Biden visits Northern Eire as political tensions linger

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his economic priorities at a Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) training center in DeForest, Wisconsin, the United States, on February 8, 2023.

Jonathan Ernest | Reuters

US President Joe Biden arrives in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement – a landmark peace accord that effectively ended decades of sectarian conflict.

Biden is welcomed off the plane by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday night to begin a four-day visit to the island of Ireland. He is due to deliver a speech in Northern Ireland on Wednesday before traveling south of the border to the Republic of Ireland, where he will remain until Friday.

The President’s visit comes against a feverish political backdrop. The Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature set up under the Good Friday Agreement, has been suspended since February 2022 as union parties refuse to take their seats in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol.

A key tenet of the post-Brexit Withdrawal Agreement signed between the United Kingdom and the European Union during the tenure of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the protocol effectively established a trade border in the Irish Sea between Britain and Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK while the Republic of Ireland is a separate nation state that remains part of the EU. The Good Friday Agreement created a decentralized power-sharing administration in Northern Ireland, ending three decades of violence between largely Catholic Irish republicans wanting a united Ireland and predominantly Protestant pro-British trade unionists wanting to remain part of the UK

DERRY/LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND – 10 April 2023: Derry hosts annual parades by dissident republican groups marking the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, the armed uprising against British rule in Ireland which catalysed the creation of an independent state of Ireland.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently signed the Windsor Framework, a renegotiated agreement designed to address issues with the protocol. But the prominent pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party rejected the proposals and has yet to return to the Stormont gathering.

Theresa Villiers, former British Foreign Secretary for Northern Ireland between 2012 and 2016, told CNBC on Tuesday that further changes to the Windsor Framework were needed.

“While it’s positive in many ways – particularly when it comes to transporting food and medicine between the UK and Northern Ireland, it really removes a lot of the friction – but it doesn’t address all the problems of the Northern Ireland Protocol so I feel I’m afraid it’s an unfinished business.” Villiers told CNBC’s Tania Bryer.

“Continuing negotiations with the EU to resolve these issues is the best way to bring unionists back into government and get the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement working again.”

restlessness

Unionist dissatisfaction with the Northern Ireland Protocol has sparked unrest in recent years, but political unrest continues to erupt on both sides of the traditional divide.

Annual parades held over the weekend by dissident Irish Republican groups in the border town of Derry – long a flashpoint for sectarian violence – also resulted in police cars being bombed with petrol.

The parades were held to mark the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising – the armed rebellion against British rule in Ireland that paved the way for Irish independence.

DERRY/LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND, UK – April 10, 2023: Dissident Republican youth set up a roadblock following an illegal dissident march in the Creggan area of ​​Derry.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Sections of the dissident Republican movement remain opposed to the Good Friday Agreement and its compromises to this day, although many of the current rioters were born after the agreement was signed.

Villiers noted that the riots over the weekend appeared to be “pre-planned” and aimed at “appears” and “attention”, while the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s population is committed to a peaceful and democratic future.

Fringe dissident groups have increasingly attracted disaffected young people to militant causes in recent years – a development of concern to politicians and public institutions.

The flare-up underscores the simmering generational resentments that can still be ignited in Northern Ireland, particularly during the April-July period when both nationalist and unionist communities hold politically charged demonstrations.

The political impasse was centered in Brussels, not Washington

The Good Friday Agreement was signed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and then Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern on 10 April 1998 after 71% of Northern voters and 94% of Republic voters approved the proposals, the compromises resulting from years of arduous negotiations .

The accord ended three decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles, which claimed more than 3,000 lives. It brought together nationalist and unionist parties in Stormont, near Belfast, to share power through devolved government.

DERRY/LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND – April 10, 2023: A police vehicle is attacked with petrol bombs during an illegal dissident march in the Creggan area.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Former US President Bill Clinton is credited with playing a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process, with the Good Friday Agreement cited as one of his government’s greatest foreign policy achievements. Clinton was the first sitting US President to visit Northern Ireland and the first to appoint a US special envoy to the region. Since then, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have visited the city, while Clinton was bestowed the city of Belfast’s freedom in 2018.

The Biden administration has long sought to highlight both the president’s Irish roots and the historical ties between the island and large swathes of the American population. However, the influence of Irish-American culture has often prompted skepticism from unionists in Belfast, who view Washington as vulnerable to nationalist influence.

Although Biden is expected to use the trip to encourage a return to a functioning government in Stormont, his previous support for the Northern Ireland Protocol has drawn criticism from DUP politicians.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – APRIL 10, 2018: Former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President Bill Clinton at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images

“Of course, I think Bill Clinton was a really positive influence on the peace process that led to the Good Friday Agreement, but ultimately President Biden’s presence isn’t going to change the fundamentals that we talked about. Unfortunately, these deadlocks on the decentralized institutions relate more to Brussels than to Washington,” Villiers said on Tuesday.

Sunak hopes the President’s visit will help promote the Windsor Framework, an achievement the ruling Conservative Party plans to tout in next year’s UK general election. The Prime Minister will also hold an investment conference in Belfast in September.

“One of the benefits of President Biden’s visit is to highlight what an amazing place Northern Ireland is not just to live in but to do business and invest in and there has been a tremendous track record of many big US companies with big Offices in Northern Ireland. I hope that will only get stronger in the future,” said Villiers.

Texas mifepristone order threatens entry

Assistant Attorney for First Liberty Institute Matthew Kacsmaryk answers questions during his nomination hearing by the US Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, December 13, 2017, in a still from video.

Reuters

Attorneys general of nearly half of U.S. states warn in a new court filing that a federal judge’s decision to suspend the 23-year-old Food and Drug Administration approval of mifepristone across the country “poses devastating risks to millions of people.” including those in states where abortion remains legal.

Attorneys general, in their filing filed Monday, asked the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to keep mifepristone on the market while a legal battle over the legality of the abortion pill unfolded.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the US District Court in Amarillo, Texas, effectively revoked the FDA approval of mifepristone on Friday.

But he put his decision on hold for a week to give the Biden administration time to appeal.

Kacsmaryk’s decision will go into effect at 12:00 a.m. CT Saturday if the 5th Circuit does not stop it.

In their filing Monday, the Attorneys General for 23 states and the District of Columbia condemned Kacsmaryk’s ruling as “legally flawed” and warned it would undermine the FDA’s approval process.

Attorneys general argued that Kacsmaryk’s order violated “states’ sovereign decisions” to protect access to abortion following last summer’s Supreme Court decision, Roe v federal constitutional rights to abortion.

Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, is the most common method of terminating a pregnancy in the United States, accounting for about half of all abortions.

The Attorneys General cited this fact in their brief.

“Since medical abortion is the most common method used to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester, limiting access to this method will result in more abortions occurring later in pregnancy, further increasing costs and medical risks,” wrote the Attorney General.

The Justice Department on Monday asked the 5th Circuit to rule on its request to halt Kacsmaryk’s decision by Thursday noon “to allow the government to seek redress from the Supreme Court if necessary.”

Danco Laboratories, the distributor of mifepristone, has also asked the Court of Appeals to stay Kacsmaryk’s decision for at least 14 days to allow the company to “seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court.”

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There is significant uncertainty as to how Kacsmaryk’s decision will affect the legality of mifepristone unless his decision is blocked by the 5th Circuit Court or the Supreme Court.

Just 20 minutes after Kacsymaryk issued his ruling Friday, another federal judge, Thomas Rice of the Eastern District of Washington, barred the FDA from “the status quo and rights regarding the availability of mifepristone” in the District of Columbia and 17 to change states that had sued to keep the drug on the market in their jurisdictions.

The Justice Department has asked Rice to clarify how the FDA should respond to its decision if Kacsmaryk’s decision goes into effect, noting that Washington State’s decision appears to have “significant tension” with Kacsmaryk’s decision.

The DOJ requested Rice to respond to that request by Friday.

Kacsmaryk’s decision does not affect the availability of misoprostol, which the World Health Organization recommends as a standalone abortion drug.

States like California are stockpiling misoprostol in case Kacsmaryk’s decision goes into effect.

In addition to the District of Columbia, the states that submitted Monday’s brief to the 5th Circuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey and New Mexico , New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Nonprofits Should Consider When Creating an Investment Account

Nonprofit organizations have an important role to play in the social and economic wellbeing of the world. For-profit institutions have common functions and can use any surplus capital to pay out dividends to stockholders or re-invest into growth efforts for the company.

Nonprofits differ in the fact that their bottom line cannot be as straightforward as for-profit businesses due to the concept of restricted funds. Restricted funds represent funds that have been committed for a certain use or have a time restriction in place for use.

If your nonprofit is lucky enough to be in a position that leaves you with surplus capital beyond your typical reserves, you may be in a position to establish an investment account for the organization. Typically, surplus capital is realized when the nonprofit has expenses and expenditures for the next 12 to 24 months of operation.

The difficult task in setting up an investment account for a nonprofit is simply acquiring the surplus funds to do so. Once you have eliminated that hurdle, the next steps include finding a firm and an investment policy to adhere to.

You will want to find an advisory firm that will act in a fiduciary capacity to help grow assets for the future of the nonprofit. The most common way to go about finding the right investment firm would be to distribute a Request for Proposal, or RFP. 

Generally, there are a few important factors to consider when soliciting an RFP.

Investment Firm’s History

The history of a firm can tell you a lot about the type of business they handle and how successful they have been. Ideally, you will want to find a firm with a history of working with nonprofit organizations. Oftentimes nonprofits will have different goals for their investment portfolio than an individual or a for-profit business. Finding a firm with a history of working with nonprofit organizations can help ensure they understand and align with your goals.

The client base of the firm in question also gives insight into the type of work they do. Ask the firm for a description of their client base that includes the number of nonprofits they currently work with, the length of their service, and the range of asset values of their nonprofit clients.

You will also want to request client references from a few of their nonprofit clients. With this you can reach out to other organizations and inquire into the professionalism or responsiveness of the firm in question.

Ask the firm if they have registered with the SEC or state securities regulator. You will need to identify their disclosures and licenses to ensure they are credentialed to provide the services you seek.

Investment Process

Now that you have some background on the firm you will want to identify their processes for investment selection. Gain an overview of their strategies by inquiring into their investment philosophy and process for analyzing your portfolio structure. Also important to note is their process for recommending modifications and how active their management is for the portfolio.

Another key factor to consider is the working behind the scenes. Inquire into the number of analysts the firm has on staff, if any. Analysts help the firm research strategies and investments as well as evaluating the performance of a portfolio.

Along with the concept of research and development is their process for making projections and future outlooks. Inquire into their capital market and economic outlook processes and determine how that information will be used in your nonprofit’s investment strategy.

Overall, you want a firm that will assist your organization’s finance committee in meeting their responsibilities. The firm should review and provide recommendations on the investment policies enacted by the organizations investment or finance committee to meet fiduciary responsibilities.

Service Structure

Hiring an investment firm is an asset for many nonprofits. Advisors can be a haven for financial advice that can help determine both long term and short term strategies to promote growth within an organization. For this reason, you will want to be aware of and develop a relationship with the primary point of contact or contacts.

You will also want to learn about any other additional support professionals the firm can offer you. Furthermore, the firm you search for should be registered as an investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Without this registration, the firm will not have the ability to provide certain fiduciary services.

Reporting

An investment portfolio is only useful if the nonprofit leaders have an understanding of its outlook, performance, and key areas of concern or growth. This will come down to the reporting of the firm in question.

You will want to know the firm’s process for preparing and providing performance measurement reports. Inquiry into whether the software the firm uses is their own or provided by an outside third party.

Firms establish certain benchmarks of performance or development as well as a strategy for comparing similar portfolios and their success. Understanding the processes the firm uses for these metrics is important as well. Request sample copy of portfolio reports that would typically be relayed to the nonprofit to gain a better grasp on what the relationship would look like if it was explored.

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Fees and Costs

The idea of hidden fees should not exist when you are looking to onboard an investment firm for your nonprofit. The firm should be open and willing to describe their fee structure and services. Typically, this should include a breakdown of all fees and all various forms of compensation paid between the nonprofit and all the firms utilized.

Fees could include but are not limited to transaction fees, license fees, management fees, distribution fees, or any other expenses charged by various funds, investment managers, or investment firms.

Another key fee to note is a minimum fee. Some firms require a minimum fee for a partnership while others do not. Furthermore, certain fees may apply that are not directly related to management services. Inquire into any fees as a result of services related to preparing policies, asset allocation analysis, or conducting manager searches.

Again, when your nonprofit is looking for a relationship with an investment firm there should be no such thing as hidden fees.

Finding the Perfect Match

There are a plethora of factors to consider when looking for an investment firm for your nonprofit, and for good reason. For a nonprofit to be in a position to have an investment account they must have thrived in the past to realize a surplus of capital.

For many nonprofits, the goals of the organization are geared towards helping others, making it crucial to partner with a firm that will hold your values close while actively looking for ways to expand your portfolio.

The undertaking of financial planning for a non-profit organization is often an incredibly complex and daunting one to take on yourself. Having financial knowledge alone is not going to be enough, as access to professional services and guidance is invaluable. This is exactly what Fragasso Financial Advisors offers – a Pittsburgh-based wealth management firm, they will help you in the process of creating your RFP, as well as advise you every step of the way. To kickstart the process, check out their blog post entitled “Five Questions a Non-Profit Should Ask When Soliciting a Request for Proposal” for some great advice. Their team of nonprofit investment professionals are ready to help with every aspect along the way.

Investment advice offered by investment advisor representatives through Fragasso Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor.

DOJ asks judges to make clear court docket rulings

In this 2018 photo, mifepristone and misoprostol pills are provided at a Carafem medical abortion clinic in Skokie, Illinois.

Erin Hooley | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

The Biden administration on Monday asked a federal judge to clarify how to respond to his order to keep the abortion pill mifepristone on the market in more than a dozen states in the event another judge contradictingly rules the Food and Drug’s approval Administration suspending medications will take effect later this week.

US District Judge Thomas Rice of the US Eastern District of Washington on Friday barred the FDA from “changing the status quo and rights regarding the availability of mifepristone” in the 17 states and the District of Columbia that had sued to order to keep the drug in the local market.

Rice’s decision came just 20 minutes after US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the US Northern District of Texas suspended the FDA’s statewide approval of mifepristone. The Justice Department on Monday asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the effectiveness of Kacsmaryk’s decision while the lawsuit unfolds. Government lawyers said they could ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

The Justice Department asked Rice to clarify his obligations regarding the legality of mifepristone by Friday. Kacsmaryk’s decision will go into effect at midnight CT Saturday if the 5th Circuit does not block the Texas order.

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“If the Texas District Court order goes into effect, the order would — on its own merit and without further action by the FDA — nullify the effectiveness of the FDA’s prior approvals for mifepristone nationwide,” Justice Department attorneys told Rice in one court record.

“The outcome of this order appears to be in material conflict with the order of this court prohibiting the FDA from altering the status quo and rights regarding the availability of mifepristone in plaintiffs’ states,” DOJ attorneys said.

Rice’s decision applies to Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Washington State and DC

In a statement Friday, the Democratic Attorney General, who filed the suit in Washington state, said Rice’s decision “will secure access to mifepristone for millions of Americans.” But they also said “there are still unknown elements and implications” of Washington State and Texas’ dueling decisions.

Democratic lawmakers like Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said Kacsmaryk’s ruling had no legal basis and urged the FDA to simply ignore it.

Asked by CNN on Sunday whether he would order the FDA to ignore the judge’s order, US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “Everything is on the table.”

The shooter within the Louisville Financial institution taking pictures was an worker

UPDATE: Gunman identified as employee in Louisville bank shooting

The shooter in the mass shooting at the Louisville bank Monday morning has been confirmed to be a 23-year-old employee. Connor Sturgeon reportedly opened fire at the Old National Bank at around 8:30 am on April 10.

Interim Police Chief of the Lousiville Metro JAcquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel has confirmed that four people died along with the shooter. The number of injured rose to nine, with three people reportedly in critical condition, three in non-critical condition and three already discharged. Two of the nine were emergency workers.

Sturgeon died while exchanging gunfire with responding officers.

These are the stories the suspect, 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, released just before he opened fire at the Old National Bank this morning. LMPD says he also streamed live during filming. @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/38pOdgBv4R

— Christie Battista WDRB (@CBattistaTV) April 10, 2023

Police identified the victims as Joshua Barrick; Julian Bauer; Tommy Elliott; And James Tutall between 40 and 64 years old.

What you should know about the Louisville bank shooting

VIDEO: Five dead, including suspects, and at least eight injured in Louisville Bank incident

Washington Commanders settles NFL ticket deposit abuse claims

A detailed view of the new Washington Commanders uniforms following the announcement of the Washington Football Team’s name change to Washington Commanders at FedExField on February 2, 2022 in Landover, Maryland.

Rob Carr | Getty Images

The NFL’s Washington Commanders will pay $625,000 to settle allegations by the Washington, DC Attorney General that the organization failed to return fans’ ticket deposits, the AG’s office announced Monday.

Former DC Attorney General Karl Racine sued the Commanders in November, alleging that the team cheated local residents out of their deposits collected from season ticket holders and used the money for its own ends. The lawsuit also alleged that the team “deliberately complicated the returns process by imposing additional, onerous conditions that were not previously adequately disclosed.”

Racine claimed the Commanders had been selling premium seat tickets to DC fans since 1996, sometimes requiring a deposit. While the team promised ticketholders they would get their deposits back within 30 days of the expiration of the contracts, Racine claimed the team pocketed and spent the money at times for over a decade.

A spokesman for Commanders said in a statement the team has not collected bail for more than a decade and has been “actively working to return all remaining bail since 2014.”

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the DC Attorney General on this matter and will be working with the office to fulfill our obligations to our fans,” the spokesperson said.

The team denied any wrongdoing in settling the claims.

Under the settlement agreement, the Commanders will pay more than $200,000 to affected fans, as well as $425,000 to the district for “reimbursement, attorneys’ fees, costs related to the investigation and contributions to the district’s litigation assistance fund,” a release said from the office of Brian Schwalb, the current AG.

The agreement requires commanders to conduct a public search for affected fans and attempt to notify them through various means, including phone calls and emails. The team must also make the refund process prominently visible on its website and provide “regular reports” to the attorney general’s office documenting its attempts to return the money.

In a statement related to the settlement agreement, Schwalb said his office will “closely monitor the commanders” to ensure fans are properly reimbursed the full refund they are entitled to.

“Our office takes seriously the obligation to enforce DC’s consumer protection laws by holding accountable anyone who attempts to exploit the district’s consumers,” he added.

Commanders have been hit with several allegations of misconduct from the team’s front office in recent years. In 2022, a House Oversight and Reform Committee report said the NFL and Commanders had misled the public about an investigation into the team’s long-standing workplace misconduct.

Jim Jordan involves New York to intervene in Trump’s prison case

The real purpose of the Jim Jordan House Judiciary Committee hearing in New York is to meddle in Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump.

Here is the announcement of the hearing:

pic.twitter.com/0ac75MLdO6

— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) April 10, 2023

It’s obvious that the purpose of this hearing is for Jim Jordon and his third-rate Republican circus to come to New York City to soil the jury. The goal is to reinforce the claim that Trump cannot get a fair trial in Manhattan, so the case must be moved to a Republican area like Long Island.

House Republicans have no jurisdiction over Alvin Bragg or what happens in the Manhattan Attorney’s office. The hearing is a blatant attempt to interfere in Trump’s criminal proceedings.

Since Jordan’s hearing has no legislative purpose, Republicans are not hiding the fact that they are coming to town to attack Alvin Bragg.

If the New York hearing is like any of the other hearings Jordan has chaired, it will be a ridiculous spectacle that will make a huge bang and be quickly forgotten.

Interfering with a criminal investigation into a corrupt ex-president is apparently what Republicans mean when they talk about law and order.

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

Johnson & Johnson shares surge after Speak’s settlement supply

A bottle of Johnson & Johnson baby powder is displayed on a table in this photo illustration on November 12, 2021 in San Anselmo, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Johnson&Johnson Shares rose Wednesday after the company proposed paying $8.9 billion to settle thousands of claims that its baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

More than 60,000 applicants have pledged to support the proposed order, which would require bankruptcy court approval, the company said in a securities filing late Tuesday.

J&J stock closed nearly 4.5% higher on Wednesday. The company’s market value is more than 430 billion US dollars.

The pharma giant also said its subsidiary LTL Management had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again after its first attempt faced legal challenges. The subsidiary is shouldering tens of thousands of talc claims to reduce J&J’s litigation and settlement losses.

Some attorneys representing plaintiffs in the Talk lawsuits called J&J’s proposal a “significant victory” in a legal battle that has spanned more than a decade.

On Wall Street, some analysts were also encouraged by J&J’s move, despite uncertainty over the proposal’s ultimate outcome.

JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott described the proposed settlement in a note Thursday as positive for the company. He said the bank viewed ongoing Talk headlines as the “larger backlog” for the company compared to an actual comparable.

The proposed $8.9 billion settlement also matches JPMorgan’s estimate of $8 billion to $10 billion, Schott noted.

A note Thursday from Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn was similarly supportive of J&J’s move. But Flynn said he’s awaiting clarity on how the 60,000 plaintiffs relate to the 40,300 plaintiffs cited in J&J’s most recent 10-K filing and the approximately 37,500 pending lawsuits in the company’s Talk cases.

It’s also unclear whether the proposed settlement will be approved in the bankruptcy court, Bank of America analyst Geoff Meacham noted Thursday. Meacham highlighted J&J’s legal issues surrounding LTL Management’s bankruptcy filing.

A judge confirmed J&J’s ability to employ the Chapter 11 strategy in February 2022. But the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reversed the ruling in January this year, saying neither LTL nor J&J had a legitimate need for bankruptcy protection because they were not in “financial distress.”

Bernstein analyst Lee Hambright acknowledged that there were “many issues” to resolve if J&J settled Talk’s liability in bankruptcy court. But he added that the firm believes “this is a creative approach that could actually work.”

Clarence Thomas took GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow on secret luxurious journeys: report

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during the formal group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, U.S. on Friday, October 7, 2022.

Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted secret luxury trips from Republican mega-spender Harlan Crow for more than two decades in apparent violation of a financial disclosure law, a ProPublica report revealed Thursday.

Thomas has vacationed on Crow’s 162-foot superyacht, flown on the real estate developer’s private jet and spent time at the GOP donor’s private resort and other exclusive retreats, ProPublica reported, citing documents and dozens of interviews.

Thomas, the 74-year-old conservative justice who has served on the country’s top court since 1991, did not report the trips to his financial statements as required by law, the nonprofit newsroom reported.

The probe offers more fuel for Thomas’s critics, who say his refusal to back down from cases related to issues related to his wife’s political work in conservative circles – including her involvement in plans to overthrow the election of 2020 – constitutes a conflict of interest.

Ethics experts and former judges interviewed by ProPublica were incredulous. Thomas “appears to have completely disregarded his higher ethical obligations,” Virginia Canter, chief ethicist for watchdog group CREW, told the outlet.

“When a judge’s lifestyle is subsidized by the rich and famous, it undermines public confidence,” Canter said.

Supreme Court spokesmen and Crow did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the investigation.

Harlan Crow, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Crow Holdings LLC sits for a photo at the offices of the Old Parkland Estate in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, October 2, 2015.

Chris Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a statement to ProPublica, Crow said, “The hospitality we have shown to the Thomas’s over the years is no different than the hospitality we have shown to our many other dear friends.”

Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas “never asked for any of the gifts,” nor for any of the contributions the Crows have made to projects celebrating the “life and legacy” of Justice, the mega-donor said. Crow added that he and his wife “never asked about any pending or lower court case, and Judge Thomas never discussed any, and we never attempted to influence Judge Thomas on any legal or political matter.”

Crow, a Texas real estate magnate, befriended Thomas after he joined the Supreme Court. He has given more than $10 million in publicly disclosed political donations and undisclosed amounts to groups that are not required to disclose their donors, ProPublica reported.

Thomas typically spends about a week each summer at Topridge, Crow’s private lakeside resort in the Adirondacks, and flight records show he has used Crow’s plane numerous times, according to the news outlet.

In 2019, shortly after the court delivered its final tenure verdict, Clarence and Ginni Thomas took off on Crow’s private jet for a nine-day vacation in Indonesia aboard the donor’s yacht — a trip that cost more than $500,000, according to ProPublica cost.

The report also cited records showing that during a July 2017 trip, Thomas had been with Topridge at the same time as key GOP donors, corporate executives and a director of the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

A painting hanging at the lakeside resort shows Thomas and Crow smoking cigars and chatting with conservative figures, the report said. These include Leonard Leo, the influential leader of the Federalist Society, who is credited with helping former President Donald Trump select his judge nominations and shift federal courts to the right.

Crow claimed in his statement that he “was not aware that any of our friends ever lobbied or attempted to influence Judge Thomas on any matter.”

Supreme Court justices are subject to fewer ethical constraints than the lower echelons of the judiciary. Some groups have called for a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

But judges are still making financial disclosures, and experts say they must disclose any gifts worth more than $415. While there are exceptions to this requirement, transportation is not one of them.

“Where Judge Thomas has been granted free travel on private planes and yachts, failure to report the gifts constitutes a violation of the Disclosure Act,” Kedric Payne, senior ethics director for the Campaign Legal Center, told the outlet.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., later Thursday morning called for an “enforceable code of conduct” for Supreme Court justices as he slammed Thomas over the reported clandestine travel.

“The highest court in the country shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards,” Durbin said in response to the report. “This behavior is simply not consistent with the ethical standards that the American people expect of any government official, let alone a Supreme Court judge.”

Read ProPublica’s full report.

Gavin Rossdale’s daughter Daisy Lowe welcomes first child

Gavin Rossdale is now grandfather than that bush Rocker’s daughter Daisy lion gave birth to her first child.

On April 9, Easter Sunday, the 34-year-old and fiancé got married Jordan Saul announced that they have welcomed a baby girl.

“Our Easter egg finally hatched,” the model wrote on Instagram. “Ivy loves Saul You made all my dreams come true – our dream woman. I have never experienced happiness or love like this. I can’t stop crying with joy.”

Her fiancé also took to his Instagram to celebrate the news, writing, “Welcome to the [world] Ivy loves Saul.” Both Jordan and Daisy paired their sweet messages with a photo of them lovingly gazing at their newborn.

The arrival of the little ones comes after Daisy, whose mother is a fashion designer pearl lionShe announced that she and Jordan would be expanding their family in October.

“I wanted to share some news with you,” Daisy began her Instagram post. “Jordan and I are having a baby. We are bursting at the seams with happiness.