Wagner law group

See the article in its original context from May 22, 1999 Section Page Buy Reprints View on timesmachine TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. A Democratic fund-raiser and longtime Arkansas friend of President Clinton pleaded guilty today in a Federal court in Little Rock, Ark., to two charges related to his political fund-raising, and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's long-running campaign finance inquiry. The fund-raiser, Yah Lin Trie, was one of the first major Democratic figures from Mr. Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign to be charged in an indictment in January 1998. Mr. Trie was important because he was one of small group of Clinton associates who used contacts in Asia to help seek money for the Democrats, ultimately raising more than $1 million for the Democratic National Committee and Mr. Clinton's legal defense fund. In the plea agreement, the Government said it would dismiss all charges … [Read more...] about Friend of President Admits to Violating Fund-Raising Laws

Two British solar energy firms, Climate Energy and the Mark Group , collapsed into administration (another word for insolvency in the U.K.) within two days of each other. Climate Energy was the U.K.’s largest independent energy efficiency company, with revenues of £47 million last year, but now they’re in dire straits. The company has blamed its collapse on cuts in government solar subsidies by the Tory government. The Mark Group, the other solar company to bust, also blamed U.K. conservatives for its demise, but the company’s New Zealand branch and two separate branches in the United States also went under in recent months. The Tory government says that it is supporting “good-value green energy” and that it wants to “cut emissions as cost-effectively as possible.” Tories argue that technology costs have fallen, and therefore, consumers need to be protected from higher energy bills. In 2014, energy bills in the United Kingdom were roughly 54 percent higher … [Read more...] about Solar Companies Go BANKRUPT Once Subsidies Are Cut

In lucrative paid speeches that Hillary Clinton delivered to elite financial firms but refused to disclose to the public, she displayed an easy comfort with titans of business, embraced unfettered international trade and praised a budget-balancing plan that would have required cuts to Social Security, according to documents posted online Friday by WikiLeaks. The tone and language of the excerpts clash with the fiery liberal approach she used later in her bitter primary battle with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and could have undermined her candidacy had they become public. Mrs. Clinton comes across less as a firebrand than as a technocrat at home with her powerful audience, willing to be critical of large financial institutions but more inclined to view them as partners in restoring the country’s economic health. In the excerpts from her paid speeches to financial institutions and corporate audiences, Mrs. Clinton said she dreamed of “open trade and open borders” throughout … [Read more...] about Leaked Speech Excerpts Show a Hillary Clinton at Ease With Wall Street

In a lawsuit stemming from a ski accident that occurred in 2016, actress Gwyneth Paltrow testified in her own defense telling the court Friday she was the actual victim in the collision. Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, is suing Paltrow after reportedly suffering a brain injury and four broken ribs when she allegedly collided into him at the Deer Valley resort in Utah seven years ago. Sanderson has alleged that Paltrow was skiing “recklessly,” leaving him on the ground injured as she and her entourage made their way down the rest of the mountain. Paltrow offered an alternative sequence of events while on the stand, claiming instead to have been struck by Sanderson.  Paltrow alleged that as she was watching her children ski down the slope her accuser slammed into her from behind. “I was skiing and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart,” Paltrow stated, according to Variety, adding that Sanderson’s body was pressing against hers. Paltrow testified that … [Read more...] about ‘You Skied Directly Into My F*cking Back’: Gwyneth Paltrow Pushes Back On Ski Crash Allegations In Testimony

The Russian and Ukrainian armed forces have been accused of torturing and executing prisoners of war over the past year by the United Nations, which said that such actions could amount to war crimes. A report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) claimed that both Russia and Ukraine have engaged in the summary execution of prisoners of war, which contravenes numerous international human rights laws and treaties on war. The OHCHR said that they documented cases of summary executions of at least 25 Russian prisoners of war (POWs) under the authority of Ukrainian forces. “Such cases amount to gross violations of [international human rights law] and serious violations of [international humanitarian law] that may constitute war crimes,” the report said. The UN body went on to claim to have documented poor treatment of POWs at eight of the 31 transit or permanent camps run by the Ukrainian government, in which they found documented … [Read more...] about U.N. Accuses Both Russia and Ukraine of Potential War Crimes

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – The top commander of Ukraine’s military said Saturday that his forces are pushing back against Russian troops in the long and grinding battle for the town of Bakhmut, and British military intelligence says Russia appears to be moving to a defensive strategy in eastern Ukraine. “The Bakhmut direction is the most difficult. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the defence forces, the situation is being stabilized,” Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in a post on Telegram giving a synopsis of a telephone call with Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, Britain’s chief of defence staff. The seven-month battle for Bakhmut, where Russian forces have closed in on three sides, is the longest clash of the war, with Russia deploying both regular soldiers and fighters of the mercenary Wagner Group. Russian forces must go through Bakhmut to push deeper into parts of the eastern Donbas region, though Western officials say that the capture of the city would have limited impact on the course of the … [Read more...] about Bakhmut Situation Being ‘Stabilised’ by ‘Titanic Efforts’ of Defenders – Kyiv

WASHINGTON — When Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, arranged a tour of the D.C. jail to inspect the conditions of defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Democrats faced a choice: Boycott or participate. House Democrats had watched last Congress as the Republican leader Kevin McCarthy pulled his members from a Democratic-led select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, and then found themselves without a voice in the nationally televised hearings. After debating the matter internally, the Democrats were determined not to make that same mistake. So, after a roughly two-hour tour of the jail Friday, when Ms. Greene finished her remarks to news reporters gathered outside, Representative Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas, stepped up to the microphones. “Somebody’s got to be here to tell the truth,” said Ms. Crockett, a first-term member of Congress and a former public defender. “If we weren’t here, there would be no check for whatever … [Read more...] about Lawmakers Tour D.C. Jail Where Jan. 6 Defendants Are Held

Drones will be deployed in a Dutch municipality to monitor whether people’s homes meet zoning regulations, monitor construction sites, and protected wildlife areas. The Dutch municipality of Deventer has been accused of wanting to usher in an Orwellian society after it revealed plans to use drones to monitor compliance with local laws such as zoning regulations or even wildlife protection. Mayor Ron König defended the plan, saying : “We don’t make videos and no one who comes into the picture is recognisable,” claiming that drones would be used in limited instances such as monitoring the construction of buildings. “That’s very useful in the city because you have big buildings there. If you want to supervise in the normal way, you sometimes have to build risers or rent aerial work platforms. It’s much more convenient and efficient to deploy drones.” König said that drones could also be deployed to watch over protected nature areas, explaining: “Deventer has a large outdoor … [Read more...] about Big Brother: Govt to Use Drones to Monitor Property Zoning Compliance

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Standing in a warehouse outside downtown Rochester, Jeffrey Medford watered his cannabis crop under industrial lights. He’s among the many growers who’ve transformed the city’s network of defunct factories into sophisticated indoor farms. Mr. Medford, 58, who has grown cannabis for nearly a decade after a career as a carpenter, would typically be hypervigilant for any slip up that would alert the police to his presence. An outsized electricity bill, for example, could give him away. But since January, Mr. Medford has spoken openly about his operation to a packed online classroom as part of a business mentorship program. In January, New York State regulators launched the Cannabis Compliance Training & Mentorship Program. The goal is to give legacy operators — loosely defined as players in the illicit market before legalization took place in 2021 — the information and skills necessary to stay current with emerging rules. For the first time, growers in the legal … [Read more...] about Can Cannabis Class Help the Industry Legalize? Growers Are Doubtful.