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Santos was paid for work at company accused of Ponzi scheme later than previously known

Santos was paid for work at company accused of Ponzi scheme later than previously known

The Washington Post reports: Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who has admitted to fabricating key details of his biography, received payments as recently as April 2021 from a financial services company accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of a “classic Ponzi scheme,” according to a court-appointed lawyer reviewing the firm’s assets. Santos did not divulge any income from the company, Florida-based Harbor City Capital, on a financial disclosure form required of all federal candidates. The payments the lawyer described to…

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Music: Jeff Beck, ‘one of one,’ 1944-2023

Music: Jeff Beck, ‘one of one,’ 1944-2023

    Alexis Petridis writes: the phrase “guitarist’s guitarist” might have been invented for him. His influence spanned generations. Brian May, David Gilmour, Slash and The Edge all attested to being inspired by Beck. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett claimed he learned guitar by playing along to the Jeff Beck Group’s Let Me Love You. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante recalled listening to Truth as a kid and marvelling at Beck “pulling all these sounds out of the guitar ……

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Relentless rise of ocean heat content drives deadly extremes

Relentless rise of ocean heat content drives deadly extremes

Inside Climate News reports: Ocean heat content reached a new record high for the fourth year in a row, scientists said Wednesday as they released their annual measurements of ocean heat accumulating down to a depth of more than a mile. The findings published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science show that just in the past year, the planet’s seas absorbed about 10 Zetta joules of heat—equivalent to 100 times the world’s total annual electricity production. The scientists found…

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Santos refuses to resign amid calls from local New York GOP

Santos refuses to resign amid calls from local New York GOP

Politico reports: Rep. George Santos refused to resign Wednesday despite a parade of Republican Nassau County officials demanding he step down. Officials from across Santos’ Long Island district and beyond gathered at the headquarters of the Nassau County Republican Committee to offer biting critiques of the newly sworn-in Republican. Critically, they pledged to cut Santos’ local support system off at the knees after he fabricated much of his resume and backstory during a successful Congressional campaign last year. Santos “is…

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The special counsel investigating Trump faces headwinds few others have

The special counsel investigating Trump faces headwinds few others have

The New York Times reports: Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to investigate former President Donald J. Trump, was already working 12-hour days before moving from his home in The Hague to Washington for a new job and an uncertain future. The actions Mr. Smith has taken since he began in November suggest a prosecutor on the move to resolve concurrent investigations into Mr. Trump’s retention of government documents and his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the…

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To defeat Trumpism, stop letting MAGA stunts drive the debate

To defeat Trumpism, stop letting MAGA stunts drive the debate

Greg Sargent writes: When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent planeloads of migrants to Massachusetts in the fall, it received an extraordinary amount of coverage. Though that stunt said nothing about how to fix our immigration system, DeSantis amplified a message nationally that painted asylum seekers as a dangerous, unmanageable threat — and himself as a disciplinarian determined to get the southern border under control. Now, with the focus intensifying on this matter — President Biden is discussing border security with…

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‘General Armageddon’ removed as commander of Ukraine invasion force

‘General Armageddon’ removed as commander of Ukraine invasion force

BBC News reports: President Vladimir Putin has removed Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, just three months after he was installed. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will now lead what Mr Putin terms a “special military operation”. Gen Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin who has overseen recent brutal attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The reshuffle comes as Russians claim they are making progress in eastern Ukraine after suffering a series of military defeats in recent months. Russia launched its invasion…

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Iran says face recognition will identify women breaking hijab laws

Iran says face recognition will identify women breaking hijab laws

Wired reports: Last month, a young woman went to work at Sarzamineh Shadi, or Land of Happiness, an indoor amusement park east of Iran’s capital, Tehran. After a photo of her without a hijab circulated on social media, the amusement park was closed, according to multiple accounts in Iranian media. Prosecutors in Tehran have reportedly opened an investigation. Shuttering a business to force compliance with Iran’s strict laws for women’s dress is a familiar tactic to Shaparak Shajarizadeh. She stopped…

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Using physics to describe how tiny biological components give rise to living organisms

Using physics to describe how tiny biological components give rise to living organisms

Charlie Wood writes: In a sunny lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, two starfish fought over their prey. Overlapping arms pinned a hunk of thawing cocktail shrimp against the side of the tank. Thousands of suction cups rippled furiously against the glass as each echinoderm struggled to inch the prize toward its own maw. The physicist Nikta Fakhri looked on with a grin. Not many physicists keep ocean life in their labs, but Fakhri has learned to care for…

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How Senator J.D. Vance positioned himself as a representative of people he despises

How Senator J.D. Vance positioned himself as a representative of people he despises

Meredith McCarroll writes: J.D. Vance, a venture capitalist and author of the runaway bestseller and cultural sensation “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” took a seat in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 3, representing the state of Ohio. What can his rise tell us about America’s relationship with whiteness, the power of narrative and the utility of poverty for a politician? The writer Ta-Nehisi Coates warned: “It is often said that [former President Donald] Trump…

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Divided House approves GOP inquiry into the ‘weaponization’ of government

Divided House approves GOP inquiry into the ‘weaponization’ of government

The New York Times reports: A divided House voted on Tuesday to launch a wide-ranging investigation into federal law enforcement and national security agencies, as Republicans promised to use their new power in Congress to scrutinize what they said was a concerted effort by the government to silence and punish conservatives at all levels, from protesters at school board meetings to former President Donald J. Trump. On a party-line vote of 221-211 with all Democrats opposed, the House approved the…

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McCarthy’s murky deal with the hard right

McCarthy’s murky deal with the hard right

Aaron Blake writes: When House Republicans on Monday night passed the rules that would govern the chamber for the next two years, Speaker Kevin McCarthy hailed the supposed win for transparency. As chair of @RulesReps, @TomColeOK04 is boldly leading the shift from the centralized power of the past and returning to regular order that empowers the American public. Republicans are keeping our commitment to make Congress more open, accountable, and responsive to you. pic.twitter.com/wk4UGgqxuJ — Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) January 10,…

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House Republicans debate George Santos’ fate

House Republicans debate George Santos’ fate

Politico reports: House Republicans know George Santos is a problem. They’re just not sure what to do about him yet. The New York Republican landed on the Hill for his first term last week with a reputation marred by multiple public falsehoods about his past — behavior that conflicts with his party’s vocal campaign pledges to step up accountability and transparency, particularly among government officials. The GOP conference is now deliberating over how to handle a member who’s been publicly…

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Biden and Trump’s classified doc scandals are worlds apart

Biden and Trump’s classified doc scandals are worlds apart

Shan Wu writes: The early facts we know from the discovery of “several classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president” by Biden’s lawyers while packing up his former office at the Penn Biden Center show very little similarity to the discovery and recovery of hundreds of classified documents found to have been kept by former President Donald Trump at his personal residence in Mar-a-Lago. The immediate and transparent actions by Biden’s lawyers make the likelihood of any…

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Longtime Trump CFO Weisselberg expected to be jailed in New York’s notorious Rikers Island

Longtime Trump CFO Weisselberg expected to be jailed in New York’s notorious Rikers Island

Reuters reports: Allen Weisselberg, a longtime executive for Donald Trump who served as the star prosecution witness in the criminal trial of the former president’s real estate company, was sentenced on Tuesday to five months behind bars for helping engineer a 15-year tax fraud scheme at the Trump Organization. Weisselberg, 75, is expected to be sent to New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail. The Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer pleaded guilty in August, admitting that from 2005 to 2017…

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