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☆ Documents that appear to be classified US-NATO war plans were leaked or stolen and can now be found on Twitter and Telegram
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Apparent classified US-Ukraine war plans were leaked or stolen, The New York Times reported Thursday. The documents, which may have been doctored, appeared on Twitter and Telegram. "We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter," a Pentagon spokesperson told the Times. "They've obviously been doctored," Michael Weiss, a Russia expert and senior correspondent at Yahoo News, posted on social media. "Still bad that they were leaked — or stolen."

☆ Top Democrats demand that Chief Justice John Roberts open investigation into Clarence Thomas after report claims he accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP mega donor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Democrats are urging the Supreme Court to address ethics concerns around Justice Clarence Thomas. ProPublica reported this week that Thomas has accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They close by urging Chief Justice Roberts to ensure that the highest court's ethics code is treated are more than just a suggestion. "The highest court in the land should have the highest ethical standards," Kyle Herrig, president of the advocacy group Accountable.US, said in a statement. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Top Democrats demand that Chief Justice John Roberts open investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas after report claims he accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP me
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ US opposes offering Ukraine a path to NATO membership at upcoming summit, says focus should be on defeating 'Russian aggression'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US opposes extending NATO membership to Ukraine in the immediate future, per the Financial Times. The State Department told Insider the US is focused on helping Ukraine "defend itself against Russian aggression." Ultimately allowing Ukraine to join NATO remains US policy. A spokesperson for the State Department told Insider that the US is focused right now "on doing what needs to be done to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression." It also remains committed, the spokesperson said, to allowing Ukraine to someday join NATO.

☆ Jack Smith is investigating the Trump White House meeting with Sidney Powell where a plan to seize voting machines was discussed: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating a December 2020 meeting at the Trump White House, per CNN. At the meeting, participants, including Sidney Powell, discussed a plan to seize voting machines. Of particular interest to Smith is a December 18, 2020 meeting at the White House where Trump was joined by attorney Sidney Powell, who was falsely claiming that electronic voting machines were hacked by foreign adversaries, sources told CNN. Flynn, prior to the meeting, had for weeks been pushing the idea of seizing voting machines, arguing that Trump could unilaterally demand it be done. O'Brien told prosecutors that he "had made clear there was no evidence of foreign interference affecting voting machines," according to the outlet.

☆ Gun lobby celebrates 'historic' win in Florida after DeSantis signs bill eliminating permit and training requirements for concealed carry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The NRA is praising a new Florida law that eliminates concealed-carry permit requirements. A majority of states have now made it legal to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. Ron DeSantis after the Republican on Monday made Florida the 26th state to eliminate permit requirements for concealed carry of a firearm. The signing comes not only as DeSantis weighs a run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, but as Florida is struggling to combat violent crime, in particular gun violence. In terms of gun violence, Florida is also slightly more dangerous than the national average.

☆ Evangelicals say Ron DeSantis is threatening religious liberty with his support for a bill that criminalizes aid for immigrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A group of Florida evangelicals on Thursday criticized a bill that criminalizes the transport of migrants. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans to make it a felony to knowingly transport an undocumented immigrant, calling it a potentially dangerous infringement on religious liberty. Violators could be charged with a second-degree felony under the bill, which in Florida is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Another church leader suggested DeSantis and other Republicans were playing politics — but confusing evangelical support for the rule of law with backing for punitive measures targeting vulnerable immigrants. It's not the first time religious leaders have clashed with DeSantis, who has styled himself a warrior for the Christian faith.

☆ Fetterman released from Walter Reed after 5-week hospitalization for depression: 'I'm excited to be the father and husband I want to be'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Senator John Fetterman has returned to his home in Pennsylvania following a five-week hospitalization for severe depression, the Democrat's office announced Friday. "I'm excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves." Fetterman, who is recovering from a stroke suffered last year, had voluntarily checked in to Walter Reed Medical Center in February. Dr. David Williamson, who oversaw the freshman senator's treatment, said his depression was now "in remission," according to Fetterman's office. In a discharge briefing, Williamson said Fetterman is "ready to return to his family, pursue outpatient treatment, and resume work."

☆ Russian man who was prosecuted after 13-year-old daughter's anti-war drawing now appears to be on the run
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alexei Moskalev was sentenced Tuesday to two years behind bars for alleged antiwar social media posts. Moskalev was prosecuted after school authorities found antiwar drawings by his 13-year-old daughter. Alexei Moskalev was sentenced Tuesday to two years in a penal colony for the alleged posts, which he has denied penning. In the drawing, a mother and child can be seen holding hands and standing next to the Ukrainian flag as missiles approach them from the Russian side. According to Human Rights Watch, people have since been prosecuted for merely displaying the colors of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow.

☆ Manhattan prosecutor's office says Trump created a 'false expectation' of immediate arrest and accuses House Republicans of interfering with investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office fired back at Republicans on Thursday. In a letter, the DA's office accused the GOP of interfering in a legal investigation. Former President Donald Trump had earlier claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday. The letter from Bragg's office was published Thursday afternoon by Axios. That came after Trump, over the weekend, asserted that he would be arrested on Tuesday of this week.

☆ Kanye West's hateful comments about Jews may have inspired dozens of antisemitic incidents, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Anti-Defamation League counted 59 incidents in which antisemites cited the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Overall, ADL researchers found there was a 59% increase in antisemitic incidents last year. Overall, ADL researchers found there was a 36% spike in antisemitic incidents in 2022 compared to the year before, with the ADL tracking just under 3,700 cases across the country, the highest on record. "We're deeply disturbed by this dramatic and completely unacceptable surge in antisemitic incidents," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. The ADL report comes after the FBI last year said that white supremacists "pose the primary threat" of domestic terrorism.

☆ Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus Supplier Paid California Workers $1.58
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Department of Labor randomly investigated 50 clothing companies in Southern California. It found that more than 80% were breaking one or more provisions of federal labor law. One garment maker was paying workers just $1.58 an hour. In what the department described as a "particularly egregious case," one garment manufacturer — making clothes for brands including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Stitch Fix, and Von Maur, per investigators — was found to be paying some workers an hourly rate of just $1.58. It shows, she argued, "that strong federal action is needed to change the abusive pay rates in the American garment manufacturing industry."

☆ Chinese media is claiming an Instagram post shows the US military stealing aid for earthquake victims in Syria. It's a bogus conspiracy theory.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese state media promoted a conspiracy theory about the US stealing aid for earthquake victims. The false claims were based on US soldiers helping to distribute humanitarian aid in Turkey. That writing, the article states, is "exactly the same" as the writing on the aid "that China sent to earthquake victims in Syria." "The Americans are not only stealing oil from Syria," one user wrote, "but also humanitarian aid." A US soldier helps distribute aid to earthquake victims in Turkey.

☆ A Philly cop has been charged with assault over a bar fight. In 2011, the Fraternal Order of Police made sure he didn't lose his job after being accused of punching his wife in the face.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Philadelphia police officer has been charged with assault over an alleged bar fight. The officer became enraged when someone put on hip-hop or R&B music, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The same cop was arrested in 2011 and accused of punching his wife. The same officer was arrested in 2011 and charged with simple assault and reckless endangering after he was accused of punching his estranged wife in the face at another bar. An FOP spokesperson told Insider that, this time around, the union "is not representing the officer and has no further comment."

☆ A Spanish firm wants to kill one million octopuses a year using 'ice slurry' baths at first-ever factory farm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A proposed commercial octopus farm is sparking outrage among experts and animal rights campaigners. The farm would slaughter roughly one million octopuses each year by submerging them in icy water. In a report released Thursday, the activist group said that Nueva Pescanova intends to slaughter around one million octopuses each year by submerging them in a freezing "ice slurry." In particular, it said, the slaughter of the octopuses "involves proper handling that avoids any pain or suffering to the animal." "To kill them with ice would be a slow death," Dr. Peter Tse, who studies octopus cognition at Dartmouth, told the BBC.

☆ Alaska Republican Censured for Asking If Child Abuse Benefits Society
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An Alaska Republican has been censured by his colleagues for asking if fatal child abuse benefits society. At a hearing this week, Rep. David Eastman asked a witness if dead children save taxpayer money. ACT doesn't have a stance on abortion, per Alaska Public Media. On Wednesday, every one of his colleagues agreed to condemn him, voting 35-1 to censure him, according to Alaska Public Media. We cannot allow such atrocious, indefensible language to go undenounced," Alaska Democratic state Rep. Andrew Gray said, the outlet reported.

☆ Employers can't force you to keep quiet to get severance, labor board decides, reversing Trump-era rulings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Companies can't require employees to waive their rights as part of a severance agreement. In a ruling on Tuesday, the National Labor Relations Board said such requirements are "unlawful." Workers can't be forced to "choose between receiving benefits and exercising their rights," NLRB's Lauren McFerran said. Nondisparagement clauses, it reasoned, could prevent former workers from being able to assist investigations into ongoing labor law violations. In a statement, McFerran said Thursday's ruling reflected an understanding that "employers cannot ask individual employees to choose between receiving benefits and exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act."

☆ McDonald's locations in Pennsylvania broke child labor laws, with kids under 16 operating deep fryers, Labor Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

McDonald's locations in Pennsylvania employed more than 150 teenagers at hours prohibited by federal law. Children under the age of 16 were operating deep fryers, according to the US Department of Labor. In 2022, more than 3,800 children were found to be employed in violation of federal law; in 2012, that number was just over 1,600. Nine children were also found to be operating deep fryers before the legally required minimum age of 16. "The bottom line is that there is no excuse for jeopardizing young workers' safety or hindering their educational opportunities."

☆ Republican Doug Mastriano told supporters he didn't get any money from Ohio derailment train operator Norfolk Southern. Records show he took $1,000.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano is holding a hearing Thursday on the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. Mastriano, a Republican, recently denied receiving any money from train operator Norfolk Southern. "Biden's in Ukraine and Shapiro's MIA," the user wrote, praising Mastriano for visiting East Palestine over the weekend. Mike DeWine, a Republican, assured East Palestine residents that their drinking water is safe. He lauded the EPA for ordering Norfolk Southern to cover the cost of cleaning up the accident.

☆ Ron DeSantis styles himself a culture warrior for God. But his push to expand the death penalty is 'deeply concerning' to the Catholic Church.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Catholic Church is speaking out against a GOP push to expand the death penalty. Making it "easier to impose death is deeply concerning," Michael Sheedy of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops told Insider. 'Deeply concerning'Any effort to expand the death penalty in Florida will face obstacles: the state and US constitutions. "An execution represents a judgment by fallible human beings that a person is beyond redemption – a judgment the Catholic Church rejects," they said. Tony Argiz, right, recalled how the Catholic Church helped him when he came to the US from Cuba as an unaccompanied minor.

☆ Fox News producer said Laura Ingraham's interest in false Dominion voter fraud claims 'is going to give me a fucking aneurysm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a text message, a Fox News producer complained about Laura Ingraham promoting election conspiracy theories. "This dominion shit is going to give me a fucking aneurysm," Tommy Firth texted a Fox News colleague. The message was revealed in a court filing from Dominion Voting Systems, which is suing Fox for defamation. "This is the Bill Gates/microchip angle to voter fraud," Mitchell responded. Numerous audits and investigations have failed to uncover any evidence of mass voter fraud in any state.

☆ Childbirth is far more dangerous for women than the abortion pill, American Medical Association tells the Texas judge weighing mifepristone ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The American Medical Association is urging a Texas judge to reject an effort to ban mifepristone. This is not an opinion — it is a fact based on hundreds of medical studies and vast amounts of data amassed over the course of two decades," the brief states. But pregnant teenagers, the medical groups note, have levels of progesterone far greater than their non-pregnant peers. "There is no reason to think, nor is there evidence to show, that preventing the absorption of progesterone for a brief window would have any effects on adolescent development," the brief states. Republican attorneys general also submitted a brief arguing that the availability of the drug infringes on the right of states to regulate abortion.

☆ Trump and Kushner's Saudi Ties Are an Ethical Minefield: Watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Weeks after leaving office, Jared Kushner obtained a $2 billion investment from the Saudi government. The Saudi support came despite the kingdom's own financial advisers urging against any investment in Kushner's new company, citing the "inexperience" of its top brass. Let's start with Jared Kushner before we get into the LIV Golf situation. You have John Bolton, Trump's own national security advisor, making it very clear that you had somebody, like Jared — and President Trump, apparently — working to promote their business interests. Trump, not only did he keep his company, the Trump Organization, but he's a transactional president, right?

☆ Judge orders Samuel Bankman-Fried to stop using a VPN after his lawyers claim he only used one to watch the Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A judge on Tuesday ordered Bankman-Fried to stop using a VPN. To allay any concerns, however, the attorneys said Bankman-Fried would immediately stop using the VPN. On Tuesday afternoon, Judge Kaplan made that a condition of his bail, adding the use of a VPN to a list of other prohibited internet activities, Reuters reported. Use of a VPN, Kaplan ruled, "presents many of the same challenges." Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried used deposits in the cryptocurrency exchange to finance investments placed through Alameda Research, another company he founded.

☆ There will be an 'unprecedented spike' in maternal mortality if a Trump-appointed judge bans the abortion pill, Democratic attorneys general argue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Banning mifepristone will result in more women dying in pregnancy, Democratic attorneys general argued this month. The argument comes as a judge in Texas is considering a ban on the abortion pill. Republican attorneys general who have weighed in on the case also maintain that its approval infringed on state rights. In her brief, James noted that carrying a pregnancy to term poses significantly greater health risks than an early abortion. As Slate's Christina Cautertucci notes, mifepristone is only one of the two drugs used in a typical medication abortion.

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