    While the release focused mostly on portraying former President Donald Trump as a threat to legal abortion, the most telling passage came when the Biden campaign urged the political press corps “to meet the moment and responsibly inform the electorate of what their lives might look like if the leading GOP candidate for president is allowed back in the White House.”

    That sentence probably says as much as any internal strategy memo about how Biden’s team plans to win a second term, especially if the president faces a rematch with Trump. With that exhortation the campaign made clear that it wants Americans to focus as much on what Trump would do with power if he’s reelected as on what Biden has done in office.

    It’s common for presidents facing public disappointment in their performance to attempt to shift the public’s attention toward their rival. All embattled modern first-term presidents have insisted that voters will treat their reelection campaign as a choice, not a referendum. Biden is no exception. He routinely implores voters to compare him not “to the Almighty” but “to the alternative.”

    But it hasn’t been easy for modern presidents to persuade large numbers of voters disenchanted with their performance to vote for them on the theory that the electorate would like the alternative less. The other recent presidents with approval ratings around Election Day as low as Biden’s are now were Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H. W. Bush in 1992. Both lost their bids for a second term. Continued cooling of inflation might allow Biden to improve his approval rating, which stands around 40 percent in most surveys (Gallup’s latest put it at only 37 percent). But if Biden can’t make big gains, he will secure a second term only if he wins more voters who are unhappy with his performance than any president in modern times.

    The silver lining for Biden is that in Trump he has a polarizing potential opponent who might allow him to do just that. In the 2022 and 2023 elections, a crucial slice of voters down on the economy and Biden’s performance voted for Democrats in the key races anyway, largely because they viewed the Trump-aligned GOP alternatives as too extreme. And, though neither the media nor the electorate is yet paying full attention, Trump in his 2024 campaign is regularly unveiling deeply divisive policy positions (such as mass deportation and internment camps for undocumented immigrants) and employing extremist and openly racist language (echoing fascist dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in describing his political opponents as “vermin”). Eventually, Trump’s excesses could shape the 2024 election as much as Biden’s record will.

    Read: Republicans can’t figure it out

    If the GOP renominates Trump, attitudes about the challenger might overshadow views about the incumbent to an unprecedented extent, the veteran GOP pollster Bill McInturff believes. McInturff told me that in his firm’s polling over the years, most voters usually say that when a president seeks reelection, their view about the incumbent is what most influences their decision about whom to support. But in a recent national survey McInturff’s firm conducted with a Democratic partner for NBC, nearly three-fifths of voters said that their most important consideration in a Trump-Biden rematch would be their views of the former president.

    “I have never seen a number like this NBC result between an incumbent and ‘challenger,’” McInturff told me in an email. “If 2024 is a Biden versus Trump campaign, we are in uncharted waters.”

    Through the last decades of the 20th century, the conventional wisdom among campaign strategists was that most voters, contrary to what incumbents hoped, viewed presidential elections primarily as a referendum, not a choice. Buffeted by disappointment in their tenure, both Carter and Bush decisively lost their reelection bids despite their enormous efforts to convince voters that their opponent could not be trusted with power.

    In this century, it’s become somewhat easier for presidents to overcome doubts about their performance by inflaming fears about their rival. Barack Obama in 2012 and George W. Bush in 2004 had more success than Carter and the elder Bush at both mobilizing their core supporters and attracting swing voters by raising doubts about their opponent.

    Alan Abramowitz, an Emory University political scientist, said the principal reason presidents now appear more capable of surviving discontent about their performance is the rise of negative partisanship. That’s the phrase he and other political scientists use to describe a political environment in which many voters are motivated primarily by their belief that the other party represents an unacceptable threat to their values and vision of America. “Emphasizing the negative results of electing your opponent has become a way of unifying your party,” Abramowitz told me.

    Read: Will Republicans pay a price for extremism?

    While more voters than in the past appear willing to treat presidential reelections as a choice rather than a referendum, Biden may need to push this dynamic to a new extreme. Obama and Bush both had approval ratings right around 50 percent in polling just before they won reelection; that meant they needed to convince only a slice of voters ambivalent about them that they would be even more unhappy with their opponent.

    Biden’s approval rating is much lower, and he is even further behind the majority approval enjoyed by Bill Clinton in 1996 and Ronald Reagan in 1984 before they won decisive reelections.

    Those comparisons make clear that one crucial question confronting Biden is how much he can improve his own standing over the next year. The president has economic achievements he can tout to try to rebuild his support, particularly an investment boom in clean energy, semiconductors, and electric vehicles tied to the trio of major bills he passed. Unemployment is at historic lows, and in recent months wages have begun rising faster than prices. The latest economic reports show that inflation, which most analysts consider the primary reason for the public discontent with his tenure, is continuing to moderate.

    All of these factors may lift Biden, but probably only modestly. Even if prices for gas, groceries, and rent stop rising, that doesn’t mean they will fall back to the levels they were at when Biden took office. Voters appear unhappy not only about inflation, but about the Federal Reserve Board’s cure of higher interest rates, which has made it harder to purchase homes and cars and to finance credit-card debt. Biden also faces the challenge that some portion of his high disapproval rating is grounded not in dissatisfaction over current conditions, but in a belief that he’s too old to handle the job for another term. Better economic news won’t dispel that doubt.

    For all of these reasons, while Biden may notch some improvement, many strategists in both parties believe that it will be exceedingly difficult for him to restore his approval rating to 50 percent. Historically, that’s been viewed as the minimum for a president seeking reelection. But that may no longer be true. The ceiling on any president’s potential job rating is much lower than it once was because virtually no voters in the other opposition party now ever say they approve of his performance. In that environment, securing approval from at least half of the country may no longer be necessary for an incumbent seeking reelection.

    Jim Messina, the campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, reflected the changing thinking when he told me he does not believe that Biden needs to reach majority approval to win another term. “I don’t think it’s a requirement,” Messina said. “It might be if we are dealing with an open race with two nonpresidents. People forget that they are both incumbents. Neither one of them is going to get to 50 percent in approval. What you are trying to drive is the choice.”

    For Biden, the key group could be voters who say they disapprove of his performance in office, but only “somewhat,” rather than “strongly.” The Democrats’ unusually good showing among those “somewhat” disapproving voters was a central reason the party performed unexpectedly well in the 2022 midterm election. But in an NBC national survey released earlier this week, Trump narrowly led Biden among those disenchanted voters, a result more in line with historic patterns.

    Biden may have an easier time recapturing more of those somewhat negative voters by raising doubts about Trump than by resolving their doubts about his own record. Doug Sosnik, the chief White House political adviser for Bill Clinton during his 1996 reelection campaign, told me that it would be difficult for Biden to prevail against Trump if he can’t improve his approval ratings at least somewhat from their current anemic level. But if Biden can lift his own approval just to 46 or 47 percent, Sosnik said, “he can get the remaining points” he would need to win “pretty damn easily off of” resistance to Trump.

    Current polling is probably not fully capturing that resistance, because Trump’s plans for a second term have received relatively little public attention. On virtually every front, Trump has already laid out a much more militantly conservative and overtly authoritarian agenda than he ran on in 2016 or 2020. His proposals include the mass deportation of and internment camps for undocumented immigrants, gutting the civil service, invoking the Insurrection Act to quash public protests, and openly deploying the Justice Department against his political enemies. If Trump is the GOP nominee, Democratic advertising will ensure that voters in the decisive swing states are much more aware of his agenda and often-venomous rhetoric than they are today. (The Biden campaign has started issuing near-daily press releases calling out Trump’s most extreme proposals.)

    But comparisons between the current and former presidents work both ways. And polls show that considerable disappointment in Biden’s performance is improving the retrospective assessment of Trump’s record, particularly on the economy.

    In a recent national poll by Marquette University Law School, nearly twice as many voters said they trusted Trump rather than Biden to handle both the economy and immigration. The Democratic pollster Stanley B. Greenberg released a survey last week of the nine most competitive presidential states, in which even the Democratic “base of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, LGBTQ+ community, Gen Z, millennials, unmarried and college women give Trump higher approval ratings than Biden.” Among all voters in those crucial states, the share that said they thought Trump did a good job as president was nearly 10 percentage points higher than the group that gives Biden good grades now.

    Poll results such as those scare Democratic strategists perhaps more than any other; they indicate that some voters may be growing more willing to accept what they didn’t like about Trump (chaos, vitriol, threats to democracy) because they think he’s an antidote for what they don’t like about Biden (his results on inflation, immigration, and crime.) Jim McLaughlin, a Trump-campaign pollster, told me earlier this year that because of their discouragement with Biden’s record, even some voters who say “I may not love the guy” are growing newly receptive to Trump. “The example I had people use is that he is like your annoying brother-in-law that you can’t stand but you know at the end of the day he’s a good husband, he’s a good father,” McLaughlin said.

    The problem for Trump’s team is that he constantly pushes the boundaries of what the public might accept. Holding his strong current level of support in polls among Hispanics, for instance, may become much more difficult for Trump after Democrats spend more advertising dollars highlighting his plans to establish internment camps for undocumented immigrants, his refusal to rule out reprising his policy of separating migrant children from their parents, and his threats to use military force inside Mexico. Trump’s coming trials on 91 separate criminal charges will test the public’s tolerance in other ways: Even a recent New York Times/Siena College poll showing Trump leading Biden in most of the key swing states found that the results could flip if the former president is convicted.

    Trump presents opponents with an almost endless list of vulnerabilities. But Biden’s own vulnerabilities have lifted Trump to a stronger position in recent polls than he achieved at any point in the 2020 race. These polls aren’t prophecies of how voters will make their decisions next November if they are forced to choose again between Biden and Trump. But they are a measure of how much difficult work Biden has ahead to win either a referendum or a choice against the man he ousted four years ago.

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    Ronald Brownstein

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  • 3 Ways to Attract Media Coverage | Entrepreneur

    3 Ways to Attract Media Coverage | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You’re press-worthy. How do you feel when you read that? If your initial reaction is to shrink back and question it, you’re certainly not alone.

    Many companies (especially small to midsize companies) question if their story is really worth media coverage — and this is the biggest thing holding them back from that coverage.

    Because they don’t truly feel worthy of press, they don’t reach out to the media, or they give up after a few pitches go unanswered. Or, they try PR for a few months off and on but never commit to it fully enough to develop an effective long-term strategy for their company’s visibility. They act as though a journalist would be doing them a favor by featuring them rather than realizing the value they can offer by contributing to that journalist’s content.

    The truth is, these companies are — and you are — worthy of incredible, widespread press. And once you truly embrace that, how you show up for the media will dramatically change.

    Thousands of experts are interviewed every single day, not because they have a magic secret for getting press but because they do two simple things: showcase their expertise and tell an unforgettable story.

    Speak to a journalist, and you’ll realize they’re not looking for someone with thousands of social media followers or award-winning books. They just want someone to share serviceable expert tips or tell a good story because those two things are of the highest value to their readers.

    Here’s the good news: Expertise and a good story are two things practically every business owner has.

    How to pinpoint your expertise and story

    You are an industry insider for your niche — and your knowledge is extremely valuable to journalists and their audiences.

    Think about the questions customers ask you most often: How do you answer them, and what knowledge do you share? What unique perspective do you have? What industry trends have you noticed, either anecdotally or through your collected data? This becomes your high-value expertise. Through the media, readers and viewers can learn directly from an insider pro (that’s you!).

    Your expertise provides an immense amount of value for them and credibility for your brand. It also makes that audience more likely to turn to you when they have a usage occasion for your product or service.

    There’s also a special story about how you got to where you are now. You may not know what it is yet, but you don’t have to write it from scratch. You simply have to uncover it.

    Start by telling your story frequently to your customers, friends and family. Pay attention to what makes their eyes glisten, and their ears perk up. Usually, these are elements of your journey you haven’t thought much about — but that stands out to others. This is what you should lean into when sharing your background with the media.

    Because journalists are looking to educate and tell a good story, they’re grateful when they find sources who can help them do that.

    Related: 5 Things Journalists Wish You Knew About Getting Press Coverage for Your Company

    Being ready for press vs. being worthy of press

    Almost every company is worthy of the press, but not all companies are ready for the press.

    Being ready for press involves having the budget for a long-term media strategy that can grow over time, creating a collection of branded photography to share with the media and updating your website so it’s ready for journalists (say, by having up-to-date Press Room and About pages).

    Once you’ve honed in on why you’re worthy of press, make sure you have these “ready for press” elements prepared to increase your chances of landing coverage.

    Related: 5 Key Things You Need Before Launching a PR Campaign

    Three ways to show up for the media

    1. Make your story and expertise ultra-visible. Upon skimming your company’s website or social media channels briefly, it should be immediately clear what knowledge you can share and what makes your mission and story unique. Work on polishing this until it’s concise and easy to grasp — and avoid long, winding narratives. Make sure your story is present in messaging and visuals on your homepage, About page and Press Room page.

    Related: 5 Ways Companies Can Create Content That’s Actually Helpful

    2. Start sharing your story and expertise on your owned channels. Even if journalists aren’t knocking on your door quite yet, you still have the opportunity to share what they’re looking for (and catch their attention in doing so!). Use your social media platforms as an opportunity to be a thought leader and share your story and expertise there consistently.

    Plus, key players in your company should be prepared to share content on their personal accounts as well. CEOs and other executives have a powerful opportunity to leverage social media to share expertise and tell your brand story to your clients, customers and employees. In doing so, they position themselves as valuable media spokespeople.

    3. Set up a profile on Qwoted and actively use it. Qwoted.com has a free offering that allows you to set up a profile as an expert and pitch to relevant news outlets. Just like setting up a press page on your website, this is an impactful way to show that you’re ready for press (and worthy of it!).

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    Kelsey Kloss

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  • 3 Kinds of Bad Press (And How to Handle Each of Them) | Entrepreneur

    3 Kinds of Bad Press (And How to Handle Each of Them) | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As a 15-year publicist, I can tell you that simplistic, feel-good adages don’t always hold true. Not all press is good press; in fact, in our current culture of basically everything going online instantaneously — whether it’s true or not, confirmed or not — bad press can be quite damaging, running the gamut from words that wound, at the least, to total ruination, at the worst.

    To take just one timely example: In the late summer of 2023, popular entertainer Lizzo was sued by three of her former dancers for creating a hostile work environment and for sexual harassment. The damage was immediate (including the cancelation of the Made in America festival she was headlining, omission of her name from a song Beyoncé performed only hours after the case was announced, others coming out of the woodwork with similar allegations) and the backlash is ongoing: criticisms of her lack of accountability, haters predicting her doom, the press having a field day with the negativity surrounding a pop sensation known for her stance on body positivity.

    Basically, bad press can transform into a bad reputation in a New York minute, so you have to take it seriously. If you don’t grab the reins of the narrative, someone else will — and then they’ll be in charge of the direction in which the subsequent news goes, not you.

    Though most of us don’t have to deal with the immense notoriety that can come with immense fame, we all live in the same world at the same time. If you’re in business for yourself in the digital age of the early 21st century, here are three types of bad press you’re likely to encounter and starting points on how to handle them.

    Related: Don’t Let Your Biggest Client Become Your Biggest Nightmare — You Should Fire Them Instead. Here’s Why.

    Scenario #1: Negative reviews

    Everyone’s a critic these days, right? Customer comment sections of websites are free and virtually anonymous to access, not just allowing bad reviews but almost inviting them. Let’s face it: Are you more likely to post about a positive experience you had or to wield the power of a negative testimonial when you’re unhappy with an experience? The point being: if there’s a forum to publish a bad review of your company, your service, or your product, you’d be a unicorn not to get at least some bad reviews at least some of the time.

    What can you do about it?

    • Don’t take every negative review to heart. Many are just one voice about one encounter, and reasonable people (the kind of people you want as clients) understand that one two-star review does not outweigh a multitude of four and five-stars and does not accurately reflect the whole of your enterprise.
    • Do not respond personally to what amounts to a personal anecdote — especially when you’re coming from a place of reactionary emotion — and train your staff to refrain in kind. No exceptions.
    • Instead, appoint a spokesperson from your internal communications team or hire an external crisis management specialist to be the voice of your company when something needs to be said, and then rely on that person to ensure consistency and accuracy of messaging.

    Related: 3 Tips for Dealing With Negative Reviews Like a True Entrepreneur

    Scenario #2: Troll comments

    Like it or not, trolling is another thing that’s not going away in modern society. Many faceless, nameless lurkers on the internet (hello, Reddit) and especially on social media are only too eager to initiate potentially inflammatory conversations or instigate conflict, usually just for a sense of self-importance. Trolls love to weigh in on comments that have gone viral or well-noticed posts — the more eyes that see their contributions, the better. Sometimes troll comments are just ridiculous and can be ignored … but sometimes, especially when there’s a lot of them on a related theme, it’s time to look at how to respond.

    What can you do about it?

    • Have a system in place to address or resolve the comments. Don’t wait until your brand is trolled to devise a plan of action.
    • Assess the volume of commentary. If we’re only talking about a few derogatory comments, it’s okay to hide or delete them.
    • But if there’s a significant amount, you need to search for the kernel of truth in them and look into doing things better to create a new truth. If an apology is called for, have one curated by an expert. Trolls are trying to get a rise out of you, but a PR pro isn’t emotionally invested, and so won’t rise to take the bait.
    • Whatever you do, don’t clap back. You can respond, but don’t clap. There’s a time for silence, such as when the comments are simply unfounded and do not call for redress. But silence can also make things worse when a response is warranted. If you think you can easily kill off the bad buzz with a direct, objective, fair response, go for it.

    Scenario #3: Dislike of your brand

    An article critical of your brand just got published. Ouch. A food critic didn’t like your new tasting menu. A fashion blog panned your new yoga pants. Your customer service department got three thumbs-downs in a row. Professional criticism can feel like a personal attack when you’re the one ultimately responsible for quality control, and your natural first impulse is to get upset, followed by a desire to sling some mud back at the source. Don’t.

    What can you do about it?

    • Instead of recoiling from the sting, lean into it for a few minutes, considering the level of validity of what’s been said.
    • If you can find some — and you probably will (I truly believe the media isn’t out to get us business owners but, rather, serves as neutral “secret shoppers”) — just acknowledge the experience and what you can learn from it.
    • Call a team meeting to investigate any changes worth making to improve the situation, like trying less salt in the soup or adding a question about customer satisfaction to the end of your call center’s script.
    • With new best practices in place, feel free to broadcast them loud and clear via a press release, a posted blog on your website, or a newly added product description line.

    Yep. Negative press is a reality of doing business. The bad news? The situations discussed above are becoming more widespread by the day. The good news? Because they’re so ubiquitous, you’re not alone in learning how to navigate them with tact and finesse. When you see red flags waving on your business landscape, view them as an opportunity to forge ahead smarter and stronger, and you’ll be better equipped to act rather than react.

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    Emily Reynolds Bergh

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  • CSP Foods presents Filmfare & Femina Bhojpuri Icons meets with thunderous response

    CSP Foods presents Filmfare & Femina Bhojpuri Icons meets with thunderous response

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    Filmfare and Femina, the iconic entertainment and lifestyle brands of the renowned Worldwide Media, a Times Group company, have always been at the forefront of recognising outstanding contributions in a variety of fields. These two prestigious brands collaborated for the first time to bring forth CSP Foods presents Filmfare & Femina Bhojpuri Icons co-hosted by Filamchi Bhojpuri’. The electrifying event was held on July 16 at the Ramada by Wyndham, located in the heart of Lucknow.

     

    The evening was marked by a grand celebration of excellence in the Bhojpuri film industry, arts, entrepreneurship, education, sports, and other fields. This ground-breaking event brought together luminaries from the Bhojpuri industry, who lauded the collaboration of these two iconic brands in recognising and honouring the industry’s outstanding achievements.

     

    The night was filled with unforgettable winning moments that recognised some extraordinary talents and achievements. Ravi Kishan was named Outstanding Performer in OTT and Cinema for his contributions to cinema and television. Sharda Sinha received the Outstanding Contribution to Music award after entertaining the audience with her powerful music. The dynamic and versatile Pawan Singh was named Icon of the Year, while the charismatic and enchanting Kajal Raghwani was named Icon of the Year (Female). The talented Chintu Pandey, whose magnetic presence on screen captivated the hearts of many, was named Promising Star of the Year (Male). Khesari Lal Yadav was named Entertainer of the Year for his outstanding performance in front of his fans and audiences. Yamini Singh, the rising star known for her alluring charm and exceptional acting abilities, was named Promising Star of the Year (Female). Sanjay Mishra received the prestigious Pride of Bhojpuri Soil award. The legendary Manoj Tiwari received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for his enormous contribution to the industry.

    With a lineup of mesmerising performances, breathtaking musical numbers, and side-splitting comedy acts, the star-studded extravaganza had the audience on the edge of their seats. The hosts were superstar Ravi Kishan and the dashing Vishal Aditya Singh, who oozed charm and charisma. The heartthrob Yash Mishra and the enchanting Smrity Sinha joined them as co-hosts, forming a dynamic quartet that set the tone for the glitzy evening.

    The electrifying performances lit up the stage, making the awards night an absolute entertainment extravaganza. With their exhilarating moves on the iconic ‘Lollipop’ song, Aakansha Puri and Pawan Singh set the dance floor ablaze, leaving the audience in awe of their incredible chemistry. With his high-octane dance performance, the handsome Khesari Lal Yadav pumped up the energy levels at the awards. The evening took a heartfelt turn when the legendary Sharda Sinha took the stage to present Manoj Tiwari with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the industry.

    Pawan Singh and Khesari Lal Yadav put their differences aside in a heartfelt hug, demonstrating the power of unity and brotherhood in the entertainment industry. The stunning Rani Chatterjee, with her scintillating dance moves, had the audience roaring in approval. Ravi Kishan, the enigmatic star, celebrated his birthday as the clock struck midnight, with wishes and applause pouring in.

     

    Mr. Deepak Lamba, CEO, Worldwide Media, shared, “We are thrilled to have created an unforgettable evening, honouring stars who have made remarkable contributions beyond the boundaries of entertainment. This event is a testament to the power of inspiration, creativity, and achievement, uniting the realms of entertainment and real-world accomplishments. We are proud to have played a part in recognising and honouring the diverse achievements and accomplishments that have left an indelible mark on the Bhojpuri legacy.”

     

    Mr. Jitesh Pillaai, Editor, Filmfare, echoed the sentiment, “The awards celebration was a spectacle like no other. We paid tribute to the illustrious Bhojpuri legacy and honoured the extraordinary achievements of changemakers from the industry and beyond. It was an evening filled with excitement, celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Bhojpuri cinema and the remarkable contributions of individuals who have made a significant impact on society.”

     

    Ambika Muttoo, Editor-in-Chief of Femina, added, “We were thrilled to be a part of the magnificent celebration that recognised and appreciated the Bhojpuri legacy. The event showcased the best of the best, creating an enthralling awards night that celebrated the style, talent, and charisma that define the Bhojpuri industry.”

     

    The CSP Foods presents Filmfare & Femina Bhojpuri Icons co-hosted by Filamchi Bhojpuri is in association with Captain Video Private Limited, Navratna Ayurvedic Oil, Carrera, Hell Energy Drink, Navratna Title Sponsor – CSP Foods, Co-hosted by – Filamchi, Co-powered by – Manforce Condoms, Mahak Silver Pearls and Kamar Film Factory, Radio Partner – Radio City, Venue Partner – Ramada by Wyndham Lucknow, Skincare Partner – Greenleaf.

     

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    Filmfare

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  • Political Campaigns May Never Be the Same

    Political Campaigns May Never Be the Same

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    Depending on whom you ask in politics, the sudden advances in artificial intelligence will either transform American democracy for the better or bring about its ruin. At the moment, the doomsayers are louder. Voice-impersonation technology and deep-fake videos are scaring campaign strategists, who fear that their deployment in the days before the 2024 election could decide the winner. Even some AI developers are worried about what they’ve unleashed: Last week the CEO of the company behind ChatGPT practically begged Congress to regulate his industry. (Whether that was genuine civic-mindedness or self-serving performance remains to be seen.)

    Amid the growing panic, however, a new generation of tech entrepreneurs is selling a more optimistic future for the merger of AI and politics. In their telling, the awesome automating power of AI has the potential to achieve in a few years what decades of attempted campaign-finance reform have failed to do—dramatically reduce the cost of running for election in the United States. With AI’s ability to handle a campaign’s most mundane and time-consuming tasks—think churning out press releases or identifying and targeting supporters—candidates would have less need to hire high-priced consultants. The result could be a more open and accessible democracy, in which small, bare-bones campaigns can compete with well-funded juggernauts.

    Martin Kurucz, the founder of a Democratic fundraising company that is betting big on AI, calls the technology “a great equalizer.” “You will see a lot more representation,” he told me, “because people who didn’t have access to running for elected office now will have that. That in and of itself is huge.”

    Annie Lowrey: AI isn’t omnipotent. It’s janky.

    Kurucz told me that his firm, Sterling Data Company, has used AI to help more than 1,000 Democratic campaigns and committees, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and now-Senator John Fetterman, identify potential donors. The speed with which AI can sort through donor files meant that Sterling was able to cut its prices last year by nearly half, Kurucz said, allowing even small campaigns to afford its services. “I don’t think there have ever been this many down-ballot candidates with some level of digital fundraising operation,” Kurucz said. “These candidates now have access to a proper campaign infrastructure.”

    Campaigns big and small have begun using generative-AI software such as ChatGPT and DALL-E to create digital ads, proofread, and even write press releases and fundraising pitches. A handful of consultants told me they were mostly just experimenting with AI, but Kurucz said that its influence is more pervasive. “Almost half of the first drafts of fundraising emails are being produced by ChatGPT,” he claimed. “Not many [campaigns] will publicly admit it.”

    The adoption of AI may not be such welcome news, however, for voters who are already sick of being bombarded with ads, canned emails, and fundraising requests during election season. Advertising will become even more hyper-targeted, Tom Newhouse, a GOP strategist, told me, because campaigns can use AI to sort through voter data, run performance tests, and then create dozens of highly specific ads with far fewer staff. The shift, he said, could narrow the gap between small campaigns and their richer rivals.

    But several political consultants I spoke with were skeptical that the technology would democratize campaigning anytime soon. For one, AI won’t aid only the scrappy, underfunded campaigns. Deeper-pocketed organizations could use it to expand their capacity exponentially, whether to test and quick produce hundreds of highly specific ads or pinpoint their canvassing efforts in ways that widen their advantage.

    Amanda Litman, the founder of Run for Something, an organization that recruits first-time progressive candidates, told me that the office seekers she works with aren’t focused on AI. Hyperlocal races are still won by the candidates who knock on the most doors; robots haven’t taken up that task, and even if they could, who would want them to? “The most important thing for a candidate is the relationship with a voter,” Litman said. “AI can’t replicate that. At least not yet.”

    Although campaigns have started using AI, its impact—even to people in politics—is not always apparent. Fetterman’s Pennsylvania campaign worked with Kurucz’s AI-first firm, but two former advisers to Fetterman scoffed at the suggestion that the technology contributed meaningfully to his victory. “I don’t remember anyone using AI for anything on that campaign,” Kenneth Pennington, a digital consultant and one of the Fetterman campaign’s earliest hires, told me. Pennington is a partner at a progressive consulting firm called Middle Seat, which he said had not adopted the use of generative AI in any significant way and had no immediate plans to. “Part of what our approach and selling point is as a team, and as a firm, is authenticity and creativity, which I think is not a strong suit of a tool like ChatGPT,” Pennington said. “It’s robotic. I don’t think it’s ready for prime time in politics.”

    If AI optimists and pessimists agree on anything, it’s that the technology will allow more people to participate in the political process. Whether that’s a good thing is another question.

    Just as AI platforms could allow, say, a schoolteacher running for city council to draft press releases in between grading papers, so too can they help a far-right activist with millions of followers create a semi-believable deep-fake video of President Joe Biden announcing a military draft.

    “We’ve democratized access to the ability to create sophisticated fakes,” Hany Farid, a digital-forensics expert at UC Berkeley, told me.

    Fears over deep-fakes have escalated in the past month. In response to Biden’s formal declaration of his reelection bid, the Republican National Committee released a video that used AI-generated images to depict a dystopian future. Within days, Democratic Representative Yvette Clarke of New York introduced legislation to require political ads to disclose any use of generative AI (which the RNC ad did). Early this month, the bipartisan American Association of Political Consultants issued a statement condemning the use of “deep-fake generative AI content” as a violation of its code of ethics.

    Read: Just wait until Trump is a chatbot

    Nearly everyone I interviewed for this story expressed some degree of concern over the role that deep-fakes could play in the 2024 election. One scenario that came up repeatedly was the possibility that a compelling deep-fake could be released on the eve of the election, leaving too little time for it to be widely debunked. Clarke told me she worried specifically about a bad actor suppressing the vote by releasing invented audio or video of a trusted voice in a particular community announcing a change or closure of polling sites.

    But the true nightmare scenario is what Farid called “death by a thousand cuts”—a slow bleed of deep-fakes that destroys trust in authentic sound bites and videos. “If we enter this world where anything could be fake, you can deny reality. Nothing has to be real,” Farid said.

    This alarm extends well beyond politics. A consortium of media and tech companies are advocating for a global set of standards for the use of AI, including efforts to authenticate images and videos as well as to identify, through watermarks or other digital fingerprints, content that has been generated or manipulated by AI. The group is led by Adobe, whose Photoshop helped introduce the widespread use of computer-image editing. “We believe that this is an existential threat to democracy if we don’t solve the deep-fake problem,” Dana Rao, Adobe’s general counsel, told me. “If people don’t have a way to believe the truth, we’re not going to be able to decide policy, laws, government issues.”

    Not everyone is so concerned. As vice president of the American Association of Political Consultants, Larry Hyuhn helped draft the statement that the organization put out denouncing deep-fakes and warning its members against using them. But he’s relatively untroubled about the threats they pose. “Frankly, in my experience, it’s harder than everyone thinks it is,” said Hyuhn, whose day job is providing digital strategy to Democratic clients who include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Am I afraid of it? No,” Hyuhn told me. “Does it concern me that there are always going to be bad actors doing bad things? That’s just life.”

    Betsy Hoover, a former Obama-campaign organizer who now runs a venture-capital fund that invests in campaign tech, argued that voters are more discerning than people give them credit for. In her view, decades of steadily more sophisticated disinformation campaigns have conditioned the electorate to question what they see on the internet. “Voters have had to decide what to listen to and where to get their information for a really long time,” she told me. “And at the end of the day, for the most part, they’ve figured it out.”

    Deep-fake videos are sure to get more convincing, but for the time being, many are pretty easy to spot. Those that impersonate Biden, for example, do a decent job of capturing his voice and appearance. But they make him sound slightly, well, younger than he is. His speech is smoother, without the verbal stumbles and stuttering that have become more pronounced in recent years. The technology “does require someone with some real skill to make use of,” he said. “You can give me a football; I still can’t throw it 50 yards.”

    The same limitations apply to AI’s potential for revolutionizing campaigns, as anyone who’s played around with ChatGPT can attest. When I asked ChatGPT to write a press release from the Trump campaign announcing a hypothetical endorsement of the former president by his current Republican rival, Nikki Haley, within seconds the bot delivered a serviceable first draft that accurately captured the format of a press release and made up believable, if generic, quotes from Trump and Haley. But it omitted key background information that any junior-level staffer would have known to include—that Haley was the governor of South Carolina, for example, and then served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.

    Still, anyone confident enough to predict AI’s impact on an election nearly a year and a half away is making a risky bet. ChatGPT didn’t even exist six months ago. Uncertainty pervaded my conversations with the technology’s boosters and skeptics alike. Pennington told me to take everything he said about AI, both its promise and its peril, “with a grain of salt” because he could be proved wrong. “I think some people are overhyping it. I think some people are not thinking about it who should be,” Hoover said. “There’s a really wide spectrum because all of this is just evolving so much day to day.”

    Read: Bots are destroying political discourse as we know it

    That constant and rapid evolution is what sets AI apart from other technologies that have been touted as democratic disrupters. “This is one of the few technologies in the history of planet Earth that is continuously and exponentially bettering itself,” Kurucz, Sterling’s founder, said. Of all the predictions I heard about AI’s impact on campaigns, his were the most assured. (Because AI forms the basis of his sales pitch to clients, perhaps his prognostication, too, should be taken with a grain of salt.) Although he was unsure exactly how fast AI could transform campaigns, he was certain it would.

    “You no longer need average people and average consultants and average anything,” Kurucz said. “Because AI can do average.” He compared the skeptics in his field to executives at Blockbuster who passed on the chance to buy Netflix before the start-up eventually destroyed the video-rental giant. “The old guard,” Kurucz concluded, “is just not ready to be replaced.”

    Hoover offered no such bravado, but she said Democrats in particular shouldn’t let their fears of AI stop them from trying to harness its potential. “The genie is out of the bottle,” she said. “We have a choice, then, as campaigners: to take the good from it and allow it to make our work better and more effective, or to hide under a rock and pretend it’s not here, because we’re afraid of it.”

    “I don’t think we can afford to do the latter,” she added.

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    Russell Berman

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  • SciSparc Signs Agreement for the Supply of CBD-rich Cannabis Oil for its Clinical Trial on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    SciSparc Signs Agreement for the Supply of CBD-rich Cannabis Oil for its Clinical Trial on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    The cannabis oil will be used as a part of the Company‘s proprietary SCI-210 treatment combination of CBD and CannAmide™

     TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SciSparc Ltd. (Nasdaq: SPRC) (“Company” or “SciSparc”), a specialty clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of therapies to treat disorders of  the central nervous system, today announced it has signed an agreement with Israel’s leading and pioneer manufacturer and distributer of cannabis-based products, Tikun Olam Cannbit Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Israel (TASE: TKUN), to supply CBD-rich oil from Cannbit strains by, to be used as part of its proprietary SCI-210 treatment, which is a combination of CBD and CannAmide™. SCI-210 treatment will be used in the Company’s clinical trial (“Trial”) on children with autism spectrum disorder (“ASD”).

    The Trial will be conducted at the Soroka University Medical Center, led by Prof. Gal Meiri, head of the Soroka Preschool Psychiatry Unit. The Company has already secured approvals from the Israeli Ministry of Health as well as the Ethics Committee of the Soroka University Medical Center to conduct the Company’s clinical trial.

    The Trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of SciSparc’s drug candidate SCI-210, a proprietary combination of cannabidiol (“CBD”) and CannAmide™, in comparison to CBD monotherapy in children with ASD. The study design is a 20-week, randomized double-blind…

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  • Press Releases May Seem Old-School, But They Work. Here’s How to Use Them.

    Press Releases May Seem Old-School, But They Work. Here’s How to Use Them.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Do you want to increase online mentions, create more backlinks and boost brand awareness? Who doesn’t? Digital PR can do just that, and one of the most overlooked digital PR strategies is creating and distributing press releases. Let’s see how to use the process within your SEO strategy.

    A press release is a written text about specific news or events within your business. Press releases are a proactive way to provide journalists and media outlets with important information about an organization so they can write their piece and publish it.

    Look at it like digital storytelling. You want your press release to be interesting and exciting enough to capture the attention of media outlets, blogs and other distributors.

    Related: Harness the Power of New Public Relations Technology

    Press releases and SEO

    So can press release distribution help your SEO? The short answer is yes. The goal of press release distribution shouldn’t necessarily be to gain a particular number of backlinks to your website, but it should be used as a distribution channel to share your brand’s content. The links you want are created by the journalists who have transcribed your story. They’ll likely be high-quality, natural, relevant and authoritative backlinks, and quality backlinks are a significant ranking factor.

    Every website wants these included within its backlink profile, so with press release distribution, you should aim to provide content that would get journalists and news publications to talk about your business and the information you’ve provided. They’ll write about the press release and put their natural spin on the story; when they do, they’ll link back to your website as a reference for their readers.

    They’re most likely to be linked to your homepage, making press releases an excellent brand-building exercise. Landing media coverage, both online and offline, is great for brand exposure and can generate a good range of natural backlinks to your website, as well as plenty of referral traffic from users who are reading and sharing the news publication.

    Related: How to Write a Press Release Reporters Will Actually Read

    Press release distribution

    Now let’s take a look at how press release distribution works. Firstly, don’t attempt to write a press release if you don’t have anything to write about. A journalist’s time is limited. So is the real estate on their websites. You want to make your press release about a potentially groundbreaking employee initiative or an innovative product you’ve just launched.

    It would be best if you instantly grabbed the media outlet’s attention. You don’t want to be mass selected and deleted before they’ve even had a chance to find out what your press release is about. This applies to the length of the press release too. Get to the point as quickly as possible, and if the journalist wants to know more, they’ll contact you directly. Because of this, stick to one topic. Now that you have your press release, it’s time to look at how you’re distributed.

    To start, it depends on whether you’re planning to distribute your press release or use a service to write and distribute it. If you choose to distribute your press release, you may find that the conversion rate is low. However, you could use a service where everything is done for you.

    Press release writers will craft an engaging press release to get your news across professionally. The benefit of using a service to write your press release is that you don’t need to spend time and resources researching the best way to craft one. You’ll have unlimited revisions, and it won’t be distributed until it’s just right.

    Related: Press Releases Aren’t Dead. Here are 4 Reasons they Remain a Valuable Tool

    Implementing press release distribution into your marketing strategy

    Firstly, you need to consider what your press release should be about. More and more brands are adopting a more personalized, human approach to press releases. People are craving reality now more than ever, so true meaningful stories could work best.

    There is differing research on when to issue press releases; many suggest issuing them on a Tuesday or Friday at 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. Remember that an average of over 1000 press releases are fired into journalists’ inboxes each day, so varying the time of your release could enable yours to stand out and encourage more visibility.

    It may be smart to share releases a few minutes before or after the usual bombardment. Alternatively, if you choose to share your press release on social media, you want to time this when your users are most active. Share on social media in the afternoon and over the weekend because this is when people are most active on these platforms and therefore are more likely to discover, engage with and share your content. Press release distribution can be a very beneficial tool for your SEO strategy and a proper strategy can change the user experience with your business.

    Related: 5 Things Not to Do When Pitching Journalists

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    Jigar T

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  • Evergreen Podcasts, Emergent Risk International Team Up for ‘Disinformation’ Podcast

    Evergreen Podcasts, Emergent Risk International Team Up for ‘Disinformation’ Podcast

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    Longtime Washington Journalist, Paul Brandus explores how ‘disinformation’ can impact everything from elections, finance markets, and trust in our institutions.

    Press Release
    –

    Sep 15, 2022


    CLEVELAND, September 15, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Evergreen Podcasts, an emerging growth podcast production and distribution company, and Emergent Risk International, a Dallas-based risk advisory firm, are proud to announce a new podcast, Disinformation, a deep dive into one of the most important issues of our time. It will be hosted by veteran Washington journalist Paul Brandus. 

    “Disinformation plays a role in nearly every aspect of our lives today, undermining trust in institutions and accelerating conflict,” says Meredith Wilson, the Chief Executive Officer of Emergent Risk International, the global risk advisory firm providing content, direction, and commentary throughout the series. “Disinformation, for our multinational clients, also raises their risk profile and can wreak havoc on their brand, sometimes in minutes. It can impact elections and financial markets; it can even cause physical damage to infrastructure. We’re pleased to work with Evergreen on this podcast to highlight this important topic.”

    The series will be hosted by Paul Brandus, Emergent Risk International’s communications director and longtime Washington journalist, historian, author, and keynote speaker. He is also a contributing columnist for Dow Jones/MarketWatch. Brandus has lent his talents to a number of other award-winning podcasts at Evergreen, including First Lady to Jackie O, a Gold Muse Award-winning companion podcast to his best-selling book on the same topic.

    “This podcast series is a great exploration into disinformation, the history, the technology, and how it can impact everything from war and peace, to elections, financial markets, trust in our institutions, and more,” says Michael DeAloia, Evergreen’s chief executive officer. “It is a vitally important topic, and we’re thrilled to partner with Emergent Risk International. We’re also delighted to be working with host Paul Brandus again, a clever and engaging storyteller.”

    The show will be produced and edited by Evergreen’s Noah Foutz, an award-winning music composer and podcast producer who earned the Silver Muse Award alongside Brandus for the show West Wing Reports on the Evergreen Podcast Network.

    About Emergent Risk International

    Emergent Risk International is a Dallas, Texas-based strategic intelligence and advisory firm specializing in crafting business-centered risk intelligence, technology, staffing, training, and consulting solutions to address geopolitical, regulatory, and security risks in global business. We are located in the US, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Learn more about how ERI can help your business address geopolitical risk here. 

    About Evergreen Podcasts

    Evergreen Podcasts is an award-winning production house that brings entertaining, thought-provoking content to people wherever they are. We produce podcasts that capture the everyday color of modern thinkers, influencers, and personalities. Top thought leaders and breakout brands choose Evergreen to capture inspiring stories through branded content, original shows, and partner podcasts. Ask us how our comprehensive podcast production, creative marketing, and distribution solutions can help connect your brand to a broader audience. 

    Learn more about Evergreen Podcasts and check out our complete lineup of shows. Our storytelling podcasts have something for everyone. 

    Source: Evergreen Podcasts

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  • Brett’s Towing & Repair Wins NASCAR Giveaway Through Tow Truck Financing With Beacon Funding

    Brett’s Towing & Repair Wins NASCAR Giveaway Through Tow Truck Financing With Beacon Funding

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    Brett’s Towing & Repair financed 3 trucks with Beacon Funding, expanding to a 6-truck fleet. They were grand prize winners of tickets to NASCAR weekend races in Talladega! Their trip included 3-night hotel accommodations, tickets to the Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 race, tickets to the Xfinity Series race, motor coach transportation, souvenir swag and a $500 Visa gift card.

    Press Release
    –

    Aug 12, 2016


    Northbrook, IL, August 12, 2016 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​Beacon Funding proudly recognizes Brett’s Towing & Repair in Napoleon, OH, as winners of the Beacon Race Giveaway, which included tickets to NASCAR weekend races in Talladega, AL.

    Brett’s Towing entered into the drawing after submitting a financing application during the giveaway February 10 – March 15 2016. As part of the package, Brett’s Towing also received a free video shoot showcasing their trucks and sharing their experience in Talladega. The Beacon Race Giveaway prize package included three-night hotel accommodations, tickets to the Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 race, tickets to the Xfinity Series race, motor coach transportation, souvenir swag, and a $500 Visa gift card.

    “I would definitely recommend Beacon for others starting a towing business,” Allan Benien, owner of Brett’s Towing, says. “With us being a startup company, they were able to help us with the financing of one of our first trucks. They even pointed us in the right direction for new equipment, as well.”

    Becky Neems, Digital Marketing Specialist

    “Seeing Talladega live was incredible,” Deb Benien, Manager of Brett’s Towing, says. “We couldn’t ask for better seats.”

    Brett’s Towing was a valuable customer before being entered into the drawing. They have financed three tow trucks with Beacon Funding, including one flatbed tow truck, one light duty wrecker, and one heavy duty wrecker.

    “I would definitely recommend Beacon for others starting a towing business,” Allan Benien, owner of Brett’s Towing, says. “With us being a startup company, they were able to help us with the financing of one of our first trucks. They even pointed us in the right direction for new equipment, as well.”

    As an Agero Service Provider, Brett’s Towing found out about Beacon Funding through the recommendation via Beacon’s Agero Truck Financing Perks. Agero Truck Financing Perks is a program provided by Beacon Funding and Agero that helps Agero providers get perks like Visa Prepaid cards when financing trucks through any of Beacon Funding’s beneficial equipment financing programs.

    For the latest Beacon Funding news, follow us on Twitter. For information regarding Beacon’s financing and leasing programs, visit www.beaconfunding.com.

    ABOUT BEACON FUNDING CORPORATION
    For 26 years, Beacon Funding Corporation has been providing equipment financing solutions to all types of organizations and businesses throughout a variety of industries in the United States and Canada. Beacon Funding focuses on being a specialist in the select markets it serves. As a result, Beacon differentiates itself by offering start-up and existing business clients a wider range of equipment leasing and financing options. For more information, please visit www.beaconfunding.com.

    ABOUT AGERO

    Agero, a member company of The Cross Country Group, is a leading provider of private-labeled, connected vehicle services for the automotive, insurance and aftermarket industries and is a market leader in roadside assistance and claims management. Based in Medford, Mass., the company has operations throughout North America and offices in Europe. For more information, visit www.agero.com.
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    Source: Beacon Funding

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