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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:20 pm
8-24-2021
Michael Avenatti trial abruptly ends after judge faults prosecutors.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the government's embezzlement case against celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles confirmed to Reuters in an e-mail.
U.S. District Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California,said Avenatti was entitled to a new trial because prosecutors had failed to turn over relevant billing-related evidence. Avenatti, representing himself, argued that the mishandlingof the data hampered his ability to mount a defense.
Selna said he did not find any evidence of intentional misconduct on the part of prosecutors, according to media reports by the trade publications The Recorder and Law360.
Selna's ruling abruptly ended a jury trial that began in late July and was nearing its conclusion.
The U.S. Attorney's Office handling the trial was notimmediately available for comment. Avenatti and his stand-by lawyer could not immediately be reached.
Avenatti shot to fame representing porn actress StormyDaniels in lawsuits against then-U.S. President Donald Trump,before a swirl of criminal charges ended his legal career.
He was being tried in California on 10 criminal counts forallegedly embezzling millions of dollars from clients.
Avenatti faces 26 additional criminal counts in California,with those counts to be tried later.
Last month, a federal judge in Manhattan sentenced Avenattito 2-1/2 years in prison for trying to extort Nike Inc.Avenatti is appealing.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:46 pm
8-25=2021
Man sentenced to prison after admitting plot to kidnap Michigan governor Ty Garbin gets six and a quarter years after pleading guilty
Five others remain charged with plot to seize Gretchen Whitmer.
Ty Garbin admitted his role in the alleged scheme weeks after his arrest last fall. He is among six men charged in federal court but the only one to plead guilty so far. It was an important victory for prosecutors as they try to prove the other five men were involved in the astonishing plot.
The governor delivered remarks addressing Michiganders after the Michigan Attorney General, Michigan State Police, U.S. Department of Justice, and FBI announced state and federal charges against 13 members of two militia groups who were preparing to kidnap and possibly kill the governor. (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP)
Garbin, whose sentence length reflected his quick decision to cooperate and help agents build cases against others, apologized to Whitmer, who was not in court, and her family.
“I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of stress and fear her family felt because of my actions. And for that I am truly sorry,” the 25-year-old aviation mechanic told the judge.
In his plea agreement, Garbin said the six men trained at his property near Luther, Michigan, constructing a “shoot house” to resemble Whitmer’s vacation home and “assaulting it with firearms”.
The government, noting Garbin’s exceptional cooperation, asked US district judge Robert Jonker to give him credit for helping investigators reinforce their case against his co-defendants. He is likely to testify at any trial.
The government sought a nine-year prison term, but Jonker went lower at six and a quarter years.
Garbin “didn’t hold back”, assistant US attorney Nils Kessler said. “He would come out and say, ‘We planned to do this and I was knowingly a part of it.’ He sat for hours answering all of our questions.”
Indeed, defense attorney Gary Springstead told the judge that Garbin “is going to be a star witness” against the others.
“Ty Garbin testified in front of the grand jury in support of the indictment that got him indicted. He is truly, generally and sincerely sorry,” said Mark Satawa, another defense lawyer.
When the kidnapping case was filed in October, Whitmer, a Democrat, pinned some blame on the then president, Donald Trump, saying his refusal to denounce far-right groups had inspired extremists across the US. The case added even more heat to the final weeks of a tumultuous election season.
Whitmer wrote a victim impact statement to the judge, saying, “things will never be the same.”
“Threats continue,” she said in June. “I have looked out my windows and seen large groups of heavily armed people within 30 yards of my home. I have seen myself hung in effigy. Days ago at a demonstration there was a sign that called for ‘burning the witch’.”
Last year, Whitmer put major restrictions on personal movement and the economy because of Covid-19, although many limits have since been lifted. The Michigan capitol was the site of rallies, including ones with gun-toting protesters calling for the governor’s removal.
“The plots and threats against me, no matter how disturbing, could not deter me from doing everything I could to save as many lives as possible by listening to medical and health experts,” Whitmer said. “To me it is very simple: this had to be the priority.”
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sat Aug 28, 2021 8:58 am
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:00 pm
9-2-2021
'Dukes of Hazzard' actor attacks Biden as floods hit his state: 'We don't need the government coming in'
Actor John Schneider of the Dukes of Hazzard called for unity while verbally attacking President Joe Biden as new flooding hit the state of Louisiana, where his property is located.
During an interview on Fox & Friends, host Steve Doocy shared photographs of the destruction on Schneider's property, including several photos of a "General Lee" car that was used in his hit show. In one photo, the Confederate flag painted on the top of the car has been smashed by a fallen tree.
"We won't have electricity for six weeks, but that's not the worst of it," Schneider said, explaining that the local floodwaters are expected to rise.
The actor noted that "community people are coming out to help" rescue stranded people.
"We need to throw away all this B.S. about division," he opined. "We need to remain united. The biggest strength we have in this country is ourselves... We need each other desperately. We don't need the government coming in."
Seconds after calling for unity, Schneider slammed Biden.
"Apparently Biden is going to come show his face in Louisiana and I wish he wouldn't," he remarked.
"We've got more problems on our hands. We don't need him. Obviously, there are things going on in this country now. People need your prayer, they need your help."
The Fox News host noted that Biden would ___"bring disaster relief and that's what your state does need."
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:18 pm
9-16-2021
Biden-bashing restaurant owner blames government for his business closing -- even though he took $460K in COVID relief.
A Wisconsin restaurant owner who took more than $460,000 in COVID-19 relief funds last year blamed the government for his business closing and then recanting when questioned by a local newspaper.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that John McKay, the owner of the Pine Cone Restaurant in DeForest, Wisconsin, put up a note on his door that blamed President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers for his restaurant shutting down.
___"Due to the decisions of your state government (Evers) and your federal government (Biden), The Pine Cone has been forced to close its doors after 40 years," the note read. "Thanks for all your support."___
However, McKay admitted to the Wisconsin State Journal that the government really wasn't to blame for his business closing, and in reality, the restaurant is shutting down because its lease is up.
"That was just a little frustration, that was a bad decision," McKay admitted about the sign. "It's just strictly the lease. Our lease was up after 40 years... Got old and got tired."
In fact, records show that the government helped McKay's restaurant stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Pine Cone "got two Paycheck Protection Program loans, one in 2020 and one this year, totaling $464,040."
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:56 pm
9-18-2021
Doctor who told patients that face masks cause carbon dioxide poisoning loses his license/
An Oregon doctor who continuously defied COVID-19 guidelines and spread false information about face masks has had his license revoked, Newsweek reports.
Steven Arthur LaTulippe was issued an order from the Oregon Medical Board earlier this month for "dishonorable or unprofessional conduct; repeated negligence in the practice of medicine; and gross negligence in the practice of medicine." He was also fined $10,000.
This is LaTulippe's second suspension.
The first one, which occurred this past December, came after the board found that his family practice, Southview Medical Arts in Dallas, operated in such a way that it constituted an "immediate danger" to the public and presented a "serious danger" to public health and safety. He also told his patients that masks are a source of carbon dioxide.
"[LaTulippe] had trained his receptionist 'to look at [the patient] and just take a look at them and see if they look sick,' and, if the patient was 'smiling and happy,' the receptionist was instructed to ask how the patient was feeling," medical board documents said, adding that he had patients exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms to remove their masks.
At least 95 percent of his patients did not wear masks at his clinic between March and December 2020, he told board officials.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sat Sep 18, 2021 5:14 pm
Armed Man at Justice for J6 Rally Turns Out to Be Undercover FBI Agent
It seems the FBI is at it again, setting up a false flag event with paid informants. Fortunately they didn't clue in the Capitol Police that it was coming.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Fri Sep 24, 2021 5:37 pm
Man accused of sexually assaulting horse escapes jail in Colorado Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News Thu, September 23, 2021, 2:27 PM
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t sexually assault it, then break out of jail, apparently.
Jonah Barrett-Lesko — allegedly filmed molesting a horse in June — was run down by law enforcement officials Tuesday after he escaped a Durango, Colo., jail that had him locked up on trespassing charges stemming from a string of robberies. He was apprehended this time in a nearby creek wearing just his underwear following a 26-minute pursuit, the Durango Herald reports.
After being alerted the 25-year-old suspect had been spotted rushing past a Home Depot wearing a jail uniform, Durango police began their manhunt. At some point, Barrett-Lesko shed his jumpsuit. Police say that made spotting him even easier. He was soon apprehended.
“They ran through the river a couple of times, and then out into the middle of the river,” police spokesman Ray Shupe said. “They had enough officers down there that surrounded him.”
Barrett-Lesko is believed to have made his break from the jail’s recreational yard, where he was separated from other inmates, due to “keep-separate orders,” police said. They also said there’s video of him climbing a wall and escaping through a hole in a fence.
The suspect was reportedly arrested in late spring on suspicion of sexual misconduct involving a horse at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. The four-legged victim’s caretaker documented the assault on a cellphone app linked to a camera in the animal’s stall. After making bail, Barrett-Lesko was picked up again after a half-dozen bicycles went missing. He is also suspected of breaking into a car and shoplifting.
He pleaded guilty to felony burglary last month and was awaiting sentencing Friday, when he made his break. The Herald reports that he was looking at a sentence of up to five years in prison, though probation was a possibility. He now faces a felony escape charge.
Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer was one of the officers who got his uniform wet luring Barrett-Lesko back into custody. Brammer called the suspect a “prime example” of someone who needs to be in jail.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sat Sep 25, 2021 8:12 am
Topic: check out Turkey's border wall to keep Afghans out
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sun Sep 26, 2021 3:53 am
Amtrak train derails in Montana, killing three and injuring dozens Published 4 hours ago
At least three people have been killed and 50 others hurt after a train came off the tracks in the state of Montana.
Several carriages from the Amtrak Empire Builder passenger service derailed at about 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) near the town of Joplin.
Amtrak said there were approximately 141 passengers and 16 crew aboard the Chicago to Seattle service.
Images on social media show train cars on their sides and luggage strewn on the ground with people standing nearby.
Passenger Megan Vandervest, who was heading to see a friend in Seattle, told the New York Times she was woken up by the derailment, which felt like "extreme turbulence on plane."
Rescuers have been working to evacuate passengers, Amtrack said.
In a tweet, state Senator Steve Daines said he was "closely monitoring this situation".
"I am thankful for the first responders already on the scene and praying for the safety of all involved," he added.
The US National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the incident.
Through derailments of Amtrak trains are rare, there have been several in recent years.
In 2018, three people were killed when an Amtrak train travelled on to the wrong track and hit a parked freight train.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sun Sep 26, 2021 9:14 pm
9-26-2021
All film and TV shows will stop next week if Hollywood workers don't get better benefits and weekends.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) recommended to their members that they strike as companies have refused to agree to employees' demands on wages, healthcare benefits, days off, lunch breaks and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
"Nobody wants to go on strike, but we have been given little choice by companies that are earning record profits off our members' labor but are unwilling to treat those same workers with dignity and respect," said the union director Rebecca Rhine in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
Members are set to vote over whether to strike Oct. 1-3, which means new shows could be on hiatus until the union can reach an agreement with the studios.
The infamous 2007-2008 writers strike brought Hollywood to its knees as it dragged on for 14 weeks. In that case, writers were being excluded from profits off of streaming programs. The Oscars was on hold out of fear of picket lines. Movie productions stopped, as did dozens of TV shows. It ultimately cost the economy of Los Angeles County $3.2 billion, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.
If a strike is authorized, it will be the largest Hollywood strike since the '07-'08 writer's strike. In that case, 60,000 IATSE members will walk off their job all over the United States.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and IATSE exchanged barbs last week, but by Friday, the Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America and the Teamsters all joined together in a statement of support and solidarity with the stage employees.
"On behalf of our hundreds of thousands of members working across film and television, we stand in solidarity with our I.A.T.S.E. brothers, sisters and kin," the joint statement said. "The basic quality of life and living wage rights they're fighting for in their negotiations are the issues that impact all of us who work on sets and productions. We stand with the I.A.T.S.E."
Actors have also been promoting the crew workers, noting that they're always there before she gets there, sometimes at 5:30 a.m. and still working even as she left in the evenings.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Tue Sep 28, 2021 12:55 am
Canadian MAGA pastor arrested the second he lands back home.
Pastor Artur Pawlowski was arrested today at the airport in Calgary, after he returned from a 4 month tour of the US, where he was a darling of MAGA media. He spent every day in the US spreading lies and vaccine conspiracies on TV and speeches around the US. , Reported Canadian Global News. Watch-- https://twitter.com/i/status/1442673157899444225
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Wed Sep 29, 2021 12:49 pm
Michigan man found dead with winning lottery ticket: report Edmund DeMarche Wed, September 29, 2021, 3:27 AM
The body of a 57-year-old Michigan man was found washed up on a beach in Huron County Friday morning with a winning lottery ticket tucked away in his wallet, according to a report.
Gregory Jarvis won $45,000 while playing "The Jack" at the Blue Water Inn in Caseville earlier this month, according to ABC12.com. He returned to the place a few days later and was reportedly in good spirits. He bought rounds for patrons even though he was unable to cash his ticket due to an issue with his Social Security card.
He was not seen alive again.
Kyle Romzek, the Caseville police chief, told the station that the discovery of the lotto ticket prompted his officers to take another look at the case, but the theory is that Jarvis was tying up his boat when he somehow lost his footing and hit his head, "and that’s where he ended up in the water."
"No foul play suspected," he told the outlet. An autopsy stood up the theory and said he drowned, the report said. The station reported that his relatives will be able to collect the winnings.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sun Oct 03, 2021 9:09 am
Democrat Tammy Duckworth hasn’t paid property tax on her Illinois home since 2015, report says
Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:07 pm
10-5-2021
French Catholic clergy sexually abused 216,000 children, report finds.
Probe uncovers abuse by priests and other clerics dating back to 1950..
216,000 victims under the age of 18 have been sexually abused by priests and other clerics in the French Catholic Church since 1950, an investigation has found.
The landmark report was released Tuesday morning after 2.5 years of investigation. The independent commission that compiled the report was set up by Catholic bishops in France at the end of 2018.
“You are a shame to our humanity. You have trampled on the obligation of protection of life and human dignity, even though it is the essence of your profession,” said François Devaux, head of the victim group La Parole Liberée (The Liberated Word) in response to the findings.
“You must pay for all these crimes,” he added, addressing church figures in the audience at the public presentation of the report in Paris.
Jean-Marc Sauvé, chairman of the independent commission that compiled the report, explained during the press conference that the majority of victims, around 80 percent, were boys.
“A large number of the victims were aged 10 to 13 years old. Even 11 to 12 years old. These were boys. It’s a clear characteristic of the Catholic church,” said Sauvé, adding that “these numbers are more than preoccupying, they are overwhelming, and in no case can they be left without proper action.”
The Catholic Church, in multiple European countries and the U.S., has been shaken by a flood of allegations that members of the clergy have carried out wide-ranging abuse against minors for years.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Thu Oct 07, 2021 9:37 pm
10-7-2021
Pete Rose gets it, and he knows what’s coming.
But even though it may not be the best thing for him to be doing considering he received a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for gambling, he has launched a new gambling podcast.
“I know how it looks, and people will criticize,” Rose said, via USA Today. “But it’s not gambling. It’s handicapping. I’m a handicapper.”
Rose, of course, received a lifetime ban from the sport in 1989 after an investigation determined that he bet on games including with the Cincinnati Reds while he was the manager.
Rose’s podcast — “Pete Rose’s Daily Picks” — will drop new episodes six days a week. Per USA Today, Rose will release five episodes each day lasting between 15 to 20 minutes, and one episode will last about an hour. He will be joined on the Quake Media show by Ben Wilson.
The podcast will include all sports, not just baseball.
“I watch two or three baseball games a day,” Rose said, via USA Today.
“And it’s not just baseball. I watch all sports. I love sports. I know I can help people who want to wager on sports.” Pete Rose, banned from baseball for betting on games, launches gambling podcast.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:44 pm
Police in US, Europe arrest 150 suspects in global dark web sting
Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sun Nov 14, 2021 7:56 pm
Australian governments urged to set a date to ban cigarette retail sales.
Governments must set a date for banning the sale of cigarettes through retailers including supermarkets, and find new ways of boosting revenue without relying on tobacco excise taxes, leading public health researchers say.
It comes as research published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) on Monday found 1,466 respondents (52.8%) to a Victorian Cancer Council survey agreed with phasing out the sale of cigarettes in retail outlets.
“Sometimes the public is ahead of the policy,” associate prof Coral Gartner, an international expert in tobacco control policy with the University of Queensland, said.
a person reaches for a pack of cigarettes stacked high on a shelf Big tobacco giving retailers cash and international trips to promote products, study finds Read more In a separate MJA piece also published on Monday, Gartner and her colleagues wrote it is time for governments to move beyond measures that focus on consumers such as plain-packaging laws and tobacco-harm warnings, and start focusing on supply.
There is an urgent need for “ending the regulatory exceptionalism that has maintained the legal status of tobacco products as a consumer good”, the piece says.
“Cigarettes do not meet modern consumer product safety standards,” Gartner and her colleagues wrote.
“It is normal for governments to remove unsafe products such as contaminated food, asbestos, and lead paint from the market.
The successful defence of Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws against international trade disputes demonstrates that governments have the right to introduce tobacco control measures to protect the health of its citizens, even when these measures reduce commercial profits and have an impact on international trade.”
The Netherlands has passed laws preventing supermarkets from selling cigarettes from 2024, New Zealand has proposed new measures that include significantly reducing the number of tobacco retail outlets and possibly removing nicotine from cigarettes, while California cities Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach ended tobacco sales on 1 January this year.
“We are expecting the New Zealand government to announce their smoke-free action plan in the next few weeks, and the policies that they have consulted on are really innovative and make Australia look like we are lagging behind,” Gartner said.
“We need to start having the same conversations in Australia now because there are details that need to be considered. We don’t want to criminalise people, and are not talking about making tobacco an illicit product, and we don’t want people with addiction having difficulty quitting and finding an illicit supply. So we need to start doing research now and consulting on acceptable alternative options.”
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:59 pm
China: Man banned from all-you-can-eat BBQ for eating too much Thu, November 18, 2021, 3:23 AM | BBC
A Chinese food live-streamer says he has been blacklisted from a grill buffet restaurant for eating too much.
The man, known only as Mr Kang, told Hunan TV that he was banned from the Handadi Seafood BBQ Buffet in Changsha city after a series of binges.
He ate 1.5kg (3.31 lbs) of pork trotters during his first visit and 3.5kg to 4kg (7-8 lbs) of prawns on another visit, he said.
Mr Kang said the restaurant is "discriminatory" against people who can eat a lot.
"I can eat a lot - is that a fault?" he said, adding that he didn't waste any of the food.
But the restaurant owner told the same reporter that Mr Kang was putting him out of pocket.
"Every time he comes here, I lose a few hundred yuan," he said.
"Even when he drinks soy milk, he can drink 20 or 30 bottles. When he eats the pork trotters, he consumes the whole tray of them. And for prawns, usually people use tongs to pick them up, he uses a tray to take them all."
He added that he is banning all live-streamers from the restaurant.
The story is trending on Chinese social media and has racked up more than 250 million views on Weibo, with a wide-range of opinions.
Some have said that the restaurant should not be an all-you-can-eat restaurant if they can't afford it, while others felt sorry for the restaurant owner.
Why is China clamping down on eating influencers?
Last year the Chinese government started cracking down on eating influencers, and such videos may be banned altogether in the country.
It came after President Xi Jinping called on people to "fight against food waste" amid rising concerns over food shortages.
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Sat Nov 20, 2021 7:45 pm
SmashDaTopic @SmashDaTopic Video shows a student hitting teacher and throwing a phone towards her way, this happened at Castleberry High School in FortWorth ____ One minute; https://twitter.com/i/status/1461830462314369028
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Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Mon Nov 22, 2021 8:42 am
Colorado officials ditch 'sex offender' term due to 'negative impacts' on sex offenders
Posts : 111040 Join date : 2014-07-29 Age : 101 Location : A Mile High
Subject: Re: News You Might Have Missed Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:45 pm
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell roiled markets Tuesday after he said the Federal Reserve will consider acting more quickly to dial back its ultra-low-interest rate policies to counter higher inflation. (Nov. 30)
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