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☆ The ‘Fork Police.’ Offices Crack Down—Over Missing Utensils
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Rebecca Feng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As people return to workplaces all over the world, they’re discovering something else has disappeared—the office cutlery. At the London office of PEI Group, a global financial-media company, forks and teaspoons go missing at an alarming rate, said Nicola Williams, its office manager. She said she orders a new batch of roughly 100 new pieces of cutlery every six months to fill three communal drawers.

☆ Sen. Daines’s Twitter account suspended after posting profile picture of himself hunting
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —Twitter has suspended Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines’s account for violations of the company’s sensitive media policy. Daines’ Twitter profile currently displays messages indicating that the account is “temporarily unavailable because it violates the Twitter Media Policy.”According to an aide to the senator, Daines’ account was suspended due to his profile picture, which had shown Daines and his wife posing while hunting. A separate campaign account for Daines with a different profile picture was unaffected. In a statement, Rachel Dumke, a spokesperson for Daine, called the suspension “preposterous” and said Twitter had informed Daines’ office that the suspension would last until the profile picture was removed. Daines’ profile picture had included an animal showing what appeared to be small flecks of blood on its coat, and that were difficult to discern without expanding the image.

☆ George Santos says his mom was in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Records show she wasn't in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has claimed that his mother was at her office inside the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terror attacks, but records obtained by NBC News on Wednesday show she was living in Brazil at the time. She later applied for re-entry and was re-admitted into the U.S. in 2003, the records show. In 2021, when he was running for Congress, Santos claimed in a reply to an account on Twitter that 9/11 claimed his mother’s life. Calzareth, who’s originally from Nassau County but not Santos’ congressional district, submitted the FOIA requests about Santos’ mother in late December 2022. But House Republicans awarded him slots on two committees after pressure to prevent him from being seated on congressional panels.

☆ Black rappers call out double standard of using hip-hop lyrics as evidence in rapper Young Thug’s criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Safia Samee Ali | Safia Samee Ali Is A Reporter For Nbc News Digital | Based In Chicago. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Authorities had no physical evidence or weapon that linked Phipps to the shooting, and the then 22-year-old had no criminal record. Through her research Kubrin has found bias against rap music and artists, she said, adding that much of that bias is racialized. That means using lyrics from rap music, a historically Black genre, can infect jurors with anti-Black racism regardless of whether the defendant himself is Black, she said. Defending the practiceFulton County prosecutor Fani Willis, whose office is trying the case against Young Thug and other YSL members, has defended using music lyrics in trials. Gavin Newsom signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, which made it the first state to restrict the use of rap lyrics as evidence in state court.

☆ The feds say they're in for the long haul on Jan. 6 investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +16 min

But the federal investigation has been strained, spread thin and strapped for resources as a sometimes less-than-agile federal bureaucracy adapts to the overwhelming scope of the caseload. While the FBI arrested more than 700 defendants in the first year of the investigation, it arrested about 200 in the second. Online sleuths have done their best to bust those myths, too. “That was it.”The Sedition Hunters website features images of people online sleuths say took part in the Jan. 6 attack, including many (in blue) who have been identified. Some charging documents in Jan. 6 cases make the role that online sleuths played clear.

☆ Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Networks allegedly defrauded investors out of billions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The New York attorney general filed a civil lawsuit Thursday against the co-founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Networks for allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors who deposited billions of dollars into the platform. The lawsuit against Alex Mashinsky alleges he made false and misleading statements to encourage investors to place billions of dollars in digital assets with Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy court protection last year. “The law is clear that making false and unsubstantiated promises and misleading investors is illegal,” James said in a statement Thursday. When faced with losses, the lawsuit alleges, Mashinsky hid them from investors and continued to tout the safety of the platform to recruit new investors. In extending many of the loans, Celsius accepted FTX’s token, FTT, as collateral.

It’s not surprising to see that federal prosecutors, state prosecutors and New York’s attorney general are reportedly looking into Santos’ deception, and much of the public likely wants to see Santos punished for his duplicity. Yet despite the brazenness and provable nature of Santos’ lies, no one should believe that an indictment is guaranteed. Lying to the public, as Santos has, may be despicable and indefensible, but it is not a crime. Santos’ lies could be a goldmine for establishing intent and impeaching him on cross-examination at trial, and, if he is convicted, enhancing his punishment at sentencing. And there are no obvious state violations or other punishments coming for Santos unless state investigators uncover new facts.

☆ Thriving network of fixers preys on migrants crossing Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +23 min

With soaring numbers of people entering Mexico, a sprawling network of lawyers, fixers and middlemen has exploded in the country. Detained migrants stand in the outdoor area of the Siglo XXI Migrant Detention Center in Tapachula, Mexico, on Oct. 4. When the immigration agency was asked directly, via freedom of information requests, it said it was just one. An empanada vendor's stall advertises information, and immigration documents outside the main immigration office in Puebla, Mexico, on Sept. 23. By mid-December, the immigration agency suddenly announced the closing of the camp with no explanation.

☆ 50 states sign up for Walmart’s opioid settlement framework
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Walmart said it has reached settlement agreements with all 50 US states as part of a $3.1 billion nationwide opioid settlement announced last month. In November, the retailer announced a settlement from multiple states’ attorneys general that accused the company of failing to regulate opioid prescriptions contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis. Those two chains have tentatively agreed to pay a combined $10 billion to settle lawsuits brought by states and local governments alleging the retailers mishandled prescriptions of opioid painkillers. US states, cities and counties have filed more than 3,000 lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies, accusing them of downplaying the addiction risk and failing to stop pills from being diverted for illegal use. – CNN’s Shawn Nottingham and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report.

☆ The supply chain that keeps tech flowing to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

“We cannot export to Russia, we cannot sell to Russia, and that’s why we just sell to Turkey,” he said. Azu International is an example of how supply channels to Russia have remained open despite Western export restrictions and manufacturer bans. At least $2.6 billion of computer and other electronic components flowed into Russia in the seven months to Oct. 31, Russian customs records show. Pixel Devices also said it’s not surprising that no one was in Pixel Devices’ office recently because most employees work remotely or in warehouse operations. Russian customs records show that Pixel Devices’ main client in Russia is a company in St. Petersburg called OOO KompLiga.

☆ FDA needs to do better at policing online tobacco retailers, new report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration is falling down on the job of policing online tobacco retailers, according to a highly critical new report from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. “It is unclear to what extent FDA conducted additional oversight of these online tobacco retailers at later dates and found subsequent violations that could result in FDA taking enforcement actions,” the report says. While it can be difficult to police online retailers due to the sheer volume and the internet’s “wild West” nature, as one FDA official described it in the report, it says the FDA could do better by collaborating more closely with ATF on the oversight of these online retailers. The report recommends that the FDA finish making rules about online sales, as it was supposed to do years ago, and collect data about its oversight of online retailers. What stood out to Sward in the report was the FDA’s lack of follow-up beyond warning letters to online retailers.

☆ New York Times journalists stage historic 24-hour strike after management and union fail to reach deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Stacy Cowley holds a sign outside the New York Times building in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 8, 2022. Joe Kahn, executive editor of The Times, said in a note to staff, “We will produce a robust report on Thursday. “We’re asking readers to not engage in any [New York Times] platforms tomorrow and stand with us on the digital picket line!,” Amanda Hess, a critic-at-large for the newspaper, wrote on Twitter. New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks outside the Times' office, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in New York. “When Times management comes to the bargaining table with their insulting and disrespectful offers, they have to explain it to a room full of their own employees—and they hate it.

☆ ‘Squid Game’ actor indicted on indecent assault charges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Award-winning “Squid Game” actor Oh Young-soo will stand trial on charges of indecent assault after a woman accused him of inappropriately touching her in 2017, a South Korean court said. The district court in Seongnam city said Thursday that prosecutors indicted the 78-year-old Emmy nominee last week over the allegations and that his trial will begin in February. South Korean cable channel JTBC said Oh denied wrongdoing when reached by a reporter, saying that he had only held the woman’s hands to “show her the way” as they walked around a lake. Oh became the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe in January after he was named the top supporting actor for his role in “Squid Game,” a brutal Netflix drama about a desperate group of adults competing in deadly children’s games for a chance to escape severe debt. Oh was also nominated for an Emmy for his performance as Oh Il-nam, a mysterious elderly contestant who joined the games after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Dodgers player Yasiel Puig will plead guilty to lying to federal investigators who were probing an illegal sports gambling operation, prosecutors in Southern California said Monday. Puig, 31, will plead guilty to one count of making false statements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement. Puig will also pay a fine of at least $55,000, the prosecutors’ office said. Puig was charged and a plea agreement was filed Aug. 29, but the case was unsealed Monday, according to court records. Neither the statement from federal prosecutors’ office nor court documents say that Puig gambled on baseball.

☆ Opioid settlement: Walmart agrees to $3.1 billion framework
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kristina Sgueglia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —Walmart agreed to the framework of a $3.1 billion settlement, which resolves allegations from multiple states’ attorneys general that the company failed to regulate opioid prescriptions contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis. The framework will resolve virtually all opioid lawsuits and potential lawsuits by state, local, and tribal governments against Walmart, assuming all the settlement’s conditions are satisfied. As part of the framework of the agreement, New York state will receive up to $116 million. The settlement is still pending approval from other states, but James’ office believes they will give the deal their blessing by the end of the year. “Promising negotiations,” are still underway with other pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS, James’ office said.

☆ German Authorities Search UBS Offices in Russian Oligarch Probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | Margot Patrick | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

German authorities searched the offices of UBS AG in Frankfurt and Munich on Tuesday, part of a money-laundering investigation into sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov , according to a person familiar with the case. A UBS spokesman confirmed the visits to its branches and said the bank is cooperating with authorities. A spokesman at the prosecutors’ office in Frankfurt said neither the bank nor its employees are accused in its proceedings, and the searches were meant to obtain evidence.

A New York state judge on Thursday ordered an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization's financial statements following allegations that the company has been vastly overstating its assets. In a hearing in state Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan, Trump attorney Chris Kise argued the move was unnecessary and could hamper the company's business. The motion for a preliminary injunction said Trump Organization representatives created a new company with the same name in Delaware six days before James’ office brought the suit. The company then filed paperwork to register Trump Organization II LLC in New York on Sept. 21, the same day the civil action was filed. In a letter to Engoron on Thursday morning, James' office said the trust documents "pertain to ownership and control of the business assets."

☆ Florida judge orders DeSantis to turn over records on migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Summer Concepcion Is A Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Ron DeSantis must turn over records in connection with migrant flights his administration chartered from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday, saying it failed to comply with the state’s public records law after an open government group sued for the information. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ordered the administration to provide the records sought by the group, the Florida Center for Government Accountability, within the next 20 days, said Michael Barfield, the organization's director of public access. DeSantis’ office did not return NBC News's request for comment on the judge's ruling, which was reported by the Miami Herald. The Florida Center for Government Accountability filed its lawsuit earlier this month, alleging the delay by the governor’s office to turn over records is unjustified. Last month, DeSantis chartered planes carrying about 50 migrants from San Antonio to Marta’s Vineyard, escalating a tactic first used by Texas Gov.

☆ Ethnic group says Myanmar air attack kills 80 at celebration
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BANGKOK — Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military killed as many as 80 people, including singers and musicians, attending an anniversary celebration of the Kachin ethnic minority’s main political organization, members of the group and a rescue worker said Monday. He said he first heard there had been 60 deaths, but was later told by sources close to Kachin Independence Army officials that about 80 people had died. He said military aircraft dropped four bombs on the celebration at about 8 p.m., according to members of his group who were there. They also included at least 10 Kachin military and business VIPs sitting in front of the stage, and cooks working backstage, he added. He said the deaths were a loss for all Kachin people, and its group would fly the Kachin flag at half-staff.

☆ Top Arizona election official refers more cases of potential voter intimidation to law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has referred six reports of possible voter intimidation to law enforcement in the past week, as well as an allegation of harassment of an election worker, her office said Monday. The cases were referred to the state attorney general’s office and the U.S. Justice Department for further investigation. Early voting got underway Oct. 12 in the battleground state, where Hobbs is the Democratic nominee for governor. Hobbs’ office said it also referred a report of election worker harassment to law enforcement Saturday. The case is being pursued by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was launched in June 2021.

☆ U.S. households await winter with dread due to high energy costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Across the U.S., families are looking to the winter with dread as energy costs soar and fuel supplies tighten. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association says energy costs will be the highest in more than a decade this winter. The pain will be especially acute in New England, which is heavily reliant on heating oil to keep homes warm. It’s projected to cost more than $2,300 to heat a typical home with heating oil this winter, the energy department said. But that level represents an overall reduction from last year, when federal pandemic relief pushed the total energy assistance package past $8 billion.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of widespread ballot 'harvesting' ahead of the U.S midterm election
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Stuffing ballot boxes, ballot harvesting, gerrymandering, and the lonist goes on and on,” reads a tweet. A Reuters Fact Check explainer exploring examples of how and why voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the U.S. ahead of the midterms can be seen (here). According to Minnite, experts agree there is no evidence of systematic voter fraud happening during absentee voting. They found 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud from 2000 to 2012, a time when 146 million Americans were registered to vote (news21.com/archive/), (here), (here). A Reuters fact check article previously found that the film does not provide verifiable evidence of voter fraud (here).

☆ Herschel Walker tries to turn 'prop' badge controversy into campaign gold
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

And Walker’s campaign told NBC News that it has ordered 1,000 imitation plastic law enforcement badges that say “I’m with Herschel” as a fundraising tool. “Herschel Walker has been a friend to law enforcement and has a record of honoring police,” said Gail Gitcho, the Walker campaign strategist who ordered the badges Saturday. "It just gives us a chance to talk about Herschel’s support of law enforcement and law enforcement's support for him. If he said, ‘I’m a law enforcement officer and I have these powers,’ then I have a problem with that. Asked whether he had a problem with Walker’s flashing the honorary badge onstage, Wilcher said: “No.

☆ FBI official was warned after Jan. 6 that some in the bureau were 'sympathetic' to the Capitol rioters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The next month, he was named deputy director, the highest-ranking official under FBI Director Christopher Wray. But sources close to the investigation have told NBC News that there have been some special agents in the country who have resisted Jan. 6 cases. Many special agents have been very proactive, while others in various field offices have engaged in half-hearted investigative efforts and seem content to let things peter out, the sources said. After receiving support from 30 former FBI special agents, Friend joined Trump’s Truth Social platform this week, where he was welcomed by Kyle Seraphin, another suspended FBI special agent who joined Truth Social and did an interview with conservative firebrand Dan Bongino after his suspension. A tip the FBI received about the Proud Boys ahead of Jan. 6, highlighted by the committee, was even starker.

Instead, data and child welfare experts suggest the changes may have done the opposite. State child welfare officials say more vigilance in documenting severe cases of abuse likely contributed to the increase. Child welfare experts say these findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of the primary tool that states rely on to protect children: mandatory child abuse reporting. These policies, the bedrock of America’s child welfare system, were first implemented more than half a century ago in response to growing national awareness of child maltreatment. “We are continuing to tell mandated reporters, ‘Report, report, report,’ and nobody can handle it,” Berger said in an interview.

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