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Tag Archives: argued
Ben Affleck video clears up claim he ‘argued’ with Jennifer Lopez on red carpet – The Independent
- Ben Affleck video clears up claim he ‘argued’ with Jennifer Lopez on red carpet The Independent
- Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Looked Super Tense On The Red Carpet At Her New Movie’s Premiere, But Here’s What Apparently Went Down Between Them Yahoo Life
- “Showing too much?”: DCU’s Batman Ben Affleck Allegedly Had “Argument” With Jennifer Lopez Over Her Red Carpet Dress? FandomWire
- Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Seemingly Argue On Red Carpet BuzzFeed
- Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez attend Netflix’s premiere of The Mother in Los Angeles The Independent
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Bob Lee murder arrest latest: Cash app founder argued over suspect Nima Momeni’s sister before stabbing, court told – The Independent
- Bob Lee murder arrest latest: Cash app founder argued over suspect Nima Momeni’s sister before stabbing, court told The Independent
- Suspect in Cash App founder’s murder appears in court 13News Now
- Cash App’s Bob Lee visited suspect’s sister hours before murder, argued with alleged killer, court docs reveal Fox News
- Family of Cash App founder Bob Lee thanks police ‘for bringing his killer to justice’ East Bay Times
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Microsoft admits it should not have argued the FTC is unconstitutional
Enlarge / Microsoft’s arguments against the FTC’s halting of its Activision Blizzard purchase now rely more on Call of Duty than constitutional authority and corporate civil rights.
Michael Ciaglo/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Microsoft has amended its response to the Federal Trade Commission’s suit trying to halt a $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, no longer claiming the FTC is unconstitutional by nature and denying the company its 5th Amendment rights.
David Cuddy, public affairs spokesperson for Microsoft, told Axios’ Stephen Totilo that the company “put all potential arguments on the table internally and should have dropped these defenses before we filed. The FTC has an important mission to protect competition and consumers, and we quickly updated our response to omit language suggesting otherwise based on the Constitution,” Cuddy told Axios.
Microsoft’s original Federal Trade Commission response (PDF) stated that proceedings against Microsoft were invalid “because the structure of the Commission as an independent agency that wields significant executive power, and the associated constraints on removal of the Commissioners and other Commission officials, violates Article II of the US Constitution and the separation of powers.” Another point claimed that the use of an Administrative Law Judge, rather than a typical judge with a lifetime appointment, was a violation of Article III.
Building on those claims, Microsoft had also claimed that the FTC’s procedures, the nature of its administrative proceedings, and the commission having purportedly “prejudged the merits” of its case, Microsoft’s rights to due process under the 5th Amendment were violated.
Microsoft’s amended response (PDF) removes the constitutional claims from its counterarguments. It sticks to the software giant’s broader claims that acquiring Activision would not lock down gaming subscription services or cloud gaming services, that it has made offers to license games like Call of Duty to Nintendo, Valve, and other platforms, and that the FTC’s claims are “too speculative” and not actionable.
Activision, which made identical arguments about its constitutional rights under FTC investigation and procedure in its initial response, will also drop that aspect, according to Axios.
Familiar and timely arguments
The companies’ pushback against regulatory authority comes as the US Supreme Court considers cases that could give companies more power to pursue constitutional defenses against regulatory agencies. Axon Enterprise v. Federal Trade Commission involves a body camera company that had its acquisition of a competitor investigated by the FTC. Axon filed for an injunction and claimed the FTC and its adjudication process were unconstitutional, arguments echoed in part in Microsoft’s original response.
Microsoft, a company deeply familiar with the FTC’s scope and procedures, has more broadly sought to position itself as more of a scrappy underdog in certain game markets than an anti-competitive force. In The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith described his company as third-place in the console market, a barely relevant player in mobile gaming, and simply the first major company to innovate around monthly game subscriptions.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard face numerous other claims of unfair practices. Call of Duty gamers sued Microsoft in late December, claiming its acquisition would allow it to “foreclose rivals, limit output, reduce consumer choice, raise prices, and further inhibit competition.” The European Commission is investigating the deal, and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has opened a “Phase 2” investigation.
Valieva argued positive test was mix-up with grandfather’s heart drug – IOC
BEIJING, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has argued that her positive drug test was caused by a mix-up with her grandfather’s heart medication, an Olympic official said on Tuesday.
The 15-year-old’s defence was revealed as Beijing braced for an unprecedented Olympic moment – the world’s top figure skaters will compete in the evening’s single competition with the likelihood they will not receive medals at the Winter Games.
Denis Oswald, the International Olympic Committee’s permanent chair of the disciplinary commission, said Valieva claimed there was a mix-up at a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing into whether she should be allowed to continue competing.
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“Her argument was this contamination happened with a product her grandfather was taking,” Oswald said.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), IOC, Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) did not immediately respond to Reuters emails after Oswald’s comments.
The Russian teenager was cleared by CAS to compete in the women’s single event after a panel of three judges agreed with RUSADA’s decision to lift a ban on her.
CAS, however, did not address the merits of her drug case, which now awaits a RUSADA hearing that is not expected until well after the Winter Games end.
Valieva was tested at her national championships on Dec. 25, but the positive test for the banned angina drug trimetazidine was not revealed until Feb. 8, after she had already competed at the Beijing Games in the team event.
WADA has questioned why the Russian anti-doping authority took so long to report the result.
‘B’ SAMPLE NOT TESTED
Earlier, Oswald said in a press conference that Valieva’s “B” sample had yet to be analysed, despite the initial positive result.
Under anti-doping rules, an athlete’s urine is tested twice. If an athlete’s ‘A’ sample is positive for a banned substance the testing lab must inform the authority responsible for the sample. In the case of Valieva, that is RUSADA.
The athlete can waive their right to have a “B” sample tested, but by doing so concedes the drug charge against them.
Otherwise, the disciplinary procedure against the athlete cannot start until both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ sample are tested.
RUSADA did not respond to inquiries about why the ‘B’ sample had not been tested.
GLOBAL OUTRAGE
CAS’s decision to let Valieva compete, on the grounds that maintaining the suspension would cause her irreparable damage, has prompted outrage from athletes and officials around the world.
If Valieva finishes in the top three of the women’s single event, which starts at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday with the short programme and ends with the free skate on Thursday, the medal ceremony will not be held during the Winter Games.
Valieva, who wowed the world by performing quadruple jumps in the team event, is the overwhelming favourite for the single.
The dazzling form of her team mates Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova means the Russians have a real chance at a clean sweep of the podium.
The delayed medal ceremony for the Feb. 7 team event, in which the U.S., Japan and Canada finished behind the Russian Olympic Committee, also cannot go ahead because of Valieva’s positive result.
“We want to allocate the medal to the right person,” Oswald told a press conference.
Valieva spoke to Russia’s Channel One after practice on Monday.
“These (past few) days have been very difficult for me,” she said. “It’s as if I don’t have any emotions left. I am happy but at the same time I am emotionally tired.”
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Reporting by Iain Axon, Joseph Campbell, Karolos Grohmann, Julien Pretot, and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Leela de Kretser, Richard Pullin and Ken Ferris
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.