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☆ Amazon told lawmakers it wouldn't build storm shelters in warehouses after fatal collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon said it won't build storm shelters in its warehouses after a tornado ripped through one of its Illinois facilities more than a year ago, killing six workers. OSHA guidelines say that basements, storm cellars or small interior rooms provide the best protection from a tornado. Amazon previously said it followed federal guidance to tell employees to take shelter immediately after there was a tornado warning. The families of two employees killed in the building collapse have filed wrongful death lawsuits against Amazon and the companies that built the warehouse. Reconstruction of the Edwardsville warehouse began in June, according to KSDK, the NBC affiliate in St. Louis, Missouri.

☆ $100 repair bill sparked Half Moon Bay shooting, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO — A farmworker charged with killing seven people at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms reportedly told investigators he was spurred to carry out the shootings after his supervisor demanded he pay $100 to repair a forklift damaged at work. KNTV-TV, the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, was first to report the development. Zhao told KNTV-TV in a courthouse interview Thursday that he committed the shootings. He said he has a 40-year-old daughter in China and lived with his wife in Half Moon Bay. The coroner’s office has named six of the victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach, California; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was unknown.

The poll finds an American public that’s equally concerned about the discovery of classified documents found at Biden’s and Trump’s homes, even though the current president and ex-president handled their situations in different ways. Sixty-seven percent of Americans say it’s concerning that classified documents were found at Biden’s former office and personal home, including 33% who say it’s “very” concerning; 18% say it’s not too concerning or concerning at all. Strikingly, a majority of Democrats (52%) say they’re concerned about Biden’s classified documents, while a majority of Republicans (53%) are concerned about Trump’s. The NBC News poll was conducted Jan. 20-24, so mostly before the Jan. 24 news that small number of classified documents were found at former Vice President Mike Pence’s home. The most popular ideas: providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements (80% say Congress should do this), taking a harder line against China (75% say Congress should act) and addressing immigration by increasing border security (72%).

On energy, the ministry has “completely overhauled the previous government’s Russia-friendly policy” to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian natural gas, it said. “That tells you something.”Germany consistently underestimated the Russian threat and gave counterintelligence work a low priority, but that is changing now in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, experts and Western officials said. Last April, Berlin expelled 40 Russian Embassy employees for allegedly working for Russian intelligence services. Germany’s intelligence services failed to anticipate that Russia would invade Ukraine, a failure that has yet to be the subject of any publicly released “lessons learned” review. Such a review would show Germany is serious about altering its approach, the Western official said.

☆ GOP Rep. Jim Jordan says there aren't 'enough good people' seeking to become police officers due to the 'disparagement' of law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Jim Jordan said not "enough good people" want to be cops because of attacks on law enforcement. When asked about federal police reform efforts, Jordan said it was best left at the state and local levels. "There's been this attack on law enforcement, and you're not getting the best of the best," he added. "And again, I don't think these five guys represent the vast, vast majority of law enforcement. "This is a law enforcement issue.

☆ Air Force general predicts war with China in 2025, tells officers to get ready
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A four-star Air Force general sent a memo on Friday to the officers he commands that predicts the U.S. will be at war with China in two years and tells them to get ready to prep by firing "a clip" at a target, and "aim for the head." In the memo sent Friday and obtained by NBC News, Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, said, “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025.”Air Mobility Command has nearly 50,000 service members and nearly 500 planes and is responsible for transport and refueling. His order builds on last year’s foundational efforts by Air Mobility Command to ready the Mobility Air Forces for future conflict, should deterrence fail.”In March 2021, Adm. Philip Davidson, then commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that “Taiwan is clearly one of [China’s] ambitions. “I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years,” said Davidson.

☆ TikTok star Randy Gonzalez of Enkyboys dies at 35
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Gina Vivinetto | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my father , Randy Gonzalez. The statement went on to thank fans for their “kind words and condolences,” and added that a public memorial for Randy Gonzalez would take place at a later date in Houston. Celebrities commented to share their condolences with the Gonzalez family. In April 2020, Randy Gonzalez announced in a video that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer six months earlier. Lopez paid tribute to Randy Gonzalez Jan. 26 on Instagram, writing, “My sincerest condolences to Brice and the entire Gonzalez family.

☆ DOJ charges 3 men in murder-for-hire plot against journalist critical of Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Soon after the charges were announced, Masih Alinejad revealed that she was the target of the assassination plot. “Fortunately, their plot failed because we didn’t,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference announcing the indictment. Amirov, a citizen of Azerbaijan and Russia who was living in Iran during the plot, was taken into custody in New York on Thursday. Omarov then directed Mehdiyev to carry out the plot against Alinejad and Amirov and Omarov arranged to pay Mehdiyev $30,000 in cash. Before he could carry out the plot, however, Mehdiyev was arrested near Alinejad's home in July with the assault rifle in his possession.

A former Fox News employee sued the network Wednesday, alleging that the late Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes sexually abused her for years. Ailes allegedly made it clear that if she tried to speak out or stop the abuse, Luhn would experience “severe personal humiliation and career ruin,” according to the suit. Luhn says in the suit that in 2011 she sent a letter to Fox’s general counsel detailing Ailes’ abuse. The suit says the network withheld over 30% of the payment for taxes. The sexual abuse that she suffered while working at Fox News was some of the worst imaginable,” said Luhn’s attorney, Barbara Whiten Balliette, a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai LLP.

“The Scorpion unit was involved,” Shelby County, Tennessee, District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Thursday at a news conference where he announced murder charges against five officers. Davis has called “heinous, reckless and inhumane,” has increased scrutiny of the city’s reliance on specialized units to suppress violent crime. This week, Davis announced a review of all of the police department’s specialized units, including Scorpion, in response to Nichols’ death. Memphis’ Scorpion unit was created in October 2021 under the police department’s Organized Crime Unit. Mayor Jim Strickland promoted the new Scorpion unit as part of the solution in his January 2022 State of the City speech.

☆ U.S. military raid in northern Somalia kills a senior ISIS leader and 10 ISIS fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A U.S. military operation in northern Somalia killed a senior leader of the Islamic State terrorist group and 10 other ISIS fighters on Wednesday night, according to two senior administration officials. Bilal al Sudani, who the officials described as a key operative and facilitator of the terror group’s global network, was the target of the raid. The only injury the officials reported was a U.S. service member who was bitten by one of the American military service dogs. The operation took place in a mountainous area in northern Somalia and followed months of planning, the officials said. “Our intelligence community expects to glean valuable information from this operation as well, demonstrating our continued emphasis on maximizing intelligence collection,” one official said.

President Joe Biden on Thursday is expected to criticize the fiscal proposals of House Republicans in his first major economic speech of the year, which he will deliver at a steamfitters union hall in Springfield, Virginia. Biden will talk about his goals of growing the U.S. economy with new factories and construction in communities across the country and creating well-paying jobs for the middle class that don’t require a four-year degree, a White House official said. Biden also is expected to announce a new “Invest in America” Cabinet comprised of the secretaries of commerce, labor, transportation, treasury, energy, and health and human services; the EPA administrator; and senior White House advisers, a White House official told NBC News. In his remarks, Biden will contend that the House GOP's economic agenda would pose a threat to the economy and the working class, the official said. Biden is expected to characterize the House GOP’s economic proposals as a “MAGA economic plan,” the White House official said — a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” 2016 campaign slogan.

☆ 77 Democrats send a letter to Biden criticizing his border and immigration policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A group of 77 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticizing his administration’s policies restricting asylum access for migrants crossing the southern border. At a press conference Thursday, Menendez said, “We recognize that the United States is experiencing a difficult migration challenge at the southern border. The Biden administration has said that its proposal is different because Miller did not allow for migrants to apply from their home countries to come to the U.S. legally. Biden has faced intense criticism over his border policies from both parties, with Republicans saying they are unwilling to negotiate on immigration legislation or more funding for border initiatives until the administration does more to secure the border. Customs and Border Protection encountered undocumented migrants more than 250,000 times in December, a record monthly high to end a record high year of border encounters.

☆ Inside the Biden administration's decision to reverse course and give tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

When he announced his decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine, President Joe Biden made a point to say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had recommended the move. Biden wasn’t initially sold on sending the tanks, despite pressure to do so to give cover to Germany to send Ukraine some Leopard 2 tanks, the officials said. But because Germany had said it would send Leopards to Ukraine if the U.S. agreed to commit tanks, too, the U.S. promise of a future delivery opened the door for Germany to send tanks to Ukraine now. In the case of the tanks, U.S. military leaders argued the Leopards and the U.K.’s Challengers were much better options. Military leaders, namely Milley, also have been more publicly vocal about the importance of potential talks to end the war.

☆ NBCUniversal expects Peacock losses to peak this year as streamer slowly adds subscribers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The NBCUniversal Inc. Peacock streaming service is displayed on a laptop computer in an arranged photograph taken in the Brooklyn Borough of New York, U.S., on Monday, April 20, 2020. Streaming service Peacock has slowly been taking flight with consumers. Like its peers, Comcast has been investing in its streaming platform by putting more of its content on Peacock. Company executives said Thursday Peacock losses will peak in 2023 at around $3 billion, but expect it to steadily improve after that. And besides that, propping up Peacock with NBCUniversal content from its linear networks also only helps to accelerate its bleeding of Comcast's cable-TV customers.

☆ One-quarter of mass attackers driven by conspiracy theories or hateful ideologies, Secret Service report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Following the latest string of mass shootings in the U.S., the Secret Service published a 60-page report Wednesday detailing trends in mass attacks in public spaces to share patterns with community leaders who could help prevent the next tragedy. Among the findings: Although a personal grievance of some sort was the single most common motive, one-quarter of the attackers studied from 2016 to 2020 were motivated by conspiracy theories or hateful ideologies. Hateful ideologies that motivated attackers included anti-government, antisemitic or misogynistic views. More than three-quarters of all attacks involved firearms, and over 80% of attacks that used guns resulted in at least one death, the report found. Most of the attackers used handguns, but one-third used “long guns,” a category that includes automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

☆ Federal government drops charges against ex-Afghan soldier who crossed border into Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Abdul Wasi Safi crossed the southern border illegally in late September, after, he said, he had passed through multiple countries to reach the U.S. and seek asylum. The Justice Department has given little explanation for charging Wasi Safi or for dropping the charges. In court filings charging Wasi Safi, Justice Department lawyers did not argue that Wasi Safi was a flight risk or a threat to national security, which are typical reasons prosecutors may argue a migrant should be held without bond. In its filing dropping the charges, Justice Department said it was “in the interest of justice” to “dismiss the information” it had filed against Wasi Safi. “Everyone says, ‘You’ve illegally crossed [the border],’ but no one hears my reason,” Wasi Safi said on the phone from the federal prison where he has been held.

The U.S. government’s system for labeling and tracking classified documents appears to be broken, with potentially serious consequences for the country’s national security, lawmakers, former officials and scholars said Tuesday. Democratic and Republican lawmakers said there was a “systemic failure” if both the Obama and Trump administrations could not keep track of classified documents after their tenures ended. I don’t know how anybody ends up with classified documents. “We clearly don’t have an effective management system to oversee where classified documents go and how they’re retrieved,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Goitein and others said the recent discoveries of classified documents present a political opportunity for the White House, and possibly Congress, to at last tackle the problem.

☆ Biden administration, in a reversal, is preparing to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

After weeks of discussion, the Biden administration is preparing to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, according to three senior U.S. officials. The current plan includes a couple dozen Abrams tanks, but the officials stressed that the decision is not yet final and could change. The decision to move forward with providing the tanks would be a reversal for the Biden administration, which had been resisting pressure from Germany to send them to Ukraine. It was not immediately clear what may have led the Biden administration to apparently shift its stance on sending the tanks. Earlier Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration is “leaning toward sending” Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Victoria Spartz, an Indiana Republican, said Tuesday she'll oppose Speaker Kevin McCarthy's efforts to keep a handful of Democrats off key House committees. But he may need the support of a majority of the House to block Omar from Foreign Affairs. Given McCarthy's slim Republican majority, every vote is important. The speaker's plans are widely seen as retaliation against Democrats for kicking Republican Reps. Paul Gosar, of Arizona, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, off their committees in the last Congress over incendiary or violent rhetoric. “Speaker Pelosi took unprecedented actions last Congress to remove Reps. Greene and Gosar from their committees without proper due process.

“The intentions, of course, were never to cross over to Venezuela, he was just accompanying her,” said Henry Martínez, Hernández’s brother. The men told Hernández that if they wanted to enter Venezuela, he had to pay $100. Hernández told them he was not trying to enter the country and did not have $100. The U.S. has not had a diplomatic presence in Caracas since 2019, so access to jailed Americans has been limited since then. “Sometimes I can hear his voice weak and just frustrated and anxious,” said Henry Martínez.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday defended the Justice Department's handling of separate special counsel investigations into classified documents linked to former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, saying it does not have different rules for Republicans and Democrats. In his first public remarks on the topic after even more classified documents were found at Biden's home in Delaware, Garland was asked whether he believed the Justice Department was handling the two probes fairly. Garland announced this month that Robert Hur, who was a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor, would serve as a special counsel in the Biden probe. Congressional Republicans have launched their own investigations into the Biden documents. Biden and Trump have had contrasting responses to the discovery of classified documents, which are supposed to be handed over to National Archives when presidents or vice presidents leave office.

☆ U.S. and Israel launch a massive joint military exercise to send a message to Iran and others
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The United States and Israel began a massive joint military exercise in Israel on Monday to show adversaries like Iran that Washington is not too distracted by the war in Ukraine and the threat from China to mobilize a large military force, a senior defense official said. Approximately 6,400 U.S. personnel have joined 1,100 Israeli personnel for the exercise, which will employ 142 total aircraft. “The scale of the exercise is relevant to a whole range of scenarios, and Iran may draw certain inferences from that,” the official said. “My guess is the next time they do a military exercise, they’ll say, even if it was planned for months, they’ll say it was reaction to this. The senior defense official said this drill is a signal to other nations that argument is not true.

☆ Trump wants to ditch his deal to post first on Truth Social and return to Twitter, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump wants to end an exclusivity deal with Truth Social and get back on Twitter, Rolling Stone reported. Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes denied an earlier report that Trump wants to make the switch. While Trump has just shy of 5 million followers on Truth Social, he has almost 88 million followers on Twitter. Nonetheless, according to Rolling Stone, a person close to the president said there is "no way" Nunes' statement is true. Among the ideas being floated is for a WWE-style campaign video post, or one comparing himself to Superman, according to Rolling Stone.

☆ A top Border Patrol official resigned after allegedly pressuring female employees for sex, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Tony Barker, who served as the acting chief of the law enforcement operations directorate for the Border Patrol, is now under investigation for his behavior by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the three officials say. Since she came forward with her allegations to DHS, multiple other women who worked with Barker have made similar complaints, the sources said. Barker left his post quietly in October after 18 years with the Border Patrol. In a statement after this story was initially published, a CBP spokesperson said, "As of Oct. 14, 2022, Tony Barker is no longer an employee of the U.S. Border Patrol." NBC News made multiple attempts to reach Tony Barker but did not reach him for comment.

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