Rational Review News Digest, 01/25/18 -- (News) Trump says he wants to talk to Mueller, would do so under oath; Brazil: Court upholds conviction of former president Lula on corruption charges)
RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST
The Freedom Movement's Daily Newspaper
Volume XVI, Issue #3,896
Steemit Edition -- Thursday, January 25th, 2018
Web Edition: http://rationalreview.com
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TODAY'S NEWS
Trump says he wants to talk to Mueller, would do so under oath
Brazil: Court upholds conviction of former president Lula on corruption charges
Judge dismisses four charges against Menendez in corruption case
Trump regime intensifies war on Constitution, threatens to subpoena “sanctuary cities”
Sources: Flynn kept FBI interview concealed from White House, Trump
Blue states ramp up push to “evade” chunk of Trump’s tax reform
SpaceX fires up powerful new Falcon Heavy rocket
Grumpy Cat wins $710,000 payout in copyright lawsuit
In Ohio, no one wants Kasich’s endorsement
Jack White bans smartphones from concerts
AL: House votes to end special elections after Doug Jones win
CT: State unveils license plate for team that left 20 years ago
Army veteran bought Filipino children for sex and pornography
Mexico’s drug cartels, now hooked on fuel, cripple the country’s refineries
CA: Tesla and GM self-drive cars involved in road collisions
Monkeys cloned; a step closer to people?
NSA deletes “honesty” and “openness” from core values
Burger King tries to sell “Net Neutrality” corporate welfare scam instead of burgers with new ad
Facebook acquires biometric ID verification startup Confirm.io
Afghanistan: Islamic State thugs attack Save the Children office, killing three
Saudi Arabia: Twelve camels disqualified from beauty contest over botox use
One ruled a US citizen, the other not: Gay couple’s twins face unusual battle
Germany: Anti-Islam politician resigns from anti-Islam party, converts to Islam
Syrian, Russian regimes accuse US regime of lying about chemical weapons attacks
EU regulators demand $1.23 billion bribe from Qualcomm
Trump says he wants to talk to Mueller, would do so under oath
Source: CNN
“President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would talk to special counsel Robert Mueller under oath and looks forward to the opportunity, but that he will listen to the advice of his lawyers. Trump made the comments to a group of reporters who were meeting with chief of staff John Kelly at the White House. ‘I am looking forward to it, actually’ Trump said, when asked if he was going to talk to Mueller. ‘Here is the story: There has been no collusion whatsoever. There is no obstruction whatsoever. And I am looking forward to it.’ … Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday that Mueller has indicated interest in questioning Trump. The President’s attorneys would like Trump’s answers to come in written form only, but recognize it could end up being more of a combination of written and in-person interviews, or even solely an interview, CNN has reported.” (01/24/18)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/24/politics/robert-mueller-donald-trump/
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Brazil: Court upholds conviction of former president Lula on corruption charges
Source: Deutsche Welle [Germany]
“A Brazilian appeals court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against a June 2017 graft conviction and nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Two judges on the three-judge panel ruled to uphold the conviction and extend the original sentence by nearly three years. Wednesday’s decision casts doubt on whether Lula can make good on his intention to run for presidency in 2018. A candidate is legally ineligible to run if they have a confirmed criminal conviction. But Lula can appeal Wednesday’s decision to higher courts. That route could delay a final conviction until after the August 15 deadline for candidates to register for the 2018 election and allow the former president to enter the race.” (01/24/18)
http://www.dw.com/en/brazil-court-upholds-president-lula-corruption-conviction/a-42288246
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Judge dismisses four charges against Menendez in corruption case
Source: The Hill
“A judge on Wednesday dismissed seven charges in the corruption case again Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his co-defendant, according to a court filing. Judge William Walls struck down charges dealing with alleged bribery involving political donations that Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen made to Menendez. Four of the seven dismissed charges applied to Menendez, according to a court filing. Menendez still faces nine counts, including charges of bribery, fraud and lying on Senate disclosure forms. The Justice Department announced last week it intends to re-try Menendez after a deadlocked jury resulted in a mistrial in November.” (01/24/18)
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Trump regime intensifies war on Constitution, threatens to subpoena “sanctuary cities”
Source: Politico
“The Trump administration is escalating its fight with sanctuary cities and states, warning them that they could be hit with subpoenas if they don’t come clean about policies barring or discouraging officials from sharing information about undocumented immigrants in local custody. The Justice Department sent letters Wednesday to 23 cities, counties and states demanding that they turn over all records of such policies or practices. If they fail to produce those materials, they could face a legally enforceable subpoena and — eventually — action to recover millions of dollars worth of federal grants.” [editor’s note: It seems like it’s about as easy to get a warrant as it is to fall off a log these days. Why don’t the ICE thugs do that instead of demanding that people be unconstitutionally held without charge for their convenience? – TLK] (01/24/18)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/24/sanctuary-cities-justice-department-subpoenas-365465
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Sources: Flynn kept FBI interview concealed from White House, Trump
Source: NBC News
“A year ago today, President Donald Trump’s newly sworn–in national security adviser, Michael Flynn, met privately in his West Wing office with FBI investigators interested in his communications with Russia’s ambassador, without a lawyer or the knowledge of the president and other top White House officials, according to people familiar with the matter. Flynn’s FBI interview on Jan. 24, 2017, set in motion an extraordinary sequence of events unparalleled for the first year of a U.S. presidency. … Two people familiar with the matter said Trump was unaware that Flynn had spoken with the FBI until two days after the interview took place. An attorney for Flynn did not respond to a request for comment on this story.” (01/24/18)
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Blue states ramp up push to “evade” chunk of Trump’s tax reform
Source: Fox News
“The Republican tax plan touted as the signature legislative accomplishment of President Trump’s first year in office already is running into efforts by high-tax blue states to ‘evade’ a key provision meant to help offset the law’s rate cuts. Whether those plans will work is an open question, as the courts have come down on both sides of the debate. But as tax season gets underway, state officials are floating two general ideas to blunt the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a likely 2020 Democratic presidential contender, wants to largely end the personal income tax, instead imposing an employer-side payroll tax that’s deductible on federal taxes. This would ease the impact of the SALT cap for employees, though companies would likely adjust wages — which could be offset with a credit.” (01/24/18)
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SpaceX fires up powerful new Falcon Heavy rocket
Source: CBS News
“Firmly locked to its launch pad, a powerful SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, made up of three strapped-together Falcon 9 core stages and a single upper stage, fired its 27 core stage engines for more than 10 seconds Wednesday in a critical test to pave the way for the new booster’s maiden flight. As usual with preflight test-firings, SpaceX did not announce the test, but observers could clearly see vapors venting from the giant rocket during fueling. … The payload for the Heavy’s first flight: Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster, a cherry red sports car that will be mounted in the rocket’s nose cone. It was not known if the car was aboard the Heavy for the engine test-firing, but Musk says he plans to launch the roadster on a looping orbit beyond Mars with David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ playing on the stereo.” (01/24/18)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-test-fires-falcon-heavy-engines/
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Grumpy Cat wins $710,000 payout in copyright lawsuit
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A cat made famous online because of its permanent scowl has been awarded $710,000 (£500,000) in a copyright case by a California federal court. Grumpy Cat Limited sued the owners of US coffee company Grenade for exceeding an agreement over the cat’s image. The company only had rights to use the cat to sell its ‘Grumppuccino’ iced drink, but sold other Grumpy products. The cat, real name Tardar Sauce, went viral in 2012 after photographs of her sour expression emerged online. Originally posted on the social website Reddit by the brother of the cat’s owner, Tabatha Bundesen, the image of the cat quickly spread as a meme with funny text captions. In 2013 Grenade Beverage, owned by father and son Nick and Paul Sandford, struck a $150,000 deal to market iced coffee beverages with the cat’s scowl on its packaging.” (01/24/18)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42808521
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In Ohio, no one wants Kasich’s endorsement
Source: USA Today
“In the Republican primary for Ohio governor, no one apparently wants Gov. John Kasich’s endorsement — including the candidate who has it. Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor told a large group of Clermont County (Ohio) Republicans during her interview for their endorsement Jan. 17 that Kasich had endorsed Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and his running mate, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, two Republicans in the room confirmed to The Cincinnati Enquirer. But Kasich had endorsed Taylor, his running mate in 2010 and 2014. ‘She said it’s widely known that Jon Husted and Mike DeWine have been endorsed by Gov. Kasich,’ said Greg Simpson, a township executive for the Clermont County Republican Party. ‘I about fell off my chair, because it’s widely known that John Kasich had endorsed Mary Taylor.’ Taylor was responding to a question about how she separated herself from the governor in a conservative county where that separation could make a difference. Simpson voted to endorse DeWine but the county party ultimately backed Taylor by a two-to-one margin.” (01/24/18)
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Jack White bans smartphones from concerts
Source: Fox News
“Jack White takes his analog lifestyle seriously. The former White Stripes band leader, who opened a vinyl record pressing plant in his home town of Detroit last year (the first since 1965) and makes his recordings using old-timey gear, is now targeting concert-goers who can’t stop using their phones. White is making his shows into no smartphone zones, providing special pouches in which fans must zip up their phones during his concerts. … But White, 42, hasn’t pitched a full-scale war against technology. The warning goes on to provide pointers for those who want to share their Jack White concert experience with their social media friends.” (01/24/18)
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/01/24/jack-white-bans-smartphones-from-concerts.html
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AL: House votes to end special elections after Doug Jones win
Source: Raw Story
“Alabama’s GOP-controlled state House has voted to end special elections for Senate seats, weeks after Democrat Doug Jones triumphed over scandal hit Republican Roy Moore in a special Senate election. The bill passed 67-31, reported the Montgomery Advertiser, despite a filibuster attempt from state house Democrats. Under current law, if a state Senate seat is vacated before the end of an incumbent’s term, the governor must appoint a temporary replacement before a special election is held to appoint a successor for the rest of the term. Under the new bill, the special election would have to coincide with the election cycle, with the replacement appointed by the governor serving until Alabamans next go to the ballot. In December, Jones overcame the odds to defeat populist hardliner Roy Moore in the Senate special election for the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he was appointed attorney general by President Donald Trump. Moore’s campaign was dogged by claims he sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women, including a 14-year-old girl.” (01/24/18)
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/alabama-house-ends-special-elections-doug-jones-win
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CT: State unveils license plate for team that left 20 years ago
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“The Hartford Whalers left Connecticut 20 years ago, but their beloved logo will now appear on vehicles gliding along the state’s highways. The Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday unveiled a new commemorative license plate that bears the former professional hockey team’s green-and-blue insignia. Forty-five dollars from the sale of each plate, which usually costs $60, will benefit a new infusion and dialysis center at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. ‘I ask the Whalers fans to get out there and purchase those license plates, because maybe then they will come back,’ said Democratic Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, giving a glimmer of hope to the handful of die-hard fans who showed up for Tuesday’s announcement in their old Whalers garb. One fan wore the ‘Pucky,’ the whale mascot costume. ‘We’ll keep hoping,’ Wyman said. ‘It was two decades ago that we lost on the Whalers, but in our hearts we have not. Just like we will not lose in our hearts the caring for our children.’” [editor’s note: Something else happened in that state about 20 years ago; they combined high sales and income taxes to make business much less desirable there. Coincidence? – SAT] (01/24/18)
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/DMV-unveils-special-license-plate-for-Hartford-12519007.php
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Army veteran bought Filipino children for sex and pornography
Source: Raw Story
“A former airline pilot has been sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of trafficking Filipino children and using them for sex and pornography in what prosecutors deemed one of the most ‘disturbing’ child exploitation cases in the country. Army veteran Michael Carey Clemans, 57, of Sacramento, California, was sentenced on Tuesday after being convicted of charges relating to illicit sexual conduct and buying children from the Philippines for pornography, according to a report by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eastern California. ‘The salacious details of his email exchanges with his procurer are absolutely shocking,’ U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said on Tuesday. ‘Child pornography is the product of horrifically violent acts perpetrated against children who are powerless to escape their attackers.’ In 2014, Clemans, an Army veteran, was working as a pilot for a small Thai airline in Bangkok when he started conspiring with women in the Philippines to rape children as young as 7. He also used the children to produce pornography.” (01/24/18)
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/army-veteran-bought-children-sex-pornography
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Mexico’s drug cartels, now hooked on fuel, cripple the country’s refineries
Source: Reuters
“The first call, from someone claiming to belong to the Michoacán Family drug cartel, came in February 2015. ‘They said they knew who I was and where I lived,’ said Alberto Arredondo, who got the call at work as a pump technician at an oil refinery in the central Mexican city of Salamanca. ‘They wanted information.’ At first, Arredondo hung up. ‘But they were insistent,’ he said, calling back and demanding details of when fuels would be pumped and through which pipelines. Over the next two years, Arredondo said, he would be hounded, kidnapped, pistol-whipped and stabbed so severely that surgeons removed his gall bladder. In December 2016, he fled to Canada, where he now seeks asylum from gangs that steal fuel from Salamanca and five other refineries operated by Pemex, the state-owned oil company. Fuel theft is fast becoming one of Mexico’s most pressing economic and security dilemmas, sapping more than $1 billion in annual revenue from state coffers, terrorizing workers and deterring private investment in aging refineries that the government, following a 2014 energy reform, hoped instead would be thriving with foreign capital.” (01/24/18)
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/mexico-violence-oil
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CA: Tesla and GM self-drive cars involved in road collisions
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Two vehicles reportedly engaged in self-drive modes – a Tesla Model S and a General Motors Chevy Bolt – have been involved in separate road accidents in California. Culver City’s fire service said the Tesla had ‘ploughed into the rear’ of one of its fire engines parked at the scene of an accident on Monday. The car’s owner subsequently claimed it had been in Autopilot mode at the time. The GM incident resulted in a collision with a motorbike in San Francisco. The rider says the car (which was using GM’s Cruise Automation technology) caused him serious injury and is now suing GM, according to local newspaper The Mercury News. GM has alleged the motorcyclist was at fault. The event dates back to December, but has come to light only now.” (01/24/18)
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42801772
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Monkeys cloned; a step closer to people?
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“For the first time, researchers have used the cloning method that produced Dolly the sheep to create two healthy monkeys, bringing science an important step closer to being able to do the same with humans. Since Dolly’s birth in 1996, scientists have cloned nearly two dozen kinds of mammals, including dogs, cats, pigs, cows and polo ponies, and have also created human embryos with this method. But until now, they have been unable to make babies this way in primates, the category that includes monkeys, apes and people. ‘The barrier of cloning primate species is now overcome,’ declared Muming Poo of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.” [editor’s note: Calling Cordwainer Smith, who predicted the “underpeople” over 50 years ago – SAT] (01/24/18)
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Move-over-Dolly-Monkeys-cloned-a-step-closer-12521620.php
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NSA deletes “honesty” and “openness” from core values
Source: The Intercept
“The National Security Agency maintains a page on its website that outlines its mission statement. But earlier this month, the agency made a discreet change: It removed ‘honesty’ as its top priority. Since at least May 2016, the surveillance agency had featured honesty as the first of four ‘core values’ listed on NSA.gov, alongside ‘respect for the law,’ ‘integrity,’ and ‘transparency.’ The agency vowed on the site to ‘be truthful with each other.’ On January 12, however, the NSA removed the mission statement page — which can still be viewed through the Internet Archive — and replaced it with a new version. Now, the parts about honesty and the pledge to be truthful have been deleted.” (01/24/18)
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/24/nsa-core-values-honesty-deleted/
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Burger King tries to sell “Net Neutrality” corporate welfare scam instead of burgers with new ad
Source: CNN Money
“Burger King released a new ad Wednesday that trolls the Trump administration’s decision to repeal net neutrality rules. The three-minute ad shows a ‘social experiment’ in which a Burger King store implements a Whopper ‘fast lane.’ Anyone not willing to fork over $26 was forced to wait longer for their meals. Customers who refused to pay any surcharges had to wait as long as 15 to 20 minutes. The ad, called ‘Whopper Neutrality,’ was meant to parody (with burgers) what advocates say repealing net neutrality regulations will do to the internet — allow service providers to favor some websites and apps over others.” (01/24/18)
http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/24/news/companies/burger-king-net-neutrality-ad/index.html
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Facebook acquires biometric ID verification startup Confirm.io
Source: TechCrunch
“Facebook has confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s acquired … Confirm.io. The startup offered an API that let other companies quickly verify someone’s government-issued identification card, like a driver’s license, was authentic. The Boston-based startup will shut down as both its team and technology are rolled into Facebook, where it could help users who are locked out of their accounts. Confirm.io had raised at least $4 million from investors, including Cava Capital, since launching three years ago. The 2015 seed round funded advanced forensics used to pull information from an ID card, as well as mobile biometrics and facial recognition to confirm a person’s identity before the startup deleted the personal data.” (01/24/18)
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/23/facebook-confirm-io/
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Afghanistan: Islamic State thugs attack Save the Children office, killing three
Source: US News & World Report
“Militants stormed the offices of Save the Children in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two security guards and a civilian, and triggering a shootout with police that was still underway more than eight hours later, provincial officials and the organization said. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. The assault started with a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives at the provincial offices of Save the Children, a non-governmental organization, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor. He said police killed two other attackers, and that at least 26 people, including six police officers, were wounded.” (01/24/18)
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Saudi Arabia: Twelve camels disqualified from beauty contest over botox use
Source: Independent [UK]
“A dozen camels have been banned from a beauty contest in Saudi Arabia because their handlers used Botox to make them more attractive to judges. The animals were rejected for violating strict rules at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival taking place outside Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Total cash prizes for owners of winning camels in show competitions and races at the 28-day festival reportedly amount to as much as 213 million riyals (£40.3m).” (01/24/18)
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One ruled a US citizen, the other not: Gay couple’s twins face unusual battle
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Aiden and Ethan Dvash-Banks were born four minutes apart. The twins, now 16 months old, love chasing each other around the house, wear the same clothes and share an obsession with Elmo. In the eyes of the US government, however, the boys are not equal. Aiden is a citizen — and Ethan is undocumented. The boys’ parents are a married gay couple, and even though they legally share the same two fathers, the government has ruled only one is eligible to be a citizen. In a new federal lawsuit, the Los Angeles family is challenging a policy that they say discriminates against LGBT people by denying birthright citizenship to the children of gay couples based on blood relationships. The fathers, a US citizen and an Israeli citizen, are both listed on the birth certificates of the twins and legally are the exclusive parents of the boys, who shared a surrogate. But because Ethan has the DNA of the Israeli father and Aiden has the DNA of the US father, the government has denied Ethan.” (01/24/18)
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Germany: Anti-Islam politician resigns from anti-Islam party, converts to Islam
Source: Newsweek
“A German politician who was a member of a controversial far-right party that believes ‘Islam is not a part of Germany’ has resigned amid reports that he has converted to Islam. German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported that Arthur Wagner left the Alternative for Germany (AfD), where he was a member in the eastern state of Brandenburg, citing personal reasons for his decision. But speaking to Germany’s Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday, AfD spokesman Daniel Friese claimed that Wagner had converted to Islam and that the AfD had ‘no problem with that.’ … Wagner, who was once a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), joined the AfD in 2015, as the party began ramping up its anti-Muslim rhetoric. A manifesto approved by the party a year later even called for banning the call to prayer and the full face veil in public.” (01/24/18)
http://www.newsweek.com/anti-islam-party-politician-resigns-converts-islam-789238
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Syrian, Russian regimes accuse US regime of lying about chemical weapons attacks
Source: Voice of America [US state media]
“Syria and Russia on Wednesday accused the United States of lying about chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian conflict as a way of derailing efforts to bring an end to the fighting. Syria’s state-run SANA news agency carried comments from a Foreign Ministry source condemning what it called ‘lies and allegations’ by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency that whenever peace efforts advance, the United States promotes ‘rigged, unverified reports’ of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Those comments came a day after the United States joined its NATO allies in launching a pressure campaign against the use of chemical weapons in Syria, while singling out Russia for protecting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.” (01/24/18)
https://www.voanews.com/a/syria-russia-us-chemical-attacks/4221637.html
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EU regulators demand $1.23 billion bribe from Qualcomm
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“European anti-monopoly regulators on Wednesday fined Qualcomm $1.23 billion for making payments to Apple in exchange for exclusively using Qualcomm smartphone radio chips in iPhones between 2011 and 2016. Qualcomm said it disagrees with the decision and will immediately appeal to the General Court of the European Union. The large fine comes as Qualcomm is embroiled in a fierce legal battle with Apple and global antitrust regulators over its business practices surrounding patent licensing.” (01/24/18)
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-qualcomm-eufine-20180124-story.html
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Editors:
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