Friday, December 02, 2022

OH THEY HAVE A POLICY, NOW
KANYE WEST’S SWASTIKA TWEET FORCES ELON MUSK TO FINALLY DO SOME MODERATING

The new Twitter CEO announced that the antisemitic rapper’s account would be suspended for violating the company’s policies on inciting violence.


 DECEMBER 2, 2022

Kanye West on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.BY EVAN AGOSTINI/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

Shortly after tweeting an image of a swastika inside the Star of David and hours after going on a pro-Hitler tirade, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, was suspended from Twitter Friday. Twitter CEO Elon Musk confirmed as much early Friday morning, less than a few weeks after Twitter reversed an October restriction on his account that came in response to a separate antisemitic tweet.



Thursday's tweet was deleted before West’s account page became inaccessible. Prior to West’s suspension, he also posted an unflattering image of Musk in a bathing suit, writing, “Let’s always remember this as my final tweet,” to which Musk responded, “That is fine. This is not,” referring to the swastika tweet. West then took his grievances to Truth Social, former President Donald Trump's social media platform, where he shared an apparent text-message exchange between him and Musk, per the Guardian. “Sorry, but you have gone too far. This is not love,” Musk wrote. “Who made you the judge,” West replied.

The spectacular downfall of one of the most influential rappers in the world is coinciding with another spectacle: Musk’s takeover of Twitter, which has forced the Tesla CEO—a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”—to become a de facto moderator. To say that Musk has been resistant to this aspect of his new role is an understatement, given that he’s granted “general amnesty” to previously suspended accounts (including Trump); ended Twitter’s policy against COVID misinformation; and dismantled the company's trust and safety teams amid mass layoffs. But West's latest pro-Nazi antics were apparently beyond the pale for Musk, raising questions around how the Tesla CEO will crack down on antisemitism going forward.


West's comments also underscore the ongoing confusion around Twitter's new content moderation policies, such as those related to impersonation and hate speech. Many commentators have argued that Musk has failed to consistently enforce these policies, as seemingly evidenced by Thursday's incident:

West’s suspension comes on the heels of his horrifyingly antisemitic outburst on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s InfoWars show, during which even Jones—who Friday morning filed for bankruptcy because he owes nearly $1.5 billion in damages caused by his lies about the Sandy Hook massacre—seemed uncomfortable with West’s comments. “There’s a lot of things that I love about Hitler," West said during his appearance, claiming the Holocaust never happened. Also on Thursday, Parler, the right-wing social media platform, announced that West’s deal to acquire the company fell apart in mid-November. While the rapper's antisemitic rhetoric has earned him scores of critics over the past several months, he was still greeted with a warm embrace in Mar-a-Lago last week, where the former president hosted West, as well as white supremacist Nick Fuentes, for dinner shortly after announcing his 2024 presidential bid.

Biden slaps down Hitler-praising Kanye West while subtly knocking Trump for his silence

Brad Reed
December 02, 2022

Joe Biden (AFP)

President Joe Biden on Friday slapped down Hitler-praising rapper Kanye West while at the same time taking a subtle shot at former President Donald Trump for hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

In a post on Twitter, Biden directly addressed the multiple false and offensive statements made by West during his anti-Semitic tirade during his appearance on Alex Jones' InfoWars on Thursday.

"I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened," Biden wrote. "Hitler was a demonic figure. And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity."

Trump last week hosted both West and notorious Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago. Although Trump has since claimed that he did not know who Fuentes was at the time he came to dinner, he has also notably not condemned Fuentes' frequently racist and anti-Semitic diatribes.

Likewise, Trump has remained completely silent about West in the wake of his anti-Semitic outbursts this week, which included attacks on "the Jewish media" for portraying Nazis in a negative light, as well as a flat-out declaration that "I like Hitler."


I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure. And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity.

House Judiciary GOP finally deletes tweet praising Kanye West after he tells Alex Jones he likes Hitle
r

Sky Palma
December 01, 2022

Kanye West is seen exiting his hotel on September 3, 2016 in New York City. (Shutterstock)

After leaving it up for almost two months, the House Judiciary GOP's official Twitter account has finally deleted their infamous tweet that read, "Kanye. Elon. Trump."

The tweet went up on Oct. 6, and soon afterwards, rapper Kanye West started giving interviews and making statements that are unquestionably antisemitic. While both liberal and conservative figures called on the House Judiciary GOP to disavow the tweet as West's antisemitism reached a fever pitch, the tweet was not deleted.


But now that West has gone on Infowars and blatantly told host Alex Jones, "I like Hitler," the people behind the account have apparently decided that it was time to take it down.

“You’re not Hitler,” Jones told West. “You're not a Nazi.”

“Well, I see good things about Hitler,” West said, later adding: “Every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”

“[The Nazis] did good things too,” West said. “We’ve got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time.”
























Stunned TMZ hosts live-react to Ye's meltdown: 'Kanye West is ranting about Hitler'

David Edwards
December 01, 2022

TMZ/screen grab

As Ye ranted to Alex Jones about his "love" for Adolf Hitler, stunned TMZ hosts reacted live on the air.

"Kanye West, who as we speak is on Alex Jones's InfoWars," host Harvey Levin said at the top of the show, "is off the rails."

"He's saying a lot about Hitler," Levin's co-host agreed, "about Nazis and praising them, which of course coming on the heels of the anti-Semitic rants he's been on for more than a month is — it's just disturbing."

"This has been going on for more than an hour," a stunned Levin added. "And we have no idea how long this is going to keep going. But Nick Fuentes, the white supremacist, is right by his side as Kanye West is ranting about, you know, Hitler."

"He said the Nazis invented the highways and microphones," he remarked.

Levin later suggested that Ye might need to return to a mental health facility, calling the interview his "downfall."

Watch the video from TMZ. You can also watch at this link.



'Disgusting': Key Republican group slams 'horrific cesspool' of hate from Trump allies on InfoWars show

Matthew Chapman
December 01, 2022

Kanye West talks in the Oval Office (Screen cap).

On Thursday, the Republican Jewish Coalition came out with a statement tearing into the InfoWars radio segment between conspiracy theorist webcaster Alex Jones, rapper Kanye "Ye" West, and white nationalist livestreamer Nick Fuentes — all of whom have taken meetings with former President Donald Trump.

"Today's InfoWars show featuring Alex Jones, Nick Fuentes, and Kanye West — a disgusting triumvirate of conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers, and antisemites — was a horrific cesspool of dangerous, bigoted Jew hatred," said the RJC's statement. "We vehemently condemn those comments and call on all political leaders to reject these messengers of hate and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong."

During this segment, Ye actively praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, saying “I see good things about Hitler ... Jewish people are not going to tell me you can love us, and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we’re pushing with the pornography. But this guy that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that.”

"Given his praise of Hitler, it can't be overstated that Kanye West is a vile, repellant bigot who has targeted the Jewish community with threats and Nazi-style defamation," said the RJC. "Conservatives who have mistakenly indulged Kanye West must make it clear that he is a pariah. Enough is enough."

This comes shortly after Trump met with Ye and Fuentes, who has also compared himself to Hitler and supports creating a white, Christian theocracy where Jews are stripped of political power, at his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida.

The RJC has broken with Trump on occasion in the past. The group sharply criticized Doug Mastriano, a Trump-backed unsuccessful candidate for Pennsylvania governor, for his use of and financial ties to Gab, a far-right social network whose CEO, Andrew Torba, has declared Jews are unwelcome on his platform

 



















Neuralink's AI brain chip could be in humans within six months claims Elon Musk

This is a Musk prediction, so don't get your hopes up

Katyanna Quach
Fri 2 Dec 2022

After testing on monkeys and pigs, Neuralink may be able to plant its first chip into a human brain in six months, its founder and CEO Elon Musk claimed on Wednesday.

Neuralink, founded in 2016, is working to build an implantable device that can stimulate different areas of the brain allowing those that are paralysed or blind to walk, see, and communicate. The company has only tested its brain-computer interface in animals so far, and is set on trialling the device in humans soon.

"We have submitted most of our paperwork to the FDA, and probably in about six months we should be able to have our first neuralink in a human," Musk said in a company's show and tell presentation.

Like all of Musk's proclamations, they should be taken with a grain of salt. The world's richest man often makes outlandish claims and sets overly ambitious deadlines that aren't met. He has previously said he hoped Neuralink would start human trials in 2020, 2021, again in 2022, and now it's 2023.

So what's different this time? Not much, really. The latest device, dubbed N1, is the size of a quarter with 1,024 channels to probe the brain with and uses Bluetooth to charge wirelessly and transmit data. The wearer has to drill a hole into their skull, where the chip can be connected to their brain via 64 threads pierced into their grey matter. The operation is performed by a robot and the insertion takes just 15 minutes, according to DJ Seo, Neuralink's VP of Implant.

A Hole in the Head: A History of Trepanation | The MIT Press Reader


Musk made similar remarks about a 1,024-channel-chip and a surgical robot too in 2020. The latest demonstration, however, did feature monkeys trained to perform more tasks than just playing Pong. Neuralink showed the animals could now use their brain implants to move a cursor around, type into a keyboard, and handwrite numbers on screens.

In one clip, a monkey named Sake, is said to be moving a cursor to type out the short sentence "welcome to show and tell" with just his mind. Obviously, Sake can't actually spell words and is, instead, trained to recognise and select keywords in the right order to string together the phrase. Musk, however, said one day humans could use the device to communicate with one another. 

Neuralink is currently working to stimulate the brain's motor and visual cortex in the hope that it can help restore a patient's ability to move or see. Musk also teased out the next upgraded version of the implant, which will apparently feature 4,096 channels and run off Arm's Cortex M-23 processor.

"The first production device will be like an iPhone 1, but you don't want an iPhone 1 in your head if the iPhone 14 is available," he said.

The long-term goal of the company, however, isn't just to help restore brain function in patients but to help humanity co-evolve with AI. "What do we do if we have a digital superintelligence that is much smarter than any human?," he asked.

Musk believes humans will need brain-computer devices to expand their technical abilities as machines become more powerful. "We are already cyborgs in a way that your phone and your computer are extensions of yourself," he said.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN' —

Tesla finally delivers first electric Semi to Pepsi after years of delay

Most recently, Tesla promised to produce 50,000 Semis in 2024.

😄😄😄 ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

ASHLEY BELANGER
- 12/2/2022
ARS TECHNICA


Yesterday, Elon Musk appeared at his first Tesla unveiling since he took the helm at Twitter. At a Tesla plant in Nevada, the billionaire announced that after five long years, Tesla’s first heavy-duty Semi had been delivered to PepsiCo.

The Semi, Tesla announced, would go into production in 2023 and feature an updated version of Tesla’s Supercharger, which uses liquid-cooling technology in its charging cable and is capable of charging the large electric vehicle at 1 megawatt.

“If you're a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it,” Musk told those gathered for the reveal, according to a Reuters report.

However, Musk failed to clarify key details like how much the Semis can haul, how much they will cost, and when Tesla will start producing hundreds of Semis for companies that pre-ordered them as early as 2017. Analysts told Reuters that they were especially disappointed that Tesla did not disclose the weight of an unloaded Semi, which would have helped them calculate efficiency on the road.

Instead, Musk touted truck features, painting a future of fleets of Tesla long haulers helping to reduce highway emissions while outperforming today’s diesel trucks. Musk seemed most excited about the Semi’s powertrain technology, which relies on three motors to generate “crazy power,” Musk said, by engaging one at highway speed and reserving two for acceleration. He likened the Tesla Semi to “an elephant moving like a cheetah."Advertisement

Tesla did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

Reuters reported that Tesla would use the Semi to transport parts between its Nevada and California plants. In test runs, Tesla completed a 500-mile haul of 81,000 pounds (a total that includes the truck's weight and cargo), but that didn’t impress everyone gathered. Oliver Dixon, a senior analyst at the consultancy firm Guidehouse, told Reuters the truck is “not very impressive” and still could not be considered a “definitive proof of concept" without key details that Tesla failed to share during its event.

Five years ago, when Tesla offered the world its first look at the Semi in 2017, Pepsi promptly ordered 100 trucks. It was expected that the trucks would be hauling loads for companies like Pepsi, United Parcel Service, and Walmart by 2019. But production of the heavy-duty truck became stalled while competitors beat Tesla to market with rival fully electric Class 8 vehicles. Before this week, the only glimpse that the public got suggesting that the Semi could soon be hitting roads was a prototype spotted in 2018.

Now, with the Tesla trucks already significantly delayed, Pepsi got the first one. But companies still aren’t sure when Tesla will be prepared to ship more trucks. Musk had previously promised to produce 50,000 Semis in North America in 2024.

Pepsi got a chance to test the truck and finally did a cargo run this week, though. A driver for the company rolled up in the Semi to bring snacks to attendees of Musk’s reveal.

At the reveal, Musk also teased a new “robotaxi” in development at Tesla and suggested that the fast-charging technology propelling the updated Supercharger would also be used to power the Tesla pickup truck.

All these announcements came after Musk discussed drops in Tesla stock by 45 percent. Last month, Reuters reported that Tesla investors were concerned by how much time and money—including selling billions in Tesla stock—Musk was devoting to Twitter, potentially distracting him from completing Tesla projects.


ASHLEY BELANGER is the senior tech policy reporter at Ars Technica, writing news and feature stories on tech policy and innovation. She is based in Chicago.

NO GREENWASHING
Chevron will still be drilling in 2050: CEO Mike Wirth

By:
Wajeeh Khan
on Dec 2, 2022

Mike Wirth says Chevron is growing production to meet demand.

He sees future in the blend of clean energy and hydrocarbons.

Chevron shares are up more than 50% versus the start of 2022.


Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) will most certainly be drilling about thirty years from now, says CEO Mike Wirth – in contrast with President Biden who recently reiterated that the U.S. will pull out of drilling.

Chevron is continuing to invest


The oil and gas behemoth plans on spending $15 billion to $17 billion a year to meet the growing demand. Speaking with folks at CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, the chief executive noted:

We’re growing production because world’s growing in terms of demand. We have to look well into the future and invest to meet that demand. We’re up this year 15% in Permian versus same period last year and continuing to invest.

While that’s well-below what the multinational was spending before the COVID pandemic, the output, CEO Wirth added, remains the same as Chevron is now more capital-efficient.

For the year, Chevron shares are up more than 50% at writing.

CEO Wirth’s view of the future

It is noteworthy here that Chevron refused to cave in the face of pressure in recent years to lower production and that’s contributing to the ability of the U.S. today to help its allies fight the Russia-driven energy crisis.

Moving forward as well, CEO Mike Wirth sees future in a blend of clean energy and hydrocarbons.


Affordable energy is essential for economic prosperity, reliable energy for national security, and environmental protection is essential for a sustainable planet. We have to balance all three. If you over index one, you can create vulnerabilities.

In related oil news, OPEC+ is expected to reveal plans of further cutting production on Sunday.

BOSTON; 

MORE IRISH THAN IRELAND

Prince William and Biden’s Boston meeting encounters rail worker protests

Their meeting took place at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library before Earthshot Awards
Graeme Massie

Prince William’s meeting in Boston with US president Joe Biden saw around 100 protesters hurl abuse at the two men.

The protesters could be heard shouting abusive slogans such as “F*** the royal family” and “Joe Biden is a scab” as the men met at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in the city.

The meeting took place hours before the Earthshot Awards, the final event on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s three-day tour to the Massachusetts city.

The protest came after a vote in the US Senate that forced rail unions to take a new labour deal, which rejected giving workers seven days of sick leave.

Mr Biden signed the legislation on Thursday, citing the economic harm a rail strike would do to the country at this time of year.

“In relation to the royal family, the joke answer would be we kicked you guys out in 1776,” Nick Wurst, an organiser from Railroad Workers United told MailOnline. “I would say to Joe Biden and Prince William watch yourselves. Workers everywhere are getting the short stick and are looking to fight back in the US and in the UK as well. The fight is not over.”

Claire Bayler, from the Independent Socialist Group, added: “Our message to Joe Biden and Prince William would be workers will defend our rights that we’re not willing to back down in this fight against massive corporations.”

And she added that Prince William and the royal family were “complicit in the exploitation of workers in the UK and the US.”

Recommended

Prince William and Kate Middleton booed while attending Boston Celtics game

Kate Middleton and Prince William say they’re “delighted to be back in the U.S.,” but the U.S. may not be as delighted to receive them.


The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived in Boston Wednesday to celebrate several days of public events leading up to William’s Earthshot Prize gala, but received a slightly frosty reception from the city’s basketball fans.

The royal couple sat courtside during the Boston Celtics game Wednesday evening at TD Garden and when their images were projected onto the Jumbotron they were met with a chorus of cheers — as well as audible boos.

READ MORE: ‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer: Netflix shares 1st look at dramatic documentary

ITV News royal correspondent Chris Ship shared video to Twitter documenting the lukewarm crowd response.

“So both times William and Kate appeared on the @tdgardenbig screen there were cheers but also some boos. Along with chants of ‘USA, USA’,” wrote Ship.

“Some say it was expected at the Boston team @celtics with such strong Irish roots,” he noted. “But, still, not something the Royals get very often.”

And it’s true. It’s not often that members of the royal family are openly mocked or ridiculed in public, especially at home in the U.K. In the U.S., it appears to be a different story.

Other media were on-hand at the game, including sports reporter and anchor Avi Carr-Gloth, who also captured the smattering of boos and chants.

Still, William and Kate played it cool, never showing any reaction that might sully their royal patina. Instead, they smiled for the camera while chatting with each other.

They also shared to their official Twitter account what a “fantastic” time they had at the game.

This trip marks the first stateside tour since 2014 for the Prince and Princess of Wales. They have travelled to Boston on a three-day visit leading up to the Earthshot Prize gala on Friday, which is William’s environmental awards ceremony.

Their trip, however, has been partly overshadowed by the racist behaviour of a royal aide back home.

On Wednesday, William’s godmother and the late queen’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, resigned from her role as an honorary aide to King Charles after it came to light that she had repeatedly questioned a Black, British-born charity worker about where she was “from” at a reception hosted by Queen Consort Camilla earlier in the week.

READ MORE: Prince William’s godmother and royal aide resigns after racist comments

Buckingham Palace called Lady Hussey’s comments “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” while announcing that she had stepped down from the role.

William and Kate’s spokesperson also addressed the racist exchange in front of reporters Wednesday at Buckingham Palace, as the royal couple made their way to the United States.

“This is a matter for Buckingham Palace but as the Prince of Wales’ spokesperson I appreciate you’re all here and understand you’ll want to ask about it,” the spokesperson told reporters.

“So let me address it head-on. I was really disappointed to hear about the guest’s experience at Buckingham Palace last night. Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”

Netflix also played a hand in making William and Kate’s return and reception to the U.S. slightly more rocky. On Thursday morning they dropped the first trailer for their much-anticipated but never-previously-acknowledged documentaryHarry & Meghan, which will offer a behind-the-scenes look into the life of William’s younger brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.

Click to play video: '‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer'
‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer

Harry and Markle famously quit their jobs as working royals in January 2020 and moved to California to live a more private life. Their decision to step back from royal duties — and speak openly about racism and dysfuction in the British Royal Family — has caused much tension and it’s widely understood to have damaged the brothers’ relationship to a degree.

While the brothers and their wives are all currently in the same country, the couples likely have no plans to meet up before William and Kate head home.

Macron hits New Orleans' French Quarter to boost U.S. ties, meets with Musk
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a luncheon Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Sara Cline and Sylvie Corbet
The Associated Press
Updated Dec. 2, 2022 

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Friday in Louisiana, the American state most closely aligned historically with his country, to celebrate their longstanding cultural ties and discuss energy policy and climate change.

Macron met with political leaders and strolled through New Orleans' historic French Quarter, the heart of the city, stopping to talk and shake hands with bystanders. He paused next to a street brass band and nodded and clapped as they played "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Macron also said he met with billionaire Elon Musk for what he called a "clear and honest discussion" about Twitter, days after a top European Union official warned the social media platform's new owner that the company must do more to protect users from harmful content.

The visit is the first by a French president since Valery Giscard d'Estaing traveled to Lafayette and New Orleans in 1976. The only other French president to visit Louisiana was Charles de Gaulle in 1960.

Macron's itinerary started at Jackson Square. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell walked him to the Historic New Orleans Collection where Macron discussed climate change impacts with Gov. John Bel Edwards. The French president also met with energy company representatives.

"This state visit enables us to put France, and with France Europe, at the heart of the American agenda. That's a good thing," Macron told journalists in French, according to a translation from pool reporters.

Macron told Edwards he was overcome by the reception in the city.

"What I think this signifies is a special relationship we have with France. It is historical and cultural," Edwards said.

Edwards, a Democrat, has been outspoken about the perils of climate change in a state where tens of thousands of jobs are tied to the oil and gas industry. This makes the stop to New Orleans "very emblematic" of climate-related efforts, French officials said.

During a brief meeting in the presence of Macron, the governor and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, signed a memorandum of understanding "to further expand and enhance the strong cultural connections between France and Louisiana in the areas of the economy, clean energy and the environment," Edwards' office said.

"Like me, President Macron believes that climate change is real," Edwards said.

The governor's office said the agreement formally creates a Louisiana-based position for a French technical expert on the transition to clean energy.

During Macron's visit to Washington on Thursday, he and President Joe Biden released a joint statement expressing "their deep concern regarding the growing impact of climate change and nature loss" and said they "intend to continue to galvanize domestic and global action to address it."

On Friday evening Macron posted a photo on Twitter of his encounter with Musk, the two men sitting across from each other at a table in an empty room. He said he and the Tesla CEO discussed "future green industrial projects," and also the social media platform.

"Transparent user policies, significant reinforcement of content moderation and protection of freedom of speech: efforts have to be made by Twitter to comply with European regulations," the president said in one of a series of tweets.

Earlier this week Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for digital policy, told Musk that Twitter will have to significantly increase efforts to comply with new rules known as the Digital Services Act that take effect next year, or potentially face hefty fines or even a ban in the continental bloc.

Louisiana is named for Louis XIV, the famous Sun King who ruled France for 72 years starting in 1643. New Orleans is where the Louisiana Purchase was finalized. The deal transferred the Louisiana Territory, which encompassed much of what is today the central United States, from France to the U.S. in 1803.


Macron's New Orleans visit included a stop with first lady Brigitte Macron at the Cabildo, where ceremonies marking the land transfer were held.


Macron was also scheduled to visit the New Orleans Museum of Art and dine downtown before departing.



Holding the U.S. and French flags, Christiane Geisler, who was born in France and moved to Louisiana six years ago, was one of the spectators who stood in the streets hoping to see the president Friday. She was thrilled that she got to shake Macron's hand and have a brief conversation with him in French.

"For me, when I moved here, it had a good feeling of French," Geisler said.

The French Quarter, 13 blocks long and roughly six wide, was first settled in the 1700s and was later ravaged twice by fire. It best known as a tourist spot and commercial district where a reimagined French Market, fine restaurants, antique shops and art galleries coexist alongside T-shirt shops, strip joints and bars blasting live music by cover bands.

------

Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.






Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com urge court to dismiss Hans Niemann's lawsuit over cheating claims

Magnus Carlsen (right) accused Hans Niemann of cheating at an event in September.(Supplied: Saint Louis Chess Club/AP)

Norwegian chess world champion Magnus Carlsen and online platform Chess.com have urged a US federal court to toss out a libel suit brought against them by US teenage grandmaster Hans Niemann, who Carlsen has accused of cheating.

Key points:Chess.com and Carlsen claim Niemann is an "admitted" cheat
They claim Niemann failed to identify defamatory statements in his lawsuit
Niemann's lawsuit claims the defendants are colluding to blacklist him from professional chess

Chess.com executive Daniel Rensch and Carlsen said in their filings that Niemann was an "admitted" cheat who failed to identify any defamatory statements by them in his lawsuit in US District Court in Missouri.

"After years of trying to curate a reputation as the bad boy of chess, plaintiff Hans Niemann wants to cash in by blaming others for the fallout from his own admitted misconduct," Carlsen's filing said.

Niemann's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Niemann, 19, said in his $US100 million ($147 million) lawsuit that the defendants were "colluding to blacklist" him from professional chess.

No signs of chess cheating

Hans Niemann is accused of cheating by chess world champion Magnus Carlsen after the pair played in round three of the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in early September.


He said he had been shunned by tournament organisers since five-time world champion Carlsen, 32, accused him of cheating at the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri in September.

Carlsen's surprise defeat and unusual decision to immediately withdraw from the tournament set off a flurry of speculation in the chess world that Carlsen believed Niemann had cheated.

Rumour erupted into scandal later that month when Carlsen resigned after one move in a match against Niemann during an online tournament.

Carlsen then released a statement saying he believed Niemann had cheated "more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted".

Chess.com, an internet chess server, banned Niemann after the first match against Carlsen and later published a report saying he had likely cheated more than 100 times in online games.

Niemann has admitted to cheating in online chess matches when he was 12 and 16 years old but has denied ever doing so in during tournaments involving prize money.

Tournament organisers say they have not found any evidence that Niemann cheated.

Reuters/ABC


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