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Brazil's highest court affirmed Monday that Elon Musk's X platform (formerly Twitter) is suspended nationwide. Here's what you need to know.

On Friday, Alexandre de Moraes, judge-minister of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered the immediate suspension of X in Brazil until the company complies with the court's judicial decisions, pays related fines, and appoints a representative from X for the country.

As part of the suspension effort, the government ordered Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google to remove the X platform from their respective app stores and block its use on their operating systems.

The STF said it "made every possible effort and granted every opportunity for X Brasil to comply with the court orders and pay the fines" to avoid suspension. The Brazilian government had opened an investigation into Elon Musk's conduct and X due to concerns about the spread of disinformation.

Per Brazilian court orders, the social media platform banned several accounts associated with spreading criminal disinformation. However, Musk later decided to reverse this action, reinstating some accounts, and violating the court order.

The court said that users in Brazil bypassing the ban using "technological subterfuges" like VPNs to use X could face a daily fine of R$50,000 ($8,899) and other civil and criminal sanctions.

Musk, also the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX, has been outspoken about his views on the suspension in Brazil, declaring on X that the judge's decision is "crushing the people’s right to free speech."

In a post from the company's global government affairs team, X said that the suspension occurred because the platform "would not comply with his illegal orders to censor [de Moraes'] political opponents," and claimed that the court's actions violated Brazil's laws surrounding freedom of speech.

As part of the suspension, Brazil's government asked internet providers to block X. Starlink, a division of Musk's SpaceX that provides satellite internet networks, is reportedly the only provider that won't comply with the order.

Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency Commissioner Artur Coimbra reportedly told that Starlink is the only company that has told the government agency it won't follow the judge's ruling.

Starlink on Aug. 29 said the Brazilian government had frozen the company's finances while determining if its funds could be used to pay the fines owed by X, a company Starlink calls "unaffiliated" with it. Starlink said it serves more than a quarter of a million customers in Brazil.

Musk took to X that same day, saying "SpaceX will provide Internet service to users in Brazil for free until this matter is resolved, as we cannot receive payment, but don’t want to cut anyone off."

The X CEO has faced criticism for potentially leveraging his position in one of his companies to benefit another. For instance, in June Musk reportedly redirected Nvidia (NVDA) chips meant for Tesla to his artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI.

Brazil's X ban comes amid debates about how social media companies should navigate misinformation and disinformation on their platforms.

Just last week, Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the U.S. government pressured the company into "censoring" content related to COVID due to misinformation concerns.

Concerns about the spread of misinformation are especially potent during an election year.

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Intel (INTC) shares tumbled over 8% in intraday trading Tuesday amid worries the chipmaker could be in danger of losing its status as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The company was one of the first tech companies to join the 30-stock index in 1999, but last month's disappointing second-quarter earnings results sent shares to their lowest level since 2013. The stock is the worst-performing constituent of the DJIA this year, with shares down nearly 60% from the start of 2024.

The DJIA is a price-weighted index that tracks 30 large, publicly-owned companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Intel is the lowest-weighted component of the index, making up just 0.3% of the DJIA as of last last week. 

The last time DJIA membership changed was in February, when Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) was replaced by Amazon (AMZN).

A spokesperson for S&P Dow Jones Indices declined to comment on Intel’s status.

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Huntington Bank (HBAN) has acquired the naming rights to the stadium where the Cleveland Browns are set to kick off their NFL season against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The Browns, who are in a debate with the city over whether their next stadium will remain in Cleveland or be built in a suburb, will now play at "Huntington Bank Field" for the next 20 years, the bank and team announced Tuesday.

The move comes amid months of controversy between the team and city over whether the Browns' next stadium will remain on the coast of Lake Erie, with the team releasing renderings of a potential stadium with a roof in the suburb of Brook Park earlier this month.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said Tuesday that updates about the stadium plans would be coming soon, reported. Tuesday's announcement also referenced the uncertainty, as Huntington Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Steinour said the Columbus, Ohio-based bank is excited to partner with the team "whether in the existing stadium or a new one."

The bank will also be the Browns' official banking partner, and the sides said they would work together to "launch new and dynamic ways to strengthen communities and neighborhoods" across the region.

The venue, located near the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was known as "Cleveland Browns Stadium" when it opened in 1999 until 2013, when it changed its name to "FirstEnergy Stadium." It reverted back to its original name last year following a bribery scandal involving the utility company.

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The Nigeria Police Force has placed a N20m bounty on a British national, Andrew Wynne, also known as Andrew Povich, and a Nigerian, Lucky Obiyan.

The duo were declared wanted for allegedly plotting to overthrow the President Bola Tinubu-led government.

In a Special Police Gazette Bulletin, the police announced a reward of N10 million each for anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest of the suspects.

“If seen, arrest and hand over to the nearest Police Station, or the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Department of Force Intelligence, Force Headquarters, Abuja, or call 08035179870, 09133333785, 09133333786.

A reward sum of N10,000,000 awaits any person(s) with information leading to the arrest of each of them,” it reads.

#Instablog9jaNews #Information #Awareness #StayUpdated

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Barbie has a new accessory: donuts.

Krispy Kreme (DNUT) is teaming up with Mattel's (MAT) Barbie for the toy’s 65th anniversary. Starting today, customers can buy a Barbie x Krispy Kreme donut box, which includes a signature Barbie Pink Doughnut with pink sugar and sunglasses sprinkles, Some fans can win Barbie Fashionista dolls with accessories including a Krispy Kreme paper hat.

It's the latest partnership announced by the donut company, which last month teamed with Dr Pepper to create a lineup of doughnuts to mark the beginning of the college football season.

The news comes as quick-service food companies are looking for ways to get customers buying and attract attention to their brands. Another recent tactic is a widespread shift toward value offerings: Dunkin recently unveiled its fall menu, offering a pumpkin-spice latte and a pumpkin doughnut but also a new "$6 Meal Deal" that includes a medium coffee, hash browns, and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. 

Krispy Kreme has itself joined the pumpkin-spice parade, announcing pumpkin donuts in mid-August. Earlier this year, it said its donuts would be sold at McDonald's (MCD) locations.

Shares of Krispy Kreme were up more than 1% in recent trading.

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The South African Consulate in Abuja has denied players of the Nigerian U-18 boys’ basketball team visas to participate in the  2024 FIBA U18 Afrobasket tournament.

The tournament is scheduled to take place in Cape Town from December 14 to 22.

Confirming the development to newsmen, the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) frowned at the sudden denial of visas, which they claimed was done without explanation.

The Vice Chairman of the Youth Development Committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Ugo Udezue, described South Africa’s actions as total sabotage.

“First of all, it’s rather unfortunate that an African country needs a visa to travel to another African country. Secondly, this is against the spirit of sportsmanship. These kids have sacrificed too much for a visa consular officer to deny them the opportunity to represent Nigeria globally.

The act of refusing the team visas seems like a deliberate attempt to stop the Junior D’Tigers, as the South African Embassy in Lagos cleared the girls to travel, and they are already in Pretoria and set for their opening match against Egypt on Tuesday,” Udezue said. #Instablog9jaNews #Information #Awareness #StayUpdated

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