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“After hearing about this case for so many years, it’s a shock to find out that your neighbor is a serial killer and you never knew it,” a neighbor, Cheryl Lombardi, said. The killings terrorized residents for more than a decade as body after body was discovered in the remote area about 40 miles from Midtown. In all, remains of nine women, a man and a toddler were discovered in the area. She disappeared during an escort job in Oak Beach, a gated community three miles from Gilgo Beach. Ms. Gilbert’s remains were found in December 2011, but investigators have said they do not believe her death is linked to the serial killer.

Persons: Cheryl Lombardi, Shannan Gilbert, Gilbert, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard, Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Valerie Mack, Gilbert’s Locations: Midtown, Jersey City, N.J, Long, Oak Beach, Gilgo Beach, Suffolk County, New Jersey

☆ Trump ally Steve Bannon ordered to pay $480,000 for unpaid legal bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A judge ordered former Trump White House aide Steve Bannon to pay a New York law firm $480,487 in unpaid legal bills. The judge noted that Davidoff Hutcher had been paid $375,000 for work for Bannon before he stopped paying the firm. "Clearly someone affiliated with defendant was getting these invoices and defendant admits he instructed his team to pay plaintiff," Bluth wrote. Bannon "cannot receive the benefit of plaintiff's legal representation and then insist he need not for it," the judge wrote. Bannon's former lawyer, Davidoff Hutcher partner Robert Costello, told CNBC that if Bannon "appeals, of course, the meter is running" on the unpaid fees he owes the firm.

Persons: Steve Bannon, Arlene Bluth, Davidoff Hutcher, Citron, Bannon, Davidoff Hutcher's, Bluth, Bannon's, Harlan Protass, Bannon —, Donald Trump, Davidoff, Robert Costello Organizations: White House, Financial, House, Trump White House, New, CNBC, D.C, Capitol Locations: Washington ,, New York, Manhattan, U.S, Mexico, Washington

☆ 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

☆ Trump Oval Office meeting: Special counsel prosecutors question witnesses about chaotic December 2020 meeting in election probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Kaitlan Collins Zachary Cohen Paula Reid Sara Murray Katelyn Polantz | Kaitlan Collins | Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Multiple sources told CNN that investigators have asked several witnesses before the grand jury and during interviews about the meeting, which happened about six weeks after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Some witnesses were asked about the meeting months ago, while several others have faced questions about it more recently, including Rudy Giuliani. Prosecutors have specifically inquired about three outside Trump advisers who participated in the meeting: former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, sources said. They also discussed naming Powell as special counsel to investigate supposed voter fraud, and Trump invoking martial law as part of his efforts to overturn the election. The December 14 date is of particular interest to prosecutors, sources told CNN.

Persons: Jack Smith’s, Trump, Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, Patrick Byrne, Byrne, Jack Smith, ”, Robert Costello, Powell, Flynn, Robert O’Brien, Joe Biden, Mike Pence, Pence Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, Trump, Twitter, West Wing, White House, Electoral College Locations: Washington ,

☆ OceanGate suspends all exploration and commercial operations after Titan implosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Austin Mullen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

OceanGate said it is suspending all exploration and commercial operations weeks after its submersible imploded near the Titanic wreckage site killing all five people on board. "OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations," it read. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada launched a safety investigation into the incident. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said its investigation will focus on finding "all causal and contributing factors" in the incident "without attributing blame or civil or criminal liability." The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what happened and issue any safety recommendations to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future.

Persons: OceanGate, Hamish Harding, Paul Henry Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman, Azmeh Dawood, Brian Weed, Weed, Josh Gates, Tom Costello, Colin Taylor, Aaron Newman, —, — Doha Madani, Daniel Arkin, Marlene Lenthang, Melissa Chan Organizations: OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, NBC News, Titan, Transportation Safety Board, Canada, Transportation Locations: Port, Everett, Everett , Washington, British, French, Canadian, OceanGate, — Doha

☆ Rudy Giuliani met special counsel prosecutors probing Trump over 2020 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Attorney for the President, Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media at a press conference held in the back parking lot of landscaping company on November 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rudy Giuliani, a former top lawyer for Donald Trump, met in recent weeks with federal prosecutors who are investigating the ex-president for his efforts to reverse his loss in the 2020 election, NBC News confirmed Wednesday. Trump, in an early January 2021 phone call, unsuccessfully pressured Raffensperger to "find" him enough votes in Georgia to overturn Biden's victory in that state. The joint session was interrupted for hours by a mob of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, said the former New York mayor met with Smith's prosecutors along with his own attorney Robert Costello in recent weeks, NBC News reported.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, Giuliani, Joe Biden's, Jack Smith's, Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger, Biden, Trump, Ted Goodman, Robert Costello, Goodman, Costello, Fani Willis, Smith, Walt Nauta Organizations: NBC News, Wednesday, Georgia, Trump, Electoral College, U.S . Capitol, New, CNN, CNBC, White Locations: Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia, New York, Fulton County, Florida, Lago, Palm Beach , Florida

☆ Jesse Watters was invited to speak before a group of executives. His remarks led to an ‘epic meltdown’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —On a Friday morning in April, Fox News talk host Jesse Watters walked onstage to a room stuffed with hundreds of insurance executives and agents. Watters — who Fox News this week promoted to the all-important 8pm hour — began his interview with Rusbuldt at the Renaissance Washington hotel as expected. “It was an epic meltdown afterward,” one of the people familiar with the matter told me. “The organization went into damage control.”The chat between Watters and Rusbuldt, which continued on after the appalling remark, had immediate consequences. When asked for comment on Wednesday, a Fox News spokesperson told me that Watters had “no recollection” of the events.

Persons: Jesse Watters, Watters, Bob Rusbuldt, Watters —, Rusbuldt, Kamala Harris, ”, John Costello, ” Costello, “, they’ve, Tucker Carlson, “ Jesse, Bob Organizations: CNN, Fox News, Legislative, Independent Insurance Agents, Brokers of America, Fox, Renaissance Washington, Fox News ’ Locations: America

☆ Artists like Led Zeppelin and Elton John toured around in a Boeing 720 private jet that featured a bar and a waterbed — see inside The Starship
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"With the plane, they could base at one hotel like the Four Seasons in New York and just take a car to the airport, skip security, and commute to work," he said. "It was a much easier way to travel." The Starship parked and ready to pick up members of Deep Purple during their 1974 tour. Fin Costello/Redferns via Getty Images

Persons: Fin Costello, Redferns Organizations: Getty Locations: New York

☆ State Dinners: Who Gets Them, Who Doesn’t and Why They Matter
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As President Biden welcomes India’s prime minister to the White House, the two leaders will be looking for more than a fine vegetarian meal and a night of glitzy entertainment. Under the guise of pomp and pageantry, state visits are a chance for presidents to push foreign dignitaries to align with American interests. “These are not just dinners,” said Matthew Costello, a senior historian for the White House Historical Association. Before President Barack Obama hosted President Xi Jinping of China, the two countries negotiated for weeks over an arms control accord for cyberspace. President Ulysses S. Grant held the first state dinner for King David Kalakaua of Hawaii to strengthen trade.

Persons: Biden, ”, Matthew Costello, “, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Nikita Khrushchev, Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Ulysses S, Grant, King David Kalakaua of Organizations: White, Historical Association, White House, Sputnik Locations: Washington, Soviet Union, China, King David Kalakaua of Hawaii

☆ The Tropicana, a Relic on the Las Vegas Strip, Could Be Demolished
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In an interview, Mr. Kim said that the renovation was ultimately an opportunity to grow employment. Not all of the casino’s workers, however, are in the union. I welcome change.”The looming stadium deal is not the first time the Tropicana has been threatened. By the 1970s, the resort was already struggling to compete with larger operations like Caesars Palace, and at the end of that decade, the F.B.I. The Tropicana has since changed hands several times.

Persons: Kim, Mr, ”, Ted Pappageorge, “ They’re, Pappageorge, Tawana Moore, “, Ms, Moore, we’ve, Frank Costello Organizations: Culinary Workers Union Local, Tropicana Locations: Nevada

☆ Video may show an octopus waking up from a nightmare, scientists believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A video shows an octopus appearing to wake up from sleep in distress. The behaviour looked similar to waking up from a nightmare, scientists said. One of the study's co-authors noted that it would be difficult to study an octopus' brain activity and determine whether they actually dream. Robyn Crook, an associate professor of biology at San Francisco State University, told Live Science that the octopus' behavior could have been due to senescence, which is when an octopus' body starts to break down before death. "I don't exclude that senescence could be one of the drivers of this," Ramos told Live Science.

☆ Is This Octopus Having a Nightmare?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Carolyn Wilke | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Costello the octopus was napping while stuck to the glass of his tank at the Rockefeller University in New York. A minute later, Costello scuttled along the glass toward his tank’s sandy bottom, curling his arms over his body. “This was not a normal octopus behavior,” said Dr. Ramos, who is now at the University of Vermont. Perhaps Costello was having a nightmare, he and a team of researchers speculated. They shared this idea and other possible explanations in a study uploaded this month to the bioRxiv website.

☆ Bebe Buell, Rock ’n’ Roll Muse, Sings Her Own Song
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( George Gurley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bebe Buell was back in town. The neighborhood was familiar to Ms. Buell. Soon after she arrived in New York from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in 1972, she became a regular at Max’s Kansas City, the famed night spot just a few blocks away. At the time she was an 18-year-old model signed to the Eileen Ford Agency who lived at the St. Mary’s Residence on the Upper East Side. She went from It Girl of Manhattan to Miss November in Playboy magazine.

☆ Tucker Carlson’s Code of Whiteness
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( A.O. Scott | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At stake is not the life or safety of the anonymous “Antifa kid,” but rather Carlson’s own perception of himself. That phrase, a syntactic echo of “it’s not how white men fight,” establishes the stakes, which are not so much Carlson’s ethical probity as his racial superiority. “The Antifa creep is a human being,” he writes. I should be bothered by it.” The “shoulds” indicate that Carlson isn’t really bothered — is still actually gloating — but is aware that this reaction poses a problem. If he takes pleasure in watching an Antifa creep get pounded, that makes him as bad as the Antifa creep.

☆ ‘Too Many Seats, Too Few Butts’ Mean Changes at Your Favorite Restaurant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Spencer Jakab | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A drive-thru customer at a Taco Bell restaurant in New Jersey. Photo: Thomas P. Costello/USA TODAY NETWORK/ReutersIt would be pretty hard to confuse the prime bone-in rib-eye steak from Morton’s with the Philly cheesesteak at Jersey Mike’s, but at least they now have one thing in common: both can be delivered. For most people, a meal at an upscale chain is about the ambience as much as the food. The pandemic seems to have taken away some of the charm of eating out, though. A surprisingly high 18% of sales at American fine dining establishments last year, surveyed by consulting firm Technomic, were to people for whom there is no place like home—except maybe their car.

Kids in Hammond, Indiana, are forced to climb over and through stopped trains block their way to school. Jamie Kelter Davis for ProPublicaState lawmakers have tried to curb blocked crossings by restricting the lengths of trains. Spielmaker, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson, said: "We work with first responders on a daily basis to assist however we can. A favorable court opinion could allow other states to finally enforce their laws on blocked crossings. Among those who hope to voice their concerns about the blocked crossings are rail workers themselves who worry about the kids.

☆ New York prosecutors are investigating Trump's hush-money payment to the ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NY prosecutors are looking into Trump's hush-money payment to Karen McDougal, WSJ reported. Prosecutors have been investigating if Trump broke the law when Michael Cohen paid off Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Investigators have long been probing a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The Manhattan grand jury was empaneled in January, but activity related to the Trump investigation appears to have slowed in the past two weeks. Cohen — thought to be one of the final prosecutor witnesses — finished his grand jury testimony on March 15.

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on felony charges. In a statement, Trump characterized the criminal charges from a grand jury as a political attack. The indictment's specific contents have not yet been made public, even to the defense team, as is common in state criminal cases. The district attorney's office subsequently brought David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, to testify for a second time in front of the grand jury. That post was quickly taken down; Trump attorney Joe Tacopina called it "ill-advised" and said "one of his social media people" put it up.

Former prosecutors previously told Insider that the district attorney does have the power to slow-walk the indictment and that the grand jury may have already voted. The grand jury investigation has already taken longer than expected. After Cohen's testimony, Bragg's office extended an offer for Trump to testify, indicating it was nearly finished presenting evidence to the grand jury. Trump's attorneys sent Robert Costello, an attorney who told grand jurors on March 20 that Cohen was a liar and couldn't be trusted. Since then, the grand jury has moved in fits and starts.

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - The New York grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald Trump's role in a hush-money payment to a porn star is not expected to meet on Wednesday and is unlikely to consider the case again this week, a law enforcement source said. It is unclear when the grand jury would take up the matter again, said the source, who was granted anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. The Manhattan District Attorney's office has been presenting evidence since January to the grand jury about possible crimes related to a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump has denied an affair took place, and lawyer Robert Costello, who met with Cohen in 2018, has said Cohen told him he acted alone. Costello testified before the grand jury last week.

March 27 (Reuters) - A former National Enquirer publisher testified on Monday before a Manhattan grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald Trump's role in a hush-money payment to a porn star, said a person familiar with the matter. The grand jury's proceedings are shrouded in secrecy and the timing of a grand jury vote is unclear. [1/8] An officer from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Canine Unit checks outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, U.S., March 27, 2023. Costello testified before the grand jury last week. Trump faces several other criminal investigations, including one tied to the Jan. 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.

☆ Trump 'hush money' grand jury back to work Monday after week-long hiatus: sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Manhattan grand jury will be back Monday afternoon on the Trump 'hush-money' case, sources tell Insider. It is unknown if the secret grand jury will hear from additional witnesses or is nearing a vote. It's unclear whether the grand jury, which meets in the afternoon, will hear additional witnesses Monday, or if they are nearing a vote. The grand jury last met on Monday, March 20, when it heard testimony by a rebuttal witness at the request of Trump's defense team. The grand jury is believed to have heard from two former Trump advisors, Hope Hicks, and Kellyanne Conway, who may have knowledge of the payment from their time on the 2016 campaign.

REUTERS/Eduardo MunozMarch 27 (Reuters) - A Manhattan grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald Trump's role in a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels was expected to reconvene on Monday, a law enforcement source said. The grand jury, which has been meeting since January, could indict Trump over the handling of the payment, which would make him the first U.S. president to face a criminal charge in court. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been presenting evidence about the $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has said he made the payment at Trump's direction to buy her silence about a sexual liaison she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump faces several other criminal investigations, including one tied to the Jan. 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.

☆ Trump ally and ex-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified Monday before the NY hush-money grand jury
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | El Calabrese | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

David Pecker testified Monday before the Trump hush-money grand jury in Manhattan. The ex-publisher was one of the first witnesses to testify before the grand jury, and he is expected to be among its last. The grand jury did not meet the rest of last week. Trump was reportedly in the room in 2015 when Cohen discussed hush-money payments with Pecker. The grand jury is expected to reconvene on the hush-money matter Wednesday afternoon.

☆ Why is the Trump 'hush-money' grand jury taking so @#$%& long? Wrong question, experts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

An uncanny lack of secrecy surrounds the secret Trump 'hush money' grand jury now underway in NY. Grand jury witnesses, lawyers, and Trump himself are shouting about each other on TV and online. The right question may be, "Why is this supposedly secret grand jury such a honking, spotlit spectacle?" On Friday, an envelope of white powder was sent to Bragg at the office building where the grand jury sits. The grand jury was not there that day, and the powder proved non-hazardous.

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