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☆ Assault on Nancy Pelosi's husband is dangerous escalation of political violence because individuals now feel 'empowered' to carry out these acts alone, extremism expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But one extremism expert told Insider that the isolated assault is in many ways more dangerous. Individuals now feel "empowered to carry out those acts of political violence," Eric Ward said. "This is the unfolding of events since January 6," Eric Ward, senior advisor to the Western States Center, told Insider. Authorities said a 42-year-old man broke into the Pelosi residence early Friday morning and violently attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, sending him to the hospital. "The attacker who injured Paul Pelosi was looking for Nancy Pelosi, likely wanting to finish the job of Jan.

☆ The attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband echoed threats pro-Trump rioters made during the Capitol riot. An expert on authoritarianism warns there could be more to come.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The attack on Paul Pelosi could be a sign of more violence to come, per an expert on authoritarianism. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an NYU history professor, said the attack could be a continuation of the January 6 insurrection. "The attacker who injured Paul Pelosi was looking for Nancy Pelosi, likely wanting to finish the job," she said. Paul Pelosi, the Democrat's 82-year-old husband, was attacked with a hammer early Friday morning in the couple's home. "The attacker who injured Paul Pelosi was looking for Nancy Pelosi, likely wanting to finish the job."

☆ Weapons in Ukraine aren't flooding Europe's black markets, but that could change
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The volume of weapons sent to and in Ukraine has raised concern that some could end up on the black market. The United Kingdom has sent Ukraine more than 4,200 such weapons since Russia invaded. Similarly, the UK has sent more than 5,000 point-and-shoot NLAW anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, weapons that can readily target and destroy most moving vehicles. However, "At the moment," he said, "there is no evidence of increased arms trafficking from Ukraine to other countries." In September, the Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the creation of a new unit dedicated to combating illicit arms trafficking.

☆ Tesla is facing a criminal investigation over its 'self-driving' vehicle claims, a new report says, adding to compounding scrutiny on Elon Musk as Twitter deal looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla is facing a criminal probe over its "self-driving" claims, Reuters reported Wednesday. Sources told Reuters that the Justice Department began an investigation into that claim last year. The investigation, which could ultimately trigger criminal charges against Tesla executives, is centered on whether that claim constitutes defrauding consumers. Neither the Department of Justice nor Tesla immediately responded to Insider's requests for comment. Despite Tesla's claims, its optional Full Self-Driving Capability is still in "beta," meaning it is not considered a final product.

☆ Mehmet Oz says abortion should be decided between 'women, doctors, local political leaders' during debate with John Fetterman
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dr. Mehmet Oz and John Fetterman faced off in their first and only debate Tuesday night. The candidates clashed on abortion, with Fetterman saying it should be a nationally protected right. Oz said he does not support a federal ban but argued states should be able to prohibit the procedure. In 2019, he defended Roe v. Wade, saying that as a physician he had personally witnessed women who suffered "really traumatic events" from undergoing illegal, "coat-hanger" abortions." Democratic candidates, including Fetterman, have heavily campaigned on abortion rights in an effort to expand the party's House and Senate majorities and codify Roe v. Wade into law.

☆ How 31-year-old Hope Hicks became the youngest White House communications director in history and a top executive at Fox before returning to counsel Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Rebecca Harrington | Ellen Cranley | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hicks resigned from the White House on January 12, 2021, but told people it was a previously planned departure. She was one of the few White House aides who broke with the former president and told him he lost the 2020 election. Hope Hicks was the youngest White House communications director in history. In her time at the White House, Hicks became ensnared in two high-profile White House controversies: the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and her role in crafting the White House's response to abuse allegations against staff secretary Rob Porter. She later rejoined the Trump White House as a counselor to the president, reporting to senior adviser and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

☆ Students demand Penn State cancel on-campus comedy show featuring Proud Boys founder: 'They're on the wrong side'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Students at Penn State want the administration to cancel an event with the founder of the Proud Boys. The Proud Boys have been labeled a terrorist organization by the Canadian government. He told Insider he's grateful Penn State is following through with upholding the First Amendment and said he wants the protestors there. When asked by Insider whether Penn State would provide comment on students' demands the event be canceled, the university reiterated the First Amendment. "Penn State is really fighting a losing battle on this one.

☆ IRS Leader’s Looming Exit Leaves Hole at Tax Agency as Expansion Begins
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Richard Rubin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The IRS can be an unwieldy agency, with a long list of mandates, layers of bureaucracy and about 80,000 workers across the country. WASHINGTON—With less than three weeks left in Charles Rettig ’s term as Internal Revenue Service commissioner, President Biden hasn’t picked anyone to replace him, leaving the tax agency without a leader to spearhead the $80 billion agency expansion that Democrats just pushed through Congress. The delay in choosing and confirming Mr. Rettig’s replacement nearly certainly means an interim IRS commissioner after Nov. 12. That acting commissioner might be reluctant to make binding decisions that affect the agency’s long-term future.

☆ Boris Johnson may eye an unlikely comeback after Liz Truss resignation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Boris Johnson may run to lead Britain's Conservative Party, sources told multiple news outlets. The former prime minister resigned as leader over the summer and was replaced by Liz Truss. Truss's own resignation this week after just a few weeks in office has him eyeing a comeback, per reports. On Thursday, hours after Truss resigned, The Times of London reported that Johnson "is expected to stand" in the next Tory leadership contest, citing unnamed sources. Truss was chosen as the Tory leader after the question was put to Conservative Party activists.

☆ GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano's new ad uses same stock footage as Russian propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An ad posted by the Doug Mastriano campaign uses footage previously featured in Russian propaganda. The stock footage of two young girls appears to have come from a videographer in Belarus. In July, a Russian embassy used the footage in an ad encouraging people to move to Russia. Twitter/Russian Embassy in SpainIt is not the first time that the campaign appears to have used stock footage from the site. The allure of stock footage — especially, of course, the free variety — is money.

☆ Sleep may be just as important to heart health as diet and physical activity, research finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In June, the American Heart Association added sleep duration to its cardiovascular health checklist, now called “Life’s Essential 8.” These science-based guidelines were created to help all Americans improve their heart health. Other research has also shown connections between short sleep and chronic diseases that could also hurt heart health. Those poor health behaviors also contribute to poor heart health. Poor sleep is also linked to a lower engagement in physical activity, Makarem said. So it is not a surprise that poor sleep would increase future heart disease risk,” Makarem added.

☆ Putin's Russia 'has become a fascist state' and must be stopped in Ukraine, says ex-diplomat who defected after the invasion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia "has become a fascist state," argues an ex-diplomat who resigned over the war in Ukraine. "The invasion of Ukraine made it impossible to deny just how brutal and repressive Russia had become," Bondarev wrote. "The war," he continued, "shows that Russia is no longer just dictatorial and aggressive; it has become a fascist state." "The sanctions suddenly cut off our access to these products and left our military weaker than the West understood," Bondarev wrote. "There's only one thing that can really stop Putin," Bondarev wrote, "and that is a comprehensive rout."

☆ Putin's nuclear threats are pushing people like Trump and Elon Musk to press for a Ukraine peace deal. A nuclear expert warns that's 'dangerous.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Growing fear of nuclear war has prompted calls for an immediate settlement to end the war in Ukraine. But abandoning support for Ukraine now could spur Russia and others to make more nuclear threats. "Just giving in at this point would actually be dangerous," nuclear expert Pavel Podvig told Insider. In discussions with Insider, Podvig said that Russia could decide to use nuclear weapons if its hold over Crimea were threatened. Instead of capitulation, dressed up in a universal desire for peace, he argued, "You could in effect show – demonstrate in practice — that nuclear weapons are not a useful instrument of terror and compellence."

☆ Violence, chauvinism, and no masturbation allowed: 'We Are Proud Boys' details the 4 tiers of membership in the extremist group
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A new book, "We Are Proud Boys," details the four tiers of membership in the extremist organization. The top Proud Boy tier requires an arrest or a "serious violent fight," per founder Gavin McInnes. "The Proud Boys' actions," notes the Southern Poverty Law Center, "belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists." While Proud Boys are encouraged to boast of their membership, obfuscation is an essential part of being in the group. Tarrio was not in DC the day of the attack but, prosecutors allege, helped direct his fellow Proud Boys' actions from afar.

☆ Russia's army would be 'annihilated' by the West if Putin uses a nuke in Ukraine, senior EU official predicts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EU's tio diplomat said Russia's army would be "annihilated" if Putin used a nuke in Ukraine. Putin has suggested multiple times that he is willing to use Russia's massive nuclear arsenal. Putin and various Kremlin officials have alluded to Russia's nuclear stockpile and threatened dire military when warning the West to keep out of the invasion of Ukraine. Borrell said that the West needs to show "complete determination" in the face of Russia's aggression. He said that the West must not waver in its support for Ukraine and should "continue looking for diplomatic solutions when possible."

Secret Service email warned that the Proud Boys planned to 'literally kill people' on January 6A member of the Proud Boys wearing a t-shirt that reads "death to liberals" stands with other Proud Boys in Freedom Plaza during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Stephanie Keith/Getty ImagesThe Secret Service warned in December 2020 that the far-right group Proud Boys planned to "kill people" during the January 6, 2021 march to the US Capitol. That's according to internal emails released for the first time Thursday by the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot. "Their plan is to literally kill people," it continued. The email also noted that the Proud Boys had detailed their plans on a number of right-wing websites and forums.

☆ Putin's nuclear threats are stirring fears of a nightmare scenario. Here's what's in his arsenal and what could happen if he orders the unthinkable.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The use of a nuclear weapon is "directly tied to Russia's fate on the battlefield," one expert recently told Insider. Putin, who claimed to have placed Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert just days later, has continued to remind the world of Russia's nuclear might in the months since. There are tactical nuclear weapons that are more than four times as powerful. At best, a single tactical nuclear weapon could destroy about a dozen tanks, Podvig said. Kristensen said during the ACA webinar on Tuesday that he believes it's unlikely that Russia employs nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

☆ Elon Musk blocks Ukraine from using Starlink in Crimea over concern that Putin could use nuclear weapons: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk denied a Ukrainian request to enable the use of Starlink in Russian-occupied Crimea. Musk told political analyst Ian Bremmer he fears a Ukrainian offensive could start a nuclear war. The SpaceX CEO denied that he recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Bremmer claims. Following Russia's February invasion of Ukraine, Musk — and the US government — provided Kyiv with thousands of Starlink systems, enabling Ukrainian forces to communicate in what were previously dead zones. Per Bremmer, Musk "refused given the potential for escalation."

☆ Biden to pardon thousands of people with federal marijuana convictions and encourage states to do the same
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden announced he is pardoning thousands of people with federal marijuana convictions. Biden said in a statement "no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana." The White House is also considering a change to the scheduling of marijuana under federal law. In his statement, Biden said he is asking Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra to begin a review of marijuana's federal scheduling. "Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana," Biden said.

☆ This week's best performers include a health care stock analysts expect will go up 35%
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-30 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

However, analysts see little upside from current levels, with the average analyst price target implying a gain of only 1.4%. Analysts in general are bullish on the stock, with the average price target implying upside of 35.7%. Analysts expect the stock to go up 34%, though only a third of analysts rate it a buy, FactSet data shows. Marathon has buy ratings from 75% of analysts covering them, with the average price target implying upside of about 24%. About 61% of analysts rate the stock a buy, but the average price target implies upside of just 5.1%.

☆ Local jail warden, twin brother, arrested and accused of shooting migrants in Texas, killing one
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A jail warden and his twin brother have been charged with shooting two migrants, one fatally. The men were arrested Wednesday in Texas, The New York Times reported. Citing court documents, The New York Times reported that two brothers, Michael and Mark Sheppard, were arrested Wednesday. Michael Sheppard was, until this week, a warden at the West Texas Detention Center in Sierra Blanca, Texas, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The detention center is a privately run, federal facility for detained immigrants.

☆ US spy planes appear to be monitoring a Russian enclave in Europe, possibly looking for signs of nuclear weapons activity
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kaliningrad is a Russian territory on the Baltic sea, separated from mainland Russia by Lithuania. In 2018, Russia conducted a "major renovation" of a nuclear weapons site there, an expert said. In April, the Russian military announced that its Baltic Fleet in the Kaliningrad region conducted a "simulated missile strike exercise" using its "Iskander operational and tactical missile complexes." What they suggest, he told Insider, is that there is "an increased interest in Russian military movements by high-level decision makers in the United States." "The chances of his using nuclear weapons — at least tactical nuclear weapons — is going up by the day," Baer said.

☆ Doug Mastriano accepts $500 donation from the founder of Gab, a self-styled Christian nationalist who says Jews are unwelcome in his far-right movement
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pennsylvania Republican Doug Mastriano accepted $500 from Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab. Torba is a self-styled Christian nationalist whose Gab website is favored by far-right extremists. Mastriano paid Gab $5,000 to promote his campaign but later said Torba "doesn't speak for me." Sign up for our newsletter to receive our top stories based on your reading preferences — delivered daily to your inbox. He has also said even conservative Jews are unwelcome, flatly stating, according to Media Matters: "We don't want people who are Jewish."

☆ Pennsylvania's Republican nominee for governor, Doug Mastriano, once said women should be charged with murder for violating an abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Doug Mastriano, a state senator, is the GOP nominee running for governor of Pennsylvania. In 2019, he said women who have illegal abortions should be charged with murder. Mastriano at the time was a lead sponsor of legislation to ban abortions when a heartbeat is detected. "Would that woman who decided to have an abortion, which would be considered an illegal abortion, be charged with murder?" During the 2019 WITF radio interview, Mastriano said abortion "absolutely is" murder.

☆ Putin ally admits he created the Wagner mercenary group linked to wartime atrocities: 'I cleaned old weapons myself'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted to founding the Wagner mercenary firm in 2014. "I cleaned old weapons myself," the billionaire, known as "Putin's chef," said in a statement. Prigozhin previously denied founding the group and sued those who reported on his Wagner ties. "From that moment, on May 1, 2014, a group of patriots was born, which later acquired the name PMC Wagner." Timothy Lay, a coauthor of the report, told Insider that Wagner's actions — including widespread looting — were akin to "criminal violence."

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