Latest news with #NationalCathedral
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
From finance minister to outlaw: Ghana's Ofori-Atta declared wanted again
Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana's former Minister of Finance, has been branded a wanted person by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after failing to appear for interrogation on Monday. Ken Ofori-Atta, former Minister of Finance for Ghana, is declared wanted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). The action follows his failure to attend interrogation about alleged mismanagement during his term. Ofori-Atta previously played a key role in Ghana's IMF negotiations during a financial crisis but faced criticism for fiscal policies. The reissued warrant is related to continuing investigations into potential wrongdoing during his tenure, namely, payments made for contentious projects. This recent action represents a substantial shift from events in February 2025, when the OSP officially removed Ofori-Atta from its wanted list. That decision came after his legal team submitted written assurances of his return to Ghana and cooperation with authorities, momentarily calming tensions between the ex-minister and anti-corruption investigators. However, the former finance chief's inability to attend a scheduled grilling this week has revived the controversy. According to the OSP, Ofori-Atta's new status as a "wanted individual and fugitive from justice" derives from his failure to provide a plausible schedule for his return or response to summons, despite being legally identified as a suspect in various corruption and procurement-related investigations. 'It is more than three hours past the scheduled time for Mr. Ofori-Atta's appearance,' Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said. 'Consequently, the Office of the Special Prosecutor declares that Mr. Ofori-Atta is a wanted person and a fugitive from justice,' Agyebeng added. The special prosecutor also added that he initiated the procedure for issuing an Interpol red alert for Ofori-Atta's arrest and extradition to Ghana, as seen on Bloomberg. The basis for Ken Ofori-Atta's call for arrest The investigation revolves around claims of funding for Ghana's contentious National Cathedral project, the buying of ambulance replacement parts, and other dubious spending. The OSP suspects Ofori-Atta of misusing public funds and engaging in procedural irregularities during his tenure as finance minister. Ofori-Atta, Ghana's finance minister until his removal in mid-February 2024, had long faced public and legislative criticism. His handling of the economy amid a moment of unprecedented financial turmoil garnered increasing criticism from both the opposition and members of his own New Patriotic Party. In October 2022, over 80 NPP MPs sought his resignation, followed by similar requests from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in February 2023. Despite this, President Nana Akufo-Addo supported him until early 2024, when he was eventually removed by Mohammed Amin Adam, then Minister of State at the Finance Ministry. During Ofori-Atta's term, Ghana entered negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resolve a deteriorating financial crisis. In May 2023, the IMF authorized a $3 billion, three-year loan under its Extended Credit Facility program, offering immediate respite and a potential lifeline to the struggling economy.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ghana Declares Ex-Finance Minister Ofori-Atta Wanted Again
Ghana's special prosecutor has declared former Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta wanted again after he missed a deadline Monday to appear for questioning about payments for projects during his tenure. The minister under whose watch Ghana defaulted on its debt and agreed a $3 billion program with the International Monetary Fund to fix finances is being sought over funding for a controversial national cathedral project, procurement of ambulance spare parts and other issues.
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
How Kara Swisher Scaled Even Higher
Kara Swisher's interviews made her famous among technology obsessives decades ago. She persuaded the rivals Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple to play nice onstage. She reduced Meta's founder Mark Zuckerberg, then just 26, to a puddle of sweat. She shoved her camera in the face of her future boss, Jim Bankoff, Vox Media's chief executive, among others. But it wasn't until she began podcasting that she reached an audience far beyond the tech world. In 2018, she started 'Pivot,' a news-chat podcast, with Scott Galloway, a serial entrepreneur and marketing professor who now has his own slate of brash business podcasts under the name 'Prof G.' They were an odd couple — she was grouchy, he was raunchy — but their banter was tender and intellectual when they weren't torturing each other. Fans began stopping Ms. Swisher in public, recognizing the aviator sunglasses that had become a swaggering signature. 'I'd never made a product or a news thing that people thanked me for,' Ms. Swisher, 62, said in a recent interview at a cafe in the shadow of the National Cathedral in Washington, where she lives with her wife and children. 'At the end of this long career, it's like, 'Oh wow. I make something people really like.'' So she and Mr. Galloway decided to assess its worth, shopping their portfolio of five podcasts around to other companies before their contract with Vox Media, their publisher, neared its end. Competitive offers came in with guaranteed payments of about $40 million on four-year contracts, Ms. Swisher said. But in the end, they agreed to re-sign with Vox Media, with an unusual twist. The deal does not carry any guarantees or upfront cash. The payday for Ms. Swisher and Mr. Galloway is instead based entirely on how much money their podcasts generate. Vox Media will pocket about 30 percent, while the co-hosts split the rest. At the high end of back-of-the-envelope calculations — Mr. Galloway said the podcasts could generate $100 million in revenue over the four years — the pair would stand to make about $70 million excluding some costs. (A portion of the costs for their slate of shows is split among the hosts and Vox Media.) The novel structure of the deal cements Ms. Swisher's reputation for betting on herself. But it is also the kind of deal that could have wider implications, as more journalists follow Ms. Swisher's example in fashioning themselves as new media entrepreneurs. Ms. Swisher's path to celebrity — a power broker who name drops other power brokers — has taken her from The Washington Post; to The Wall Street Journal; to The New York Times, where she was an opinion columnist and host of a podcast called 'Sway.' Along the way, she co-founded two media businesses, AllThingsD and Recode, published three books, survived a mini-stroke, raised a family and harbored few regrets. (Here's one: 'I was too nice to Elon for too long,' Ms. Swisher said of Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive.) She also learned a fundamental truth about herself: She does not want to be an employee, nor does she want to employ anyone. She wore a sweater to a White House Correspondents' Association dinner party that warned people, or perhaps boasted, 'I'm not for everyone.' 'Every day I get to decide what I do,' she said, 'and it's not dependent on anybody.' Except, in some ways, Mr. Galloway and Mr. Bankoff of Vox Media. Mr. Bankoff and Ms. Swisher got into business together in 2015 when Vox Media bought Recode, a tech news site she had started with Walt Mossberg, a pioneering technology journalist at The Journal. Mr. Bankoff characterized the hosts as 'tough' during the negotiations over 'Pivot.' 'They're not going to give us some home-team special,' he said during an interview at his home in Washington. But there was mutual trust, he added. 'The trust is born out of us performing together.' Mr. Galloway, 60, the more feral half of their screwball comedy team, negotiated the finer points of the 'Pivot' agreement. Ms. Swisher confirmed the terms of the deal. Vox Media, for example, still owes the duo $20 million for completing their first deal. Mr. Galloway concocted a plan that allows the pair to receive that money in installments over seven years with interest, rather than pay a hefty tax on a one-time check. 'What I constantly say to Kara is, 'You need to start thinking like a billionaire,'' Mr. Galloway said. 'She's making me much more famous. I'm making her richer.' The pair are the hosts or co-hosts of four other podcasts at Vox Media: 'On,' Ms. Swisher's solo interview show; 'Raging Moderates,' a political podcast with Mr. Galloway and the Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov; 'Prof G Markets,' focused on the global economy with the business writer Ed Elson; and 'The Prof G. Pod,' which features Mr. Galloway's business insights and life advice. Ms. Swisher's reach in the media world goes far beyond Vox Media. She is finalizing a deal for a documentary series about cheating death, produced with EverWonder Studio, probably for CNN, where she said she already earns around $250,000 annually as a contributor. She is working on a book about mortality and future tech. There is a potential TV show based on her memoir and another possible series about tech moguls. She also serves as a consultant on a D.C. version of the series 'The L Word.' Last year, she said she learned about 'sexual text messages' between a writer at New York magazine, Olivia Nuzzi, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the health secretary, whom Ms. Nuzzi profiled while he campaigned for president. (New York magazine is owned by Vox Media.) She said she passed the information to the magazine, and Vox Media later disclosed the relationship. All of this activity means Ms. Swisher is basically working nonstop, Mr. Galloway said. 'She's always in motion.' Her intensity initially put some strain on their relationship — there was some 'storming, norming and forming,' Mr. Galloway said. 'The good news is, I can text her at any time,' Mr. Galloway said. During an interview, he tested this out — she responded within seconds. 'You adore me,' she shot back. 'The bad news is: She does text me at all times,' he said. There is still more that Ms. Swisher would like to do. As morale sagged to new depths at The Washington Post in recent months, she mounted a public campaign to buy the newspaper from its owner, the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (Mr. Bezos has given no indications he is willing to sell.) She has also talked to Mr. Bankoff about using Vox Media to create a new consortium of independent media properties. She has worked, too, as an informal adviser to the growing number of journalists who, like her, have moved to start their own ventures. Her level of support varies. When Casey Newton, a tech journalist, left Vox Media to start his own newsletter, she offered to let him stay rent-free in the guesthouse of a home she owns in San Francisco. (He is now also a co-host of 'Hard Fork,' a New York Times podcast.) And she encouraged the CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour to start her own podcast about world events, 'The Ex Files,' over dinner in London. After another CNN anchor, Don Lemon, was fired by the network in 2023, Ms. Swisher advised Mr. Lemon not to get into business with Mr. Musk. Mr. Lemon did, and the two are now locked in a legal battle over the termination of his show on X. Onstage with Mr. Lemon last year while promoting her memoir, Ms. Swisher expressed admiration for his leap to independent media. 'You've given up the town cars and fancy things for your own entrepreneurial sense,' said Ms. Swisher, who was wearing a Hawaiian-style shirt printed with her book's cover. 'You should have an interest in the outcome, which means the revenues and profits.'
Axios
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Detroit's Episcopal churches welcome new visitors after viral sermon
An Episcopal bishop's sermon at President Trump's inauguration struck a nerve with onlookers across the country interested in "the other Christians." The big picture: From Detroit to Utah, Episcopal leaders are seeing a surge of interest in the wake of Bishop Mariann Budde's sermon last month, which implored Trump to "have mercy" for undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. Zoom in: At St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Ferndale, five visitors told the Rev. Clare Hickman that they recently attended after feeling inspired by Budde's sermon, Hickman told the Episcopal News Service last week. "I think people really have a hunger, especially in times like these, to have a story that will help them, give them hope and give them purpose in life," Hickman said. Catch up quick: Following Budde's now-viral sermon at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, Trump demanded an apology, posting, "She is not very good at her job!" on social media. Other Republicans joined the attack, with one congressman calling for her deportation (she was born in New Jersey) and 21 others cosponsoring a resolution condemning the sermon. Some faith leaders and conservative activists called on elected officials to revoke the National Cathedral's tax-exempt status, nullify the 1893 charter that allowed an Episcopal foundation to create it and turn the building over to a more conservative denomination. State of play: There are 75 Episcopal churches with about 17,000 members in southeast Michigan. Some have seen increased attendance since Budde's sermon, per the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. Church of the Messiah in the Islandview neighborhood is one of seven Episcopal churches in the city. Hundreds attended its 17th annual Silence the Violence event in June, including Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and former police chief James White. What they're saying: Budde's sermon was both an apolitical plea for compassion to an authority figure and a counter-narrative to the growing influence of Christian nationalism, Bishop Bonnie A. Perry of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan told Axios Detroit. "We're the other Christians. We're the ones who are going to love you as you are, as God is creating you to be. We're not gonna judge you. We're gonna say, 'Welcome.'" Axios Salt Lake City's Erin Alberty contributed to this story.
