Five Democratic senators have told the White House they won’t support Saule Omarova to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, effectively killing her nomination for the powerful bank-regulator position. Axios: The defiant opposition from a broad coalition of senators reflects the real policy concerns they had with Omarova, a Cornell University law professor who’s attracted controversy for her academic writings about hemming in big banks. Their opposition also hints at a willingness of some Democratic senators to buck the White House on an important nomination, even if it hands Republicans a political — and symbolic — victory.

Republicans have attacked the Kazakh-born scholar in remarkably personal terms, and turned her nomination into a proxy battle over how banks should be regulated.
Driving the news: In phone call on Wednesday, Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), all members of the Senate Banking Committee, told Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) — the panel’s chairman — of their opposition. They’re joined in opposing her by Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

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Source: Slashdot – Centrist Dems Sink Biden’s Nominee for Top Bank Regulator

From a report: In May 2020, when the pandemic raged, the comedian and TV writer Marlena Rodriguez got an invite to a new app called Clubhouse that offered the homebound online masses a way to spend some of their suddenly abundant time. In the ensuing months, Rodriguez jousted in a chat room with the celebrity Ashton Kutcher, gained more than 13,000 followers, and started a party room on Fridays that frequently swelled to over 1,000 people. She wrote a play, “Once Upon a Clubhouse,” and hired actors to perform it on the app. “I was in love,” she said. Today, “I question why I’m even still on Clubhouse,” Rodriguez said. Her Friday-night room has dwindled to about 30 people.

More than any other startup, Clubhouse epitomizes the venture-capital-backed euphoria that swept the tech industry since lockdowns shut millions of people inside and pushed them online for connection, entertainment, and information. Marc Andreessen has called the app “the Athenian agora come to life,” referring to the hub of democracy in ancient Greece. It has raised more than $100m from his firm and other top VCs, garnering a $4bn valuation. But with vaccinations rising and more people returning to normal life, Clubhouse has been hit particularly hard. Daily downloads of the app have plunged more than 90% since a peak in June, while daily average users are down almost 80% since February, Apptopia data indicated. Insider interviews with creators, advertisers, VCs, and others in the tech industry show a platform struggling to build an audience and keep it. Moneymaking opportunities are also slim, which makes the app a tough sell for creators and users as there are many other options online and off.

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Source: Slashdot – Inside the Rise and Fall of Clubhouse, a Pandemic Poster Child of VC-backed Hype

China has suspended Tencent Holdings from updating its existing apps or launching any new apps as part of a “temporary administrative guidance” against the tech giant, Chinese media outlets including Shanghai-based Chinastarmarket.cn reported. From a report: According to the report, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has told app stores and platforms to implement the order against Tencent apps from Wednesday in a harsh administrative punishment against the tech giant, which runs dozens of apps including the super app WeChat that has 1.2 billion users. Tencent said in a statement that it is cooperating with the authorities on inspecting its apps, indirectly confirming the report.

There are more than 70 apps published by Tencent that are active and there are more than 100 games published by Tencent Mobile Games, according to app tracking firm Qimai.
It is not known how long the suspension will last and the Chinese ministry has not published any information about the ban. “We are continuously working to enhance user protection features within our apps, and also have regular cooperation with relevant government agencies to ensure regulatory compliance. Our apps remain functional and available for download,” Tencent said in its statement.

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Source: Slashdot – China Suspends Tencent From Updating Existing Apps or Launching New Apps