What's to know about the Texas prison where Elizabeth Holmes is starting her 11-year sentence?
Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has reported to a federal prison in Texas — marking the start of her 11-year sentence for overseeing a notorious blood testing hoax
2023-05-31 03:55
US opens probe into Freightliner trucks automatically braking without obstacle in road
The U.S. government’s highway safety agency is investigating complaints that the automatic emergency braking on big Freightliner semis can stop the trucks unexpectedly for no apparent reason
2023-05-31 03:25
AOC threatens to leave Twitter after Elon Musk promotes ‘disgusting’ account impersonating her
Alexia Ocasio-Cortez has threatened to quit Twitter after Elon Musk promoted a “sick” account impersonating the star Democratic politician. The New York congresswoman said that she was “assessing” what to do after the billionaire interacted with the fake account on his social media platform. “FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday. “It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread. I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.”
2023-05-31 03:24
Minnesota governor signs bill to legalize marijuana, effective this summer
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Tuesday that legalizes recreational marijuana for people over the age of 21
2023-05-31 02:56
US says ‘the time is now’ for Sweden to join NATO and for Turkey to get new F-16s
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the “time is now” for Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden joining NATO but said the Biden administration also believed that Turkey should be provided with upgraded F-16 fighters “as soon as possible.” Blinken maintained that the administration had not linked the two issues but acknowledged that some U.S. lawmakers had. President Joe Biden implicitly linked the two issues in a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. “I spoke to Erdogan and he still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden. So let’s get that done," Biden said. Still, Blinken insisted the two issues were distinct. However, he stressed that the completion of both would dramatically strengthen European security. “Both of these are vital, in our judgement, to European security,” Blinken told reporters at a joint news conference in the northern Swedish city of Lulea with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. “We believe that both should go forward as quickly as possible; that is to say Sweden’s accession and moving forward on the F-16 package more broadly.” “We believe the time is now,” Blinken said. He declined to predict when Turkey and Hungary, the only other NATO member not yet to have ratified Sweden’s membership, would grant their approval. But, he said, “we have no doubt that it can be, it should be, and we expect it to be” completed by the time alliance leaders meet in Vilnius, Lithuania in July at an annual summit. Fresh from a strong re-election victory over the weekend, Erdogan may be willing to ease his objections to Sweden’s membership. Erdogan accuses Sweden of being too soft on groups Ankara considers to be terrorists, and a series of Quran-burning protests in Stockholm angered his religious support base — making his tough stance even more popular. Kristersson said the two sides had been in contact since Sunday’s vote and voiced no hesitancy in speaking about the benefits Sweden would bring to NATO “when we join the alliance.” Blinken is in Sweden attending a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council and will travel to Oslo, Norway on Wednesday for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers, before going on to newly admitted alliance member Finland on Friday. Speaking in Oslo ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the goal was to have Sweden inside the grouping before the leaders' summit in July. "There are no guarantees, but it’s absolutely possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by the Vilnius summit,” Stoltenberg said. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-05-31 02:48
DeSantis kicks off 2024 campaign in Iowa
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will kick off his White House bid in earnest on Tuesday evening in Iowa -- a state that will provide an early glimpse into whether Republican primary voters are ready to move on from former President Donald Trump.
2023-05-31 02:47
Elizabeth Holmes enters Texas prison to begin 11-year sentence for notorious blood-testing hoax
Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is in custody at the Texas prison where she will spend the next 11 years serving her sentence for overseeing an infamous blood-testing hoax
2023-05-31 02:20
Elizabeth Holmes surrenders to federal prison in Texas to begin 11-year sentence for Theranos scandal
Elizabeth Holmes has surrendered to a federal prison in Texas to begin her 11-year sentence over the Theranos scandal which rocked the high-flying tech world of Silicon Valley. The 39-year-old disgraced tech entrepreneur reported to Bryan, the minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas, on Tuesday after exhausting all remaining legal avenues to cling onto her freedom. Holmes was convicted in January 2022 of four counts of fraud and conspiracy for lying about the capabilities pf her biotech company’s blood testing technology and conning investors out of millions of dollars. She was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $452m in restitution to investors – including $125m to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Holmes had been given until 2pm local time to surrender to the prison camp where she will see out her 11-year sentence surrounded by other white-collar, non-violent female offenders. Her two children – two-year-old William and three-month-old Invicta – will be allowed to visit their mother in the facility. The prison camp, which runs a work-focused program where all inmates are required to hold a job for at least 90 days, is a marked difference from Holmes’ life years earlier when she was seen as the darling of Silicon Valley. The saga began two decades ago when Holmes dropped out of Stanford University in 2003 at the age of 19 to found Theranos. The blood lab company aimed to develop medical devices that could diagnose hundreds of diseases and medical conditions with just a pinprick of blood. Over the next 10 years, Theranos boasted about its capabilities to transform the healthcare industry and grew to a value of $9bn, attracting investments from the likes of Murdoch, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the heirs to the Walmart fortune. The company amassed an influential board of directors including former presidential cabinet members George Shultz, Henry Kissinger and James Mattis. Holmes, meanwhile, was catapulted onto magazine covers and became heralded as the next Steve Jobs while her personal fortune reached $4.5bn. But the technology didn’t do close to what Holmes claimed it could. In 2018, Holmes – Theranos CEO and founder – and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani – Theranos chief operating officer and Holmes’ live-in romantic partner – were both indicted on fraud charges and the company was dissolved. She was allowed out on bail and while awaiting trial – which was stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic – Holmes became pregnant with her first child with her partner, hotel boss Billy Evans. She became pregnant with her second child following her conviction. During her trial, Holmes sought to paint a picture that she had simply been under the control of Balwani, 57, and that she never intended to mislead investors about the technology’s capabilities. The jury didn’t buy it and she was convicted of four counts, which could have landed her with up to 20 years’ prison time. Balwani was also convicted of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy at his trial and was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison. He began serving his sentence in Southern California last month. Since her conviction, Holmes has fought to stay out of prison claiming that she was treated unfairly by prosecutors during trial and that she should be allowed to remain out of prison while she appeals the conviction. An appeals court denied her request and said she must report to prison where she can continue to appeal her conviction behind bars. She asked the judge that she be allowed to remain free through Memorial Day weekend so that she could sort out childcare for her two children, before surrendering to authorities on 30 May. Weeks before beginning her sentence, Holmes admitted that she had made “many mistakes” in a new interview with The New York Times. “I made so many mistakes and there was so much I didn’t know and understand, and I feel like when you do it wrong, it’s like you really internalise it in a deep way,” she said. Read More Elizabeth Holmes news – latest: Theranos founder to surrender to Texas prison today to begin 11-year sentence As Elizabeth Holmes heads to prison for fraud, questions remain about her motives Elizabeth Holmes requests May 30 as new date to report to prison after losing her bid to remain free
2023-05-31 01:47
Tourists flee Florida beach in terror as gunshots ring out in harrowing video of Hollywood shooting
A chilling video of the mass shooting at Florida’s Hollywood Beach on Memorial Day has showed people panicking and scrambling for safety. Nine people – six adults and three children – were wounded in the shooting in 1200 block of N Broadwalk near the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, 20 miles north of Miami. Local reports said several victims were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Live cam footage showed people frantically running from the scene after gunshots were heard. Chaos and the fear at the scene are palpable from the video showing beachgoers running away. According to police officials, the shooting was the result of an altercation between two groups. Reports said one person of interest was detained while the search for another continues. Eyewitnesses described the aftermath of the mass shooting. “I saw a young man that was on the ground bleeding and they were applying pressure to prevent the bleeding,” Vance Hendricks, who was visiting from Philadelphia, told CBS News. Police urged people to avoid the area where the shots were fired. “If you are looking to reunite with a family member, we have set up a reunification area at Johnson St and N Ocean bus loop,” said a tweet. Read More At least nine people wounded in Memorial Day mass shooting at Florida beach Police investigating shooting near beach boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida Police: Puerto Rico assailants targeting drug rival killed 2 and injured 13
2023-05-31 01:27
NATO to send 700 more troops to Kosovo to help quell violent protests
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military organization has sent 700 more troops to Kosovo to help quell violent protests and has put another battalion on standby in case the riots spread
2023-05-31 00:54
State Farm stops new home insurance sales in California as wildfire risks grow
By Noor Zainab Hussain State Farm said it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California,
2023-05-31 00:51
Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits
A federal court ruling has cleared the way for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to settle thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids
2023-05-31 00:27