The Yale Babylonian Collection

Founded in 1911, the Yale Babylonian Collection comprises over 45,000 items, including cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, and other artifacts, as well as a complete reference library, seminar room, work space for visiting scholars, casts of major monuments, and digitization facilities. It is one of the largest collection of seals and textual material from ancient Mesopotamia in North America and ranks among the leading collections in the world. The Collection aims to preserve, publish, and make available for everyone the artifacts it houses. Through generous support from the Council of Library and Information Resources and the National Endowment of the Humanities, the entire collection is digitized and available online.

https://babylonian-collection.yale.edu/

>>17988547

Sec. 502. Consultants. The head of each agency otherwise delegated functions under this order is delegated the authority of the President under sections 710(b) and (c) of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2160(b), (c), to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability without compensation and to employ experts, consultants, or organizations. The authority delegated by this section may not be redelegated.

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-13603-national-defense-resources-preparedness

Dr. Fauci: “It’s Nice that Some People Idolize Me and Put Me on a Pedestal”

https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1605289665811976193

What's coded in your DNA?

Firstfruits of the spirit

>>17988914

Imagine having to ask people to turn up to work

Three Human Smuggling Organizers Sentenced to a Combined 100 Months of Incarceration

https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/three-human-smuggling-organizers-sentenced-combined-100-months-incarceration

Advanced Bionics LLC to Pay United States $11.36 Million to Resolve FCA Allegations Related to Cochlear Implant Processors

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/advanced-bionics-llc-pay-united-states-1136-million-resolve-fca-allegations-related

Zelensky to meet with Biden in Washington, D.C.

Zelensky's reception may be somewhat lukewarm as many Republicans sour on providing the country will additional financial aid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with President Joe Biden on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., marking his first trip outside of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.

The details of the visit remain unfinalized and it could still be cancelled due to security concerns, CNN reported. His arrival comes as the U.S. prepares plans to provide Ukraine with patriot missile systems to combat the Russian invasion. It also coincides with an ongoing congressional debate involving next year's omnibus spending package, which currently includes considerable additional funding for Ukraine.

Should the trip occur, he will likely address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged lawmakers to attend, per the New York Post.

Zelensky's reception may be somewhat lukewarm as many Republicans sour on providing the country with additional financial aid in a seemingly frozen conflict that has seen much of the front line remain unchanged since Russian forces withdrew from Kherson in early November.

Russian forces, meanwhile, have dramatically escalated their missile attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure and redoubled their assaults on the frontline city of Bakmut, suggesting their is currently little appetite for a negotiated settlement.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/zelensky-meet-biden-washington-dc

ProPublica And Vox Are Returning Sam Bankman-Fried’s Funds

National news publications ProPublica and Vox are returning grants from disgraced former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried in the wake of his indictment.

ProPublica received $1.6 million from Bankman-Fried as part of a $5 million grant to fund reporting about biothreats and pandemic preparedness. The investigative reporting outlet announced the money would be returned in a staff memo Tuesday, Axios first reported. A ProPublica spokesperson confirmed Axios’ report and provided the Daily Caller with the staff memo.

“Today, we are announcing that ProPublica is returning the $1.6 million in funds we’ve already received — the first of what was supposed to be a three-year, $5 million grant. In light of more recent allegations that some of Bankman-Fried’s gains may have come from fraudulent activities, it does not seem appropriate to keep these funds,” ProPublica’s co-CEOs said in the memo.

“Given the ongoing investigation into Bankman-Fried’s actions, and with the support of our board, we have moved the $1.6 million to a separate account until it’s decided by a bankruptcy judge or other legal authority where the money should be returned. We have notified counsel overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy of this decision. Further, we are terminating our relationship with Building a Stronger Future,” the ProPublica co-CEOs added.

Grants were provided to both outlets through the family foundation Building a Stronger Future, which Bankman-Fried ran with his brother, Gabe. Vox Media’s decision to return the grant money was first reported in CNN’s Monday newsletter.

Vox’s Future Perfect project was given a one-time $200,000 grant from Building a Stronger Future to “support a reporting project on technological and innovation bottlenecks that hamper human progress,” a spokesperson told the Daily Caller.

“$14,000 of the grant funds were expended prior to the news of FTX’s bankruptcy and suspected fraud. The project (and any additional expenditure of grant funds) remains on hold. If and when a restitution fund is created, Future Perfect intends to turn over the balance to that fund,” the Vox spokesperson added.

The Intercept confirmed in a statement that Building a Stronger Future gave the outlet a separate grant of $500,000. The outlet is devoted to “fearless, adversarial journalism,” its website says.

“The Intercept is very concerned about the allegations around Sam Bankman-Fried’s philanthropic giving and we are monitoring the ongoing investigation closely,” a spokesperson for The Intercept told the Daily Caller.

“As previously stated, we received $500,000 from his family foundation Building a Stronger Future, as part of a $4 million grant in support of our pandemic prevention and biosafety coverage. At this time, we are still gathering the information we need to make a principled decision in accordance with our mission and values,” the spokesperson added.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/20/propublica-vox-returning-sam-bankman-fried-funds/

https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/20/reporter-chuck-schumer-omnibus-bill/