AT&T CEO: We made a 'big mistake' by hiring Michael Cohen; VP who was responsible will retire

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said hiring attorney Michael Cohen was a “big mistake” and it has “damaged” the company’s reputation on Friday.

“Our company has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons … and our reputation has been damaged,” Stephenson said in a message to all AT&T employees worldwide. “There is no other way to say it — AT&T hiring Michael Cohen as a political consultant was a big mistake.”

Stephenson said the Washington, D.C., team had made a misjudgment and its vetting process had failed the company. The message to employees also announced that as a result of the mistake, Senior Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs Bob Quinn will be retiring.

AT&T hired Cohen for consulting work on several issues, including the Time Warner deal, and paid $600,000 to Essential Consultants, the same company owned by Cohen that paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in exchange for silence over the alleged extramarital affair with President Trump.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/at-t-ceo-we-made-a-big-mistake-by-hiring-michael-cohen-vp-who-was-responsible-will-retire

Trump-Kim summit in Singapore: Rooms at likely venues, Shangri-La Hotel and Marina Bay Sands, sell out

SINGAPORE - Hotel rooms at two likely venues for a historic meeting between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore next month have been snapped up within a day of its announcement, checks by The Straits Times have found.

https:// www.straitstimes.com/singapore/rooms-at-two-likely-trump-kim-summit-hotels-sell-out-a-day-after-singapore-venue-confirmed

22:11

JUST IN: PM Lee says Singapore is honoured to host Trump-Kim summit, invites US leader for state visit in November

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told President Donald Trump on Friday (May 11) that Singapore is honoured to host a historic meeting between the US leader and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12. http://str.sg/oNCJ

>>1371614

Sauce: https:// www.straitstimes.com/singapore/st-now-news-as-it-happens-may-11-2018

US senator Marco Rubio offers bill targeting Chinese industry

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US Senator Marco Rubio announced legislation on Thursday (May 10) that would bar the sale of "sensitive" technology to China and hike some duties and taxes, in the latest move by US lawmakers to clamp down on what they regard as Beijing's efforts to steal US intellectual property.

Rubio, a Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee, unveiled the "Fair Trade with China Enforcement Act," which among other things would bar the sale of national security sensitive technology and intellectual property, and increase taxes on multinational corporations' income from China.

It would also prepare duties on, and cap Chinese investor shareholding in US companies producing goods targeted by China's "Made in China 2025" initiative to catch up with rivals like the United States and Germany in industries such as robotics, aerospace and clean-energy cars.

"How America responds to the growing threats posed by China is the single most important geopolitical issue of our time, and will define the 21st century," Rubio said in a statement introducing the bill.

The legislation would bar the US government or contractors from purchasing telecommunications equipment or services Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, Chinese companies that are among the world's major telecommunications equipment manufacturers.

https:// www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/us-senator-marco-rubio-offers-bill-targeting-chinese-industry

Members of the US Congress and President Donald Trump's administration have pressured US companies to not sell Huawei or ZTE products, saying they could be used to spy on Americans.

The two companies have denied such allegations.

https:// www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/us-senator-marco-rubio-offers-bill-targeting-chinese-industry

SpaceX halts countdown of first commercial launch of updated Falcon 9 rocket in Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) - With less than a minute before launch on Thursday (May 10), SpaceX aborted the liftoff of its new Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, which the California-based company promises to be more powerful and easier to re-use.

The next launch opportunity opens May 11, with a slightly more than two-hour window starting at opening at 4.14pm (4.14am on Friday, Singapore time) and ending at 6.21pm.

“The vehicle and payload are in good health,” said a SpaceX spokesman, who was unable to give a precise reason for the aborted launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The rocket’s main goal for its maiden mission is to propel the first high-orbit communications satellite for Bangladesh, called Bangabandhu Satellite-1.

Eventually, the rocket is slated to launch humans to the International Space Station, aboard SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule, still under development.

The first crew launch is tentatively planned for December 2018.

When that happens, it will mark the first time since the end of the US space shuttle programme in 2011 that a rocket has launched from the United States carrying people to space.

The Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket is built to re-fly up to 10 times with minimal refurbishment, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk told reporters ahead of the launch.

“We expect there would be literally no action taken between flights, so just like aircraft,” Musk said.

“It has taken us – man, it’s been since 2002 – 16 years of extreme effort and many, many iterations, and thousands of small but important changes to get to where we think this is even possible,” he added.

“Crazy hard.” The Block 5 rocket is the final upgrade for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 fleet. Next, the company plans to focus on its heavy-lift rocket, called BFR.

https:// www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/spacex-halts-countdown-of-first-commercial-launch-of-updated-falcon-9-rocket-in

>>1371882

Forgot this!