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☆ Watchdogs Upbraid U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, in Blow to White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sadie Gurman | C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Massachusetts US attorney accused of multiple ethics violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins improperly used her position at the Justice Department to try to influence the outcome of a local district attorney election by leaking negative and non-public information about a political rival, the department's internal watchdog said on Wednesday. That conclusion was among a litany of ethics violations uncovered by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in a scathing 161-page investigative report released a day after Rollins announced she would resign her post by Friday. Rollins, the first Black woman to serve as the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, was appointed by President Joe Biden. She is a prominent figure in the "progressive prosecutor" movement that supports policies designed to eliminate racial disparities in the justice system. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Rami AyyubOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts to resign after damning ethics report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts will submit her resignation by the end of the week to President Joe Biden, her lawyer said Wednesday, after damning official reports found she had committed serious ethical misconduct. The Department of Justice's internal watchdog began a probe last year after U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins attended a Democratic fundraiser last July featuring first lady Jill Biden, despite advice that this would violate ethics guidelines. "We found Rollins's conduct described throughout this report violated federal regulations, numerous DOJ policies, her Ethics Agreement, and applicable law, and fell far short of the standards of professionalism and judgment that the Department should expect of any employee, much less a U.S. Attorney," the DOJ Inspector General's Office said in its report. That 161-page report found Rollins, who was appointed as her state's top federal prosecutor by President Biden, used her official position to try to help the election effort of a fellow Democrat for the Suffolk County district attorney position. The report found that Rollins lied under oath about that effort when asked about it by investigators.

☆ Celtics Tickets, Political Revenge: U.S. Attorney Accused of Broad Misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, Rachael S. Rollins, misused her office to “boost” a political ally, flouted ethics rules to obtain free tickets from the Boston Celtics and lied under oath to investigators, the Justice Department inspector general said on Wednesday. The 161-page report — one of the most extraordinary public denunciations of a sitting federal prosecutor in recent memory — was released a day after Ms. Rollins announced she would resign at the end of this week, conceding that she had become a harmful “distraction” in one of the department’s most important offices. Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz opened an investigation into Ms. Rollins last year after a published report that she had attended a July 2022 Democratic National Committee fund-raiser headlined by Jill Biden, the first lady. His team determined that those actions violated policies and laws against electioneering. But the inquiry rapidly expanded to encompass a striking range of apparent misconduct, including efforts to discredit a political rival and her acceptance of flights and a stay at a resort that were paid for by a sports and entertainment company, he said.

☆ Massachusetts US attorney to resign amid Justice Dept ethics probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign her post by Friday, her lawyer said on Tuesday, after the prosecutor became the subject of a wide-ranging ethics investigation by the Justice Department inspector general's office. Bromwich announced her decision to resign her post not long after Rollins met with officials in Washington at the Justice Department on Tuesday. Rollins was narrowly confirmed by the Senate in December 2021 after Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. "I warned Democratic senators that Rachael Rollins wasn't only a pro-criminal ideologue, but also had a history of poor judgment and ethical lapses," Cotton said in a statement on Tuesday. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland had vowed when he assumed his post as the nation's top law enforcement official to protect the Justice Department from partisan influence.

☆ U.S. military leak suspect to appear in court; had arsenal, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Tim Mclaughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jack Douglas Teixeira was arrested by the FBI on April 13 at his home in Massachusetts and charged with violating the Espionage Act. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts on Thursday afternoon for his detention hearing. Prosecutors say the 21-year-old leaked classified documents, including some relating to troop movements in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to a group of gamers on the messaging app Discord. In 2018, while in high school, Teixeira was suspended after he was overheard making racial threats and remarks about guns. Teixeira attributed those remarks to a reference in a video game, according to prosecutors.

Stocks with steady earnings growth are the play to manage an upcoming economic downturn, according to David Kostin, Goldman Sachs' chief U.S. equity strategist. Goldman Sachs projects that there is a 35% probability that the U.S. economy will enter a recession within the next 12 months. What's perhaps not priced in our view, would be the stable growth companies." The equity strategist named household products company Colgate-Palmolive and biotechnology name Amgen as examples of stocks with low variability of earnings growth in an environment that's laden with recession risk. The firm also picked pest-control company Rollins and consumer goods company Procter & Gamble in its basket of steady earnings growers.

Amy Winslow, Hossein Maleknia and Reba Daoust misled Magellan customers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about when they discovered the defect, the extent of the problem and the risks associated with it, prosecutors said. Attorneys for Winslow and Daoust did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company said all devices the malfunction affected have been cleared by the FDA “and will remain available for clinical use.”Magellan Diagnostics ultimately recalled all three devices in 2021 and resumed distribution last year, according to the FDA. The malfunction affected three of Magellan’s lead-testing devices, including one that accounted for more than half of all blood lead tests conducted in the U.S. between 2013 and 2017, according to prosecutors. Reporting by Andrew Goudsward Editing by David Bario and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How a 23-year-old earned about $35,000 in 3 months teaching ChatGPT to newbies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lance Junck, 23, earned $35,000 in just three months selling his ChatGPT course on Udemy. In late December, Lance Junck, 23, launched an online course on education platform Udemy that teaches people to use ChatGPT. It starts with how to write your first ChatGPT prompt, then moves into specific ChatGPT applications for businesses, students, and programmers. Within a week, 90 students enrolled in the course, Junck said. He has gotten paid speaking opportunities to teach companies like CEO advisory firm Sage Executive Group and tech news site HPCwire how to use ChatGPT, according to emails reviewed by Insider.

☆ Congress sat back and let trucks become heavier, taller, and deadlier. Now pedestrian fatalities are at a 40-year high.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

As trucks get bigger and bigger, so do the blind zones in the front and to the side of the cars. He didn't expect to find that an M1 Abrams battle tank had better a sightline than some everyday trucks. Due to the shape of the hood, a modern truck's blind zone can extend to more than a dozen feet out in front of the vehicle. According to NHTSA data, there were 240 estimated nonoccupant deaths by forward-moving vehicles in the United States in 2016. The legislation was never brought to a vote, but Blumenthal told Insider he had plans to reintroduce the act this session of Congress.

☆ A former Trump official has launched a PAC backing Ron DeSantis for a 2024 run, calling him the 'strongest Republican available'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli has launched a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. "DESANTIS 2024! Run, Ron, Run!" Cuccinelli's Thursday announcement backing DeSantis — one of Trump's top political rivals — marks a shift in his loyalties.

BOSTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins has hired a former Justice Department inspector general to defend her in a widening ethics investigation into her appearance at a political fundraiser and her travel. The controversy has threatened to undermine Attorney General Merrick Garland’s vow to protect the Justice Department from partisan influence and efforts to extend progressive criminal justice policies championed by Rollins to the federal level. It is unclear what the inspector general's probe will find or when it will be completed. James Borghesani, a spokesman for Hayden, said they have received no inquiries from the inspector general's office. Investigators are also looking at Rollins' use of a personal cellphone, rather than her government-issued one, for Justice Department business, said two other people familiar with the matter.

☆ Morning Bid: Interminable anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The about-turn in rates markets in just two weeks has been extraordinary - with Fed funds futures pricing moving from a terminal rate as low as 4.8% to 5.26% on Wednesday. Two-year Treasury yields soared to a 3-month high of 4.64% on Tuesday - where current Fed rates sit - and only gave back a fraction of that on Wednesday. U.S. stocks held up remarkably well on Tuesday - helped by hopes recession fears are easing even as rate speculation intensifies. Sterling slipped as UK inflation fell faster than expected last month, even though the annual inflation rate remains in double digits. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

With a majority of S & P 500 companies having posted their quarterly results, investors' focus will turn toward inflation and the consumer price index reading in the upcoming week. The three major indexes are on pace to end the week down, with the S & P 500 poised to post its worst performance since December. Sharp declines for Alphabet , which is off by more than 9% this week, dragged the tech-heavy index. January's consumer price index With the latest Powell speech in the books, investors are now looking ahead to the consumer price index for insight into the pace of inflation. "Retail sales and CPI is really driven by the consumer, and a lot of eyes are on how the consumer doing," Bruno said.

☆ Millions at risk of losing Medicaid in the spring under provision tucked inside $1.7 trillion federal spending bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Tucked inside a more than 4,000-page, $1.7 trillion bill that funds the federal government through September is a provision that would eliminate the Medicaid coverage protections from the public health emergency. "Whereas right now since the Covid-19 public health emergency started, states were not allowed to terminate Medicaid coverage." The public health emergencyi, first declared in January 2020 by the Trump administration, has been renewed every 90 days since the pandemic began. People generally lose Medicaid coverage if their income rises and falls outside the program's parameters. HHS estimates that about a third of those who will lose Medicaid coverage will qualify for tax credits for marketplace insurance.

BOSTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Massachusetts state prison system will reform how it cares for inmates with serious mental health issues and supervise prisoners at risk of harming themselves to resolve a years-long civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department on Tuesday said the Massachusetts Department of Correction entered into a settlement agreement after investigators concluded conditions at its prisons resulted in inmates on mental health watch dying or injuring themselves. The deal calls for improved policies and training that will result in heightened supervision for inmates, increased out-of-cell contact with mental health staff, and the creation of a new treatment-focused housing unit. "Statistics show that far too many of the incarcerated population suffers from significant mental health and substance use disorders, among other severe things," she said. The Justice Department found that the prison system's mental health or suicide watch involved placing prisoners in "restrictive, isolating, and unnecessarily harsh conditions" for prolonged periods, placing them at risk of harming themselves.

☆ Texas man charged with threatening Boston doctor who provides transgender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Texas man was arrested Friday and charged with threatening to kill a Boston doctor who provides care to transgender people, federal prosecutors said. The threats on Aug. 31 targeting a doctor affiliated with a Boston healthcare education center came after “inaccurate information spread online” about Boston Children’s Hospital and transgender care, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said. Boston’s Children Hospital is home to the Gender Multispecialty Service, which provides care to transgender and gender-diverse adolescents. Several children’s hospitals, most notably Boston Children’s, were targeted by of a far-right harassment campaign, led by led by anti-trans influencers with millions of collective followers. The FBI in court documents called it a sustained campaign that falsely alleged pedophilia or "grooming" against Boston Children's Hospital, and there have been death threats and threats of mass casualty attacks.

☆ US Justice Dept probes whether police in Mass. city discriminated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The police department in the city, the second-largest in New England after Boston, was not immediately available for comment. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, the city's Acting Manager Eric Batista and Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent pledged to cooperate with the investigation, the justice department said. Since then, the justice department has opened dozens of similar investigations across the nation. The justice department launched a so-called "pattern or practice" investigation in Minneapolis a day after a jury found the officer, Derek Chauvin, guilty of murder. In 2018, the Justice Department opened an investigation of the Springfield Police Department.

In Arizona Senate, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is ahead of Republican Blake Masters by 115,000 votes with 80% in. On Dobbs, the national exit poll showed 27% of voters picking abortion as their No. And remember that our final NBC News poll found Trump as one of the most unpopular political figures we measured, especially compared with President Biden. In each state, those Democratic secretaries of state nominees were running against Republicans who cast doubt on the 2020 election result. Two of those five feature Democrat vs. Democrat contests, thanks to the state’s Top 2 primary, so those will stay in the Democratic column.

☆ A record number of LGBTQ candidates claim victory in another 'rainbow wave'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

A record number of LGBTQ candidates won their midterm races this year, creating what some advocates are calling yet another “rainbow wave.”Many races are still too close or too early to call, but as of Thursday afternoon, at least 400 out LGBTQ candidates had won their elections, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which supports queer people running for office. “With so much at stake this election, from the future of marriage equality to abortion, LGBTQ candidates’ grit and exceptional grassroots support is paying off.”National firstsQueer candidates celebrated a number of notable victories and firsts across the country. Alaska is one of four states with zero out LGBTQ state lawmakers, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute. Magni said the results prove that LGBTQ candidates can successfully compete in both blue and red states. “This is a powerful message, saying, ‘Hey, LGBTQ candidates can win elections and can win elections in many states and many districts across the country.’” he said.

Rep. Ken Calvert is running against Democrat Will Rollins in California's 41st Congressional District. The 41st District includes the city of Corona, Calvert's hometown. Calvert, who has a history of opposing same-sex marriage, faces Rollins in a district that has long backed gay rights. 2022 General EmbedsCalifornia's 41st Congressional District candidatesCalvert is a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations. Voting history for California's 41st Congressional DistrictCalifornia's 41st Congressional District, located in Riverside County, covers a swath of the Coachella Valley and includes Palm Springs, Lake Elsinore, and parts of Corona and Riverside.

☆ How Diverse Are the Candidates in the Midterm Elections?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Maggie Astor | Eleanor Lutz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

The House of RepresentativesThere are at least 403 people of color, women or nonbinary candidates running for seats in the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Incumbent Democrat Republican White men women Black men women Hispanic men women Other and multiple race men womenThere are 11 Senate candidates who are Black this year. Democrat Black candidates Republican Ga. Raphael Warnock Ala. Will Boyd Ark. Incumbent Democrat Republican White men women Black men women Other and multiple race men womenThere are 25 women nominated for governor — 16 Democrats and nine Republicans. Democrat Black candidates Republican Ala. Yolanda Flowers Ark.

☆ Republican Rep. Ken Calvert faces off against Democrat Will Rollins in California's 41st Congressional District election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Ken Calvert is running against Democrat Will Rollins in California's 41st Congressional District. Calvert, who has a history of opposing same-sex marriage, faces Rollins in a district that has long backed gay rights. California's 41st Congressional District candidatesCalvert is a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations. First elected to the US House in 1992 to represent California's 43rd Congressional District, Calvert is the longest-serving Republican of the state's congressional delegation and one of the most senior members serving in the legislative body. Voting history for California's 41st Congressional DistrictCalifornia's 41st Congressional District, located in Riverside County, covers a swath of the Coachella Valley and includes Palm Springs, Lake Elsinore, and parts of Corona and Riverside.

☆ Morning Bid: Consumer drain as banks gain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Google's results in particular bode ill for Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O), especially reliant on advertising and reporting its results late on Wednesday. Consumer blues contrasted with bumper earnings from banks who are raking in huge windfalls from rising interest rates - direct cash injections from reserves they hold at central banks along with higher net interest margins and trading revenues flattered by volatile markets. read more read more read more read moreEuropean banks reporting this week matched Wall St counterparts on that score, raising conundrums for the European Central Bank meeting this week and Bank of England and U.S. Federal Reserve gatherings next week. They all plan further policy rate rises to rein in inflation - but this also involves direct transfers to their banks and potentially a drain on government finances. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Harley-Davidson, Visa, Microsoft, Biogen and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Harley-Davidson — Shares of the motorcycle company climbed 13% after Harley reported quarterly earnings beat top- and bottom line estimates. The per share loss was 0.99 euros per share on 3.04 billion of euros in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting a loss of 0.85 euros per share and 3.02 billion of euros in revenue. Visa reported earnings of $1.93 per share on revenue of $7.79 billion. CMG reported revenue of $2.22 billion versus the $2.23 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

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