https://sputniknews.com/20220215/ex-us-national-intel-chief-on-durham-probe-therell-be-quite-a-few-more-indictments-1093048497.html

Ex-US National Intel Chief on Durham Probe: There'll Be 'Quite a Few More Indictments'

Former US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe has expressed hope that new indictments will come out of Special Counsel John Durham's inquiry into the origins of the FBI investigation of ex-President Donald Trump's alleged links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.In an interview with Fox News, Ratcliffe said that "[then-Attorney General] Bill Barr, John Durham, and I, all looking at this intelligence, agreed there was not a proper predicate to open a criminal investigation into the Trump campaign, yet that happened".Ratcliffe did not elaborate on who exactly he expected to be indicted. He instead moved on, referring in the interview to a discussion he had with Durham in the fall of 2020, when the former DNI boss ordered the declassification of documents related to the FBI's "Russiagate" probe.He claimed that Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden as well as other members of the national security team about "this specific intelligence, that John Durham now has, about a Hillary Clinton plan to falsely accuse and vilify Donald Trump with a scandal, and the discussion around that and whether or not it was good intelligence".Ratcliffe argued that the evidence "could go broadly and deeply" and that he thinks "it does, based on intelligence that I have seen and that I discussed with John Durham".The remarks came as Fox News reported that the Durham probe has "accelerated", with more people "cooperating" and testifying before a grand jury than was previously revealed. The news network cited an unnamed source as saying that there has been "much more activity" behind the scenes "than has been visible to the public", and that Durham "does this right and keeps it a secret".The claims were preceded by the special counsel revealing in a new filing that in the run-up to the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign paid a tech company to "infiltrate" Trump Tower and White House servers, with the alleged goal of smearing the then Republican presidential hopeful by linking him to Russia.Trump responded by claiming Durham's filing "proves indisputable evidence" that his campaign and presidency "were spied on by operatives paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign in an effort to develop a completely fabricated connection to Russia", which has repeatedly rejected all "collusion" allegations.In April 2019, a report by then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller revealed that his probe found insufficient evidence to prove collaboration between Russia and Trump's campaign team ahead of the 2016 election.

US Special Counsel John Durham has been looking into the FBI's "Russiagate" investigation since April 2019 to determine whether the probe was legal.

Former US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe has expressed hope that new indictments will come out of Special Counsel John Durham's inquiry into the origins of the FBI investigation of ex-President Donald Trump's alleged links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In an interview with Fox News, Ratcliffe said that "[then-Attorney General] Bill Barr, John Durham, and I, all looking at this intelligence, agreed there was not a proper predicate to open a criminal investigation into the Trump campaign, yet that happened".

"So, those are the issues that John Durham is looking at, and I think there'll be many more — I would expect there to be quite a few more indictments because of that. There was not a proper predicate to begin that investigation. John Durham has said that publicly already", the ex-DNI chief added.

Ratcliffe did not elaborate on who exactly he expected to be indicted. He instead moved on, referring in the interview to a discussion he had with Durham in the fall of 2020, when the former DNI boss ordered the declassification of documents related to the FBI's "Russiagate" probe.

"We talked about [then-CIA Director] John Brennan's notes, talked about, you know, [former Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton's campaign advisers. Obviously, the pleadings talk about Hillary Clinton's campaign lawyers, now you're talking about consultants", Ratcliffe said.

He claimed that Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden as well as other members of the national security team about "this specific intelligence, that John Durham now has, about a Hillary Clinton plan to falsely accuse and vilify Donald Trump with a scandal, and the discussion around that and whether or not it was good intelligence".

According to the former DNI chief, Durham found evidence of "a conspiracy, meaning two or more people in furtherance of a crime; and anyone that was aware that this campaign plan was going to be falsely pitched to the FBI or the CIA or law enforcement or intelligence authorities would be subject to criminal prosecution for any number of criminal crimes — mail fraud, wire fraud, lying under oath, congressional testimony, false testimony to prosecutors, all of those things".

Ratcliffe argued that the evidence "could go broadly and deeply" and that he thinks "it does, based on intelligence that I have seen and that I discussed with John Durham".

The remarks came as Fox News reported that the Durham probe has "accelerated", with more people "cooperating" and testifying before a grand jury than was previously revealed. The news network cited an unnamed source as saying that there has been "much more activity" behind the scenes "than has been visible to the public", and that Durham "does this right and keeps it a secret".

The claims were preceded by the special counsel revealing in a new filing that in the run-up to the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign paid a tech company to "infiltrate" Trump Tower and White House servers, with the alleged goal of smearing the then Republican presidential hopeful by linking him to Russia.

Trump responded by claiming Durham's filing "proves indisputable evidence" that his campaign and presidency "were spied on by operatives paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign in an effort to develop a completely fabricated connection to Russia", which has repeatedly rejected all "collusion" allegations.

In April 2019, a report by then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller revealed that his probe found insufficient evidence to prove collaboration between Russia and Trump's campaign team ahead of the 2016 election.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-news-today-russia-ukraine-fed-oil-price-2022-2

Dow rallies 387 points after Russia withdraws some troops around Ukraine

US stocks rallied Tuesday after Russia said it pulled some troops back from the Ukraine border.

Oil prices retreated from eight-year highs and gold slipped.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.036% from Monday's 1.995%.

US stocks rallied on Tuesday on hopes that geopolitical tensions are cooling after Russia pulled back some of its troops from the Ukraine border.

The announcement from the Russian defense ministry came after weeks of heightened tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and the West over fears that President Vladimir Putin would choose to invade.

The S&P 500 rose, lifted by energy stocks, after falling for three straight sessions. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite both climbed over 1%.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. open ET on Tuesday:

S&P 500: 4,453.59, up 1.18%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,953.46, up 1.13% (387.29 points)

Nasdaq Composite: 14,015.49, up 1.64%

US equities have been declining in recent days as investors kept track of the tensions in Eastern Europe. It's unclear how many troops Russia withdrew, but the signal was enough to flip the market back to "risk-on" mode.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later confirmed the start of a withdrawal and slammed Western "hysteria" over the reality of an invasion.

"Any indication of thawing tensions between Russia and Ukraine is enough to spark a small rally in stocks," David Bahnsen, CIO at The Bahnsen Group, a wealth management firm, said in a note Tuesday. "The two equally powerful forces weighing on stocks right now that are exacerbating volatility include Russia/Ukraine tensions and Federal Reserve hawkishness."

The threat of Russia invading Ukraine sparked fears on Wall Street over the impact on global equities and the economy. On top of this, calls for the Fed to hike interest rates to stem inflation have contributed to market turbulence.

But JPMorgan said the bull market is "far from over." The bank believes a lot of bad news is already priced into the market, and any conflict between Russia and Ukraine would likely lead to a dovish reassessment by central banks.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.036% from Monday's 1.995%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

Crude-oil prices have seen upward pressure in the past eight weeks amid increasing tensions between Russia, a major oil producer, and Ukraine, which is a key conduit for energy exports to Western Europe.

Oil prices retreated from their eight-year highs Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 3.34% to $92.27 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 2.97% at $93.61.

Gold, seen as a safe haven during times of wariness, fell 0.80% to $1,856.26 per ounce after hitting an eight-month high earlier on Tuesday.

Bitcoin rose 0.42% to $44,368.40.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/trudeau-fanning-the-protest-flames-with-emergency-act_4278987.html

Trudeau Fanning Protest Flames by Invoking the Emergency Act

Canada has been wracked with growing anti-mandate protests since the truckers’ Freedom Convoy descended on Ottawa over three weeks ago.

The government and legacy media initially tried to ignore the growing convoy.

As the convoy gained steam and interest across the nation while it moved through city after city towards Ottawa, the government tried to pretend that it was simply a handful of discontented truckers and dismissed them.

When the City of Ottawa found itself absolutely paralyzed with thousands of protesters supported by hundreds of tractor-trailers, the government moved on to a campaign of division and villainization. They tried to paint the protesters as extremists, racists, and misogynists.

Trudeau went into hiding for over a week only to surface now and then, toss some more fuel upon the fire through insults directed at the protesters, and then drop back into hiding.

With every passing week, the number of protesters continued to grow along with the locations for protests. Border crossings in a number of provinces have been hindered and blocked by protesters and it appears that the demonstrations may spread further. We have even seen convoys springing up in foreign nations inspired by the Canadian protests.

It is pretty evident that the government’s strategy for dealing with the Freedom Convoy has been an abject failure.

Now, having totally lost control of the situation, a panicked and desperate Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act.

The Emergencies Act is a new incarnation of the War Measures Act and the invocation of such a measure hasn’t been done since 1970 when the militant Quebec separatist group FLQ was literally bombing, robbing, and kidnapping Canadians. The truckers’ protests to date have been incredibly peaceful considering how many thousands of people have taken part.

One thing Justin Trudeau never tried for a second was respectful discourse with the protesters. He doesn’t have to go out groveling and kneeling among them as he did with the Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, but he could have at least been receptive to listening to them. He never even made the slightest effort.

Some could claim that such an effort to deescalate things would be a waste of time, at least they could before Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson made a deal with protesters to move them out of residential zones in the city. The convoy protesters moved out of the residential areas without complaint or issue.

What magic did Watson do to get these intransigent extremists to bend to his will? How did he manage to defang this angry beast?

Mayor Jim Watson offered the protesters something Justin Trudeau has refused to give them: respect.

Watson wrote a letter to the protest organizers politely asking them to move their protest closer to Parliament Hill in order to take pressure off residents. He explained how it was exhausting and causing stress for people living in the area. The protesters nodded and complied. No threats. No police lined. Just a polite letter.

This isn’t to say that the protesters would decamp from Ottawa if they received a nicely written letter from Justin Trudeau asking them to go. It does show that the protesters are receptive to reason and compromise when it is offered to them though.

The very first step in resolving any conflict is to initiate a dialogue. A responsible leader will explore and try every avenue to deescalate a situation before resorting to force. It doesn’t mean the leader is capitulating or letting themselves be pushed around. It just means the leader is not acting in dangerous haste when there is a possibility for a peaceful resolution.

Invoking the Emergencies Act against the protesters should have been a step of absolute last resort. The act suspends a number of civil rights and can potentially pave the way for military action against Canadian citizens. In using this hammer against protesters who have been peaceful, Trudeau may turn these protests ugly. Images of police or possibly even military action being taken against peaceful protesters could tear the social fabric of Canada irreparably.

As with every other action from the federal government with the Freedom Convoy, I expect their latest move will only inflame and entrench the protesters further. Tensions are going to escalate as the number of protesters grows and physical conflict may end up being inevitable.

This all could perhaps have been avoided if the Trudeau government had begun with an attitude of respect for citizens and tried to open dialogue with the protesters.

We will never know now because the government didn’t even try.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/14/politics/craig-greenberg-shooting-louisville/index.html

Louisville mayoral candidate targeted in campaign headquarters shooting, authorities say

Washington (CNN)A Democratic candidate for mayor in Louisville, Kentucky, was the target of a shooting Monday morning at his campaign headquarters, authorities said.

Democrat Craig Greenberg was the target of the shooting in the city's Butchertown neighborhood, Louisville Metropolitan Police Department Chief Erika Shields said, adding that although there were no injuries in the incident, a round did appear to strike Greenberg's clothing.

Quintez Brown, 21, has been charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree in connection with the shooting, according to Louisville Metro Police Department Public Information Officer Elizabeth Ruoff.

CNN has been unable to determine if Brown has obtained an attorney.

Greenberg said Tuesday that he and his staff were gathered for a morning meeting in his office at campaign headquarters when an individual walked in.

"We asked if we could help him. And he pulled out a gun, aimed it directly at me and opened fire," Greenberg told CNN's John Berman on "New Day." "I was fortunate that one of my brave teammates slammed the door shut. They were able to throw some desks on top of the door and the suspect fled. So, we are very blessed to be here today. All of us on the team are."

The Louisville Courier Journal identified Brown as a former intern and editorial columnist with the newspaper.

Shields said earlier Monday that authorities had "no known motive at this time," adding: "We also have no reason to believe at this time that this individual was acting anything but alone."

Greenberg told CNN he was under the impression that he was the target of the shooting when asked about the investigation. He said he doesn't believe he had met Brown prior to the shooting but recalled reading about him in media reports from the previous year.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting local police investigating the incident, spokespeople for the agencies told CNN.

Tim Beam, a spokesperson for the FBI, also confirmed that FBI agents responded to the scene. Beam said the FBI is working to determine whether any federal crimes took place during the attempted shooting.

ATF spokesperson Cassandra Mullins confirmed that the agency is assisting Louisville Metro Police in responding to the incident, which began after 911 calls were made regarding an "active aggressor."

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said in a tweet that he was "appalled to learn about the attempt on Craig Greenberg's life."

"I have spoken with Craig and I am grateful that he is physically unharmed. Violence is never the answer," he continued.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/plane-with-8-aboard-crashes-off-north-carolina-1-body-found_4278967.html

Plane With 8 Aboard Crashes Off North Carolina; 1 Body Found

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C.—A small plane carrying eight people crashed into the ocean off North Carolina’s Outer Banks and left behind multiple debris fields where crews searched for the missing passengers, the Coast Guard said.

One body has so far been recovered and identified, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck told reporters Monday afternoon. He declined to release that person’s name or details about the other people who were on board, including their ages, “out of respect for the families.”

“We have no indication that anyone survived the crash,” the sheriff said.

Search crews are still looking for the main body of the plane but have identified three debris fields, which had been moving farther off shore into the Atlantic Ocean, Buck said.

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Matthew J. Baer told reporters that multiple vessels from various agencies are continuing the search. In a tweet Monday night, the Coast Guard said a cutter would remain on the scene overnight.

“We’ve got an all-hands-on-deck event going on here,” Baer said. “And we want the citizens of Carteret County and eastern North Carolina to know that your Coast Guard is out there doing our absolute best alongside our partners.”

Most of the family members of the plane’s passengers live in Carteret, a coastal county of nearly 70,000 people, Buck said. The county includes communities such as Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach as well as the Cape Lookout National Seashore and its iconic Outer Banks lighthouse, which has a black-and-white diamond pattern.

“We’ve been in very close contact with the family members,” the sheriff said.

The Coast Guard said in a news release that it received a report of a possible downed aircraft about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) east of Drum Inlet from a Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point air traffic controller Sunday. The air traffic controller reported that the aircraft was behaving erratically on radar, then disappeared from the screen.

The single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47 crashed into the water approximately 18 miles (29 kilometers) northeast of Michael J. Smith Field in Beaufort, North Carolina, about 2 p.m. local time Sunday, according to an email from the Federal Aviation Administration. A preliminary accident notification on the FAA’s website noted that the aircraft “crashed into water under unknown circumstances.”

FlightAware listed a departure for that plane from Hyde County Airport at 1:35 p.m. Sunday and noted it was last seen near Beaufort at 2:01 p.m.

“Our prayers and deep concerns go to the families and loved ones of the passengers,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter Monday afternoon. “We’re grateful for the people in our state and local agencies who are supporting the efforts of the Coast Guard and other first responders.”

The search included boats and a helicopter from three Coast Guard stations, local fire, sheriff’s department personnel, and National Park Service beach crews.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter Monday that it is investigating the crash.

https://www.rt.com/news/549423-us-navy-engineer-selling-secrets/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

US Navy engineer admits selling submarine secrets

The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data

A former US Navy engineer pleaded guilty on Monday to attempting to pass classified information about America’s nuclear-powered warships to an individual he believed was representing a foreign government.

Jonathan Toebbe, 43, appeared in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where he was charged with a single count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data, punishable by between 12 and 17 years in prison.

Toebbe and his wife, Diana, were detained in October after authorities claimed that he had taken advantage of his access to classified information and sold details about Virginia-class submarines. In his role as an engineer, he had previously held a top secret security clearance at the Department of Defense.

Falsified test results for US submarine steel land metallurgist in prison

The FBI launched an undercover operation to catch Toebbe in April 2020 after he sent a package of Navy documents to a foreign government, which was obtained by American authorities from its legal attache office in the unnamed country.

An FBI agent posing as a representative of a foreign nation made contact with Toebbe and transferred $100,000 in cryptocurrency in exchange for his classified information.

When the FBI searched the Toebbe family’s residence in Maryland, agents discovered bags containing shredded documents, thousands of dollars worth of cash, and a “go bag” that contained a USB flash drive.

During his plea hearing, Toebbe admitted that, along with his wife, he had conspired to sell top-secret information to a foreign government with the aim of trying to “injure the United States.”

His wife is accused of having monitored “dead-drop” locations where her husband left memory cards that were filled with government secrets in discrete items, such as a chewing gum wrapper. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2022/02/15/google-chrome-warning-zero-day-hack-security-exploit-new-chrome-update/?sh=37fe157f73c1

Google Issues Serious Warning For 3.2 Billion Chrome Users

Google confirmed the news in an official blog post, stating that a new High-level Zero Day vulnerability (CVE-2022-0609) has been found in all Chrome browsers and it is openly being exploited by hackers. Google also stated that a further six High level threats have been discovered in the browser which impact every operating system.

What Are The New Chrome Hacks?

Google is currently restricting information about the new exploits, so this is all the information currently available:

High - CVE-2022-0603: Use after free in File Manager. Reported by Chaoyuan Peng (@ret2happy) on 2022-01-22

High - CVE-2022-0604: Heap buffer overflow in Tab Groups. Reported by Krace on 2021-11-24

High - CVE-2022-0605: Use after free in Webstore API. Reported by Thomas Orlita on 2022-01-13

High - CVE-2022-0606: Use after free in ANGLE. Reported by Cassidy Kim of Amber Security Lab, OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd. on 2022-01-17

High - CVE-2022-0607: Use after free in GPU. Reported by 0x74960 on 2021-09-17

High - CVE-2022-0608: Integer overflow in Mojo. Reported by Sergei Glazunov of Google Project Zero on 2021-11-16

High - CVE-2022-0609: Use after free in Animation. Reported by Adam Weidemann and Clément Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group on 2022-02-10

Medium - CVE-2022-0610: Inappropriate implementation in Gamepad API. Reported by Anonymous on 2022-01-08

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Somewhat predictably, the zero day hack is a ‘Use-After-Free’ (UAF) exploit and UAF attacks continue to be far and away the most prevalent and successful form of Chrome hack. Not only do UAF exploits make up five of the eight hacks listed here, it brings the total number of successful Chrome UAF attacks to 26 since the start of the year. On the flipside, this is the first successful Chrome Zero Day hack in 2022 which is impressive.

UAF vulnerabilities are memory exploits created when a program fails to clear the pointer to the memory after it is freed.

In a distant second place are Heap buffer overflow attacks, responsible for another of the successful attacks Chrome has reported above. Also known as ‘Heap Smashing’, memory on the heap is dynamically allocated and typically contains program data. With an overflow, critical data structures can be overwritten which makes it an ideal target for hackers.

What You Need To Do

In response to these hacks, Google has announced Chrome 98.0.4758.102. Google warns that the release “will roll out over the coming days/weeks”, so you may not be able to protect yourself immediately.

Google, Google Chrome, Chrome browser, Chrome update, Chrome privacy, Chrome security, Chrome upgrade, Chrome latest version

To check if your browser is updated, navigate to Settings Help > About Google Chrome. If your Chrome browser is listed as 98.0.4758.102 or higher, you are protected. If the update is not yet available for your browser, check back regularly. Zero Day hacks are the most dangerous kind of security exploit.

And remember: after updating Chrome must be restarted for the fixes to take effect. Chrome is now used by 3.2 billion users worldwide on desktop and mobile, making it arguably the number one target for hackers. Those who forget to restart become easy targets.

Go update now.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/zachary-horwitz-sentenced-20-years-ponzi-scheme

Actor (((Zachary Horwitz))) sentenced to 20 years for running $650 million Ponzi scheme

Zachary Horwitz was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Monday for running a massive Ponzi scheme that raised at least $650 million from investors in phony Hollywood film licensing deals.

The aspiring actor from Los Angeles, who went under the screen name Zach Avery, was also ordered to repay more than $230.3 million.

Prosecutors alleged that from 2014 to 2019, the 35-year-old secured hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for his film company, 1inMM Capital LLC, by falsely claiming the money would be used to buy distribution rights to films that would then be licensed for distribution to streaming platforms, such as Netflix and HBO.

However, Horwitz went on to use some of the money to repay earlier investors in a classic Ponzi scheme, prosecutors said. He also used the funds to support a more lavish lifestyle that included a $6 million home, expensive cars and private jets.

More than 200 investors, including three of Horwitz’s closest college friends and their family members, lost about $230 million, authorities said.

Horwitz appeared in several movies, usually in smaller roles. He pleaded guilty in October to one count of securities fraud after his April 2021 arrest.

"Defendant Zachary Horwitz portrayed himself as a Hollywood success story," said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. "He branded himself as an industry player, who, through his company… leveraged his relationships with online streaming platforms like HBO and Netflix to sell them foreign film distribution rights at a steady premium… But, as his victims came to learn, [Horwitz] was not a successful businessman or Hollywood insider. He just played one in real life."

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-activision-blizzard-microsoft-q4-stock-portfolio-2022-2

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reveals $1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway built a major stake in Activision Blizzard last quarter.

The investor's company purchased nearly 15 million shares, worth about $1.2 billion today.

Microsoft struck an all-cash deal in January to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway built a billion-dollar stake in Activision Blizzard last quarter, before Microsoft agreed to acquire the video-games giant in January this year.

The famed investor's company purchased 14.7 million shares of the "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" studio, giving it an almost 2% stake worth $975 million at the end of December, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed on Monday.

Microsoft agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal for $69 billion in January, helping to propel the video-game company's stock price up 21% this year, and boosting the value of Berkshire's stake to $1.2 billion today.

Activision Blizzard stock plunged 45% from its February peak to its November trough last year, as the developer weathered several internal challenges, likely making it cheap enough to pique the interest of Buffett and his deputies.

If Microsoft wins regulatory approval for its $95-per-share offer for Activision Blizzard, Berkshire's stake would be worth $1.4 billion. Buffett may be pleased by the all-cash terms of the deal, as he's avoided buying Microsoft stock for Berkshire given he's best friends with Bill Gates and doesn't want to raise suspicions that he's acting on inside knowledge.

Buffett's company made several other changes to its portfolio. For example, it slashed its AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb stakes by nearly 80%, cut its March & McLennan and Royalty Pharma holdings, and sold its position in Teva Pharmaceuticals.

On the other hand, it boosted its Chevron stake by a third to 38.2 million shares. It also disclosed a $1 billion stake in Nubank following the Brazilian lender's stock-market debut in December.

Overall, Berkshire's US stock portfolio swelled in value by 13% to $331 billion in the final quarter of 2021.

Berkshire owns scores of businesses including See's Candies and Geico, and holds multibillion-dollar stakes in Apple, Coca-Cola, and other public companies. It also boasted $149 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of September.

Buffett has been itching to deploy a chunk of Berkshire's cash on a big stake in a public company or an elephant-sized acquisition for years. However, he's struggled to find bargains with stocks near record highs, and private equity firms and SPACs pushing up the prices of businesses.

In the absence of any great deals, Buffett has plowed billions of dollars into stock buybacks. In fact, his company is expected to reveal in its annual report later this month that share repurchases topped a record $25 billion in 2021.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-great-awakening_4279087.html

The Great Awakening

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri—The half-circle of 13 chairs that framed the statue of President Harry Truman in the heart of the historic Independence Square this past fall was placed there in the days after 13 American soldiers were killed in the attack on the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in late August.

The flags on either side of Truman flew at half-mast, with the chairs bearing the names of each service member lost in that attack. All hailed from small-town corners of our country. Their average age was 22. Eleven were Marines, one was a member of the Army, one a Navy medic.

Youth court students and volunteers in the community had placed the memorial there.

They weren’t alone. Memorials like this were placed in bars, front yards, and town squares all across the country. Some of them still stand.

The loss of these brave service members marked the beginning of an awakening. Many people stepped outside the comfort of their political beliefs and began to question everything coming out of the government.

Few national journalists noticed it at its inception because few national journalists leave their desks or disconnect from Twitter long enough to listen to people outside of their bubble. Had they listened, they would have heard the questions and the doubts.

The more President Joe Biden’s White House stubbornly and willfully refused to answer questions and insisted it had acted rightly, the more distrust in government grew.

The images of Biden walking away, his back to the press and metaphorically to the people, in the days and weeks after the pullout projected arrogance and negligence. When he repeated that exit, it only served to hasten the awakening.

Soon, the questions about Afghanistan became questions about how the government was handling the pandemic—in particular the mandates, masking, and the treatment of our children. Many people had been afraid to make their complaints public—they saw how lives and livelihoods could be destroyed if you questioned the motives of the government or teachers unions.

Across the political spectrum, people who had been struggling so hard to keep their businesses open and their children in school or who dared to question the usage of masks or the authority of the government were called racists, fascists, grandma-killers, insurrectionists, and white supremacists.

Never mind that most of them had done all of the right things. They stayed home at the beginning, washed their cardboard Amazon boxes before they opened them, refrained from hugging their parents and children and grandchildren, lost jobs, lost friends, lost family members, got boosted, and then saw their children flail emotionally and academically. They watched crime escalate in their cities and suburbs. They watched depression and suicide affect their loved ones and fentanyl flood their nice neighborhoods and communities. They watched their cities turn into ghost towns and their grocery and energy bills diminish their wealth.

No one in the press really picked up on this movement. They see everything as either Republican or Democratic. This awakening is not so easily characterized. It is an inside-outside movement reacting to a government that chose to play politics with the virus and continue a longstanding partisan battle.

This week, it finally became acceptable among the insider set to say that the pandemic is over. But this abrupt change is part of an apparently coordinated effort to save a political tribe; as such, it does not pass the smell test for most people.

It is now too late to save the insiders. People had moved away from elite insider opinion long before the insiders finally gave their permission to say the pandemic is over. Their insincerity is overwhelming. Something deep has changed for all the outsiders, and very few insiders ever saw it coming.

https://www.rt.com/news/549378-falsified-steel-test-results-submarines/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Falsified test results for US submarine steel land metallurgist in prison

The woman was convicted of fraud for altering test data for high-strength metal used in navy subs

An American metallurgist who fraudulently altered the results of strength tests on steel used to make US Navy submarine hulls has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for what a federal judge called “a crime of pride and ego.”

US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle sentenced 67-year-old Elaine Thomas on Monday in Tacoma, Washington, noting that even after an exhaustive navy investigation, “we don’t know the full ramifications of this fraud.” Prosecutor Nick Brown said Thomas had betrayed the navy’s trust for 32 years, “knowingly placing its sailors and military operations at risk.”

Thomas, formerly a lab director for military steel supplier Bradken Inc., was accused of allowing inferior steel to be used on navy subs on half the orders she reviewed. She reportedly told investigators that she believed a test in which steel was cooled to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit and struck with a pendulum was “stupid” because subs don’t operate in such temperatures. She allegedly falsified about 240 tests, altering failing scores to passing, over a period of more than three decades.

Test results for steel used in US Navy subs ‘falsified’ for decades

Settle called the case “baffling,” saying, “It seems this was a crime of pride and ego, that in some way she knew better than those who set the standards.”

A lawyer for the metallurgist argued that she’s “a good person who let a number of work pressures cause her to make bad decisions.” Those pressures included sexism in a male-dominated work environment, said the lawyer, John Carpenter. Thomas was reportedly the first woman to earn a metallurgy degree from Washington State University and won a prestigious industry award.

Her falsification of test results first came to light in 2017, and the navy incurred $14 million in costs to examine whether its submarine hulls were safe. Additional monitoring of the 30 hulls with steel tested by Thomas will be required indefinitely.

US Navy punishes sub that hit mountain in South China Sea

Bradken fired Thomas after discovering the false test results. It also notified investigators of testing discrepancies, but the defense contractor failed to immediately disclose that the falsified data stemmed from fraud. The company reached a civil settlement with the federal government, agreeing to pay $10.9 million.

Submarine steel is required to meet exacting standards to ensure that hulls hold up in extreme conditions and “wartime scenarios,” prosecutors said. Subs also face risks of collisions, such as when the USS 'Connecticut' struck an undersea mountain in the South China Sea last October, injuring 12 crew members. A similar incident occurred in 2005, killing one sailor and leaving most of the other 136 crew members injured.

>>4930

>>4930

>Falsified test results for US submarine steel land metallurgist in prison

>>4875, >>4842 lb It appears DanScavino predicted the Eminem "kneel" at the Super Bowl

Hive-Mind General #7

>>4875, >>4842 lb It appears DanScavino predicted the Eminem "kneel" at the Super Bowl

>>4897 Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 - “Trump Really Was Spied On”

>>4916 Ex-US National Intel Chief on Durham Probe: There'll Be 'Quite a Few More Indictments'

>>4917 THREAD BREAKING: Sussmann's attorney's aren't happy with Durham. Filed today.

>>4918 Because they “spied” - you clowns

>>4919 New: Biden campaign paid the tech firm at center of Durham investigation. Biden’s campaign is one of only two to have ever paid NEUSTAR, per FEC records. The other? Hillary Clinton’s

>>4921 Dow rallies 387 points after Russia withdraws some troops around Ukraine

>>4922 Trudeau Fanning Protest Flames by Invoking the Emergency Act

>>4923 Louisville mayoral candidate targeted in campaign headquarters shooting, authorities say

>>4924 Plane With 8 Aboard Crashes Off North Carolina; 1 Body Found

>>4925 US Navy engineer admits selling submarine secrets

>>4926 Google Issues Serious Warning For 3.2 Billion Chrome Users

>>4927 Actor (((Zachary Horwitz))) sentenced to 20 years for running $650 million Ponzi scheme

>>4928 Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reveals $1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard

>>4929 The Great Awakening

>>4930, >>4931 Falsified test results for US submarine steel land metallurgist in prison - Q Drops - 1069, 855, 850

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/canada-truck-protestors-crypto-fundraising-emergencies-act-justin-trudeau-bitcoin-2022-2

Canada targets crypto donations to protestors after Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act to quell anti-government demonstrations

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act in response to Canadian trucker protestors.

The government also expanded anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules to include crowdfunding and crypto.

The move comes after Canadian truck protestors raised more than $1 million in bitcoin.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday in response to the truck drivers protesting pandemic mandates in Ottawa, and included in the response is more scrutiny into cryptocurrency donations and fundraising for protestors.

The move comes after the truckers, who have blocked bridges critical to international trade, raised more than $1 million in bitcoin before the organizers closed their fundraising page.

Under the Emergencies Act, the government can use its power to freeze or suspend bank accounts without a court order or liability, among other things.

This marks the first time a Canadian leader has invoked the rule since the law was passed in 1988. It allows for military intervention, but the prime minister said he has no plans to call in troops.

In addition, the government will also expand the reach of the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules to include cryptocurrency transactions and crowdfunding platforms.

Payment service providers and crowdfunding servers must now report transactions to the government by registering with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada

https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-da-says-police-misusing-sexual-assault-survivor-dna-2022-2

San Francisco's district attorney says city police have been entering sexual assault survivors' DNA into a database used to identify crime suspects

San Francisco's district attorney says the SFPD is improperly using sexual assault survivors' DNA.

Sexual assault survivors submit their own DNA as part of investigations to find perpetrators.

The DA's office says the DNA is being put in a database to catch suspects.

The San Francisco police crime lab has been entering DNA profiles from people who have submitted rape kits into a database used to identify crime suspects, the city's District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a press release on Monday.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Boudin's office learned of the practice last week after a woman was linked to a recent property crime by DNA from a rape exam conducted years ago.

Boudin denounced the practice and said he's concerned it could prevent people from reporting sexual assaults to the police.

"Rapes and sexual assault are violent, dehumanizing, and traumatic. I am disturbed that victims who have the courage to undergo an invasive examination to help identify their perpetrators are being treated like criminals rather than supported as crime victims," Boudin said in the press release.

He called the practice "legally and ethically wrong" and said his office is demanding it end immediately.

—Chesa Boudin (@chesaboudin) February 14, 2022

The press release said sexual assault survivors submit their own DNA sample during an examination so it can be differentiated from a perpetrator's DNA that might be found on the victim's body.

"Sexual assault testing is an invasive and traumatic process for many sexual assault survivors. For this reason, many survivors are reluctant to undergo such a personally invasive process. Victims of sexual assault consent to their DNA collection for this purpose, not so that their DNA will be retained in a local law enforcement database permanently to be searched years later," the press release said.

Boudin told the Chronicle if a survivor's DNA is used in anything besides an investigation into their assault, it could be a violation of the state's Victims' Bill of Rights as well as the constitutional right not to be subjected to unreasonable search and seizure.

The district attorney also told the Chronicle his office is investigating the extent of the practice and if there are other instances where DNA submitted for a sexual assault exam was used to connect someone to a crime.

He said his office believes the database has thousands of DNA profiles collected over many years.

SFPD did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but Bill Scott, the city's chief of police, told the Chronicle: "We must never create disincentives for crime victims to cooperate with police, and if it's true that DNA collected from a rape or sexual assault victim has been used by SFPD to identify and apprehend that person as a suspect in another crime, I'm committed to ending the practice."

https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/22934628/intel-tower-semiconductor-acquisition-chips-third-party-foundry

Intel buys Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion so it can make more chips for other companies

Intel has announced that it’s buying Tower Semiconductor, an Israeli chipmaking company that focuses on specialty products like radio frequency (RF) chips, CMOS image sensors, and power management parts, for $5.4 billion.

The deal is specifically intended to bolster the company’s fledgling Intel Foundry Service division, which Intel created last year to apply its chipmaking techniques and manufacturing facilities to build chips for other third-party companies. Once the deal closes, the goal is that Tower and IFS will be integrated together as a “fully integrated foundry business.”

Intel has made no bones about its plans to rapidly ramp up production capabilities, with recent news of a $20 billion investment to expand its existing Arizona manufacturing facilities, along with a second $20 billion bet to build an entirely new complex in Ohio that it claims will be the “largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet.”

Intel Foundry Services was originally announced back in March 2021 as part of Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy, which was debuted by its newly installed CEO Pat Gelsinger as an attempt to right the ship at Intel and re-establish the company as a major force in the chipmaking world. IFS has already announced several major partnerships: it’ll start building chips for Qualcomm using Intel’s upcoming 20A process, while Amazon Web Services will be relying on Intel’s packaging technologies.

The Tower Semiconductor deal will allow for Intel to further expand IFS’s offerings to new and more specialized products, which, in turn, will allow the eventually combined group to offer a more comprehensive chipmaking solution to companies down the line. The addition of Tower Semiconductor also will help expand Intel’s manufacturing network, with Tower’s collection of fabs (located in Israel, California, Texas, and Japan) and the more specialized products they offer joining Intel’s existing manufacturing sites.

“We are building Intel Foundry Services to be a customer-first technology innovator with the broadest range of IP, services and capacity,” commented Dr. Randhir Thakur, president of Intel Foundry Services, in the announcement. “Tower and IFS together will provide a broad portfolio of foundry solutions at global scale to enable our customers’ ambitions.”

BREAKING:

Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre reach an out of court settlement. @LawCrimeNews

11:06 AM · Feb 15, 2022·Twitter Web App

https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1493617740292276232