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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A timeline of events that led to acquittal of three-term Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton during his impeachment trial in the state Senate. The overwhelming impeachment vote in May by the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives suspended the 60-year-old Paxton from office. JUNE 21, 2023 Texas' Republican-controlled Senate resolves to try Paxton on 16 of the 20 impeachment charge s starting Sept. 5. SEPT. 5, 2023Paxton's impeachment trial begins in the Texas Senate. SEPT. 15, 2023After closing arguments from House impeachment managers and Paxton's defense attorneys, Texas senators begin deliberating on 16 articles of impeachment and whether to remove him from office.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton, Nate Paul, Paul’s, Paul, Dade Phelan, Sen, Angela Paxton, —, acquit Paxton Organizations: Texas Republican, GOP, Texas Legislature, FBI, Justice Department, Republican, House, Texas House, Texas, Republicans Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Dallas, Arizona, Austin, Washington, In Texas

☆ Lucy Letby: British nurse refuses to appear to be sentenced for murdering seven babies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Sana Noor Haq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —A British nurse refused to appear in court on Monday to be sentenced for the murders of seven babies and attempted murders of six others at the UK hospital where she worked. It emerged during the trial that police had found a series of handwritten notes by Letby, including one that read: "I am evil I did this." It emerged that before Letby murdered Child E, he started bleeding when she tried to assault him. But the hospital’s management initially dismissed concerns raised by clinicians over the increased mortality rate of patients under Letby’s care, PA reported. In 2016, Letby won a grievance complaint that she had filed against her employers after learning of their initial allegations.

Persons: London CNN —, Lucy Letby, Rishi Sunak, Letby, ”, ” Letby, Countess, Chester, duping, ‘, Child, F, “, E Organizations: London CNN, Manchester Crown Court, Media, Prosecution Service, Prosecutors, Cheshire Constabulary, Authorities, National Health Service Locations: England, Manchester

CNN —A British nurse has been found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others at the hospital where she worked, making her the country’s worst baby serial killer in recent times. But concerns raised by consultants over the increased mortality rate of patients under Letby’s care were initially dismissed by the hospital’s management, the UK’s PA Media news agency reported. In September 2016, Letby filed a grievance against her employers after she was relocated from the hospital’s neonatal ward. “Justice has been served and the nurse who should have been caring for our babies has been found guilty of harming them. “We are heartbroken, devastated, angry and feel numb.”Letby will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on August 21.

Persons: CNN —, Lucy Letby, Countess, Chester, duping, Letby, Elizabeth Cook, ‘, ”, “, ” Pascale Jones, ” ‘, ’ Organizations: CNN, Manchester Crown Court, Police, Prosecution Service, Consultants, UK’s, Media, Royal College of Nursing, CPS, ”, “ Locations: Manchester, England

☆ ChatGPT has a style over substance trick that seems to dupe people into thinking it's smart, researchers found
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers found programmers often prefer ChatGPT's (wrong) answers on coding questions. But a pre-print paper released this month suggests ChatGPT has a neat little trick to convince people it's smart: A kind of style over substance approach. Researchers from Purdue University analyzed ChatGPT's replies to 517 questions posted to Stack Overflow, an essential Q&A site for software developers and engineers. The Purdue findings follow research from Stanford and UC Berkeley academics indicating that the large language model is getting dumber. In response to the Purdue research, computer scientist and AI expert Timnit Gebru tweeted: "Great that Stack Overflow is being destroyed by OpenAI +friends."

Persons: ChatGPT, ChatGPT's, Alistair Barr, Adam Rogers, Elon Musk, OpenAI, Timnit Gebru Organizations: Morning, Purdue University, Purdue, Stanford, UC Berkeley

☆ A woman spent $1,400 on seats to the Taylor Swift Eras tour. Then StubHub told her the tickets didn't exist.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Resale sites are duping fans clamoring for tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. One woman paid $1,400 for tickets that didn't exist, and struggled to get a refund. Swifties are no strangers to ticketing issues on sites like StubHub. "This Fan Protect Guarantee did not protect me," Klein told NBC Los Angeles. "I'm embarrassed I did it, I regret it, and I kind of just wish I had a nosebleed ticket," a 31-year-old fan who paid $5,500 for seats told Insider.

Persons: Taylor, Taylor Swift, StubHub, Stefanie Klein, she'd, Klein, I'm Organizations: Service, TicketMaster, NBC, StubHub Locations: Wall, Silicon, NBC Los Angeles, California, didn't

☆ The FTC plans to file a huge antitrust suit against Amazon, accusing it of punishing sellers who don't pay to use its logistics services, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The FTC plans to file an antitrust suit against Amazon in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reported. It's expected to focus on allegations that Amazon punishes sellers who don't use its logistics services. Bloomberg reported that FTC head Lisa Khan could seek to restructure Amazon. The Federal Trade Commission plans to file an antitrust suit against Amazon which could potentially land in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing documents and three people familiar with the case. The FTC has gathered evidence showing that the company disadvantages sellers who choose not to use Amazon's services, Bloomberg reported.

Persons: It's, Lisa Khan, FTX Organizations: Amazon, Bloomberg, Federal Trade Commission, FTC

☆ Supreme Court rules in favor of Coinbase in arbitration dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, overturned a lower court's ruling involving a user who sued after a scammer stole money from his account. The lower court had let a proposed class action lawsuit proceed while Coinbase pressed its appeal contending that the claims belong in arbitration. The suit accused the company of violating the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by not investigating or recrediting Bielski's account. In both cases, federal judges refused to force the claims into arbitration, as the company argued the user agreements required. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 refused the company's requests to put further litigation on hold pending those appeals.

Persons: Coinbase, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, irretrievably, Clarence Thomas, Abraham Bielski, duping Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Conservative, Circuit Locations: California, dogecoin, San Francisco

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, overturned a lower court's ruling involving a user who sued after a scammer stole money from his account. The lower court had let a proposed class action lawsuit proceed while Coinbase pressed its appeal contending that the claims belong in arbitration. The justices dismissed a second case that Coinbase had asked it to review. It makes sense that lower court litigation should be paused while an appellate court decides whether a case belongs in court at all." In both cases, federal judges had refused to force the claims into arbitration, as the company argued the user agreements required.

Persons: Coinbase, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, irretrievably, Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Katherine Minarik, Minarik, Abraham Bielski, duping, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Conservative, Liberal, Circuit, Thomson Locations: California, dogecoin, San Francisco, New York, Washington

From big-box chains Walmart (WMT.N) and Best Buy (BBY.N) to specialty retailers like Savage X Fenty and Adore Me, retailers' subscription programs are facing growing scrutiny. Amazon is under fire from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which filed a lawsuit against it in Seattle. Amazon "substantially revamped its Prime cancellation process" to some customers before the lawsuit was filed, according to the complaint. He withdrew the lawsuit, according to the court docket. Best Buy in 2021 launched a subscription program offering tech support and discounts on products.

Persons: Amazon, William Kovacic, Kathleen Benway, SAVAGE, Savage X, Savage, Ranjan Roy, Me's, Morgan Stanley, Spencer Sheehan, Arriana McLymore, Kate Masters, Siddharth Cavale, Muralikumar Organizations: YORK, Amazon.com Inc, Euromonitor Inc, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Amazon, George Washington University Law School, FTC's, Consumer, WALMART, BEST, Walmart, Thomson Locations: Seattle, United States, U.S, Europe, California, Michigan, New York City

Lina Khan takes on her longtime targetIn 2017, Lina Khan, then a 29-year-old law student, shot to fame with an academic article about why Amazon should be contained. Cutting against prevailing trends in antitrust law, Khan argued that the e-commerce giant was unfairly dominating huge swaths of the American economy. Now the chair of the F.T.C., Ms. Khan has finally taken on Amazon, though her agency’s new lawsuit against the company isn’t focused on antitrust. “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent,” Ms. Khan said. wants the courts to stop Amazon from engaging in those practices and impose a financial penalty.

Persons: Lina Khan, Khan, “, ” Ms

☆ Matt Onofrio quickly made millions as a real-estate influencer. Then he was indicted for bank fraud.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That was the verdict a top tech executive shared with me recently, describing the impact he predicted AI would have on the workforce. The unfolding situation has the potential to cast Onofrio as a real-estate confidence man for the influencer age. Also read:Wall Street's new normalPeople walk by a Lamborghini car along Wall Street in Manhattan. In that environment, any fool — or anyone on Wall Street — could buy almost any asset, sit back, and watch its value increase. Wall Street is hoping that — and investing like — we're going back to that era sometime soon.

Persons: Matt Turner, Nicholas Braun, Greg Hirsch, AI's, Lance McMillan, Matt Onofrio, he'd, Spencer Platt, There's, Insider's Linette Lopez, ANDREW CABALLERO, REYNOLDS, OPMs, Spriha Srivastava, OpenAI, Nicole Miranda, Elizabeth Holmes, Hallam Bullock, Bob Bryan, Hana R, Alberts Organizations: Toronto Star, Getty, Lamborghini, Getty Images, Tech Locations: California, Midwest, Manhattan, Washington ,, Florida

☆ Matt Onofrio made $35 million helping everyday people invest in real estate. Then he was indicted. Was it all a scam?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

The MMA fighter Michael Chandler, pictured with his wife, Brie Willett, bought a $16 million property from Matt Onofrio in 2021. Then, in November 2022, federal prosecutors indicted Onofrio on charges involving three deals he'd arranged in Minnesota the year before. The federal complaint doesn't involve the property Onofrio sold to Chandler. Unbeknownst to Hermann, Onofrio had already tied up the warehouse in contract for $4.75 million. "Matt was finding a deal for $4 million and selling it for $5 million," Stageberg said.

Persons: Matt Onofrio, anesthetist, who'd, Onofrio, Michael Chandler, Chandler, Brie Willett, Rick Diamond, Michael didn't, Matt, Brendan Johnson, he'd, fraudster, who's, Matthew Hermann, Hermann, he's, —, Anthony Vicino, unburden, Hermann countersued, Let's, Nick Stageberg, Stageberg, Vicino, couldn't, wasn't, Zacari Pennington, Brandon Turner, David Greene, Pennington, Brad Lea's, Ryan Pineda's, Alec McElhinny, Onofrio's, Greene, Ed Mylett, Mylett, Lily Ro Onofrio, Lea, Brittany Arnason, BiggerPockets, Cameron Cropsey, Scott Trench, Nicholas Perrone, Wild Organizations: Onofrio, CMT, Chandler, Wild Moose Ventures, Finance & Commerce, Mayo Clinic, Moose Ventures, Wild, Ventures Locations: Wisconsin, California, Sauk Rapids , Minnesota, Minnesota, Onofrio, Minneapolis, Mexico City, Mayo, Denver, Nashville, Church, Golden Valley , Minnesota, Macon , Georgia, Pennington

Companies JPMorgan Chase & Co FollowNEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - The young entrepreneur Charlie Javice has been indicted on charges of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the largest U.S. bank, into buying her now-shuttered college financial aid startup Frank. A four-count grand jury indictment made public on Thursday in Manhattan federal court charges Javice with securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy. In connection with that, prosecutors were granted more time to have Javice indicted by a grand jury. JPMorgan separately sued Javice and former Frank chief growth officer Olivier Amar in December in Delaware federal court for fraud, saying they inflated Frank's customer base to induce the bank's purchase. Javice countersued JPMorgan, saying it owes millions of dollars after firing her "without valid cause" in November.

☆ Frank Ocean fans, starved for new music, allegedly paid money for so-called leaked tracks. Turns out they were AI-generated
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The incident follows fake song releases from the likes of Drake and Travis Scott. This recently led to a scammer making thousands, peddling so-called leaked Ocean tracks on Discord that were actually generated by AI, according to Motherboard. Some artists are open to AI-generated music using their likeness. Discord servers have served as a kind of refuge for music-based communities to compile leaked songs from artists. The practice of selling leaked songs is illegal.

☆ Fact Check-Michael Rapaport added audio to video of Marjorie Taylor Greene, duping some
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In the video, Greene is called a “filthy animal” and a “QAnon lunatic.” A search for the video shows an April 4 tweet by Rapaport with more than six million views at the time of writing (here). Rapaport shared the clip on his other social media accounts (here), (here) and (here). “As far as I can tell, [Rapaport] added the audio,” Mack said, adding that he shot it with his phone as Greene was leaving Collect Pond Park. The video shared on social media includes edited audio of Michael Rapaport and was originally shot by a BuzzFeed reporter. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts (here).

☆ Guo Wengui Charged in Alleged $1 Billion Fraud Conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( James Fanelli | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Guo Wengui , a former real-estate developer, has said he fled China in 2014 after hearing that a state security official to whom he was close would soon be arrested. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with duping investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars to bankroll the purchase of a sprawling mansion, a 145-foot luxury yacht and other lavish items. Mr. Guo, also known as Kwok Ho Wan, was arrested Wednesday morning in New York and is charged with 11 counts of fraud and money laundering, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York federal court. Prosecutors said he orchestrated a $1 billion scheme that preyed on hundreds of thousands of his online followers to purchase stock in his media company, fund a farm loan program and join a luxury-services club.

☆ Odometer fraud is a $1 billion problem. Here's how it costs American drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A type of motor vehicle crime that costs consumers in the U.S. about $1 billion a year is on the rise, according to data firm Carfax. Average used vehicle prices rose from about $20,000 in December 2019 to about $27,000 in December 2022, according to Cox Automotive. Supply chain disruptions and shortages in new vehicle inventory have pushed more customers to the used market, which in turn has pushed up prices. Those circumstances also are making used vehicles scarcer. "I can't tell you for sure, but I suspect with the recent surge in used car prices, that it's becoming a more enticing tactic for scammers," said Patrick Olsen, executive editor at Carfax.

Madonna sang the praises of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, depicting cartoon portraits of bored apes. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady appeared in commercials endorsing crypto exchange FTX, which collapsed suddenly in November. And Kim Kardashian gushed about EMAX tokens on Instagram. Now they and other celebrities are facing civil lawsuits from investors who suffered losses on virtual assets, as well as scrutiny by regulators for allegedly duping the investing public. The legal actions, which have prompted some agents to caution their clients against financial endorsements, could clarify the ground rules for crypto promotions, as well as the hurdles investors must clear to hold promoters liable when investments go south.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried hit with 8 criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy for allegedly 'misappropriating' FTX customer funds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A grand jury indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried was unsealed Tuesday. Prosecutors in New York accused him of mixing the coffers of FTX and Alameda Research. The 8 criminal charges against him include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the US and violate the campaign finance laws. In charges unsealed Tuesday morning, a grand jury indictment laid out the 8 accusations against Bankman-Fried, alleging he directed FTX customer funds to "pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research." The indictment alleged that FTX customer funds went toward paying off Alameda Research's debts or inappropriately put toward investments, and that Alameda's own lenders were given "false and misleading information."

☆ Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to 11.25 years in prison with 3 years of supervised release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to 11.25 years in prison with 3 years of supervised release. On Friday, federal judge Edward Davila handed down a prison sentence of 135 months, or 11.25 years, with 3 years of supervised release for the 38-year-old founder and former CEO of Theranos. Davila concluded the loss to investors in share value was $121 million, saying Theranos' stock would have been cheaper by that much if not for Holmes' fraud. Prosecutors, meanwhile, wanted a 15-year prison sentence and $800 million in restitution. Balwani was convicted in July on all 12 counts brought against him.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg is trying to do what Google did with Android — but he learned all the wrong lessons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta's effort to build the metaverse is a way to wrangle back control of consumer data from Apple, experts say. Google's effort paid off, but it's likely that Mark Zuckerberg learned the wrong lessons from recent history. It's similar to why Google developed Android, but Mark Zuckerberg's project seems to miss one key ingredient that made Android a success. Android vs. MetaverseGoogle reportedly created Android more than a decade ago for the same reason: to compete with Apple. Google saw where Apple was going and continued to develop its Android platform to match Apple's iOS.

See Personal Finance Insider's picks for the best tax software »There are many different tax software programs to choose from, and, honestly, they're all pretty good. TurboTax vs. H&R Block: costs and feesThe bottom line: Even when you consider discounts, H&R Block nearly always comes out cheaper than TurboTax for comparable products. If cost is a primary consideration but you'd like a premium tax-filing experience, H&R Block comes out on top. TurboTax vs. H&R Block: user experienceThe bottom line: Both have a high-quality and comprehensive interface, but H&R Block's is less cluttered. How to choose between H&R Block and TurboTaxThere's a lot to recommend both TurboTax and H&R Block online software.

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