Spain's Cuerpo 'optimistic' about EU-U.S. trade negotiations
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Astronomer CEO resigns after controversy over video captured at Coldplay concert
The IT company CEO captured in a widely circulated video showing him embracing an employee at a Coldplay concert has resigned. Andy Byron resigned from his job as CEO of Cincinnati-based Astronomer Inc., according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by the company Saturday. 'Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,' the company said in its post on LinkedIn. The move comes a day after the company said that Byron had been placed on leave and the board of directors had launched a formal investigation into the jumbotron incident, which went viral. A company spokesman later confirmed in a statement to AP that it was Byron and Astronomer chief people officer Kristin Cabot in the video. The short video clip shows Byron and Cabot as captured on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, during a Coldplay concert on Wednesday. Lead singer Chris Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd for his 'Jumbotron Song,' when he sings a few lines about the people the camera lands on. 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy,' he joked. Internet sleuths identified the man as the chief executive officer of a U.S.-based company and the woman as its chief people officer. Pete DeJoy, Astronomer's cofounder and chief product officer, has been tapped as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for Byron's successor. It's easy to miss, but most concert venues have signs informing the audience that they could be filmed during the event. Look for them on the walls when you arrive and around the bar areas or toilets. It's common practice especially when bands like to use performances for music videos or concert films. The venue in this case, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, also has a privacy policy online which states: 'When you visit our location or attend or participate in an event at our location, we may capture your image, voice and/or likeness, including through the use of CCTV cameras and/or when we film or photograph you in a public location.' 'They probably would have got away with it if they hadn't reacted,' said Alison Taylor, a clinical associate professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. And by the time the alleged identities emerged on social media, it hit a classic nerve around 'leaders acting like the rules don't apply to them,' she added. Still, Taylor and others stress how quickly such a video lead to an internet search to find the people involved — and note that it's important to remember that such 'doxing' isn't just reserved for famous people. Beyond someone simply spotting a familiar face and spreading the word, technological advances, such as the rising adoption of artificial intelligence, has made it easier and faster overall to find just about anyone in a viral video today. 'It's a little bit unsettling how easily we can be identified with biometrics, how our faces are online, how social media can track us — and how the internet has gone from being a place of interaction, to a gigantic surveillance system,' said Mary Angela Bock, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Austin's School of Journalism and Media. 'When you think about it, we are being surveilled by our social media. They're tracking us in exchange for entertaining us.'
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Trump Admin Announces New Restrictions on Mexican Airlines Over US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a series of new regulatory measures restricting Mexican airlines in the United States. The measures were announced Saturday in an effort to "to combat Mexico's blatant disregard of the 2015 U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement and its ongoing anti-competitive behavior," according to a press release from the DOT. Newsweek has reached out to Mexico's Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes (Transport Department) for comment via email on Saturday afternoon. Why It Matters The 2015 agreement was designed to liberalize market access and promote fair competition between carriers from both countries. Mexico is accused of violating the agreement since 2022 when "it abruptly rescinded slots and then forced U.S. all-cargo carriers to relocate operations" from Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City. The U.S. government says this has disrupted trade flows, increased operational costs for U.S. businesses, and raised concerns about market competition. Mexico is the top foreign destination for Americans with more than 40 million passengers flying there last year, the Associated Press reported. What To Know Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Saturday that "[former President] Joe Biden and [former Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement." Duffy added: "That ends today. Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness." The transportation secretary said his department was issuing the three following orders to stop Mexican airlines from "taking advantage" of the U.S. They include: Requires all Mexican airlines to file detailed schedules for their U.S. operations with the DOT. Mandates prior DOT approval before any large passenger or cargo aircraft charter flights by Mexican carriers can operate to or from the United States. Proposes withdrawing the antitrust immunity previously granted to the joint venture between Delta Air Lines and AeroMexico, citing concerns that Mexico's market interventions have created an unfair competitive environment The DOT claims Mexico rescinded historic slots from three U.S. carriers: American, Delta, and United, as well as three Mexican airlines: AeroMexico, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris, at Benito Juárez International Airport in 2022 under "the pretense" of capacity constraints. U.S. officials say they have tried repeatedly to confirm when the slots would be returned, or when major construction work at the Mexican airport would end but were not provided with information on either. In February 2023, the Mexican government published a decree that forced all dedicated cargo operations to relocate from Mexico City International Airport to Felipe Ángeles International Airport, disrupting U.S. cargo routes and prompting industry and diplomatic pushback. The DOT also cited Mexico's failure to implement an internationally recognized and non-discriminatory slot allocation system, contrary to Article 11 of the 2015 air agreement. As of July 2025, U.S.-Mexico diplomatic talks on restoring normal aviation services and upholding bilateral commitments remain ongoing, with no resolution announced. A worker wearing a mask walks past a Boeing 737 Max 9 built for AeroMexico as it is prepared for a flight from Renton Municipal Airport on November 18, 2020, in Renton, Washington. A worker wearing a mask walks past a Boeing 737 Max 9 built for AeroMexico as it is prepared for a flight from Renton Municipal Airport on November 18, 2020, in Renton, Washington. Ted S. Warren/AP What People Are Saying The Department of Transport said in a Saturday statement: "Mexico's actions harm airlines seeking to enter the market, existing competitor airlines, consumers of air travel and products relying on time-sensitive air cargo shipments traded between the two countries, and other stakeholders in the American economy." It added: "The Department is committed to enforcing our agreements to ensure that aviation markets are fair and pro-competitive. What Happens Next If the withdrawal of antitrust immunity is finalized, the Delta-AeroMexico partnership would dissolve its ability to coordinate pricing and share revenue, although Delta could retain its equity stake in AeroMexico and continue independent operations between the two countries. The situation remains dynamic, with ongoing diplomatic discussions and potential for further regulatory adjustments depending on Mexico's responses.
Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
The EU and UK hit Russia with new sanctions. Moscow's energy revenue and spies are targeted.
BRUSSELS — The European Union and Britain on Friday ramped up pressure on Russia over its war on Ukraine, targeting Moscow's energy sector, shadow fleet of aging oil tankers and military intelligence service with new sanctions. 'The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said after the bloc agreed its new measures, including a new oil price cap. Kallas said it's 'one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date' linked to the war, now in its fourth year. It comes as European countries start to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine to help the country better defend itself. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the new measures, describing them as a 'timely and necessary' step amid intensified Russian attacks. 'All infrastructure of Russia's war must be blocked,' Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine will synchronize its sanctions with the EU and introduce its own additional measures soon. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov brushed off the EU move, saying that 'we consider such unilateral restrictions unlawful.' 'At the same time, we have acquired certain immunity from sanctions. We have adapted to living under sanctions,' Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. 'We will need to analyze the new package in order to minimize negative consequences from it.' The U.K., meanwhile, imposed sanctions on units of Russia's military intelligence service, GRU. Also added to the list were 18 officers the U.K. said helped to plan a bomb attack on a theatre in southern Ukraine in 2022 and to target the family of a former Russian spy who was later poisoned with a nerve agent. Hundreds of civilians sheltering in the theatre in Mariupol were killed in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. 'GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,' U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. NATO also condemned Russia's cyberattacks, saying in a statement that 'we will respond to these at a time and in a manner of our choosing, in accordance with international law, and in coordination with our international partners including the EU.' The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, had proposed to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45, which is lower than the market price, to target Russia's vast energy revenues. The 27 member countries decided to set the price per barrel at just under $48. The EU had hoped to get major international powers in the Group of Seven countries involved in the price cap to broaden the impact, but the Trump administration could not be brought onboard. Oil income is the linchpin of Russia's economy, allowing President Vladimir Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse. A new import ban was also imposed in an attempt to close a loophole allowing Russia to indirectly export crude oil via a number of non-EU countries. The EU also targeted the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany to prevent Putin from generating any revenue from them in future, notably by discouraging would-be investors. Russian energy giant Rosneft's refinery in India was hit as well. The pipelines were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany but are not in operation. On top of that, the new EU sanctions targeted Russia's banking sector, with the aim of limiting the Kremlin's ability to raise funds or carry out financial transactions. Two Chinese banks were added to the list. The EU has slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia since Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in February 24, 2022. More than 2,400 officials and 'entities' — often government agencies, banks, companies or organizations — have been hit with asset freezes and travel bans. But each round of sanctions is getting harder to agree, as measures targeting Russia bite the economies of the 27 member nations. Slovakia held up the latest package over concerns about proposals to stop Russian gas supplies, which it relies on. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had spoken to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico 'almost daily' in recent days to convince him to change his mind. 'But it took a very long time again — the processes are too sluggish,' he told reporters in Berlin. The last raft of EU sanctions, imposed on May 20, targeted almost 200 ships in Russia's sanction-busting shadow fleet of tankers. On Friday, 105 more ships were blocked from European ports, locks and from ship-to-ship transfers, bringing the total number of vessels now sanctioned to more than 400.
