Summary

The Oklahoma City Police Department faces backlash after body-camera footage showed Officer Joseph Gibson forcefully throwing 71-year-old Lich Vu to the ground during a traffic stop on October 27.

Vu, who has bone cancer, reportedly suffered a brain bleed requiring surgery and remains hospitalized.

The incident began with a language-barrier dispute over a U-turn citation. Vu’s family and local Vietnamese American leaders have condemned the officer’s actions, calling for his termination.

Police placed Gibson on administrative leave, pledging a thorough investigation into the incident.

Summary

Democratic senators have raised concerns over Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence, citing her past meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her embrace of Russian talking points.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard shared a video echoing a false Kremlin claim that the U.S. was funding biological weapons labs in Ukraine.

A former Democratic congresswoman and critic of U.S. foreign policy, Gabbard recently joined the Republican Party and would now oversee 18 intelligence agencies and prepare the President’s Daily Brief.

Summary

Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News presenter with minimal managerial experience, as defense secretary has stunned the Pentagon.

Hegseth has been a vocal critic of the military, calling for a purge of generals and questioning the appointment of Gen. Charles Brown as chair of the joint chiefs of staff.

Hegseth’s nomination is seen as a boost for the far right in Israel, as he has shown support for territorial expansion and suggested the construction of a new temple on the Temple Mount.

Chip systems titan Nvidia struggled to convince the Supreme Court Wednesday that a shareholder fraud suit against it wasn’t up to snuff.

Summary

Outgoing FDA head Robert Califf warned that Donald Trump’s potential reappointment and involvement of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could lead to “disruption and uncertainty” at the FDA, which he believes is currently “at peak performance.”

Trump has indicated he would give Kennedy significant influence over health policy, including possible sweeping changes at the FDA.

Kennedy has expressed plans to “clear out” sections of the agency he claims are compromised.

Califf emphasized the need for evidence-based decision-making and cautioned against undermining expertise in public health.

Summary

Elon Musk’s frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago and his involvement in sensitive conversations have raised concerns among Trump’s longstanding advisers, who view Musk as overly assertive and self-promoting.

Musk’s push for influence, including voicing policy ideas and taking credit for Trump’s win, has raised concerns about his motives and loyalty.

A US intelligence official has been charged with espionage offenses following an investigation into the leak last month of highly classified documents detailing Israel’s plans for military attacks on Iran.

Asif W Rahman, who works for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), will appear in court in Guam on Thursday charged with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper said FBI agents arrested Rahman in Cambodia on Tuesday following his indictment last week in federal court in Virginia.

In October, the White House said it was “deeply concerned” by the unauthorized release of the papers, attributed to the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and National Security Agency, which were published on the Telegram messaging app.

Summary

Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to step down from the Justice Department before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, likely preventing Trump from firing him.

Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump’s handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, will issue a final report, as required by Justice Department rules, before exiting.

Both federal cases against Trump are expected to wind down, as DOJ policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.

Judge Tanya Chutkan has requested an update on the cases by December 2.

Summary

A US Geological Survey study estimates PFAS chemicals may contaminate drinking water for up to 70% of the 140 million Americans using aquifers, affecting around 95 million people.

Some groundwater readings were up to 37,000 times the EPA’s new limits. Private wells and small public wells, which serve 13% of the population, lack strict EPA PFAS regulations, making them especially vulnerable.

Contamination is most severe near military bases, airports, and industrial sites, with high exposure in Michigan, Florida, and California.

The USGS also produced an interactive map that shows where there may be trouble.

Summary

The Guardian has announced it will stop posting on Elon Musk’s platform, X, citing "often disturbing content" such as far-right conspiracy theories and racism.

The news outlet, with 27 million followers across over 80 accounts, stated that the US presidential election coverage on X reinforced its view that the platform had become "toxic."

While The Guardian's official accounts will withdraw, reporters may still use X for newsgathering.

This move follows similar actions by NPR, PBS, and other organizations concerned about the platform’s content standards under Musk’s ownership.

Cross-posted from https://lemmings.world/post/16505345

President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House already carried the potential for sweeping changes to the Federal Reserve. But now a growing question is not how the central bank will operate under Trump but if it’ll continue to operate at all.

Elon Musk, a key Trump backer who is expected to have considerable sway in helping shape Trump’s policies, included a “100” emoji while resharing Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah’s post on X calling for abolishing the Fed.

“The Executive Branch should be under the direction of the president,” Lee said Thursday in a post on X, hours after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters he wouldn’t resign if Trump asked him to. “The Federal Reserve is one of many examples of how we’ve deviated from the Constitution in that regard,” Lee added. “Yet another reason why we should #EndTheFed.”

The shadow chief executive officer of National Realty Investment Advisors LLC (NRIA) was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud more than 2,000 investors in a $658 million Ponzi scheme and conspiring to evade millions of dollars in tax liabilities, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Abdi Yusef Hassan, 56, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, 43, of Mogadishu, Somalia, were both sentenced to 30 years in prison for hostage taking, terrorism, and firearms offenses, in connection with the 977-day hostage taking of an American journalist in Somalia. A jury in the Eastern District of New York convicted Hassan and Mohamed of those offenses in February 2023 following a three-week trial.

Two Florida men were arraigned today on charges relating to their roles in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment (DME) and prescription drug health care fraud and kickback scheme, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22444939

Noah Hurowitz
November 12 2024, 11:15 p.m.

Summary

Florida schools have removed hundreds of books, including “The Bluest Eye,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and titles with LGBTQ+ themes and racial history, under new laws allowing parents to challenge library content.

The removals are driven by conservative advocates who object to LGBTQ+ content and discussions of gender and sexuality.

Critics, like PEN America, argue that these restrictions limit students' freedom to read and access diverse perspectives.

Legal challenges are emerging, with recent settlements requiring some books to be returned to shelves, fueling debates over censorship and parental rights.