PHRASES
by acclamation
1 (of election, agreement, etc.) by overwhelming vocal approval and without ballot.
2 Canadian (of election) by virtue of being the sole candidate.
C_A general counsel nominee once did legal work for Chinese government-linked pharma firm
By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times - Wednesday, April 6, 2022
President Biden’s pick to be the CIA’s most senior lawyer did legal work in the past for a large, Chinese Communist Party-linked pharmaceutical company, according to congressional documents and testimony.
Kate Heinzelman, the CIA general counsel nominee, did not initially disclose her work for the pharmaceutical firm known as WuXi App Tec Co., Ltd. but later confirmed the work in response to written questions from Sen. Marco Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
At a hearing Wednesday, Mr. Rubio noted that Ms. Heinzelman is one of several qualified Biden administration nominees who worked for Chinese government-linked companies in the past and who are now seeking sensitive positions in government.
In written answers to policy questions posed by the committee, the CIA general counsel nominee did not at first disclose the legal work for WuXi as a partner for the Washington law firm Sidley Austin. She stated that the firm had worked for 17 foreign government-linked firms, including at least one from China.
In response to pre-hearing questions from Mr. Rubio, Ms. Heinzelman said she did about 10 hours of legal work consulting for the Chinese company. Asked why she did not list the company in a committee questionnaire about private sector work related foreign government-controlled companies, Ms. Heinzelman said she was not aware that WuXi App Tec. Co. was a foreign government-controlled entity.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/apr/6/cia-general-counsel-nominee-once-did-legal-work-ch/
sean penn- weapons expert
Sean Penn's stolen car found on Richmond street / 2 guns actor left in the vehicle are missing
Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writer
April 13, 2003
Actor Sean Penn's muscle car which was stolen in broad daylight off a Berkeley street last week was found abandoned 9 miles away in Richmond, but missing two handguns that had been left inside, police said Saturday.
A woman who had heard about the theft of Penn's black 1987 Buick Grand National Tuesday phoned police about 3:45 p.m. Friday to report a suspicious car parked on Sixth Street between Virginia and Maine avenues, said Richmond police Sgt. Enos Johnson.
It is a residential neighborhood not far from the Harbour Way exit off Interstate 580.
Police ran the license plate number and determined the car was indeed registered to Penn. No one was in the vehicle when it was recovered, and no suspects have been arrested in the case, police said.
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While the car did not appear to be damaged, police said, it was missing two guns that Penn told police had been left inside – a loaded 9mm Glock handgun inside the car and an unloaded .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver in the trunk.
"We're very concerned that this car had firearms in it, and now those firearms are on our streets," Johnson said.
According to Berkeley police spokeswoman Mary Kusmiss, the 42-year-old Penn,
who has a reputation as one of Hollywood's brawling so-called bad boys, has a valid California concealed-weapons permit.
In 1985, Penn was placed on probation for hitting a friend of his then-wife Madonna after the friend kissed her. He then violated the probation by hitting an extra on a movie set and driving recklessly, and was sentenced to 60 days in a Los Angeles jail.
Penn served 33 days and was released for good behavior.
He also has been arrested for attacking two photographers who tried to take then-fiancee Madonna's picture, and punching a man who spoke with her in a restaurant.
More recently, Penn has drawn fire from some in the public for his vocal opposition to the war in Iraq and his trip to Baghdad before the start of hostilities.
Penn's limited-edition Buick is now sitting in a Richmond impound lot, waiting to be claimed by Penn or his designated representative.
Johnson said that as of Saturday afternoon, Richmond police had not spoken directly with Penn to let him know the car had been recovered.
Penn, who lives in Marin County, was eating lunch at Venus restaurant at 2327 Shattuck Ave. with his assistant Tuesday when the Buick was stolen sometime between 1 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Kusmiss had called the crime a "bold theft" since the car was parked at a meter in a crowded stretch of downtown Berkeley, full of pedestrians and not far from the UC Berkeley campus.
Similar Buicks, which are popular with muscle car collectors, sell for $8, 500 to $10,000 on auto Web sites.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sean-Penn-s-stolen-car-found-on-Richmond-street-2397899.php