Disney’s $15mn defamation payout to Donald Trump has set a dangerous precedent for media freedom, said legal experts and news executives, as the incoming president threatens to “straighten out” the “corrupt” press.

法律专家和新闻高管表示，迪士尼(Disney)向唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)支付的1500万美元诽谤赔偿为媒体自由开创了一个危险的先例，因为这位即将上任的总统威胁要“整顿”“腐败的”媒体界。

Disney-owned ABC News last week agreed to pay Trump the huge sum to settle a defamation suit he brought in March after star anchor George Stephanopoulos said on-air that the former president had been found “liable for rape”.

迪士尼旗下的美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)上周同意向特朗普支付一大笔款项，以解决他在3月份提起的诽谤诉讼。此前，明星主播乔治•斯特凡诺普洛斯(George Stephanopoulos)在节目中称这位前总统被判“犯有强奸罪”。

A New York jury found Trump liable in a civil case for sexual abuse, but not rape.

纽约的一个陪审团在一起民事案件中裁定特朗普涉嫌性虐待，但不构成强奸。

——本文2024年12月17日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 ‘Libel warfare’: ABC’s payout to Donald Trump sends a chill across US media

Canada’s finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned on Monday, creating fresh turmoil for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his minority government as they struggle to reverse their waning popularity.   

加拿大财政部长克里斯蒂娅•弗里兰(Chrystia Freeland)于周一辞职，这给总理贾斯廷•特鲁多(Justin Trudeau)及其少数派政府带来了新的动荡，而他们正努力扭转日益下降的支持率。

Freeland, who is also Canada’s deputy prime minister, said Trudeau had sought to move her to a different cabinet position, adding that she and the Liberal leader had been “at odds about the best path forward” for the country following Donald Trump’s election in the US. 

弗里兰还兼任加拿大副总理，她表示特鲁多曾试图将她调到内阁的其他职位，并补充说，在唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)当选美国总统后，她与这名自由党领袖“在国家未来的最佳道路上存在分歧”。

In a letter posted on X, Freeland cited disagreements with Trudeau about how Canada should respond to Trump’s “aggressive economic nationalism”, saying the country should push back against the president-elect’s “America first” ideology. 

弗里兰在X上发布的一封信中提到，她与特鲁多在加拿大应如何应对特朗普“激进的经济民族主义”方面存在分歧，并表示加拿大应该反对这位当选总统的“美国优先”理念。

——本文2024年12月17日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Canada’s finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigns in blow to Justin Trudeau

Starbucks has more than doubled paid leave for new parents working at 10,000-plus US stores, a policy change under new chief executive Brian Niccol as the company manages a union-organising push among baristas.

星巴克(Starbucks)在其超过一万家美国门店中，为新晋父母的带薪休假时间增加了一倍多。这项政策变更是在新任首席执行官布莱恩•尼科尔(Brian Niccol)的领导下实施的，因为公司正在应对工会组织的推动活动。

The improved benefit of up 18 weeks of paid leave will be available to the more than 200,000 baristas, store managers and other retail employees who work at company-operated stores. They currently receive six weeks of paid leave.

在公司经营的门店工作的20多万名咖啡师、店长和其他零售员工将享受到长达18周的带薪休假。他们目前可享受六周的带薪休假。

Niccol is in the early stages of an effort to turn around falling sales at the world’s largest coffee shop chain since he was hired from Chipotle Mexican Grill earlier this year.

尼科尔自今年早些时候从奇波雷墨西哥烧烤(Chipotle Mexican Grill)被聘用以来，正处于努力扭转全球最大咖啡连锁店销售下滑的初期阶段。

——本文2024年12月17日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Starbucks boosts parental leave as it faces union-organising push

Precision Neuroscience, a company developing a device for controlling smartphones and computers through thought, has raised $102mn as it races rivals such as Elon Musk to build the novel technology.

Precision Neuroscience是一家开发通过思维控制智能手机和电脑设备的公司，其已筹集到1.02亿美元，与埃隆•马斯克(Elon Musk)等竞争对手竞相开发这种新技术。

The New York-based group’s latest investment round, which gives it a post-money valuation of about $500mn, tops the $75mn raised by Synchron, another so-called brain-computer interface (BCI) company.

这家总部位于纽约的公司在最新一轮投资中获得了约5亿美元的投后估值，超过了另一家所谓的脑机接口(BCI)公司Synchron募集的7,500万美元。

The field is still dominated by Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which has raised more than $600mn, but the latest funding points to widening investor interest as a number of companies press ahead with their first human trials.

该领域仍由埃隆•马斯克的Neuralink主导，该公司已筹集超过6亿美元，但最新的融资表明，随着多家公司推进其首次人体试验，投资者的兴趣正在扩大。

——本文2024年12月17日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Race is on to beat Musk to develop thought-controlled devices