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☆ Torture Accusations Could Lead to Civil Rights Case in Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Brian Howey | Nate Rosenfield | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than two months after deputies were sentenced for torturing two Black men in central Mississippi, federal prosecutors have widened their investigation and may sue the Rankin County sheriff’s department for civil rights violations, a serious escalation that could lead to federal monitoring. Todd Gee, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, talked about the possibility at a meeting last month, where he urged local residents who attended to come forward if they had experienced violence or discrimination at the hands of deputies. More than 50 people, including defense attorneys and civil rights advocates, packed into a library outside Jackson, Miss. Some shared stories of being harassed or falsely accused of crimes by deputies, according to several people who attended the meeting, which was closed to the press. “Information from people like you can make a difference,” Mr. Gee told the crowd, according to video of the meeting obtained by reporters.

Persons: Todd Gee, Mr, Gee Organizations: Southern, Southern District of Locations: Mississippi, Rankin County, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson, Miss

Between vacation photos and cookout invitations posted on their private text thread, a group of Mississippi sheriff’s deputies who called themselves the Goon Squad traded pictures of rotting corpses and joked about rape and shocking people with Tasers. An encrypted WhatsApp group chat obtained by The New York Times and Mississippi Today provides a yearslong record of the day-to-day conversations of a patrol unit involved in terrorizing residents across a central Mississippi county for a generation. The Goon Squad came to national attention last year after Rankin County sheriff’s deputies tortured two Black men in their home and shot one of them in the face, nearly killing him. Six officers, including three from the Goon Squad shift, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison in March. An investigation by The Times and Mississippi Today last fall revealed that nearly two dozen residents experienced similar brutality when Rankin deputies burst into their homes looking for illegal drugs.

Persons: Rankin Organizations: Goon Squad, The New York Times, Mississippi Today, The Times, Mississippi Locations: Mississippi, Rankin

☆ Robert De Niro wasn’t shouting at Pro-Palestinian protesters in viral video. He’s filming a TV show
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Elizabeth Wagmeister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A viral video clip circulating online suggested that actor Robert De Niro had confronted pro-Palestinian protesters in New York City, but CNN has learned that the actor was actually filming a TV show. In the video posted onto social media, De Niro is seen yelling, “This is not a movie! (No protesters can be seen in the video.) A Netflix spokesperson told CNN that the video was shot “during an on-location rehearsal” for the series “Zero Day,” on April 27. In the video, “Civil War” actor Jesse Plemons – who co-stars with De Niro in the series – is seen standing in the background.

Persons: Robert De Niro, Niro, De Niro, ” De Niro, De, Stan Rosenfield, ”, Jesse Plemons – Organizations: CNN, Netflix, Haaretz Locations: New York City, Israel, New York

Six former law enforcement officers who called themselves the Goon Squad face sentencing in Mississippi starting today, months after they pleaded guilty to federal civil rights offenses for torturing and sexually assaulting two Black men and a third white man who has remained anonymous until now. Prosecutors are expected to detail the officers’ violent actions, and victims will have an opportunity to share their stories. The officers could speak publicly for the first time if they choose to talk about their crimes or ask the judge for leniency. Hunter Elward, who pleaded guilty to shooting one of the victims, is scheduled to be sentenced first, on Tuesday morning. The other officers will then be sentenced during individual hearings.

Persons: Hunter Elward Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Mississippi, Jackson, Miss

Ms. Dettore and Mr. Grozier were each fined several hundred dollars, and she has since left Rankin County. After Mr. McAlpin arrested Mr. Loveday and accused him of consorting with drug dealers, he ordered him to leave town. Before he left Mississippi, Mr. Loveday said, he called Sheriff Bailey personally to warn him about his deputies’ behavior. He called Mr. Loveday a dirty cop and accused him of secretly recording the call. Then, Mr. Loveday said, “He hung up on me.”Jerry Mitchell , Ilyssa Daly , Eric Sagara and Irene Casado Sanchez contributed reporting.

Persons: Robert Grozier, Christian Dedmon, Dettore, Grozier, Hobson, Loveday, McAlpin, ”, Sheriff Bailey, Bailey, “, ” Jerry Mitchell, Ilyssa Daly, Eric Sagara, Irene Casado Sanchez, Kitty Bennett Organizations: Big Local, Stanford University, Pulitzer Center Locations: Rankin County, Mississippi

☆ FTX told architects that its headquarters should look like Sam Bankman-Fried's hair
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX planned a "mini city" headquarters in the Bahamas that was never constructed, per Michael Lewis' biography. They eventually got a list of three ideas from FTX, including that the side of the building should resemble SBF's hair. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen FTX was planning its headquarters in the Bahamas, the architects were asked to make it resemble Sam Bankman-Fried's characteristic hairdo, according to Michael Lewis' biography. Lewis writes that the two architects, Ian Rosenfield and Alfia White, were given "several hundred million dollars" and told to "have at it." "That was the first and only question we got to ask him," Rosenfield told Lewis.

Persons: FTX, Michael Lewis, —, Sam Bankman, Lewis, Ian Rosenfield, White, Fried, Rosenfield Organizations: Service, Nassau Guardian, Fried's Locations: Bahamas

☆ FTX spent $1 million removing one doorway and adding another after a dispute over feng shui, biography says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX hired two architects to design its multi-million dollar Bahamas HQ, per an upcoming biography. That unveiled one anecdote where FTX spent $1 million to settle an argument over a door in its former office. AdvertisementAdvertisementFTX spent $1 million removing one doorway and adding another when it was headquartered in Hong Kong, according to an excerpt from Michael Lewis' upcoming biography shared by The Times of London. AdvertisementAdvertisement"We were supposed to design a mini-city," Rosenfield told the biographer. In the end, the doorway was removed and another one was added instead, which cost $1 million, according to Lewis' biography.

Persons: FTX, —, Michael Lewis, Lewis, Ian Rosenfield, White, Rosenfield, I've Organizations: Bahamas, Service, The Times, Fortune Locations: Hong Kong, London, Bahamas, Asia

☆ Are you owed a slice of the $100 million fine Bank of America has to pay?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Bank of America was fined $250 million this week by US federal regulators for allegedly harming customers by double-dipping on fees, withholding credit card rewards and opening fake accounts. Of those fines, $100 million is set to go directly to consumers who were impacted by the bank’s alleged wrongdoing. People are generally bad at keeping or knowing how to access relatively recent bank records, said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. It’s unlikely the average customer saved copies of their bank records or credit reports for over a decade, he said. As part of the agreement Bank of America settled with the CFPB, it is also required to identify consumers who were harmed.

Persons: they’re, you’re, you’ve, there’s, Bank of America’s, Harvey Rosenfield, didn’t, CFPB Organizations: New, New York CNN — Bank of America, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CNN, Bank of America, Bank of, Consumer Watchdog, Bank, of America Locations: New York

☆ Boris Johnson's honours list includes aides tied to ex-UK PM's 'Partygate' scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Boris Johnson awarded his political aides and allies with some of Britain's highest honours to mark his resignation as prime minister, including some who attended parties in government buildings during COVID-19 lockdowns. Martin Reynolds, a senior civil servant and Johnson's former principal private secretary, was given an Order of the Bath award for public service. Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner called Johnson's honours list a "sickening insult". A Conservative member of parliament, who asked not to be named, said the list was "deeply embarrassing" and showed Johnson's lack of remorse. The former prime minister also approved honours for Conservative party politicians who have recently been caught in other scandals.

Persons: Boris Johnson, Martin Reynolds, Reynolds, Johnson, Dan Rosenfield, Jack Doyle, Angela Rayner, Ben Houchen, Conor Burns, Jacob Rees, Mogg, Simon Clarke, Priti Patel, Theresa May, David Cameron, Andrew MacAskill, Michael Holden, Mark Potter, Paul Simao Organizations: Bath, Labour Party, Conservative, Thomson Locations: COVID, Britain, British, Downing, lockdowns, Tees Valley

☆ Rosalind Franklin’s Role in DNA Discovery, Once Ignored, Is Told Anew in Song
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Lauren Rosenfield | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the summer of 2020, the composer and lyricist Madeline Myers spent hours at the piano in her Manhattan apartment as she struggled to write three songs for her new musical, “Double Helix,” about the British chemist Rosalind Franklin. The challenge wasn’t strictly about marrying words to a score, but conveying the science of a crucial moment in the discovery of DNA’s structure — and making the songs entertaining. Franklin’s experiments, in which she successfully used X-ray crystallography to create images of DNA, became the basis for James Watson and Francis Crick’s groundbreaking 1953 discovery of the double helix structure. The breakthrough underpins our modern understanding of genetics and biology, but for years Franklin received none of the credit. (She died of cancer in 1958 at the age of 37; her male colleagues were later awarded the Nobel Prize.)

House bows are becoming a popular way for real-estate agents to add pizzazz to newly sold homes. House bows are often purchased by local realtors to celebrate closings or drum up interest in a property, and by particularly spendy gifters looking to surprise their family members or spouses with a new abode. King Size BowsSteven Rosenfield, the owner of Giant Bows in Old Lyme, Connecticut, has observed a similar bump in business. Hughes charges around $600 plus shipping for an average 6-foot, two-loop house bow. A King Size Bow used for decoration.

☆ Woman arrested stealing gifts from under Robert De Niro's Christmas tree
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - New York City police arrested a woman caught stealing presents from beneath Robert De Niro's Christmas tree after breaking into the actor's apartment on the Upper East Side early on Monday morning, according to police and media reports. The 30-year-old woman was known to police for a string of previous burglary arrests and officers caught her inside the apartment stealing items, Tsui said. ABC News reported that she was stuffing presents from beneath a Christmas tree into a bag, and that De Niro, 79, was home at the time and came downstairs at the commotion. The woman was in custody and charges were pending against her, Tsui said. Reporting by Jonathan Allen, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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