News From Around the Web
#1 Court Documents Expose Rubio, Wiles, and Conway’s Ties to $50 Million Scam - Sarah K. Burris for AlterNet, DailyMail/Waqas Ahmad, Alex/Vanity Fair, Luke Goldstein/RafaelSánchezAballí, Not a Coconut/Nick Cleveland-Stout, and QueenAuracle/Grok on X
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has shared a 20-year relationship with a man that the government alleges is a foreign agent for Venezuela. It turns out, that man also has very close ties to several people in President Donald Trump's orbit The sprawling case centers on a $50 million Venezuelan lobbying scheme allegedly orchestrated by Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.), convicted cocaine trafficker Hugo Perera, and sanctioned media mogul Raúl Gorrín on behalf of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, a Tuesday report from The Lever said...
#2 Internal Pentagon Memo Orders Military Commanders to Remove Anthropic AI Technology From Key Systems - CBS News, knowledge, GW Law Government Procurement, A L O K/Anthropic, John Iosifov Ender Turing | AiCMO, Jean-Michel Glachant, and Ryan Selkis (Solomon)/Holly Elmore (community note) on X
The Defense Department has officially notified senior leadership figures throughout the U.S. military that they must remove Anthropic's artificial intelligence products from their systems within 180 days, according to an internal memorandum obtained by CBS News. The memo was dated March 6, a day after the Pentagon formally designated Anthropic a supply chain risk. It was distributed to senior leaders on Monday, alleging Anthropic's AI "presents an unacceptable supply chain risk for use in all [Department of War] systems and networks."
#3 The Smart Pill Economy - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, annie, Liz Churchill, Tatanka, snehal mali, and John Bull on X
Big Pharma has spent decades trying to get people to take their plethora of medications. Now, the controversial industry is going a step further with “smart pills” that can report back after they’ve been swallowed. Of course, there is enormous profit involved. The global market for so-called smart pills is projected to reach $5 billion within the next decade. These little devices, which include ingestible capsules equipped with sensors, cameras, or tracking technology, can capture images of the gastrointestinal tract, confirm whether a patient actually took a medication, and, in some cases, transmit physiological signals to external monitoring systems. And the center of this booming market is not Europe or Asia, it is the United States...#4 Two ISIS Supporters Charged With Attempting to Detonate Explosive Devices During Protests Outside Gracie Mansion - United States Department of Justice, Greg Price, Collin Rugg, Eric Daugherty, Kevin Sorbo, Right Angle News Network, and Alec Lace on X
Today, the Department of Justice announced charges against Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, alleging that they attempted to detonate two explosive devices in the vicinity of Gracie Mansion and that they were acting in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.“This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation—our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant, as they were when these devices were brought to a protest.”
#5 Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris Advance to Runoff in Georgia Special Election - Zachary Bynum for CBS, The Beacon, Anthony lafrate, NYNanc, Mike's Random Thoughts, and Lise Latulippe @liselatulippe.bsky.social on X
Georgia's special election to pick former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's successor will advance to a runoff after no candidate received the required majority of votes to win outright, CBS News projects. Polls closed in the Georgia 14th Congressional District special election at 7 p.m., with the results showing that former District Attorney Clay Fuller and retired Army Brig. Gen. Shawn Harris received the most votes. The Republican and Democrat, respectively, will face each other in the April 7 runoff. Fuller finished fourth in the 2020 Republican primary that Greene won. He was appointed as the district attorney of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit in 2023 and winning a full term in 2024 before leaving the position to run for the seat. He was supported in the race by President Trump, who said that the former White House fellow had his "complete and total endorsement."
#6 California Bishop’s Alleged Secret Double Life Explodes Into Felony Case - Julia Bonavita for Fox News, Mitch, NBC 7 San Diego, Catholic Christendom, and Winthrop Rodgers on X
A California bishop who allegedly frequented Mexican brothels is facing more than a dozen felony charges stemming from allegations that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his church. Bishop Emanuel Shaleta of Saint Peter’s Chaldean in San Diego pleaded not guilty to eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated white collar crime enhancement at a court hearing on Monday, according to KUSI. Shaleta was arrested at the San Diego International Airport while trying to leave the country on Thursday, March 5, the San Diego Sheriff’s Office said in a statement...
#7 Alexander Brothers, High-Profile US Real Estate Brokers, Guilty of Sex Trafficking - Associated Press/The Guardian, Daily Mail, Thomas Massie, Epstein File Search, Dr. Simon Goddek, Ed Krassenstein, and LongTime FirstTime on X
Three brothers, including two of the nation’s most successful luxury real estate brokers, were convicted of sex trafficking charges on Monday after a five-week trial over accusations that they used drugs and force to rape scores of women they had dazzled with their wealth and opulent lifestyle. The verdict came after 11 women testified they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers: twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 39. The women described attacks that occurred after they were invited to vacation locales, including the Hamptons, a Caribbean cruise, and a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado. More than 60 women say they were raped by one or more of the brothers, according to prosecutors...
#8 Iran Targets Commercial Ships, Dubai Airport, and Oil Facilities as Concerns Grow Over Global Energy - Jon Gambrell and David Rising for AP, albert kinsington, Zaki Solja, The Protagonist/BRICS News/Sundar, KUMV-TV, and News 4 Buffalo on X
Iran attacked commercial ships on Wednesday across the Persian Gulf and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic. Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates and the world’s busiest for international travel. Four people were wounded but flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said. Iran’s joint military command announced it would start targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East. That would put at risk, particularly, Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which is home to many international financial institutions, as well as Saudi Arabia and the island kingdom of Bahrain...
#9 Kansas Revoked 1,700 Transgender Drivers’ Licenses. Some Are Leaving the State - Jo Yurcaba for NBC News, Spunkeat/VANNIALL, Timothy/TwiddlyDi (she/her) LGBTQQI+ Ally, Pridetoons, and KAKE News on X
Some 1,700 Kansans had their driver’s licenses invalidated last month. It wasn’t for racking up speeding tickets or a DUI charge, but because they are transgender. Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers. Hundreds of trans drivers already received letters from the state informing them their documents were “invalid immediately” and they “may be subject to additional penalties” if they continue to drive, unless they surrender the license to the Kansas Division of Vehicles and receive a new one with their birth sex...#10 Valerie Jarrett Earned $740K as Obama Insiders Filled Top Roles During $850M Presidential Center Build - Michael Dorgan for Fox News, KC, Evan Carpenter, TRUMPGIRL, Dabar, and Nick on X
As construction nears completion on the long-delayed $850 million Obama Presidential Center, federal tax filings show the Obama Foundation paid CEO Valerie Jarrett $740,000 in 2024 while several former Obama White House officials collected six-figure salaries as foundation executives. The Obama Foundation — which will operate the 19.3-acre center on publicly owned Chicago parkland — paid its CEO more than any other major presidential foundation. Salaries and benefits soared from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024, as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million...
