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Watch emotional moment that Barry McGuigan breaks down in tears over father’s death and family trauma on UnpackedFatigued drivers are one of the most common hazards on the road, but sleepy-heads on commercial wheels are to get AI-assisted safety prompts courtesy of biometric-tracking technology. The tech companies are targeting vehicle fleet operators and in particular long-haul trucking firms, reports , since such drivers usually drive the farthest distances and lengthiest times. While automakers have employed camera-based systems to monitor biometrics, such as drivers’ eye movements, posture, breathing and hand placement, for inattentiveness, companies are now using machine learning to detect signs of drowsiness. Driver monitoring tech developed by , , and (all California-based) deliver real-time audio alerts to a drowsy driver, prompting them to take a break to help avoid fatigue-related accidents. Motive’s AI monitors yawning and head movements; Nauto’s tech tracks yawning, blink duration and changes in the driver’s body posture; while Samsara’s system tracks drowsiness symptoms such as excessive eye closure, head nodding, eye-rubbing, slouching, and yawning. In order to develop such a system, Samsara had to train its AI on billions of minutes of video footage to come up with a model aligned with the clinical definition of drowsiness (the Karolinska Sleep Score). All the drowsiness-detection-tech companies have configured their systems so that fleet managers are directly contacted if a driver continues to operate the vehicle after they’ve been alerted of their drowsy condition. While Samsara says it is not seeking mass adoption of its technology in consumer vehicles, auto manufacturers such as Ford, Honda, Toyota and Daimler-Benz have incorporated similar alert signals for drowsy drivers to take a break. But as vehicles with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) become more common, drowsiness-detection systems might turn into a feature of semi-autonomous vehicles as drivers could engage in risky behavior. In other biometrics-related auto news, professor and senior researcher in biometrics security and privacy Sébastian Marcel announced a new “iCarB” data set. The in-car biometric data set, which are actually three subsets, contains face videos, fingerprint images and voice samples for driver recognition collected by the Biometrics Security and Privacy Group at . The data set features demographic diversity as there is a fifty-fifty gender split, skin colors across the entire Fitzpatrick-scale spectrum, and ages ranging from 18 to 60-plus among the 200 data subjects. According to Marcel, the iCarB datasets can be used to evaluate and benchmark face, fingerprint and voice recognition systems; create multimodal pseudo-identities and to train and test multimodal fusion algorithms; create Presentation Attacks from the biometric data and to evaluate Presentation Attack Detection algorithms; investigate demographic and environmental biases in biometric systems, using the provided metadata. The paper “in-Car Biometrics (iCarB) Datasets for Driver Recognition: Face, Fingerprint, and Voice” can be found . The links to the subsets for face, fingerprint, and voice, respectively, can be found via Sébastian Marcel’s LinkedIn announcement . | | | | |
Legendary St. John's basketball coach Lou Carnesecca has died at the age of 99, News 4 sports reporter Bruce Beck has confirmed Saturday. Carnesecca, a two-time National Coach of the Year and three-time Big East Coach of the Year, was enshrined in the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. In addition to his tenure at St. John's, he also coached the New York Nets of the ABA. The legendary coach own more than 500 games in his 24 seasons at St. John's, taking the team to the Final Four in 1985. He also helped pave the way for the BIG EAST as it is now known. "A founding father of the BIG EAST Conference and an international ambassador for the game worldwide, Coach Carnesecca was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. In addition to his legendary coaching career, he has touched the lives of countless individuals and has made a positive impact on the St. John’s University community for the last eight decades," the school posted in September. Beck posted a tribute to Carnesecca on social media: "With tears in my eyes - I say goodbye to Lou Carnesecca. What a run - 99 years of living life to its fullest. What a coach. What a man. What a friend. I was so honored to host his TV show for 7 years on @msgnetworks & so blessed to have him in my life for 46 years. RIP Louie. I have lost a second father - the world has lost a Saint. 💙💜 @StJohnsBBall @StJohnsU @naismith_hall ."Mexico shares higher at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC up 0.00%Quinn Ewers is set to leave Texas after the 2025 season, with his last regular season game set for this Saturday before the school will hope to compete for a National Championship - before turning to Arch Manning . Manning has had to sit behind Ewers for the last two seasons, despite looking like he might be set to take over from the senior on a few occasions - with Ewers even briefly being benched for him during their nightmare loss to Georgia before he was brought back in. Ewers being benched would have tanked his draft stock, but he has bounced back strongly since then while throwing an impressive 23 touchdowns to six interceptions. Ewers has long been thought of as a first-round talent whenever he declares, but his stock currently looks uncertain for a weakened 2025 draft class, with Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward expected to be taken ahead of him at this point. However, an impressive playoff run could change that. Lamar Jackson pulls off repeat of viral high school play on 'Monday Night Football' Terry Bradshaw and Michael Strahan in FOX NFL Sunday disagreement over Patrick Mahomes heroics Mirror US Sports has identified five teams that are sure to be strongly considering selecting Ewers when the 2025 draft comes around, while looking at the team's current situation at the quarterback position. The Giants have already made their intentions very clear that they'll be drafting a quarterback in the draft after outright releasing Daniel Jones after ownership made the decision to move off of him, despite handing him a $160 million contract less than two years ago. While Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward are expected to be the first two quarterbacks taken in the draft, the Giants could instead opt to take the best player available with their first selection in the class - perhaps bolstering their offensive line - before diving back into select Ewers. That'd put the Texas quarterback in a strong position to thrive, playing behind an improved line with Malik Nabers elevating himself to superstar level in his first season. Reports continue to emerge that the Jets will look to move on from Aaron Rodgers , after firing both of their head coach and general manager while hoping to rebuild the franchise next season. The Jets are unlikely to look to free agency for their quarterback, while having to pay Rodgers' contract off and needing to allocate cap space around their roster. If Ewers is to fall in the later picks of the first-round, or perhaps even to the second-round, that could be a perfect scenario for the Jets. As mentioned with the Giants, their New York-rivals could also opt to take the best player on their board with their first pick before making a move for Ewers - having him compete with Jordan Travis. The Raiders are the favorites to land Shedeur Sanders in April's draft, but if they are beaten to hand the card in with his name, they'll have an intriguing choice between him and the aforementioned Ward. Like the two teams mentioned above, the Raiders have a lot of work to do to their roster before they're able to put a rookie quarterback in a position to succeed. But they'll hope that their new signal-caller acts as a force-multiplier for their team, as we've seen with Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders this year. The Seahawks find themselves in an intriguing position with Geno Smith, with both head coach Mike Macdonald and John Schneider being non-committal when discussing the quarterback's future with the team. Smith has played at a high level in the past three years as the starter, but will turn 35 years old next season with Macdonald alluding to the fact that he's been angered by his quarterback's interceptions (12 in 11 games this season). What's more, Schneider mentioned Ewers by name after drafting his former Ohio State teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba, with the Seahawks GM seen at multiple Texas games over the past two years. Seattle has drafted just one quarterback since taking Russell Wilson 13 years ago, with Schneider admitting he knows he must select one sooner rather than later. Similarly to their NFC West rivals in the Pacific Northwest, the Rams have gotten high-level play from their quarterback with Matthew Stafford seen as one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league. But he is undoubtedly coming toward the end of his career at this point, with the Rams yet to find a long-term successor. Ewers could be available for both the Rams and Seahawks later in the first-round, potentially not needing to make a move up the board to select him. For the Rams, he'd walk into the one of the best systems in the league, with dynamic play-caller Sean McVay being a good bet to get the most of his talents. Want to watch more live sports? Peacock has your favorite sports, shows, and more all in one place. Peacock offers plans starting at $7.99 so you can stream live sports like NFL, Premier League, and Big Ten Football.
TIOHTIÀ:KE ( MONTREAL ), QC , Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Calling all youth in Canada , Mexico and the United States ! Are you ready to act now to support North American communities and preserve our shared waters, lands and air? The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is pleased to announce the launch of the second edition of its Generation of Environmental Leaders Program (GELP). This exciting program supports young leaders in accessing seed funding and developing the necessary skills to make a real and meaningful impact in their communities and beyond. The selected youth will benefit from a year-long mentorship program, networking opportunities across North America , receive C$15,000 in seed funding and the chance to present their solutions to North America's top environmental officials as part of the CEC's annual Council Session in the summer of 2025. It's time to act now. The GELP invites young people from North America to support communities and preserve our shared waters, lands and air. The program is aimed at youth who are 18–35 years old and are part of a team such as, but not exclusively, youth-led organizations, youth-led associations, nongovernmental organizations, not-for-profit youth-led businesses, and teams of youth innovators and entrepreneurs interested in building their businesses. Here's what the current GELP cohort is saying. "The mentorship provided by the GELP has greatly helped me grow as a person and has made me feel more comfortable stepping out of my comfort zone, especially in areas like preparing for presentations and managing stress. Today, I feel much more at ease speaking in front of an audience!"—Alexandre Savard, Encore! Biomatériaux, Canada . "The seed funding provided through the GELP was a wonderful opportunity to kickstart some of our project's most important activities. Thanks to this support, we were able to initiate the implementation of an Environmental Management Unit, a step that will foster restoration and conservation of the area." —Ana Cristina Posadas García, Strategy for the Restoration and Conservation of the Ciénega of Tamasopo Wetland, RAMSAR Site, Mexico . "As members of the inaugural GELP cohort, we have had the privilege of connecting with individuals and organizations driven to be a power for good in the environmental and climate space. These experiences have been the catalyst for additional award nominations and the formation of collaborative partnerships that we believe will further grow our work at the intersection of justice and an equitable energy transition."—McKenna Dunbar and Jake Barnet , Electrivive: An Equitable Building Electrification Workforce Redevelopment Tool, United States . We're giving youth the resources to succeed and lead. In addition to building capacity for youth, this program accelerates youth leadership by expanding youth environmental networks and providing seed funding for creative solutions to flourish, particularly at the local level. During the year-long mentorship program, youth leaders receive advice from experts to help advance their solutions and guidance on various elements of their projects, including how to pitch their solutions and other project development and management topics such as risk management, budgeting, outreach and fundraising. The program supports impactful and enduring community-driven activities and establishes a robust youth network across North America . The GELP also provides extended networking opportunities for participants. The selected solutions are presented to the public and selected teams can engage with the CEC's Joint Public Advisory Committee and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Expert Group , and Government officials and experts, during the CEC Council Session , an ideal platform to showcase the impactful ideas at the ministerial level. Requirements for participation. Applicants must demonstrate that their solutions can address or respond to critical issues related to supporting our communities and preserving our shared waters, lands and air across North America . Submissions should be practical, effective, achievable and propose sustainable solutions to an identifiable environmental problem. They should also be context-specific and consider the unique characteristics of the community or region targeted by the project. The eligibility and evaluation criteria prioritize solutions that have established a clear objective and will have a significant impact on local communities and their environment: Priority is given to proposals submitted by diverse youth who identified or developed their solutions jointly with communities, including community members who traditionally do not have access to decision-making spaces. Submission deadline : Completed submissions must be uploaded to the submission platform by 23:59 local time on 12 January 2025 . Click here to learn more about the program, the submission guidelines and criteria, and to apply. For more information about the Generation of Environmental Leaders Program and the submission process, please join us for a virtual information session on 17 December 2024 from 13:00–14:00 Eastern Time (12:00–13:00 Central Time) and (10:00–11:00 Pacific Time), available with simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish. If you would like to know more about CEC initiatives, opportunities and efforts, you can sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media . Media Contact Patrick Tonissen Head of Communications +1 (438) 885-8463 View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cecs-generation-of-environmental-leaders-program-now-open-to-north-american-youth-302314604.html SOURCE Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)President-elect Donald Trump praised Pete Hegseth, his embattled nominee for Defense secretary, in a social media post Friday, but some of the president-elect's allies are doubtful Hegseth can make it through the confirmation process. Hegseth doesn't appear to have the votes in the Senate to get confirmed and his nomination is in trouble, according to two sources close to Trump. "I believe the votes are not there for Pete," said a Trump adviser who asked not to be identified. "They're not going to be there. I think Trump will let Pete fight and come to that conclusion on his own." The second source said Hegseth's nomination appears to be doomed unless Trump "goes into full push." More: Pete Hegseth controversy explained: What to know amid backlash to Trump's Defense pick Trump lauded Hegseth, a combat veteran and former Fox News host, on social media Friday, writing that he "is doing very well." "His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe," Trump added. Trump seems committed to Hegseth for now, said a third source close to the president-elect. "That is my current sense," said the source. Hegseth's nomination has been teetering, though, amid a series of revelations about his personal life. He was accused of sexual assault, which he denies and for which he has never faced charges. And a whistleblower report first detailed by The New Yorker alleged he was forced out of leadership roles with two nonprofit veterans groups - Concerned Vets for America and Vets for Freedom - for personal misconduct, mismanagement of funds and intoxication on the job. More: Pete Hegseth vows he won't drink 'a drop of alcohol' if confirmed as defense secretary There also have been reports about excessive drinking by Hegseth during his stint at Fox News. The New York Times published an email sent to Hegseth by his mother in which she wrote “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years)." Penelope Hegseth went on television this week to defend him and said she regrets the email. "Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media. We believe that Pete Hegseth is the right guy to lead the Department of Defense," Vice President-elect JD Vance told reporters Friday in North Carolina. "That’s why President Trump nominated him. We’re not abandoning this nomination.” Mark Lucas, who succeeded Pete Hegseth as executive director of Concerned Vets for America, dismissed the concerns about him as political. He said he didn't have any issues with Hegseth and is volunteering to testify before a Senate panel to support his confirmation Lucas also criticized people attacking Hegseth for doing so behind the cloak of anonymity. More: Alcohol, antipathy cloud Pete Hegseth sex assault allegations with conflicting accounts "They're going to run the same playbook against Pete Hegseth that they did with Brett Kavanaugh ," he told USA TODAY, referring to the Supreme Court justice who was accused sexual assault as a teenager during his 2018 confirmation. "If people want to come forward, they can. They can say whatever they want under oath. But it's going to be investigated." Hegseth may not benefit from the same "choir boy" treatment as Kavanaugh, said Mike Davis, who piloted Kavanaugh's contentious hearings as a Senate Judiciary Committee chief counsel. "Hegseth admits he was certainly not a choir boy. The Kavanaugh claims were ridiculous. Everyone who knew him knew he was a virgin into his 20s − then suddenly he's a serial rapist in high school?" Davis told USA TODAY. "Everyone knows Hegseth was a playboy. That doesn't mean he was a rapist. And the accusations, while serious, may not withstand public scrutiny after her public testimony." Davis said his group, the Article III Project, is mobilizing a phone, email and social media blitz to support Kash Patel and Hegseth. Hegseth's struggles have Trump considering a backup. He has been weighing replacing Hegseth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , who ran against him in the GOP presidential primary. DeSantis, a Navy veteran, will join Trump at the Army-Navy football game on Dec. 14, according to Fox News . Hegseth said during his visit to the Capitol this week to meet with senators that he spoke with Trump and the president-elect is standing behind him. "He said: 'Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way,'" Hegseth said of his conversation with Trump. "Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I'm here for the war fighters."
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Inside Daizen Maeda’s Celtic recovery plans as he reveals how he winds down but says ‘I have a different way from othersSamantha Ruth Prabhu parties with friends after Naga Chaitanya's second marriage with Sobhita Dhulipala - Watch
Across the street from the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the ancient monument in central Athens, historian Menelaos Haralabidis pauses in front of a drab apartment building. The building’s facade, freshly painted a mustard color, is riddled with bullet holes made by heavy machine gun fire. The marks have been stubbornly preserved for 80 years. In December of 1944, as the final stages of World War II unfolded, Athens, newly liberated from Nazi occupation, was again ravaged by fighting. Allies turned on each other as Europe’s boundaries were already being redrawn by the war’s ultimate winners. British troops and the new Greek government battled communist-led WW II resistance fighters in a bloody five-week confrontation that raged across the city. “Athens was turned into a battlefield for 33 days, with major destruction, mostly in the surrounding districts, and thousands of victims,” Haralabidis said. “There were regular operations from all parts of the military: land army, artillery, air force, even British ships bombarding parts of Athens.” During the battle, Winston Churchill visited Athens at Christmas before British forces prevailed. The Dekemvrianá, as the December battle is known in Greece, extended a lasting legacy of violent political division and a reluctance to confront the past. Haralabidis, a 54-year-old historian and author, has organized tours of the urban battle sites and the little that remains to commemorate them: Pockmarked walls and chipped surfaces that still exist on a handful of buildings around the Greek capital. “Greek society must reckon with its history. To heal its wounds, we need to discuss them openly, understand what happened, and come to terms with the past,” he said. Kaisariani, a once impoverished hillside district of Athens, earned the wartime nickname of “Little Stalingrad” for its concentration of resistance fighters, and witnessed some of the most ferocious fighting in December 1944. Giorgos Kontostavlos, the district’s former mayor, grew up there on stories of the battles: Rebel fighters throwing up barricades with debris from artillery shelling, low-flying British bombers and intense exchanges of machine-gun and mortar fire, one blowing a hole in the roof of his grandfather’s home. On a narrow side street in Kaisariani, a row of apartment blocks still display the damage from 1944 and fading slogans of defiance written by the rebels in red paint. Kontostavlos supports a local campaign to give protected status as a wartime monument. “The monument should live on, not as a symbol of war or death, but as a monument to peace,” he said. “Over 20% of the district’s homes were destroyed. The neighborhood faced immense pressure, and the residents found themselves in a very dire situation ... These were, essentially, the first battles of the Cold War.” The December uprising was triggered by a failure to reach an agreement with resistance groups to disarm and about what a post-war government would look like. It cost an estimated 5,000 lives and eventually triggered the longer and bloodier Greek Civil War in 1946-49. A debate over the Athens battle’s legacy remains fraught in part due to the involvement of armed groups of Nazi collaborators. Seeking to reinvent their roles and evade fatal retribution, they zealously fought communist-backed rebels and opposed reconciliation efforts. “There’s still no agreement, even among professional historians,” Roderick Beaton, a professor of Greek history at King’s College in London, told The Associated Press. “Some still hold to the narrative put about by the winning side afterward, that the communists had been intent on seizing power,” he said. For others it “showed the Greek people reclaiming their own self-determination in the face of former collaborators with the Nazis and the British who had replaced them as an occupying power.” For Beaton, author of the book “Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation,” the battle was less about Cold War tensions than the catastrophic effects of wartime occupation. “So far as I can see, the tragic events ... in Athens were an accident waiting to happen. There was no plan for an armed uprising by the left, but neither was there a right-wing or British plan to crush the former resistance,” he said. In Greece, there are no official monuments or museum exhibits dedicated to the December battle or the civil war — conflicts that were officially forgotten. Emergency measures from that time were only fully abolished in 1989. That year, a bronze statue was unveiled in central Athens square of three towering human-like figures standing at 8 meters (26 feet) tall, intertwined in a harmonious embrace. It’s named, simply, the Statue of National Reconciliation. [AP]
A sudden infusion of $30 million into Donald Trump's nascent cryptocurrency venture from a Chinese billionaire sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly defrauding investors could potentially deliver an eight-figure payday to a company associated with the president-elect. The investment has sparked new concerns about Trump's ability to potentially profit from foreign investors, and his positions on cryptocurrency following a presidential campaign in which he vowed to make the United States "the crypto capital of the planet." Justin Sun -- a cryptocurrency billionaire famous in part for his purchase of a $6 million banana art piece last month -- announced his $30 million investment in the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial last week, making him the company's largest investor. MORE: Trump's new crypto venture is light on details, heavy on potential ethics landmines The influx of cash also triggered a provision that allows an entity affiliated with Trump to receive 75% of the company's net revenue, based on the terms outlined in a recent company filing. DT Marks DEFI LLC, a company affiliated with Trump, stands to profit more than $15 million following Sun's investment, renewing concerns about the potential influence on Trump's cryptocurrency positions and the future of the SEC lawsuit against Sun and his companies for allegedly violating securities laws. Sun and his companies have denied wrongdoing. "It's hard to have more influence when you're talking about money in politics than someone who just directly gave you eight figures," said Jordan Libowitz, a vice president at the progressive watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The investment comes as Trump recently announced a series of pro-crypto nominees for his administration, including veteran regulator and cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sachs to be White House AI and crypto czar . Trump has denied all allegations that he has profited from the presidency. "President Trump removed himself from his multi-billion-dollar real estate empire to run for office and forewent his government salary," Trump-Vance transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News. "Unlike most politicians, President Trump didn't get into politics for profit -- he's fighting because he loves the people of this country and wants to make America great again." World Liberty Financial and Justin Sun did not respond to requests for comment. 'We have to be No. 1' Despite once calling cryptocurrency a "scam," Trump threw his support in September behind World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance platform that could eventually be a marketplace for borrowing and lending various cryptocurrencies. "We have to be No. 1," Trump said at the announcement, regarding the United States' position in the crypto market. "I think AI is really important, but I think crypto is one of those things we have to do," World Liberty Financial makes money, at this time, through the sale of tokens, which gives investors a say in the company's governance; however, the tokens don't offer a share of the company's revenue and can't be resold. Trump is not an officer or employee of the company, but DT Marks DEFI LLC receives a bulk of World Liberty Financial's revenue if the venture is a success, leading some ethics experts to raise concerns that the company could be a vehicle for directing funds to Trump. "To call it an ethical problem is to understate how fundamentally corrupt it is," said Robert Weissman, the co-president of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "They've set up a way for people to funnel money to Donald Trump, and now it's happening." Two months after its launch, the company failed to make much traction in the cryptocurrency space after it faced criticism about its ambiguous business plan beyond its association with Trump. According to James Butterfill, the head of research at asset management company CoinShares, the company's early marketing materials offered little more than "buzzwords." The weak launch also suggested its founders and the Trumps would make little to no money from the venture. Because World Liberty Financial had made less than $30 million in revenue prior to Sun's investment, all of the money raised by the company would be held in a reserve to cover operating expenses while the Trumps would make nothing, according to terms in the company's so-called " gold paper ." MORE: Trump announces new role for his administration, names PayPal co-founder 'White House AI and crypto czar' Enter Justin Sun, the eclectic cryptocurrency billionaire who -- prior to spending millions on a banana duct-taped to a wall -- attracted headlines for spending more than half a million dollars on an NTF of a pet rock , and $4.5 million for a lunch with Warren Buffet. His $30 million investment through Tron -- the popular cryptocurrency he founded in 2017 -- made him the largest investor in the project and fueled resurgence of interest in the once-struggling platform. "The U.S. is becoming the blockchain hub, and Bitcoin owes it to @realDonaldTrump!" Sun wrote on X announcing his investment. 'You'd want to run away' Last year the SEC sued Sun and his companies with securities fraud for allegedly manipulating the value of a cryptocurrency and paying celebrities including Lindsey Lohan, Ne-Yo, and Jake Paul to promote the assets without disclosing they had been paid. Sun and his companies have denied wrongdoing, and the celebrities have settled the case without admitting or denying the allegations. Tron and other cryptocurrencies have also faced criticism for allegedly enabling criminals to make financial transactions undetected, with a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime calling Tron "a preferred choice for crypto money launderers in East and Southeast." Tron's leadership called the report's allegation "inaccurate" and said it "supports the UN's stance against malicious actors in the blockchain space." After his $30 million investment, World Liberty Financial named Sun an adviser, saying that his "insights and experience will be instrumental" to the company's growth. Weissman told ABC News he was concerned about the arrangement. "It's exactly the sort of figure that you'd want to run away from if you were starting a business, and instead they're embracing it," Weissman said of World Liberty Financial and Sun. MORE: Is it too late to buy bitcoin after it hit $100,000? Experts weigh in. The investment could prove to be lucrative for Sun, given Trump's association with the project and the number of cryptocurrencies that have rallied following the election. On Thursday, shares of the leading cryptocurrency bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time. "With a lot of crypto, having good PR or a good kind of voice helps a lot to get something noticed, and there's no better time for World Liberty Financial," Butterfill said. "The lines between the private endeavor that this is and the public connections that Trump has are quite blurred, and the kind of people running World Liberty Financial will probably play on that a little bit." Trump's name and likeness are seen throughout World Liberty Financial's website and marketing materials, and Trump himself is listed as the company's "chief crypto advocate," though the firm discloses that neither Trump nor his family members are officers of the company. According to the company, World Liberty Financial is "inspired" by Trump and hopes to introduce the platform "to a broader audience that may have previously been unfamiliar or hesitant to engage with decentralized assets and cryptocurrency." "They're trying to take advantage of President-elect Trump's popularity and the fact that he just won an election, and see if they can get this business up and running and off the ground," said Scott Amey, general counsel at the watchdog Project on Government Oversight. 'Money in the future president's hands' Though Sun and Trump have never met, several ethics experts ABC News spoke with also raised concerns that the investment -- and Trump's possible profit from it -- could influence Trump's policy toward cryptocurrencies, including whether the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to pursue the aggressive litigation brought under the Biden administration. "If you face charges from the SEC, it's a pretty good investment to put money in the future president's hands in order to influence who might end up making those decisions at the SEC," said Libowitz. MORE: Trump has made millions hawking merchandise. Now he could face conflicts of interest Steve Witkoff, Trump's longtime friend who, along with his sons, is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, told ABC's "Good Morning America" in September that Trump's foray into crypto would not pose a conflict because he would likely place his assets into a trust -- as Trump did during his first administration when he placed his assets into a revocable trust controlled by his sons and a business associate. But that arrangement would not fully remedy the concerns about conflicts stemming from Trump's crypto venture, according to multiple experts. Trump is still able to broadly understand the state of his assets, he can still profit from them, and he has the authority to regain control of the assets -- all of which limit the trust's effectiveness in preventing conflicts, several experts said. "Absent divesting and stepping away from these investments totally, he still stands to profit from them," said Amey.
Missouri Republican proposes $1,000 bounty program to turn in undocumented immigrants
From ‘traitors’ to ‘racists’Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey remains on the hot seat as Karen Read’s defense team argues he has used his personal cellphone and email to communicate with the court and witnesses in the case. Defense attorney David Yannetti has said he learned that Morrissey’s text messages are “somehow remarkably set to auto-delete after 30 days,” sparking concern about what the DA may be hiding. “That obviously raises some questions for us, maybe the subject of a future motion, but more immediately, the concern is that every day that passes we’re losing text messages from 30 days prior,” Yannetti said at the end of a hearing at Norfolk Superior Court last week. Read’s defense team filed a motion in early November to look into Morrissey’s personal email and cellphone for any reference to their client’s case, saying they have evidence he’s made improper communications. Yannetti expanded on the request last Tuesday, detailing how they’d like to search Morrissey’s personal iCloud email for references of “Read” and “Reed,” names of relevant witnesses, all judges who have sat on the case and clerk’s office employees at Stoughton District Court and Norfolk Superior Court. “We don’t know if he did that for the purpose of avoiding a FOIA request or if he just misspelled my client’s name,” Yannetti said of Morrissey spelling his client’s last name “Reed.” “We have reason not to trust Mr. Morrissey in the light of his actions using this personal email account to make an ex parte communication,” Yannetti added, “and we ask that a more thorough search be done for these types of communications.” The defense has taken exception to how Morrissey communicated ex parte with personnel and judges at Stoughton District Court, according to “documentary evidence.” Morrissey’s personal cellphone and email use sprung into the spotlight amid the witness intimidation case involving Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney . The Holden-based journalist has extensively covered the Read case on his blogs and social media accounts from an intensely pro-Read perspective, and he has been charged with intimidating witnesses in Read’s case for her benefit. Read’s defense team requested access to Morrissey’s personal cellphone and email after Kearney’s attorney Mark Bederow filed a similar motion in October. Bederow claimed Morrissey used his personal email address to chastise Stoughton District Court for “leaking” information about a public proceeding against Kearney to the defendant and that his communications included screenshots of text messages from a pro-prosecution witness in Read’s case, as well as other information indicating more than one witness was in communication with the DA’s office. Public officials’ use of private emails for government business is considered a violation of state law. In a blog post on Nov. 19 , Kearney highlighted how his defense team filed another motion in Norfolk Superior Court asking specifically for “access to Morrissey’s private email account that he used to communicate with judges ex parte about Turtleboy’s activism on September 29, 2023.” “It’s clear from the postings that Stoughton Court is directly involved in this dissemination of information affecting our murder prosecution,” Morrissey wrote in an email that day to Stacey Fortes, chief justice of the Massachusetts District Court. Kearney included a screenshot of the communication in his post. “From the comments from one of the witnesses, you can see that they have clearly lost all confidence in the Courts of the Commonwealth,” Morrissey continued. “I have to agree that the actions erode the trust and integrity between the courts and the public and the relationship with the District Attorney’s Office.” On Friday, Kearney posted on his X account that the court “withheld ‘embarrassing’ emails. (Morrissey) used this account regularly to email dozens of judges about court business. He even mocked the trial courts and their efficiency in one email.” Also Friday, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone, overseeing the Read murder case, denied the prosecution’s request for her parents’ phone records, which they said could have bolstered their argument that the defendant knew she struck and left John O’Keefe to die in a snowstorm. Read, 44, of Mansfield, is charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing death in the killing of her boyfriend of roughly two years, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, in the early morning of Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors say that she struck O’Keefe with her SUV after yet another drunken bout of fighting in the troubled relationship, and left him to freeze and die on the front yard of a Canton home where the pair was supposed to continue a night out after the bars closed. The defense counters that O’Keefe made it inside that home and was killed by others inside, including possibly then-homeowner Brian Albert, who was a fellow Boston Police officer. It alleges the well-connected police family then worked with local and state police investigators to cover up the crime and frame Read. Read’s first trial ended with a hung jury in July. The defense and prosecution have requested the retrial, scheduled for late January, be pushed back to April. Morrissey has received backlash after he blasted internet trolls in an August 2023 video for spreading “baseless” theories in the case. “The harassment of witnesses in the murder prosecution of Karen Read is absolutely baseless,” the DA said in the video, which he described as “the first statement of its kind” in his tenure. “It should be an outrage to any decent person — and it needs to stop. Innuendo is not evidence. False narratives are not evidence.” “However, what evidence does show is that John O’Keefe never entered the home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on the night he died,” he added. “Location data from his phone — recovered from the lawn beneath his body when he was transported to the hospital — shows that his phone did not enter that home.” Morrissey is up for reelection in 2026 and faces two candidates who have already vowed to run for the position.