FRIENDLY FIRE

Names, photos of Los Angeles undercover police posted online

LOS ANGELES

he Los Angeles Police Department headquarters building is seen downtown Los Angeles, Friday, July 8, 2022. The Los Angeles police chief and the department's constitutional policing director are under investigation after the names and photographs of undercover officers were released to a technology watchdog group that posted them online, the Los Angeles Times reported. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)

The Los Angeles police chief and the department’s constitutional policing director are under investigation after the names and photographs of undercover officers were released to a technology watchdog group that posted them online, the Los Angeles Times reported.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore offered his “deep apologies” to the undercover officers, who were not given advance notice of the disclosure, during a police commission meeting Tuesday.

The technology watchdog group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition posted more than 9,300 officers’ information and photographs Friday in a searchable online database following a public records request by a citizen journalist, the Times reported. It was not immediately clear how many of those were undercover.

The coalition opposes police intelligence-gathering and says the database should be used for “countersurveillance.”

“You can use it to identify officers who are causing harm in your community” the group wrote. “Police have vast information about all of us at their fingertips, yet they move in secrecy.”

The department’s release of the undercover officers’ names and photographs was inadvertent, the Times reported, even though the city attorney’s office determined the agency was legally required to turn them over under California’s public records law.

“We will look to what steps or added steps can be taken to safeguard the personal identifiers of our membership,” Moore said Tuesday.

The department’s inspector general launched the investigation into Moore and constitutional policing director Liz Rhodes after the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, filed a misconduct complaint against them Monday.

South Carolina’s top accountant to resign after $3.5B error

A BOOK HE SHOULD HAVE READ

South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom holds up a book he wanted to present to his new Chief of Staff James Holly during his introduction at the Budget and Control Board meeting, Aug. 13, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. Pressure is mounting for Eckstrom after a $3.5B accounting error. 

(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s embattled top accountant will step down next month after a $3.5 billion error in the year-end financial report he oversaw, according to a resignation letter written Thursday that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Republican Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s decision to leave the post he has held for 20 years came after intense scrutiny of his performance following the blunder and amid rising calls for him to either quit or be removed.

The Senate panel investigating the financial misstatement issued a damning report last week accusing Eckstrom of “willful neglect of duty.” As recently as last week, however, Eckstrom had said he would not resign.

“I have never taken service to the state I love or the jobs to which I have been elected lightly, endeavoring to work with my colleagues ... to be a strong defender of the taxpayer and a good steward of their hard-earned tax dollars,” Eckstrom wrote in the letter to South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. “They deserve nothing less.”
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The governor accepted the resignation, effective April 30.

The Senate report concluded that Eckstrom was solely responsibile for the mapping error, which happened during the state’s transition to a new internal information system from 2011 to 2017. State officials testified that Eckstrom ignored auditors’ yearslong warnings of a “material weakness” in his office and flawed cash reporting.

Eckstrom has said the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report exaggerated the state’s cash balances for a decade by double counting the money sent to colleges and universities. The mistake went unsolved until a junior staffer fixed the error this fall.

Officials have said the overstatement did not affect the state budget. But lawmakers alarmed by Eckstrom’s inconsistent testimony slammed his failure to fulfill one of his primary constitutional duties: to publish an accurate account of state finances.

The fallout for the state agency that typically flies under the radar is expected to continue. A Senate subcommittee recently approved a joint resolution that would let voters decide whether the comptroller general should continue as an elected position or be appointed by the governor. Eckstrom reiterated his support for that change Thursday in his resignation letter.

The next comptroller general may also lead a much weaker office. The investigating panel suggested its responsibilities be transferred to one or more agencies. State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, an elected Republican, has testified that his office could absorb the main tasks.

Republican Sen. Larry Grooms, who led the investigation, said the comptroller general’s office could also be “done away with altogether.”

Grooms thanked Eckstrom for doing the “honorable thing” and sparing the General Assembly from using an obscure state constitutional provision to remove him from office.

Between a 104-7 House vote to cut the comptroller general’s annual salary to $1 and the Senate’s scheduled April 11 vote to oust Eckstrom, Grooms suggested the rising heat had grown too intense for him to remain on the job.

The Senate must now select a replacement to serve out the rest of Eckstrom’s term, which ends in 2027. Grooms said the next comptroller general should be someone who recognizes that their job is to spend the next three years overseeing the office’s incorporation into other state agencies. He does not anticipate any other heads will roll.

“The buck stopped with him,” Grooms said. “The accountability was with him.”

A certified public accountant, Eckstrom, 74, spent four years as state treasurer before assuming his current office. He has run unopposed in the past two elections and last faced a Republican primary challenger in 2010.

McMaster — who had resisted calls for impeachment and endorsed elections as the proper vehicle for accountability — thanked Eckstrom for his 24 years of “dedicated service.” The governor previously served as the state’s attorney general alongside Eckstrom early in the comptroller general’s tenure.

“The Eckstrom and McMaster families have been dear friends for decades,” McMaster said Thursday in a letter accepting the resignation. “I know that your every wish has been, and always will be, prosperity and happiness for the people of South Carolina.”

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James Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Large asteroid coming close, but zero chance of hitting us


This photo provided by Gianluca Masi shows asteroid 2023 DZ2, indicated by arrow at center, about 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) away from the Earth on March 22, 2023. On Saturday, March 25, 2023, the asteroid, big enough to wipe out a city, will harmlessly zip between Earth and the moon. While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one so big to come so close _ about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 140 feet and 310 feet. (42 meters and 94 meters). 

(Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will zip harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies.

Saturday’s close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles (168,000 kilometers) away. That’s less than half the distance from here to the moon, making it visible through binoculars and small telescopes.

While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one so big to come so close — about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 130 feet and 300 feet (40 meters and 90 meters).

Discovered a month ago, the asteroid known as 2023 DZ2 will pass within 320,000 miles (515,000 kilometers) of the moon on Saturday and, several hours later, buzz the Indian Ocean at about 17,500 mph (28,000 kph).

“There is no chance of this ‘city killer’ striking Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observations,” the European Space Agency’s planetary defense chief Richard Moissl said in a statement.

Astronomers with the International Asteroid Warning Network see it as good practice for planetary defense if and when a dangerous asteroid heads our way, according to NASA.

The Virtual Telescope Project will provide a live webcast of the close approach.

The asteroid won’t be back our way again until 2026. Although there initially seemed to be a slight chance it might strike Earth then, scientists have since ruled that out.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Feel your pain? Even fish can show they care


In this photo provided by researcher Rui F. Oliveira, a zebrafish, bottom, is monitored to see its reaction to a video of another at a laboratory in Oeiras, Portugal in March 2023. A study published on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in the journal Science shows that a relaxed fish can detect fear in other fish, and then become afraid itself – and that this ability is regulated by oxytocin, the same brain chemical that underlies the capacity for empathy in humans. (Rui F. Oliveira via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Our capacity to care about others may have very, very ancient origins, a new study suggests.

It might have been deep-rooted in prehistoric animals that lived millions of years ago, before fish and mammals like us diverged on the tree of life, according to researchers who published their study Thursday in the journal Science.

“Some of the mechanisms that underlie our ability to experience fear, or fall in and out of love, are clearly very ancient pathways,” said Hans Hofmann, an evolutionary neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the research.

Scientists are usually reluctant to attribute humanlike feelings to animals. But it’s generally accepted that many animals have moods, including fish.

The new study shows that fish can detect fear in other fish, and then become afraid too – and that this ability is regulated by oxytocin, the same brain chemical that underlies the capacity for empathy in humans.

The researchers demonstrated this by deleting genes linked to producing and absorbing oxytocin in the brains of zebrafish, a small tropical fish often used for research. Those fish were then essentially antisocial – they failed to detect or change their behavior when other fish were anxious.

But when some of the altered fish received oxytocin injections, their ability to sense and mirror the feelings of other fish was restored — what scientists call “emotional contagion.”

“They respond to other individuals being frightened. In that regard, they behave just like us,” said University of Calgary neuroscientist Ibukun Akinrinade, a co-author of the study.

The study also showed that zebrafish will pay more attention to fish that have previously been stressed out – a behavior the researchers likened to consoling them.

Previous research has shown that oxytocin plays a similar role in transmitting fear in mice.

The new research illustrates “the ancestral role” of oxytocin in transmitting emotion, said Rui Oliveira, a behavioral biologist at Portugal’s Gulbenkian Institute of Science and a study co-author.

This brain processing “may have already been in place around 450 million years ago, when you and me and these little fish last had a common ancestor,” explained Hofmann.

Oxytocin is sometimes thought of as a “love” hormone, but Hofmann said it’s actually more like “a thermostat that determines what is socially salient in a particular situation – activating neural circuits that may make you run from danger, or engage in courtship behavior.”

That could be fundamental to the survival of many animals, especially those who live in groups, said Stony Brook University ecologist Carl Safina, who was not involved in the study.

“The most basic form of empathy is contagious fear – that’s a very valuable thing to have to stay alive, if any member of your group spots a predator or some other danger.”

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Follow Christina Larson on Twitter at @larsonchristina.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Lawmakers tell ex-CEOs ‘you must answer’ for bank failures


Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the Senate’s banking committee on Thursday warned former chief executive officers at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that they expect them to testify before the panel, saying in a letter to each: “you must answer for the bank’s downfall.”

The committee is examining the events leading up to the closures of the banks, starting with the first congressional hearing on Tuesday. Separate letters were sent Thursday to Gregory Becker, the former head of Silicon Valley Bank, and to Joseph DePaolo, the former head of Signature Bank.

Both CEOs had indicated to the committee they would be unable to attend Tuesday’s hearing, according to the letter. But the senators said they believe the CEOs can testify to Congress without disclosing confidential information. Nor would the executives need to hand over bank records and files to provide informative testimony, they said.

Attorneys copied in on the letters sent to the CEOs did not immediately reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment.

Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid fears about the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, those exceeding $250,000, would be protected by federal deposit insurance.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the banking panel, and Sen. Tim Scott, the ranking Republican, said the committee needs to understand how the banks managed risk during their rapid growth and what led to them both having a large proportion of uninsured depositors.

The senators also asked SVB’s Becker for information on the “payment of bonuses in the hours leading up to the seizure of the bank by regulators.”

Lawmakers also are scrutinizing the actions of regulators who supervised the two banks, and that will be the focus of Tuesday’s hearing with testimony from Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Michael Barr, a vice chairman at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors; and Nellie Liang, undersecretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have also launched investigations into the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and President Joe Biden has called on Congress to strengthen rules on regional banks and to impose tougher penalties on executives of failed banks.

‘He doesn’t listen.’ France fumes against Macron for ramming through pensions reform

Protests turn violent as government comes under fire.

Things began to turn violent in Paris as some protesters clashed with the police 

| Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

BY GIORGIO LEALI
MARCH 23, 2023 

PARIS — Mass protests struck France on Thursday, urging the government to withdraw a controversial pensions overhaul and attacking French President Emmanuel Macron for forcing through the reform in parliament.

Strikes are impacting sectors including public transport, schools, energy plants and refineries. In Paris, protesters started gathering in place de la Bastille — the site where the French revolution started — surrounded by the smoke of grilled sausages and firecrackers, and loud French rap songs.

Later in the afternoon, things began to turn violent in Paris as some protesters clashed with the police.

The demonstrators are protesting not only against the reform — which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, and extend contributions to get a full pension — but also against the government’s decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the text last week amid fears that it would not have enough votes in parliament.

“That set everything on fire,” said Xavier Pacot, a 40-year-old worker in EDF’s nuclear plant in Gravelines, northern France. Pacot said the controversial parliamentary move fueled opposition against the government. “Now even executives are supporting us,” he added.

The protests come a day after Macron dug in to defend his pensions reform and the constitutional maneuver in a TV interview. Pacot watched the interview with his colleagues at the picket line in Gravelines, but he was not satisfied with Macron’s explanations.

Surveys show that he is far from the only one.

According to a poll published Thursday by consultancy Elabe, more than 60 percent of respondents said Macron’s refusal to show any sign of backing down inflamed the situation.

“It’s a mess in the country because of his stubbornness,” said Gregory Lewandowski, 51, an electronic engineer for French industrial champion Thales.

Bypassing the parliamentary vote “added an additional layer to people’s angriness. It shows that he doesn’t listen to his citizens,” he argued. “People are here for different reasons. It’s a general discontent with inflation, work conditions. It risks turning into something bigger.”

During his first term, Macron faced violent protests from the massive Yellow Jackets movement, which lasted for months.

In his interview this week, the French president insisted there was a difference between peaceful “legitimate” protesters and violent actors. He also warned against a January 6 Capitol Hill-style riot. “We won’t tolerate any outburst,” he said.

Riot police forces walk towards demonstrators surrounded by fireworks during a demonstration | Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images

Strikes started across France at the beginning of 2023 and continued this week. Macron’s government survived a no-confidence vote last Monday with only a nine-vote margin, casting doubts on the executive’s ability to keep ruling the country.

In the TV interview, the French president said he regretted that he “failed to convince people” but also said he had no plans to replace current Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

Government opponents also include those who are not immediately affected by the reform.

Lou Samson, a high-school student protesting in place de la Bastille with her classmates, said she was fighting “for my parents and for our future” and expected “more violence” if the government does not backpedal.

Carmen Michalak, a 62-year-old former cash manager for nuclear group Orano, won’t be hit by the reform as she has already retired. “When we protest, we don’t only do it for ourselves but for the others. Everyone should have the right to enjoy its third age,” she said, before leaving to join the parade of demonstrators.

Anger at Macron mounts as French unions hold new protests

By SYLVIE CORBET and ALEXANDER TURNBULL

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Protesters march during a rally in Nantes, western France, Thursday, March 23, 2023. French unions are holding their first mass demonstrations Thursday since President Emmanuel Macron enflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)


PARIS (AP) — Large crowds in Paris and other French cities took to the streets in the first mass demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age bill through parliament without a vote.

Strikes upended travel in France on Thursday as protesters blockaded train stations, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, refineries and ports.

More than 250 protests were organized across the country and union leaders praised the “significant” mobilization.

In Paris, tens of thousands gathered on the Bastille plaza in a cheerful atmosphere, many waving union flags to the sound of standard protest songs as they started walking through the capital. “We are here, even if Macron doesn’t want it, we are here!” many chanted.

In the western city of Rennes, scuffles broke out between some participants and police who used water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin denounced “unacceptable assaults and damage” at a state building and a police station in Lorient, also in western France. “These actions cannot remain unpunished,” he tweeted.

High-speed and regional trains, the Paris metro and public transportation systems in other major cities were disrupted. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport were canceled.

The Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace were closed Thursday due to the strikes.

Protesters staged blockades on major highways and interchanges to slow traffic around big cities.

Thursday’s events were the ninth round of nationwide demonstrations and strikes called by France’s eight main unions since January. Violence has intensified in recent days at small, scattered protests against the pension reform and Macron’s leadership — in contrast with the largely peaceful big demonstrations staged by unions until then.

Social unrest in France is also tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III’s first overseas trip as monarch, scheduled next week, with striking workers refusing to provide red carpets and un collected garbage piling up in Paris streets.

The French leader is stubbornly resisting the discontent on the streets, and said Wednesday that the government’s bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 must be implemented by the end of the year.

Critics attacked Macron for the statement, describing him as “self-satisfied,” “out of touch” and “offensive.”

The leader of the CGT union Philippe Martinez said Macron “threw a gas tank on the fire.”

At Paris’ Gare de Lyon train station, several hundred strikers walked on the railway tracks to prevent trains from moving, brandishing flares and chanting “and we will go, and we will go until withdrawal” and “Macron, go away.”

“This year perhaps maybe our holidays won’t be so great,” said Maxime Monin, 46, who stressed that employees like him, who work in public transport, are not paid on strike days. “But I think it’s worth the sacrifice.”

Fabien Villedieu, a unionist with SUD-rail, said the strike at France’s railway company SNCF is open-ended. “There are actions every day everywhere, in all the small and big cities of France, with one, two, three or four protests. One, two, three or four blockades,” he said. “What do we need to do to make the government listen?”

In the northern suburbs of Paris, several dozen union members blocked a bus depot in Pantin, preventing about 200 vehicles from getting out during rush hour.

Nadia Belhoum, a 48-year-old bus driver participating in the action, criticized Macron’s decision to force the higher retirement age through.

“The president of the Republic ... is not a king, and he should listen to his people,” she said.

The Education Ministry said in a statement that about 24% of teachers have walked off the job in primary and middle schools, and 15% in high schools.

The French government invoked a constitutional provision last week to get the pension bill adopted without the approval of lawmakers. The bill must now pass a review by France’s Constitutional Council before becoming law.

Macron’s government survived two no-confidence votes in the lower chamber of parliament on Monday.

The 45-year-old centrist president, who is in his second and final term, repeatedly said he was convinced that France’s retirement system needed to be modified to keep it financed. Opponents proposed other solutions, including higher taxes on the wealthy or companies, which Macron says would hurt the economy.

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AP Journalists Masha Macpherson, Jeffrey Schaeffer and Nicolas Garriga in Paris contributed to the story.

In pictures: Violent clashes in Paris after Macron forces through pension changes

PUBLISHED THU, MAR 23 2023

A man in Lille, northern France, stands next to a placard reading “No!” as he takes part in a demonstration on a national action day on Thursday March 23, a week after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote.
Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty Images

Strikes and protests around France on Thursday disrupted travel and filled the streets as citizens demonstrated against changes to the pension system.

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday addressed the nation in a televised interview in which he maintained the government’s plans were necessary to preserve the system into the future as people live longer and the number of pensioners increases.


His bill will see the retirement age for most workers rise from 62 to 64 and the number of years a worker must pay into the system to receive a full pension rise from 42 to 43 in 2027.

However opposition lawmakers and, according to polls, a majority of the public, oppose the reforms.

Unions argue they most impact manual workers and the lower-paid, as well as women. There is also fierce anger over the government’s use of Article 49.3, a special constitutional measure that allows it to pass a bill through the lower house of parliament without a majority vote.

On Thursday, unions accused Macron of making “provocative” comments after he said they had failed to engage in negotiations over changes to the pension system and compared the protests to the raiding of the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Macron also acknowledged people had a right to voice their opposition and that there was anger over businesses making record profits while some people were being asked to work for longer.

Unions had called for a national day of action around the country.

In some places, police fired tear gas and used a water cannon, Reuters reported. Near Toulouse, burning piles of debris blocked traffic, and protesters blocked part of Charles De Gaulle Airport. Police have been clashing with protesters at night in Paris through the week.

Meanwhile, electricity output was cut, refinery blockages continued and the civil aviation authority said flight services would be reduced into the weekend.
Protesters hold construction barriers next to burning garbage bins amid clashes in Paris

Protesters hold construction barriers next to burning garbage bins amid clashes during a demonstration during the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Nacho Doce | Reuters
French gendarmes react near burning garbage bins

French gendarmes react near burning garbage bins amid clashes with protesters during a demonstration as part of the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Nacho Doce | Reuters
A French police officer in riot gear, injured during clashes with protesters, is given help at a demonstration during the ninth day of nationwide strikes

A French police officer in riot gear, injured during clashes with protesters, is given help at a demonstration during the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters
A protester stands near a fire during a demonstration in Paris

A protester stands near a fire during a demonstration as part of the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023. The slogan reads “Me Raoul, I am not the prisoner of your system. 49.3”.
Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters

Protesters throw tear gas canisters back amid clashes

Protesters throw tear gas canisters back amid clashes during a demonstration as part of the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Yves Herman | Reuters

Protesters walk during a demonstration in Nantes. The central sign reads ‘Long live retirement,” and “We’ve got a job, it’s not to die for’


Loic Venance | Afp | Getty Images
People take part in a rally in Rennes. A recent Elabe poll found 69% of people believed the use of Article 49.3 was a ‘denial of democracy’


Damien Meyer | Afp | Getty Images
Protesters hold a placard reading ‘Who sows misery harvests anger,’ as French leftist leader Jean-Luc Melenchon addresses media in Marseille


Christophe Simon | Afp | Getty Images
Vehicles from French Energy distribution company Enedis drive under a bridge reading ‘Basta (enough) 49.3, retirement at 60’ in Marseille


Nicolas Tucat | Afp | Getty Images
Demonstrators walk on the ‘Vieux Port’ in Marseille


Nicolas Tucat | Afp | Getty Images
Unions block the railway station in Quimper, north western France


Fred Tanneau | Afp | Getty Images
Striking members of the General Confederation of Labour union block an access road to the EPPLN oil depot in Port La Nouvelle in southern France


Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Long lines of motorists queue to refuel at a TotalEnergies gas station on the outskirts of Marseille


Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Police officers run through central Paris firing tear gas canisters to deter protesters on Wednesday night


Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Demonstrators run away from police through the main streets of the French capital during a protest


Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Mounds of trash have built up in parts of Paris due to a strike by garbage collectors


Mustafa Yalcin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Imag

No red carpet? French unrest impacts King Charles III’s trip

By THOMAS ADAMSON

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Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall welcome French president Emmanuel Macron to Clarence House in London, Thursday June 18, 2020. Unrest in France is tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III’s first overseas trip as monarch. Striking workers have refused to provide red carpets and critics are calling for the British king's visit to be canceled altogether amid pension reform protests. (Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP, File)

PARIS (AP) — Unrest in France is tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III’s first overseas trip as monarch, with striking workers literally refusing to roll out a red carpet amid pension reform protests and calls for the visit to be canceled altogether.

The British king is scheduled to undertake the trip beginning Sunday on behalf of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, which hoped a glamorous royal tour would underscore efforts to rebuild Anglo-French ties that were frayed by the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union.

But anger over French President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to increase the retirement age by two years are clouding what was meant to be a show of bonhomie and friendship. Instead, Charles’ visit is being seen as an unnecessary display of hereditary privilege.

“It’s very bad timing. Normally the French would welcome a British king. But in this moment, people protesting are on high alert for any sign of privilege and wealth,” Paris-based writer Stephen Clarke, the author of “Elizabeth II, Queen of Laughs,” said.
With piles of uncollected garbage lining the French capital’s once-pristine boulevards, observers say the optics could not be worse – for both Charles and his host Macron.

French labor union CGT announced this week that its members at Mobilier National, the institution in charge of providing red carpets, flags and furniture for public buildings, would snub a Sunday reception for the king upon his arrival in Paris.

“We ask our administration to inform the services concerned that we will not provide furnishings, red carpets or flags,” a CGT statement read.

The Elysee Palace, the French president’s official residence, said that instead non-striking workers would set up the necessary accouterments for the trip.

Months in the making, Charles’ March 26-29 posh itinerary with Queen Consort Camilla includes a visit to the Musee d’Orsay, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and a lavish dinner at the former royal residence, the Versailles Palace.

“They’re planning on going to Versailles. It does not look good. This seems very 1789,” author Clarke said. The lavish Versailles, once the dazzling center of royal Europe and a focal point of the French Revolution, is an enduring symbol of social inequalities and excess.

Macron is facing a public backlash for pushing through a bill raising the retirement age to 64 without a parliamentary vote. Some opponents accuse the president of being out-of-touch, and Charles has not been spared from similar criticism as protests continued this week.

“Unbelievable! We are going to have Emmanuel Macron, the Republican monarch, welcoming King Charles III in Versailles... while the people in the street are demonstrating,” Sandrine Rousseau, a lawmaker from France’s Green Party, told French channel BFM TV. “Of course” the king should cancel his visit, she added.

To limit the potential for disruptions to the royal dinner, security is expected to be very tight around Versailles. In 2020, demonstrators clashed with police on its regal cobblestones amid a previous pension reform bill.

The unrest and demands for Charles stay away are certain to cause disquiet in London. When he was on a walkabout in York, England, in November, someone in a crowd of angry protesters threw eggs in his direction.

The French have maintained a love-hate relationship with kings ever since they guillotined King Louis XVI in 1793. Queens have typically fared better since then. Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’ mother, was a hugely popular figure in France, the European country she visited the most before her death last year.

Elizabeth, who spoke fluent French, made five state visits to France, in 1957, 1972, 1992, 2004 and 2014, as well as unofficial and private visits. Her son now wears the crown but remains in her shadow.

“The problem with Charles is that he is not the queen. She was very loved here,” Paris resident Geraldine Duberret, 62, said. “Charles does not have such a good reputation here. He seems a bit spoiled.”

The celebrity press in France recently focused on unconfirmed rumors that the king would travel with excessive numbers of servants, comparing him to his late mother, who famously insisted her staff turn light bulbs off in Buckingham Palace to save on electricity.

“This visit was a chance for Charles to relaunch himself in the eyes of the French,” Clarke said. “It could have been like a blank canvas, but he will likely not be able to have the impact he would have wished.”

Charles does command some respect in France for his environmental activism. The king and queen consort plan to tour areas of France’s Bordeaux region that last year were ravaged by wildfires widely blamed on global warming.

The couple’s time in southwest France also gives them a chance to see vineyards and to taste the region’s famous wines, including a planned stop at Bordeaux’s Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, a vineyard and winemaker.

Regional officials are effusive about receiving the British royals, a stark contrast to the reception Charles and Camilla could prepare for in Paris.

“It’s very touching that Charles plans to come to Bordeaux. We have a very strong relationship – and historic -- with the U.K. The region stayed English for three centuries. It’s in our DNA,” said Cecile Ha of the Bordeaux Wine Council.

Ha said winemakers in Bordeaux were “on the same page” as King Charles.

“In Paris, they do politics. But, here in Bordeaux, we like Charles because we share the same strong commitments to sustainability.”

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Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

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Norway's Equinor responding to 'weaponization' of energy

Equinor's Hammerfest LNG facility. The Norwegian energy company said gas production last year surpassed 2021 levels, providing a layer of energy security for Europe.

 Photo courtesy Ole Jorgen Bratland/Equinor

March 23 (UPI) -- With natural gas production on the rise, Norwegian energy company Equinor said it has the responsibility to ensure adequate supplies to a European economy fighting Russia's "weaponization" of energy.

Equinor on Thursday published an annual review of operations during 2022. Anders Opedal, the president and CEO at Equinor, said through the year, the corporate focus was on reliability.

"The invasion of Ukraine and Russia's weaponization of energy brought further instability to already tight markets, and across the organization we have felt the responsibility that comes with being the single largest supplier of gas to Europe," he said.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation's energy regulator, reported that crude oil production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day and gas production was 12 billion cubic feet per day.

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Both levels were lower than the government expected, and production is nowhere near levels from the United States, though Norway's proximity to the European economy highlights its importance as a supplier.

Equinor, meanwhile, added that gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf increased by 8% relative to 2021 levels, an increase that came just as the European economy was breaking away from Russia supplies in an effort to rob the Kremlin of the revenue it needs to keep fighting the war.

Elsewhere, the company noted that the resumption of operations from the Hammerfest liquefied natural gas project, idled by a fire in October 2021, and oil from the giant Johan Sverdrup field are among the projects that "are expected to contribute value volumes going forward."

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The company started off the new year with a series of announcements on new discoveries. Equinor reported adjusted net earnings of $74.9 billion last year, boosting by higher oil and gas prices relative to 2021 levels.

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Former Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, mayor convicted in bribery scheme

The former mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, has been convicted in connection to a construction bribery scheme, the Justice Department said Thursday. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

March 23 (UPI) -- The former mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, has been convicted for his role in a construction bribery scheme, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Angel Perez-Otero was convicted of conspiracy, federal bribery, and extortion, the Justice Department said in a press release. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years for extortion and 10 years for bribery.

Court documents show that between 2019 and 2021, Perez-Otero received thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a local construction company in exchange for awarding them local contracts.

The case was prosecuted by attorneys Nicholas Cannon, of the Justice Department's criminal division's public integrity section and Myriam Fernandez-Gonzalez of the District of Puerto Rico.

Perez Otero is scheduled to be sentenced on August 8.

Social media firm fires CEO after putting off merger with Trump's Truth Social

March 22 (UPI) -- Digital World Acquisition Corp. confirmed Wednesday it parted ways with its chief executive as the publicly traded company moved toward a possible merger with former president Donald Trump's social media company.

California-headquartered DWAC said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it fired former CEO Patrick Orlando earlier in the week. Orlando had also served as the company's president.

"Due to the unprecedented headwinds faced by the company, the board agreed it was in the best interest of its shareholders to select a new management team to execute an orderly succession plan and set strategic operating procedures for the company in this new phase," the company said in a statement.

"Mr. Orlando's departure enables the board to appoint new leadership, which it believes will restore confidence to the shareholders."

Orlando remains on the company's board of directors and continues to hold a 10% stake in the specialty acquisition company. He served as president and CEO for the last year and a half.

The Trump Media and Technology Group launched the Truth Social social media platform early last year.

In September, the DWAC deferred a shareholder vote on whether to delay the acquisition of Trump Media and Technology Group, including the Truth Social platform.
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Shareholders voted in November to delay a deadline for any merger by several months. The multiple delays have cost the company $100 million, according to NBC.

The SEC, as well as federal prosecutors in New York, reportedly have been investigating DWAC's financial dealings.

"I know it has been a challenging process for the shareholders. It is important to show that we are working every day to safeguard their interests," newly appointed DWAC interim CEO Eric Swider said in the company's statement Wednesday.

Accenture announces plans to cut 19,000 jobs


Accenture said Thursday it would cut 19,000 jobs due to a lower revenue outlook. 

Photo courtesy Robert Fiadone/Wikimedia Commons

March 23 (UPI) -- Tech services company Accenture said Thursday it plans to cut 19,000 jobs worldwide after lower annual revenue and profit forecasts.

The cutbacks will cost the Irish-American company $1.2 billion in severance over the next 18 months. More than half of the roles that are cut will be among back-office staff.

It also plans to spend another $300 million to consolidate its office space.

Accenture, which currently has 738,000 employees globally, said that it expects annual revenue growth for the 2023 fiscal year to be between 8% to 10%, down from 8% to 11%.

"There continues to be significant economic and geopolitical uncertainty in many markets around the world, which has impacted and may continue to impact our business, particularly with regard to wage inflation and volatility in foreign currency exchange rates," Accenture said, according to TechCrunch. "In some cases, these conditions have slowed the pace and level of client spending."

CNN Business reported that thousands of workers in the tech industry have been laid off in recent months as higher interest rates, inflation and recession fears have led to a pullback in advertising and consumer spending.