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☆ Two Men Charged in Christmas Day Attacks on Washington Power Substations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Joseph Pisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Tacoma Power crew worked to restore power at an electrical substation damaged by vandals early on Christmas Day. Federal prosecutors have charged two men in the Christmas Day attacks on four power substations in Washington state that left about 15,500 in the dark. Matthew Greenwood , 32 years old, and Jeremy Crahan , 40, were arrested Saturday and charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities, according to the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Mr. Greenwood was also charged with possession of an unregistered firearm, according to court documents.

☆ Russian soldiers used the phones of Bucha victims to call home, revealing the unit that killed dozens: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russians who occupied the Ukrainian town of Bucha in March used their victims' phones to call home. Reporters found that Russian soldiers often used their victims' phones to call home to Russia, frequently placing calls only hours after the phone's Ukrainian owner had been shot dead. Russia, which has rejected the allegations of war crimes, does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. With the fighting ongoing, there are many open questions regarding accountability over the thousands of alleged war crimes in Ukraine. A Ukrainian court subsequently reduced the sentence for the soldier, Vadim Shishimarin, to 15 years.

☆ Mortgage refinance demand surged 6%, as rates dropped to the lowest level since September
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage interest rates dropped again last week, and while that did little to bolster demand from homebuyers, it did send homeowners looking for savings on their monthly payments. Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 6% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Mortgage applications to purchase a home decreased 0.1% for the week and were 36% lower than the same week one year ago. "However, if mortgage rates continue to trend down, as we are forecasting, more buyers are likely to return to the market later in the year, as affordability improves with both lower rates and slower home-price growth." A separate survey from Mortgage News Daily showed the average rate on the 30-year fixed jumping 11 basis points.

☆ Mortgage demand inches higher as interest rates move lower
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

After a month of declines, mortgage application volume is rising, as current homeowners and potential buyers move on lower mortgage rates. Applications rose 3.2% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Interest rates slid Tuesday after the release of the November consumer price index. Lower rates have shrunk demand for adjustable rate mortgages. While mortgage rates dropped following the CPI report Tuesday, they could move markedly again Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve announces its latest move on interest rates and Fed Chair Jerome Powell follows with remarks.

☆ Mortgage rates drop after CPI report, but the housing market is far from out of the woods
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The report sent investors rushing into U.S. Treasury bonds, causing yields to drop. Mortgage rates follow loosely the yield on the 10-year Treasury. But rates then fell sharply in November, after the CPI report for October indicated that inflation was cooling. Some suggested, albeit cautiously, that the drop in rates might be bringing buyers back to the market. Yearly was referring to a very brief rate drop in August.

These psychiatric drugs are regulated by the federal government as controlled substances that have high potential for abuse and addiction but are not opioids. The impact on independent pharmacies' prescriptions of psychiatric drugs from the widening crackdown on opioids has not been previously reported. It is dedicated to mitigating the abuse of controlled substances without interfering in good-faith clinical decisions made by doctors, she said. "Pharmaceutical distributors must walk a legal and ethical tightrope between providing access to necessary medications and acting to prevent diversion of controlled substances," Esposito said in a written statement. The FDA, the HHS agency that administers the list of controlled substances, did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Taylor Swift set to make her feature directorial debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Taylor Swift’s about to yell action! The singer-songwriter will make her feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures, the studio announced. Swift also wrote the original script for the movie, which will be produced by Searchlight. The film is also eligible for the short film category at the upcoming Academy Awards. Searchlight has made Oscar winners like Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” and Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland.”

☆ Taylor Swift to make film directorial debut with script she wrote
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Grammy award-winning singer Taylor Swift will make her film directorial debut with an original script she wrote, Searchlight Pictures said on Friday. Walt Disney Co.-owned Searchlight, known for Oscar best picture winners "The Shape of Water" and "Nomadland" as well as 2022 drama “The Banshees of Inisherin,” did not disclose the subject of Swift's film or when it would be released. “Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller. She recently earned another Grammy nomination for Song of the Year, the 10-minute version of "All Too Well," which is eligible for the Best Live-Action Short category at the 2023 Oscars. Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Mary Milliken and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple plans to expand encryption of iCloud data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Apple on Wednesday said it plans to expand end-to-end encryption of iCloud data to include backups, photos, notes, chat histories and other services, in a move that could further protect user data but also add to tensions with law enforcement around the world. Among a handful of new security tools is a feature called Advanced Data Protection which will allow users to keep certain data more secure from hackers, governments and spies, even in the case of an Apple data breach. With end-to-end encryption, not even the platform can access the data, only the sender and recipient. Privacy groups have urged Apple for years to increase encryption for iCloud backups. Not included in the new list, however, is encryption for iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendar due to interoperability challenges, Apple (AAPL) said.

The vote came about after California passed a law last year requiring law enforcement departments to seek approval for use of military-style equipment. We live in a time when unthinkable mass violence is becoming more commonplace," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in the statement. "We need the option to be able to save lives in the event we have that type of tragedy in our city.”Police Chief William Scott speaks during a news conference in San Francisco in 2019. “We run a very serious risk of misuse by police of a robot to inflict deadly force,” he said. Preston said he hoped that outrage following the first vote in San Francisco would sway more of his fellow board members to vote against the measure Tuesday.

☆ U.S. house prices to fall 12% peak to trough: analysts - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Hari Kishan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Such a modest fall after a 40% rise in average house prices over the last two years based in part on a surge in demand for more space during the COVID-19 pandemic will not be enough to make housing affordable, analysts said. House prices have doubled in the last decade but a doubling in mortgage rates since the start of this year from 3.3% to around 6.5% has brought the historic boom to a screeching halt. Average U.S. house prices as measured by the Case Shiller 20-City index are forecast to rise 13.6% this year and fall over 5.6% in 2023, the Nov. 8 - Dec. 2 poll of 25 housing strategists showed. If realized, it would be the first full-year decline in house prices in a decade. Average U.S. house prices peaked in June on this measure and are already down about 4% since then.

After Iran’s loss to the United States on Tuesday, however, many Iranians cheered their players’ failure, saying they represented the repressive theocratic regime rather than the people it violently oppresses. On Tuesday, those criticizing the team made their voices heard: This was the Islamic Republic’s loss, not Iran’s. Meanwhile, there were thousands of tweets in Persian, or in English from prominent Iranians, saying how happy they were their own team had fallen at the first hurdle of the competition. “For 43 years the regime brainwashed Iranians to hate America,” Masih Alinejad, a New York-based Iranian journalist and activist, tweeted. “But see how people across Iran are celebrating the victory of the U.S. soccer team against the Islamic Republic.”Read the full story here.

☆ Progressives returned for third term in Australia's Victoria state poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The progressive government of Australia's Victoria state won re-election on Saturday, clearing the way for spending on infrastructure, education and healthcare. After eight years in power, centre-left Labor was tipped to defeat its Liberal-National coalition opposition, and the government, led by Daniel Andrews, was comfortably returned at Saturday's poll. "I'm humbled and so grateful, so so grateful, that Victorians have re-elected a majority Labor government," Andrews told ABC television on Sunday morning. Four years ago, Labor returned to power in a landslide, winning just under two-thirds of seats, but polling in the final days of this campaign had suggested a tighter race. Victoria, with its capital of Melbourne, is Australia's second most populous state after New South Wales.

☆ Mortgage demand rises 2.2% as interest rates decline slightly
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage applications rose 2.2% last week compared with the previous week, prompted by a slight decline in interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 3% for the week, but they were down 41% from a year ago. "The decrease in mortgage rates should improve the purchasing power of prospective homebuyers, who have been largely sidelined as mortgage rates have more than doubled in the past year," Joel Kan, an MBA economist, said in a release. Mortgage rates haven't moved at all this week, as the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday tends to weigh on volumes. That's when the government releases its next major report on inflation and the Federal Reserve announces its next move on interest rates.

The landmark case was the first to test whether the NCAA could be held liable for traumatic brain injuries suffered by players, lawyers said. “The NCAA bore no responsibility for Mr. Gee’s tragic death, and furthermore, the case was not supported by medical science linking Mr. Gee’s death to his college football career,” Bearby said. Alana Gee’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Alana Gee's lawyers said his substance abuse and health problems stemmed from CTE. Tests of Gee's brain tissue following his death concluded that he suffered from CTE and that this “likely contributed” to his cognitive decline, according to Alana Gee's November 2020 lawsuit.

☆ This is what kind of legal trouble FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried could now face, based on details from the crypto exchange's latest bankruptcy filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

FTX's bankruptcy filing shed new light on potential legal trouble for the crypto exchange and its former execs. New CEO John J. Ray III delivered a blistering assessment, calling FTX's implosion " a complete failure of corporate controls." Read some of the most incendiary parts of the bankruptcy filing and what experts say it all might mean. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. "The appointment of the Directors will provide the FTX Group with appropriate corporate governance for the first time."

☆ Biden faces scrutiny about America's future as he heads abroad
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

For the world leaders meeting with Biden over the next week, there’s no assurance that he'll be the president they’ll be dealing with for the next six years. The U.S. is unnerved by Chinese military exercises that threaten Taiwan and raise the specter of a future invasion. “Tuesday was a good day for America, a good day for democracy,” Biden said Thursday at a Democratic National Committee event. Another reason that Biden might find the trip more gratifying is that he averted the midterm wipeout that sitting presidents normally endure. Biden’s midterm test went much better.

☆ Mortgage rates fall sharply to under 7% after inflation eases
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Diana Olick | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Mortgage rates fell sharply Thursday after a government report showed that inflation had cooled in October, prompting a decline in bond yields. The average rate on the 30-year fixed plunged 60 basis points from 7.22% to 6.62%, according to Mortgage News Daily. Those stocks have been hammered by the sharp increase in rates over the past six months. As a result, bond yields dropped sharply, and mortgage rates followed, as they follow loosely the yield on the 10-year Treasury. “This was always about needing two consecutive reports of this nature combined with acknowledgement from the Fed that the inflation narrative is shifting.”But Graham said rates are not out of the woods yet.

He'll hold his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20, where he hopes to explore Xi's "red lines", talk to allies about punishing Russia for its Ukraine invasion and discuss containing North Korea after a barrage of missile tests. On Wednesday, Biden said U.S. aid for Ukraine will continue uninterrupted and any territorial compromise between the two countries is up to Ukraine. Putin will not attend the G20 summit in person but is due join one of the meetings virtually, an Indonesian government official said. They will address North Korea's "unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," the official said. Biden will "continue to urge the Egyptian government to release political prisoners and undertake human rights related legal reforms," said one of the officials.

☆ Trump advisor Tom Barrack acquitted on charges of lobbying for a foreign government
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trump ally Tom Barrack was acquitted on charges Friday of lobbying for a foreign government. Prosecutors alleged Barrack used his friendship with Trump to give UAE officials inside access to the administration. Prosecutors alleged that Barrack used his friendship with Trump to provide UAE officials with inside access to Trump's administration and his 2016 campaign. "I'm so moved by them and the system," Barrack said of the jury after being acquitted Friday, NBC News reported. Barrack's co-defendant, former aide Matthew Grimes, was also acquitted of charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

☆ Mortgage demand falls slightly even as rates slip from recent highs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage application volume barely moved last week, falling 0.5% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Rates, meanwhile, dropped back a little bit last week, but they're still near a 22-year high. There are now precious few qualified borrowers who don't already have a rate lower than what is being offered today. "Apart from the ARM loan rate, rates for all other loan types were more than three percentage points higher than they were a year ago. Mortgage rates started this week slightly higher again, according to Mortgage News Daily, but all ears are now on Wednesday's meeting of the Federal Reserve.

Barrack, 75, is charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent, obstruction of justice and making false statements to the FBI. Prosecutors allege he used his decades-long friendship with Trump to “illegally provide” government officials from the UAE with access to — and information about — the president and top officials. Jackson told jurors that the government’s claim of overwhelming evidence against Barrack was “a joke,” and that there was “nothing nefarious” about his client’s dealings with Emirati officials. Jackson further argued the government had no direct evidence that Barrack had struck a deal with the UAE. Grimes' attorney, Abbe Lowell, disputed that his client was an unregistered foreign agent, saying he did what his boss Barrack told him to do, not what UAE officials requested.

☆ Trump ally Barrack traded access for UAE money, prosecutors say as trial nears end
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, exits the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., October 3, 2022. Abu Dhabi then invested $374 million from its sovereign wealth funds with Barrack, prosecutors say. "Mr. Barrack traded his political access for a long-term relationship with top UAE officials ... who controlled vast oil wealth," Ryan Harris, an assistant U.S. attorney, told jurors on Tuesday. Barrack himself took the stand last week, testifying that he never agreed to act at Abu Dhabi's direction or control. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Barrack, 75, is charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent and lying to the FBI. Prosecutors said UAE officials also pressed Barrack for details on who Trump would pick for various high-level jobs, including CIA director and at the State and Defense departments. Barrack's lawyers have said their client is his own man and was doing what he thought was right — not acting as an Emirati agent. Even viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence shows only that the 'UAE' sometimes asked Mr. Barrack to do something, or to consider doing something, and Mr. Barrack then decided for himself whether he would do it or not." He said that Barrack had pushed him to convince then-President Trump to support Qatar in a blockade over the UAE.

☆ Garland to hold news conference on 'significant national security cases'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland will hold a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss "significant national security cases addressing malign influence schemes and alleged criminal activity by a nation-state actor in the United States," the Department of Justice announced in an advisory. ET, and will be joined by Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen and other Justice Department officials. The advisory didn't provide any additional details about the case, including what the alleged criminal activity entails or what foreign country or countries may be involved. Justice Department officials generally avoid taking law enforcement action that could affect voting within 60 days of an election. It's unclear if the announcement Monday is related in any way to the upcoming election.

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