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☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ Ukraine's battlefield success surprised Russia, but US troops who trained Ukrainians saw it coming, National Guard chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Army National Guard Sgt. Anthony JonesUS National Guard units began rotating through Ukraine in 2015 to conduct training as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Ukrainian NCOs "were able to lead from the front at the lowest level of supervision. That's where our NCOs really are effective because the things that our commanders empower them to do," Whitehead added.

☆ US special operators borrowed a unique part of Army Green Beret training to prepare Ukrainians to fight Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

As part of that, US trainers set up a version of US Army Special Forces' "Q course" for Ukraine. "Q course" assesses Green Beret candidates and teaches them the basics of their profession. Ukraine's 'Q' courseCandidates during US Army Special Forces Assessment and Selection at Camp Mackall in North Carolina in March 2020. Gaelle Girbes/Getty ImagesThe "Q course," officially called the US Army Special Forces Qualification Course, assesses and teaches Green Beret candidates the basics of their profession. Edwards acknowledged that some NATO militaries still have special operators in Ukraine, though strictly in an advisory role, and that US special operators "rely heavily on them" to understand the situation on the ground.

☆ A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no-fly' list. She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

A Swiss hacker says she found a copy of the FBI's "no-fly" list on an unsecured server. "The ever-expanding scope of these lists are due to the revelations of people in the course of investigations," Gray told Insider. When looking at the list, crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." crimew told Insider. "I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time," crimew told Insider.

☆ A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no fly' list. She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Easily accessible secretsCrimew told Insider it took just minutes for her to access the server and find credentials that allowed her to see the database. When looking at the list, Crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." crimew told Insider. The outcome of the 2021 case is still pending, crimew told Insider. And that really just shows like where the priorities lie," crimew told Insider: "I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time."

☆ An ex-US Navy SEAL deserter who went to fight for Ukraine was killed by Russian rocket-propelled grenade, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ex-Navy seal has become the 6th American confirmed to have died in the war in Ukraine. Daniel W Swift, 35, was fatally wounded fighting in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. An anonymous US intelligence official told Rolling Stone that Swift died from a massive brain injury. One anonymous American intelligence official told Rolling Stone that Swift died from a massive traumatic brain injury caused by an anti-personnel rocket-propelled grenade fired by Russian forces. A Navy SEAL during a training exercise.

☆ CIA director secretly met with Zelenskyy before invasion to reveal Russian plot to kill him as he pushed back on US intelligence, book says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CIA Director Bill Burns met with Zelenskyy on a secret trip ahead of the Russian invasion last year. Burns warned Zelenskyy about Russian assassination plots at a time when Zelenskyy cast doubt on US intel. The details of the Kyiv meeting are laid out in Chris Whipple's forthcoming book on Joe Biden's White House. "This immediately got Zelensky's attention; he was taken aback, sobered by this news," Whipple wrote in the book, set for release on January 17. Whipple wrote.

☆ Russia's defense manufacturing sector is using convict labor to meet war-time demands: UK intel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia announced it's using the forced labor of convicts to manufacture weaponry. The UK MOD said that manufacturers are likely under intense pressure to keep the army supplied. Russia, which reintroduced forced prison labor in 2017, has a prison population of around 400,000, as well as a system accused of perpetuating "extreme brutality and corruption," the UK MOD said. It is likely under "intense pressure" to produce more, the UK MOD said. The UK MOD report follows several signals that Russia, like Ukraine, is grappling with difficulties in keeping its front line supplied with a wide range of munitions.

☆ Intense fighting in eastern Ukraine showed the benefits — and limitations — of HIMARS, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

HIMARS destroyed Russian positions and depots, allowing Ukraine to retake a huge swath of territory. But Russian forces adapted and were able to limit HIMARS' effectiveness in fighting around Kherson. It was initially devastating, but Russian forces eventually learned how to cope with it, according to two US defense experts. GPS-guided rockets fired from the truck-mounted mobile launcher destroyed Russian headquarters and especially ammunition dumps, which helped curtail Russian artillery fire. Ukraine had access to US intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance "that played an important role, but due to political parameters was untouchable by Russia," Kofman said.

☆ Biden's mishandling of classified records isn't as legally perilous as Trump's, but may pose serious national security risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Trump's former White House lawyer told Insider that AG Garland should appoint a special counsel to investigate Biden. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that Lausch has finished the initial part of his investigation and presented his preliminary findings to Garland. Still, he criticized the White House for waiting more than two months to disclose the existence of the inquiry. "It appears that at least two of the aggravating factors, obstruction and willfulness, are present in the Trump case, but absent in the Biden case." Cobb, Trump's former White House counsel, went further, saying that drawing a distinction between the two cases is akin to "putting lipstick on a pig."

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about how a nonfunctional House hurts national security. "If a national security crisis arises, the President of the United States is right down the street," he said. "I'm informed by House Security that, technically, I don't have a clearance," Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, told reporters. "I'm a member of the [House Intelligence Committee], I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and I can't meet in the SCIF to conduct essential business." "President Xi says, 'Our system of governance works because democracy don't,'" Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told reporters.

☆ The Ukraine war rages on without a clear end in sight. Here are 6 ways the conflict with Russia could play out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues, there does not appear to be a clear end in sight. Russian victoryWhen it began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia's goal was to take over the country completely. Rather than taking more territory, Russia's objectives in the current stage of war seem to be to weaken Ukraine's resources, economy, and army. Nuclear war and/or NATO interventionPutin has repeatedly made nuclear threats since he began the invasion of Ukraine and, in September, claimed that it was "not a bluff." One senior official previously said that a Russian nuclear strike could trigger a "physical response" from NATO itself.

☆ Putin took cancer drugs that warped his decision-making on Ukraine, Danish intel says, reviving disputed theories about his health
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Danish intelligence official said Putin was taking thyroid-cancer drugs in February 2022. He told Danish media the drugs can cause "delusions of grandeur" and may have warped his thinking. The claim was reported by the Danish newspaper Berlingske based on an interview with the head of the Russia analysis team for its national defense intelligence agency, Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (FE). He told the newspaper that Putin was taking hormones to treat thyroid cancer in February 2022, and that it likely affected his mental capacity. The Danish official also spoke to Berlingske in guarded language, asserting that reports of Putin having had thyroid cancer were "definitely a good bet."

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street's dirty secret: It's terrible at forecasting stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

What’s happening: Last year, Goldman Sachs analysts predicted that the S&P 500 would close out 2022 at 5,100 points. With those caveats, let’s get to Wall Street’s predictionsThe numbers: Forecasts for where the S&P 500 will finish 2023 vary greatly. Analysts overestimated the final value (that is, the final value finished below the estimate) in 13 of the 20 years and underestimated the final value (the final value finished above the estimate) in the other 7 years. They’re on track to have overestimated the performance of the S&P 500 in 2022 by nearly 40%. During this period, the S&P 500 has historically gained 1.3% on average, according to data from LPL Financial going back to 1950.

☆ The man behind Trump World’s myth of rigged voting machines
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +32 min

He publicly announced his purchase of Montgomery’s data in August at a gathering in Missouri of hundreds of his followers. “I own it,” Lindell said of Montgomery’s data, touting it as irrefutable proof Trump was cheated. On Nov. 9, far-right podcaster Joe Oltmann linked Montgomery’s Hammer and Scorecard claims to a parallel conspiracy theory: that widely used voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems were rigged to flip votes from Trump to Biden. Powell amended her complaint a few days later and dropped the expert’s declaration and the references to Montgomery’s claims. But the government said in a recent court filing that the order has nothing to do with election data.

☆ Saudi Arabia and China will align on everything from security to oil, but agree not to interfere on domestic issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Riyadh and Beijing were keen to stress “the importance of stability in the world oil markets,” noting that Saudi Arabia is a reliable exporter of crude oil to its Chinese partner. China also affirmed its “opposition to any actions that would interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” without adding more details. On Friday, Xi invited Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to visit China, according to Saudi state TV. President Xi was given a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia with ceremonies on Thursday. Saudi Arabia “is pursuing a multipolar strategy of strong strategic ties,” added Shihabi.

☆ Russia wants 'hundreds' of ballistic missiles from Iran and is offering 'unprecedented' military support in return, UK envoy says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia wants more weapons from Iran, including "hundreds" of ballistic missiles. A top UK envoy said Friday that Russia is offering Iran "unprecedented" military support in return. In return, Russia is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support," Barbara Woodward, the UK's permanent representative to the United Nations, told reporters after a Security Council meeting. Woodward did not elaborate or specify on what, exactly, the military and technical support — or advanced components — might look like. Earlier this week, however, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a Facebook post that it shot down 14 Shahed-136 drones.

☆ Russia appears to have run out of the deadly Iranian-made drones it's been using to terrorize Ukraine, Western officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia appears to be out of Iranian-made drones, Western officials said Tuesday. US officials had warned over the summer that Iran was preparing to send drones to Russia, and then the weapons first saw battlefield action in early September. A Russian drone, considered by Ukrainian authorities to be an Iranian-made Shahed-136, over Kyiv on October 17, 2022. These 440-pound weapons are relatively slow, fly at low altitudes, and carry a small explosive payload, according to Western intelligence. It's not immediately clear how many Iranian-made drones Russia had in it's arsenal.

☆ Putin is increasingly aware of how poorly his military is doing in Ukraine, US intel chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Putin had initially been kept in the dark about Russia's failures in Ukraine, earlier reports said. Avril Haines said Putin is "surprised" but not deterred by Russia's military performance. Speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Haines said Putin was "surprised" at his military's disappointing performance in Ukraine following its invasion in February. Haines' comments come after reports that Putin's military advisors had been shielding him from what is happening on the ground in Ukraine. Haines said on Saturday that Putin's political objectives to capture Ukraine have not changed despite him becoming more aware of Russia's military failures.

☆ Russia is tearing through its munitions stockpiles faster than it can refill them, top US intel chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia is rapidly expending its stockpiles of munitions, the top US intelligence official said. In dealing with limited precision munitions, Russia has turned to Iran and North Korea for support. Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday that Russia is burning through its munitions stockpiles "quite quickly," though she did not elaborate on any precise figures. "And of course, we've indicated that their precision munitions are running out much faster. These kamikaze drones, as they have been called, are cheaper than precision munitions, making them a suitable though less destructive supplement as Russia's stockpiles run low.

☆ Pablo Escobar was gunned down 29 years ago today — here are 3 theories about who took the Medellin kingpin's life
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

By 1993, Colombian authorities, the US government, and rival criminals were all after Pablo Escobar. "Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar," or People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar — known as Los Pepes — was made up of rival drug traffickers, paramilitaries, and others scorned by the Medellín cartel boss. His son, Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, who has changed his name to Sebastián Marroquín, has insisted that his father took his own life on that Medellín rooftop. "I have no doubt" that Pablo Escobar planned his own death, Marroquín said in a 2014 interview. The question of who killed Pablo Escobar is likely to go unresolved, probably by design.

☆ Released Twitter emails show how employees debated how to handle 2020 New York Post Hunter Biden story
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It showed employees on Twitter’s legal, policy and communications teams debating – and at times disagreeing – over whether to restrict the article under the company’s hacked materials policy, weeks before the 2020 election, where Joe Biden, Hunter Biden’s father, ran against then-President Donald Trump. The Taibbi posts undercut a top claim by Musk and Republicans, who have accused the FBI of leaning on social media companies to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop stories. The tweet thread also highlighted how officials from both political parties routinely wrote to Twitter asking for specific tweets to be removed. A CNN review of those tweets on an archive site showed some purported photos of Hunter Biden, including nudity, that may have violated Twitter policy. He also did not say that Democrats requested that Twitter suppress the Post story, and his account did not suggest that the US government had ever pressured Twitter to suppress the story.

☆ US intelligence thinks China's protests will likely fizzle out because they are disorganized and leaderless: Politico
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US officials think the protests in China are unlikely to gain momentum, Politico reported. Politico saw government communications on how the protests have been leaderless and disorganized. That's according to government communications from Tuesday seen by Politico that described the movements as disorganized and mostly leaderless. Some protesters in Shanghai described being pulled from the crowd indiscriminately, and being beaten and hung upside down by police officers. Protests in Shanghai and Beijing have largely died down, though there were still clashes between protesters and police in Guangzhou on Tuesday night.

☆ Angela Merkel says she was powerless to stop Putin invading Ukraine because he knew she was about to leave office
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Angela Merkel said that she was too politically weak to stand up to Putin at their last meeting. "For Putin, only power counts," she told German outlet Der Spiegel. "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through,'" she told the magazine. In Moscow, she said, "The feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics, you are through.'" US intelligence and independent experts increasingly suggested that Putin was looking for an excuse to invade.

☆ US intel says Iran agreed to help Russia build more drones to use in Ukraine even as the Kremlin has denied it, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Iran has agreed to help Russia with attack drone production, according to The Washington Post. Russia has not officially confirmed that drones it has used in Ukraine were Iranian. Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine has persisted since February, despite Russian forces retreating from areas in the southern in recent weeks. Russia has used more than 400 Iranian-made drones in its war against Ukraine, according to The Post. Iran previously denied supplying the drones to Russia, but Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said earlier this month that Iran did send drones to Russia "before the Ukraine war."

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