New York’s attorney general finds OxyContin Sackler family used Swiss and other hidden accounts to transfer $1 billion to themselves…
September 13, 2019
New York — asking a judge to enforce subpoenas of companies, banks and advisers to Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family — said it has uncovered the previously unknown wire transfers among family members, entities they control and several financial institutions. The transfers bolster allegations by New York and other states that the Sacklers worked to shield their wealth in recent years because of mounting worries about legal threats.
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As part of the settlement, Purdue is likely to soon file for bankruptcy protection. But New York and other states have promised they will continue to pursue the Sacklers, alleging that family members drained more than $4 billion from the company over the past dozen years. The family has used a complex chain of companies and trusts to control their holdings, some located in offshore tax havens. The Sacklers had an estimated net worth of $13 billion as of 2016, making them America’s 19th-richest family, according to Forbes magazine.Inspector General Michael Horowitz is in the early stages of finalizing his report…
September 13, 2019
Horowitz wrote that he has submitted a draft of the “factual findings” of the inquiry to the Justice Department and FBI for a classification review, after which the inspector general’s office will begin the process of preparing final classified and public drafts of the report. "The team has reviewed over one million records and conducted over 100 interviews, including several witnesses who only recently agreed to be interviewed,” Horowitz wrote. “We have now begun the process of finalizing our report by providing a draft of our factual findings to the Department and the FBI for classification determination and marking.”
Horowitz did not provide any details on the findings, nor did he offer a timeline on when a report might be released to the public. The inspector general said he would update the committees on his progress toward issuing the final report when possible.
The letter was sent to the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Friday.
U.S. Appeals Court in New York Reinstates Emoluments Case Against Trump…
September 13, 2019
In a two-to-one decision, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that a lower court had wrongly dismissed the lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of violating the Constitution’s bans on accepting financial benefits from foreign or state governments. The appeals court judge sent the lawsuit back to the lower court, ordering it be allowed to proceed.
MIT scientists accidentally create the blackest material ever – even darker than Vantablack…
September 13, 2019
Capturing more than 99.995 percent of any incoming light, the material is made of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on chlorine-etched aluminium foil. And it was discovered by accident... The discovery is currently being showcased at an art exhibit titled "The Redemption of Vanity" at the New York Stock Exchange, where a 16.78-carat natural yellow diamond has been coated in the material. Instead of a brilliant, sparkling gem, the stone... appears as a flat, black void...
Before MIT developed what it called the "blackest black" material to date, Surrey NanoSystems claimed that title with its original Vantablack low-temperature carbon nanotube discovery. Surrey's material was capable of absorbing 99.96 percent of light, although its scientists claim the company's second generation concept could be even darker than that (even if spectrometers can't apparently measure it).Two-thirds of top executives say Trump will be reelected in 2020, business survey reveals…
September 13, 2019
More than two-thirds of chief financial officers surveyed by CNBC think Donald Trump will be reelected President of the United States in 2020; a quarter say former Vice President Joe Biden will win. A weak economy can be a major setback for an incumbent; however, the majority of CFOs say a recession is not on the horizon.
China to Exempt U.S. Soybeans and Pork From Punitive Tariffs…
September 13, 2019
China will suspend tariff hikes on soybeans, pork and some other farm goods, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Cabinet planning agency and the Commerce Ministry. Beijing "supports domestic companies in purchasing a certain amount of U.S. farm produce," it said, but it gave no details. The move follows President Donald Trump's decision Wednesday to postpone a planned Oct. 1 tariff hike on Chinese imports to Oct. 15... Beijing's decision to restore access to low-cost U.S. soybeans also would help Chinese pig farmers who use soy as animal feed. They are reeling from an epidemic of African swine fever that has caused pork prices to soar.
Pompeo Urges Hollywood to Reject Chinese Censorship. Secretary of state wants film industry to tell the truth about China…
September 13, 2019
Pompeo praised Hollywood as a symbol of American freedom and creativity but urged movie studios to help extend President Trump's push to level the international playing field for the American film industry. In exchange, Pompeo asked MPAA executives to stop bowing to Chinese censors.
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Pompeo explained that bending to Chinese censors prevents telling the truth about the authoritarian Chinese regime and furthers Chinese information operations and soft power activities...Harvard admits to receiving $9 million from Jeffrey Epstein and his foundations over a 10-year period that ended in 2007…
September 13, 2019
Harvard President Larry Bacow also said in a letter to the community that the college would extend its investigation of its connections with Epstein to find out whether Epstein also helped the university gain donations from others, according to The Boston Globe... Bacow reportedly said in the message that Epstein's largest gift to the university was $6.5 million for its Program for Evolutionary Dynamics in 2003 but for the first time also acknowledged an additional $2.4 million for other research.
DARPA Wants Benefits of Psychedelics but Without Hallucinations…
September 13, 2019
On Wednesday DARPA announced the launch of the Focused Pharma program for veterans, which “seeks to revolutionize mental healthcare by developing completely new psychotherapeutic drugs to quickly remedy prevalent neuropsychiatric conditions such as post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.” Remedies for all of the conditions DARPA lists are currently being explored by research into psychedelics such as psilocybin, DMT, LSD, MDMA, and iboga, among other entheogens.
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“In creating Focused Pharma, DARPA examined evidence from privately funded human clinical studies demonstrating that certain Schedule 1 controlled drugs that engage serotonin receptors show promise of rapid and long-lasting therapeutic effect in treating neuropsychiatric conditions such as chronic alcohol dependence, post-traumatic stress, and treatment-resistant depression following only limited doses.”In other words, DARPA is looking to psychopharmacology to try to come up with a drug that has the benefits of psychedelics, but one that doesn’t have its soldiers wondering why the walls are breathing...
CDC narrows investigation of mysterious vaping-related lung disease to 380 cases…
September 13, 2019
Doctors suspect vaping as a possible cause of the illnesses, which are spread out over 36 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands... While no one substance has been identified as the culprit, many samples showed high levels of vitamin E acetate, the Food and Drug Administration said in a consumer alert last week. Vitamin E is typically used as a supplement or added to skincare products. But people are adding the oil and other substances to cannabis products to make the extracts form a vapor. Health officials are urging people to avoid using e-cigarettes and THC vaping products amid the outbreak.
Julian Assange To Remain Jailed After Serving Sentence…
September 13, 2019
He was due to be released on 22 September after serving his sentence for breaching bail conditions. But Westminster Magistrates' Court heard there were "substantial grounds" for believing he would abscond again. The Australian, 48, is fighting extradition to the US over allegations of leaking government secrets. He will face a full extradition hearing next year, starting on 25 February, after an extradition request was signed by the then home secretary Sajid Javid in June...
Felicity Huffman only gets 14 days in prison in college cheating scandal…
September 13, 2019
The actress pleaded guilty in May to paying $15,000 to have her daughter's SAT scores boosted... "I am deeply sorry to the students, schools, and universities, that are impacted by my actions," Huffman said while chocking up as she read a prepared statement. "I take full responsibility for my actions and as a first step for making amends for my crime. I will accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate."...
Over 100 arrested in Central Ohio human trafficking sting…
September 13, 2019
GE Healthcare wins first FDA clearance for A.I. powered X-ray system…
September 13, 2019
The technology works by using AI to analyze images from an X-ray, the company said. If a condition is suspected — in this case, pneumothorax— the image is sent directly to the radiologist for review. The technology functions outside the cloud and isn't dependent on an internet connection, the company said... The FDA clearance comes at a time when AI is expanding across the medical field, helping doctors quickly analyze a range of illnesses and diseases, thus reducing cost and inefficiencies. While there's optimism, there are also concerns about technology making major medical decisions.
Retail sales get big lift from auto purchases as consumers drive U.S. economy forward…
September 13, 2019
Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a small 0.1% increase in sales after a big 0.8% increase in July spurred in part by Amazon Prime Day. What happened: Sales jumped 1.8% at auto dealers to mark the biggest gain in five months. The relatively robust level of car sales suggest consumers are still confident in the economy. Purchases of big-ticket items usually wane when the economy slows or Americans become worried about their jobs. Sales rose almost as much for Internet retailers and home and garden centers such as Home and Lowe’s.
Stony Brook Professor Stole More Than $200,000 in Cancer-Research Funds, Prosecutors Say…
September 13, 2019
A professor at Stony Brook University in New York was arrested Thursday for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for cancer research and using it on personal expenses, including mortgage payments on his house, federal prosecutors announced.
Geoffrey Girnun, 48, was arrested and charged with wire fraud and money laundering after he allegedly stole more than $200,000 in federal and state grant money over four years
Judge DENIES Gag Order Request Aimed At Silencing Testimonies About Trafficking Aborted Baby Body Parts. latest attempt by Cali officials to hide & cover up illegal activities of Planned Parenthood…
September 13, 2019
Warrant issued for R. Kelly after no-show in Minnesota court…
September 13, 2019
A Minnesota judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of R&B singer R. Kelly on Thursday after the musician failed to appear for an initial court hearing in a case in which he's accused of offering a 17-year-old girl $200 to take off her clothes and dance in 2001. Kelly -- who is jailed in Chicago on sexual abuse and other charges -- was charged in Minnesota in August for allegedly soliciting the girl after meeting her before a concert in Minneapolis. During Thursday's brief hearing, prosecutor Judith Cole told Judge Jay Quam that federal authorities in Illinois were "not willing to give us access to him" until his case there is resolved. The judge then issued a bench warrant as a formality.
SpaceX just posted dramatic footage of its commercial space taxi Crew Dragon undergoing rigorous tests of its emergency abort system…
September 13, 2019
The idea is that if something goes wrong with the rocket carrying the Crew Dragon to orbit, the module can engage its own thrusters to quickly escape the danger — and then coast down safely on a parachute.
Ahead of our in-flight abort test for @Commercial_Crew—which will demonstrate Crew Dragon's ability to safely carry astronauts away from the rocket in the unlikely event of an emergency—our team has completed over 700 tests of the spacecraft's SuperDraco engines pic.twitter.com/nswMPCK3F9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 12, 2019
Astronomers May Have Just Discovered an Interstellar Comet Visiting Our Solar System…
September 13, 2019
A newly discovered comet has astronomers excited. Formally named C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), the object appears to have come from outside our solar system. If confirmed, that would make it the second known interstellar visitor to our solar system, after the space rock ʻOumuamua.
The potential interstellar comet, which so far is only a fuzzy blip, was first seen on August 30 by observer Gennady Borisov. Ever since then, astronomers around the world have been tracking it and mapping its trajectory to determine its origin. The preliminary data suggests that the object could have originated outside our solar system.