As Democrats wrestle with whether Vice President Kamala Harris has what it takes to lead the Democratic ticket after Biden’s debate performance last week kicked off ‘dementia-gate,’ betting market PredictIt has all but crowned her queen.

All hail president Kamala pic.twitter.com/cNXus4s3UE

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 3, 2024

The shift to Kamala was sudden and pronounced – though it’s been flipping back and forth between Harris and Biden all morning.

Meanwhile, Democratic aides and strategists are privately saying that Biden’s fate could depend on what polls show over the next few weeks – and that if he falls further behind former President Trump, it could trigger widespread calls for him to drop out of the race.

A CNN poll of registered voters conducted by SSRS in the days after the debate showed Trump now beating Biden nationwide by 6 points, 49 percent support to 43 percent. The same poll showed Trump leading Harris by a narrower margin, 47 percent support to 45 percent.

The poll also showed that 56 percent of Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independent voters think their party would have a better chance of winning the White House with someone other than Biden. Only 43 percent of these voters said they think Biden is their best option. -The Hill

“We just have to win, and it’s probably easier with someone other than Joe Biden,” one Senate Democratic aide told The Hill.

One of Biden’s strongest allies, Rep. James Clyburrn (D-SC) has said on two occasions that if Biden quits the race, he’d support Harris.

Other lawmakers have echoed this sentiment.

“I think she’s done an incredible job being a partner to the president and leading the party and leading the country, and I think that she will continue to do that,” Sen. Laphonza Butller (D-CA) told reporters on Tuesday when asked whether Harris would be viable in the general election, adding “Everyone is in the spirit of continuing to fight for the American people and win this election.“

Harris is also the only potential candidate who could directly assume the Biden campaign’s $240 million in funds since she’s his running mate. All other challengers would face significant issues taking over that money with months to go before the election, DealBook notes.

.That said, Trump still smokes Harris with a 3.1% lead according to 50 polls cataloged by Decision Desk HQ:

According to Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, who was Harris’ communications director until last year, Harris would have the inside track to win the nomination if Biden drops out.

“I think she wins the open convention,” said Simons, adding “Institutionally, there’s no one in a better position than Kamala Harris … She’s very competent, and with the exception of the 2019 presidential contest, she has won every political contest she has been in, even when people bet against her. And hopefully the 2019 process taught her lessons that would make her a better candidate in 2024.”

That said, Harris has sucked as VP – failing miserably as Biden’s ‘border czar’ who presided over the influx of tens of millions of illegal migrants flooding into the United States. She’s also failed at criminal justice reform, voting rights legislation, and administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Harris also met with Central American leaders to address the root causes of migration, which did not result in any significant policy changes or improvements in the situation.

But while politicians circle the wagons, Democratic donors are concerned about Harris, per DealBook.

The tech mogul Reid Hoffman was among her biggest donors in the last election cycle. But Semafor reports that his top political adviser, Dmitri Mehlhorn, told backers of the super PAC American Bridge that switching to the vice president would drive away crucial undecided voters. ​​“Kamala Harris is more threatening to those swing voters than a dead Joe Biden or a comatose Joe Biden,” Mehlhorn said.

And the lawyer John Morgan told The Times that a scramble for a Plan B “could cause more infighting and do more harm than good.”

Is the market now pricing in candidate Harris?

Stock and bond markets now going to have to consider what a possible Harris presidency would look like for the economy, debt, inflation, interest rates etc.

Continuation of current policies or different economic moves?

Hedge funds already are in their models I’m sure. https://t.co/plsTqRDN31

— Brian Sullivan (@SullyCNBC) July 3, 2024

What a ride she’s been on, eh?

Hawk tuah 😂😂

— AmericanPapaBear (@AmericaPapaBear) July 3, 2024

Authored by Felix Ng via CoinTelegraph.com,

Galaxy Digital’s head of asset management believes spot Ether exchange-traded funds will be approved in “weeks” rather than days but agrees the decision will come sometime in July. 

“Look, we’ve done this before. This is methodical, this is window dressing, the SEC is engaged,” said Steve Kurz in an interview with Bloomberg TV on July 2.

Galaxy Digital is one of eight asset managers with a proposed spot Ether ETF currently under review with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. It is collaborating with Invesco on the ETF.

“We’ve been doing this for months now, we did it with the Bitcoin ETF, the products are substantially similar — we know the plumbing, we know the process.”

Kurz’s estimate is largely in line with other ETF analyst estimates.

On June 28, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pushed back his early July estimate for ETF approvals after the SEC took “extra time” to get back to applicants about their S-1 paperwork.

Galaxy Digital’s Steve Kurz speaking on Bloomberg TV. Source: Bloomberg

A July 2 Bloomberg report, citing two people familiar with the matter, added fuel to this theory, stating Ether ETF applicants have been given until July 8 to submit updated paperwork to address some minor issues.

This could be followed by an additional round of filings, they said.

Eight bidders, including BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, iShares, and Galaxy/Invesco, have already been given the green light to list their shares on their respective exchanges.

The issuers now need an approved S-1 filing for the Ethereum ETFs to go live for trading.

In a July 2 research report, K33 Research suggested Ether ETFs would be a “golden egg” for ETH’s price and could even outperform Bitcoin in the first weeks after it goes live.

[ZH: ETH has held its relative strength to BTC over the past month as the odds of approval of ETFs increase]

K33 analysts Vetle Lunde and David Zimmerman expect Ether “to stumble immediately following the launch of the ETFs” but noted that, much like what happened with Bitcoin, inflows to the funds would likely bolster ETH’s price.

In what seems to be a last-ditch effort by the Biden administration to regain voter support as polling numbers and election odds tumble following last week’s disastrous debate, President Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders co-authored an opinion piece in USA Today, urging big pharma to slash the prices of anti-obesity drugs.

“The bad news is that Novo Nordisk is charging the American people unconscionably high prices for these prescription drugs. If your doctor prescribes you a GLP-1, the prices of Ozempic and Wegovy can be up to six times higher than prices in Canada, Germany, Denmark, and other major countries,” President Biden and Sen. Sanders wrote, adding, “That’s unacceptable.” 

They said, “If Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies refuse to substantially lower prescription drug prices in our country and end their greed, we will do everything within our power to end it for them.”

Under scrutiny from the White House, shares of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly declined following the news of the op-ed targeting Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Lilly’s Mounjaro on Tuesday. Novo shares fell 1.5% in Copenhagen on Wednesday, while Lilly’s shares in New York have pared losses in premarket trading.

Companies with exposure to GLP-1s are pausing this week after the news as companies at risk from GLP-1s also trend lower. 

“It is most certainly not Americans’ patriotic duty to pay high drug prices at home so others abroad can enjoy the fair prices that every American is entitled to,” they wrote.

The op-ed follows Biden’s disastrous debate with former President Trump last Thursday amid increasing calls from leftist corporate media outlets and within the Democratic Party for the elderly president to step aside. 

“At a time when many Americans are dealing with the myriads of chronic illnesses, no one in our country should be forced to pay over $2,000 a year for the prescription drugs they need, not just seniors,” they wrote.

Soaring demand for Novo and Lilly’s anti-obesity drugs has pushed their shares to record highs. Some Wall Street analysts believe the market for these drugs could exceed $150 billion by the early 2030s. 

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 40% of Americans are considered obese. 

“If the prices of these drugs are not substantially reduced, they have the potential to bankrupt the American healthcare system,” Biden and Sanders said. 

Biden and Sanders did not explain what exact actions they might take or inform Americans that exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet is an alternative way to lose weight.

Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times

The Department of Interior announced its approval of a large-scale offshore wind turbine project in New Jersey on Tuesday.

The Interior Department stated that the Atlantic Shores South project will be located approximately 8 miles from the New Jersey shore and involve the construction of 195 wind turbines that will be supported by 10 offshore substations with subsea transmission cables “potentially making landfall in Atlantic City and Sea Girt, New Jersey.”

The project will consist of two wind farms that will have the capacity to generate 2,800 megawatts of electricity that can power up to one million homes, the DoI said.

The department said it’s the ninth offshore wind energy project at a commercial scale to get federal approval.

These nine projects will generate up to 13 gigawatts of offshore wind-generated energy, enough to power up to 5 million homes.

“The Biden-Harris administration is building momentum every day for our clean energy future, and today’s milestone is yet another step toward our ambitious goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030,” said Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland.

“Our clean energy future is now a reality—thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda we are addressing climate change, fostering job growth, and promoting equitable economic opportunities for all communities.”

Atlantic Offshore Wind is a partnership between Shell New Energies and EDF Renewables North America.

‘One Step Closer’

In a press release issued on the federal approval, Joris Veldhoven, the chief executive officer for Atlantic Offshore Wind, said the decision “brings us one step closer to delivering New Jersey’s first offshore wind projects and for the state achieving its ambitious goal of 100% clean energy by 2035.”

“We recognize the significance of this milestone and we’re excited to work with our supply chain partners to continue making near-term investments and creating great paying union jobs,” he said.

According to the company, one of the wind farm projects will give the local economy a $848 million boon through “job creation and workforce development.”

In total, the entire project will bring $1.9 billion to the state, Atlantic Shores Wind said.

‘Negligible to Moderate Adverse Impacts’

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in May published its joint record of decision on the Atlantic Shores Wind’s environmental impact statement (EIS) in which it concluded that the project will have “negligible to moderate adverse impacts on most resources.”

“The numerous consultations performed under various federal statutes and the analysis in the final EIS indicate that approval of the Preferred Alternative would not result in undue harm to environmental resources or in unreasonable interference with other OCS [outer continental shelf] uses,” BOEM’s report stated. 

Elizabeth Klein, BOEM’s energy management director, called the project “an intentional collaborative process.”

“At BOEM, our dedication to engaging with Tribal Nations, states, other government agencies, industry, environmental organizations, and ocean users remains paramount, ensuring responsibility development while addressing community concerns and safeguarding our marine ecosystems,” she said.

Wind Energy Opposition

Some of those community concerns have been expressed by organizations such as Protect Our Coast NJ, which has opposed the construction of offshore wind farms, stating that they will ruin the tourism industry that centers around the scenic beachside views.

These organizations have claimed that the infrasound tools used in surveying for the wind turbines are disrupting the navigation of whales and dolphins, which increases fatal vessel strikes.

Officials have denied the correlation in previous reports.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times on the Biden administration’s approval of the project, Protect Our Coast NJ President Robin Shaffer said though the decision is no surprise, it’s still alarming.

“We are concerned that Atlantic Shores with its towering skyscrapers in the ocean will spell trouble for critical habitats for fish, marine mammals and migratory waterfowl,” she said.

“Offshore wind construction and operations disrupt wildlife and ecosystems, and threaten the livelihoods of commercial fisherman and small businesses up and down the east coast.”

The organization is “incredulous” that these projects are moving at such as rapid pace, she said.

Following a weaker than expected AP print, jobless claims data is worse than expected too.

Initial claims rose to 238k last week from a revised 234k (and above the 235k expected). On an NSA basis, this is the highest since January…

Source: Bloomberg

Continuing claims continue to rise also, hitting 1.858 million Americans last week – the highest since Dec 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

The trend (4-week moving average) in initial claims is clear… and is starting to catch up to WARNs and Job Cuts…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, according to (non-government-provided) Challenger-Grey data, the construction industry just suffered its largest layoffs since Lehman…

Source: Bloomberg

That can’t be good, right?

Have Powell and Biden suddenly decided its ok to admit reality in order to force a July rate-cut and save the election?

Authored by Jen Krausz via The Epoch Times,

According to a new Bankrate report, three in four Americans say they are not financially secure, and feel they need to make more money to attain an acceptable level of financial security.

In the study by YouGov, Americans said they needed to make $186,000 on average to feel financially secure – more than twice the $79,209 the Census Bureau reported the average full-time worker made in 2022.

Of the 75 percent who said they weren’t financially secure, 45 percent said they believed they would reach financial security one day, while 30 percent said they never expect to be financially secure.

The report said that older generations believed themselves less financially secure than younger generations.

Forty-two percent of baby boomers aged 60 to 78 and 37 percent of Gen Xers aged 44 to 59 said they were not financially secure—and didn’t think they ever would be. This compares to 21 percent of millennials aged 28 to 43 and 13 percent of Gen Z aged 18 to 27.

Younger generations were more likely to say they were not financially secure, but that they would be one day—including 64 percent of Gen Z, 53 percent of millennials, 48 percent of Gen Xers, and 26 percent of baby boomers.

“Life always seems like it’d be better with just a little bit more money to spare,” Bankrate analyst Sarah Foster said of the report’s findings.

“That’s even more true when the items Americans both need and want have been climbing in price. In the four years since the pandemic, comfort is no longer a commodity but a financial privilege, appearing to only be afforded to those wealthy enough to ‘eat’ the impact of inflation.”

Six percent of survey respondents said they currently earn the annual income they need to feel financially secure, while 37 percent said they were likely to earn a large enough salary to feel financially secure in their lifetime.

Of those earning more than $100,000 a year, 49 percent said they were optimistic they would be financially secure one day, while only 34 percent of those who made less than $50,000 were similarly optimistic.

Furthermore, Americans said they would need to make $520,000 to feel rich and financially free in the new report—up 8 percent from last year’s $483,000.

Inflation has impacted these numbers: Americans see prices rising, and know they need more income to cover basic expenses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates that inflation has caused a price increase of 21 percent since 2020, while the USDA says food prices have risen 25 percent, and U.S. government data shows a 41 percent increase in gas prices.

“Making more money is the secret to weathering inflation, but it’s also true that being a higher-income earner won’t automatically translate to being better at personal finance,” Ms. Foster said.

“Someone with a traditional middle-class salary who always tries to save for the future, no matter how small, is destined for financial success more than an ultra-wealthy earner who lives and spends beyond his or her means.”

Even so, the report shows that Americans are feeling squeezed financially by inflation, and that income gains have not kept up with rising prices.

“Many Americans are stuck somewhere between continued sticker shock from elevated prices, a lack of income gains, and a feeling that their hopes and dreams are out of touch with their financial capabilities,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said.

While Former President Barack Obama has publicly supported sockpuppet president Joe Biden following last Thursday’s unprecedented debate, he has privately told allies that the path to victory ‘grew more challenging’ following an abject debacle for the Democrats.

According to ‘several people familiar with his remarks,’ and perhaps most notably conveyed via the Washington Post, not only has Obama grown more concerned following the debate (and having to physically guide the 81-year-old off of a stage last month), the former president “has long harbored worries about his party defeating Donald Trump in November, repeatedly warning Biden in recent months about how challenging it will be to win reelection.”

Not only that, “Just before the debate, Obama conveyed to allies his concerns about the state of the race.“

So Obama gets to save face, while adding to the growing chorus of Democrats who have expressed everything from quiet panic to public hints, to outright calls for Biden to drop out of the race.

What The Hell Is Happening?

Meanwhile in the ivory tower, White House aides are reportedly freaked out that crack addict, China profiteer, Ukraine energy expert, convicted felon Hunter Biden is in the building helping to counsel his father in Jill’s time of crisis.

According to NBC News’ Ken Deilanian, White House staff are asking “What the hell is happening,” after a report that Hunter has been sitting in on meetings.

Hunter Biden has joined meetings with President Biden and his top aides this week at the White House, four people familiar with the matter tell my colleagues, who are told the reaction from some senior White House staff has been, “What the hell is happening?”

— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) July 2, 2024

Karine Jean-Pierre confirms deadbeat Hunter Biden has been joining his father in high-level White House meetings recently pic.twitter.com/5b9sdm34Ao

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 2, 2024

We can only imagine the scene:

The knives are definitely out…

At the way this is going the CIA will
hire Trump to lead an insurrection against Joe https://t.co/34UKs9H8hS

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 2, 2024

Over the past 12 months, thieves in the Seattle metro area have stolen over 100 electric vehicle charging cables, driven mostly by soaring copper scrap prices. This is incredibly frustrating for EV owners who arrive at these charging stations only to find severed cords and unable to charge.

In the last 12 months alone, thieves have stolen at least 100 EV charging cables across the city in pursuit of the small amounts of copper within that can be sold as scrap.

The thefts are particularly painful for drivers who lack home chargers and are left scrambling to find a way to juice up their vehicles. -GeekWire

“It’s a serious and frustrating problem around Seattle,” said resident Elaine Wong, who entirely relies on public charging stations.

In one year, Electrify America reported that 93 cables had been cut across its charging network in Washington.  

⚠️ #EVCommunity We need your help! We’re asking for your assistance in spreading awareness to put an end to this cable theft in Seattle, WA. If you have any information that can help stop cable theft, please contact Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/lpxrj4dH8w

— Electrify America (@ElectrifyAm) June 17, 2024

Wong pointed out that she had not been to an Electrify America station in months. Some EV owners on the social media platform Nextdoor have complained they have had to travel as far north as Everett to find a working station.

“Cable theft from public chargers has been an issue in this area for over a decade, but has reached epidemic proportions in the last couple of years,” said Jay Donnaway, president of the Seattle EV Association. 

Donnaway said the cable problem appears to be much worse on the West Coast than elsewhere. 

Last week, half of the cables at an EVgo station outside the QFC in Ballard were cut. Thieves have also hit other charging stations across other Washington cities in recent months.

Many of these criminals have only been emboldened to steal because progressive cities are failing to enforce common-sense law and order.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, thieves targeted a Tesla Supercharger earlier this year, leaving drivers without the means to charge. 

Tesla Supercharger station in Bay Area hit by thieves with every charging cable cut pic.twitter.com/ro38DkJKqQ

— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) May 13, 2024

Thieves have also targeted catalytic converters on vehicles, copper wire and pipe, light poles, and anything containing base metals.

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Over half a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency was stolen in the second quarter this year through hacks and scams, with two incidents making up the bulk of the stolen funds, according to a recent report by bug bounty platform Immunefi.

Crypto losses in Q2, 2024, totaled more than $572 million, the June report said. Over $564 million in losses were accounted for by 53 hacking incidents and the remaining $8.45 million by 19 fraud incidents. Hacking was responsible for 98.5 percent of losses, with fraud making up 1.5 percent. Two major hacking incidents in that quarter made up $360 million (62.8 percent) of the total losses.

The first was a May 31 hacking attack against Japanese cryptocurrency platform DMM Bitcoin that led to a loss of around $305 million, while the second was a cyberattack targeting Turkish crypto exchange BtcTurk, on June 23, which resulted in $55 million worth of funds getting stolen.

More than $920 million in crypto losses were identified—a 24 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Main targets of the exploits were centralized finance (CeFi) entities. In CeFi, all crypto trades are handled via a central exchange. This stands in contrast to decentralized finance (DeFi) where there is no exchange involved in the trade.

CeFi losses made up 70 percent of the total losses, with DeFi accounting for the remaining 30 percent.

“This quarter highlights how infrastructure compromises can be the most devastating hacks in crypto, as a single compromise can lead to millions in damages,” said Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador.

“This was evident during this quarter, where losses surged primarily due to hacks targeting CeFi infrastructure, surpassing DeFi, despite a smaller number of hacks in that sector. Robust measures to safeguard the entirety of the ecosystem are crucial.”

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), payments made via cryptocurrencies “typically are not reversible.” As such, the hacked cryptos may be difficult to recover.

Immunefi data shows that $26.7 million was recovered from four incidents in Q2, representing only 5 percent of total losses. The recovery rate was a slight improvement over the 3.9 percent recovered in Q2, 2023.

An April 2023 poll by Pew Research showed that 17 percent of U.S. adults have invested in, traded, or used a cryptocurrency.

Crypto Hackers

The U.S. Department of Justice has arrested several people in connection with crypto hacking incidents over the past year.

In May, two brothers were arrested for allegedly stealing $25 million worth of cryptocurrency. The duo sought to pull off the heist “through a technologically sophisticated, cutting-edge scheme they plotted for months and executed in seconds,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

They are accused of manipulating and tampering with the processes used to validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. This allegedly allowed them to gain access to certain pending transactions and eventually steal people’s cryptocurrency.

In April, Shakeeb Ahmed, a former security engineer at a tech firm, was sentenced to three years in prison for hacking two decentralized crypto exchanges and stealing more than $12 million in cryptocurrency.

In one incident, he attacked crypto exchange Nirvana Finance and stole $3.6 million in funds. The theft represented almost all the funds owned by the company. As a result, Nirvana was forced to shut down.

Meanwhile, crypto fraud is also causing major losses to ordinary citizens. According to the FTC, Americans reported losing over $10 billion to fraud last year. Consumers said they lost more money to fraudulent bank transfers and cryptocurrencies than all other methods combined.

“Digital tools are making it easier than ever to target hard-working Americans, and we see the effects of that in the data we’re releasing today,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“The FTC is working hard to take action against those scams,” he added.

According to a 2023 report by the Institute for Marketplace Trust, investment/cryptocurrency scams topped the list of “riskiest scams” last year. Over 80 percent of victims of these scams reported a monetary loss.

Via Middle East Eye

Saudi writer and producer Abdul Aziz al-Muzaini has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and 13 years of travel ban, on charges of promoting terrorism and homosexuality through his Netflix show and old tweets.

In a video posted on YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) addressed to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, al-Muzaini said that a committee in Saudi Arabia’s audiovisual commission brought up to 30 charges against him in connection with his popular animated series Masameer in 2021, shortly after it premiered on Netflix.

Al-Muzaini says he was questioned by Saad al-Suhaimi, the chairman of the committee, who first questioned his choice of partnering with Netflix instead of working with MBC, a Saudi network.

Al-Muzaini told his interrogator that he had already spoken to Israa Osseiri, head of the General Authority for Audio-visual Media, to make sure his show does not violate any laws. This prompted al-Suhaimi to message Osseiri, ordering her to stay away from the case.

According to a Royal Court letter released during the time of late Saudi King Abdullah, al-Suhaimi’s committee enjoys independence from the general audio-visual authorities.

Al-Muzaini says his interrogator told him “not to think that this is it, that there is entertainment now, there is the Riyadh season,” alluding to the recent developments in the Saudi entertainment industry and the loosening of restrictions. “It seems he has found, through me, a person he can exert his authority over,” al-Muzaini said in the video.

Middle East Eye has contacted the Saudi government and Netflix for comment. The accusations brought against al-Muzaini include the use of language in his series, where sentences such as “may God curse you” and “you donkey” amounted to a crime.

The final and most serious charge accuses al-Muzaini and his company, Myrcott, of supporting terrorism and homosexuality through their series Masameer. According to al-Muzaini, his accusers interpreted the first episode of his show, which mocks Islamic State, as an implicit endorsement of the group.

Al-Suhaimi then brought forward a series of tweets made by al-Muzaini between 2010 and 2014 which were used to bring other charges against him.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution service had initially requested a 25-year imprisonment followed by a 25-year travel ban, which were reduced to 13 years each by the country’s Terrorism Court last month.

Al-Muzaini said that prior to the ruling, he was reassured by informed people that the case was unworthy and only needed to be solved through bureaucracy. He was also told that al-Suhaimi, along with everyone who signed the accusations against him, were fired, when al-Suhaimi was simply reassigned to another committee.

The writer and producer deleted his video a few hours after posting it and shared a post on X quoting Bin Salman saying he will hold the corrupt accountable.

He then shared a post praising the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki al-Sheikh. Al-Muzaini’s case comes as Saudi Arabia faces criticism from many human rights organizations over its alleged use of the entertainment sector to try to lessen its reputation as an authoritarian regime.