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☆ Election deniers are trying to influence the midterm elections at the polls, in the courts, and on the ballot
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Katie Balevic | Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Election deniers who challenged the 2020 presidential election are influencing the 2022 midterms. Organizing efforts to reach voters directlyState by state, election deniers are already having an impact on the ground. Election deniers on the ballotDozens upon dozens of election deniers are also running for office in the midterms — many of whom Trump has endorsed. Nearly 300 election deniers are running for public office with 171 expected to be victorious on election night, according to The Washington Post. Mario Tama/Getty ImagesMany election deniers are running for seats in Congress while others are running in significant statewide races.

☆ Immigration and rights groups ask Biden administration not to send Haitian migrants to Guantanamo facility
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

More than 280 immigration, faith-based and rights groups sent a letter to the Biden administration on Friday asking it not to send Haitian migrants interdicted at sea to Guantanamo Bay or a third-party country. The groups were responding to a Sunday report by NBC News that the White House's National Security Council had asked the Department of Homeland Security to model scenarios in case of a surge of Haitian migrants. The groups who signed the letter, led by the Haitian Bridge Alliance, urged the Biden administration to instead allow Haitians to be removed from dangerous vessels at sea and taken to the U.S. to claim asylum. The administration must not under any circumstances send asylum seekers and migrants to the notorious Guantánamo Bay or other offshore detention locations,” the groups said. Similar criticism arose in September 2021 after the Biden administration began mass deportations of Haitian asylum seekers who crowded by the thousands under an international bridge in Del Rio, Texas.

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, local election officials became frequent targets of supporters of former President Donald Trump who supported his false claims of election fraud. Election officials also said that the courts could inject chaos into the process if results are contested for weeks following the vote. Droves of election workers throughout Georgia quit their positions following the 2020 election. And in Pennsylvania, nearly 50 top election officials have left their post within the past two years. “Election workers and election officials leave or stop coming in, more errors can occur as a result, which in turn can fuel disinformation,” he said.

☆ Suspect in Paul Pelosi attack was in U.S. illegally, immigration officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The suspect who violently assaulted Paul Pelosi with a hammer last week was in the U.S. illegally, immigration officials confirm. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked San Francisco County to hand DePape over to the agency, meaning that DePape could eventually be deported back to Canada. For the state charges, he could face 13 years to life in prison if he is convicted and the federal charges carry a maximum of 50 years in prison. Investigators say DePape broke into San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul on a mission to hold her hostage and break her kneecaps. Law enforcement determined Saturday that DePape had been living for the last two years in the garage of a residence in Richmond, just outside San Francisco.

☆ Accused Paul Pelosi attacker David DePape could be deported after release from custody, DHS says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, lodged an "immigration detainer" on 42-year-old Canadian national David DePape, DHS told CNBC in a statement. The detainer requests that the San Francisco County Jail notify ICE before DePape is done serving time so that the immigration officers can take custody of him. The Democratic House speaker was in Washington, D.C., at the time. Paul Pelosi managed to call 9-1-1, and when officers arrived, DePape struck him in the head with the hammer, authorities said. DePape arrived at the San Francisco home toting zip ties, tape, rope and at least one hammer, according to the affidavit.

☆ The man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband is in the country illegally from Canada and could be deported, immigration officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi was in the United States illegally and faces possible deportation. He faces both federal and state charges in connection to last week's attack on Pelosi. David DePape, 42, faces federal and state charges over last week's attack on Paul Pelosi, which left the 82-year-old man hospitalized with a skull fracture and other injuries. ICE puts so-called immigration detainers on people who've been arrested on criminal charges and whom ICE believe could be deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act. DePape faces 50 years in prison if convicted on both federal charges against him.

☆ More than 100 election jurisdictions waiting on federal cyber help, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, offers the services on a voluntary basis. But some election information does run through the internet, like voting registration, official information about how and where to vote, and election officials’ email systems. The sources declined to say which states and election jurisdictions have not received the help they asked for, or how many. State and local election officials sought to beef up their security software after the 2019 report from special counsel Robert Mueller revealed Russian interference in the 2016 election. “And we have made this the top priority at CISA over the past year to ensure that we are supporting those election officials.”

Migrants who have been bused to New York City in the thousands are finding themselves in a fruitless hunt for work while they try to build lives in the United States. It’s already been about a month, a month and a half in New York and we need to find work,” Yorvin Mateus, 24, said. Yet, with work hard to come by, the trio planned to try their luck in Chicago, another city that has been taking in migrants. The dormitory at the Randall's Island relief center in New York City on Oct. 18. Jan Rojas, a migrant from Venezuela, with his wife and four children in New York City.

☆ Facebook has a special portal for government officials to request user content be throttled or suppressed for vaguely defined disinformation, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Intercept reported social media platforms are cooperating with a DHS initiative against misinformation. Facebook built a special portal for government officials to request user content be throttled or suppressed. Content about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice, and US support for Ukraine has been targeted. Specific actions taken by the private businesses remain unclear, but recent DHS reports indicate an increased focus on preventing disinformation campaigns online. On Facebook, using a portal called the Content Request System, The Intercept reported, government officials from DHS as well as law enforcement officers can directly submit reports about posts that were deemed subversive or suspicious.

U.S. law enforcement has circulated bulletins warning that conspiracy theorists could become violent around the midterm elections on Nov. 8. The bulletins, obtained by NBC News, are unclassified but intended only for law enforcement. One of the bulletins, issued Friday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center, and marked “for official use only,” warned about domestic violent extremism, or DVE in law enforcement circles. “The most plausible DVE threat is posed by lone offenders who leverage election-related issues to justify violence,” it said. Those include an Oct. 10 post on the fringe social media platform Gab in which a user wrote, “Death penalty for election fraud!

☆ With a possible surge of Haitian migrants ahead, the Biden admin weighs holding them in a third country or Guantanamo
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

For more than 30 years, Guantanamo Bay has had a Migrant Operations Center that houses migrants picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Caribbean. Planning now under consideration would roughly double the capacity at the Migrant Operations Center to 400 beds, according to the document. The Biden administration received bipartisan criticism for its handling of a massive flood of Haitian migrants in September 2021, which led to more than 12,000 massing under an international bridge in Del Rio, Texas. The Biden administration ramped up deportation flights to deal with the influx, but so far those flights have halted since August 2022. A spokesperson for the NSC said, “The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Haiti.

☆ The diesel market is in a perfect storm as prices surge, supply dwindles ahead of winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

watch nowNew England's diesel supply issues were made worse when a Canadian refinery in Newfoundland shut down in 2020 as the pandemic impacted on demand. A couple of farmers told me diesel supply via their local vendor is day to day." According to MarineTraffic, the 56 Jones Act tankers are being used. For example, a Jones Act tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of diesel from Houston to Boston costs approximately 16 cents per gallon. This is one of the reasons why energy traders favor using foreign flag tankers versus Jones Act tankers.

☆ 'Complex threat environment' ahead of midterm elections, top cybersecurity official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Election officials in the United States have been alerted to safe-proof their voting systems and be vigilant about political violence amid a "very complex threat environment," top U.S. cybersecurity official Jen Easterly said on Sunday in the wake of an attack on the husband of a leading Democratic lawmaker last week. The attack has ignited fears about political violence at a time when crime has become a leading issue this election season. Last week the NYPD called for "elevated vigilance" ahead of the midterm elections in an internal bulletin. The department warned that extremists could target political events and polling sites, putting poll workers and political candidates at risk. Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ AOC says the US is 'truly facing an environment of fascism' where voter intimidation 'brings us to Jim Crow'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AOC said the US is experiencing fascism and voter intimidation that mimics the Jim Crow era. Federal officials warned that threats of violence may rise due to "perceptions of election-related fraud." "We are really truly facing an environment of fascism in the United States of America. This type of intimidation at the polls brings us to Jim Crow," Ocasio-Cortez said on MSNBC's "All in with Chris Hayes" on Friday in a conversation with Hayes and Rep. Jamie Raskin. "Those wounds threaten to rip right back open if we do not strongly defend democracy in the United States of America."

☆ Hate speech, online extremism fed Pelosi attack, terror experts believe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Heather Timmons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The frequent targeting of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by online extremists and political opponents likely contributed to the violent attack on her husband Paul, terrorism and extremism experts said. before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, according to a person briefed on the incident. Pelosi has been demonized online and in public by both far right and far left-leaning political websites and figures. Those theories and people who espouse them are sometimes promoted by more mainstream public figures, amplifying the threats, experts say. Site said the Pelosi attack was being celebrated online by far-right supporters.

NBC News, in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post, and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, interviewed more than 40 current and former employees of contractors at military bases. According to an NBC News analysis, at least 10 companies with substantiated trafficking violations since 2007 have received billions in new government contracts. ‘Mad scramble’Foreign workers are crucial for the more than 700 military bases with U.S. service members around the world. One company that continues to get work at Middle East bases despite past violations documented in an Army compliance agreement is Tamimi, Abdulla’s employer. Lusambu Karim, a 50-year-old Ugandan, told NBC News about trafficking violations he said he encountered working for Aegis in Afghanistan from 2018 to 2020.

☆ IBM salaries revealed: Engineers can earn nearly $200K. See how much analysts, managers, and others at the tech giant make.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Caroline Haskins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

IBM is among the oldest and largest computer companies in the world and has more than 350,000 employees. These offers must be equal to what US employees earn making them a great guide to employee salaries at the company. When Insider analyzed IBM salary data in 2021, the highest offer was to an engineering program director, earning $335,000. A technical team lead, for instance, earned $57,500 in Monroe, LA, and as much as $114,500 in Parsippany, NJ. Insider has also compiled a database of salaries across other big tech companies like Google, Apple, Tesla, Amazon, and more.

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☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ Qatar to suspend evacuation flights for U.S.-bound Afghan refugees while it hosts soccer World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Dan De Luce | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Qatari officials have said they plan to suspend evacuation flights for Afghan refugees hoping to resettle in the U.S. while the country hosts soccer’s World Cup next month, according to refugee advocates, congressional aides and a source familiar with the Qatari government’s plans. Afghan refugees trying to book flights to Doha have received emails saying it’s not possible to reserve a seat until January, Afghans and advocacy groups said. Flights are continuing to operate at the moment but refugee organizations are worried the planes will soon stop flying out of Kabul. The Biden administration has not released up-to-date numbers on how many Afghans are in the pipeline for special immigrant visas. A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. has issued more than 18,000 special immigrant visas to Afghan applicants and their family members from January 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022.

The Musk video by reAlpha included “robust disclaimers” establishing it as satire, said Christie Currie, chief marketing officer. The first Musk video went live days after reAlpha launched a public offering under regulation A+ in 2021. But the ease of creating deepfakes means some celebrities could soon be deluged by ads featuring their unauthorized, but very convincing likenesses, Mr. Moss said. At the same time, the language in contracts written years before the technology existed may be vague enough to allow marketers to use existing footage to create new deepfake videos. Companies most often request celebrity deepfake videos to use internally for training, communications, parties or other purposes—but not for ads, said Daynen Biggs, owner of Slack Shack Films, which produced the Elon Musk videos.

Migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are prompting U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to call for unfreezing Venezuelan funds held in foreign banks that would provide needed food and medicine, the sources told Reuters. It also has some in Venezuela's opposition parties worried about the political impact of releasing funds that Maduro could claim credit for ahead of a potential 2024 presidential election. The United Nations drafted a first proposal to oversee the fund in mid-October, the sources told Reuters. Opposition envoys discussed the aid package with U.S. officials during their meetings last week in Washington, four of the sources said. For the United Nations, it could become one of the largest funds ever handled, even though the total amount that could be legally released is not clear.

☆ Hawaii couple charged with securities fraud over 'semi-sub' watercraft company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Hawaii couple was criminally charged with defrauding investors out of more than $28 million with bogus claims about building a watercraft that could partially submerge to give passengers underwater views, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The couple was charged with securities fraud, conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud in an indictment unsealed this week. The couple was also sued by the Securities Exchange Commission for fraud in August over their actions in connection with their company, Semisub Inc., based in Hawaii. An attorney for Jamey Jackson was not listed. The couple reportedly sold securities for the company to investors across the country, including in Pennsylvania and California, where they had been barred from selling securities in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

☆ U.S. to warn of threats to midterm elections -Politico
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The federal government is set to issue a warning this week about threats to the United States' elections operations ahead of Nov. 8 congressional elections, Politico reported on Monday. Republicans are aiming to win back control of the Senate and the House of Representatives from Biden's fellow Democrats in the midterm elections. Domestic disinformation campaigns and homegrown threats to poll workers are emerging as bigger concerns before the midterms, two senior U.S. officials told Reuters last week. "There is a lot of rhetoric about violence against poll workers," said one of the U.S. officials. Election integrity has been a contentious issue in the United States, particularly in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

☆ How a conviction in Trump Org's upcoming trial could bar Trump from federal contracts, even for Secret Service
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Laura Italiano | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A ban could end his 'exorbitant' billing of Secret Service agents who protect him at his resorts. Add to that the recent news that the Trump Organization had billed the Secret Service more than $ 1.4 million to stay at Trump properties during the former president's time in office. At the Trump Organization headquarters in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the cars, apartments and tuition were considered part of Weisselberg's $940,000-a-year income, prosecutors allege. Secret Service a tough targetWatchdogs concede that Trump's Secret Service billing is a tough target. Barring the unlikelihood of a cash-free solution — Trump letting the Secret Service "stay at our properties for free," as Eric Trump once promised, or forgoing Secret Service protection voluntarily, as Richard Nixon did — Trump's Secret Service spigot may well remain open, watchdogs acknowledge.

☆ Migrant border crossings in fiscal year 2022 topped 2.76 million, breaking previous record
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

The number of undocumented immigrant crossings at the southwest border for fiscal year 2022 topped 2.76 million, breaking the previous annual record by more than 1 million, according to Customs and Border Protection data. For the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2022, CBP stopped migrants more than 2,766,582 times, compared to 1.72 million times for fiscal 2021, the previous yearly high. The 2022 numbers were driven in part by sharp increases in the number of Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans making the trek north, according to CBP. In September, there were 227,547 encounters along the border, up 12 percent compared to August. CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said that in October, the number of Venezuelans trying to cross the border has fallen sharply due to increased cooperation with Mexico.

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