Steven Bannon’s affiliate Guo Wengui faces expenses of fraud

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference November 20, 2018 in New York.

Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images

Controversial exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui – an aide to former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon – was arrested in New York on Wednesday for allegedly orchestrating a complex $1 billion fraud scheme that fooled online followers with promises of outsized investment returns.

Guo reportedly used some of the money he raised through his company GTV Media and other companies to purchase a 50,000-square-foot mansion in New Jersey, a $37 million yacht, a $3.5 million Ferrari Buying a $140,000 Bösendorfer piano and two Hasten 2000T mattresses for his son cost a whopping $36,000 each.

Prosecutors seized more than $650 million in alleged fraud proceeds from 21 different bank accounts and assets, including a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster, as part of the case against Guo and his financial adviser William Je in federal court in Manhattan.

Guo, 52, is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon.

A fire broke out when FBI agents searched a Manhattan penthouse apartment owned by Guo on Wednesday, an agency spokesman said. Agents noticed smoke from a light fixture and called ET 911 around noon.

The New York Fire Department extinguished the fire, the cause of which is being investigated by a bomb squad. Guo was in custody before the fire broke out.

CNBC Policy

Read more about CNBC’s political coverage:

  • Trump extends lead over DeSantis in new poll on possible GOP primary
  • Trump Super PAC accuses Ron DeSantis of ‘shadow’ presidential bid in ethics complaints
  • The DOJ is charging Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, associate of Steve Bannon, with $1 billion in fraud
  • Pfizer has to pay Medicare rebates for five drugs under the Biden plan to reduce Rx costs
  • Leading Senate Democrats are urging DOJ and SEC to investigate whether Silicon Valley Bank executives broke laws
  • Apple, Amazon and Google are likely to get a reprieve from the GOP-controlled house over antitrust legislation
  • Warren unveils bill to reverse Trump-era banking deregulation that she says led to the collapse of SVB and Signature
  • Chuck Schumer will donate campaign donations from ex-CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, PAC, to charity
  • Biden announces new plans to curb gun violence, months after the Lunar New Year mass shootings
  • Senate Democrats are asking Walmart, Costco, Albertsons and Kroger to sell the abortion pill mifepristone
  • Russian jet crashes US drone over Black Sea

The Securities and Exchange Commission separately filed a related civil lawsuit against Guo and 56-year-old Je, who resides in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong and remains at large. The SEC accuses Guo and Je of involvement in unregistered and fraudulent financial offerings.

The SEC separately accused Guo of making false statements when he raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through a cryptocurrency asset known as H-Coin.

Last September, three Guo-affiliated companies, including GTV Media, agreed to pay nearly $540 million to settle civil SEC allegations of illegal offerings of stocks and digital assets.

Guo, who goes by several different names including Miles Guo and Miles Kwok, Brother Seven and The Principal, has lived in the United States since 2015 after fleeing China, allegedly to avoid looming corruption charges.

In 2018, he founded two non-profit organizations, the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Society, which engaged in a public relations campaign against the Chinese Communist Party.

Guo “used the charitable organizations to attract followers who were consistent with his purported political goals in China and who were also inclined to believe [Guo’s] statements regarding investment and money-making opportunities,” said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in a statement on the criminal case.

Bannon, who served as senior White House adviser to former President Donald Trump for less than a year, served at times on the board of the Rule of Law Society.

In June 2021, Guo’s two nonprofits hosted a private party in New York attended by Bannon, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, and Trump ally and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, CEO from MyPillow, attended.

In August 2020, federal authorities arrested Bannon on one of Guo’s megayachts off the Connecticut coast on charges of diverting money to the We Build the Wall fundraiser. Months later, just before Trump left office, he pardoned Bannon in that case.

“Lady May” yacht, owned by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, in Long Island Sound.

NBC Connecticut

Last month, an attorney for Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, sent Guo a letter demanding that he keep all records on Hunter Biden. The letter was sent two months after Mother Jones magazine detailed how, during his association with Giuliani, Bannon “had arranged for Guo and his followers to disseminate salacious videos and images of Hunter Biden’s laptop,” reported by a computer workshop in Delaware.

A 12-count grand jury indictment released Wednesday alleges Guo and Je “conspired to defraud thousands of victims” in the scheme, which spanned from 2018 to this month.

The alleged conspiracy involved using various facilities and programs to obtain investments from the victims, who were duped by false disclosures and misrepresentations, prosecutors said.

“Kwok has lied to its victims and promised them inflated returns if they invest or give money to GTV [Media]its so-called Himalaya Farm Alliance, G|CLUBS and the Himalaya Exchange,” prosecutors said in a press release.

Guo and Je are charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.

Je is also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to wire money related to the conspiracy to the United Arab Emirates since last September, after US authorities served seizure warrants on several banks to steal about $355 in proceeds to confiscate millions of dollars from the alleged fraud.

Both Guo and Je face up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the criminal case.

Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, called Guo “a serial scammer who has raised more than $850 million by promising investors inflated returns on alleged crypto, technology and luxury investment opportunities.”

“In reality, Guo used the hype and attraction surrounding crypto and other investments to victimize thousands and fund his and his family’s lavish lifestyle,” Grewal said.

The SEC’s complaint said an example of Guo and Je’s alleged fraud was a private placement of GTV Media Group common stock.

“Guo and Je allegedly diverted $100 million in investor money to a hedge fund for the sole benefit of a company owned by Guo’s son,” the SEC said.

And Guo reportedly embezzled investor proceeds in two other bids to pay more than $40 million to purchase and renovate the New Jersey mansion and buy the Ferrari for his son, the SEC said.

— WNBC’s Jonathan Dienst contributed to the coverage

Nancy Meyer’s $130M Netflix movie has been shelved over finances points

Something must give.

Less than a year after the acclaimed rom-com filmmaker Nancy Meyer coyly confirmed that she’s signed a deal with Netflix to write and direct an untitled ensemble comedy, the streamer has reportedly shelved the highly-anticipated project.

The Hollywood Reporter, citing sources close to the situation, reported that the streaming service and the film director were unable to reach an agreement on the film’s budget. Though Nancy — whose works include Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap, Something’s Got To Give, and The Holiday — was aiming for a budget of at least $150 million, Netflix reportedly has a maximum of $130 million US dollars fixed.

The romantic comedy had already timidly attached major star power, including Scarlett Johansson, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz And Michael Fassbender. The story was supposed to revolve around a filmmaking couple who fell in love and were reunited after their split for a new project, according to the publication.

The update to Nancy’s latest rom-com comes almost eight years after the release of her last full-length film, when she co-wrote and directed the 2015 comedy-drama The Intern Anne Hathaway And Robert DeNiro.

Airline shares slide regardless of CEOs’ optimistic demand outlook

A JetBlue airplane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia on March 9, 2023.

Stefanie Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Airline stocks fell on Wednesday as the market fell across the board on worries about the health of some banks and new data showing a slowdown in consumer spending.

The NYSE Arca Airline Index, which includes mostly U.S. airlines, was down about 6% on Wednesday afternoon and was on course for its biggest one-day percentage decline since last June. It surpassed a drop in the S&P500.

Airlines executives said during a JPMorgan industry conference on Tuesday that despite higher costs, they expect strong demand — and profits — in 2023, with leisure travel continuing to lead. Consumer appetite for air travel has increased sharply over the past year, and higher fares have boosted airline profits.

However, the airlines also pointed to near-term problems such as higher spending on fuel and labour. United Airlines on Monday forecast a first-quarter loss on a potential new pilot deal and weaker-than-expected demand earlier this year, traditionally a weak travel season.

Some executives said lucrative business travel is shifting due to more hybrid work models that allow customers to combine work travel with leisure rather than using more traditional schedules.

“I think business travel has changed”, JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes said at the conference. “Those day trips where you used to get up at 6 a.m. and be back by 8 p.m. … you just don’t do that anymore.”

Hayes said that means shifts in the network.

“We came in with 15 Boston LaGuardias because we thought it was a great idea. As it turns out, it wasn’t,” he said. “And that’s going to be nine or ten now as we get later in the year.”

Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said business travel has recovered more than 80% of pre-pandemic levels.

“As I tell many of my CEO friends in and out of the industry, I know where your people are. They may not be in the office, but you can find them on my planes,” he said at the conference. “And that’s because of the new way of working, the new hybrid, the new mobility. And I don’t think that’s going to change.”

FDA Approves Pfizer’s Covid-Omicron Booster as Fourth Vaccine for Kids Beneath 5

An employee at the Mainz vaccination center draws up a syringe with the Comirnaty vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer, adapted to the Omicron BA.1 variant.

Sebastian Christoph Gollnow dpa | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it on Tuesday Pfizers omicron booster shot for children under the age of five who have previously been vaccinated with three doses of the company’s original vaccine.

Children ages six months to four years who completed their three-dose primary series more than two months ago with the original Pfizer and BioNTech monovalent syringes are now eligible for a single booster dose of the updated syringe. The new shot is bivalent, meaning it targets the original Covid strain as well as omicron BA.4 and BA.5.

Pfizer’s primary line for young children consists of three doses, while competing drugmaker Moderna’s primary line for the same age group consists of only two doses.

As of December, children in this age group who received two doses of Pfizer’s original vaccine are eligible to receive the omicron booster as the third dose or last dose in their primary series. The agency noted that children who received the Omicron shot as a third dose are not currently eligible for the bivalent booster but should still be protected against a severe case of Covid.

The new approval applies to young children who finished their three doses before the new injection was available.

“Today’s approval offers parents and caregivers of children ages 6 months to 4 years who received the three-dose primary series of monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine an opportunity to update their child’s protection by providing received a booster dose of Pfizer’s BioNTech vaccine. BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

The agency’s decision aims to better protect young children after a cruel winter season that has seen hospitals overwhelmed with young children suffering from various respiratory diseases including Covid, RSV and the flu.

The FDA said the decision was based in part on clinical trial data from 60 children in the age group who had previously received three doses of Pfizer’s original vaccine and one dose of the company’s new booster shot. One month after the children received the omicron booster, they showed an immune response to both the original Covid strain and to omicron BA.5 and BA.5

Kevin McCarthy blames Biden for the financial institution collapse he helped trigger

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to blame President Biden for the failure of Silicon Valley Bank despite pushing hard for 2018 deregulation.

Punchbowl News reports:

The House of Representatives GOP conference held a private debriefing call with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (RN.C.) and Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.).

Based on this conversation, we expect the party’s response to be something like – The Democrats are responsible for the collapse of these banks. Their historic spending created historic inflation, leading to historic rate hikes that the banks were unprepared for.

…

In the conference call, McCarthy blamed the Biden administration’s “failed” fiscal policy, coupled with rising interest rates, for the downfall of Silicon Valley Bank in particular. McHenry added that SVB’s collapse “in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life'” was “current social media meets bank rush scene.”

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Here is McCarthy’s video announcing the “Choice Act” which was the repeal of large parts of Dodd-Frank:

“#CHOICEAct could save $10 billion in annual regulatory costs and save 10.3 million hours of paperwork.” – @AAF https://t.co/KmoZZ9gt4w pic.twitter.com/tRgMFz0i4t

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) June 7, 2017

Here’s what McCarthy said in the House on June 8, 2017:

“The repeal of Dodd-Frank with the CHOICE Act puts people back in it so they can participate in America’s economy. It will restore the severed links that connect communities to the money they need to start businesses and hire employees. The return of the community banks destroyed by Dodd-Frank means more people, not just the rich, will have access to credit.

…

“The CHOICE Act levels the playing field. It holds both Wall Street and Washington accountable, lest their wrong decisions cost taxpayers money. And it makes things easy, so you don’t need an Ivy League law degree to understand the rules that govern our lives.

Kevin McCarthy claims his push for legislation weakened regulations that allowed Silicon Valley Bank to avoid oversight and stress testing. Kevin McCarthy promised less regulation of banks would be good for everyone.

Joe Biden is not to blame for the collapse of Silicon Valley. All political blame lies with Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

Jim Jones says Dipset was unprepared for the Lox-Verzuz combat

Jim Jones gets candid about dipsets 2021 Verzuz vs The Lox. The first group consists of rappers Cam’ron, Freekey Zekey, Juelz Santana and Jones. While the latter group of rappers Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P.

Jones openly admitted that Dipset had failed to rehearse before the battle the way they “should” do. He also stated that he would like to have a rematch against The Lox.

RELATED: Social Media Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary of Lox & Dipset Verzuz Battle

Jim Jones says Dipset didn’t practice The Five Ps

Sitting down for an exclusive interview with AllHipHop, Jim Jones shared that the group hadn’t prepared enough for the fight.

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance. And the only thing we didn’t do was follow the five Ps for this one, and I can say that…”

Despite the admitted lack, Jones still yelled at his groupmates, declaring that the mark they made on hip-hop can never be duplicated.

“Sayings to my brothers – Cam’ron and Juelz Santana – it’s still dipset for life and n****s know what we’ve done can’t be duplicated in any way shape, form or any way.” …”

Jim Jones brought up a “rematch” between the two groups

Jones went on to state that he didn’t think the energy generated during that fight could ever be “duplicated” unless the two rap groups went head-to-head in a Verzuz fight.

“I don’t think that energy will ever be duplicated outside of New York unless we go to the rematch, did you hear?”

The rapper then went on to address Dipset’s challenges that night to “busy” around them.

“The way I think about it, last time it was busy. The venue was way too small. There were people on my back. There were people in there on people’s shoulders.”

Jones went on to say that a rematch between the two groups should take place in the “big garden”. He also added that the group will be better prepared.

“I think we need due respect for doing it in the garden, the big garden, with reasonable security, set up properly so everyone has room to breathe. I’m not using it as an excuse, but we need a rematch for City. I’ll get it out… and we’ll be ready like hot spaghetti.”

That wasn’t the only suggestion Jones had for Verzuz’s potential rematch, however. The 46-year-old also added that viewers should be able to “vote live”.

“Let’s score it like a boxing match. Let’s get the judges. let’s live it Let people vote live. Let’s do it right. Let’s really go for it.”

Lox V. Dipset Verzuz billed as “the best hip-hop moment of 2021”

The Verzuz fight between The Lox and Dipset took place on August 3, 2021 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. Lox rappers Styles P and Jadakiss received plentiful applause for their performances that night, with Jadakiss’ performance on stage being declared a “hip hop moment”.

Additionally, the fight produced endless memes, as reported by The Shade Room.

On this day last year, Jadakiss and the LOX met the Thanos snap on Dipset during Verzuz. pic.twitter.com/FRIgdpCw2W

— Malcolm from the North (@MFTNBeats) August 3, 2022

They’re still letting off memes on the #VERZUZ between Dipset and The Lox.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/u9oijABU59

— MUSICXCLUSIVES (@MusicXclusives) August 5, 2021

The battle is also considered “the best hip-hop moment of 2021”.

That Lox vs. Dipset Verzuz was the best hip-hop moment of 2021

— Kristian (@BKristian5) November 29, 2021

No matter how many times I watch it… The Lox & Dipset #VERZUZ never gets boring.

— ___D 🇯🇲 (@_Unknown_He) March 12, 2023

I often think of the fight between Dipset and Lox Verzuz.

— MARIE. (@sykesmvrie) March 6, 2023

Roommates, do you think Dipset deserves a rematch against The Lox?

Michael Jordan’s ‘Final Dance’ sneakers are up for public sale

Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals Game 2 Air Jordan 13s from The Last Dance season are expected to sell for $2/4 million.

Courtesy: Sotheby’s

An iconic pair of Air Jordan sneakers is up for sale and is expected to be the most expensive pair of sneakers ever seen at auction, with an estimated retail price of $2 million to $4 million.

Sotheby’s lists Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals Nike Air Jordan 13 as worn during the basketball legend’s final season in the NBA.

The prized sneakers were worn during Game 2 of the NBA Finals, where Jordan scored 37 points as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 93-88. After the game, Jordan autographed the sneakers and gave them to the ball boy who looked after the visitors’ locker room.

The Bulls won the 1998 NBA Finals for their sixth title of the decade.

Jordan already holds the record for the most expensive pair of sneakers at auction: in 2021, Sotheby’s sold the earliest known Michael Jordan Air Ships, also by Nike, for $1.472 million. According to Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, the latest sneakers to hit the auction block are in pristine condition, which is unusual for game-worn basketball shoes.

“Michael Jordan athletic memorabilia has consistently proven to be the most elite and coveted item on the market,” said Wachter.

He said items from Jordan’s final season are of greater value because he wore them at the height of his fame. The season recently gained an ESPN and Netflix Documentary film “The Last Dance”.

A Jordan jersey he wore in his final season recently sold for a record-breaking $10.1 million, becoming the most valuable Michael Jordan sports memorabilia ever sold.

Adding to the anticipated hype, it’s a key Jordan year on the calendar: 2023, which represents Jordan’s longtime jersey number.

Sotheby’s began selling sneakers in 2019 and formalized its streetwear and modern collectibles category in 2021. The category quickly became one of the company’s fastest-growing categories, Wachter said.

According to a Sotheby’s representative, sales in this category totaled over $48 million last year, with almost 90% of the lots sold.

“Most of our customers in this category are in their 20s to 40s, and more than 80% of the participants are new,” he said. “It was a great way to attract a new generation of collectors coming into the market.”

Bidding on the Jordan shoes begins online April 3rd and will run until April 11th as part of Sotheby’s ‘Victoriam’ sale.

Pfizer will carry Seagen’s most cancers medicine to the world on an unprecedented scale, says the CEO

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Monday the pharma giant would be able to deliver Seagens Cancer therapy in the world ‘on an unprecedented scale’ with $43 billion acquisition.

“We can add value to what Seagen is bringing,” Bourla said in a CNBC interview. “It’s more or less a situation like when mRNA was in our hands. With our scale, with our capabilities, it’s the same here.”

Seagen is a leading developer of drugs called antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, designed to kill cancer cells and spare healthy cells. ADCs use antibodies to deliver small molecule drugs directly to a tumor site, which Seagen’s website says can reduce side effects and offer greater efficacy.

Bourla called ADCs “one of the greatest technologies to fight cancer,” comparing it to the successful mRNA, or messenger RNA, technology the company helped manufacture with BioNTech for Covid-19 vaccines. mRNA technology is essentially used as a vehicle to convey instructions to cells. In Covid vaccines, mRNA technology is used to trick our immune system into making antibodies against the virus.

ADCs “are turbocharged guided missiles that attack the cancer cells and can make a big difference,” he said.

Seagen will grow Pfizer’s cancer treatment portfolio, bringing four approved cancer therapies to market with combined sales of nearly $2 billion in 2022. Seagen’s best-selling Adcetris, used to treat cancer of the lymphatic system, had sales of $839 million last year alone. That’s a 19% increase from last year, according to Seagen’s latest release.

Sales of Padcev, a drug used to treat urinary tract cancer, also rose 33% last year to $451 million, the company said.

“These drugs are on a strong growth trajectory, with significant life cycle programs expected to continue to drive impact and growth,” Bourla said in a conference call early Monday morning.

Seagen expects sales of about $2.2 billion this year, up 12% year over year, according to a press release from Pfizer. Pfizer added that Seagen could contribute more than $10 billion in risk-adjusted sales by 2030, “with potential for significant growth” beyond this year.

The deal comes as Pfizer braces for a slump in Covid-related sales this year after its vaccine and antiviral pill Paxlovid propelled its sales to a record $100 billion in 2022. It will help Pfizer sharpen its focus on oncology, an area the company believes will be the industry’s biggest growth market.

Pfizer’s oncology division had sales of $12.1 billion last year. According to the press release, the company has 24 approved treatments in the division, including breast cancer treatment Ibrance.

Pfizer expects to close the transaction later this year or in early 2024. The company also expects antitrust authorities to scrutinize the transaction given its size, but Bourla said during the interview, “We believe we have a clean case.”

“The environment is always challenging and we’re preparing for it, but I don’t expect any problems,” he added.

According to the World Health Organization, cancer was responsible for almost 10 million deaths in 2020. The American Cancer Society expects the global burden of cancer to increase significantly by 2040, with new cases projected to rise to 27.5 million and cancer deaths to 16.3 million

Bourla emphasized during the interview that the impact of cancer goes far beyond the patients themselves: “If no patients are affected, they will be affected as a husband or wife, they will be affected by daughter or son.”

He added, “With this technology in our hands, we can make a huge difference.”

Michael Cohen blasts the previous President

Michael Cohen, former attorney for former US President Donald Trump arrives at the New York Courthouse on March 13, 2023 in New York City, USA.

Eduardo Munoz | Reuters

Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified for three hours Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating the former president and will return Wednesday to answer more questions from prosecutors about a hush money payment to a porn star he made arranged for Trump.

“Michael has had a long and productive afternoon,” Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis told reporters outside Manhattan Criminal Court, NBC News reported.

Davis added that Cohen plans to return Wednesday afternoon to “complete his testimony.” The attorney declined to go into detail about what Cohen told prosecutors.

Before entering the courthouse early Monday, Cohen told reporters his “goal is to tell the truth” and not to engage in “revenge” against Trump.

“This is all about accountability. He must be held accountable for his dirty deeds,” Cohen said.

Cohen, who served as Trump’s attorney for years, paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 presidential election to conceal an alleged sexual tryst with Trump.

The Trump Organization later reimbursed him but classified the payout as legal costs. False characterization is now the focus of the criminal investigation into the former president.

CNBC Policy

Read more about CNBC’s political coverage:

  • Australia gets nuclear-powered submarines under deal with US and UK
  • Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testifies before the grand jury and beats up the ex-president
  • GOP presidential candidates blame Silicon Valley bank collapse
  • “That’s how capitalism works,” Biden says of SVB, investors in Signature Bank who have lost money at failed banks
  • DeSanti’s memoir sales in the first week far outpace the books by Trump, Pence, Clinton and Obama
  • North Carolina lawmakers step in to defend abortion pill restrictions if FDA’s power is tested
  • House Conservatives are releasing a new list of demands that could upend the debt ceiling talks
  • House of Representatives votes unanimously to release intelligence information on the origins of the Covid pandemic
  • Judge in Trump rape libel case admits Access Hollywood tape into evidence
  • Gulf cartel apologizes after Americans are kidnapped and killed in Mexico
  • Mitch McConnell suffered a concussion after a fall and will remain in hospital “a couple of days,” his office says
  • Senate confirms Daniel Werfel as IRS commissioner in bipartisan vote
  • California will not renew a $54 million deal with Walgreens over abortion pill policy
  • House Republicans are targeting the CFPB while the agency targets “junk fees.”
  • The Biden budget would cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade, with a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans
  • The Biden budget would cap monthly insulin prices for people with private insurance at $35
  • Senate confirms Daniel Werfel as IRS commissioner in bipartisan vote
  • US spymasters testify before House Intelligence Committee on global threats
  • House Democrats are fighting back against the GOP bill to scrap the IRS and introduce a national sales tax
  • US intelligence chiefs warn that Putin is becoming increasingly dependent on nuclear weapons as the war in Ukraine drags on
  • The Oklahoma Republican tells the Teamsters president to shut up in a terse exchange at the Senate hearing
  • Russia has tried to sway US elections in 2022 and will do so again, says the country’s top intelligence agency

Cohen later pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to multiple felonies, including one related to the Daniels payoff. He has been an outspoken critic of Trump ever since.

Trump declined an offer to testify before the grand jury investigating him, his attorney said Monday.

Such an offer is common just before prosecutors file charges against those who have extended the chance to testify.

Trump has denied having sex with Daniels and condemned the probe into the payout. The investigation is being conducted by the Manhattan Attorney’s Office.

In a post on his social media page over the weekend, Trump said the late former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau would “turn in his grave if told that his office was even considering indicting the 45th… leading Republican contender for the 2024 nomination.”

Trump called the case a “scam” spearheaded by Daniels, Cohen and Daniel’s ex-attorney Michael Avenatti, who is serving a federal sentence for cheating clients.

How Chris Rock celebrated the Oscars 2023 far-off from Hollywood

From the Dolby Theater to Miami, Hollywood’s biggest stars are sure to have had a rocking Sunday night.

One year later Chris Rock served as a presenter at the 2022 Oscars – and was punched by an attendee Will Smith— the comedian decided to stay far away from the awards ceremony venue. Instead, he made an unexpected appearance at a viewing party across the country.

Chris surprised his fellow comedian Whitney Cummings when she hosted a watch party with Vanity Fair and Xeomin at the Four Seasons Hotel in Surfside, Fla. on March 12.

And according to video captured by an attendee, Whitney was completely shocked by the visitor. “What the hell?” She said. “Chris Rock is in the damn building!”

Instead of getting the red carpet ready, Chris kept things casual in a white t-shirt, baseball cap, black pants and a pair of headphones around his neck. As for Whitney, she celebrated Hollywood’s glamorous night at the 305 with a red hot dress.

While it’s unclear how much of the show Chris actually watched at the party, viewers across the country witnessed the host Jimmy Kimmel repeatedly address the now infamous confrontation on stage.