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☆ Sen. Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to pocketing bribes in a wide-ranging corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to federal charges accusing him of pocketing bribes of cash and gold bars in exchange for wielding his political influence to secretly advance Egyptian interests and do favors for local businessmen. Menendez spoke in court only when each defendant stood to acknowledge that they understood the charges against them. A lawyer entered the not guilty plea for Menendez, who was forced to step down as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee after being indicted. They say Menendez also tried to interfere in criminal investigations involving associates, in one case pushing to install in New Jersey a federal prosecutor who he believed he could influence to derail a case. Two of the businessmen, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, also were arraigned and pleaded not guilty.

Persons: Bob Menendez, Nadine Arslanian, Sen, Menendez, Illinois Sen, Dick Durbin, Jersey Sen, Cory Booker, Nadine, Nadine Menendez, Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes, Wael Hana, Hana, Prosecutors, Menendez's Organizations: Democrat, Court, Southern District of, U.S, Bob Menendez of New, Foreign, Senate, Illinois, Democrats, Authorities, Prosecutors, Kennedy Airport Locations: New Jersey, Southern District, Southern District of New York, New York City, Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Manhattan, Jersey, Englewood, , New Jersey, Egypt

☆ Sen. Bob Menendez suggests cash found in bribery raid came from 'personal savings'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey suggested Monday that the cash seized by federal investigators from his home came from his personal savings account. "I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, what I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba," Menendez said during a press conference on Monday. "Now this may seem old-fashioned but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived," he added. Menendez and his wife were indicted on federal bribery charges in New York last week. Prosecutors accused the 69-year-old Democrat and his spouse of allegedly accepting lavish bribes including, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz car and mortgage payments.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Nadine Menendez, WASHINGTON — Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez Organizations: Bob Menendez of New, Prosecutors, Mercedes, Benz, New Locations: Jersey, Union City , New Jersey, U.S, Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Cuba, New York, Englewood Cliffs , New Jersey

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine Arslanian arrive for a state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2022. A lawyer for Arslanian, who also goes by Nadine Menendez, said she denied wrongdoing and would "vigorously defend" against the allegations in court. Arslanian, 56, reportedly met Menendez, 69, at an IHOP pancake restaurant, which the senator has praised as a favorite dining spot. Soon after she met Menendez, Arslanian worked with businessman Wael Hana to introduce the senator, the powerful chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to Egyptian officials, the indictment said. She then forwarded it to Egyptian officials, according to the indictment.

Persons: Bob Menendez, Nadine Arslanian, Emmanuel Macron, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, Menendez, Arslanian, Nadine Menendez, Wael Hana, Hana, Tom Hals, Luc Cohen, Daniel Wallis Organizations: White, REUTERS, U.S ., Foreign Relations, U.S . State Department, U.S, Embassy, Strategic, Business, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, New Jersey, COVID, India, Cairo, Egypt, Englewood Cliffs , New Jersey, Wilmington , Delaware, New York

☆ Senator Menendez's Wife of Three Years at Center of Bribery Allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

A lawyer for Arslanian, who also goes by Nadine Menendez, said she denied wrongdoing and would "vigorously defend" against the allegations in court. Arslanian, 56, reportedly met Menendez, 69, at an IHOP pancake restaurant, which the senator has praised as a favorite dining spot. Soon after she met Menendez, Arslanian worked with businessman Wael Hana to introduce the senator, the powerful chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to Egyptian officials, the indictment said. In May of that year, Menendez sought sensitive information from the U.S. State Department regarding personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and texted it to Arslanian. She then forwarded it to Egyptian officials, according to the indictment.

Persons: Tom Hals, Luc Cohen, Bob Menendez, Nadine Arslanian, Menendez, Arslanian, Nadine Menendez, Wael Hana, Hana, Daniel Wallis Organizations: U.S ., Foreign Relations, U.S . State Department, U.S, Embassy, Strategic, Business Locations: New Jersey, COVID, India, Cairo, Egypt, Englewood Cliffs , New Jersey, Wilmington , Delaware, New York

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton's quest to restore the Denver Broncos’ long-lost offensive swagger in 2023 starts with resurrecting Russell Wilson's career. Do I think he’s going to fix Russell Wilson? I don’t think you fix Russell Wilson, I think you find Russell Wilson. “There’s something about Sean Payton, you know, he’s a commanding presence in the room,” Collinsworth said. “I’m gonna bet on Sean Payton figuring out a way to make this fit."

Persons: Sean Payton's, Russell Wilson's, Nathaniel Hackett, Wilson, George Paton, “ It's, It's, Russ, ” Payton, Cris Collinsworth, Sean Payton’s, Collinsworth, Russell Wilson, Payton, We've, Sean’s, Jameis, Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Brees, “, Sean Payton, he’s, ” Collinsworth, Russell, —, ” Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Mike Tirico, Hackett, Aaron Rodgers, ” Tirico, Mike Tannenbaum, Mike Lombardi, Jarrett Stidham, he'll, Wilson wouldn't, Deion Sanders, you've, There's, I've, ” Organizations: Denver Broncos, Broncos, NBC, Football, Las Vegas Raiders, Taysom, NFL, ESPN, University of Colorado Locations: ENGLEWOOD, Colo, Russ, New Orleans, New York, Denver

☆ Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to intensify into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane as it churns toward Florida’s Gulf Coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Nouran Salahieh Robert Shackelford Joe Sutton | Nouran Salahieh | Robert Shackelford | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Idalia is expected to intensify into a hurricane Monday and make landfall on Wednesday morning near the Big Bend of Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. As the storm intensifies, “life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds” are “becoming increasingly likely for portions of Florida,” the hurricane center said early Monday. “Idalia has been moving erratically and is nearly stationary,” the hurricane center added. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the Dry Tortugas beginning late Monday and along the Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday. The government of Cuba has upgraded the tropical storm warning for Pinar del Rio to a hurricane warning.

Persons: Idalia, Ron DeSantis, Floridians, “, ”, DeSantis Organizations: CNN, National Hurricane Center, Lower, Florida Gulf, Florida Division, Emergency Management, Pinar del, Florida Panhandle, Carolinas, Idalia Florida Gov, National Guardsmen, Patrol, Schools, Florida Department of Education, Hernando County Sunday, Facebook Locations: Florida, Bend, Cuba, Mexico, Coast, Englewood, India, Tampa, , Florida, Lower Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Pinar del Rio, Georgia, Tallahassee, Hillsborough County, Citrus County, Citrus, U.S, Hernando, Hernando County

CNN —A hurricane watch has been issued for portions of Florida’s Gulf Coast as the state braces for Tropical Storm Idalia, which is expected to strengthen to a hurricane and make landfall this week. The hurricane watch stretches from Englewood to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Sunday afternoon update. In addition to the hurricane watch, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the Gulf Coast of Florida from Englewood to Chokoloskee and the Dry Tortugas. Idalia is forecast to drop 3 to 6 inches of rain on western Cuba, Florida’s west coast, the Panhandle and southern Georgia, with isolated totals of 10 inches, the hurricane center said. Anyone living in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, and the northern Gulf and Florida coast should monitor the forecast in the coming days.

Persons: Idalia, ”, Ron DeSantis, Floridians, DeSantis, Joe Biden, Lagartos, Franklin, Storm Franklin, Hurricane Franklin Organizations: CNN, Hurricane, Channel, Carolinas, Wednesday, Florida Panhandle, . Florida Gov, National Guardsmen, Patrol, . Schools, White, Florida Division, Emergency Management, National Hurricane Center, NOAA, Air Force Hurricane Locations: Florida’s Gulf, Englewood, Tampa, Gulf Coast of Florida, Chokoloskee, Cozumel, Mexico, Yucatán, Cuba, Bend, Florida, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Florida’s, Georgia, Tallahassee, Hernando County, United States, Mexico’s Yucatán, Tulum, Pinar del Río, of Youth, Chokoloskee , Florida, Tortugas , Florida, of Mexico, Caribbean, Bermuda, Hurricane, East Coast, Franklin

☆ Taking a Late-in-Life Victory Lap, Thanks to His Novel’s ‘Lunatic Energy’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Plunket was living in a trailer park in Englewood, Fla., with his pug, Meatball, when an email interrupted his life of quiet retirement. “I did feel like an obscure has-been,” Plunket said, “because that’s what I was, technically.”Now, Plunket is relishing his new status as a former has-been. This month, the independent publisher New Directions reissued his novel, “My Search for Warren Harding,” a biting comedy about a scholar who goes to extreme, morally questionable lengths to access letters Warren Harding sent to his mistress. What’s even more unusual about Plunket, and his unlikely return, is how stealthily influential his fiction has been over the decades. His admirers include writers like the novelist Ann Beattie and the journalist Frank Rich, comedians like Amy Sedaris and Larry David.

Persons: Robert Plunket, Meatball, Plunket, ” Plunket, Warren Harding, ”, Danzy Senna, Ann Beattie, Frank Rich, Amy Sedaris, Larry David, Madonna, Ian Organizations: New Locations: Englewood, Fla, New York

☆ A Campus With a Smokestack: Converting Old Factories Into Schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Patrick Sisson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mallory Campus, a century-old brick building in the Englewood neighborhood in Indianapolis, has long been known for innovation. The industrial site was once home to scientists and engineers who had for decades devised new consumer goods, including radios, washing machines and even the Duracell battery. Now, one of its new tenants, Purdue Polytechnic High School, hopes its students will make their own scientific discoveries. In 2020, Purdue, a 600-student charter school, took over two floors of the former industrial site, which had sat abandoned for 30 years. The campus was transformed with the help of historic renovation tax credits to help adapt the space for reuse.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department confirmed on Wednesday it had seized the Russia-linked online criminal marketplace Genesis Market, working in conjunction with international law enforcement and the Treasury Department. The announcements from Justice and Treasury came a day after the FBI and a consortium of international law enforcement authorities shut down Genesis Market. The international marketplace steals private information from victims' devices and offers it for sale, Treasury said in a release Wednesday. "Today's takedown of Genesis Market is a demonstration of the FBI's commitment to disrupting and dismantling key services used by criminals to facilitate cybercrime," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "Treasury will continue to work closely with our law enforcement colleagues to disrupt this activity and hold malign cyber actors accountable."

March 13 (Reuters) - Dish Network LLC (DISH.O) must pay $469 million for infringing two patents held by parental-control technology maker ClearPlay Inc related to filtering material from streaming video, a jury in U.S. federal court in Utah has decided. While jurors found that Dish's technology violated ClearPlay's patent rights, they rejected ClearPlay's contention that Dish copied its technology intentionally. Salt Lake City-based ClearPlay's technology lets users filter out adult content like sex, violence and drug use from DVDs and streaming video. Englewood, Colorado-based Dish said that AutoHop works differently from ClearPlay's patented technology. The case is ClearPlay Inc v. Dish Network LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, No.

☆ Norfolk Southern Rail-Yard Plan Faces Key Vote as Chicago Tries to Expand Cargo Hub
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Joe Barrett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CHICAGO—An expansion of a freight yard where oceangoing containers are moved from railcars to trucks faces a crucial vote Wednesday, a sign of the third-largest U.S. city’s importance as a rail hub and the challenges of running a railroad in a dense urban area. The city council is expected to hold a final vote on whether to turn over the streets that pass through block after block of empty lots now owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. The railroad began acquiring and eventually demolishing a total of 500 homes in Englewood, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, for the multimillion-dollar project in 2008.

☆ Norfolk Southern Rail-Yard Plan Wins Key Vote as Chicago Tries to Expand Cargo Hub
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Joe Barrett | Photographs Taylor Glascock For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CHICAGO—A long-planned expansion of a freight yard where oceangoing containers are moved from railcars to trucks cleared a final hurdle Wednesday, a sign of the third-largest U.S. city’s importance as a rail hub and the challenges of running a railroad in a dense urban area. The city council approved a measure to turn over the streets and alleys that pass through block after block of empty lots now owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. The railroad began acquiring and eventually demolishing a total of 500 homes in Englewood, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, for the multimillion-dollar project in 2008.

☆ Former New York Gynecologist Convicted of Federal Sex Crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robert Hadden leaving the federal courthouse in New York on Tuesday. A gynecologist who molested hundreds of patients during a decadeslong career was convicted of federal sex crime charges Tuesday. Robert Hadden , 64, of Englewood, N.J., was convicted after less than a day of deliberations at a two-week trial in which nine former patients described how he abused them sexually during examinations, when they were most vulnerable.

☆ A Second Colorado Library Closes After Meth Found in the Bathrooms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Signs were placed on the doors of the Englewood Public Library to advise visitors that the library was closed due to meth contamination. A second Colorado library has been temporarily closed after methamphetamine was found inside, officials said. The city of Englewood reported that meth was discovered in the library bathrooms earlier this month. City officials said they proactively tested Englewood Public Library for the drug after Boulder’s main library closed last month because of meth contamination.

☆ 2 Colorado libraries close after meth contamination
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the second time in a month, a Colorado library has closed its doors to clean up methamphetamine contamination. The city of about 33,000 just south of Denver decided to test for the drug after officials in the nearby college town of Boulder closed its main library after finding meth contamination, Harguth said. The group declined to comment on whether drug use has been increasing in libraries, citing a lack of up-to-date data. They also pointed out that standards for how much meth contamination is acceptable were developed with an eye toward homes, where frequent exposure is more likely than in public buildings. The Englewood library has made some changes to help homeless people who go there.

☆ Denver Broncos fire rookie head coach before the season ends
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday with two games left in the season. Firing Hackett with two games left in a lost season allows Penner to begin his search for a replacement immediately. The Broncos scheduled a news conference for Tuesday, when they’re expected to name their interim head coach for games at Kansas City next weekend and at home against the Chargers in Week 18. Hackett is the third NFL head coach fired during the 2022 season. The Carolina Panthers replaced Matt Rhule with interim head coach Steve Wilks and the Indianapolis Colts fired Frank Reich and replaced him with coaching novice Jeff Saturday.

Car buyers are watching the clock tick down for the Inflation Reduction Act’s updated electric vehicle tax incentives to kick in. If you shop right nowState and federal EV incentives already exist. Their car was built in Tennessee and qualified for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, which they were able to combine with a Massachusetts EV tax exemption of $2,500, effectively knocking $10,000 off the price. Plus, caps on how many vehicles can qualify for existing tax incentives have kept some buyers on the sidelines. If you shop in 2024After next year, the IRA makes an important change to how consumers apply their tax credit.

☆ Luggage for Style-Conscious Travelers: 5 Expert Picks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Laura Neilson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

WITH A DIZZYING number of luggage brands on the market, zeroing in on a new, well-constructed suitcase to fit your particular travel needs—not to mention your ski gear or that ambitious stack of beach reads—can seem like a herculean task. “[You need to] bring your things in. See how it feels when you pull a suitcase around the store,” said Ms. Paradise, whose family has been in the luggage business since 1977. Globe-trotting travel television host Samantha Brown concurs, and wisely suggested another strategy: Vigorously jiggling the case’s handle. With those must-haves in mind, and input from some inveterate jet-setters, we settled on five categorical winners likely to please travelers with an eye for both fashion and function.

☆ Oath Keeper saw Jan. 6 storming of U.S. Capitol as 'Bastille' moment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Jan. 6, 2021, Young said he entered the U.S. Capitol with a group of fellow Oath Keepers with the aim of trying to disrupt proceedings to certify Biden's win. Young's testimony was the latest evidence presented by federal prosecutors in the criminal trial against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and his four co-defendants - Jessica Watkins, Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson and Kelly Meggs. Young is the second Oath Keeper member so far to testify for the government after pleading guilty, in the hopes of winning a reduced prison sentence. I haven’t heard you articulate an actual agreement with anybody to commit a crime,” Rhodes' attorney, James Lee Bright, said. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A woman hired a private investigator after waiting months for a tiny home she'd paid $46,000 for but never received
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman hired a private investigator after waiting months for her tiny home to be delivered. Matt Sowash promised buyers tiny homes, but has filed for bankruptcy, court records show. "That was when I hired a private investigator who did some digging and discovered that he didn't have any assets in his name," she told the outlet. He also told NBC he was not sure if he could construct the 250 homes that had already been paid for. Sowash told NBC he borrowed $400,000 loan from Kinetic to build the homes, but wasn't able to make the payments.

☆ Real-estate investors rush to score deep discounts on Florida properties hammered by Hurricane Ian: 'If they were asking $1 million before the storm, I'll offer $750,000'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Real-estate investors are trying to take advantage of the down market by buying properties for less. They seem undeterred by high insurance costs, possibly falling home values, and ever-worse storms. The real-estate market in Florida just doesn't stop. "If they were asking $1 million before the storm, I'll offer $750,000," Lema told The Wall Street Journal. Photo by Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty ImagesStill, it seems many buyers are undeterred by or unaware of insurance costs, future home-value depreciation, and the risk of ever-stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels.

DENVER — The businessman accused of swindling people out of their life savings by promising to build them tiny homes and not delivering is now the target of a police investigation. Matt Sowash, founder of the Colorado-based nonprofit Holy Ground Tiny Houses, has also filed for bankruptcy, court records revealed Wednesday. A 14' tiny home featured on the Holy Ground Tiny Homes YouTube channel. Tiny homes have been touted as a solution to homelessness and an affordable way for many to put a roof over their heads as home prices across the country have skyrocketed. Holy Ground Tiny Homes.

☆ NYC hospitals to pay $165M to women abused by gynecologist
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK — Two New York hospitals have agreed to pay more than $165 million to 147 former patients who have accused a former gynecologist of sexual abuse and misconduct. Last year, the two hospitals reached a settlement to establish a $71 million compensation fund with 79 of Hadden’s former patients. He currently awaits trial on separate federal charges of sexually abusing dozens of young and unsuspecting female patients for over two decades. Among Hadden’s accusers was Evelyn Yang, the wife of the former presidential candidate and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang. Kathy Hochul in May will offer an avenue for what she called “countless other Hadden survivors.” The act opened a one-year window for sexual abuse claims that would otherwise have been time-barred under law.

☆ Lawmaker complaint forces Tennessee pride festival indoors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The drag show at a Tennessee pride festival will go on Saturday — but not in the way organizers had planned it. Darin Hollingsworth, a Jackson Pride Committee member, said organizers were “horribly disappointed,” because they know local LGBTQ youths would have felt supported at the drag performance. “But we will be in contempt if we even allow parents to bring in their child, so we won’t.”Hollingsworth said the pride event had been in the works for a year, and Jackson Pride had advertised it repeatedly. The event began to face backlash after a Sept. 17 Facebook post from Republican state Rep. Chris Todd. As a result, the Jackson Pride Committee decided to move the festival, including the drag show, into the Civic Center and to increase security measures by, among other things, having a metal detector.

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