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CNN —Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, testified before the grand jury investigating the aftermath of the 2020 election and the actions of the then-president and others, a source familiar with the testimony confirmed to CNN. Former Trump aide Hope Hicks also went before the grand jury, according to two sources familiar, testifying in early June. Some of the questions being asked in the grand jury were about whether Donald Trump was told he had lost the election, according to one of the sources familiar. Kushner’s and Hicks’ appearances before the grand jury are notable because both were members of the former president’s inner circle. Several key Trump White House officials have also testified befoe the grand jury, including Pence, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, among others.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s, Hope Hicks, Donald Trump, Kushner’s, Hicks, Mike Pence –, Kushner, Trump, befoe, Pence, Trump’s, Mark Meadows, Pat Cipollone, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Jack Smith’s, Joe Biden’s, Brad Raffensperger, Jocelyn Benson, Rusty Bowers, Benson, ’, –, ” Benson Organizations: CNN, Trump, Capitol, New York Times, Trump White House, White, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona GOP Locations: Arizona

☆ 2020 election interference probe: New glimpses into investigation suggest peril could be growing for Trump and his associates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Revelations that special counsel Jack Smith has been digging into efforts to overturn former President Donald Trump’s Arizona election loss in 2020 bolster growing indications that his investigation is nearing a critical point. Smith has already made Trump the first former president to be formally accused of federal crimes. But a flurry of details about Smith’s inquiries into alleged election-stealing efforts suggest his investigators have had an industrious summer. He said he talked about a call that he had with Trump and Giuliani after the election, and a second call just from Trump. Prosecutors were also set to talk to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, CNN reported in June.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald Trump’s, Smith, Trump, pushback, Rusty Bowers –, –, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Rudy Giuliani, He’s, specter, it’s, Bowers, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Giuliani, Smith’s, Adrian Fontes, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Brad Raffensperger, Robert Costello, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, Patrick Byrne Organizations: CNN, Trump, Republican, Arizona House, FBI, GOP, Capitol, Arizona Republican, Arizona Republic, Arizona’s, Prosecutors Locations: Donald Trump’s Arizona, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Washington, Manhattan, Trump, Nevada, York

☆ Opinion | The Pittsburgh Gunman Didn’t Just Kill 11 Jews. He Killed a Minyan.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Mark Oppenheimer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

After all, what does it mean to obstruct religious practice? In David Bezmozgis’s 2004 short story “Minyan,” Itzik, an elderly immigrant in a building of elderly immigrants, dies. Itzik was a regular at the building’s in-house synagogue; he consistently helped make the minyan. “You want to know what will happen to Herschel?” Zalman replies. He deprived them of the opportunity to practice their religion — what’s more, he obstructed the religious practice of those who depended on the victims’ presence.

Persons: Bowers, —, David Bezmozgis’s, ”, Itzik, Zalman, Herschel, “, ” Zalman, Robert Bowers, Richard Gottfried, Daniel Stein — Organizations: Reconstructionist, Conservative, New

☆ Jury Convicts Man in Killing of 11 in Pittsburgh Synagogue
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Campbell Robertson | Jon Moss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The gunman who killed 11 worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue in October 2018 was found guilty on Friday of dozens of federal hate crimes and civil rights offenses, closing the first stage of a trial that may ultimately end in a death sentence. After five hours of deliberations over two days, the jury found the gunman, Robert Bowers, guilty of 63 federal charges, including 11 counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death. The jury will hear arguments about whether Mr. Bowers, 50, is eligible to be sentenced to death for these crimes. If the jurors decide that he is, they will then decide whether the death sentence should be imposed. These next two phases of the trial are expected to last around a month and a half.

Persons: Robert Bowers, Bowers Locations: Pittsburgh

☆ Pittsburgh synagogue attacker found guilty of hate crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 16 (Reuters) - A jury on Friday found Robert Bowers guilty of dozens of federal hate crimes for the killing of 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Bowers, 50, now faces the penalty phase of his trial at the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in which the 12 jurors must weigh whether he deserves the death sentence. Federal prosecutors charged Bowers with 63 counts, including 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death. The jury found him guilty on all counts, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in Pittsburgh confirmed. All 12 jurors must vote unanimously in order to sentence Bowers to death.

Persons: Robert Bowers, Bowers, Jonathan Allen Organizations: U.S, Court, Thomson Locations: Pittsburgh, New York

CNN —Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, was convicted by a federal jury Friday on all 63 charges against him. Bowers was also convicted of 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death. The shooting unfolded on a day when the synagogue was hosting three congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light, for weekly Shabbat services. In addition to the 11 killed, two worshippers and four responding police officers were wounded. Before the shooting, Bowers spent years posting about attacks on immigrants and Jewish people on Gab, a small social media platform used by far-right extremists.

Persons: Robert Bowers, Bowers, David Klug Diane Rosenthal, Cecil, David Rosenthal, ‘, ’, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, ” Myers, ” “, ”, Jonathan Greenblatt, that’s, ” Greenblatt, Dan Frankel, “, Frankel, ” Bowers, Robert Bowers David Klug, Robert Colville, Elisa Long, ” Long, Eric Olshan, ” Olshan, Dor Hadash, Andrea Wedner, Rose Mallinger, ’ ”, Mary Hahn, – Organizations: CNN, U.S, Attorney, Defamation League, Pennsylvania, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Police, Immigrant Aid Society Locations: Maryland, New York

☆ Jurors Begins Deliberations in First Phase of Pittsburgh Synagogue Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Campbell Robertson | Jon Moss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After three weeks of wrenching testimony, the prosecution and the defense delivered closing arguments on Thursday in the first phase of the federal trial of the man charged with carrying out the deadliest antisemitic attack in the country’s history. Robert Bowers, 50, the man charged in the October 2018 killing of 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue, faces the possibility of a death sentence if convicted. The phase of the trial that concluded on Thursday in federal court here was to determine whether Mr. Bowers was guilty, and the outcome of this stage of the proceedings has not been in significant doubt. The question at the heart of the case has long been whether Mr. Bowers, whose charges include 11 counts of killing people because of their religion, would be sentenced to death. If the jury finds him guilty, the penalty he should face will be argued before the jury over the next several weeks.

Persons: Robert Bowers, Bowers Locations: Pittsburgh

☆ Prosecutors Detail Pittsburgh Synagogue Killings in Trial Opening
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kris Maher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A courtroom sketch of the opening of jury selection in a federal court in Pittsburgh in the trial of Robert Bowers. Photo: Dave Klug/Associated PressPITTSBURGH—Prosecutors seeking the death penalty for the man accused of killing 11 people at a synagogue here in 2018 described a scene of chaos and terror to a jury Tuesday, recounting how each of the victims was shot, many as they tried to hide or protect loved ones.

☆ Prosecutor Recounts a Day of Worship Turned Deadly in a Pittsburgh Synagogue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Campbell Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The federal trial of the gunman who killed 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the deadliest antisemitic attack in the nation’s history, began on Tuesday with a minute-by-minute description of how the massacre unfolded on a chilly October morning in 2018. Ms. Song described them greeting other worshipers at the door, chatting casually in the kitchen and sitting in the pews for prayer. She then spoke of the defendant, Robert Bowers, describing his flurry of hate-filled postings on social media and how, at the same moment that the worshipers were gathering for services, he was “making his own preparations to destroy, to kill and to defile.”Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Mr. Bowers, 50. This stage of the trial will take place in two parts. The first, which began Tuesday, concerns guilt; if Mr. Bowers is found guilty, proceedings will follow to determine whether he receives a death sentence.

May 17 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youth, and also enacts obstacles for adults to access treatment. Taking effect in the third most populous U.S. state, the law escalates a Republican political strategy to pursue bills restricting transgender rights. In addition, the new Florida law, which takes effect immediately, grants Florida courts jurisdiction in child custody battles over transgender kids when a Florida parent opposes treatment that is being pursued under an out-of-state parent. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) criticized the bill after it passed the legislature, opposing government interference into the doctor-patient relationship. This ban threatens health care providers with criminal penalties simply for doing their jobs, and will make it even harder for transgender and gender diverse people to obtain essential health care," Marci Bowers, the association's president, said in a statement.

☆ Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +50 min

Ensuring Employee Safety and Systems SecurityEmployers may use electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance to protect their:Worksites. Potential Liability for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceEmployers that engage in electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance must comply with various federal and state laws, including:The Wiretap Act. Best Practices for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceTo avoid violating relevant state and federal laws, before conducting workplace monitoring and surveillance, employers should:Consider the purpose and appropriate scope of their monitoring and surveillance activities and what methods will help them achieve their objectives. Determine the Purpose of Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceBefore conducting any workplace monitoring or surveillance, best practice is for employers to identify the purpose and goals of these activities to:Ensure that there is a legitimate business purpose for the planned monitoring and surveillance activities. Determine the scope of monitoring and surveillance necessary to accomplish the business purpose, and conduct only the minimum monitoring and surveillance necessary to meet that business need.

[1/2] Police officers guard the Tree of Life synagogue following Saturday's shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 28, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron JosefczykApril 24 (Reuters) - The man accused of opening fire and killing 11 worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history faces a potential death sentence at the end of a federal trial that begins on Monday with jury selection. Robert Bowers, 50, is accused of dozens of charges, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, in a massacre that unfolded at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. In seeking the death penalty, federal prosecutors will try to prove aggravating factors in their case against Bowers, including that he substantially planned the attack and that he targeted vulnerable victims. Federal authorities said Bowers entered the synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood where many residents are Jewish, armed with multiple firearms.

☆ What to Know as the Tree of Life Massacre Trial Begins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Campbell Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

On the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman walked into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and killed 11 people who had gathered to worship, the deadliest antisemitic attack in the nation’s history. On Monday, more than four years later, the trial of the man accused of the massacre will begin with jury selection. The trial will take place in two phases, the first concerning guilt and the second on the penalty. Here’s what to know as the Tree of Life trial begins:Who were the victims? The Tree of Life congregation, founded in Pittsburgh more than 150 years ago, and the smaller New Light congregation are both conservative; the third congregation, Dor Hadash, is Reconstructionist, a progressive movement within Judaism.

☆ Home prices see largest decline since 2012 as banking crisis hits demand: 'There's this fear that everything will crash'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"That killed the buyer momentum that had been building, and brought us right back to where we were last year when mortgage rates shot up. For example, prices in Boise surged a record 40.9% in May 2021 amid low mortgage rates, the remote-work trend, and relative affordability. But since then, mortgage rates have soared amid Federal Reserve rate hikes. While they have come off last year's peak of 7%, the 30-year-fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.54% in March, up from 4.17% a year earlier. Meanwhile, the higher mortgage rates are keeping buyers and sellers on the sidelines, and March saw new listings drop 23.3% year over year, Redfin said.

☆ Trump again asks to delay the E. Jean Carroll rape case — this time to probe billionaire Reid Hoffman's support for the litigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Ashley Collman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Trump's lawyers asked to delay the E. Jean Carroll battery and defamation trial a month on Thursday. It is unclear how much of Reid's money granted through his nonprofit was used by Kaplan Hecker & Fink for the Carroll case. Seth Wenig/APOn Tuesday, Trump's lawyers asked the judge for a one-month delay to allow the "media frenzy" around his arrest to die down. Judge Kaplan has also complained about numerous attempts to delay the case in the past. But that litigation has been in limbo while appeals courts weigh in on whether Trump can even be sued in that case.

☆ Deutsche Bank sees more than a 30% rally for this specialty biotech stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Deutsche Bank is more bullish on Catalent after the New Jersey-based company expanded its manufacturing partnership with Moderna . Catalent shares were upgraded to buy from hold on Monday, with a price target of $88 per share, Deutsche Bank said. CTLT YTD mountain Catalent received an upgrade from Deutsche Bank on Monday from hold to buy with a price target of $88 per share. Catalent shares were upgraded to buy from hold on Monday, with a price target of $88 per share, Deutsche Bank said. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Catalent received an upgrade from Deutsche Bank on Monday from hold to buy with a price target of $88 per share.

☆ Are Butterflies Wildlife? Depends Where You Live.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

The creatures are simply left out of state conservation statues, or their situation is ambiguous. “State agencies are really at the forefront of conservation for wildlife,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group that advocates for insect conservation. Sometimes, aquatic insects come under the purview of state wildlife agencies. But across the states without insect authority, officials are often reluctant to broach adding it, Mr. Winton said. Seven of the states without insect conservation authority are in the West, which has felt the effects of climate change intensely.

☆ Bus passengers left stranded for days at station in California in freak winter storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dozens of passengers were left stranded in a Sacramento bus station after highways closed this week. Although Sacramento was not under a state of emergency this week, winter weather and closed freeways still left travelers stranded at the Greyhound station. According to Bowers, stranded travelers were better off sheltering in place. He told KCRA the city worked with the Red Cross to provide necessities like blankets to the passengers at the station. One traveler at the station told KCRA that being stranded was miserable, but the city was accommodating under the circumstances.

☆ Two sheriff's deputies suspended for role in Tyre Nichols incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - The Shelby County sheriff on Wednesday suspended two deputies without pay for five days for unspecified conduct after they appeared at the scene where Memphis city police severely beat Tyre Nichols, a Black man who died three days later. Memphis lies within Shelby County, Tennessee, and while city police usually have jurisdiction within city limits, county sheriff's deputies may also respond. Among those responding to the scene were Shelby County sheriff's deputies Jeremy Watkins and Johntavious Bowers, the sheriff's department said in the statement. Reuters could not determine if the deputies were represented by lawyers who could make a statement in their defense. The Shelby County Deputy Sheriffs Association, the deputies' union, could not be reached for comment.

☆ 'It will prosper': Analysts say buy this global fintech stock with over 140% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of PensionBee , the U.K.-based digital pension provider, are expected to more than double in a year, according to a number of analysts. As a result, the Wall Street bank expects the stock to rise by 216% to £2.17 ($2.63) over the next 12 months. The positive outlook will be a reversal for the fast-growing company's stock, which fell by 60% in 2022 amid a broader sell-off in the U.K.'s small and mid-cap equity market. The consensus price target of five analysts covering the company gives the stock 146% potential upside. The German investment bank expects the stock to rise by more than 143% in the next 12 months to £1.70.

Kaye Hearn, a justice on South Carolina’s Supreme Court, wrote the majority opinion this month that struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban. Two women, Court of Appeals Judges Stephanie McDonald and Aphrodite Konduros, were initially in the running for Hearn’s seat but withdrew Tuesday. (The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court for criminal cases, also has an all-male bench; the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which hears civil cases, has both female and male justices.) In 1988, Toal was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Hearn, who was elected to the state’s Court of Appeals in 1995, joined her on the bench in 2010.

☆ Georgia pounds TCU, 65-7, to repeat as CFB national champs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

3 TCU 65-7 Monday night to become the first team to win consecutive College Football Playoff national championships. TCU (13-2), the first Cinderella team of the playoff era, never had a chance against the Georgia juggernaut. No team has ever scored more points in a national championship game, dating to the beginning of the BCS in 1998. Georgia vanquished the Tide to break a 41-year national title drought last season, avenging its only regular-season loss in the process. They were within a victory of the program’s first national title since 1938.

☆ Georgia’s Brock Bowers Is the Vanguard of College Football’s Tight End Evolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tight ends used to do the dirty work in college football, blocking for teammates and catching short passes in a pinch. These days, a new version of the offensive end who lines up next to the tackle is reshaping the game, and Georgia’s Brock Bowers is its cutting-edge example. As the Bulldogs prepare to defend their national championship against Texas Christian on Monday night, Bowers leads Georgia in receiving yards and touchdowns for the second season in a row. He’s part of a growing wave of tight ends nationwide whose roles are expanding to include more pass-catching.

☆ Biden to Mark Second Anniversary of Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Annie Linskey | Scott Patterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—President Biden plans to commemorate the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot by giving medals to law-enforcement officers who protected lawmakers that day and election officials who resisted efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential contest. Recipients are to include former Arizona House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers , a Republican who lost his seat in an August primary after resisting pressure from President Donald Trump to hold a hearing in the state that could have led to changing election results. Mr. Biden also plans to posthumously recognize Brian Sicknick , a Capitol Police officer who died the day after the attack.

☆ Biden to mark anniversary of Jan 6 riots with awards to the day's 'heroes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jeff Mason | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"These 12 heroes demonstrated courage and selflessness during a moment of peril for our nation," a White House official said. Rioters who supported Trump broke through barricades and invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, interrupting the certification of Biden's 2020 election victory. Biden has called it embarrassing that it was taking so long for the House leader to be elected. The White House ceremony will take place at 2:00 p.m. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the days following the attack on the Capitol, will receive a posthumous medal.

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