TOKYO (Reuters) - The Australian dollar and other riskier currencies rebounded against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as a sell-off last week in global bonds on worries about eventual monetary policy tightening appeared to have eased for now.
FILE PHOTO: Australian dollars are seen in an illustration photo February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
The British pound drew additional support from bets of a faster vaccine-led economic recovery, while resurgent risk appetite pushed the safe-haven Japanese yen to a six-month low versus the dollar.
“The market is overpricing (the chance of a near-term rate hike),” said Tohru Sasaki, JPMorgan’s head of Japan market research in Tokyo.
“Eventually it’s true that if the economy continues to be strong and if inflationary pressure is getting higher, the central bank should be normalising the policy rate. But we think it’s too early to do that, so it’s a kind of overreaction at this moment.”
The Aussie jumped 0.6% to $0.7754 in the Asian session on Monday, following a 2.1% plunge on Friday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will hold its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday, and markets are widely expecting it to reinforce its forward guidance for three more years of near-zero rates, while also addressing the market dislocation.
The New Zealand dollar strengthened 0.6% to $0.7270, recovering some of Friday’s 1.9% slide.
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Sterling rose 0.4% to $1.3972 as investors bet a swift vaccination programme would help lift the British economy from a deep coronavirus-driven recession.
British finance minister Rishi Sunak is set to announce an extra 1.65 billion pounds ($2.30 billion) to fund the country’s vaccination roll-out as part of his annual budget statement on Wednesday.
The euro gained 0.2% to $1.20910, after dropping 0.9% at the end of last week, the most since April.
Against the yen, the dollar hit a six-month high of 106.70 before erasing gains.
The dollar index was little changed in Asian trade after posting its biggest surge since June on Friday.
U.S. bond yields slid sharply on Monday, with the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield falling about 5 basis points to 1.403%, off Thursday’s one-year high of 1.614%.
Currency markets have taken their cues from the global bond market, where yields had surged last week in anticipation of a swift economic rebound and on bets that global central banks will need to tighten policy much earlier than they have been forecasting.
Equities and commodities also sold off last week as the debt rout unsettled investors and lifted demand for safe-haven currencies, including the U.S. dollar.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who last week repeated the U.S. central bank would look through any near-term inflation spike and tighten policy only when the economy was clearly improving, will speak on the economy at a Wall Street Journal jobs event on March 4.
Positioning flows indicated dollar net short positions rose last week after falling to the lowest level since mid-December the previous week.
In crypto-currency markets, bitcoin rose 2% to $46,155.72 but was still well off a record high of $58,354.14 hit on Feb. 21.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Jacqueline Wong
This is the second match of the season between these two and while the Lakers had a tough time closing out the first contest, they never let the game get away from them this time. They only faced a deficit for 12 seconds and it was a one-point deficit. The guys tied their season-high with 41 points in the first quarter, and they then set a new high at the half with 73 points.
The Lakers transformed steals into fast-break points one great defensive play at a time. The team managed to close out with 22 fast break points — almost double that of the Warriors. Aside from the team’s 14 steals, the Lakers also managed to snag 46 defensive rebounds. Eleven of those rebounds belonged to Kyle Kuzma (12 pts). Kuz came off the bench tonight and made an impact immediately on the glass, on both sides of the floor.
But tonight, the floor general was LeBron James (19 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl). The King played with a little extra pizzazz in tonight’s game. He was dancing around the arc and draining triples — going 3-for-5 from three. His defense was locked. LeBron’s passing mastery has definitely infiltrated the team’s DNA because there was some pretty some pretty charismatic passing happening.
The way the guys moved the ball is how they achieved six teammates in double figures. It was Markieff Morris (13 pts, 8 reb) from three, Talen Horton-Tucker (11 pts) along the baseline and up-and-under, Alex Caruso (13 pts) through the lane, and Dennis Schröder (12 pts, 6 ast) all over.
Back in the winning column, the Lakers have another opportunity to stay there tomorrow when they take on the Phoenix Suns.
The quiet switch by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence went largely unnoticed as the outcry grew that the Biden administration was failing to punish the prince in any way, despite having just declared in no uncertain terms that MBS was responsible.
The first link to the report that was sent out by ODNI went dead. It was then replaced with a second version that removed three of the men it had just announced "participated in, ordered, or were otherwise complicit in or responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi."
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to clarify why the names were originally on the list and what roles, if any, they may have had in Khashoggi's killing.
"We put a revised document on the website because the original one erroneously contained three names which should not have been included," an ODNI spokesperson told CNN.
A senior administration official had argued on Friday afternoon before the change was noticed that the report contained no new information.
"This [is] information that has been known to the U.S. government and briefed to select committees and members of Congress over one year ago," the official said.
Yet three of the names that ODNI had first listed had not previously been mentioned in reports about Khashoggi's death.
The White House referred requests for comment to the ODNI.
"Historically, and even in recent history-- democratic and republican administrations-- there have not been sanctions put in place for the leaders of foreign governments s where we have diplomatic relations and even where we don't have diplomatic relations," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told CNN on Sunday. "We believe there is more effective ways to make sure this doesn't happen again."
The first of the three names removed is Abdulla Mohammed Alhoeriny, who has not been previously connected with Khashoggi's death.
According to a person familiar with the inner workings of Saudi intelligence, he's the brother of General Abdulaziz bin Mohammed al-Howraini, a minister who is in charge of the powerful Presidency of State Security which oversees multiple intelligence and counterterrorism agencies. Abdulla (as it's spelled by ODNI) appears in Saudi reports as the assistant chief of state security for counterterrorism.
The two other names that appeared in the unclassified intelligence report and then disappeared are Yasir Khalid Alsalem and Ibrahim al-Salim. It was not immediately clear who they are.
The three men are not among the 18 who have been sanctioned by the US for Khashoggi's murder. Those 18 were listed in the revised intelligence report, whose file name on the ODNI website includes "v2," clearly indicating it's the second version.
The initial intelligence report appears to have been online for several hours before ODNI took it down, according to the Wayback Machine internet archive. The discrepancy between the two lists of names was noticed on Capitol Hill and clarification has been asked of ODNI, a House Intelligence Committee official said. A spokesperson for the Senate Intelligence Committee declined to comment.
The report, which was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, assessed that the Crown Prince, known as MBS, approved the operation in Istanbul to "capture or kill" Khashoggi.
The report concludes with a list of names -- first 21, then 18 when it was revised -- who US intelligence has "high confidence" were involved in the grisly murder but does not assess whether they knew that the operation would lead to his death.
Seventeen Saudis had already been sanctioned for the murder by the US Treasury Department. An eighteenth, a former senior intelligence official, was added Friday. The force that serves as the protective detail for MBS, known as the "Tiger Squad," was also sanctioned.
The State Department also announced 76 unnamed Saudis would be barred from the United States under a "Khashoggi Ban."
The Saudi government immediately responded to Friday's report and criticized its conclusions.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom's leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions," a statement read.
Biden said over the weekend that more announcements regarding Saudi Arabi would be coming Monday. The White House clarified his comments, saying the State Department would provide more details about the announcements already made.
"The recalibration of relations with Saudi Arabia began on January 20th and it's ongoing. The Administration took a wide range of new actions on Friday," a White House official said. "The President is referring to the fact that on Monday, the State Department will provide more details and elaborate on those announcements, not new announcements."
On a chastening night for the Hollywood establishment, Netflix emerged as the big winner at a shambolic 78th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, taking home 10 trophies. Amazon became the first of the internet insurgents to win best motion picture comedy or musical, for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Apple TV+ and Hulu also received notable Globes.
But the old guard managed to hang on to the most prestigious prize: “Nomadland,” from the awards powerhouse Searchlight, owned by Disney, was honored as best drama. Standout individual winners included Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), who became the first woman to receive a Globe for directing in 37 years.
Zhao called her film a “pilgrimage through grief and healing” and quoted one of the nomads she met along the way who spoke about the definition of compassion as a “breakdown of all the barriers between us.”
Although the organization behind the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, was harshly criticized in recent days for its complete lack of Black members, voters put forward a roster of winners that was diverse. In a major upset, Andra Day received the Globe for best actress for her performance in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honored as best actor for his performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” released by Netflix.
In a year when almost all of the nominated films have bypassed theaters because of the pandemic, the Globes — the biggest-tent awards show there is, given its dual focus on film and television — felt in some ways rather small. Winners came from films like “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “The Mauritanian,” which have struggled to get noticed. For many people, including some in Hollywood, it was hard to care about little golden thingamabobs at a time when the coronavirus is still killing roughly 2,000 Americans on most days.
After an awkward preshow, during which NBC presenters fawned over homebound nominees like Kate Hudson (“Music”) and Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”), the ceremony jolted to a start with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returning as hosts. Fey thanked the smattering of first responders who attended the ceremony in person this time around “so the celebrities can stay safe at home.”
Appearing live from different locations (with technology that seemed to stitch them onto a shared stage) Fey and Poehler riffed on how to differentiate movies from television shows — not so easy in the pandemic age, when they have melded together on streaming services.
“TV is the one that I watch five hours straight, but a movie is the one I don’t turn on because it’s two hours,” Poehler joked. “I don’t want to be in front of my TV for two hours. I want to be in front of my TV for one hour, five times.”
As has become custom, the hosts mocked the organization behind the Golden Globes. They ended on a serious note, however, castigating the group for having no Black members.
“Maybe you guys didn’t get the memo,” Fey said. “But you guys gotta change that.”
Jane Fonda spoke about the need for inclusion while accepting the Cecil B. Demille Award.NBC
The traditional engine of the Golden Globes, a colossal red carpet, did not exist this time around. The honorees were all at home. (Accepting trophies from mansions and luxury hotel rooms, tonally fine. Preening for hours for photographers while draped in diamonds and couture gowns, apparently not.) Fey hosted the ceremony from the Rainbow Room in New York, with Poehler stationed at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. A smattering of frontline and essential workers were invited to attend in person, but the usual ostentatious supper was scuppered.
The 78th Golden Globes arrived amid a renewed sense that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the scandal-prone group that bestows the awards, needs a dramatic overhaul. The 80-some voting members have long been painted as out of touch and faintly corrupt, including by their own hosts; Ricky Gervais referred to them as “vegetables” during last year’s live broadcast. But recent news reports have revealed brutal infighting and a questionable fixation on compensation.
The group has no Black members, The Los Angeles Times discovered. The uproar over that fact gained traction over the weekend as various Hollywood celebrities and industry guilds weighed in with their displeasure. The 18,000 member Directors Guild condemned the group on its Facebook page, writing: “A cosmetic fix isn’t enough. When whole cultures are shut out of the conversation, their art and their voices are shut out as well.”
Other critical voices included G.L.A.A.D, Times Up, Color of Change and others. Times Up began using the Twitter hashtag #TIMESUPGLOBES, and the advocacy group took out a full-page ad in The Los Angeles Times. Ava DuVernay, who in 2015 was the first Black woman nominated as best director by the H.F.P.A., tweeted: “Old news. New energy.” Despite the uproar, it did not appear that anyone was sitting out the night’s festivities, including DuVernay, who was scheduled to introduce a clip of “Hamilton,” which is nominated for best comedy or musical.
“The truth that’s not often discussed is that awards play a part in the economic reality of Black filmmakers, artists of color and women creators in this business,” DuVernay said in a statement she posted on social media. “Unfortunately, these shiny things matter to those who finance, greenlight, produce, distribute and market our projects.”
Toward the beginning of the show, three members of the H.F.P.A. appeared onstage for less than a minute to pledge to improve the group’s diversity. Helen Hoehne, the vice president of the organization, said, “We must have Black journalists within our organization,” while the former president and board chair Meher Tatna added, “We must also ensure everyone from all underrepresented communities gets a seat at our table,” adding that they “are going to make that happen.”
The group’s current president, Ali Sar, concluded that the H.F.P.A. would “create an environment where a diverse membership is the norm,” though he did not give any specifics.
Later, while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award, Jane Fonda urged Hollywood to do a better job at inclusion.
“The story we’ve been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry is which voices we respect and elevate and which we tune out,” she said, adding, “Let’s all of us, including the groups who decide who gets hired, what gets made and who wins awards, make an effort to expand that tent so that everyone rises and everyone’s story has a chance to be seen and heard.”
John Boyega won best supporting actor in a TV series for his role in Amazon’s “Small Axe.” Christopher Polk/Agence France-Presse, NBCUniversal, via Getty Images
As soon as nominations were announced on Feb. 3, the foreign press association was harshly criticized for overlooking films with mostly Black casts, including Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.” But the ceremony began with back-to-back honors for Black actors. The night’s first winner was Daniel Kaluuya, for best supporting actor for his performance as the Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah.” John Boyega then won best supporting actor in a TV series for playing a police officer in Amazon’s “Small Axe.”
Pixar’s “Soul,” which featured a Black protagonist — an aspiring jazz musician in search of his inspiration — won the Globe for best animated film. In an awkward moment, Pete Docter, who directed “Soul,” and Dana Murray, the film’s primary producer, both of whom are white, gave live acceptance speeches while the film’s co-director, Kemp Powers, who is Black, seemed to receive short shrift, offering thanks in a taped video that played on Docter’s iPad. (Kemp had apparently been told only on Sunday that he was a nominee. Co-directors have been excluded in the past.)
“One Night in Miami,” a fact-based drama about a meeting of four Black luminaries, received three nominations, including for Regina King’s directing and Leslie Odom Jr.’s portrayal of Sam Cooke. The film’s best hope was in the song category, where its contemplative “Speak Now,” sung and co-written by Odom, drew a nod. But the Globe for best song unexpectedly went to Diane Warren and contributors for “Io Si,” from “The Life Ahead,” a Netflix entry.
The press association’s lack of diversity was a recurring motif throughout the show. “It’s great to be Black (back) at the Golden Globes,” said Sterling K. Brown when he took the stage with his “This Is Us” co-star Susan Kelechi Watson to present two awards.
Chadwick Boseman won a posthumous Globe for his lead performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Taylor Simone Ledward, Boseman’s widow, accepted Boseman’s award in the most emotional moment of the night. “He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing at this moment in history,” she said.
In a surprise, Andra Day won best actress in a drama for “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”) were all considered strong contenders.
Chloé Zhao was one of three women nominated for best director.Searchlight Pictures/Hulu
Last year, controversy greeted the foreign press association’s nominees for directing. Once again, all five slots went to men. Only one woman had ever won the directing Globe: Barbra Streisand in 1984 for “Yentl.”
This year, Regina King, the force behind “One Night in Miami,” and Emerald Fennell, who directed “Promising Young Woman,” both received nominations — along with Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), who won. The other nominees were David Fincher (“Mank”) and Aaron Sorkin, who directed “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
Jason Sudeikis sported a casual look while accepting his award.NBC
The TV categories are something of an afterthought at the Globes, which draws its power from proximity to the Oscars. The foreign press association has tried to rectify the imbalance in recent years by rallying behind shows that have yet to pop. Globe voters, for instance, helped “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Transparent” gain wider attention. (On the other hand, the less said about their early support for “Mozart in the Jungle,” the better.)
But the H.F.P.A didn’t stick to its forward-thinking mantra this year and instead chose the Emmy winner “Schitt’s Creek” for best comedy.
Globe voters did give a boost to “Ted Lasso,” a freshman Apple TV+ sitcom. Jason Sudeikis, who stars in the series as a sweet and befuddled soccer coach, received the Globe for best actor in a comedy.
Sudeikis, sporting his character’s mustache, was one of the few nominees who eschewed the glam squad, showing up for his first Golden Globe win in a hooded sweatshirt and seemingly no planned speech. When he got “a little windy,” as he described it, his fellow nominee Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”) urged him to wrap it up in one of the lighter moments of the night.
“Minari” won in the foreign language film category.David Bornfriend/A24
The celebrated “Minari,” about a Korean-American family in the Ozarks, was named best foreign-language film. (In a head-scratching policy for an awards show adjudicated by people from overseas, foreign-language films are ineligible for best picture accolades.)
Lee Isaac Chung, who wrote and directed the film, based on his upbringing as a Korean-American child in Oklahoma, addressed the controversy in his own way during his acceptance speech. With his young daughter on his lap — she was, he said, his reason for making the film — he said of “Minari”: “It’s about a family trying to learn how to speak a language of its own. It goes deeper than any American language or any foreign language. It’s a language of the heart. I’m trying to learn it myself and pass it on.”
Among TV shows, “The Crown” had a big night. It won best drama, while Emma Corrin received her first Globe for her uncanny portrayal of Princess Diana and Josh O’Connor won his first for his sniveling Prince Charles. Gillian Anderson won best supporting actress for playing Margaret Thatcher. It was the second Globe of her career. (Alas, the mouse from Episode 3 was not nominated.)
“The Queen’s Gambit” and its young star, Anya-Taylor Joy, won in the limited-series categories. It was the first best limited series win for Netflix.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong in “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”Niko Tavernise/Netflix
Netflix was humiliated at the Globes last year. The streaming giant sashayed into the ceremony with a leading 34 total nominations and left … with one film award (Laura Dern won best supporting actress for “Marriage Story”) and one television honor (Olivia Colman, lauded for “The Crown”). Instead, voters mostly stuck with old-guard choices.
Expect this go-round to be different, in part because most traditional movie studios have been crippled by the pandemic. Netflix has 42 nominations, and two of its films, “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” are vying for best drama, the most prestigious award. No streaming service has ever won in this category.
If “Chicago 7” wins, boosting its Oscar chances, Paramount Pictures will have some egg on its face: The 109-year-old studio offloaded the film to Netflix over the summer. Aaron Sorkin won his third career Golden Globe for writing the movie’s screenplay.
Among the remaining best drama nominees, the Hollywood establishment is best represented by “Nomadland,” which stars Frances McDormand as a van dweller. “Nomadland” comes from the art-film powerhouse formerly known as Fox Searchlight (now just Searchlight, reflecting a change in corporate ownership). “The Father” and “Promising Young Woman,” also from traditional film companies, round out the nominees.
In another first, the Globe for best comedy or musical will almost assuredly go to a streaming service. According to the prognosticators at Gold Derby, an awards predictions site, the comedy or musical race is a tossup between “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon) and “Hamilton” (Disney+). Also nominated are “Palm Springs” (Hulu), “The Prom” (Netflix) and Sia’s “Music,” a woefully misguided video-on-demand release.
BRADENTON, Fla. -- PGA champion Collin Morikawa shook off an early mistake, regained control around the turn, delivered two clutch putts and then played a steady hand on a Concession Golf Club course known for calamity, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory in the Workday Championship.
Morikawa picked up a few short-game tips from major champions -- Mark O'Meara on his putting, Concession member Paul Azinger on the chipping -- and he says it carried him to another big win.
And there was a tribute to Tiger Woods, his golf idol growing up.
Morikawa choked up ever so slightly when it was over talking about Woods and what he has meant to the game, and his paternal grandfather, who died last month.
"You don't get to say thank you enough,'' Morikawa said. "So, thank you, guys.''
"With how good the field was, how good my game felt, to close it out with such a stacked leaderboard coming after me, it really means a lot,'' Morikawa said.
Morikawa, who finished at 18-under 270, won for the fourth time in his past 34 starts on the PGA Tour.
He became the 24th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship title, and the 24-year-old Californian joined Woods as the only players to win both before turning 25. Woods was 23 when he won the first of his 18 World Golf Championships.
There were red numbers on the board and on the golf course, and several were players wearing red shirts and black pants -- the Sunday colors of Woods -- as a show of support as Woods recovers from career-threatening leg injuries from his car crash in Los Angeles last Tuesday.
Morikawa didn't have the colors, but he had the game.
So many times on Sunday, Woods had the lead and forced everyone to catch him. Outside of a chunked chip on the second hole that made him scramble for bogey, Morikawa didn't miss a fairway the rest of the way and was rarely out of position.
Horschel caught Morikawa after three holes and tried to stay with him. Koepka had the last good chance to catch him until, trailing by three with a 35-foot eagle chance on the 17th hole, he three-putted for par.
Hovland, who finished his second round with a quadruple bogey, might have had the best chance of all. Hovland somehow managed to punch out of the wire grass and onto the green to make birdie on the par-5 13th, his seventh birdie of the round that pulled him within one shot.
His hopes effectively ended on the next hole. Just as Morikawa was pouring in an 8-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 12th hole, Hovland ran his 40-foot birdie putt some 15 feet past the hole on the par-3 14th and missed the par putt.
Morikawa's lead was back to 3 shots, and he never flinched the rest of the day.
Morikawa was down on his putting a few weeks ago while at home in Las Vegas when he decided to try the "saw'' putting grip that O'Meara perfected. He rotates his right hand so that his first two fingers extend down the grip. O'Meara recently moved to Las Vegas, and Morikawa sought him out.
And then at Concession, Morikawa asked club member Azinger for help with his chipping on the Bermuda grass. Azinger said it took about 10 minutes, more about technique to get the bounce in the wedge more involved.
Both worked beautifully all week.
Scottie Scheffler also was in the mix with six birdies in 12 holes. He drove into the water on the 16th and made double bogey and shot 68 to finish fifth.
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed, both dressed in red and black, never got anything going. McIlroy closed with a 71 to tie for sixth, while Reed shot a 72 and to finish another spot back.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily media briefing on July 23, 2020 in New York City. A second former aide from his administration has come forward with allegations of sexual harassment from Cuomo. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images
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Updated at 8:00 p.m. ET
After a second former aide came forward with sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the governor acknowledged in a statement Sunday evening that some of his behavior toward his staff may have been "insensitive" but said his comments had "been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation."
Earlier on Sunday, Cuomo asked New York's attorney general and the state's chief judge to pick an independent investigator to review the accusations against him.
"I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm," said Cuomo, adding that he has teased people "about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married," as an "attempt to add some levity" to his workplace.
"I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended," he said. "I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that."
The allegations were first reported by The New York Times on Saturday — just four days after another former aide published similar allegations about the governor in a Medium post, including an unwanted kiss and touching.
"To be clear I never inappropriately touched anybody and I never propositioned anybody and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to," the governor said in his statement Sunday.
The latest allegations were brought by Charlotte Bennett, 25, who worked as an executive assistant and health policy adviser for Cuomo until leaving his administration in November. The Times said it approached Bennett about her story following a tweet she wrote in support of Lindsey Boylan for sharing her account of what happened with Cuomo — an account the governor has called untrue.
According to the Times, Bennett said that Cuomo asked her a series of personal questions when she was alone with him in his office in June, including whether age made a difference in romantic relationships. Cuomo, 63, also told her that he was open to relationships with women in their 20s, according to the account reported by the Times. Bennett told the paper that while she initially saw the governor as more of a "father figure," her feelings changed after the June meeting.
"I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared," Bennett told the Times. She said she was left "wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job."
Following the June conversation with Cuomo, Bennett said that she detailed the encounter to Jill DesRosiers, the governor's chief of staff, and Judith Mogul, a special counsel to the governor. Bennett was transferred to a new job as a health policy adviser and no action was taken against Cuomo after Bennett ultimately decided not to pursue an investigation, according to the Times.
In a statement on Saturday, Cuomo denied the allegations. He called Bennett a "hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID," adding that "she has every right to speak out."
"When she came to me and opened up about being a sexual assault survivor and how it shaped her and her ongoing efforts to create an organization that empowered her voice to help other survivors, I tried to be supportive and helpful," said Cuomo. "Ms. Bennett's initial impression was right: I was trying to be a mentor to her. I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported."
Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, said the situation "cannot and should not be resolved in the press," and called on state employees to comply with an outside review of the allegations.
Beth Garvey, a special counsel and senior adviser to the governor, said in a statement that "Ms. Bennett's concerns were treated with sensitivity and respect and in accordance with applicable law and policy."
Garvey said Bennett "was thoroughly debriefed on the facts which did not include a claim of physical contact or inappropriate sexual conduct. She was consulted regarding the resolution, and expressed satisfaction and appreciation for the way in which it was handled."
She initially said an outside review would be lead by former Federal Judge Barbara Jones.
On Sunday, however, the Cuomo administration was forced to backtrack on the plan to have Jones lead the review, following a backlash from both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature who said the governor should not be allowed to determine who would investigate the allegations. Some called for an independent review by the state's attorney general, Letitia James, while others said Cuomo should resign.
Carl Heastie, a Democrat and speaker of the New York State Assembly, called for James to make an appointment on who would lead the investigation, in the hopes that it would be "truly independent." He was joined by a group of 25 state assemblywomen who released a statement calling for a more independent investigation and asking James to choose who would lead the review.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also said that she would like to see James run an independent investigation into the aides' claims.
Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett’s detailed accounts of sexual harassment by Gov. Cuomo are extremely serious and painful to read.
There must be an independent investigation - not one led by an individual selected by the Governor, but by the office of the Attorney General.
Others demanded more. N.Y. State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, also a Democrat, called for Cuomo to resign.
#BREAKING: Tonight I issued a statement regarding assertions of sexual harassment against Governor Cuomo.
As a New Yorker, a legislator, Chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Governor Cuomo to resign. pic.twitter.com/2aKiN8CIkR
Following the numerous calls for a more independent review of the allegations, Garvey released a statement Sunday saying that "the Governor's Office wants a review of the sexual harassment claims made against the Governor to be done in a manner beyond reproach."
Garvey said that though Jones was initially chosen to lead the review, the governor's office "asked the Attorney General of New York State and the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to jointly select an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report."
The sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo come as the governor is facing continued criticism on a second front concerning his office's disclosure of death toll data for nursing homes in the state hit by COVID-19. An investigation by the New York attorney general's office found that state officials may have undercounted nursing home deaths in the pandemic by as much as 50%.
OAKLAND, Calif./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research.
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The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, is set to vote Monday on its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to a recently published final draft, which also features numerous recommendations in areas including competition in artificial intelligence and the semiconductor supply chain.
The fresh recommendations come as the United States pushes ahead with the prosecution of at least five Chinese researchers arrested last year in various cities across the U.S. on charges of visa fraud for not disclosing ties to the Chinese military.
Among those arrested was Chen Song, a former Stanford University visiting scholar in neurology who faces charges including obstruction of justice, destruction of records, and making false statements to a government agency. She pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last week in the United States District Court Northern District of California.
“Dr. Song is a physician. She was here to do medical research that would have benefited stroke victims in the United States had she been allowed to complete her work,” her lawyer, Ed Swanson, said in an e-mail.
Other cases involve Juan Tang, a visiting researcher at UC Davis School of Medicine; Xin Wang a visiting researcher at UC San Francisco who was working on projects related to metabolism and obesity; Kaikai Zhao a PhD student studying AI and machine learning at Indiana University in Bloomington; and Lei Guan, who worked as a researcher at UCLA’s mathematics department.
Stanford, UCSF, and UC Davis all said they are cooperating with the authorities on the investigations. University of Indiana did not reply to request for comment and UCLA was not immediately available.
China has denied allegations it was trying to steal U.S. research.
The cases are part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s so-called “China initiative” launched in 2018 to counter China’s national security threats.
The NSCAI recommendations would require more disclosure on research funding and partnerships at universities. It also proposes creating a database of individuals and entities to flag risks in advance.
Gilman Louie, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and NSCAI commissioner, said a database could help avoid unilateral bans based on affiliations and instead allow the U.S. to judge individual cases. Louie said the commission wanted to avoid a “sledgehammer approach.”
The lack of guidance so far has meant that some nervous university presidents have kept Chinese nationals away from any research projects, said Louie. “That somebody simply looks at you and determines because you’re ethnically Chinese that you can no longer be trusted on programs in the US, that’s a big issue with me.”
Tobin Smith, vice president for science policy and global affairs at the Association of American Universities said universities have struggled with assessing risk and welcomed the blueprint.
“The issue is most of the time universities don’t have the resources to be aware that something’s been stolen from them until it becomes a national security issue and it’s a front page headline somewhere,” said Jason Jardine a patent lawyer at Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear who works with universities on patent theft.
Emily Weinstein, an analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said the challenge will be to define which Chinese entities are defense-affiliated. While some universities in China are clearly tied to the military, the links aren’t always clear-cut.
“On paper, these measures seem fine,” said Qiaojing Ella Zheng, a partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp who is also president of the Chinese American Lawyers of the Bay Area. “The problem always occurs during the implementation and enforcement. The entire Asian American community here in the U.S. and abroad will be watching closely how this action plan unfolds in practice.”
Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee in Oakland, California and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington D.C.; Addition reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington D.C. Editing by Jonathan Weber and Diane Craft
This week has been among the stranger golf weeks in the last few years. Tiger Woods was badly injured in a career-threatening car crash on Tuesday, and has undergone multiple procedures in the days that have followed as athletes from all over the world offered up their well wishes.
On Sunday at the Cologuard Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event, Phil Mickelson paid tribute to his longtime rival and recent pal by going full red and black with his scripting -- a nod to Tiger's Sunday threads. Loads of players playing the WGC-Workday Championship on the PGA Tour also paid tribute to the guy who has changed their sport.
Rory McIlroy, Cameron Champ, Patrick Reed, Tony Finau, Jason Day, Justin Thomas and several other golfers playing in the first WGC event of 2021 at The Concession wore some form of a red top and black pants to let know Tiger they were thinking about him.
Finau even went full "Tiger at the 2018 PGA Championship" look with the backwards hat.
One of the fascinating parts of Tiger's career is this late-stage turn with him playing the role of mentor and friend to so many of the best players in the world who are in their 20s or 30s. Thomas was near tears on Tuesday when being asked about Woods' accident, and everyone throughout the week has been poignant in their effusive praise for the best to ever do it.
"He means a lot to the game of golf," said Finau early in the week. "I can only speak from my experience, he means a lot to my career. I've said it I think time after time, the 1997 Masters changed the course of my life, course of my career. Without that event, I probably wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be playing golf. So he definitely changed the course of my life, my career.
"I think I'm one of hundreds of guys out here probably that would say the same thing. He means a lot to the game, but individually, I think he means a lot to us just individually, especially for me."
Later in the day on Sunday as the plethora of tributes were making the rounds, Woods took to time to express his gratitude on Twitter.
"It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the TV and saw all the red shirts," Woods said. "To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time."
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TOKYO (Reuters) - The Australian dollar and other riskier currencies recovered some lost ground against the U.S. dollar on Monday, after suffering their biggest plunges in a year at the end of last week amid a hefty sell-off in global bond markets.
U.S. one dollar banknotes are seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken February 8, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
The greenback weakened broadly early in Asia trade, but barely enough to trim its biggest surge since June from Friday.
Currency markets have taken cues from the global bond market, where yields have surged in anticipation of an accelerated economic recovery.
The aggressive bond selling implies a bet that global central bankers will need to tighten policy much earlier than they have so far been forecasting.
Equities and commodities have also sold off as the debt rout unsettles investors.
“USD direction is likely to hinge on not only the direction, but also the pace, of global bond moves,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategists wrote in a research note.
Bond moves are trumping economic data as the driver of foreign-exchange markets, with yields moving “well in advance” of economic fundamentals, they said.
“The risk is tilted to a firmer USD this week because we doubt central banks will intervene in any meaningful way yet.”
The Aussie jumped 0.6% to $0.7754 early in the Asian session on Monday, following a 2.1% plunge on Friday.
The New Zealand dollar strengthened 0.6% to $0.7270, recovering some of Friday’s 1.9% slide.
The euro gained 0.2% to $1.20910, after dropping 0.9% at the end of last week, the most since April.
The dollar slipped 0.1% to 106.415 yen , but still near the six-month high of 106.69 touched Friday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who last week repeated the U.S. central bank will look through any near-term inflation spike and tighten policy only when the economy is clearly improving, will speak on the economy this Friday, the same day as the usually closely watched monthly payrolls data is due.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will hold its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday, and markets are widely expecting it to reinforce its forward guidance for three more years of near-zero rates, while also addressing the market dislocation.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Lincoln Feast.
California’s Medical Board started an investigation after Dr. Scott Green reported for the hearing on Zoom while in scrubs and with a patient on the operating table.
The Medical Board of California said it was investigating a plastic surgeon who attended a video traffic court hearing from an operating room while dressed in scrubs and with a patient on the surgical table.
The surgeon, Dr. Scott Green, reported by videoconference for a trial in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday.
“Hello, Mr. Green? Hi, are you available for trial?” a courtroom clerk said as Dr. Green, wearing a surgical mask and cap, appeared in a virtual square with operating room lighting fixtures visible behind him. “It kind of looks like you’re in an operating room right now.”
“I am, sir,” Dr. Green replied as machines beeped in the background. “Yes, I’m in an operating room right now. I’m available for trial. Go right ahead.”
The clerk advised Dr. Green that the hearing, which was reported by The Sacramento Bee, would be live-streamed on YouTube.
After Dr. Green was sworn in, his camera briefly swiveled and revealed a person on an operating table.
Gary Link, a Sacramento Superior Court commissioner, appeared on camera.
“Unless I’m mistaken, I’m seeing a defendant that’s in the middle of an operating room appearing to be actively engaged in providing services to a patient,” Mr. Link said. “Is that correct, Mr. Green? Or should I say Dr. Green?”
Dr. Green confirmed that it was.
Mr. Link continued, “I do not feel comfortable for the welfare of a patient if you’re in the process of operating that I would put on a trial notwithstanding the fact the officer is here today.”
Dr. Green explained that there was another surgeon in the room who could perform the surgery.
But Mr. Link disagreed.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he said, adding that he would reschedule the trial for a time when Dr. Green was not operating on a patient.
“We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. That’s important,” Mr. Link said. He set March 4 as a new trial date.
The reason for Dr. Green’s court appearance was unclear.
Dr. Green, who has offices in Sacramento and Granite Bay, Calif., did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Mr. Link also could not be reached.
Carlos Villatoro, a spokesman for the Medical Board of California, said the board was aware of the hearing and “will be looking into it, as it does with all complaints it receives.”
The board, he said, “expects physicians to follow the standard of care when treating their patients.”
Mr. Villatoro declined to offer further details, citing the legal confidentiality of complaints and investigations.
As court proceedings have moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, missteps have abounded.
