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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN HELICOPTER CRASH
The helicopter crash that killed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and several others was caused by an unspecified “technical failure,” Iranian state media reported. Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller dismissed a suggestion by a former Iranian foreign minister that U.S. sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry were responsible for the crash. Donica Phifer reports for Axios; Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Iran for the funeral of Iran Raisi. BBC News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan after the ICC announced it was seeking arrest warrants for him and other Israeli and Hamas officials. “Khan creates a twisted and false moral equivalence between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas,” Netanyahu said, accusing Khan of “callously pouring gasoline on the fires of antisemitism that are raging across the world.” Readers may be interested in this analysis of the ICC warrants for Just Security. Lior Soroka and Sammy Westfall report for the Washington Post.
More than 900,000 people, approximately 40% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced in the past two weeks, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said yesterday. He said that of those displaced, 812,000 are from Rafah and over 100,000 are from northern Gaza. Richard Roth and Hamdi Alkhshali report for CNN; Chao Deng and Fatima Abdulkarim report for the Wall Street Journal.
Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank today, killing at least seven Palestinians, according to local authorities. Majdi Mohammed reports for AP News.
Medical workers in Israel have reported concerns to the BBC over the treatment of sick and injured Palestinian detainees from Gaza. The whistleblowers said that Gazan detainees are routinely kept shackled to hospital beds, blindfolded, and forced to wear diapers. They also detailed how procedures in one military hospital were “routinely” carried out without painkillers, and said critically ill patients being held in makeshift military facilities were being denied proper treatment. The Israeli military denies the allegations. Lucy Williamson reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden has criticized the ICC’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged atrocity crimes in Gaza. In a statement, Biden called the move “outrageous,” adding, “Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” Speaking yesterday at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House, Biden also said, “What’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Elena Schneider, Jennifer Haberkorn, and Eli Stokols report for POLITICO.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also denounced the ICC arrest warrants, saying, “This decision does nothing to help, and could jeopardize, ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders yesterday. Yoav Gallant said he briefed Sullivan “on developments in the war” against Hamas and hostage release efforts, adding in a statement that humanitarian plans for Gaza were also presented to Sullivan “that complement operational activities on the ground.” Rachel Pannett and Adela Suliman report for the Washington Post.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said yesterday that the House may vote on sanctions against the ICC for seeking an arrest warrant against Netanyahu. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has introduced a bill that would sanction ICC officials who investigate U.S. citizens or allies. It is supported by nearly two dozen other Republicans, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chair of the House Republican Conference. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.
Nearly 570 metric tons of aid have been delivered across the U.S.-built temporary pier off Gaza’s coast, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The aid will be distributed by humanitarian partners, CENTCOM said, adding, “The United States, United Kingdom, UAE, European Union, and many other partners have donated this humanitarian assistance.” CNN reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
European leaders are divided on the ICC’s decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli officials. France, Belgium, and Slovenia said they support the decision, while Germany said the ICC has “created the incorrect impression of an equation” between Israel and Hamas. Austria expressed similar reservations, and the United Kingdom distanced itself from the move. Nathalie Weatherald and Ben Munster report for POLITICO; AP News reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Ukraine for the first time yesterday ordered nationwide rolling blackouts to conserve energy. The blackouts ran from 6pm to midnight. The move comes as Ukrainian officials say they are once again struggling to keep electricity flowing as Russian forces increasingly strike power plants. Maria Varenikova, Constant Méheut, and Nataliia Novosolova report for the New York Times.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Nine members of the far-right “United Patriots” group in Germany who allegedly planned to bring a prince into power by violently overthrowing the government went on trial today. The accused are part of a group within the Reichsbürger movement, which believes the modern German state is illegitimate. Their trial is expected to be one of the most complex court cases since West Germany tried Auschwitz concentration camp commanders in the 1960s. Christopher F. Schuetze reports for the New York Times; Jessica Parker reports for BBC News.
China has sanctioned a former U.S. lawmaker and supporter of Taiwan. China has banned Mike Gallagher (R-WI) from entering the country and adopted sanctions against him including asset freezes in response to his words and actions that “interfered in China’s internal affairs,” the foreign ministry said today, without specifying what Gallagher had said or done. Gallagher has been a fierce critic of China and a strong supporter of Taiwan. Reuters reports.
An Australian military plane has landed in New Caledonia to collect travelers stranded after civil unrest shut down the island’s international airport. It is the first of two Australian aircrafts arriving to rescue 300 citizens who have registered for assistance. A New Zealand air force flight has also arrived. Simon Atkinson reports for BBC News; Keiran Smith reports for AP News.
South Africa’s top court has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma is not eligible to run for parliament in next week’s general election. The unanimous ruling capped months-long speculation on whether the former leader of the ruling African National Congress would be able to stand again. Zuma was forced to resign as president in 2018 after a series of corruption scandals. David McKenzie reports for CNN; Gerald Imray reports for AP News.
Haiti’s main international airport reopened yesterday for the first time in nearly three months after gang violence forced authorities to close it in early March. Dánica Coto reports for AP News.
Finland’s government today proposed emergency legislation to block asylum seekers entering across its border with Russia. Finland believes Russia is prompting the border crossings over political antagonism since the Ukraine war, an accusation the Kremlin denies. Anne Kauranen and Essi Lehto report for Reuters.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
A defense witness in former President Trump’s criminal case whom the judge threatened to remove from the trial over his behavior will return to the stand today. Trump’s lawyers are hoping Robert Costello’s testimony will help undermine the credibility of star witness Michael Cohen. Costello angered Judge Juan Merchan yesterday by making comments under his breath, rolling his eyes, and calling the exercise “ridiculous.” Merchan told Costello he was being “contemptuous,” adding, “If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand.” Michael R. Sisak, Jake Offenhartz, Jennifer Peltz, and Colleen Long report for AP News.
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LIONEL BONAVENTURE/Getty Images
A 42-year-old man was arrested on charges of creating sexually explicit images of minors and sending similar obscene material to a 15-year-old.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Steven Anderegg was arrested last week after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with producing, distributing, and possessing explicit AI-generated images of minors in one of the first cases of its kind.
The Wisconsin resident was accused of using Stability AI’s text-to-image model, Stable Diffusion, to create thousands of hyper-realistic images of nude or partially clothed minors, many of which showed them engaging in sexual acts with men or touching their genitals.
He was also accused of sending the 15-year-old boy AI-generated images of minors showing their genitals in an Instagram message and describing how he used Stable Diffusion to generate the explicit images of minors, according to the court documents.
The DoJ said he stored the images on his computer and that evidence was recovered from his electronic devices. It also claims he created the images using sexually explicit text prompts related to minors.
Anderegg is in federal custody, awaiting a detention hearing set for Wednesday. He faces up to 70 years in prison for the four counts alleged in the indictment, per the DoJ.
If convicted, it wouldn’t be the first time a person has been imprisoned for using AI to generate sexually explicit images of minors.
In November, a child psychologist was sentenced to 40 years in prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release. The North Carolina man used an AI tool to create pornographic images of minors and sexually exploited a minor.
An investigation by the Stanford University Cyber Policy Center in December found that pubic dataset LAION-5B, which was used to train AI image generators, including Stability AI’s earlier model Stable Diffusion 1.5, contained over 1,000 images of confirmed child sexual abuse material.
A Stability AI spokesperson previously told Business Insider it had introduced filters to prevent users from creating illegal content with Stable Diffusion and that its models were only trained on a filtered subset of LAION-5B.
UK-based Stability AI states in its terms of use, which was last updated in March, that users will not use or allow others to use its models to commit “exploitation or harm to children, including the solicitation, creation, acquisition, or dissemination of child exploitative content.”
Stability AI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Do you work at Stability AI? Got a tip? Contact the reporter via email at jmann@businessinsider.com or reach out on the encrypted messaging app Signal at jyotimann.11
The post Wisconsin man charged with using AI to create and send explicit images of minors first appeared on The News And Times.
Jason Reed / Reuters
Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, did not want people to see her portrait.
So she took the most direct route, demanding that the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra remove two paintings depicting her.
But Rinehart has learned the hard way that by trying to hide something relatively obscure, you can unintentionally draw far more attention to it.
Local media reported that the gallery refused to take down the painting. Rinehart’s portrait then made global headlines and sparked a debate over art and censorship.
The painting is part of a satirical series by artist Vincent Namatjira, who is famed for his caricature style.
Vincent Namatjira sits in front of his “Australia in Colour” series.
National Gallery of Australia
The series, titled “Australia in Colour,” is a satirical look at 21 influential people who have shaped Australia, including Queen Elizabeth II and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
With a fortune of $23.6 billion, Rinehart is the richest woman in Australia and the 81st richest person in the world, data from Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index shows.
She is the chair of the mining and agricultural business, Hancock Prospecting.
Her father and founder of Hancock Prospecting, Lang Hancock, has drawn controversy for racist comments toward Indigenous Australians.
“Nothing should be sacred from mining whether it’s your ground, my ground, the blackfellow’s ground or anybody else’s. So the question of Aboriginal land rights and things of this nature shouldn’t exist,” he has been widely quoted as saying.
Hancock Prospecting and the National Gallery of Australia did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Business Insider.
“I paint the world as I see it,” the artist said in a statement issued last week.
“People don’t have to like my paintings, but I hope they take the time to look and think, ‘Why has this Aboriginal bloke painted these powerful people? What is he trying to say?”
“I paint people who are wealthy, powerful, or significant — people who have had an influence on this country, and on me personally, whether directly or indirectly, whether for good or for bad.”
Reinhart’s predicament is a strong example of the phenomenon known as the “Streisand effect.”
The term was popularized after Barbra Streisand’s attempt in 2003 to suppress the publication of a photo showing her Malibu home by suing the photographer.
She lost the case, had to pay $177,000 in legal fees, and ended up drawing far more attention to the photo than it would have done sitting in the archives of the California Coastal Records project.
Elon Musk was another victim of the Streisand effect when he banned a Twitter account that was tracking the use and carbon emissions of his private jet. That led to more scrutiny of his private jet usage.
The post One of the world’s richest people just got a serious lesson in the ‘Streisand effect’ first appeared on The News And Times.
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Banks are fighting for customer dollars right now, and people with cash to spare are well-positioned to benefit from a high rate environment. With rates rapidly changing, how can you feel confident that you’re getting the best savings account or best CD?
We monitor rates from banks and credit unions daily to help you feel confident before you open a new account. Experts don’t expect CD rates to go up in 2024, so now could be a great time to lock in a rate if you’re ready. Here are the top rates for popular savings accounts and CDs on Tuesday, May 21.
| Account Name | APY (Annual Percentage Yield) Accurate as of 5/21/2024 | Minimum Account Opening Balance |
| Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings Premier | 5.36% | $500 |
| NexBank High Yield Savings Account | 5.26% | $1 |
| UFB Secure Savings | 5.25% | $0 |
| CIT Bank Platinum Savings | 5.00% (with $5,000 minimum balance) | $100 |
| Wealthfront Cash Account | 5.00% | $1 |
| Barclays Online Savings Account | 4.35% | $0 |
| Account Name | APY (Annual Percentage Yield) Accurate as of 5/21/2024 | Minimum Account Opening Balance |
| Barclays 1 Year Online CD | 5.00% | $0 |
| Western Alliance Bank 3 Month CD, powered by Raisin | 5.26% | $1 |
| Barclays 6 Month Online CD | 4.85% | $0 |
| SkyOne Federal Credit Union 1 Year No Penalty CD | 4.75% | $1 |
| Discover 18 Month CD | 4.40% | $2,500 |
| Bread Savings 2 Year High-Yield CD | 4.65% | $1,500 |
| Quontic 5 Year CD | 4.30% | $500 |
Alliant High-Rate Savings Account
Earn a $100 bonus when you deposit at least $100 a month for 12 consecutive months and have a balance of $1,200 or more at the end of the 12-calendar-month period (offer expires December 31, 2024).
See more savings account bonuses »
Earn up to $300 with qualifying direct deposit for eligible customers (offer expires 06/30/24). Earn up to 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) with direct deposit.
See more bank account bonuses »
High-yield savings accounts aren’t the only accounts paying favorable rates right now. You’ll typically see the highest rates at online or lower-profile institutions rather than national brands with a significant brick-and-mortar presence. This is normal; online banks have lower overhead costs and are willing to pay high rates to attract new customers.
The best high-yield savings accounts provide the security of a savings account with the added bonus of a high APY. Savings accounts are held at a bank or credit union — not invested through a brokerage account — and are best for saving cash in pursuit of shorter-term goals, like a vacation or big purchase.
The best high-yield checking accounts tend to pay slightly lower rates than high-yield savings, but even they are strong in today’s rate environment. A checking account is like a hub for your money: If your paycheck is direct deposited, it’s typically to a checking account. If you transfer money to pay a bill, you typically do it from a checking account. Checking accounts are used for everyday spending and usually come with checks and/or debit cards to make that easy.
The best money market accounts could be considered a middle ground between checking and savings: They are used for saving money but typically provide easy access to your account through checks or a debit card. They usually offer a tiered interest rate depending on your balance.
A cash management account is also like a savings/checking hybrid. You’ll generally see them offered by online banks, and, unlike a checking account, they usually offer unlimited transfers. A savings account often limits the number of monthly transfers, while a checking account doesn’t. Cash management accounts typically come with a debit card for easy access, but you may have to pay a fee if you want to deposit cash.
The best CD rates may outpace any of the other accounts we’ve described above. That’s because a certificate of deposit requires you to “lock in” your money for a predetermined amount of time ranging from three months to five years. To retrieve it before then, you’ll pay a penalty (unless you opt for one of the best no-penalty CDs). The longer you’ll let the bank hold your money, the higher rate you’ll get. CD rates aren’t variable; the rate you get upon depositing your money is the rate you’ll get for the length of your term.
Locking your money into an account in exchange for a higher interest rate can be a big decision. Here’s what you need to know about common CD terms.
Most CDs charge you a fee if you need to withdraw money from your account before the term ends. But with a no-penalty CD, you won’t have to pay an early withdrawal penalty. The best no-penalty CDs will offer rates slightly higher than the best high-yield savings accounts, and can offer a substantially improved interest rate over traditional brick-and-mortar savings accounts.
The best 6-month CDs are offering interest rates in the mid-5% range. Six-month CDs are best for those who are looking for elevated rates on their savings for short-term gains, but are uncomfortable having limited access to their cash in the long term. These can be a good option for those who may just be getting started with saving, or who don’t have a large emergency fund for unexpected expenses.
The best 1-year CDs tend to offer some of the top CD rates, and are a popular option for many investors. A 1-year term can be an attractive option for someone building a CD ladder, or for someone who has a reasonable cash safety net but is still concerned about long-term expenses.
The best 2-year CD rates will be slightly lower than 1-year and no-penalty CD rates. In exchange for a longer lock-in period, investors receive a long-term commitment for a specific rate. These are best used as part of a CD ladder strategy, or for those worried about a declining rate market in the foreseeable future.
The best 3-year CDs tend to have rates that are comparable to 2-year CDs. These are usually less popular for your average investor, but can be an important lever when diversifying investments and hedging against the risk of unfavorable rate markets in the long term.
The best 5-year CDs will offer lower rates than the other terms on our list, but are still popular options for investors. These CDs are best for those looking to lock in high rates for the long term. CDs are generally viewed as safe investment vehicles, and securing a favorable rate can yield considerable earnings in year three and beyond — even if rates fall elsewhere.
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