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Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowDec 12 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, said on Monday he would testify remotely at Tuesday's U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing to examine the collapse of the company. Tuesday's hearing will be the first time Bankman-Fried appears publicly before U.S. lawmakers. In a Twitter Spaces event on Monday with Twitter account Unusual Whales, Bankman-Fried said he would be "calling in" to the hearing from the Bahamas. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried confirmed that he would not be testifying at the hearing in person. The Senate Banking Committee will also hold a hearing on FTX's collapse on Wednesday, Dec. 14, in which Bankman-Fried says he is not scheduled to appear.

☆ FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried says he will testify remotely at upcoming congressional hearing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Industry Insight | Insights In Action | Service Is Now Table Stakes As Clients Seek Higher Value Firms | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, said on Monday he would testify remotely at Tuesday's U.S. House Finanical Services Committee hearing to examine the collapse of the company. In a Twitter Spaces event held on Monday with Twitter account Unusual Whales, Bankman-Fried said he would be "calling in" to the hearing. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried confirmed that he would not be testifying at the hearing in person. FTX CEO John Ray will also appear before the committee, although it is not yet clear if he will testify virtually or in person. Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd FollowLONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The billionaire co-founder of Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd (2777.HK) is wanted in the United States accused of paying kickbacks to obtain permits for a construction project in San Francisco, a court in London heard on Monday. The 69-year-old – who is worth $2.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine – offered to pay a security of 15 million pounds ($18.4 million). Mark Summers, representing Zhang, said 10 million pounds of the security would be provided by R&F. Zhang would provide the other 5 million pounds, Summers said. The judge also said Zhang must be handcuffed to a member of his court-appointed private security team when he left his house for the purposes of attending court.

[1/2] A view of the U.S. Supreme Court building on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2022. The Supreme Court on Dec. 1 said it would hear arguments on the legality of the debt relief program in the other case pursued by six mostly Republican-led states. Biden announced in August that the U.S. government would forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students would have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled. The Congressional Budget Office in September calculated that the debt forgiveness program would cost taxpayers about $400 billion.

Companies Wirecard AG FollowMUNICH, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun began his defence in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial on Monday, as his lawyer dismissed allegations of wrongdoing at the defunct payments company as "absurd" and prejudiced. They said the deception allowed Wirecard's managers to siphon money out of the company for years. "It's an absolutely absurd and erroneous notion that a gang leader would act like this," Dierlamm told the court. Braun's lawyer told the court that the prosecution's key witness was the main perpetrator. Wirecard became the first-ever member of Germany's DAX blue chip stock index to file for insolvency, owing nearly $4 billion.

Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider how strictly to interpret the landmark Title IX civil rights law's protections for gender equality in college sports in a lawsuit challenging Michigan State University's elimination of its women's swimming and diving team. The high court rejected the university's appeal of a lower-court ruling in favor of former members of the team who say MSU violated Title IX by not providing enough opportunities for women athletes to participate in sports. At issue is how to determine whether a school has met a key benchmark in assessing if it provides equal opportunities to participate under Title IX, the 50-year-old law credited with expanding access to sports for female student-athletes. He said no court had ever held a gap of less than 2% violated the law. In a petition to the Supreme Court, MSU argued the 6th Circuit's approach was "unworkable" and conflicted with how every other federal appeals court that had examined the issued had approached Title IX.

[1/2] The Albertsons logo is seen on an Albertsons grocery store, as Kroger agrees to buy rival Albertsons in a deal to combine the two supermarket chains, in Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S., October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciDec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. grocery chain Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) said that Washington State Court had denied a request of preliminary injunction by the state's Attorney General to prevent the company from paying $4 billion to shareholders in a special dividend. The court has extended the existing temporary restraining order until Dec. 19 to give the Attorney General an opportunity to appeal, the company said late on Friday. The Washington Attorney General has said that the dividend payout "risks severely undercutting the grocery giant's ability to compete" during the lengthy regulatory scrutiny. Albertsons has maintained that it was in a strong position financially and that the dividend would not hurt it.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Defeated Republican candidate Kari Lake sued state elections officials on Friday to challenge the counting and certification of the midterm election and ask to be declared the winner. The suit targets Lake's opponent, Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, who is currently Arizona's secretary of state, along with top officials in Maricopa County, according to the filing on Friday with the Maricopa County Superior Court. Lake was one of the most high-profile Republican candidates in the midterm elections to embrace former President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud in 2020. The suit on Friday asks for an order declaring that Lake is the winner of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, or alternatively throwing out the results and requiring the state's Maricopa county to conduct a new election. read moreLake, a former television news anchor, was one of a string of Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections.

☆ Albertsons says Washington AG is denied request for injunction to stop Co's dividend payment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Industry Insight | Insights In Action | Service Is Now Table Stakes As Clients Seek Higher Value Firms | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The Albertsons logo is seen on an Albertsons grocery store, as Kroger agrees to buy rival Albertsons in a deal to combine the two supermarket chains, in Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S., October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciDec 9 (Reuters) - Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) said late on Friday that Washington State Court has denied a request of preliminary injunction by the state's Attorney General to prevent the company from paying a dividend to its shareholders. The attorneys general of California, Illinois and Washington D.C. asked a federal court last week for a preliminary injunction that would prevent Albertsons, which is being purchased by rival Kroger Co (KR.N), from paying a $4 billion dividend to shareholders. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried is set to testify before a U.S. House committee on Tuesday, the cryptocurrency exchange's founder and the congressional panel said on Friday, as regulators investigate his role in the wake of its collapse. In a statement late on Friday, the panel said it would hear from newly appointed FTX CEO John Ray and from Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder and former CEO, on Tuesday. "But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th," he added. loadingZhao said that after Binance, an early investor in FTX, sought to exit its stake over one-and-a-half years ago, Bankman-Fried made "offensive tirades" against Binance team members. Binance sold back to FTX its stake in the company last year.

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department will appeal the dismissal of a lawsuit against casino magnate Steve Wynn, who it accused of acting as a Chinese agent. Wynn defeated the lawsuit in October when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., said the casino tycoon could not be ordered to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent of China. The Justice Department in May sued for a court order forcing Wynn, the former CEO of Wynn Casinos, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Wynn's attorneys denied that he was ever an agent of the Chinese government. He also said the Justice Department could pursue criminal sanctions against Wynn for failing to disclose the alleged lobbying, if the statute of limitations had not expired.

Fawaz Ould Ahmed was taken into custody by the United States and brought to New York on Friday, the Justice Department said in a statement. Ahmed received a death penalty in Mali after pleading guilty to planning and executing the deadly attacks targeting Westerners. The Justice Department said a total of 38 people had died in the three incidents. "The defendant's alleged actions — inhumanely plotting and carrying out ruthless terrorist attacks — were not forgotten and will not be forgiven," said FBI assistant director-in-charge Michael Driscoll. Ahmed told the Malian court that he did not regret the attacks and that he had been seeking revenge for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad printed in Charlie Hebdo.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried is set to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on Dec. 13, the cryptocurrency exchange's founder and the congressional panel said on Friday, as regulators investigate his role in the wake of its collapse. A day earlier, the committee's chair, Maxine Waters, told Reuters that she is prepared to subpoena Bankman-Fried if he does not agree to appear before the panel. In a statement put out late on Friday by the House of Representatives committee, the panel said it would hear from newly-appointed FTX CEO John Ray and from Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder and former CEO, on Dec. 13. "But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th," he added. loadingZhao said after Binance - an early investor in FTX - sought to exit its stake over one-and-a-half years ago, Bankman-Fried made "offensive tirades" against Binance team members.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to revive a federal law that makes it a criminal offense to encourage illegal immigration after it was struck down by a lower court as a violation of free speech rights. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidating the law for infringing on rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The dispute is similar to one that the Supreme Court heard, but did not resolve, in 2020. The 9th Circuit upheld Hansen's other convictions and ordered that he be resentenced. Biden's administration urged the Supreme Court to hear the case, faulting the appeals court for invalidating an "important tool for combating activities that exacerbate unlawful immigration."

Companies Coinbase Global Inc FollowDec 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear Coinbase Global Inc's (COIN.O) bid to halt two lawsuits the company contends belong in private arbitration by customers who accused the cryptocurrency exchange of failing to protect their funds from theft and deceptively marketing a Dogecoin sweepstakes. The justices took up Coinbase's appeal of lower-court rulings rejecting the company's request to have the two proposed class actions put on hold at the trial court level while it appeals decisions by judges to not force the customers to arbitrate their claims. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - A Michigan judge has dismissed charges against former Governor Rick Snyder in connection with the Flint water crisis, his attorney said on Friday, several months after the state Supreme Court ruled that grand jury indictments returned in the case were invalid. Genesee Circuit Judge F. Kay Behm dismissed the case against Snyder, his attorney Brian Lennon said in an email to Reuters. Snyder was governor in 2014, when under state-appointed managers the government of Flint, a majority-Black city, switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River to cut costs. But in October, a judge threw out the indictments against seven of the officials, ruling them invalid due to a procedural error. The decision stemmed from a June ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court that "one-person grand juries" do not have authority to bring indictments, Judge Elizabeth Kelly of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court said in dismissing the charges, though they have power to subpoena witnesses and issue warrants.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried is willing to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Dec. 13, the cryptocurrency exchange's founder said in a tweet on Friday, as regulators investigate his role in the wake of its collapse. loadingA day earlier House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters told Reuters that she is prepared to subpoena Bankman-Fried if he does not agree to appear before the panel next week. "But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th," he added. In recent weeks, U.S. authorities have sought information from investors and potential investors in FTX, two sources with knowledge of the requests told Reuters. Federal prosecutors in New York are asking for details on any communications such companies have had with the crypto firm and its executives, including Bankman-Fried.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the Republicans argued that North Carolina's top court usurped their authority by throwing out the map. In that context - a fight over counting ballots in Florida - Rehnquist said the U.S. Constitution limits the authority of state courts. "This court has never second-guessed state court interpretations of their own constitution," said Katyal. Thomas Wolf, an attorney at New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, said if the Supreme Court gives itself too much leeway to intervene in state court disputes, it risks appearing politically motivated and lawless. The Supreme Court's ruling is due by the end of June.

STOCKHOLM, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) said on Friday it had struck a global patent licence agreement with Apple (AAPL.O), ending a row over royalty payments for the use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones. The Swedish telecoms equipment maker said the multi-year deal included global cross-licences for patented cellular standard-essential technologies, and granted certain other patent rights. "The settlement ends all ongoing patent-related legal disputes between the parties," it said in a statement. The deal comes after Ericsson in January filed a second set of patent infringement lawsuits against the U.S. maker of iPhones. Ericsson sued first in October 2021, claiming that Apple was trying to improperly cut down the royalty rates.

In the first hearing of Jones' bankruptcy in a Houston court, his attorney Vickie Driver said Jones wanted to settle with the Sandy Hook families. They won $1.5 billion in defamation trials over Jones' lies about the 2012 school shooting. David Zensky, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, said Jones lied for years about the Sandy Hook shooting and concealed information about his companies InfoWars and Free Speech Systems. InfoWars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, which is owned by Jones, filed for bankruptcy in July, before courts in Texas and Connecticut determined the amount of Jones' liability for the Sandy Hook defamation claims. Jones has said that he will appeal the Sandy Hook verdicts if he is unable to reach a settlement in bankruptcy.

Dec 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday ruled that some customers of crypto lender Celsius Network should receive their deposits back, giving relief to a relatively small group of customers whose deposits were never commingled with other Celsius funds. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn is weighing broader questions of who owns crypto assets that were deposited with Celsius. Judge Glenn has not yet ruled on ownership of Celsius "earn" accounts or "withhold" accounts. Those regulatory investigations, which alleged that earn accounts were an unregistered securities offering, caused Celsius to create non-interest bearing custody accounts and withhold accounts. When it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, Celsius reported $4.3 billion in assets and $5.5 billion in liabilities, primarily owed to its customers.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, imposed the sentence on Balwani, who was convicted by a jury on two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of fraud in July. Meanwhile, the company secretly relied on traditional methods to run tests and provided patients with inaccurate results, prosecutors said. Holmes, who started the company as a college student and became its public face, was indicted alongside Balwani, her former romantic partner, in 2018. Holmes was convicted in January on four counts of fraud and conspiracy but acquitted of defrauding patients. The case is U.S. v. Balwani, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Another state court then replaced that map with one drawn by a bipartisan group of experts. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts wondered whether such broadly worded provisions provide proper "standards and guidelines" for state courts to apply. The Republican lawmakers argued that the state court usurped the North Carolina General Assembly's authority under that provision to regulate federal elections. Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasized the "historical practice" that "nearly all state constitutions regulate federal elections in some way." David Thompson, arguing for the North Carolina lawmakers, said the Constitution "requires state legislatures specifically to perform the federal function of prescribing regulations for federal elections.

The position of others including Chief Justice John Roberts was harder to read, raising the possibility of a ruling less broad than the Republican state lawmakers pursuing the appeal seek. The Republican lawmakers are asking the Supreme Court to embrace a once-marginal legal theory that has gained favor among some conservatives called the "independent state legislature" doctrine. The Republican lawmakers have argued that the state court unconstitutionally usurped the North Carolina General Assembly's authority to regulate federal elections. Thompson also argued that state constitutions cannot impose substantive limits on the actions of legislatures on federal elections. A lower state court subsequently rejected the legislature's redrawn map and adopted one drawn by a bipartisan group of experts.

[1/2] Demonstrators protest the killing of Patrick Lyoya, an unarmed Black man who was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids Police officer during a traffic stop on April 4, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S., April 16, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File PhotoDec 7 (Reuters) - The family of an African refugee who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has filed a civil lawsuit against the city and a former police officer charged with murdering him. The suit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Western Michigan, according to online records, on behalf of the family of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The attorneys will detail the lawsuit against Schurr and Grand Rapids, a city of less than 200,000 residents in western Michigan, at a news conference later on Wednesday. The attempted arrest unfolded after the officer stopped Lyoya over suspicions involving his license plate.

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