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Not Purdy: 49ers hit Green Bay with backup QB, no Bosa
Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written on the ammunition used to kill UnitedHealthcare's CEO. That's according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday. The words are similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend.” That's how attorneys describe insurers denying services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book critical of the industry. Police haven’t officially commented on the words. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care. Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark as the post-election rally continues. What's next? NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark, extending a rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump. The milestone comes just hours after the president-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry with his choice of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election Nov. 5. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Election Day and rose to more than $103,000 before falling back below $100,000 by Thursday afternoon. US judge rejects Boeing's plea deal in a conspiracy case stemming from fatal plane crashes DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a deal that would have allowed Boeing to plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge and pay a fine for misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The ruling on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas creates uncertainty around the criminal prosecution of the aerospace giant in connection with the development of its bestselling airline plane. O’Connor’s decision was almost certain to please many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart. McKinsey subsidiary will pay $122M for scheme to bribe South African officials, US says WASHINGTON (AP) — An African subsidiary of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc. will pay a criminal penalty of more than $122 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a yearslong scheme to bribe South African government officials. The Justice Department says the scheme involved bribes to officials with South Africa’s state-owned and state-controlled custodian of ports, rails, and pipelines, as well as its state-controlled energy company. It netted McKinsey Africa and its parent company $85 million in profits between 2012 and 2016, officials said. McKinsey said in a statement that it “welcomes the resolution of these matters and the closure of this regretful situation.” EPA hails 'revitalized' enforcement efforts as Biden administration heads to exit WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it concluded more than 1,850 civil cases this year, a 3.4% increase over 2023, and charged 121 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The agency also issued $1.7 billion in financial penalties, more than double last year's total. Thursday's report was the final one account of Biden-era enforcement actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Enforcement efforts included first-ever criminal charges for a California man accused of smuggling climate-damaging air coolants into the United States. Engine maker Cummins Inc. paid more than $2 billion in fines and penalties after it was found to use illegal software to skirt diesel emissions tests. Work-life balance isn't working for women. Why? NEW YORK (AP) — About half of working women reported feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” compared to about 4 in 10 men, according to a Gallup report published Wednesday. The report suggests that competing demands of work and home comprise part of the problem: working women who are parents or guardians are more likely than men who are parents to say they have declined or delayed a promotion at work because of personal or family obligations, and mothers are more likely than fathers to “strongly agree” that they are the default responders for unexpected child care issues. But changing workplace culture and prioritizing well-being can improve the problem, according to Karen Guggenheim, creator of the World Happiness Summit. From outsider to the Oval Office, bitcoin surges as a new administration embraces crypto NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin burst on the scene after trust had withered in the financial system and Washington’s ability to protect people from it. Now, it’s Washington’s embrace of bitcoin that’s sending it to records. Bitcoin briefly surged above $103,000 after President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Paul Atkins, who's seen as friendly to crypto, to be the Securities and Exchange Commission's next chair. The crypto industry, meanwhile, did its part to bring politicians friendly to digital currencies into Washington. It's a twist from bitcoin's early days, when it was lauded as a kind of electronic cash that wouldn’t be beholden to any government or financial institution. Stock market today: Wall Street edges back from its records as bitcoin briefly pops above $100,000 NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their records as Wall Street counted down to a big jobs report that’s coming on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.2% from its own all-time high. The crypto market had more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before falling back toward $99,000. It's climbed dramatically since Election Day on hopes President-elect Donald Trump will be more friendly to crypto. Airline stocks were strong, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Key members of OPEC+ alliance are putting off production increases amid slack crude prices FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries have decided to put off increasing oil production as they face weaker than expected demand and competing production from non-allied countries — factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year. The OPEC+ members decided at an online meeting to postpone by three months production increases that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The plan had been to start gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of 2025. That process will now be pushed back to April 1, 2025 and production increases will gradually take place over 18 months until October 2026. Fox News loses bid for Smartmatic voting-tech company's records about Philippines bribery case NEW YORK (AP) — Smartmatic does not need to give Fox News any information about U.S. federal charges against the voting machine company’s co-founder over alleged bribery in the Philippines. A New York judge on Thursday also turned down Smartmatic’s request to question two Fox Corp. board members. It already has questioned others. Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion. The election-technology company says its business was gutted when Fox aired false claims that Smartmatic helped rig the 2020 vote. Fox says it was just reporting on newsworthy allegations. Fox maintains the Philippines bribery allegations are pertinent to Smartmatic’s business prospects and claims of losses. Florida-based Smartmatic isn’t charged in the criminal case and says it's irrelevant in the defamation suit.Maravai LifeSciences Appoints R. Andrew Eckert as Chairman of the Board of Directors
Authored by Lura Forcum via RealClearPolitics , In the marketplace, competition empowers consumers. The more options you have for a particular product, the lower prices become. Moreover, having more options means you are more likely to find exactly what you want instead of just settling for something good enough. In politics, competition empowers voters. However, unlike the marketplace, where consumers are accustomed to a variety of options, politics offers only two. Worse still, the two options available are so feckless that a plurality of voters choose neither. When there’s little competition, power ends up in the hands of companies, not consumers. And that’s what we see with the Republican and Democratic parties. The lack of competition allows both parties to continue to be unresponsive to voters’ concerns. According to recurring surveys by Gallup , beginning around 2010, independents have been the electorate’s plurality, with few exceptions. And since Obama’s reelection in 2012, independents have been the plurality without exception . Put differently, voters have reported feeling disempowered for more than a decade. It’s no wonder why. The parties set it up so they don’t have outside competition . A number of rules make it difficult – or impossible – for non-party voices to be heard. For instance, in 10 states, you can’t vote in a party’s primary unless you’re a registered party member. Another nine states allow unaffiliated voters but not opposing party members to vote in party primaries. Only 15 states allow for open party primaries where any voter can participate. If you’re running for office as an independent, you don’t have access to the resources that a major party offers its candidates for statewide or national office. It’s hard enough to win political office even with the support of the duopoly; independents are forced to do the impossible. While the election results suggest that voters found the Trump campaign more responsive to their concerns this time, that doesn’t mean Republicans will become better listeners going forward. And why should they? Without competition, there is no incentive for either party to take voters’ concerns seriously for longer than an election cycle. With the Republican party the party of Trump now, attention has focused on his public and private lives, his various legal cases, and his influence over the Republican Party writ large. These distractions have taken attention away from good policy and effective governance. And while you might expect when one party takes its eye off the ball, it would allow the other party to flourish, but that hasn’t been the case. Democrats are flailing because the shift in the Republican party led them to believe that it was enough to just not be Republicans. Since the rise of Donald Trump, their offering to voters has increasingly been, “At least we’re not those guys.” On a variety of issues, from the environment to health care to national defense, one party’s position is, “We should do this,” and the other’s is, “No, we shouldn’t,” and the result is a gridlocked Congress . The Independent Center does the exact opposite. We are bringing competition back to politics by identifying, activating, and empowering independent voters. These voters insist on effective government. They are the swing voters who went for Trump in 2016, Biden in 2020, and Trump again in 2024 because they value results over political allegiances. They expect the government to be fiscally responsible, but they don’t like the more extreme positions on social policies favored by Republicans. In short, they want government to live within its means, as they do, and respect the decisions of consenting adults. The Independent Center believes that the best way to make government more responsive to voters is to bring more people into the political process, especially the people who don’t identify as Republicans or Democrats. By creating a movement of independent voters, we will have more voices about what people want and need, more ideas about effective policy responses, and more feedback about what the best policy solutions are. By competing with Democrats and Republicans for voters, independents will push those parties to understand voters’ values and preferences better, develop better policy proposals, and actually pass legislation instead of devoting their energies to name-calling and obstructing the other side. Lura Forcum is the incoming president of the Independent Center. A former professor and researcher, she conveys complex ideas and policy insights to engage independent voters who now comprise the plurality of the electorate.Meta platforms' chief legal officer sells $538,475 in stock
How to Watch Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Games – Friday, December 6
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay’s bid for a fourth straight NFC South title and fifth consecutive playoff berth is gaining momentum. Back-to-back , combined with Atlanta’s three-game losing streak, have propelled the Bucs (6-6) to a tie atop the division. Although the Falcons (6-6) hold a tiebreaker after sweeping the season series between the teams, Tampa Bay can control its own destiny by finishing strong against a less than imposing schedule. The Bucs, who are back in the thick of the race after beating the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, figure to be favored in four of their five remaining games. “Every week, we said it’s a playoff game, we got to take care of us. It’s not going to be easy. As it was (Sunday), it’s going to be a dog fight every week,” coach Todd Bowles said after Sunday’s 26-23 overtime win at Carolina. “We got to clean up some things, we know that, but it’s hard to win in this league,” the coach said of the mistake-filled victory that lifted the Bucs back to .500. “We’ll take a win any way we can get it.” After facing Las Vegas (2-10) this week, the Bucs will finish with road games against the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and Dallas Cowboys (5-7), followed by home dates vs. Carolina (3-9) and the New Orleans Saints (4-8). What’s working Kicker Chase McLaughlin has been one of team’s most consistent performers, converting 21 of 23 field goal attempts. He was 4 of 5 against the Panthers, including 51-yarder to force overtime on the final play of regulation. He missed from 55 yards in OT before winning it with a 30-yard field goal on Tampa Bay’s next possession. What needs help Just when it appeared the defense was beginning to trend in the right direction, Carolina’s Bryce Young threw for 298 yards without an interception against the Bucs in one of his better outings of the season. “In the first half, he did it with his feet and the second half he did it with his arm,” Bowles said. Stock up Running back Bucky Irving rushed for a career-best 152 yards and finished with 185 from scrimmage against Carolina, making him the first rookie since Miles Sanders in 2019 to have consecutive games with 150-plus yards from scrimmage. Stock down A week after playing well offensively and defensively in a 23-point rout of the New York Giants, the Bucs were sloppy against the Panthers. In addition to throwing two interceptions, Mayfield was sacked four times. Tampa Bay was penalized seven times for 54 yards, and the defense was only able to sack Young once. Injuries Mayfield (sore leg), linebacker K.J. Britt (sprained ankle) and safety Mike Edwards (hamstring) will be on the injury report this week. Bowles said he’s not sure what Mayfield’s practice status will be when the team reconvenes Wednesday, however he expects the quarterback to play Sunday. Key numbers 37 and 101 — Wide receiver Mike Evans had another big day against Carolina, posting the 37th 100-yard receiving performance of his career — fifth among active players. He also moved ahead of Hall of Famers Steve Largent and Tim Brown for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time list for TD receptions with 101. Next steps The Buccaneers host Las Vegas in Tampa Bay’s first home game in a month and the third consecutive outing against a last-place team. The Raiders (2-10) have lost eight in a row. ___ NFL:Hudson announced his departure on social media on Thursday, after a career-best season with 38 catches for 462 yards.
NoneBOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 2, 2024-- Immunome, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: IMNM), a biotechnology company focused on developing first-in-class and best-in-class targeted cancer therapies, announced today that on December 2, 2024, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Compensation Committee”) granted inducement awards consisting of non-statutory stock options to purchase 210,500 shares of common stock to 15 new employees under the Company’s 2024 Inducement Plan. The Compensation Committee approved the stock options as an inducement material to such employees’ employment in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). Each stock option has an exercise price per share equal to $14.08 per share, the Company’s closing sales price on December 2, 2024, and will vest over four years, with 25% of the underlying shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the applicable vesting commencement date and the balance of the underlying shares vesting monthly thereafter over 36 months, subject to the new employees’ continued service relationship with the Company through the applicable vesting dates. The stock options are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company’s 2024 Inducement Plan and the terms and conditions of an applicable stock option agreement covering the grant. About Immunome Immunome is a clinical-stage targeted oncology company committed to developing first-in-class and best-in-class targeted therapies designed to improve outcomes for cancer patients. We are advancing an innovative portfolio of therapeutics, drawing on leadership that previously played key roles in the design, development and commercialization of cutting-edge targeted cancer therapies, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). In addition to a portfolio of discovery-stage ADCs, our pipeline includes AL102, a gamma secretase inhibitor currently in a Phase 3 trial for treatment of desmoid tumors, as well as IM-1021, a ROR1 ADC, and IM-3050, a FAP-targeted radioligand, both of which are the subject of INDs expected to be submitted by the first quarter of 2025. For more information, visit www.immunome.com . Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not purely historical in nature are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include Immunome’s expectations regarding progress of its pipeline and timeline for regulatory filings; and other statements regarding forecasts for the future. These forward-looking statements are based on Immunome’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect; consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in Immunome’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on November 13, 2024, and in Immunome’s other filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, Immunome assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241202157049/en/ CONTACT: Investor Contact Max Rosett Chief Financial Officer investors@immunome.com KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA WASHINGTON INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTH PHARMACEUTICAL CLINICAL TRIALS ONCOLOGY SOURCE: Immunome, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/02/2024 06:26 PM/DISC: 12/02/2024 06:26 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241202157049/en
ST. CLOUD — A new Stearns County Sheriff's Office report offers details in the death of 13-year-old Alexander “Xander” Mick, who was killed on Oct. 12 while working at the Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride in St. Augusta. Mick, of Rice, was working as a “scarer” — someone who dressed up in a costume and stepped out to scare people — when he was run over by a trailer and killed. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that his death was accidental and caused by blunt-force trauma to the head. The case is closed and nothing revealed in the investigation warranted it being referred to the county attorney’s office, Stearns County Sheriff Steve Soyka told St. Cloud LIVE on Thursday afternoon. The sheriff’s office report said Mick was wearing denim overalls over several layers of warm clothing, as well as what appeared to be a mask or wig. Employees of the event said scarers were assigned different zones along the hayride route and would step onto a bar on the side of the metal trailers to scare guests, according to the report. However, the trailers did not stop along the route, and the driver of the tractor pulling the trailer that ran over Mick said the cruise was set at 2.5 mph, the report said. A sheriff’s deputy at the scene believed that Mick may have tripped or got caught on the back part of the trailer, which pulled him under, according to the report. Multiple employees told investigators they had been concerned about Mick being a scarer, the report said. One employee told law enforcement he shared concerns over Mick’s size and age while another said Mick was not always aware of his surroundings. Jason and Tracy Stock, the hayride owners, canceled the remainder of the season after Mick’s death. Mick’s father, Steven Mick, is friends with the owners of Horror Haunted Hayride and permitted his son to volunteer as an actor for the hayride, according to the report. Mick was an eighth-grader at Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School, according to his obituary.None
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed after market superstar Nvidia and another round of companies said they’re making even fatter profits than expected. The S&P 500 pulled 0.5% higher Thursday after flipping between modest gains and losses several times in the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite edged up less than 0.1%. Banks, smaller companies and other areas of the stock market that tend to do best when the economy is strong helped lead the way, while bitcoin briefly broke above $99,000. Crude oil, meanwhile, continued to rise. Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing Thursday after market superstar Nvidia and another round of companies said they’re making even fatter profits than expected. The S&P 500 was pulling 0.7% higher, as of 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, after flipping between modest gains and losses several times in the morning. Banks, smaller companies and other areas of the stock market that tend do best when the economy is strong helped lead the way, while bitcoin briefly broke above $99,000. Crude oil, meanwhile, continued to rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 532 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2%. Nvidia's rise of 1.4% was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 upward after yet again beating analysts’ estimates for profit and revenue. It also gave a forecast for revenue in the current quarter that topped most analysts’ expectations thanks to voracious demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Its stock initially sank in afterhours trading Wednesday following the release of the results. Some investors said the market might have been looking for Nvidia's revenue forecast to surpass expectations by even more. But its stock recovered in premarket trading Thursday, and Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said it was another “flawless” profit report provided by Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang, whom Ives calls “the Godfather of AI.” How Nvidia’s stock performs has tremendous impact because it’s quickly grown into Wall Street’s most valuable company at roughly $3.6 trillion. Its meandering up and down through the day dragged the S&P 500 and other indexes back and forth. The frenzy around AI is sweeping up other stocks, and Snowflake jumped 32.3% after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, whose platform helps customers get a better view of all their silos of data and use AI, also reported stronger revenue growth than expected. BJ’S Wholesale Club rose 9.1% after likewise delivering a bigger profit than expected. That may help calm worries about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain, given high prices across the economy and still-high interest rates. A day earlier, Target tumbled after reporting sluggish sales in the latest quarter and giving a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season. It followed Walmart , which gave a much more encouraging outlook. Nearly 90% of the stocks in the S&P 500 were also rising, and the gains were even bigger among smaller companies. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks jumped a market-leading 1.9%. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, helped keep indexes in check. It fell 5.5% after U.S. regulators asked a judge to break up the tech giant by forcing it to sell its industry-leading Chrome web browser. In a 23-page document filed late Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice called for sweeping punishments that would include restrictions preventing Android from favoring its own search engine. Regulators stopped short of demanding Google sell Android but left the door open to it if the company’s oversight committee continues to see evidence of misconduct. Drops for other Big Tech stocks also weighed on the market, including a 2.4% slide for Amazon. In stock markets abroad, shares of India’s Adani Enterprises plunged 22.6% Thursday after the U.S. charged founder Gautam Adani, 62, in a federal indictment with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. The businessman and one of the world’s richest people is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company’s huge solar energy project on the subcontinent was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme. Indexes elsewhere in Asia and Europe were mixed. In the crypto market, bitcoin eclipsed $99,000 for the first time before easing back to roughly $98,250, according to CoinDesk. It’s more than doubled so far this year, and its climb has accelerated since Election Day. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to make the country “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. Bitcoin also got a boost after Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission who has pushed for more protection for crypto investors, said he would step down in January . Bitcoin and related investments, of course, have a notorious history of big price swings in both directions. MicroStrategy, a company that's been raising cash expressly to buy bitcoin, saw an early gain of 14.6% for its stock on Thursday quickly disappear. It was most recently down 10.7%. In the oil market, a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2% to bring its gain for the week to 4.8%. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.8%. Oil has been rising amid escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war. In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher following some mixed reports on the U.S. economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.43% from 4.41% late Wednesday. One report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week in the latest signal that the job market remains solid. Another report, though, said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly shrank. Sales of previously occupied homes, meanwhile, strengthened last month by more than expected. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Yuri Kageyama contributed.
Berlin confirmed plans to reform its legal framework make it a clear criminal offence to “facilitate the smuggling of migrants to the UK” as part of the agreement, the Home Office said. The Home Office said the move would give German prosecutors more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats. Both countries will also commit to exchange information that may help to remove migrant-smuggling content from social media platforms and tackle end-to-end routes of criminal smuggling networks as part of the deal. It comes ahead of the UK and Germany hosting the so-called Calais Group in London, which sees ministers and police from the two countries, alongside France, Belgium and the Netherlands, gather to discuss migration in Europe. Delegates are expected to agree a detailed plan to tackle people-smuggling gangs in 2025 at the meeting on Tuesday. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “For too long organised criminal gangs have been exploiting vulnerable people, undermining border security in the UK and across Europe while putting thousands of lives at risk. “We are clear that this cannot go on. “Germany is already a key partner in our efforts to crack down on migrant smuggling, but there is always more we can do together. “Our new joint action plan with deliver a strengthened partnership with Germany, boosting our respective border security as we work to fix the foundations, and ultimately saving lives.” Nancy Faeser, German federal minister of the interior said: “We are now stepping up our joint action to fight the brutal activities of international smugglers. “This is at the core of our joint action plan that we have agreed in London. “It will help us end the inhumane activities of criminal migrant smuggling organisations. “By cramming people into inflatable boats under threats of violence and sending them across the Channel, these organisations put human lives at risk.” She said that “many of these crimes are planned in Germany” and the deal would help to counter “this unscrupulous business with even more resolve.” “This includes maintaining a high investigative pressure, exchanging information between our security authorities as best as possible, and persistently investigating financial flows to identify the criminals operating behind the scenes,” Ms Faeser said. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the announcement “doesn’t go far enough”. “The British public deserves a serious plan to control our borders and stop criminal gangs,” he said. “The National Crime Agency has said a deterrent is necessary to reduce the number of crossings, yet Labour scrapped the only deterrent before it even got started. “Meanwhile the numbers of illegal immigrants coming here continue to climb, with an 18% increase compared to the same period last year, with more than 20,000 people having made the crossing since the election.”Fed officials see interest rate cuts ahead, but only 'gradually,' meeting minutes showA former Washington, D.C., police officer accused of leaking confidential information to a Proud Boys national leader became a "double agent" for the far-right extremist group, a federal prosecutor said on Monday. What Happened? Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Shane Lamond was arrested in May 2023 and is charged with one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements. The case against Lamond stems from allegedly leaked sensitive information to Enrique Tarrio, the group's national leader, after members burned a Black Lives Matter banner on December 12 2020, according to federal prosecutors. At the start of Lamond's trial on Monday, prosecutors argued that the former police officer was a "Proud Boys sympathizer" who tipped off Tarrio about his impending arrest over the banner-burning incident and provided "real-time updates" on police investigations. He is also accused of later lying to investigators about their communications. "He knew the difference between right and wrong, and he knew it was a crime to lie to law enforcement," prosecutor Joshua Rothstein said during opening statements for Lamond's trial. "This play-by-play information allowed the Proud Boys to be one step ahead of law enforcement," the prosecutor added. The defense has dismissed these claims as inflammatory, arguing that the prosecution is presenting a skewed version of events. Lamond's attorney, Ana Jara, said, "Context matters, especially in conversations" and accused prosecutors of "cherry-picking" evidence to paint a misleading picture. Meanwhile, the trial's first witness, Lieutenant Ahsan Mufti, who investigated the banner burning and obtained a warrant for Tarrio's arrest, testified that Lamond withheld critical information about Tarrio's direct confession to the banner-burning that would have helped his investigation. Tarrio had publicly confessed to the crime on social media before his arrest. Mufti also acknowledged that Lamond had been cooperative in other aspects, such as identifying Tarrio in photos. Lamond had pleading not guilty in May 2023 leading U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to decide the case after hearing testimony. From Officer to Insider? Lamond's connection with Tarrio began in 2019 when he supervised the intelligence branch of the department's Homeland Security Bureau. His role included monitoring groups like the Proud Boys. However, text exchanges between the two reveal a relationship that prosecutors claim went beyond professional boundaries. Lamond reportedly referred to Tarrio as "brother" in their communications, which spanned hundreds of messages. Tarrio was sentenced to more than five months in jail for burning the banner stolen from a historic Black church in downtown Washington and for bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines into the district. The January 6 Connection Tarrio was arrested in the banner-burning case in Washington, D.C., just days before the January 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol when Proud Boys members joined a mob's attack on the Capitol. Though Tarrio wasn't at the Capitol during the riot, he has since been sentenced to 22 years in prison after a jury convicted him and other Proud Boys leaders of seditious conspiracy charges stemming from the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to Lamond's indictment, Tarrio and Lamond exchanged messages about the January 6 riot and discussed whether Proud Boys members were in danger of being charged in the attack. "Of course I can't say it officially, but personally I support you all and don't want to see your group's name and reputation dragged through the mud," Lamond wrote. Lamond, of Stafford, Virginia, was placed on administrative leave in February 2022. Meanwhile, Lamond's case, being presided over by Judge Jackson, could see Tarrio himself called as a witness. This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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Move over Magic: Nuggets star Nikola Jokic goes past Johnson on career list with 139th triple-doubleAlarming satellite image shows China's $9bn secret warship doing military tests in Pacific amid WWIII fears READ MORE: China carries out 'total Taiwan blockade' drills By NIKKI MAIN SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 15:48 EST, 22 November 2024 | Updated: 16:06 EST, 22 November 2024 e-mail 48 View comments China 's secretive $9 billion warship has been spotted in Pacific ocean from space amid fears of WWIII. The CNS Liaoning, which is the nation's first operational aircraft carrier , was captured by NASA 's Landsat 8 satellite as it was docked in the Bohai Sea and conducted sea trials. The satellite images showed the Liaoning warship docked among other aircraft carriers at a shipyard, while a separate image showed moving out to sea. US Navy officials have been monitoring the warship, finding its deck measures about 656 feet long and 131 feet wide, making it smaller than other Chinese carriers. The images were taken days after US President Biden allowed Ukraine to use American missiles to strike China's ally Russia , which has led to fears that a worldwide war is on the horizon. China has become Russia's largest trading partner following Western sanctions and now enjoys huge discounts on energy exports while supplying essential technology and consumer goods . And in September, reports surfaced that the two nations were ramping up joint military drills. The US Landsat 8 satellite captured images of the Chinese navy's newest warship (pictured) that was recently deployed in the Bohai Sea The ship, pictured here, weighs about 60,000 tons and is part of China's smaller naval aircraft carriers The Chinese military has more than 370 warships and submarines in its fleet, making it the largest naval force created worldwide, and has worked to rapidly increase its fleet while keeping up with US carrier technology. CNS Liaoning was operating near Japan last year, strapped with guided-missile cruisers and a guided-missile destroyer, when it conducted flight operations with about 20 launches and recoveries of fighters . Reports also claimed there were around 40 take-offs and landings of helicopters from the carrier. More recently, from September 20 to October 1, the CNS Liaoning performed flight operations with carrier-based fighter jets and helicopters in the waters east of the Philippines and west of Guam. Images surfaced of China's Fujian ship (pictured), which is the largest in its naval arsenal, leaving its pier in the South China Sea on Monday It is unclear what trials were be conducted this week. The People's Liberation Army Navy also deployed its CNS Shandong aircraft carrier last week, which sailed into the South China Sea about 397 miles south of Miyako Island, according to the US Naval Institute . The vessel was monitored using satellite imagery and was reported to have conducted 10 launches and 10 helicopter take-offs and landings. The US has deployed its own fleet of warships to the northwest coast of Luzon to watch China's ongoing operations and reported that the Liberation Army could be readying itself to attack Japan . Read More Royal Navy frigate keeps 'close watch' on two Chinese warships travelling through British waters China's tensions with Japan has continued to grow due to concerns over its close relationship with the US. The Chinese government has also claimed that Taiwan is its own territory, although the country has not outright stated that it plans to invade Japan . Earlier this month, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is grateful that the US is deploying ships to the region as reports of China's warships increase. The press release stated: 'As the security environment in the region becomes increasingly severe, maintaining a robust presence of the U.S. Navy through the forward-deployment of USS George Washington and the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 is essential to the security of Japan and the maintenance of regional peace and stability.' China Japan Russia Share or comment on this article: Alarming satellite image shows China's $9bn secret warship doing military tests in Pacific amid WWIII fears e-mail Add commentHarris has ‘no knowledge’ anyone tried to get RTE to take down viral clip