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☆ Savings app CEO says 85,000 accounts locked in fintech meltdown: ‘We never imagined a scenario like this’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Instead, his company has inadvertently been a source of deep pain for thousands of customers who relied on Yotta accounts to receive paychecks, pay bills and save for emergencies. For the past three weeks, 85,000 Yotta customers with a combined $112 million in savings have been locked out of their accounts, Moelis told CNBC. Accounts at crypto firm Juno and at Copper, which offered savings accounts for families and teens, also have been frozen. Adam Moelis, Co-Founder at Yotta Savings. Representatives of the agencies have pointed to efforts they've made to encourage banks to manage the risks of using fintech partners.

Persons: Oscar Wong, Adam Moelis, Trust —, Moelis, Dave, We've, they've Organizations: Synapse, Bank, Trust, CNBC, Evolve Bank, Evolve, Mercury, Yotta Savings, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Locations: Tennessee, Yotta, fintech

☆ Trump fans turn US flags upside down to protest former president’s conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hanging the United States flag upside down, a move that is supposed to signal distress and that has ensnared Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in controversy, is now being practiced by supporters of Donald Trump to protest the former president’s conviction in his hush money trial. Prominent Trump supporters such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former national security adviser Michael Flynn posted pictures of upside-down flags on social media soon after a New York jury found Trump guilty Thursday. By Friday, pro-Trump social media accounts were awash with images of inverted flags hanging on porches and lawns across the country. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, posted an image appearing to show the flag hanging upside down above its Washington, DC, headquarters. “The city was very surprised to learn someone inverted the flags, which were set up in honor of our community’s veterans.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Michael Flynn, Trump, Flynn, ” Dylan Feik, Alito, Jason Aldean –, –, Instagram, “ Organizations: CNN, United, Trump, New, Heritage Foundation, KTLA, New York Times Locations: United States, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, California, Monrovia, Los Angeles County, Monrovia’s

☆ Winklevoss crypto firm customers will get back triple the value of their frozen assets
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

More than 230,000 Gemini customers lost access to approximately $940 million worth of digital assets. In the year and a half since then, crypto has staged a comeback, bringing the value of the frozen funds to $2.18 billion. Wednesday’s announcement accounts for the appreciation of value in crypto, adding more than $1 billion to the total. At the time FTX imploded, causing chaos in crypto markets, bitcoin sank precipitously to around $17,500. Earn customers can expect to receive their remaining asset balance within the next 12 months, Gemini said.

Persons: Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, ’, ” Cameron Winklevoss, Gemini Organizations: New, New York CNN, Gemini, New York Department of Financial Services, bitcoin, FTX Locations: New York

☆ Fintech nightmare: 'I have nearly $38,000 tied up' after Synapse bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The situation deteriorated in April after Synapse declared bankruptcy following the exodus of several key partners. That has left users of several fintech services stranded with no access to their funds, according to testimonials filed this week in a California bankruptcy court. One customer, a Maryland teacher named Chris Buckler, said in a May 21 filing that his funds at crypto app Juno were locked because of the Synapse bankruptcy. Synapse had contracts with 20 banks and 100 fintech companies, resulting in about 10 million end users, according to an April filing from founder and CEO Sankaet Pathak. The freeze-up of customer funds exposes the vulnerabilities in the banking as a service, or BAAS, partnership model and a possible blind spot for regulatory oversight.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Buckler, Buckler, Dave, Juno, Sankaet Pathak, Pathak, Joseph Dominguez, Dominguez, Jason Mikula, Mikula Organizations: Istock, Synapse, Evolve Bank & Trust, Mercury, CNBC, Evolve Bank, Trust, Regulators, FDIC, Federal Reserve Locations: California, Maryland, Joseph Dominguez of Sacramento , California, Silicon

☆ Prosecution seeks to land Trump hush money case as Cohen cross-examination looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“This case is going to turn in large part on the cross-examination of Mr. Cohen. Cohen said that Trump told him: “Women are going to hate me. “This was all about the campaign.” Cohen also testified that Trump said he would not be on the market for long, implying he could get another wife quickly. Throughout his testimony, Cohen said he always kept Trump up to speed with his activities. “Everything required Mr. Trump’s sign-off,” he said, noting the Daniels payment was no exception.

Persons: CNN — “, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s, Cohen, Trump, ” Ryan Goodman, CNN’s Erin Burnett, ” Trump, Bernarda Villalona, “, Donald Trump, ”, “ Michael Cohen, David Schoen, ” Schoen, CNN’s Wolf, quagmire, Joe Biden, Judge Juan Merchan, Cohen –, –, Ohio Sen, J.D, Vance, Alabama Sen, Tommy Tuberville, mulls, “ What’s, Stormy Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, Hoffinger, Daniels, Daniels ’, —, ” Cohen, smirked, Trump’s, ’, ‘, reimbursements Cohen, Allen Weisselberg Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, Republican, NYU Law, Trump, New, New York Times, Judge, Alabama, GOP, Ohio Republican, Trump Organization, White House Locations: New York, Siena, York, Ohio

Mr. Manafort, 75, was an adviser for Bob Dole’s presidential campaign in 1996 and managed the Republican convention that year. He was brought on to Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign in the spring as the candidate was facing an effort to deprive him of the delegates necessary to become the nominee at the convention. Mr. Manafort’s involvement with Mr. Trump’s campaign was relatively short-lived. Later, Mr. Manafort was ensnared in the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, into ties between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russian officials. Mr. Trump praised him for not cooperating with the government investigation and pardoned Mr. Manafort at the end of his presidential term.

Persons: Manafort, Bob Dole’s, Trump’s, Robert S, Mueller III, Trump, Mr Organizations: Republican, Trump, Washington Post, Republican Party Locations: Russian, Ukraine

☆ The alleged architect of a multibillion-dollar fraud that shook Wall Street heads to trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —In the spring of 2021, you might have heard about a small investment firm with an odd name, Archegos, that imploded practically overnight and left big Wall Street banks sweating over billions of dollars in losses. Put simply, prosecutors say Hwang had used financial instruments called “total return swaps” to gain exposure to the stocks without actually owning them. Over the course of a year, prosecutors say, Hwang grew his $1.5 billion portfolio into a $35 billion portfolio. Why the case mattersWhite-collar crime on Wall Street may seem like a distant problem for most Americans, and that may be true. And sometimes, as in the financial crisis of 2008, it was a bit of Wall Street tinkering in derivatives contracts that blew up in banks’ faces and collapsed the housing market.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Bill Hwang, Hwang, Matt Egan, Banks, Archegos, ” Hwang, Hwang didn’t, ”, isn’t, Dennis Kelleher Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Archegos, Management, Viacom, Discovery, Warner Bros, CNN, Term Capital Management, Credit Suisse, Employees, Bloomberg, Tiger Asia Management Locations: New York, Korean, York City, ’

☆ Here's everything to expect when the Fed wraps up its meeting Wednesday
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Recent commentary from policymakers and on Wall Street indicates there's not much else the committee can do at this point. But they're still hopeful that they will be in a position to cut rates later." Markets actually have held up pretty well since Powell made those comments on April 16, though stocks sold off Tuesday ahead of the meeting. Some on Wall Street, though, are still hopeful that inflation data will show progress and allow the central bank to cut. The Wall Street bank's economists are preparing for the possibility that the Fed could be on hold for longer, particularly if inflation continues to surprise to the upside.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Kent Nishimura, Guy LeBas, Janney Montgomery Scott, they're, Powell, We've, there's, specter, LeBas, There's, Goldman Sachs, David Mericle, —, Donald Trump, Goldman, Mericle Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Getty, Federal Reserve, Federal, Market Committee, Fed, Dow Jones, Department, Labor Department, Republican

☆ Suddenly, Chinese Spies Seem to Be Popping Up All Over Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Andrew Higgins | Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of the men, a young Briton known for his hawkish views on China, worked as an aide to a prominent member of the British Parliament. Another, a German citizen of Chinese descent, was an assistant to a member of the European Parliament representing Germany’s far right. While from different countries and seemingly divergent backgrounds and outlooks, both men became ensnared this week in accusations of espionage on behalf of China — and a widening pushback in Europe against malign Chinese influence in politics and commerce. In all, six people in three separate cases have been charged this week in Europe with spying for China: two in Britain and four in Germany.

Locations: China, German, Germany’s, Europe, Britain, Germany

☆ Xi shakes up China’s military in rethink of how to ‘fight and win’ future wars
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping oversees the inauguration of the Information Support Force of the People's Liberation Army at a ceremony in Beijing on April 19, 2024. The Information Support Force will be led by top generals from the now-defunct SSF. These functions will now be supervised at his level and not through the Strategic Support Force, which served as a middleman,” Wuthnow said. Though US intelligence officials said the balloon was part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, Xi may not have been aware of the mission. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has scrapped the People's Liberation Army's Strategic Support Force, a branch he founded in 2015.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi, ”, Wu Qian, SSF, Bi Yi, Li Wei, Ju Qiansheng, Joel Wuthnow, ” Wuthnow, Joe Biden, didn’t, Xinhua News Agency James Char, Char Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Strategic Support Force, Support Force, PLA, China’s Defense, Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Central Military Commission, Logistic Support Force, Information, Force, People's Liberation Army, Xinhua News, Information Support Force, Xinhua, Pentagon, National Defense University, Aerospace Systems Department, Network System Department, Xinhua News Agency, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, SSF’s Aerospace Systems Department, “, Communist Party, Taiwan Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Washington, United States, Singapore, Ukraine, Taiwan Strait, Taiwan

☆ Georgia Lawmakers Approve Tougher Rules on Immigration After Student’s Killing
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon | Rick Rojas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Georgia lawmakers voted on Thursday to tighten the state’s already strict immigration laws in response to the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, whose death became ensnared in the broader fight over immigration policy after a man from Venezuela who entered the country illegally was charged with her murder. In the frenzied final hours of the legislative session, the state’s House of Representatives gave final approval to a measure that would require local law enforcement agencies to scrutinize the immigration status of people in their custody and to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The legislation was the result of a vow from Republican lawmakers to crack down after Ms. Riley’s body was found last month in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Her death rattled the community that is the home of the state’s flagship university, roughly 70 miles from Atlanta. The case quickly reverberated beyond Georgia, with Republicans arguing that her killing exemplified a failure by President Biden to adequately respond to an influx of migrants.

Persons: Laken Riley, Biden Organizations: University of Georgia Locations: Georgia, Venezuela, Athens, Atlanta

☆ NBC’s Ronna McDaniel disaster is dragging Comcast into the political firestorm
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It’s difficult to succinctly summarize the disastrous state of affairs at the news division, given that multiple engines are failing simultaneously. sand and refusing to dump McDaniel until after his top television personalities, including Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow, went on the air and excoriated the hire. Ironically, NBC News’ attempt to make inroads with Republicans through the hiring of McDaniel has had the opposite effect. On Wednesday, Trump spent part of the day ranting on Truth Social against the Comcast boss over the McDaniel disaster, characterizing Roberts as a weak leader whose employees are running amok. I asked Comcast spokespeople on Wednesday if either Roberts or Cavanagh were taking any action.

Persons: Brian Roberts, Cesar Conde, Conde, “, Ronna McDaniel, McDaniel, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, Puck’s Dylan Byers, Byers, Carrie Budoff Brown, Republican Richard Walters, Todd, ” Brown, Richard Walters, Stephen Labaton, Labaton bashed, Labaton, Rashida Jones, Jones, Rebecca Blumenstein, Blumenstein, I’m, Elon Musk, Donald Trump’s, Biden, Tom Cotton, Roberts, Trump, ” Trump, It’s, can’t bode, Conde’s, Michael Cavanagh, Cavanagh Organizations: New York CNN, Comcast, NBC News, NBC Universal News Group, Republican National, NBC, MSNBC, NBC News ’, Republican, NBCU, Fox, The New York Times, NBCU News, –, Comcast spokespeople Locations: New York, Miami, Washington, MSDNC

☆ Are Glue Traps Too Cruel to Use in the Fight Against Mice and Rats?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Sarah Maslin Nir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When New Yorkers concern themselves with rodents, they typically focus on how to kill them. The bill would ban the sale and use of what are known as glue boards — cheap, sticky traps that can be strewed around construction sites or tossed under kitchen cabinets and forgotten. If the legislation is successful, New York would join a growing list of places that passed bans recently, like Scotland and Ojai, a city in California with a population of about 7,500, which made glue traps illegal this month. In January, Representative Ted W. Lieu, a Democrat who represents Los Angeles, introduced the Glue Trap Prohibition Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. “We don’t need to lose our humanity just because we don’t like having as many rodents in our midst as we currently do.”

Persons: Ted W, ”, Harvey Epstein Organizations: Democrat, U.S . House, Representatives, State Assembly Locations: Albany, New York, Scotland, Ojai, California, Los Angeles, U.S, Manhattan’s, State

☆ NBC News ousts Ronna McDaniel after network’s anchors launch unprecedented on-air rebellion
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Oliver Darcy | Jon Passantino | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that brokered McDaniel’s deal with NBC, also parted ways with her, the person said. McDaniel, who recently stepped down from the RNC under pressure from former President Donald Trump, was involved in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. NBC’s announcement Friday that it had hired McDaniel was quickly met with alarm by the network’s journalists. Welker disclosed that the interview had been scheduled to take place prior to NBC announcing McDaniel would become a paid contributor for the network, stating that she had no involvement in her hiring. MSNBC president Rashida Jones also did not object to the decision, people familiar with the matter said.

Persons: Ronna McDaniel, Cesar Conde, ”, ” Conde, McDaniel, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Kristen Welker, Welker, Chuck Todd, “, ” Todd, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, Joe, ” Brzezinski, Joe ’, ” Nicolle Wallace, peddle, ” Wallace, Rachel Maddow, —, ” Maddow, hasn’t, Rebecca Blumenstein, Carrie Budoff Brown, Rashida Jones, Joy Reid, Maddow Organizations: New, New York CNN, NBC, Republican National Committee, News, ” NBCUniversal, CNN, Creative Artists Agency, MSNBC, Peacock Network, RNC, ”, NBC News, Todd, Republicans, NBCUniversal News Locations: New York, Michigan, Detroit

☆ Chen Xuyuan: China sentences ex-soccer chief to life in prison in latest crackdown on sports corruption
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The ex-soccer chief, Chen Xuyuan, was jailed on Tuesday alongside multiple senior sporting executives, according to state media, following a months-long investigation. Five years later, the Chinese soccer association unveiled a plan to make the country a “world football superpower” by 2050. The Chinese men’s soccer team currently sits third in its FIFA World Cup qualify group, with four points, behind group leader South Korea, and second placed Thailand. Last Thursday, the team drew 2-2 with city-state Singapore, in a major blow to the country’s World Cup 2026 dream. The two sides face off again, on Tuesday, in what is being billed as a crunch match for underperforming China.

Persons: Chen Xuyuan, Xi, Chen, Yu Hongchen, Li Tie, “, ”, Chen Yongliang, Yu, Dong Zheng Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, league, Chinese Super League, Winter, men’s, soccer, FIFA World, South Locations: Hong Kong, Chinese, Hubei, Huangshi, China, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore

☆ Article 23: Hong Kong passes second national security law aligning city more closely with mainland China
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Coming into effect on Saturday, the law introduces 39 new national security crimes, adding to an already powerful national security law that was directly imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent democracy protests the year before. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Lee described it as a “historical moment for Hong Kong.”Lawmakers attend a meeting for Basic Law Article 23 legislation at the Legislative Council on March 19, 2024 in Hong Kong, China. They argue their legislation is similar to other national security laws around the world. “This will surely increase the doubt, anxiety, and uncertainty of foreign businesses in Hong Kong.”In mainland China, national security laws have often ensnared both local and foreign businesses in opaque investigations. That is something Emily Lau, a former pro-democracy lawmaker, also worries about, that what made Hong Kong distinct is fast fading.

Persons: –, John Lee, Hong, Lee, Chen Yongnuo, ”, Hong Kong’s, Eric Lai, Lai, ” Lai, Hung Ho, fung, Capvision, Sarah Brooks, “, ” Brooks, ” Johannes Hack, Emily Lau, I’ve Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, ” Lawmakers, Legislative, China News Service, China’s Communist Party, CNN, Georgetown Center, Asian Law, Johns Hopkins University, Amnesty International, German Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Locations: Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s, Beijing, China, Amnesty International China, ”, Hong

☆ February was a great month for Wall Street. These were our 5 best-performing stocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia (NVDA) year-to-date performance Nvidia was our top-performing stock for February. Shares surged 28.6% in the month on the back of stellar quarterly results and continued investor optimism in generative artificial intelligence. META YTD mountain Meta Platforms (META) year-to-date performance Coming in at No. GEHC YTD mountain GE Healthcare (GEHC) year-to-date performance GE Healthcare shares jumped 24.4% during February, occupying the No. FL YTD mountain Foot Locker (FL) year-to-date performance Foot Locker was the portfolio's fourth-best stock in the month.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Mark Zuckerberg, Locker, Mary Dillon's, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Brendan McDermid Organizations: Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial, Club, Palo Alto Networks, Wynn Resorts, Nvidia, Facebook, GE Healthcare, Meta, Wall Street, General Electric, Nike, Health, CNBC, Traders, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Wells Fargo, WYNN, FL, New York City, U.S

☆ Vice to lay off hundreds of staffers, stop publishing content on its website
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ahead of the announcement Thursday, the mood inside Vice Media was grim. Vice Media, once a high-flying digital media startup valued at billions of dollars, has struggled immensely in recent years. The radical strategic shift announced by Dixon effectively marked the end of Vice Media as the industry has known it. Once held up as the future of the business, Vice Media has rapidly contracted over the last 12 months, ending several news programs and laying off staffers. Vice Media joins a long list of digital publishers that have announced painful layoffs in recent months.

Persons: Bruce Dixon, ” Dixon, Dixon, ”, Shane Smith, Nancy Dubuc, BuzzFeed Organizations: CNN —, Media, CNN, Vice Media, Fortress Investment Group, “ Locations: “

☆ Demons, Haunted Forests and Arctic Nightmares in 4 New Horror Novels
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Gabino Iglesias | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At the center of this novel is a forbidden forest that sits at the northern edge of a nameless town. No one who sets foot in the wood returns, with the exception of Veris Thorn, who once entered, somehow survived and came back. The tyrant gives Veris only one day to recover them, and if she fails, he will kill her family. Fast-paced, tense, fantastical and uncanny, “The Butcher of the Forest” is a perfect mix of horror and fantasy. The perilous dimension hidden inside the forest is full of wicked shape-shifting beings, undead deer and other monstrosities, but it’s Mohamed’s beautiful prose and endearing characters that make this a powerful story.

Persons: Veris Thorn

☆ NY attorney general expands crypto lawsuit, sees $3 billion fraud
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday expanded her lawsuit against Digital Currency Group and other cryptocurrency defendants, tripling the size of their alleged fraud scheme to more than $3 billion. James had in October sued DCG, its Genesis Global Capital unit, and Gemini Trust, the exchange run by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. James is seeking more than $3 billion of restitution for the more than 230,000 investors who she believes were defrauded. Representatives for DCG, Genesis and Gemini did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gemini, meanwhile, has sued DCG over their failure of their crypto lending partnership.

Persons: Letitia James, Donald Trump, James, DCG, Cameron, Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini, Barry Silbert, Soichiro Moro, Genesis, Sam Bankman Organizations: New, Trump Organization, Court, New York, Digital Currency Group, Genesis Global, Gemini Trust, DCG, Gemini, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC Locations: New York, Manhattan, New York City, U.S

☆ China gives suspended death sentence to Tian Huiyu, former China Merchants Bank president
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The court said he had used his privileged access to information to make more than 290 million yuan ($41 million) in illegal gains from the stock market. He also leaked inside information about stocks to other people, which yielded more than 8 million yuan ($1.1 million) in illicit profits, it said. In return, he accepted bribes worth more than 210 million yuan ($30 million), it said. In 2013, Tian was promoted to head China Merchants Bank, serving as its president and its Communist Party boss. The Communist Party has stepped up its crackdown on the country’s state-owned financial system since last year.

Persons: Tian Huiyu, Xi Jinping, Tian, Wang Qishan, ”, Li Xiaopeng, Liu Liange, Bao Fan, Bao Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Merchants Bank, China Construction Bank, China Cinda Asset Management, Beijing, Communist Party, Central Commission, Communist, Adobe, China Everbright Group, Bank of China, China Renaissance Locations: China, Hong Kong, Changde city, Hunan, China’s, Shanghai, Changde

☆ Bao Fan: Missing Chinese banker resigns from China Renaissance for ‘health reasons’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Bao Fan, a star Chinese tech banker who disappeared a year ago amid Beijing’s anti-corruption crackdown, has formally resigned from the firm he founded, the company said. CNN has contacted China Renaissance for comment. China Renaissance announced a management reshuffle to replace its chairman and CEO, along with other top positions. He founded China Renaissance in 2005 in Beijing and made it one of the top dealmakers for Chinese tech firms. Shares in China Renaissance were suspended from trading last April because of issues related to Bao’s status.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Bao Fan, Bao, ”, Xie Yi Jing, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Renaissance, Company, CNN, Economic Observer, Communist Party, Deloitte Locations: China, Hong Kong, Bao, Beijing, Dianping

“It is necessary to conduct this operation unilaterally and without notifying Venezuelan officials,” reads the 15-page 2018 memo expanding “Operation Money Badger,” an investigation that authorities say targeted dozens of people, including Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Within weeks, senior DEA officials plotted to deploy at least three undercover informants to surreptitiously record top officials suspected of converting Venezuela into a narco state. And “to limit or mitigate the exposure of the unilateral activities,” the document advised DEA officials to protect their informants and curtail in-person meetings with targets. I think they figured they had nothing to lose.”RELEASED BY ACCIDENTThe Operation Money Badger memo was never intended to be made public. The DEA memo authorized three informants to secretly record undercover meetings with the targets.

Persons: –, ”, Nicolás Maduro, Maduro’s, Alex Saab, Wes Tabor, “ We’re, Maduro, “, Biden, ” Maduro, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Joe Biden, ” —, Evan Criddle, William & Mary, there’s, Mike Vigil, Manny Recio, John Costanzo Jr, Costanzo, ” Michael Nadler, Washington –, launderer, Jose Vielma, Hugo Chávez, Vielma’s, Luis Motta, Vielma, Motta, Motta’s, Zach Margulis, Hugo Carvajal, Jennifer Farrar Organizations: MIAMI, The Associated Press, U.S . Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, Justice, AP, CIA, State, Justice Department, U.S, Attorney’s, Democratic, Supreme, William &, Saab, Miami Field Division’s, IRS Locations: Venezuela, United States, U.S, America, Venezuelan, Miami, Manhattan, Russia, China, OPEC, Mexico, Virginia, “, Colombian, New York, Houston, Washington, Investigative@ap.org

MIAMI (AP) — It was a plan the United States knew from the start would arguably violate international law. Here are some of the takeaways from the AP's exclusive report on the secret memo:Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesWHAT DOES THE MEMO REVEAL? The 15-page memo spells out a secret DEA plan directing confidential informants to record Venezuelan officials suspected of converting the South American country into a narco state. “It is necessary to conduct this operation unilaterally and without notifying Venezuelan officials,” officials wrote in the memo. None of the indictments of Venezuelan officials before or after the 2018 memo made any mention of U.S. spying.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, ”, Wes Tabor, Jose Vielma, Hugo Chávez, ” Michael Nadler, Maduro’s, Alex Saab, Maduro, “, Biden, Evan Criddle, William & Mary Organizations: MIAMI, Associated Press, U.S . Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, IRS, U.S, Attorney’s, Justice Department, CIA, Supreme, William & Locations: United States, Venezuela, U.S, Manhattan, Miami, VENEZUELA, Latin America, Virginia, Investigative@ap.org

☆ South Carolina lawmaker Brandon Guffey is suing Instagram after his son died by suicide
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —About two weeks after his oldest son’s funeral, South Carolina state house Rep. Brandon Guffey says he received a private Instagram message with a laughing emoji. Then Guffey and his younger son began to get messages demanding money in exchange for nude photos of his late son. South Carolina State Rep. Brandon Guffey in an undated photo with his wife, Melissa, and their sons, Gavin, 17, Coen, 16, and Callahan, 4. Minutes before he died by suicide in July 2022, Gavin Guffey sent his brother and friends this text message. South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey, right, has lobbied hard for tougher penalties for sextortion scammers.

Persons: Brandon Guffey, Gavin Guffey, Guffey, Gavin, Melissa, Coen, Callahan, they’ve, Gavin Guffey texted, Gavin texted, Henry McMaster, scammers, Brandon Guffey “, ” Guffey, “, ”, ‘, “ Meta, It’s, ” Douglas DePodesta, ” Gavin Guffey, Jordan DeMay, Ryan Last, sextortion scammers, I’m, they’re, “ They’re, he’s, He’s Organizations: CNN, Meta, South Carolina State Rep, Gov, FBI, United States Attorney’s Office, Western, Western District of Michigan, Facebook, Rep, sextortion, Communications Locations: South Carolina, “, Rock Hill , South Carolina, Venmo, Memphis, United, Western District, Nigeria, Marquette , Michigan, San Jose , California

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