Ex-Trump aide Hicks agrees to closed-door appearance before House panel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, once a close aide to President Donald Trump, has agreed to give a closed-door interview to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on June 19, the panel’s chairman said on Wednesday. Hicks last week agreed to supply documents from Trump’s 2016 campaign to the committee, despite a White House directive advising her not to provide the panel with material from her subsequent time at the White House. “We look forward to her testimony and plan to make the transcript promptly available to the public,” committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress-hicks/ex-trump-aide-hicks-agrees-to-closed-door-appearance-before-house-panel-idUSKCN1TD2QD?il=0

Ex-Stanford sailing coach avoids prison in U.S. college admissions scandal

BOSTON (Reuters) - A former Stanford University sailing coach avoided prison on Wednesday in the first sentencing to result from the U.S. college admissions scandal after admitting he took bribes to help children of wealthy parents gain admission to the school. John Vandemoer, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel in Boston to six months of home confinement, rejecting prosecutors’ request for a 13-month prison term after he pleaded guilty in March to racketeering conspiracy. Vandemoer is among 50 people, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who were charged in March with participating in a vast scheme overseen by California college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer.

Prosecutors said parents paid Singer more than $25 million to bribe coaches at universities, including Stanford, Yale and the University of Southern California, to help their children gain admission as fake athletic recruits. Parents also paid Singer, who pleaded guilty in March, to help rig college entrance exams, prosecutors allege. Thirty-three parents have been charged, including former “Desperate Housewives” star Huffman, who pleaded guilty in May, and “Full House” actress Loughlin, who has pleaded not guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen urged Zobel to avoid giving Vandemoer a “slap on the wrist,” saying the case had undermined public confidence in the fairness of college admissions. “The court needs to send a powerful message to would-be cheaters that such criminal conduct will not be tolerated,” he said. But Zobel instead sentenced the former coach to one day of prison, which was deemed already served, followed by two years of supervised release, the first six months of which he will serve in home confinement. Zobel also imposed a $10,000 fine.

She noted that unlike the other coaches, Vandemoer did not personally pocket any bribes, instead directing money from Singer to Stanford’s sailing program, which prosecutors said enhanced his career prospects. “The fact that, as best I understand it, he was the least culpable of all the coaches certainly says something about what the sentence should be,” Zobel said. Prosecutors said that in 2017, Singer paid $110,000 to the sailing program to have Vandemoer designate a client’s child as a sailing recruit. When that student decided to attend another school, Vandemoer agreed to use the same recruiting spot for a different child in exchange for $500,000, prosecutors said. That student also decided against attending Stanford. California-based Stanford fired Vandemoer in March. In court, he apologized for his actions, saying: “I made a terrible mistake.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-education-cheating/ex-stanford-sailing-coach-avoids-prison-in-u-s-college-admissions-scandal-idUSKCN1TD15A

Huawei asks Verizon to pay over $1 billion for over 230 patents: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has told Verizon Communications Inc that the U.S. carrier should pay licensing fees for more than 230 of the Chinese telecoms equipment maker’s patents and in aggregate is seeking more than $1 billion, a person briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. Verizon should pay to “solve the patent licensing issue,” a Huawei intellectual property licensing executive wrote in February, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier. The patents cover network equipment for more than 20 of the company’s vendors including major U.S. tech firms but those vendors would indemnify Verizon, the person said. Some of those firms have been approached directly by Huawei, the person said. The patents in question range from core network equipment, wireline infrastructure to internet-of-things technology, the Journal reported. The licensing fees for the more than 230 patents sought is more than $1 billion, the person said.

Huawei has been battling the U.S. government for more than a year. National security experts worry that “back doors” in routers, switches and other Huawei equipment could allow China to spy on U.S. communications. Huawei has denied that it would help China spy. Companies involved, including Verizon have notified the U.S. government and the dispute comes amid a growing feud between China and the United States. The licensing fee demand may be more about the geopolitical battle between China and the United States rather than a demand for patent fees.

Huawei and Verizon representatives met in New York last week to discuss some of the patents at issue and whether Verizon is using equipment from other companies that could infringe on Huawei patents. Verizon spokesman Rich Young declined to comment “regarding this specific issue because it’s a potential legal matter.” However, Young said, “These issues are larger than just Verizon. Given the broader geopolitical context, any issue involving Huawei has implications for our entire industry and also raise national and international concerns.” Huawei and U.S. wireless carriers T-Mobile US Inc and AT&T Inc did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Sprint Corp declined to comment.

The United States last month put Huawei on a blacklist that barred it from doing business with U.S. companies on security grounds without government approval, prompting some global tech firms to cut ties with the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker. Washington is also seeking the extradition of Huawei Chief Financial Executive Meng Wanzhou from Canada after her arrest in Vancouver last December on a U.S. warrant. China has since upped the pressure on Canada, halting Canadian canola imports and in May suspended the permits of two major pork producers.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-tech-verizon-patents/huawei-asks-verizon-to-pay-over-1-billion-for-over-230-patents-source-idUSKCN1TD218?il=0

Trump considering sanctions over Russia's Nord Stream 2 natgas pipeline

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was considering sanctions over Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project — which the United States has told European companies to avoid — and warned Germany against being dependent on Russia for the fuel. “We’re protecting Germany from Russia and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars from Germany,” Trump told reporters at an appearance with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House.

Nord Stream 2, a 760-mile (1,225-km) pipeline project to ship gas from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany, would double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream pipeline and has divided the European Union. Eastern European, Nordic and Baltic Sea countries see the pipeline as increasing Moscow’s economic grip on Europe. But many politicians and energy companies in Germany support Nord Stream 2 because the country, Europe’s biggest economy, needs steady gas supplies as it seeks to wean itself off of coal and nuclear power. Nord Stream 2 is led by Russian state gas producer Gazprom, with 50% of the funding provided by Germany’s Uniper and BASF’s Wintershall unit, Anglo-Dutch firm Shell, Austria’s and France’s Engie.

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said last month that a sanctions bill putting onerous restrictions on companies involved in the project would come in the “not too distant future.” Any sanctions on European companies involved in the project could increase friction with countries including Germany, Austria and France. Perry has visited Europe to promote U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help it diversify its sources of natural gas beyond Russia, which has occasionally stopped shipments of gas via Ukraine during times of pricing disputes. The administration of former President Barack Obama also opposed Nord Stream 2.

Trump said Nord Stream 2 “really makes Germany a hostage of Russia if things ever happen that were bad.” U.S. LNG companies have made some long term deals with European countries, but the shipments are also generally more expensive than gas sent by pipeline from Russia. Earlier on Wednesday at the White House, Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) signed a deal to purchase 1.5 million metric tons of LNG per year from U.S. company Venture Global LNG starting in 2023, bringing its total planned purchases from the company to 3.5 million metric tons per year. Trump and the Department of Energy said sales outlined in the contract are worth about $8 billion. Poland gets most of its gas from Russia, but its long-term contract for gas supplies from Gazprom ends in 2022. Poland also signed an agreement with U.S. officials on civilian nuclear power cooperation.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gazprom-nordstream-usa/trump-considering-sanctions-over-russias-nord-stream-2-natgas-pipeline-idUSKCN1TD267?il=0

Agreed, I wonder if they dare..