#’Ugliest orchid’ and other plant discoveries of 2020

#’Ugliest orchid’ and other plant discoveries of 2020

“#’Ugliest orchid’ and other plant discoveries of 2020” The “ugliest orchid in the world” is among the 156 new plants and fungi that were added to species records this year, according to scientists at Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK. Other new additions include a mushroom, first seen at Heathrow airport, a new blueberry…

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#Opioid industry has paid advocacy groups M

#Opioid industry has paid advocacy groups $65M

“#Opioid industry has paid advocacy groups $65M” A bipartisan congressional investigation released Wednesday found that key players in the nation’s opioid industry have spent $65 million since 1997 funding nonprofits that advocate treating pain with medications, a strategy intended to boost the sale of prescription painkillers. The report from Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Wyden…

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#Sacklers apologize but deflect blame at opioid hearing

#Sacklers apologize but deflect blame at opioid hearing

“#Sacklers apologize but deflect blame at opioid hearing” Two members of the wealthy Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP offered apologies on Thursday for the role the prescription painkiller has played in the deadly US opioid epidemic but sought to deflect personal responsibility in response to withering criticism from lawmakers. Testifying remotely during a…

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#Pornhub parent owned by shadowy businessman Bernard Bergemar

#Pornhub parent owned by shadowy businessman Bernard Bergemar

“#Pornhub parent owned by shadowy businessman Bernard Bergemar” The world’s most powerful internet porn company is owned by a shadowy businessman who barely exists online, a new report says. Bernard Bergemar is the biggest owner of MindGeek, the Luxembourg-based conglomerate behind popular porn sites such as Pornhub, YouPorn and Brazzers, a Financial Times investigation found….

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#Google wins EU antitrust approval for B Fitbit deal

#Google wins EU antitrust approval for $2B Fitbit deal

“#Google wins EU antitrust approval for $2B Fitbit deal” Google won EU antitrust approval on Thursday for its $2.1 billion bid for Fitbit after agreeing to restrictions on how it will use customers’ health-related data. The deal had triggered criticism from privacy advocates on both sides of the Atlantic, consumer organizations and Google rivals about…

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#Credit Suisse charged in Bulgarian money laundering probe

#Credit Suisse charged in Bulgarian money laundering probe

“#Credit Suisse charged in Bulgarian money laundering probe” Swiss prosecutors charged Credit Suisse on Thursday over alleged failings related to a Bulgarian crime ring involving top-level wrestlers accused of laundering cocaine trafficking proceeds more than a decade ago. Switzerland’s attorney general said in a statement that an unnamed former Credit Suisse manager and two alleged…

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#NY is co-leading a third antitrust suit against Google

#NY is co-leading a third antitrust suit against Google

“#NY is co-leading a third antitrust suit against Google” Google on Thursday was hit with a third regulatory lawsuit over its market dominance, this time from 38 states and territories led by New York, Colorado and Nebraska.  The suit accuses Google of maintaining monopolies through “multiple forms of anticompetitive conduct in the general search and…

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