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FBI director Christopher Wray has said he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job. At a town hall meeting with the bureau workforce, Mr Wray said he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought”. Mr Wray’s intended resignation is not unexpected considering that Mr Trump had picked Mr Patel for the role in his new administration. Mr Wray had previously been named by Mr Trump and began the 10-year term — a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations — in 2017, after Mr Trump fired then-FBI director James Comey. Mr Trump had demonstrated his anger with Mr Wray on multiple occasions, including after Mr Wray’s congressional testimony in September. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Mr Wray told agency employees. “In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” Mr Wray continued: “It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me. I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI.” Mr Wray received a standing ovation following his remarks before a standing-room-only crowd at FBI headquarters and some in the audience cried, according to an FBI official who was not authorised to discuss the private gathering and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. Mr Trump applauded the news on social media, calling it “a great day for America as it will end the weaponisation of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice” and saying that Mr Patel’s confirmation will begin “the process of Making the FBI Great Again”. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr Patel would herald a radical leadership transformation at the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency. He has advocated shutting down the FBI’s Washington headquarters and called for ridding the federal government of “conspirators”, raising alarm that he might seek to wield the FBI’s significant investigative powers as an instrument of retribution against Mr Trump’s perceived enemies. Mr Patel said in a statement Wednesday that he was looking forward to “a smooth transition. I will be ready to serve the American people on day one”.
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Yet another stowaway managed to board a major airline’s plane – renewing serious questions and concerns about airport safety during the busiest travel season of the year. This time, a stowaway tried to hitch a ride on Delta Air Lines Flight 487 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Christmas Eve. The unticketed passenger was discovered while the plane was still taxiing out for takeoff to Honolulu, Delta Air Lines told CNN. The Transportation Security Administration and the Port of Seattle confirmed the incident to CNN. The incident came less than a month after another stowaway boarded a Delta airplane Thanksgiving week. That unticketed passenger made it all the way from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris before she was eventually arrested . People are also reading... Albany school support staff call for schools to close Jan. 6 Unsafe left turn on Highway 20 in Linn County leads to fatal crash As I See It: Why I really resigned from the Corvallis Planning Commission Two Albany residents killed in Linn County crash Group wants to make Corvallis downtown more sophisticated Group wants to make Corvallis downtown more sophisticated Samaritan Health Services CEO resigns Albany shelter faces federal lawsuit as whistleblower faces homelessness Family of hit-and-run victim seeks closure, clues that will lead to driver Oregon State celebrates Murphy's arrival while Washington State loses coach, quarterback As I See It: The people of Benton County deserve leadership that promotes dialogue Corvallis high schoolers: We don't trust district to handle bias reports Christmas Eve hit-and-run causes domino effect in Albany Oregon State men head to the beaches of Hawaii looking to keep momentum going Albany man indicted in attempted murder case Delta Air Lines planes are seen parked at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 19, 2024, in Seattle, Washington. And on Christmas Eve, a body was found in a wheel well of a United Airlines plane shortly after it traveled from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and landed in Maui. Hiding in a plane’s wheel well is the most common method used by stowaways , the Federal Aviation Administration said. Stowaways often get crushed when the landing gear retracts, and oxygen levels plummet as a plane reaches higher altitudes. In the Seattle incident, the stowaway went through a TSA security checkpoint the evening before the flight but wasn’t holding a boarding pass, an airport spokesperson told CNN. The next day, the person “gained access to the loading bridge without a scanned ticket at the gate,” airport media relations manager Perry Cooper said. Once the person was discovered, the Airbus A321neo returned to the gate to remove the unticketed passenger, Delta said. Port of Seattle police officers were dispatched to gate B1 at the airport around 1:05 p.m. for “a report of a suspicious circumstance” on the Delta flight. The person “ran out” of the aircraft before officers arrived, Cooper told CNN Friday. “The aircraft returned to the terminal and the subject departed the aircraft,” the Port of Seattle said. “With the help of video surveillance, POSPD were able to locate the subject in a terminal restroom. The subject was arrested for criminal trespass.” The unticketed passenger didn’t have any prohibited items, the TSA told CNN. “The aircraft was swept by K9 as well as all areas in the terminal accessed by the subject,” the Port of Seattle said. “The aircraft was deplaned and all passengers were escorted by TSA to return to the security checkpoint for rescreening.” CNN has reached out to the Port of Seattle for additional comment. Delta said the flight was delayed by two hours and 15 minutes. After the rescreening, it continued to Honolulu at 3 p.m. “As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.” TSA said it “takes any incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints nationwide seriously. TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checker station at Seattle/Tacoma International.” United, Apple rolling out new way to track lost luggage with AirTags By Alexandra Skores, CNN How the person got through airport security is a question many want answered. There are a number of factors at play, according to former commercial airline pilot and aviation analyst, John Nance. “There are multiple causes that come into this, and they probably involve not only a bit of lackadaisical inattention,” Nance told CNN affiliate KING . “It may be training, it may be compliance, but it’s probably all of that.” It’s “embarrassing” for this situation to happen twice to the same airline and TSA, according to former Department of Homeland Security official Keith Jeffries, who was federal security director when he left the DHS in 2022. In his 20 years working with DHS and the TSA, Jeffries said he’s seen these situations multiple times. “It has happened before. It will happen again until they continue to strengthen that vulnerability,” Jeffries said. “The fact that it happened to the same airline, of course, couldn’t be more embarrassing, especially back-to-back, and during the holiday season, when there’s an extra alertness associated with the large holiday season,” Jeffries added. During the holidays, Jeffries explained, there’s typically more staffing at the airports being “extra vigilant.” TSA, airlines and airports have even more people present to ensure things like this don’t fall through the cracks, making these cases “even more concerning,” he said. If there is a “silver lining,” Jeffries said, it’s that Delta did catch the stowaway during the taxi, and they didn’t make it to Hawaii. The stowaway also didn’t have prohibited items when scanned through TSA, which is another plus, he said. “Everybody’s going to have to work together; TSA and the airlines on how they can strengthen both of those vulnerabilities, and in some cases, even work with the airport,” he said. Congress will likely scrutinize these incidents, Nance added. “But there will be no one paying more attention than the airlines themselves,” he said. ___ CNN’s Holly Yan, Pete Muntean, Amanda Musa and Nicole Chavez contributed to this report. 4 tips to help you experience exceptional cruise dining | PennyWise podcast Nat CardonaLee Media Studio PHOTOS: The top images of 2024 Elise Mertens, of Belgium, serves against Naomi Osaka, of Japan, at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, on March 11, 2024, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. 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has taken over Wall Street. It's been the stock market's hottest topic since early last year, but the hype is warranted. Experts at Statista estimate the AI industry will be worth approximately $184 billion this year, and it should grow to over $826 billion by 2030, a nearly 30% annual growth rate. Those same experts pegged machine learning as the most significant contributor to AI's growth. Machine learning gives AI a sense of intelligence, allowing it to analyse vast amounts of data for trends and patterns. Some prominent have the opportunity to create significant life-changing wealth for long-term investors. Remember: AI is likely still in its early chapters, so don't assume you're too late. Consider these two potential millionaire-making AI stocks to buy and hold for the long term: 1. CrowdStrike Holdings isn't a new industry, but cyberattacks have become increasingly sophisticated and cause millions of dollars in damages. The increased stakes have created opportunities for next-generation security from companies like . The company's Falcon XDR platform operates in the cloud, using machine learning to look for potential cyberthreats. If you're familiar with CrowdStrike, you may know it issued a faulty update over the summer that caused a global IT outage. It may take a few quarters to confirm that this embarrassing incident won't hamper the company's growth, but so far, so good. Management is guiding for just over $3.9 billion in revenue for its full fiscal year, representing 27% growth from the prior year. The company specialises in end-point security but has steadily expanded its platform. Management believes its total addressable market will increase to $250 billion by 2029. In other words, CrowdStrike still only owns about 1.5% of its long-term market. And the business is already highly profitable. It has generated $1.1 billion in free over the past four quarters, which has swelled its to about $3.5 billion in cash (net of debt). Those are the ingredients for a business that will eventually boost shareholder returns by gobbling up stock with . The stock isn't cheap; shares trade at a clear premium to its industry peers, as measured by enterprise value to revenue. Therefore, consider buying slowly and getting more aggressive when the broader market declines at some point. CrowdStrike is a long-term winner with a potentially decades-long growth runway that could make long-term investors very wealthy. 2. Snowflake Data is arguably the most crucial ingredient for machine learning, highlighting as a mission-critical company in the AI industry. Have you ever heard the expression "garbage in, garbage out"? Data must be well structured for machine learning applications. Snowflake allows companies to store, organise, and search their data through a cloud-based platform. They can also pull data from third-party sources through the company's marketplace. Snowflake went public at a far too high valuation during a stock market bubble in late 2020. Slowing revenue growth, a CEO change, and competition from Databricks haven't helped the stock over these past four years, and it is still down nearly 60% from its peak. Given the company's rough few years, investors might be surprised at my optimism about Snowflake. The good news is that things are looking up. The company operates a usage-based billing model, which is brilliant because data grows exponentially. More data means more usage on Snowflake and more revenue. It essentially builds high net revenue retention (NRR) into the business. Snowflake's NRR was 127% in the third quarter, meaning existing customers spend significantly more once they start using it. Customer count grew 20% year over year in the third quarter, and the company now works with 754 of the companies in the Forbes Global 2000. With these trends, total revenue growth could hover at or above 20% for a long time. Sure, it stinks that the stock hasn't performed, but this is about looking ahead. Snowflake's price-to-sales multiple was a mind-numbing 183 at its peak! Today, that's down to 16. That's still not the cheapest you'll find on Wall Street, but a realistic valuation gives investors a reasonable shot at investment returns as the business grows. Snowflake's firm footing in the AI field, where data is exponentially created, could make it a massive company years from now, an outcome that could make investors a lot of money.Signal Gold Exercises Option and Upsizes Concurrent Financing, Confirms Conversion of Subscription Receipts and Updated Credit Facility Restructuring Terms