News Roundup 12/10/19 Cont.
6 killed in New Jersey gunbattle, including police officer
On Tuesday a police officer was killed in a shooting in Jersey City. In total there were six casualties in the incident, one police officer, three civilians and two gunmen. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez tweeted that the three wounded people were currently in stable condition. The gunfire lasted over the course of at least an hour. SWAT teams, state police and federal agents responded to the scene, and police blocked off the area, which had some stores, a kosher supermarket, a hair salon and a school. The nearby school was Sacred Heart School. According to the Archdiocese of Newark the school was put on lockdown, but all staff and students were safe.
Source: Associated Press
3 charged with running $722M cryptocurrency scam
On Tuesday Federal officials announced that three men were charged with running a cryptocurrency mining operation that cheated investors out of $722 million. Officials labeled it a “high-tech Ponzi scheme”. The men ran a business called BitClub Network from April 2014 through December 2019. They promised earnings to investors who bought shares in its supposed cyrptocurrency mining pool. All three men responsible have been apprehended by authorities. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Matthew Goettsche, 37, was arrested in Colorado, Jobadiah Weeks, 38, was taken into custody in Florida and Joseph Abel, 49, was arrested in California.
Source: Associated Press
Trump mocks impeachment effort, talks up trade deal at rally
As he sought to rally supporters on Tuesday in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump mocked the Democratic impeachment effort, calling it “impeachment lite." He also promised this impeachment would only lead to his reelection in 2020. During the rally, he also addressed the Justice Department report into the 2016 Russia investigation. Trump claimed the inspector general’s report detailed “outrageous, scandalous and unprecedented abuses of power.” He called FBI agents scum and stated they “destroyed the lives of people that are great people.” Trump also claimed that not many leaders could withstand what he’s been through. “A regular president would be under the table, thumb in mouth, saying: ‘Take me home, Mommy. This is enough for me.’”
Source: Associated Press
Democrats, White House forge new North American trade deal
On Tuesday House Democrats and the White House announced a deal on a modified North American trade pact. The deal handed President Trump a major Capitol Hill win on the same day that impeachment charges were announced. He has claimed that the trade pact will be great for America. The trade pact is Trump’s top Capitol Hill priority along with funding for his long-sought border fence. The pact contains provisions designed to nudge manufacturing back to the United States. It requires that 40-45% of cars eventually be made in countries that pay autoworkers at least $16 an hour in the United States and Canada and not in Mexico.
Source: Associated Press
Facebook rebuffs US AG over access to encrypted messages
Facebook is rebuffing efforts by U.S. Attorney General William Barr to give authorities a way to read encrypted messages. The heads of Facebook told Barr and his U.K. and Australian counterparts that they are moving forward with plans to enable end-to-end encryption on all of its messaging services. End-to-end encryption will lock up the messages so that not even Facebook will be able to read their contents. Facebook plans to extend that protection to Messenger and Instagram Direct. In October, Barr and other officials asked the company to hold off on it, insisting that precluding access by law enforcement could hinder efforts to prevent or investigate crimes.
Source: Associated News