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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX execs received billions in hidden loans, ex-Alameda CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from the crypto mogul’s Alameda Research, the hedge fund’s former chief told a judge when she pleaded guilty to her role in the exchange’s collapse. Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang both pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of their plea agreements. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability. A flurry of customer withdrawals in early November amid concerns about commingling of FTX funds with Alameda prompted FTX to declare bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Bankman-Fried was arrested in capital Nassau on Dec. 12 and arrived in the United States on Wednesday after consenting to extradition.

☆ Alameda's ex-CEO tells judge she hid billions in loans to FTX execs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Alameda Research FollowNEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from the crypto mogul's Alameda Research, the hedge fund's former chief told a judge in her guilty plea for her role in the exchange's collapse. "We prepared certain quarterly balance sheets that concealed the extent of Alameda’s borrowing and the billions of dollars in loans that Alameda had made to FTX executives and to related parties," Ellison told U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan federal court, according to the transcript. Bankman-Fried has been accused of orchestrating an "epic" fraud that led to the loss of billions of dollars of customer and investor funds. He has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability and he has not entered a plea. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York Writing by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Del.

☆ Super Bowl-winning NFL player Ronnie Hillman dies from rare form of cancer at 31
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Drew Weisholtz | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Former Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman, who helped the team win Super Bowl 50, died from a rare form of cancer, his family said Wednesday in a statement on Instagram. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved son, brother & father, Ronnie K Hillman Jr.,” the family said in the post. “Ronnie quietly and peacefully transitioned today in the company of his family and close friends. “As a family, we hope beyond hope, and we have faith that can move mountains,” the statement said in part. He played the first four seasons of his career with Denver, helping the team win the Super Bowl in the 2015 season.

☆ Five Louisiana officers charged in Black motorist’s deadly arrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

— Five Louisiana law enforcement officers were charged with state crimes ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance Thursday in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene. Others, including a Union Parish sheriff’s deputy and three other troopers, were charged with malfeasance and obstruction of justice. Louisiana State Police via APUnion Parish District Attorney John Belton submitted arrest warrants for all five of the indicted officers. And for the first time in the case, a medical expert deemed Greene’s death a homicide. Edwards has repeatedly said he did nothing to influence or hinder the Greene investigation and has described the troopers’ actions as both criminal and racist.

☆ Biden is touting a multi-billion-dollar chip factory in Arizona as a way to save the global economy from China threats — but an invasion of Taiwan would still wreak chaos
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Experts disagree on how much this will protect the US economy in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. "These investments are helping us build and strengthen the supply chain here in America," Biden said, adding that "American manufacturing is back." "That's the definition of supply chain resilience. "Ultimately, creating a more resilient supply chain for semiconductors involves more than fab plants." To truly achieve supply chain resilience, Rasser says, the US must only boost production further, but needs similar investments in all areas of the chips supply chain, from raw materials to packaging.

Federal authorities on Tuesday charged FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried with using what they said was tens of millions of dollars of misappropriated customer funds to make illegal political donations to both Democratic and Republican candidates. He then used those funds to make "large political donations," to make investments and buy "lavish real estate," the SEC complaint alleged. The campaign finance allegations come days after a private watchdog group asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate Bankman-Fried's political contributions. Most of Bankman-Fried's publicly disclosed campaign contributions, which totaled nearly $40 million in the 20222 election cycle, went toward Democrats, FEC records show. "The question is whether regulators, including the SEC, backed off from aggressive investigation of FTX because of this political influence," Painter said.

☆ Tina Turner's son Ronnie dies at 62
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Ronnie Turner, the son of music icon Tina Turner, has died, his family said. It was not immediately clear Friday what caused Ronnie Turner's death. Ronnie Turner’s brother, Craig Turner, died by suicide in 2018. His aunt, Alline Bullock, Tina Turner’s sister, passed away in 2010. His father, Ike Turner, died in 2007.

☆ North Carolina power grid attack stokes fear in rural LGBTQ community
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

However, authorities are considering the timing overlap and recent attacks on similar events nationwide as they proceed with their investigation. Regardless of whether investigators connect the two events, Sandhills Pride Director Lauren Mathers said repeated efforts to shut down what was billed as a family friendly drag performance have left the county’s LGBTQ community feeling vulnerable. The FBI posted a notice seeking information related to the North Carolina investigation, and Gov. Of the 124 incidents documented across 47 states as of late November, at least 10 occurred in North Carolina. Opponents of drag events catered toward families often falsely claim they “groom” children, implying attempts to sexually abuse them or somehow influence their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The recent attack on two North Carolina substations that cut power to thousands of people has raised concerns about security standards for the country’s electric grid and its numerous power stations, which have faced greater threats in recent years. Nearly 600 electric emergency incidents and disturbances were caused by suspected and confirmed physical attacks and vandalism on the electric grid in those nine years, the reports show. The incidents, which are self-reported by power companies to the federal government, provide little to no detail about what occurred. Paths forward for a new standardThose who want a new security standard said there remain significant bureaucratic headwinds against such a proposal. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit originally created by the electricity industry, said it created security requirements based on risk, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

☆ Power company on 'final push' to restore electricity after gunfire led to massive outages in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Cooper's office, Moore County and Duke Energy, officials said Wednesday. At its peak, around 45,000 Moore County customers were left without power, Duke Energy said. Duke Energy said the vandalism destroyed large and vital pieces of equipment, which needed to be replaced. The restoration of power led officials on Wednesday to announce that the curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. Thursday. There have been no confirmed deaths due to the power outage, Moore County Director of Public Safety Bryan Phillips said.

☆ North Carolina county in dark for third day after attack on power substations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of households and businesses in North Carolina remained without power for a third day on Tuesday as authorities investigate what they describe as an orchestrated gunfire attack that disabled two substations. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Tuesday said "a serious national conversation" about protecting critical infrastructure is needed after the attack. On Saturday night, utility workers investigating reports of widespread outages found gates broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment at two substations in the county. That represented nearly all customers served by the company in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said on Monday. For most customers, power would likely be out through Wednesday or Thursday because the damage to the substations was extensive and requires complicated parts and repairs, Brooks said.

☆ North Carolina county enters third day of outages as FBI probes motive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Thousands of residents in a North Carolina county entered their third day without lights and heating on Tuesday after "targeted attacks" on two electric substations over the weekend caused widespread outages and shut down schools across the county. The outages came after a suspect was alleged to have driven up to two Duke Energy power substations Saturday night and opening fire, disabling the two substations and plunging tens of thousands of people into a blackout. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said the attacks at the substations located in West End and Carthage, about 5 miles apart, appeared to be targeted, but a motive in the attacks remains unclear. "Due to the continuing widespread power outage in Moore County and on Moore County Schools operations, all schools will be closed to all students and staff on Tuesday," Moore County Schools said in a tweet Monday. Spokesperson for Duke Energy Corporation Jeff Brooks, center, speaks on Monday at the Moore County Sheriffs office.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields has said a motive for the attack — which initially plunged 45,000 people into darkness — is still undetermined as local authorities and the FBI investigate. A cryptic post“The power is out in Moore County and I know why,” Emily Rainey wrote on her Facebook page less than an hour after the electricity failed. Taylor Shook / USA Today NetworkClymer saw Rainey’s posts and began speaking with other people in Moore County, she said. Kevin Dietzel, executive director of Sunrise Theater, said the venue was also targeted on social media and with phone calls. After that, she made the decision to cancel the rest of the show to “ensure everyone’s safety” during the outage.

☆ North Carolina county still in dark after attack on power substations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 6 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of households and businesses in North Carolina remained without power for a third day on Tuesday as authorities investigate what they describe as an orchestrated gunfire attack that disabled two substations. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Tuesday that "a serious national conversation" about protecting critical infrastructure is needed after the attack. On Saturday night, utility workers investigating reports of widespread outages found gates broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment at two substations in the county. That represented nearly all customers served by the company in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said on Monday. For most customers, power would likely be out through Wednesday or Thursday because the damage to the substations was extensive and requires complicated parts and repairs, Brooks said.

☆ TSMC to up Arizona investment to $40 billion with second semiconductor chip plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden is joining the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday to announce the opening of a second chip plant in Arizona, raising the company's investment in the state from $12 billion to $40 billion. Semiconductor chips are used in everything from computers and smartphones to cars, microwaves and health care devices. The law includes $52.7 billion in loans, grants and other incentives as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. It was initially slated to produce 5 nanometer chips, but now will create 4 nanometer chips. The second plant will open in 2026 and produce 3 nanometer chips, the most cutting-edge chips currently available.

☆ North Carolina electric grid shooter 'knew exactly what they were doing,' sheriff says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fields' comments came as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warned of a "new level of threat" posed by the incident and called for hardening of critical infrastructure including the power grid. “Protecting critical infrastructure like our power system must be a top priority,” said Cooper, a Democrat, in a press briefing on Monday. Schools in Moore County will be closed for a second day on Tuesday and 38,000 households were still without power amid freezing nighttime temperatures after the Saturday shootings. The saboteur "knew exactly what they were doing to cause the damage and cause the outage that they did," Fields said. That is nearly everyone who the company serves in Moore County, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said at a press briefing on Monday.

☆ Suspected vandals leave thousands in the dark in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Outages began around 7 p.m. Saturday, and utility workers found evidence at multiple electric substations that "indicated intentional vandalism had occurred," Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said in a statement. But Brooks told NBC News that he could not further describe the nature of the possible crime. In Pinehurst, the county's largest community of about 20,000 residents, church was canceled at the Pinehurst United Methodist Church, which holds three services every Sunday. "Read your Bible, pray...and stay safe," church leaders posted on its Facebook, leaving open whether its Christmas concert would go on in the late afternoon. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Duke Energy workers gather as they plan how to repair a crippled electrical substation that they said was hit by gunfire after the Moore County Sheriff said that vandalism caused a mass power outage, in Carthage, North Carolina, U.S. December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 4 (Reuters) - Residents of a central North Carolina county faced a second night of freezing weather without power on Sunday after vandals opened fire on two electric substations in what authorities called a "targeted attack." A motive for the Saturday night damage spree wasn't clear, said Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields. The lights went dark at about 7 p.m. Saturday for 40,000 homes and businesses in Moore County. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ After a slow start, the 2022 hurricane season roared in with memorable and destructive storms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jennifer Gray | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —As the hurricane season closes, a handful of blockbuster storms made history after an eerily quiet first half of the season gave false hope. In fact, we didn’t have any named storms from July 3 to August 31, the first time that’s occurred since 1941. One of those storms was Hurricane Ian, which hit land in late September and will go down as the most memorable storm of the 2022 season. “Tropical storms have formed in every month outside of hurricane season, and there have been a few hurricanes, too,” NOAA said. Historically, we’ve seen at least 15 named storms form in the month of December, even all the way up to December 30.

Throughout the town’s setbacks, generations of locals have taken their first and last breaths at Greenwood Leflore Hospital. On Nov. 4, talks with a larger hospital in Jackson that local officials had hoped would take over Greenwood Leflore fell through. Leflore County Supervisor Board President Robert Collins said finances are already strained, but the county can most likely put up about $3.5 million for Greenwood Leflore. Dr. Roderick Givens, who treats cancer patients at the Greenwood Leflore Hospital, is working with other local leaders to keep the facility open. When Greenwood Leflore opened in 1906, it initially operated out of a mansion repurposed as a medical facility.

That came on the heels of last week's report that October consumer prices rose less than anticipated, and Fed officials have signaled they are likely done with the three-quarter-point rate increases approved at the central bank's last four meetings. "Tech companies may have over-extrapolated the rapid growth they experienced during the pandemic and are now correcting for over-hiring," the Goldman economists wrote. Job growth through October remained strong but was moderating from its pre-pandemic highs, and Fed officials said they saw some initial signs that wage growth was beginning to cool. Curbing demand is one aim of Fed rate increases that have come at the fastest pace in 40 years on the expectation that less consumption will translate into less inflation. "You'd actually expect more competitive pressure to start bringing those costs down," Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday at a Bloomberg event.

Leslie Phillips, the British actor in the “Harry Potter” and “Carry On” films, has died following a long illness. Phillips, who was the voice of the Sorting Hat in the “Harry Potter” films, starred in over 200 movies, TV and radio series during a career that spanned more than 80 years. From left, actors Jodie Whittaker, Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths on Feb. 8, 2007, in London. He was mobbed everywhere he went,” Zara said to the newspaper. Leslie Phillips and Jon Pertwee promote their BBC radio show 'Navy Lark' in London on March 26, 1969.

Under the decades-old policy, defendants who settle without admitting to allegations must agree not to publicly deny them. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams took said in a ruling that requiring "gag orders" clashes with the constitutional protection of free speech. The SEC has defended the policy, saying that defendants are free to challenge allegations in court instead of settle. Circuit Court of Appeals have criticized the policy, no court has ruled against the SEC. The case is SEC v, Moraes, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Jerry Lee Lewis, rock ’n’ roll pioneer who sang ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ dies at 87
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Brandon Griggs | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And I’ve been on one all my life,” Lewis said in “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story,” a 2014 biography by Rick Bragg. Jerry Lee Lewis performs on stage at the Country Music Festival held at Wembley Arena, London in April 1982. In 1989 “Great Balls of Fire!”, a biopic starring Dennis Quaid as Lewis, brought new attention to Lewis’ life and music. Jerry Lee Lewis speaks at the Country Music Hall of Fame 2022 inductees presented by CMA at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on May 17, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. Well, forget about it, let me hear that song.’”Lewis is survived by his wife, Judith Coghlan Lewis, his children Jerry Lee Lewis III, Ronnie Lewis, Pheobe Lewis and Lori Lancaster, sister Linda Gail Lewis, cousin Swaggart and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews, according to his representative’s statement.

☆ Couple finds rare coins worth over $800,000 while renovating their kitchen floors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Ronnie Koenig | Joyann Jeffrey | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A couple in England had the surprise of a lifetime when they discovered a stash of rare coins underneath the kitchen floorboards during a renovation project. The haul of rare coins were recently sold at auction for $852,380 against a provisional sale estimate of $231,390. According to The Yorkshire Post, the coins have been linked to a Hull merchant family, the Maisters. Spink and SonHe explained that while it’s ordinary for rare coins to be sold at auction, the unique history of these coins and their amazing discovery made the sale extraordinary. Still, he hopes that it won’t cause people to start renovating their homes in hopes of making a similar discovery.

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