Justice Department and EPA Announce Settlement with Stericycle Inc. to Address Environmental Violations at Medical Waste Incinerator
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-epa-announce-settlement-stericycle-inc-address-environmental
‘Deeply Concerned’ Elizabeth Warren Begs SEC To Punish Reddit Investors Who ‘Inflict Financial Damage’ On Hedge Funds
Warren expresses alarm at "market manipulation" by small time investors who interfere "with the 'fair, orderly, and efficient' function of the market" by hurting hedge funds
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) authored a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday in which she begged the regulatory agency to “act” against and “address” the trades made by small-time investors who aggravated Wall Street by performing a “short squeeze” on Gamestop stocks that were supposed to net a massive profit for billionaire hedge fund managers.
Elizabeth Warren, who failed to convince voters that she was an opponent of Big Business after her numerous big money donors were revealed during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, seemed to strike a tone of desperation in Friday’s letter, which demanded an explanation for why the SEC had not cracked down sufficiently on supposed “market manipulation” by small-time investors.
“Casino-like swings in stock prices of GameStop reflect wild levels of speculation that don’t help GameStop’s workers or customers and could lead to market instability,” Warren wrote. “Today I told the SEC to explain what exactly it’s doing to prevent market manipulation.”
“I am deeply concerned that these casino-like swings in the value of GameStop and other company shares are yet another example of the gamesmanship that interferes with the ‘fair, orderly, and efficient’ function of the market,” Warren stated in the letter.
Casino-like swings in stock prices of GameStop reflect wild levels of speculation that don’t help GameStop’s workers or customers and could lead to market instability. Today I told the SEC to explain what exactly it's doing to prevent market manipulation. https://t.co/NWaZe1jFVb pic.twitter.com/MAbjHcq47i
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 29, 2021
“There is a troubling lack of clarity regarding who the major market participants are in this case and the degree to which their activities may be coordinated” Warren wrote in regard to Reddit traders that she described as “cloaked in anonymity.”
Warren went on to beg the SEC to review the Gamestop situation and expand its enforcement capabilities, lamenting “those who seek to inflict financial damage on [wealthy] traders.”
The letter closed with a series of questions regarding an SEC crackdown on “market manipulation,” to which Warren demands an answer by February 5.
https://nationalfile.com/deeply-concerned-elizabeth-warren-begs-sec-to-punish-reddit-investors-who-inflict-financial-damage-on-hedge-funds/
Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Declare June 14 ‘President Donald J. Trump Day’
"This legislation will help ensure that for one day each year the voice of millions of people from all corners of our state will be commemorated."
Ohio Republican state reps Jon Cross and Reggie Stoltzfus announced Friday that they are seeking co-sponsors for a bill that would recognize the date of June 14 as “President Donald J. Trump Day” in the interest of celebrating one of the greatest presidents in American history.”
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Cross and Stoltzfus declare, “Former President Donald J. Trump was our 45th President of the United States and against great odds, accomplished many things that have led our nation to unparalleled prosperity.”
June 14 is President Trump’s birthday, and also overlaps with Flag Day.
“Let’s show the 3,154,834 Ohio voters (a record historic number of votes received for President in Ohio) who cast their ballot to re-elect Donald J Trump that we as a legislature recognize the accomplishments of his administration, and that the Ohio house believes it is imperative we set aside a day to celebrate one of the greatest presidents in American history,” the memorandum reads.
The statement concludes, “President Donald J. Trump personified the emotions of millions of Ohioans who for too long have felt marginalized by our government and the American political system, adding, “this legislation will help ensure that for one day each year the voice of millions of people from all corners of our state will be commemorated.”
Correcting: Ohio Republican Reps. Jon Cross and Reggie Stoltzfus are looking for cosponsors to declare June 14 “President Donald J. Trump Day” to “celebrate one of the greatest presidents in American history” – that’s Trump’s birthday (also Flag Day) pic.twitter.com/h3kfRorxp9
— Karen Kasler (@karenkasler) January 29, 2021
Cross and Stoltzfus are currently seeking co-sponsors for the legislation within the Ohio House of Representatives.
Earlier this month, President Trump announced the creation of an “Office of the Former President,” which will carry on the agenda of the Trump administration:
Today President Donald J. Trump announced the Office of the Former President, staffed by President Trump’s former White House advisors. According to a statement from the Office of the Former President, Trump will continue to push for his America First agenda using the Office.
“Today, the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, formally opened the Office of the Former President,” the statement began.
“The Office will be responsible for managing President Trump’s correspondence, public statements, appearances, and official activities to advance the interests of the United States and to carry on the agenda of the Trump Administration through advocacy, organizing, and public activism.”
President Trump left office maintaining strong support from the Republican voter base, and current President Joe Biden continues to pull in anemic approval ratings after his first week in office.
https://nationalfile.com/breaking-ohio-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-declare-june-14-president-donald-j-trump-day/
Janet Yellen Briefs Joe Biden on the Economy After Populist Trading Movement Shakes Wall Street
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will brief President Joe Biden on the economy Friday after a populist trading group on Reddit shocked the major Wall Street hedge funds.
Yellen will meet the president on Friday morning, according to the president’s schedule.
The trading app Robinhood infuriated users on Thursday for blocking purchases of stocks popularized by Reddit such as GameStop.
The hedge fund Citadel helped bail out Melvin Capital after the hedge fund lost billions by betting against GameStop before Reddit traders rallied to boost the stock price to unprecedented heights.
Reddit traders, however, remain skeptical of Yellen’s monitoring of the situation, after receiving more than $800,000 in speaking fees from Citadel before she was appointed by Biden as treasury secretary.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki dodged questions about whether Yellen would recuse herself from the issue.
“I don’t think I have anything more for you on it, other than to say, separate from the GameStop issue, the Secretary of Treasury is one of the world-renowned experts on markets, on the economy,” she said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone she was paid to give her perspective and advice before she came into office.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/01/29/janet-yellen-briefs-joe-biden-on-the-economy-after-populist-trading-movement-shakes-wall-street/
Biden Signs Whopping 40 Executive Orders In First Two Weeks, Smashing Record
President Joe Biden, during his first two weeks in office, has signed a rash of executive orders on everything from immigration to health care to the environment.
His 40 executive orders and actions set a record for the most actions signed by a president after just nine days in office.
Biden had previously made critical comments about overusing executive orders, likening it to the actions of a dictator.
In October, then-candidate Joe Biden during an ABC News Townhall did not seem to be high on the excessive use of executive actions.
On Thursday, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell responded on the Senate floor by saying,”In one week he’s signed more than 30 unilateral actions. And working Americans are getting short shrift.”
According to Fox News, a White House source defended the unilateral actions, saying, “The executive actions are previews, and happening in parallel, to what he is pushing in Congress. These are things he can do instantly, but show what he is going to pursue, and in some cases, already is pursuing, in Congress.”
Many of the executive orders signed by Biden this week have been aimed at overturning many of former President Donald Trump’s policies.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that, “These are steps, including overturning some of the harmful, detrimental, and, yes, immoral actions of the prior administration that he felt he could not wait to overturn, and that’s exactly what he did.”
One of the most anticipated executive orders was the canceling of permits by Biden for the Keystone Pipeline XL project.
This came as a huge blow as the cancelation means the loss of over 10,000 jobs, many of those jobs being those of union workers.
In a Fox news report, the International Labor Organization (ILO), says that globally, over 6 million jobs will be lost in the energy sector as a result of rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, which Biden also did by executive order.
.@ClimateEnvoy Kerry: The stakes on climate change couldn't be any higher than they are right now. pic.twitter.com/nGXr7iSNhc
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 28, 2021
Yet another executive order addressed the issue of “racial justice and equity.” White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice was instrumental in introducing these actions that will advance “racial justice and equity” that will build a “more equitable” economy that is “essential” to economic growth.
On his first day in office, Biden instructed Rice to “coordinate efforts to embed equity principles, policies, and approaches across the federal government.”
https://twitter.com/HBoushey/status/1354228286776201220
According to NBCnews.com, this is a complete list of Biden executive orders thus far.
https://thepoliticalinsider.com/biden-signs-whopping-40-executive-orders-in-first-two-weeks-smashing-record/?utm_campaign=TPI01292021afternoon&utm_source=criticalimpact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1d09840caddec138a6473c7b9fa19141&source=TPICI
Biden told host George Stephanopoulos that there are “things you can’t do by executive order unless you’re a dictator.”
“I have this strange notion. We are a democracy. Some of my Republican friends, and some of my Democratic friends even, occasionally say, ‘Well if you can’t get the votes, by executive order you’ve gotta do something.’ … Things you can’t do by executive order unless you’re a dictator. We’re a democracy. We need consensus.”
A network of Twitter bots has attacked the Belgian government's Huawei 5G ban
Twitter has now suspended the accounts.
Social media research group Graphika has published a report today exposing a small network of 14 Twitter accounts that engaged in a coordinated campaign to criticize the Belgian government's plan to ban Huawei from supplying 5G equipment to local telecommunications providers.
The accounts used fake names and posed as Belgium-based tech and 5G experts. They also used profile images generated using machine learning GAN algorithms, a technique that is gaining traction with more and more social media influence networks.
In a 33-page report [PDF] published today, Graphika researchers said the accounts spent their time retweeting content from popular accounts and mixing it with their own tweets that attacked the Belgian government's decision to ban "high-risk" providers from its national 5G network, along with tweets that praised Huawei as a reliable investor and partner.
These tweets would often link to articles sponsored by Huawei itself, articles from news agencies registered at non-existing addresses, or articles with the same text and headline but hosted across multiple newly-registered news sites and blogs.
Some of the most common sources were domains like london-globe.com, newyorkglobe.co, toplinenews.eu, and eureporter.co.
Graphika researchers said that while past Twitter botnets worked in an automated fashion, this smaller network appeared to have been manually operated, with all tweets being hand-written for each of the 14 accounts.
But despite the small number of accounts that were part of this botnet, tweets were often amplified by other accounts, including what appeared to be a second network of Twitter bots.
"These were created in batches and featured a "house style" of pictures of mainly Western women, and handles that consisted of seven letters followed by eight numbers," Graphica researchers said.
This campaign targeting the Belgian government did not go unnoticed and several Belgian tech and government workers also spotting it on their own last month.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/a-network-of-twitter-bots-has-attacked-the-belgian-governments-huawei-5g-ban/