| A criminal case has been opened in Antwerp Criminal Court against three Belgian companies that allegedly sent 96 tons of isopropanol, a precursor to the chemical weapon sarin, to Syria between 2014 and 2016, according to a Bellingcat investigation. Belgian authorities say the companies in question did not submit “appropriate permits” to customs officials, and the “established facts were the subject of a criminal investigation.” The prosecution began in late March, the citizen-journalist watchdog site reported. AAE Chemie, Anex Customs, and Danmar Logistics have all said they were “not aware that export licenses were compulsory for exports of chemicals to Syria,” and claim they have been going without licenses for more than a decade. They also say Belgian customs officials “never refused any of the exports.” The customs office says it only realized the licenses were not submitted after the shipments were already exported. The opening session of the case is scheduled for May 15. |
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| A former FBI Special Agent pleaded guilty to sharing classified documents with a reporter to outline how the bureau “evaluated confidential sources” and regarding “threats posed by certain individuals from a particular Middle Eastern country,” The New York Times reported. Terry J. Albury worked out of the Minneapolis field office as a liaison with Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at the time of the disclosures. He shared “secret”-level documents to a reporter between the beginning of 2016 through August 2017, according to court documents. While the Justice Department release does not disclose the media outlet ti which Albury leaked, a report from The Intercept matches the subject matter and dated document that Albury is known to have disclosed. He pleaded guilty to one count of “unauthorized disclosure of national defense information” and another count of “unlawful retention of national defense information.” He faces as much as 10 years in prison per count. |
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| Puerto Rico was without electricity on Wednesday after an island-wide blackout, according to CBS News. The power loss is the largest blackout to affect the U.S. territory since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September. The Electric Power Authority said electricity may not be restored to over 1.4. million customers for 24 to 36 hours. The organization is investigating the incident. Power will be restored to hospitals, airports, and gas stations first, while electricity in homes will be the lowest priority. Over 40,000 people have gone without normal electricity since the Category 4 storm struck the island seven months ago. |
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| Three “militiamen” were found guilty Wednesday of plotting to kill Somali refugees who lived in a Garden City, Kansas, apartment complex, according to The New York Times. Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright, and Curtis Allen all face life sentences. “These defendants conspired to build a bomb, blow up a building and murder every single man, woman and child inside,” federal prosecutor Tony Mattivi said in his closing statements. For months, an FBI agent went undercover with a militia group the trio allegedly belonged to, and obtained recordings from the members—who often called Muslims “cockroaches,” prosecutors said. The men started to obtain materials to make explosives, while recordings revealed that they planned “to detonate bombs at the apartment complex in November 2016,” according to prosecutors. They planned their attack to coincide with Muslim prayer times to maximize the amount of people injured and killed. |
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| Nothing in the audiophile's world really compares to the sound of true vinyl – but admittedly, it's not as convenient as being able to listen to music digitally. In the past few years, there’s been a convergence of these two worlds. All-in-one turntables have emerged that not only play your classic records with total fidelity, but also let you convert them into digital files for more convenient listening. This conversion turntable with stereo speakers is a great option that preserves the vinyl audio quality in digital form and safeguards your music in case anything happens to your precious collectibles. All you need to do is connect the turntable to your computer with a USB cable and software will guide you through a few quick steps. Usually, this conversion table is $99.99, but you can get it now for $65.99, which is 34% off for a limited time. Scouted is here to surface products that you might like. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales. |
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| Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Wednesday introduced the “Abuse of Pardon Prevention Act,” which is meant to “prevent this President or any other from abusing the pardon power for their own benefit or to obstruct justice,” according to a statement. “The legislation would require that if the President pardons someone in connection with an investigation in which the President or one of his family members is a target, subject, or witness, the evidence against recipient of the pardon would be provided by the Department of Justice to Congress,” the statement says. This comes after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Tuesday that a bill meant to shield Special Counsel Robert Mueller would not be brought to the floor. “By pardoning [former chief of staff of Vice President Dick Cheney] Scooter Libby last week, Trump has sent a clear and unmistakable message to potential witnesses against him or members of his family that: ‘if you have my back, I’ll have yours,’” Schiff said. |
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| A BuzzFeed News investigation found a pervasive network of “sex-for-rent” requests on Facebook and other websites that expose young, vulnerable men to sometimes dangerous situations while they try to avoid sleeping on the streets. A Facebook group titled “Gay Houseboy’s and those who hire them” advertise room openings in the U.K. for reduced or free rent in exchange for housework and, more often than not, sexual favors from young men. The group’s admin says that they have “never had an incident from Facebook,” despite the salacious requests that are often communicated in code or using innuendo. Some of these men have been exposed to drugs and STDs while working as a “houseboy.” Others say the arrangement blurs the line between consent and rape. This comes as reports of other “sex-for-rent” arrangements between men and women have been making headlines. |
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| The Senate Judiciary Committee will press forward with a vote on legislation aimed at shielding special counsel Robert Mueller from political interference, its chairman told reporters on Wednesday. The pronouncement from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) came a day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) poured cold water on the effort, saying definitively that he would not give the legislation a full floor vote. “I can’t worry about what’s going on on the floor,” Grassley told reporters. “Last fall, I said we’re not going to do anything in this area unless you get together. They got together, so I feel an obligation to keep my word and move forward.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), the lead Democratic sponsor of the bipartisan legislation, dismissed McConnell’s comments. “Good for him,” Coons joked when asked about the majority leader’s assessment. “I don’t know why Majority Leader McConnell can confidently say it is incredibly important to protect Robert Mueller and his investigation from interference—I agree—and I’m absolutely confident that this president will take no inappropriate action. Are we watching the same thing?” —Andrew Desiderio |
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| Former Harper’s editor James Marcus is claiming that he was fired by the magazine's publisher after opposing a story penned by Katie Roiphe that would out the author of the “Shitty Men in Media” list, according to The Cut. The creator of the list, Moira Donegan, ended up outing herself in an essay for The Cut after rumors about the Harper’s story circulated in January. Roiphe’s story ended up making the cover of the March issue. Marcus confirmed his termination on Tuesday. “All I can say for the moment is that Katie Roiphe’s article was assigned over my objections by Rick MacArthur, the magazine’s publisher. I nonetheless worked very hard on the piece, as did the rest of the editorial staff,” Marcus said in a statement. “I had hoped that despite our differences, Rick and I could agree to disagree and move on. He could not. When I was fired on Friday afternoon, it was clear that the dispute over Roiphe’s article was the main cause.” Marcus was promoted to a top editor position in 2016 after joining the publication in 2010. A former editor, Christopher Cox, was also fired in 2016 due to “editorial differences with the publisher.” |
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| Minnesota prosecutors said Wednesday that they are ready to make an announcement in the “two-year investigation” into Prince’s death, which was ruled an “accidental fentanyl overdose,” according to the Associated Press. Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said that he will announce whether anyone will be charged in the death on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. A toxicology report obtained by the Associated Press in March determined that the singer had “exceedingly high” levels of fentanyl in his “blood, liver and stomach.” Investigators believe that Prince was struggling with pain and prescription-medication addiction after years of performing on-stage. Six days before he died, the singer had to be revived with two doses of “a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.” Prince had no fentanyl prescriptions under his name, but his physician claimed that he prescribed Oxycodone to Prince under his bodyguard’s name to maintain the singer’s “privacy.” |
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