Bold..

Christopher Southerland 43, of Glen Burnie, worked as a system administrator for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from April 2020 through July 2023—an IT role that included the ability to request mobile phones for staff.

Prosecutors say he exploited that access by ordering roughly 240 new government phones and having them shipped to his home in Maryland. At the time, the committee had only about 80 staff members, investigators noted.

 Southerland, allegedly, sold more than 200 of the phones to a nearby pawn shop, a volume investigators say was far beyond any normal device replacement cycle. 

Prosecutors claim he also told a pawn shop employee to break the phones down and sell them “in parts,” allegedly to avoid detection through the House’s mobile device management software.

Moral..

Ukraine estimates that 200,000 of its soldiers are absent without official leave (AWOL), meaning they have left their positions without permission to do so, the country’s new Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov revealed on Wednesday

Speaking in the Ukrainian Parliament ahead of the vote that confirmed him as the new defense chief, Fedorov also said some 2 million Ukrainians are “wanted” for avoiding military service.

The Ukrainian military has been under strain for years as it tries to defend the country against a much bigger and stronger enemy. Conditions along the frontline have been brutal, with Kyiv’s troops often trying to hold onto key positions even as they find themselves outmanned and outgunned.

Rumours of low morale and high desertion rates have been swirling around for a long time, but Fedorov’s comments mark the first time any Ukrainian official has disclosed the scale of the problem.

Ukraine’s martial law bars all men aged 23 to 60 who are eligible for military service from leaving the country, but tens of thousands have fled illegally.

Comment:

People want to live; Politician may want something different?

Promises..

 

Italy’s most famous influencer, Chiara Ferragni, has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a 2-million-euro ($2.33 million) fraud case involving Christmas cakes, Easter eggs and children with cancer.
Ferragni partnered with Italian confectioner Balocco to market limited edition Pandoro “Pink Christmas” cakes in Italy for the festive season in 2022 and 2023, and later, fancy “Dolci Preziosi” chocolate Easter eggs. 

The marketing campaign suggested proceeds would go to the Regina Margherita children’s hospital in Turin to support pediatric cancer research, boosting sales.

Ferragni’s problems began after an investigative journalist revealed that Balocco had made a 50,000-euro donation to the children’s hospital.

Before long, it emerged that the proceeds of the cakes would go directly to Ferragni, in addition to the 1 million euros, and not the hospital.

A judge in Milan ruled that aggravated fraud charges against Ferragni relating to her alleged promise to donate proceeds from sales of a limited edition, pink-boxed “pandoro” Christmas cake to a children’s cancer charity were not admissible in court.
Comment:
A promise is a promise.  Just a thought 

Indicted..

Karen Bennett, a Democrat, resigned from the position she has held since 2012, in which she represented portions DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.

The second Georgia state House member accused of fabricating claims to collect federal unemployment benefits during the pandemic has announced her retirement as she faces charges.

Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain – located roughly 20 miles from Atlanta – is facing one count of making false statements to collect $13,940, according to the Associated Press.

In an initial court appearance, Bennett opted to waive indictment and was released on $10,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the charge. In federal court, the decision to waive indictment often precedes a guilty plea.

Prosecutors allege Bennett, who works as a physical therapist, lied when she claimed that in 2020, she was unable to work for her company, Metro Therapy Providers, due to quarantine restrictions.

However, Bennett allegedly served in an administrative role within the company and worked from a home office, rather than providing therapy to clients, according to prosecutors.

Affordability..

 

Sanctions on Russia by US and the allies have contributed to global price volatility, especially in energy and food markets. 

The sanctions exacerbated pre-existing inflationary pressures in the US that had already pushed the annual rate to a nearly 40-year high.

The Island..

 

Crying..

 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) distanced himself his own administration official’s past claim that “home ownership” is a “weapon of white supremacy.”

Mamdani joined PIX11’s Henry Rosoff this week where he was confronted with the “home ownership” declaration from Cea Weaver, Mamdani’s pick to lead the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.

Weaver has come under scrutiny over her past comments and social media posts from a now-deleted X account. In a 2017 post, she called home ownership a “weapon of white supremacy.”

The New York Post reported earlier this week that Weaver broke down “crying” when confronted this week over a $1.6 million home owned by her mother in Nashville.

In an interview with Spectrum News, she said she regrets “some” of her past posts when asked about former New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) accusing her of being “out of her mind.”

“I don’t think I’m out of my mind,” she said. “Some of those things are certainly not how I would say things today, and are regretful.”

First .

 

Wreck..

Huang Yisong, 54, crossed the US-Mexico border in 2023 and was released under Biden administration policies, eventually ending up in Brooklyn and snagging a commercial driver’s license from the state, federal homeland security and transportation officials said.

The Chinese national charged in a deadly tour bus wreck on a Tennessee highway had entered the US illegally but was still issued a driver’s license by New York state, The Post has learned.

Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirsti Noem said in a statement to The Post.

And yet, sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses.”

Unstabilized..

 

A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday rejected an attempt by Mayor Zohran Mamdani's A administration to delay the sale of thousands of rent-stabilized apartments owned by the real estate firm Pinnacle Group, complicating a citywide tenants union's mission to steer their homes to what it sees as a more responsible owner and delivering Mamdani an early setback.

Hours after taking office last week, Mamdani instructed the city’s law department to intervene in the looming bankruptcy sale of more than 90 buildings with a combined 5,100 rent-stabilized apartments all owned by Pinnacle. 

The properties had fallen into disrepair and amassed thousands of housing code violations under the company, which declared bankruptcy after defaulting on its loans totaling more than $560 million last year.