Biden backs son Hunter after US tax probe revealed
US President-elect Joe Biden has expressed full confidence in his son Hunter, a frequent target of Republican attacks, after it was revealed last week that he was under a federal tax investigation. During his unsuccessful re-election campaign, President Donald Trump launched repeated accusations against Hunter and said the Bidens were a “corrupt” family and a […] The post Biden backs son Hunter after US tax probe revealed appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Sandiganbayan convicts 3 TLRC ex-officials, 2 others over P9.6M PDAF scam
The Sandiganbayan convicted three ex-officials of the now-defunct Technology and Livelihood Resource Center and two others over their involvement in the P9.6 million worth of ghost projects funneled through the pork barrel fund of the late Negros Oriental lawmaker Herminio Teves in 2007. The anti-graft court’s Third Division handed down a 68-page decision, which found ex-TLRC deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, ex-TLRC chief accountant Marivic Jover, ex-TLRC legislative liaison office officer-in-charge Belina Concepcion, Teves’ then-chief-staff Hiram Pulido and Molugan Foundation Inc. president Samuel Bombeo, guilty of one count each of graft and malversation. They were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison and perpetually disqualified from holding public office. They were also ordered to pay the P9.6 million, or the amount malversated with a legal interest of 6 percent per annum. TLRC’s erstwhile department manager Francisco Figura, meanwhile, was acquitted of the same charges. The Sandigabayan also dismissed the case against the principal accused Teves owing to his passing. Filed by the Ombudsman in 2017, the graft and malversation charge arose from the disbursement of Teves’ P9.6 million Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF to Molugan Foundation Inc., a non-governmental organization controlled by Bombeo. The Ombudsman said Teves “unilaterally chose” MFI as an implementor of his livelihood program drawn from his P10-million pork barrel that was originally intended for the depressed barangays and constituents in his district. However, state prosecutors probe later revealed that the pork barrel funds were instead used to fund projects that turned out to be a ghost. Of the total, P9.6 million went to the MFI while P400,000 went to TLRC as a service fee. The Ombudsman also found that the MFI did not have the capacity to implement the project as it was incorporated only in 2007, the year it was tasked to implement the PDAF project. Thus, the respondents were accused of causing undue injury to the government by giving unwarranted benefits and advantages to the MFI. In convicting the accused, the Sandiganbayan said, “There is no doubt that the acts of Concepcion, Cunanan, Jover, Pulido, and Bombeo caused undue injury to the government in the amount of P9,600,000.00, which to date, remains unaccounted for.” The court also ruled that their acts of extending unwarranted benefits to a private party “without the proper accreditation” and the “lack of legal basis” considering it was not one of the implementing agencies identified in the 2007 General Appropriations Act were in violation of COA Circular No. 96-003. “The totality of the facts and circumstances demonstrates that the said accused, through manifest partiality, gross inexcusable negligence and/or evident bad faith, committed the offense of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019, causing undue injury to the government and giving unwarranted benefits to Bombeo and MFI,” the court said. The post Sandiganbayan convicts 3 TLRC ex-officials, 2 others over P9.6M PDAF scam appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Belmonte calls for reforms in BFP-QCFD
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday called on the Bureau of Fire Protection to undertake reforms in the BFP - Quezon City Fire District (QCFD). Belmonte made the call as results of the probe conducted by the city government and the Quezon City Council revealed lax inspection, backlog in the examination of businesses, and other lapses in the performance of the BFP-QCFD. "The BFP should look into how the BFP-QCFD fulfilled its mandate in the light of tragic loss of lives and properties due to recent fires in the city. Were the BFP-QCFD leadership remiss in their duties? They should hold their personnel accountable if proven guilty of inefficiency," she said. Belmonte earlier sought the relief of two officials from the BFP-QCFD following a review of the performance of the agency prompted by the tragic loss of lives caused by the fire last 31 August in Tandang Sora. An evaluation conducted by the city government of each fire incident that occurred this year showed on average, more damage, injury, and death compared to the previous year. “The capability and effectiveness of the BFP-QCFD in responding to these fires have lessened significantly. The city government recognizes that each fire has its own distinct volatile circumstances. Nonetheless, the severity of this year's incidents necessitates a call for a change in the leadership of the agency. A change is needed for the welfare of our citizens. We look forward to a better performance from the BFP," Belmonte said. The two officials were identified as BFP-QCFD fire marshall, Fire Senior Superintendent Aristotle Bañaga, and the chief of the QCFD Fire Prevention Branch, Fire Chief Inspector Dominic Salvacion. Data from the BFP revealed that from January to August 2023, there were 153 fires recorded in the city, while there were only 219 fires from January to December 2022. With a third of the year left, there have already been eight firefighters and 63 civilians injured compared to only two firefighters and 60 civilians for the entirety of last year. Moreover, there were already 24 deaths in the first eight months of this year while there were 30 from January to December 2022. There were 8,362 individuals or 2,380 families affected by the fires up to August this year, higher than the whole of last year’s record of 7,295 individuals or 2,005 families. “For this reason and to protect the people of Quezon City, I am calling upon the national leadership of the Bureau of Fire Protection to assign to us a new fire marshall for the QCFD and a new inspection head,” Belmonte added. Belmonte also called on the BFP to be more transparent in their own investigation of the Tandang Sora fire. “The BFP has failed to reciprocate the city government’s efforts to exercise transparency. They resisted our calls to be apprised of the progress of their own probe, or to our requests for coordination. We therefore ask the BFP to cooperate fully with the city government as mandated by law, to ensure full transparency and clarity in these investigations. Our people demand more, and the victims and their families deserve nothing less,” Belmonte said. Belmonte earlier ordered the City Legal Department to form a Special Panel of Investigators to probe the incident and if warranted by evidence, to file the appropriate case(s) against pertinent and surviving officers of the business establishment involved in the deadly fire in Tandang Sora. Local government personnel found to be liable after the conduct of the investigation will likewise face administrative and criminal charges. “The city government continues to thoroughly investigate the devastating fire of August 31. It has coordinated with and interviewed its departments, the barangay, the homeowners association, the relatives of the victims, and the survivors, to ascertain the circumstances that brought about this tragedy. We will leave no stone unturned, and we will not spare even our own officials and personnel,” the mayor added. The mayor assured the residents that the city government will continue to beef up the city’s fire prevention measures and efforts. On 14 September, Mayor Belmonte extended financial assistance to the families of the fire victims. Earlier, the city government helped arrange for the cremation of the remains of the victims, among others. The post Belmonte calls for reforms in BFP-QCFD appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
LTO Chief backs Senate inquiry on road rage incident
Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II welcomed the scheduled Senate inquiry into the viral road rage incident involving retired policeman Wilfredo Gonzales and a cyclist in Quezon City. Mendoza said the Senate’s investigation into the incident would also highlight the importance of responsible road sharing as well as the safety of motorists and cyclists. “The Senate inquiry is a testament that road rage incidents certainly involve and relate with public order and safety. Ang ganitong mga klase ng insidente ay hindi basta-basta dapat pinapalampas dahil kaligtasan ng mga motorista at ng mga mananakay ang nakasalalay dito,” Mendoza said. “Kahit gumugulong na ang imbestigasyon ng ibang ahensya sa insidente, mahalaga pa rin ang magiging ambag ng pagtalakay na gagawin sa Senado upang ating malaman kung ano-ano ang mga bagay na dapat nating i-improve sa sektor ng transportasyon,” he added. Mendoza said the Senate hearing could also be a tool for the public to realize that each and everyone has equal access to public roads. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Pia Cayetano have filed a resolution seeking to investigate the road rage incident that went viral on social media over the weekend. In the video that circulated, Gonzales was seen pulling out a gun during the altercation after the cyclist's bicycle hit the former policeman's vehicle. The LTO took swift action on the incident as it immediately issued a show cause order against Gonzales and it also temporarily suspended his driver’s license pending probe on the matter. The post LTO Chief backs Senate inquiry on road rage incident appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Former Bataan gov off the hook
The Sandiganbayan announced on Sunday that it has cleared former Bataan Governor Leonardo Roman of a P3.66-million graft charge stemming from the anomalous construction of a mini-theater at the Bataan State College in 2004. Citing the prosecution’s failure to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the anti-graft court’s Second Division acquitted Roman of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or RA 3019 in a 41-page ruling. “As the prosecution, in this case, failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt all the elements of Section 3(e) of RA 3019 under which the accused was charged, accused Roman should be entitled to an acquittal,” said the Sandiganbayan. To recall, the case against Roman involved the alleged awarding of a P3.66-million mini-theater project of the Bataan State College in 2004 in favor of V.F. Construction despite no allocated budget or appropriation for the project. He was also accused of colluding with his co-accused executive assistant Romeo Mendiola, treasurer Pastor Vichauco, budget officer Aurora Tiambeng, and accountant Numeriano Medina by giving unwarranted benefits to V.F. Construction for the release of the sum. Filed before the Ombudsman, the case stemmed from a complaint-affidavit dated 1 September 2004 accusing Roman and his cohorts of the crime of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents. Roman served as the governor of Bataan from 1986 to 2004. In 2006, the Ombudsman dismissed the complaint for lack of probable cause. The Supreme Court affirmed the Ombudsman’s decision to drop the criminal charge. The Ombudsman, however, filed the case before the Sandiganbayan in 2015 following the SC’s ruling to reverse the criminal charge of graft. Based on the prosecution’s probe, Roman entered a contract with V.F. Construction to construct a mini-theater and rendered his authorizations, approvals, and certifications for the P3.66-million payment. Investigation revealed that Roman certified the project as fully completed and issued the payment to the construction firm in two installments. However, more than five months after the final payment was made to the construction company, the CoA discovered that the mini-theater, contrary to Roman’s declaration, was incomplete. The structure, it said, was only 50.7 percent complete. In clearing Roman, the Sandiganbayan stressed that it was “not convinced” by the prosecution’s theory that the erstwhile governor’s execution of a contract and approval of the payment with the V.F. Construction despite the lapses was tantamount to graft. “The evidence on record is insufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was bad faith, manifest partially, or gross inexcusable negligence on the part of the accused when he committed the questioned acts,” the Sandiganbayan said. According to the Sandiganbayan, while Roman may have committed mistakes in the performance of his duty, the fact remains that the evidence is insufficient to prove a serious breach of duty that was committed flagrantly, palpably, and with willful indifference or blatant and extremely careless manner. The post Former Bataan gov off the hook appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Loch Ness hunt biggest in decades
DRUMNADROCHIT, United Kingdom (AFP) — The biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in five decades takes place in the Scottish Highlands Saturday, as researchers and enthusiasts from around the world meet to try to track down the elusive Nessie. The expedition will deploy drones with thermal scanners, boats with infrared cameras and an underwater hydrophone to try to unravel a mystery that has captivated the world for generations. “It’s always been our goal to record, study and analyse all manner of natural behavior and phenomena that may be more challenging to explain,” said Alan McKenna, of co-organizers Loch Ness Exploration. The searchers believe the thermal scanners could prove crucial in identifying any strange anomalies in the murky depths. The hydrophone will allow the searchers to listen for unusual Nessie-like underwater calls. Stretching 23 miles and with a maximum depth of 788 feet, the freshwater loch is the UK’s largest lake by volume. Reports of an aquatic monster lurking in Loch Ness date back to ancient times, with stone carvings in the area depicting a mysterious beast with flippers. The earliest written record of the creature dates back to AD 565 in a biography of the Irish monk, Saint Columba. According to the text, the monster attacked a swimmer and was about to strike again when Columba commanded it to retreat. More recently, in May 1933, the local Inverness Courier newspaper reported a couple driving along a newly constructed lochside road seeing “a tremendous upheaval” in the water. “There, the creature disported itself, rolling and plunging for fully a minute, its body resembling that of a whale, and the water cascading and churning like a simmering cauldron,” the report said. In December that year, British newspaper the Daily Mail recruited a South African big game hunter, Marmaduke Wetherell, to locate the sea serpent. Wetherell found large footprints that he believed belonged to “a very powerful soft-footed animal about 20 feet long.” But zoologists at London’s Natural History Museum determined that the tracks were made with an umbrella stand or ashtray that had a hippopotamus leg as a base. In 1934, English physician Robert Wilson captured what came to be known as the “Surgeon’s Photograph,” seemingly depicting Nessie’s head and elongated neck emerging from the water. The photo, published in the Daily Mail, was later revealed to be part of a hoax, catapulted the Loch Ness Monster into international fame. There are now more than 1,100 officially recorded Nessie sightings, according to The Loch Ness Center in Drumnadrochit, near Inverness. The monster brings in millions of pounds in tourism revenue to the Scottish economy each year. Over the years, scientists and amateur enthusiasts have tried to find evidence of a large fish such as a sturgeon living in the depths of the loch. Some have suggested the monster could be a prehistoric marine reptile like a plesiosaur. In 1972, the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau undertook the biggest search to date but returned empty-handed. In 1987, Operation Deepscan deployed sonar equipment across the width of the loch and claimed to have found an “unidentified object of unusual size and strength.” In 2018, researchers conducted a DNA survey of Loch Ness to determine what organisms live in the waters. No signs of a plesiosaur or other such large animal were found, though the results indicated the presence of numerous eels. “The weekend gives an opportunity to search the waters in a way that has never been done before, and we can’t wait to see what we find,” said Paul Nixon, the general manager of the Loch Ness Center. The post Loch Ness hunt biggest in decades appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Poe seeks probe vs. spread of text scams despite SIM Registration Act implementation
Senator Grace Poe has filed a resolution urging the Senate to investigate, in aid of legislation, the continued proliferation of text scams despite the implementation of the SIM Registration Act. In filing Senate Resolution No. 745, Poe is seeking to learn if Republic Act No. 111934 or the SIM Registration Act has been fully implemented more than a year since it was enacted. "The law aims to protect users from scams and hasten law enforcement in investigating phone-related scams," she said in the resolution. "The registration of SIM should help unmask fraudsters and deny them sanctuary to hide. But, are these being achieved?" she added. Poe, principal author and sponsor of the law also expressed her intent to know the reported use of SIMs in the operations of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. The senator said a recent raid on POGO establishments revealed that thousands of SIMs are being used for illegal operations. "The law mandates that SIM should not be used for unlawful purposes and that owners have verified identity," she said. "However, reports that thousands of registered SIMs seized are being used as a tool for scamming and other cyber fraud raise questions about the effective implementation of the law," she added. The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services also said that the implementing agencies, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies “should explain how thousands of SIMs used in fraudulent operations were able to register, and if they were signed up using fictitious individuals or by willing victims who sold their identity.” She reminded the National Telecommunications Commission, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and other relevant agencies to submit to Congress a report and update on the law's implementation. The deadline for SIM registration expired on 25 July after being extended for 90 days. The original deadline for SIM registration was on 26 April. Signed into law in October 2022, Republic Act No. 11934, or the SIM Registration Act, seeks to stop the rampant scams through text messages, which have become more prevalent over the past years. The post Poe seeks probe vs. spread of text scams despite SIM Registration Act implementation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US urges ‘thorough’ Saudi probe into alleged killings of Ethiopian migrants
The United States on Monday voiced concern over a Human Rights Watch report that Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and urged a full investigation. "We have raised our concerns about these allegations with the Saudi government," a State Department spokesperson said. "We urge the Saudi authorities to undertake a thorough and transparent investigation and also to meet their obligations under international law." The State Department said that the land border guards implicated in the report did not receive any US government funding or training. The United States is a longstanding security partner of oil producer Saudi Arabia but has a fraught relationship over human rights, with President Joe Biden's administration criticizing the kingdom even while it pursues engagement. Human Rights Watch in its report said that Saudi border guards "fired like rain" on Ethiopian migrants as they tried to cross from Yemen, killing hundreds last year. A Saudi government source earlier called the allegations "unfounded." The post US urges ‘thorough’ Saudi probe into alleged killings of Ethiopian migrants appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump has 10 days to surrender
Former United States president Donald Trump and 18 others were charged Tuesday with racketeering over their attempt to overturn Georgia state’s presidential election result in 2020 and they were given 10 days to voluntarily surrender. “Rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result,” Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis told reporters. Willis gave the 19 individuals named in Monday’s grand jury indictment until noon of 25 August to voluntarily surrender. Trump, who is running for president next year, called the indictment a witch hunt in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Why didn’t they indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign,” his post read. The Trump campaign released a statement as the charges were being processed calling Willis, who is a Democrat, a “rabid partisan” who was “persecuting” the former president with “bogus indictments.” In response, Willis said: “I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law. The law is completely nonpartisan.” The indictment is the fourth and latest against the 77-year-old Republican, compounding the legal threats he is facing in multiple jurisdictions which may imperil his bid for a second White House term. He was already federally indicted over the alleged plot to subvert the election and is also facing prosecutions over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and keeping allegedly fraudulent business records. The twice-impeached Trump was charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. He is also accused of lying in statements and filing fake documents, as well as solicitating public officials to break their oaths. Trump’s former personal lawyer and ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who pressured local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, were among the 18 co-defendants. Giuliani faces 13 felony counts, including over accusations of harassment of two Fulton County poll workers. Other Trump allies were charged over the accessing of sensitive data from an election office in a rural county south of Atlanta, one day after the 2021 Capitol riot. Atlanta-area authorities launched the probe after Trump called Georgia officials weeks before he was due to leave the White House, pressuring them to “find” the 11,780 votes that would reverse President Joe Biden’s victory in the Peach State. WITH AFP The post Trump has 10 days to surrender appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Giuliani: ‘America’s Mayor’ threatened by anti-Mafia law he spearheaded
Forty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was the fearless Mafia-busting prosecutor whose aggressive use of racketeering laws brought down New York's Five Families. On Tuesday, he was fighting for his own freedom after being ensnared by the very legal strategy he had pioneered. The man once feted as "America's Mayor" for steering the US financial hub through the horror of the 11 September 2001 attacks has experienced a stunning fall from grace. Charged with 13 felonies over the help he is alleged to have given his client and longtime friend Donald Trump in trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election, the attorney is threatened with years behind bars as his 80th birthday approaches. "It's just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime," Giuliani said on X, formerly known as Twitter, after he was charged Monday. It was a typically bombastic response from the 107th mayor of New York City, who played a starring role in Trump's post-election push to cling to power through an allegedly criminal campaign of lies about voter fraud. Giuliani was charged Monday under Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Practices (RICO) statute, the plaudits he once earned squandered in a series of increasingly bizarre media appearances around the 2020 election. He is one of 18 co-defendants charged alongside Trump. 'Person of the Year' They included an unwitting cameo in a Sacha Baron Cohen movie in which Giuliani was filmed lying on a hotel bed with his hands down his pants and a post-election press conference held outside a landscaping business surrounded by a crematorium and a sex shop. At another press event, Giuliani and his allies claimed mass voter fraud without a shred of evidence as hair dye streamed in dark rivulets down the attorney's cheeks. Born in an Italian American enclave of Brooklyn on 28 May 1944, Rudolph William Louis Giuliani made his name in his 40s as a pioneering US attorney for Manhattan, using RICO to bring down the high command of the New York mob. Giuliani captured the New York mayorship in 1993 and gained national prominence in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by helping salve the shocked city's soul, earning Time Magazine's prestigious "Person of the Year" honor. "We've undergone tremendous losses, and we're going to grieve for them horribly, but New York is going to be here tomorrow morning, and it's going to be here forever," he declared. The Republican suffered his first big setback in 2008 with a disastrous bid for the White House and appeared adrift until Trump eventually brought him back into the fold. Gaffes and walk-backs After Trump was elected, he appointed Giuliani to fight a federal probe into the campaign's extensive ties to Russia, and the lawyer became a constant TV presence. But gaffes and walk-backs were as much a feature of Giuliani's lawyering as his spirited talk show diatribes -- and he led Trump into trouble as often as steering him away. Never the most reliable spokesman, Giuliani proved susceptible to seemingly unforced admissions -- contradicting Trump's denials over hush money payments to a porn star and his pursuit of a business deal in Moscow before the 2016 election. But the effort to reverse Trump's clear election loss in 2020 appears, in the end, to have sealed Giuliani's downfall. One by one, his post-election court challenges were withdrawn or dismissed as groundless. Giuliani's license to practice has been suspended in New York over his "demonstrably false" claims of a stolen election and the Bar in the nation's capital is considering disbarring him. Long before attracting the attention of a legal system that once basked in his reflected glory, Giuliani acknowledged that representing Trump could end up being his legacy. "I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. 'Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump,'" he told The New Yorker in 2019. "If it is, so what do I care? I'll be dead. I figure I can explain it to St. Peter." The post Giuliani: ‘America’s Mayor’ threatened by anti-Mafia law he spearheaded appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump indicted for racketeering over 2020 election interference
Donald Trump was indicted Tuesday on charges of racketeering and a string of election crimes after a sprawling, two-year probe into his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden in the US state of Georgia. The case -- relying on laws typically used to bring down mobsters -- is the fourth targeting the 77-year-old Republican this year and could lead to a watershed moment, the first televised trial of a former president in US history. Prosecutors in Atlanta charged the Republican leader with 13 felony counts -- compounding the legal threats he is facing in multiple jurisdictions as a firestorm of investigations imperils his bid for a second White House term. Eighteen co-defendants were indicted in the probe, including Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who pressured local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. "Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump," the indictment read. "That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the state of Georgia, and in other states." With Trump already due to go on trial in New York, south Florida and Washington, the latest charges herald the unprecedented scenario of the 2024 presidential election being litigated as much from the courtroom as the ballot box. The Trump campaign released a statement as the charges were being processed calling Fulton County's chief prosecutor Fani Willis, who is a Democrat, a "rabid partisan" who was "persecuting" the former president with "bogus indictments." The twice-impeached Trump was charged with violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. He is also accused of lying in statements and filing fake documents, as well as soliciting public officials to break their oaths. - Most serious threat - Georgia, which Biden won by fewer than 12,000 votes, presents perhaps the most serious threat to Trump's liberty as he leads the field comfortably for his party's nomination to bid for reelection. Even if he is returned to the Oval Office, he would have none of the powers that presidents arguably enjoy in the federal system to pardon themselves or have prosecutors drop cases. The harsh penalties associated with RICO cases can be an incentive for co-defendants to seek cooperation deals, and the statutes are usually used to target organized crime. Under federal law, anyone who can be connected to a criminal "enterprise" through which offenses were committed can be convicted under RICO. The broader Georgia law doesn't even require the existence of the enterprise. Atlanta-area authorities launched the probe after Trump called Georgia officials weeks before he was due to leave the White House, pressuring them to "find" the 11,780 votes that would reverse Biden's victory in the Peach State. Meadows, who is accused of trying to get a public official to violate his oath, was on the call. Willis empaneled a special grand jury that heard from around 75 witnesses before recommending a raft of felony counts in a secret report in February. She alleges that Trump's team worked with local Republicans on a scheme to replace legitimate slates of "electors" -- the officials who certify a state's results and send them to the US Congress -- with fake pro-Trump stand-ins. - Criminal intent? - Giuliani, who faces 13 felony counts, was being investigated over accusations of harassment of two Fulton County poll workers while other Trump allies were charged over the accessing of sensitive data from an election office in a rural county south of Atlanta, one day after the 2021 Capitol riot. Trump is already facing dozens of felony charges after being federally indicted over the alleged plot to subvert the election, and further prosecutions over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and keeping allegedly fraudulent business records. Authorities in Atlanta installed security barricades outside the downtown courthouse in anticipation of a potential influx of Trump supporters and counter-protesters in the latest case. Lawmakers investigating Trump's efforts to cling to power heard evidence in a series of congressional hearings last summer that would challenge his potential defense that he genuinely believed he had been cheated of the election. ft/sst © Agence France-Presse The post Trump indicted for racketeering over 2020 election interference appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cagayan province officials cited in contempt
Members of the House of Representatives public accounts and the suffrage and electoral reforms panel has cited in contempt five officials of the Cagayan province during the probe on the provincial government’s alleged illegal use of government funds during the 2022 election campaign period. This comes as provincial accountant Jeanna Garma, treasurer Mila Mallonga, budget officer Reynald Raul Ramirez, agriculturist Dr. Pearlita Mabasa and social welfare officer Helen Donato did not show up in the probe amid the subpoena issued to them during the 21 May hearing. On Monday’s joint hearing on House Resolutions 145 and 146, lawmakers blasted the officials not only on their non-appearance but also over their “flimsy excuses.” The resolutions, filed by Cagayan Representative Jojo Lara, seek to delve deeper into the alleged anomalies during the May 2022 polls in Cagayan, in which the provincial was accused of illegally spending its expenditures and distributing cash and other forms of assistance to registered voters and barangays. Public accounts chairperson Joseph Stephen Paduano, in his opening speech, revealed that a P320 million was distributed to voters of Cagayan in the guise of P1,000 Covid-19 assistance during the campaign period. During the hearing, public accounts chairperson Joseph Stephen Paduano told the panel that the provincial administrator sent a letter to the committee on 4 August requesting that the 17 officials from Cagayan, including Governor Manuel Mamba, and the five subpoenaed be excused citing the lack of funds for transportation as one of the reasons. According to the unnamed provincial administrator, the Cagayan province, which had been placed under a state of calamity due to the devastation of typhoon “Egay,” continues to operate under a “reenacted budget.” However, that did not sit well with several lawmakers, with Antipolo Representative Romeo Acop, who categorically thumbed down the claim of a limited fund that could not cover the travel expenses of the 17 officials who will spend at least four days in Metro Manila. “The first reason — which was the state of calamity — is correct. I don’t know if the second reason — the reenacted budget — is true. Only the vice governor can answer that. And for the third reason that their funds are said to be insufficient, I wouldn’t believe this, Mr. Chair. Because if they were able to disburse P320 million one week before the election, I do not see any reason why they cannot fund for this purpose, Mr. Chair,” Acop said. Cagayan Vice Governor Melvin Vargas, for his part, brushed off the notion that the reenacted budget was the reason from sending the officials. “It’s true. We are operating on a reenacted budget. But that doesn’t mean that it is stopped and we are limited. That’s why it’s called reenacted because the service is continuing. It’s not a reason to cite that we are limited to with travel because they have been doing that in a few years,” Vargas told the panel. Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers, meanwhile, claimed that the officials of the provincial government were just making “flimsy excuses.” The post Cagayan province officials cited in contempt appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bulacan water world
The government should probe the connection between the recent destructive flooding in Bulacan and Pampanga to the construction of the massive San Miguel Corp. airport project. Residents, environmental groups and scientists had foretold the damaging effects on the environment of disturbing the ecology of the area. Experts have said delicate ecosystems are under threat from the $15-billion airport development called the New Manila International Airport. It is currently the Philippines’ most expensive infrastructure deal ever and will cover an area seven and a half times the size of New York’s Central Park which is 3.41 square kilometers. When completed, it will cater to approximately 100 million passengers a year and is targeted to be one of the busiest airports by passenger traffic globally. Despite the denials and assurances of SMC officials that the project will include spillways and other anti-flood structures, the almost one week of continuous rain as typhoons Egay and Falcon passed near the northern Philippines point to the worst fears of the residents transpiring. The provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga have been placed under a state of calamity due to the flooding that has persisted days after the typhoons passed and the southwest monsoon rain had stopped. Some 172 barangays in 16 towns and three cities in Bulacan are still affected by floods ranging from six inches to seven feet, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. London and Washington-based group Global Witness said in a report that the project’s environmental costs are already significant as hundreds of mangrove trees, “which not only absorb and store climate-wrecking carbon dioxide but also form natural flood barriers,” had been cleared. Environmental and climate-related damage is expected to worsen and permanently damage natural habitats on the airport development site, the report added. A census of waterbirds in Manila Bay, according to Global Watch, revealed that their presence has declined by over 20 percent since 2017. Massive land reclamation projects — like the airport — are set to see these numbers dwindle even further. SMC promised to construct a $1-billion spillway from Bulacan’s upstream river sources to drain directly to Manila Bay, saying it will resolve the flooding problem of the province. An SMC official even boasted during a meeting with residents and representatives of environmental groups that “SMC is not stupid that it will build an airport only to be flooded.” Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment warned against relying on the SMC promises as recent typhoons showed the location as being increasingly prone to flooding as a result of the reclamation and airport construction. The waterways from Bulacan’s ridges down to its reefs are complex systems that cannot be simply resolved with just a spillway, according to environmental advocates. Recent torrential monsoon rains were cited as an example, as the flood comes not only from waters in the Sierra Madre but also from extreme rainfall directly falling on Bulacan’s river basin and from coastal overflow. Continuing land subsidence, aggravated by groundwater extraction, is worsening the flood situation in Bulacan, according to a geological expert. The urban sprawl resulting from the expected influx of over one million workers and 100-200 million air passengers constantly in transit in the area, if the SMC Aerotropolis were built, would intensify land subsidence and increase the exposure of populations to flooding hazards. Engineering solutions and simplistic development promises are always impressive until you start looking into the devil in the details, according to the expert. With an average number of typhoons that uses up all the letters of the alphabet each year, Bulacan and nearby provinces are destined to be constantly submerged in exchange for the Aerotopolis. The post Bulacan water world appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Graft buster clears Cusi
Citing the presumption of regularity, the Office of the Ombudsman threw out the graft complaint of a New York-based billionaire against former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, other Department of Energy officials, Davao City-based executive Dennis Uy, and several others over the sale of 90 percent of the shares of the Malampaya natural gas consortium. On 18 October 2021, US-based geologist Balgamel Domingo and Filipino-American anti-Duterte leaders Rodel Rodis and Loida Nicolas-Lewis filed charges against Cusi, Uy, and the others involved in the sale of the Malampaya stake to the Udenna group of Uy. In a copy of the ruling obtained by the Daily Tribune, the Ombudsman said it could not delve into the complaint on the legality of the transaction since “the authority to make such a determination belongs to the court.” “Seemingly, this complaint is in actuality a collateral attack on the validity of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement,” it said. The decision declared that “matters of such tenor are not determinable in a preliminary investigation before the Ombudsman’s Office.” “Without any judicial determination decreeing the illegality of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement, this Office is left with nothing but to acknowledge its validity,” the ruling said. The Ombudsman cited a precedent in the case of Teresita Buenaventura vs Metrobank, in a ruling that stated: “The burden of showing that a contract is simulated rests on the party impugning the contract.” “This is because of the presumed validity of the contract that has been duly executed,” the Ombudsman ruling read. “Wherefore, the criminal charges for violation of Section 3(e) and of Republic Act 3019 against the respondents are dismissed for lack of probable cause.” The ruling was signed by members of a Special Panel of Investigators composed of Ronald Allan Ramos, Josephine Mae Rosapapan, Francisco Alan Molina and Bonifacio Mandrilla. Prime takes control The operation of the Malampaya project was recently assumed by the Razon group’s Prime Energy which bought a 45-percent stake from Malampaya Energy XP, or MEXP, of the Udenna group. MEXP had bought the shares of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., or SPEX, in the consortium. The Department of Energy had branded the complaint a political move since the two Fil-Am lawyers in the suit were prominent in the “Oust Duterte” movement in the United States. The complaint alleged that Cusi and other energy officials had granted “unwarranted benefits and advantage” to Uy’s UC Malampaya in the buyout of Chevron’s share in the consortium. Udenna, through spokesperson Raymond Zorilla, said there is “no law requiring approval of the transfer of shares of companies that have an interest in Malampaya.” Zorilla said the transfer of Chevron and Shell shares underwent strict bidding processes and due diligence by both multinational oil and gas players. “The share sales were above board and legal and had to pass scrutiny by Philippine regulators, international lenders, and the said private multinationals involved,” Zorilla added. Cusi, in an interview with Daily Tribune, had said the DoE was not involved in choosing the buyer of the shares of Shell and Chevron in the Malampaya project. “The DoE did not get involved in the sale (of shares). We don’t know that they are selling. Our question was what their standards are for choosing Udenna. Why didn’t you choose the big companies, and why Udenna?” he said. Industry experts said the sale of shares was a private transaction that the accusers, who are US lawyers, should have been very familiar with. Cusi said the DoE, during his watch, went beyond its mandate by reviewing the technical, legal, and financial aspects of the transactions, the results of which were provided to the public. Political agenda The complaint, he said, had an underlying political agenda connected to his being the head of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan or PDP Laban. “It is not only political propaganda against me, but it also has a destabilization background… because I’m the president of the PDP.” The complaints, in turn, stemmed from the unending Senate inquiries on the Malampaya deals. The DoE said the Senate probes and the controversies that resulted from them had caused costly delays in the review process that would ultimately affect the country’s energy security. To refute a recent remark by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the DoE, in a statement said: “The inquiries of Senator Gatchalian are causing undue delay to the timeline of the consortium corporations, and this may eventually take its toll and put our energy security at risk.” The DoE’s approval of the sale of shares of stock of Chevron Malampaya LLC, one of the three corporations in the Malampaya Gas Field Project Consortium, had been dubbed by Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, as “lutong Macau.” It also backed the Udenna assessment that the deals were above-board. “When the sales were made, both Chevron Philippines, which owned Chevron Malampaya, and Shell Petroleum NV, owner of SPEX, followed rigorous global standards,” the DoE said. Nicolas-Lewis was part of a 25-person delegation from the US-Philippines Society, a private group comprising business executives and diplomats, who met with Duterte a week before his inauguration as president in 2016. Nicolas-Lewis was then accompanied by former Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan, retired American diplomats, and executives of Coca-Cola, SGV, JP Morgan, and other top corporations. Nicolas-Lewis is the sister of former National Anti-Poverty Commission chairperson Imelda Nicolas, who was one of the “Hyatt 10” Cabinet members who turned against then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005. Imelda and most of the Hyatt 10 members ended up getting key posts in the administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Imelda was made head of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Nicolas-Lewis plot bared In February 2018, former President Duterte bared intercepted conversations that indicated Nicolas-Lewis was behind efforts to push the International Criminal Court, or ICC, to probe his war on drugs. Duterte revealed a recorded conversation between Lewis and another political opponent whom he did not name. “I was listening to the tapes of their conversation. It was provided to me by another country, but the conversation was somewhere in the Philippines and New York,” Duterte said. He said that among the recordings was one in which Lewis allegedly told another person: “See you in the headquarters when the case is filed.” Duterte then said in a public address that he was aware of developments on the ICC case and that lawyer Jude Sabio, the main complainant in the case, was a paid hack of Magdalo Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Rep. Gary Alejano, both failed putschists. Sabio withdrew his complaint before the ICC and revealed that the case was the handiwork of the dirty tricks factory of Trillanes. In 2016, Duterte pointed to Lewis as the financier of an alleged destabilization plot against his administration. Nicolas-Lewis invested heavily in the failed presidential campaigns of Liberal Party bets Mar Roxas in 2016 and Vice President Leni Robredo in 2022. The post Graft buster clears Cusi appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Poe, Tulfo want probe of Rizal boat sinking
Senators Grace Poe and Raffy Tulfo on Monday filed separate resolutions to investigate the capsizing of the motor banca M/B Princess Aya in the waters off Binangonan, Rizal which resulted in 27 deaths. In Senate Resolution 704, Poe sought to determine accountability for the 27 July tragedy and to find out whether maritime regulations were followed. “Those responsible for the deaths of the 27 individuals and the trauma to the 43 rescued victims should be held accountable for this incident,” Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said in her resolution. “This tragedy revealed serious maritime safety compliance lapses that need to be revisited to determine whether the regulations are insufficient to ensure the safe voyage of individuals at sea or whether there was simply complacency in the implementation,” she added. The lawmaker said the probe will look into reports of overloading, for which the operator, shipowner, and boat captain could be held liable. The same liability rests on the said individuals over statements by the surviving passengers that they were not provided life vests, she said. The post Poe, Tulfo want probe of Rizal boat sinking appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden’s son pleads not guilty on tax charges as deal derails
US President Joe Biden's son Hunter pleaded not guilty to minor tax offenses Wednesday as a deal with federal prosecutors derailed in a Delaware court. The surprise move came after Judge Maryellen Noreika raised questions over the original deal -- under which Biden had agreed to enter a guilty plea and admit to illegal gun possession -- and effectively placed it on hold. Biden, 53, whose legal troubles have cast a shadow over his father's reelection campaign, had reached an agreement with prosecutors that he would be sentenced to probation on two tax avoidance counts. The deal also specified that the firearms charge would eventually be erased if he adhered to a counseling-and-rehabilitation program. But the deal fell apart after Noreika queried why the gun charge was included in a tax case, and whether the plea agreement protected Biden from charges that might arise from a wider ongoing investigation of his business dealings, according to US media. When prosecutors could not resolve her questions, Noreika said she could not accept the deal, and Biden then entered a not guilty plea to close the session. That was expected to send the deal back to negotiations, which could become more complex. Prosecutor David Weiss confirmed to the court that his office is still examining other possible crimes by Biden. Weiss did not detail those possible crimes, but one issue mentioned in the court was possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, relating to his business deals in China, Ukraine and other countries dating back to the early 2010s, when his father was vice president. Political attacks Republicans have accused Weiss of giving Biden a "sweetheart deal" with the plea agreement announced on 20 June. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Hunter Biden was "a private citizen. This was a personal matter." The case was "handled independently by the Justice Department under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed by President Trump," she added. The plea deal was to end a five-year investigation that Republicans have sought to use to politically harm his father Joe. According to the charges, Hunter, a Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist, failed to file his tax returns on time on earnings of more than $1.5 million for 2017 and 2018. He was facing up to 12 months in prison for each tax charge and a possible maximum 10 years on a charge that, as a known drug user, he had illegally possessed a handgun in 2018. But prosecutors recommended probation on the tax charges after Biden paid the taxes and penalties, according to his attorney. In addition, the gun charge was to be suspended and then eliminated if Biden completed "pretrial diversion," which often involves counseling or rehabilitation. That would require Biden to remain sober as the charges arise from a long period when he says he struggled with addiction to alcohol, crack cocaine and other drugs. "The president, the first lady, they love their son and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life," Jean-Pierre said. The post Biden’s son pleads not guilty on tax charges as deal derails appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump expects arrest, more indictments
WASHINGTON (AFP) — As special counsel Jack Smith winds down his high-stakes investigation of Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, the former US president faces a slew of potential charges. The 77-year-old Trump said Tuesday he had received a letter from Smith confirming he was a target of the probe and added that he expected to be arrested and indicted soon. The special counsel, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November, declined to comment, but US media reports said the letter cited three federal criminal statutes: conspiracy to defraud the United States; obstruction of an official proceeding, and deprivation of rights. Trump has already been indicted and pleaded not guilty in two other criminal cases — for mishandling top secret government documents after leaving the White House and for allegedly paying 2016 election-eve hush money to a porn star. Here is a look at the charges Trump — the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — may face in connection with efforts to overturn his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden and the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters: The conspiracy statute makes it a crime if “two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States.” Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at Columbia University, said the statute is “very broad” and can be applied in a number of ways to Trump’s conduct before and after the election, which he baselessly claimed was “stolen.” “I’m assuming that a fraudulent effort to mislead Congress and to delay or prevent the certification of the election would be very plausible,” Richman told AFP. It could be applied to Trump’s attempts to pressure Mike Pence into not certifying Biden’s election victory at the January 6 joint session of Congress — which the then-vice president ultimately refused to do. It could also be used to prosecute Trump for another failed bid to stay in power — the submission of false slates of electors in seven states which Biden won. Michigan charged 16 “false electors” this week with conspiracy, forgery and fraud for their role in the scheme, which was guided by two attorneys close to Trump, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman. Trump also called the secretary of state in Georgia and urged him to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s victory in the southern state, according to a recording of the phone call. Giuliani and Eastman, along with other Trump associates, are believed to be a focus of Smith’s investigation and there would need to be other defendants in addition to Trump for prosecutors to bring a conspiracy charge. Conspiracy to defraud the government is punishable by up to five years in prison. The charge of corruptly obstructing, influencing or impeding an official proceeding — the January 6 joint session of Congress — has been brought against more than 300 Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol that day. When it comes to Trump, “there could be multiple obstruction counts, there could be a multiple-prong obstruction conspiracy with different aspects to it,” Richman said. “One basis for an obstruction charge might be dealings that Trump and those around him had with witnesses in the case, those testifying before congressional committees, or doing other things to cover their tracks after January 6,” he said. Trump did not personally go to Congress on 6 January, but before his supporters stormed the Capitol he delivered a fiery speech nearby repeating his election-fraud falsehoods and urging the crowd to “fight like hell.” Obstruction of an official proceeding carries a maximum prison term of three years. Deprivation of rights This statute stems from the post-Civil War era in US history when it was used to prosecute attempts to prevent formerly enslaved African Americans from exercising their voting rights. It makes it a crime “for a person acting under color of law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.” That includes the right to vote and have it counted. “In more recent times, the statute has been used against election fraud or election misconduct,” Richman said. “What’s important about this charge, unlike the others, is it really puts front and center that the victims are not just government actors,” the former prosecutor said, but ordinary Americans who risked being deprived of their votes. Deprivation of rights is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The post Trump expects arrest, more indictments appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Enrile to ICC: ‘No surrender’
So long as Juan Ponce Enrile is President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s top lawyer, the International Criminal Court will not stand a chance of conducting its intrusive probe into the war on drugs. “I will not agree to surrender the sovereignty of the Philippines to anybody, not even to the United Nations,” Enrile, the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, said. The ICC had conducted a preliminary examination into the alleged extrajudicial killings or EJK during the term of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, and ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan recently said there could be probable cause to proceed with a full-blown inquiry into the alleged summary deaths. The ICC will decide this week on the Department of Justice’s appeal to an earlier ruling that authorized the resumption of the international tribunal’s investigation into the alleged crimes related to the war on drugs. The ICC Appeals Chamber said its judgment on the government’s appeal “will be delivered in open court on Tuesday, 18 July 2023” at 10 a.m., local time, in The Hague, the Netherlands. The order was signed by Appeals Chamber Presiding Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra had questioned the 26 January decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I in a submission to the international court. “I will not give up the prerogative of our government to enforce the laws to protect our society from the evils of drug addiction. That is precisely the reason why there is a government,” Enrile asserted during his weekly Bayan ni Juan program. Who enforces the ICC ruling? “My question: Whenever a court makes a decision, there is somebody to enforce it like the police but who would the ICC order to enforce its directive? Does it have an armada to carry the arresting officers?” Enrile asked. He wondered if the ICC could even rule a country in contempt if the court’s decision was not followed. “Maybe they can put pressure on other countries to impose economic sanctions [on us] but I doubt it because among those likely to lend the ICC a hand is the United States which at the moment needs the Philippines so it is even expected to come to the country’s succor,” Enrile said, of a possible outcome if the tribunal insisted on its probe. “The US can do several things to aid the Philippines in case of a deadlock with the ICC. For instance, it can withhold its contributions to the United Nations,” he pointed out. The ICC is an adjunct tribunal of the UN. Enrile revealed there have been frequent discussions on the ICC proceedings in the Cabinet. “We’ve discussed that (in the regular Cabinet meetings), and that is my position, that since the country has withdrawn from the ICC, it does not need to be subjected to its processes.” Enrile recalled that during his tenure as defense secretary under President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., “we were threatened” by the administration of Democratic US President Jimmy Carter. In response, the government expelled one of the US officials who had made several demands regarding human rights protection in the country. Enrile was referring to Patricia Murphy Derian, who was an American civil rights activist who had fought racism in Mississippi and went on to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs from 1977 to 1981. “She was told, ‘Get the hell out of this country. You can’t dictate to us,’” Enrile recounted. Moreover, Enrile cited the need to differentiate between law enforcement according to the Philippine Constitution and complying with the wishes of the ICC, “or the UN for that matter.” “We have to recognize that the ICC is exerting efforts against the country because the prosecutors have to earn a living by going after us,” Enrile said. “It is according to each’s self-interest,” the veteran public servant stressed. The post Enrile to ICC: ‘No surrender’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NASA to unveil new Webb image on telescope’s first anniversary
NASA is set Wednesday to unveil a new image from the James Webb Space Telescope a year after it first stunned the world with breathtaking views of the distant cosmos. Webb, the most powerful observatory in orbit, was launched in December 2021 from French Guiana, on a million-mile (1.6 million kilometer) voyage to a region called the second Lagrange point. Its first full-color picture was revealed by President Joe Biden on July 11, 2022: the clearest view yet of the early universe, going back 13 billion years. The next wave included "mountains" and "valleys" of a star-forming region, dubbed the Cosmic Cliffs, in a region of space called the Carina Nebula; and a grouping of five galaxies bound in a celestial dance, called Stephan's Quintet. NASA has remained coy about the nature of Wednesday's release, which will be made available on its website at 6:00 am Eastern Time (1000 GMT). Webb boasts a primary mirror measuring more than 21 feet (6.5 meters) that is made up of 18 hexagonal, gold-coated segments, as well as a five-layer sunshield the size of a tennis court. Unlike its predecessor Hubble, it operates primarily in the infrared spectrum, allowing it to look back nearer towards the start of time, and to better penetrate dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are being formed today. Key discoveries include some of the earliest galaxies formed a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, finding carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system, and, in our own neck of the woods, stunning new views of the planet Jupiter. Webb has enough fuel for a 20-year-long mission, promising a new era of astronomy. It will soon be joined in its orbit by Europe's Euclid space telescope, which launched on July 1 on a mission to shed light on two of the universe's greatest mysteries: dark energy and dark matter. The post NASA to unveil new Webb image on telescope’s first anniversary appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BI defends Taiwan traveler’s offloading
The Bureau of Immigration said that a Filipino bound for Taiwan had been barred from leaving the country after raising several flags, including questionable documents and failure to declare her real travel intentions. Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said he has ordered a deeper probe into the incident after a social media post claimed the traveller was stopped at the airport without valid reasons. Tansingco revealed that the traveler said she was going to Taiwan to visit a distant relative, but she could not establish her relationship with her sponsor. Likewise, the barred passenger could not provide the BI details of how she intended to support herself during her 14-day visit to Taiwan. Tansingco said the BI does not arbitrarily stop passengers from leaving the country and that whenever they do so, they have valid reasons. Travelers need not worry if they have the proper documentation for their intended purpose of travel, according to Tansingco. The post BI defends Taiwan traveler’s offloading appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump: WH ‘coke’ Joe’s or Hunter’s
Former US President Donald Trump insinuated Thursday that the cocaine found at the White House may be assumed to belong to President Joe Biden or his troubled son, Hunter. “Does anybody really believe that the cocaine found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, was for the use of anyone other than Hunter and Joe Biden?” Trump posted on social media. The cocaine revelation immediately sparked speculations in right-wing circles that Hunter, a recovering drug user, was somehow responsible. The White House sought to get the highly unusual story under control as details emerged of the drug’s discovery in one of the most carefully guarded buildings in the world. Biden has made it a priority to restore traditional decorum to the White House after the Trump years, which included reports that the Republican president had a habit of flushing documents down toilets. However, the 80-year-old Democrat has been dogged by salacious reporting over his son Hunter’s troubled private life, including the trained lawyer’s well-documented battle with severe drug addiction. Initial reports were of a white powder, sparking fears of the kind of episode regularly occurring in official Washington buildings where unidentified powders found during searches or received in the mail are treated as potential chemical attacks. This prompted a brief evacuation. But an entirely new set of alarms went off when preliminary analysis by technicians from the city’s fire department determined the substance was actually cocaine. On Wednesday, the US Secret Service, which protects the presidential mansion, announced it “just confirmed that the substance found was cocaine and our investigation is ongoing.” The cocaine was found in an area frequently used by visitors on tours — and not while President Biden and his family were on the premises, officials said Wednesday. Reflecting the brouhaha, reporters at a meeting between Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson mostly skipped asking questions on NATO and geopolitics for unsuccessful attempts to query the President on his position regarding the cocaine. In an attempt to put an end to the gossip, the White House made clear that circumstantial evidence, at least, pointed to a visitor being responsible, not anyone connected to the Bidens. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the narcotic was found in an area routinely used by outsiders invited by White House staffers to tour the West Wing, which includes the Oval Office. Before entering the sensitive areas of the complex, visitors are asked to leave cellphones behind in lockers, which is where the narcotic was reportedly found. With AFP The post Trump: WH ‘coke’ Joe’s or Hunter’s appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»