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☆ FTX accuses Sam Bankman-Fried's mother of being key advisor to son on political contributions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The complaint, filed on Monday by the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, accuses Barbara Fried of being a "point person" for her son Bankman-Fried's "political contribution strategy." Attorneys for Fried and her husband, Sam Bankman, told CNBC that "these [FTX] claims are completely false." Fried, according to the FTX complaint, described "herself as Bankman-Fried's 'partner in crime of the noncriminal sort.' In 2021, it received a $1 million donation in the name of former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh, according to Federal Election Commission records. That contribution may not have been from Singh himself, but instead, from Bankman-Fried, according to the complaint.

Persons: Barbara Fried, FTX, Sam Bankman, Bankman, Fried, Nishad Singh, Singh, Sam, MTG, dunning, backstop Organizations: Manhattan Federal Court, Group, CNBC, Bankruptcy, Stanford Law, FTX Group, Commission, FTX Locations: New York City, U.S, Delaware, Fried, Manhattan, Bankman

☆ Judge Pauline Newman, 96, allegedly had a clerk do errands like grocery shopping. It may be unethical, but it's not uncommon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Judge Pauline Newman is 96 and says colleagues are trying to force her out over petty complaints. But she had an unnamed law clerk run errands and retaliated against an aide, an investigation found. In April, that clerk asked to be transferred to a judge after learning that "other law clerks were assisting Judge Newman in her defense of these proceedings," he said in an affidavit. "To sit at the feet, metaphorically, of Judge Newman, is an opportunity that any aspiring patent lawyer would welcome." The code of conduct for federal judges bars them from using chambers staff for certain extra-judicial activities (running errands isn't specifically listed).

Persons: Pauline Newman, Newman, Newman's, Arthur Hellman, Hugo, Black, Felix, Frankfurter, Aliza Shatzman, she'd, isn't, it's Newman, Kimberly Moore, Judge Newman, Greg Dolin, Dolin, It's, Hellman, Alvin Rubin, Rubin's, Shatzman, Moore Organizations: Service, Federal Circuit, University of Pittsburgh, New Civil Liberties Alliance Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ A federal judge threw out a lawsuit seeking to block student-loan forgiveness for over 800,000 borrowers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit to block student-debt relief from income-driven repayment plans. Last week, conservative-backed groups filed a lawsuit to block relief for 800,000 borrowers. On Monday, Judge Thomas Ludington in the Eastern District of Michigan Northern Division ruled that a lawsuit seeking to block $39 billion in debt relief for 800,000 borrowers lacks standing and is dismissed. The ruling means that — barring other legal challenges — the Education Department will continue looking at borrowers' income-driven repayment accounts every two months to determine if they qualify for debt relief, and those who do not want the debt relief will have the option to opt out. Borrowers can also apply for the SAVE Plan before federal payments resume — a new income-driven repayment plan intended to make borrowers' monthly payments cheaper.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Judge Thomas Ludington, Lundington, Public Relations Holly Wetzel, Biden Organizations: Service, Eastern District of Michigan Northern Division, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center for Public, Education Department, Public, Mackinac Center's, Public Relations, SAVE Locations: Wall, Silicon, Eastern District

☆ Over 800,000 student-loan borrowers are set to start seeing their debt wiped out following income-driven repayment reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over 800,000 student-loan borrowers are set to start seeing their debt wiped out. It's part of a one-time account adjustment for borrowers on income-driven repayment plans. The future of the relief is uncertain after conservative groups filed a lawsuit to block it. On Monday, student-loan companies are set to begin discharging the debt of 804,000 borrowers who have qualified for $39 billion in debt relief — part of the first batch of borrowers affected by the Education Department's one-time account adjustment for income-driven repayment plans. "At the start of this Administration, millions of borrowers had earned loan forgiveness but never received it.

Persons: Education James Kvaal, Joe Biden's Organizations: Service, Education, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center for Public, Public, Education Department Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Fighting flares in South Darfur amid fears of new civil war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Chadian cart owners transport belongings of Sudanese people who fled the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, while crossing the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad August 4, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File PhotoAug 13 (Reuters) - Violence flared in the western Sudanese city of Nyala and elsewhere in the state of South Darfur on Sunday, witnesses said, threatening to engulf the region in Sudan's protracted war. The latest flare-up has lasted three days, with both the army and RSF firing artillery into residential neighbourhoods, witnesses told Reuters. At least eight people were killed on Saturday alone, according to the Darfur Bar Association, a national human rights monitor. The fighting killed 24 people, it said.

Persons: Chad August, Zohra, Meta, Volker Perthes, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Darfur Bar Association, International, Court, Thomson Locations: Darfur, Sudan, Chad, Adre, Sudanese, Nyala, South Darfur, Khartoum, West Darfur, Egypt, South Sudan, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo

☆ Student-loan borrowers keep running into hurdles as Biden's debt relief promises are piling up in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The lawsuits concern relief for borrowers on income-driven repayment and those who applied for borrower defense. On top of that, borrowers are still reeling from the June Supreme Court decision that struck down President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers. The announcement was part of the department's one-time account adjustment to ensure borrowers payments are up to date, and those who completed more than the required payments would receive a refund. But just days later, a separate debt relief measure got blocked in court. The department has already notified borrowers of that relief, and it expects more will qualify.

Persons: SCOTUS, Biden, Joe Biden's, it's, Jason Harmon, I've, I'm, Harmon, —, Reagan Organizations: Service, Education Department, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center for Public, Public, An Education Department, Trump, Circuit, Career Colleges, Schools of Texas Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ The lawsuits to block student-loan forgiveness keep coming — and the latest would keep borrowers who 'have earned the forgiveness' in debt, Biden's Education Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Conservative groups filed a lawsuit last week to block Biden's latest student-debt relief effort. The relief would discharge loans for over 800,000 borrowers on income-driven repayment plans. But there are similarities in the arguments from the October lawsuit, and the most recent one challenging the income-driven repayment relief. "Unlawful cancellation of student-loan debt reduces the amount of a borrower's PSLF-cancellable debt and thus reduces the amount by which PSLF benefits qualified employment," it said. It's unclear how this lawsuit will impact debt discharges, but the administration has made no indication yet that the process will be halted.

Persons: Joe Biden's, —, Harris Organizations: PSLF, Service, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center for Public, Education Department, Biden, Harris Administration, Public, Cato Institute and Mackinac Center, Federal Register Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ A conservative group filed a lawsuit to block $39 billion in debt relief for 800,000 borrowers on income-driven repayment plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Conservative groups just filed a lawsuit to block Biden's latest student-debt relief effort. Last month, Biden announced $39 billion in relief for 800,000 borrowers through an adjustment to income-driven repayment plans. Last month, the Education Department said it would be automatically canceling $39 billion in student debt for 804,000 borrowers as a result of changes to the department's income-driven repayment plans. The relief was for borrowers who have completed the necessary 20 or 25 years of qualifying payments. They argued that as nonprofits, "unlawful cancellation of student-loan debt reduces the amount of a borrower's PSLF-cancellable debt and thus reduces the amount by which PSLF benefits qualified employment."

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden's, —, Biden's Organizations: Service, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Education Department, Court, Eastern, Eastern District of Michigan, Department, Public Locations: Wall, Silicon, Eastern District

☆ Are Google and Meta to Blame for the Racist Massacre in Buffalo?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | More About Jesse Mckinley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ask the families of the victims of last year’s racist massacre in Buffalo what they want and one goal comes up again and again. “To hold anybody and everybody, in anything and everything, that had a part in what happened to my mother and the other nine, what was done in Buffalo, to hold them accountable,” said Garnell W. Whitfield Jr., whose mother, Ruth, was one of 10 people — all of them Black — who were killed. That longing for accountability has resulted in two new civil lawsuits filed by the Buffalo families, the most recent attempt to hold social media companies responsible when men steeped in violent ideologies on those platforms open fire. But even as such massacres continue, seemingly unabated, lawsuit after lawsuit against tech giants has thus far failed to award victims and their families in court. Indeed, the Buffalo suits will face significant challenges, experts in digital law say, with some blunt predictions as to their likelihood for success.

Persons: “, ”, Whitfield Jr, Ruth, Black — Organizations: Buffalo Locations: Buffalo

☆ US and UK back new 'Atlantic Declaration' for economic cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON/LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Britain and the United States backed a new "Atlantic Declaration" on Thursday for greater cooperation on pressing economic challenges in areas like clean energy, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. The joint declaration described the partnership as the "first of its kind" in covering the broad spectrum of the two countries' economic, technological, commercial and trade relations. Under the plan, Britain and the United States will strengthen their supply chains, develop technologies of the future and invest in one another's industries, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said. The two nations will also begin negotiations on a critical minerals agreement, which would allow some UK firms to access tax credits available under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Britain and the United States will also co-operate on telecoms technology including 5G and 6G and quantum technologies, the Atlantic Declaration said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak's, Joe Biden, Biden, Trevor Hunnicutt, Alistair Smout, Sachin Ravikumar, William Schomberg, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: WASHINGTON, United, British, Britain, Sunak, U.S, Thomson Locations: LONDON, Britain, United States, Washington, U.S

☆ Engineers modeled the disastrous flood that would follow a key dam in Ukraine being destroyed. The reality is even worse, they say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Engineers predicted what would happen if Ukraine's Kakhovka Nova dam was breached. The dam was breached for real on Tuesday, and the reality is worse than predicted, one said. Russia and Ukraine are blaming each other for destroying the dam. In the wake of the news, animated maps created in October last year by Swedish engineers Dämningsverket have widely recirculated on social media. He told Insider: "The real dam break looks worse than the scenario I modeled because of higher water levels in the reservoir than what I had anticipated."

Persons: —, Dämningsverket, Henrik Ölander, Hjalmarsson, I'm, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Engineers, Service, New Civil, New York Times Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kherson —

An investigative committee of the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by Judge Pauline Newman, 95, to transfer the probe to another circuit. The Washington-based Federal Circuit said it will not comment on the order or other related documents it released on Tuesday. "Though it is difficult to say this, I believe Judge Newman is simply losing it mentally," one staffer told judicial investigators. The Federal Circuit disclosed the probe last month, citing concerns about Newman's ability to handle cases and her refusal to cooperate with the investigation. Newman was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 to the patent law-focused Federal Circuit, which often hears major cases involving technology and pharmaceutical companies.

☆ Staff for a 95-year-old federal judge say she is "losing it, mentally" and talking to a dead colleague
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Judge Pauline Newman says her fellow appeals judges are trying to force her off the Federal Circuit. She claims she's been "hacked" when she can't find a file or email, the decision quoted staff saying. Her peers say Judge Newman has slowed downOver the years, Judge Newman has established a reputation as a prolific dissenter, frequently and openly disagreeing with her colleagues on issues of patent law. The typical federal judge last year was 68 years old. The judges investigating Newman said allegations about her interactions with staff weren't the only thing that needed to be evaluated.

☆ A conservative group just asked a federal court to end the student-loan payment pause immediately — partly because 'some junior associates at major law firms saw their six-figure salaries increase' du
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Conservative nonprofit Mackinac Center asked a federal court to immediately end the student-loan payment pause on Thursday. The ongoing payment pause is currently set to end this summer. In April, the group filed its initial lawsuit against the Education Department to end the pause and prevent a further extension. Additionally, in Thursday's complaint, the group claimed that not every student-loan borrower required the relief the payment pause brought. Nationwide debt relief that fails to distinguish between the two groups provides an unlawful windfall to the latter.

[1/5] People gather to get bread during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, April 22, 2023. The army and the paramilitary RSF, which are waging a deadly power struggle across the country, had both issued statements saying they would uphold a three-day ceasefire from Friday for Islam's Eid al-Fitr holiday. The army has air power but the RSF is widely embedded in urban areas including around key facilities in central Khartoum. The army said the United States, Britain, France and China would evacuate diplomats and other nationals from Khartoum "in the coming hours". The army on Friday accused the RSF of raiding the prison, which the paramilitary force denied.

The army and the paramilitary RSF, which are waging a deadly power struggle across the country, had both issued statements saying they would uphold a three-day ceasefire from Friday for Islam's Eid al-Fitr holiday. The army has air power but the RSF is widely embedded in urban areas including around key facilities in central Khartoum. Burhan said the army was providing safe pathways but that some airports including in Khartoum and Darfur's largest city Nyala were still problematic. [1/5] People gather to get bread during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, April 22, 2023. The army on Friday accused the RSF of raiding the prison, which the paramilitary force denied.

[1/4] People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. Guterres and senior officials from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt called Sudan's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to urge an end to violence. Urging a three-day ceasefire, he said civilians trapped in conflict zones should be allowed to escape and to seek medical treatment, food and other supplies. Witnesses in the city of El-Obeid, east of Darfur, described clashes between the army and RSF troops and widespread looting. Many other local people remain trapped, along with thousands of foreigners in a city that has become a war zone.

☆ US to send additional troops to Djibouti in case of Sudan evacuation- official
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its base in Djibouti in case of an eventual evacuation from Sudan, a U.S. official said as renewed heavy gunfire erupted on Thursday. The State Department previously told U.S. citizens in Sudan to remain sheltered in place indoors. Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, heads a ruling council installed after the 2021 military coup and the 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Sudan has been a focus of U.S. diplomatic efforts in Africa as Washington works to counter Russian influence in the country and the wider region. Russia is investing in gold mining in Sudan and has been trying to finalize an agreement establish a naval base on Sudan's Red Sea coast.

[1/2] Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2023. Gunfire was heard in Bahri and residents reported violent clashes west of Omdurman where they said the army had moved to block the arrival of RSF reinforcements. Some of the most intense fighting has been focussed around the compound housing the army HQ and the residence of Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The army controls access to Khartoum and appeared to be trying to cut off supply routes to RSF fighters, residents and witnesses said. More people have been leaving the capital with most able to pass but some stopped at checkpoints, according to residents and social media posts.

"Bump stocks allow a shooter to fire hundreds of bullets a minute by a single pull of the trigger. Like other machine guns, rifles modified with bump stocks are exceedingly dangerous." Bump stocks use a semiautomatic's recoil to allow it to slide back and forth while "bumping" the shooter's trigger finger, resulting in rapid fire. Cargill sued, challenging the ATF's rule in 2019, which required him to surrender his two bump stocks. Two days after that ruling, Biden signed into law the first major federal gun reform in three decades.

☆ A nonprofit just joined forces with a major student-loan lender in asking a federal court to end the payment pause, saying the relief has limited the 'financial incentive' to work in public service
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A nonprofit filed a lawsuit on Thursday to end Biden's student-loan payment pause and prevent another extension. It comes after SoFi Bank filed a lawsuit last month to end the payment pause. The lawsuit targets Biden's continued extensions of the student-loan payment pause, and it asks the federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan to end the current pause and prevent Biden from issuing a further extension. As a result, Biden extended the student-loan payment pause, with waived interest, through 60 days after June 30, or 60 days after the Supreme Court issues a final decision on the relief's legality, whichever happens first. The bank cited revenue loss that is said was directly caused by the continued payment pause extensions.

☆ Will student loan forgiveness pass the Supreme Court? Here's what we know so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON, DC - People rally in support of the Biden administration's student debt relief plan in front of the the U.S. Supreme Court on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both supporters and opponents of President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan. Student loan borrowers have the most immediately at stake, but the high court's ruling and rationale could have bigger implications for the government. Nebraska solicitor general, James Campbell, who represented the state plaintiffs, responded that "the state speaks for MOHELA." Will student loan forgiveness pass?

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoJan 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has blocked a California law that sought to penalize doctors who spread "misinformation or disinformation" about COVID-19 while he considers a pair lawsuits challenging it on free speech grounds. "At no point has the State of California been able to articulate the line between permissible and impermissible speech." Under AB 2098, doctors can be disciplined for spreading misinformation about COVID, defined as "false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care." They said that doctors who give harmful advice to patients are already subject to malpractice lawsuits and discipline under existing state law. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HBO documentary filmmaker says cable news 'ramped people up' for Jan. 6th and influencers like Alex Jones deserve jail time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Daniel T. Allen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

He interviewed far-right figures, including Alex Jones, Enrique Tarrio, and supporters of QAnon. Andrew Callaghan interviewing Alex Jones on the set of Info Wars. You interviewed Alex Jones, Enrique Tarrio, and other fringe figures for "This Place Rules." Alex Jones makes millions of dollars selling brain pills, basically. I think the people who should be in jail for it are brainwashed content creators like Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, Enrique Tarrio, and Alex Jones.

☆ Taiwan to extend compulsory military service on China threat -government source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TAIPEI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Taiwan will announce on Tuesday a plan to extend compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, according to a senior government official, as the island deals with rising Chinese military pressure. "China's various unilateral behaviours have become a major concern for regional security," said the person, who took part in the high-level security discussion. The official Central News Agency, citing government and ruling party sources familiar with the matter, first reported late on Monday that her government would on Tuesday announce the plan to extend compulsory military service. read moreChina also staged war games near Taiwan in August following a visit to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure in recent years on the self-governed island to accept Beijing's rule.

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