With the influx of iPhone 8 rumors, you would probably have a good idea of what the upcoming Apple flagship will look like and be like – which is to say, it’s going to be pretty nice. Just to add fuel to the fire, Olixar has actually listed their full cover screen protector accessory for the iPhone 8, giving people … Continue reading
Fuze Code Studio is a “game” that will be available on the Nintendo Switch this summer, but we put that term in quotes because this app is not really a game in the normal sense of the word. Fuze Code Studio aims to help players learn how to code on the Nintendo Switch, and even code their own 2D and … Continue reading
By Nathan Layne and Julia Edwards Ainsley
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal investigators probing the lobbying work of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn are focused in part on the role of Bijan Kian, Flynn’s former business partner, according to a person interviewed by the FBI.
Investigators are also looking at whether payments from foreign clients to Flynn and his company, the now-inactive Flynn Intel Group, were lawful, according to two separate sources with knowledge of the broad inquiry into Flynn’s business activities. That includes payments by three Russian companies and a Netherlands-based company, Inovo, controlled by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin, they said.
The FBI’s interest in Kian has not been previously reported. Kian played a central role in securing and overseeing the Inovo contract, two people with knowledge of that project said.
It is not clear whether Kian is a target of the criminal investigation or whether investigators are trying to build a fuller understanding of how Flynn’s company operated.
A person recently interviewed by the FBI in connection with the Flynn investigation said agents from the bureau’s criminal division had asked as much about Kian and his work on the project with Alptekin as they had about Flynn.
Kian did not respond to repeated requests for comment, nor did the lawyer he recently hired, Robert Trout. The FBI declined to comment.
Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, did not respond to requests for comment. Alptekin declined to comment for this story but last month told Reuters that he was satisfied with the work done by Flynn Intel Group and denied any wrongdoing.
The FBI has been investigating whether Flynn’s consulting firm lobbied on behalf of Turkey – after being paid $530,000 by Inovo – without making the proper disclosure, Reuters reported earlier this month.
The federal investigation is being run by special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller has a mandate to investigate contacts between Russia and Trump’s 2016 election campaign team and any related matters. Flynn was fired by the Trump administration in February after officials said he mischaracterized a series of phone calls with Russia’s ambassador last December.
The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has separately been looking into whether Flynn made false statements in applying for security clearance, said he was also scrutinizing Kian.
“I have an interest in Bijan Kian and his interactions with General Flynn based on specific documents already obtained by the Committee,” Elijah Cummings told Reuters in an email.
Kelner has sought immunity for Flynn in exchange for his testimony, saying his client “certainly has a story to tell.”
FAILED COUP OPENS A DOOR
In private conversations with potential clients, Kian portrayed himself as a rainmaker for Flynn, tapping into connections cultivated during a five-year tenure as a director at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, according to one person who worked with the firm.
Alptekin told Reuters in May that his firm hired Flynn Intel Group to research Gulen’s activities in the United States, which he suspected were “poisoning” relations between the United States and Turkey. Like Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan, Alptekin blamed the coup on followers of Gulen.
Gulen has denied any role in the coup and dismisses Turkey’s allegations that he heads a terrorist organization.
Kian oversaw key elements of the project that emerged, including a still-unfinished documentary on Gulen, according to two people involved in the project.
Inovo paid Flynn Intel Group a total of $530,000, starting in September, according to a Justice Department filing by the company in March. Flynn Intel Group paid $80,000 to Inovo in “consultancy fees,” according to the filing, which does not provide more detail on why payments were made in both directions.
On Sept. 19, Kian and Flynn met in New York with Turkey’s foreign minister and energy minister, who is Erdogan’s son-in-law, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting.
In late October Kian invited staff of the House Homeland Security Committee to Flynn Intel Group’s headquarters in Virginia. The meeting was called to show off new mobile phone security technology, but Kian also used the opportunity to try to get a congressional hearing on Gulen, according to a person at the meeting.
At that point, the Flynn Intel Group had only disclosed its work for Alptekin’s Inovo in a filing with Congress. It had not mentioned Inovo’s ties to Turkey.
When Justice Department officials became aware months later that Kian and other Flynn Intel Group officials had met with Turkish officials they insisted on a fuller disclosure, people involved in those discussions said.
The Flynn Intel Group made the more detailed disclosure in its March filing with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act that said the work that Flynn and Kian did for Inovo “could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey.”
(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Additional reporting by John Walcott, Julia Harte and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Ross Colvin)
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Bugs are everywhere. There’s no refuting that fact. That’s why the FDA has to make allowances for a certain amount of insects or insect fragments in our food. They’re labeled as unavoidable defects in food and found in lots of ingredients, such as peanut butter, chocolate and even fruits and vegetables. This includes coffee, folks. COFFEE.
The FDA keeps a cap on the amount of insects allowed in our food, but over time this number adds up. (Math can be a scary thing sometimes.) If you look at the quantity of food you’ve eaten over time and the amount of insect bits allowed in that food, what you end up with is a whole lot of bugs.
Terro, the insect control company, put together a chart with that information. They looked at how many bugs and insect fragments the FDA allows to be found packaged in foods, and calculated what that would amount to over the course of a year per person. The most startling outcome is how many insect fragments are in your morning cup of coffee. You might want to sit down for this … after a year of drinking coffee, you can ingest up to 136,080 insect fragments.
Do the insects affect the quality of your coffee? No. You can’t even taste them. In fact, many people are moving toward eating bugs because they’re a sustainable protein source and leave very little impact on the environment when farmed. But, we just thought you should know.
Check out the infographic from Terro for more information on how many of these fragments the average American eats per year.
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We have news: there’s a chance you’ve been pronouncing sherbet wrong your whole life. You may have even been spelling it wrong, too.
Sherbet, the frozen dessert that tastes somewhere between sorbet and ice cream, is often pronounced sher-bert. The proper pronunciation is actually sher-bet.
Folks have been adding an extra “r” to the second syllable for so long that now it feels weird to call this frozen treat by its proper name. And it all has to do with our love for rhyming ― and the song, “Shoot the sherbert to me Herbert.”
Watch the video above from Eater for the whole story. And stop adding that extra R to your fruity frozen treat.
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Stephen Colbert took aim Monday at the confusing damage control by President Donald Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow.
After Trump confirmed he was under investigation for obstruction of justice in the FBI’s Russia investigation, Sekulow contradicted the commander-in-chief by saying Trump was not under investigation. Or did he?
During appearances on news shows, the lawyer seemed to say both ― and presented yet another possibility.
“So to recap … Sekulow is saying Trump is not under investigation, is under investigation, and he has no idea if he’s under investigation,” Colbert said in a monologue on the “Late Show.” “A good lawyer covers his bases. That way when the judge asks how does your client plead, guilty or innocent, he can answer all of the above.”
Watch the full zing-fest above and get caught up on the latest episode of “Survivor: Justice Department Island.”
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ProtonMail, the encrypted email created by CERN and MIT scientists, has released a new product in response to the administration’s roll back of Obama-era internet privacy rules. Starting today, you can try out the company’s VPN service, which was in…
Early September? Late August? Mid August? Those so far have been speculated early dates for the Galaxy Note 8. The latest seems to have favored a scenario that has Samsung scrambling to overtake the iPhone 8. While it seems that Samsung will indeed scheduled its annual Unpacked Event away from IFA in September, it might not be in such a … Continue reading
A little boy with a hearing impairment got the surprise of his young life recently during a trip to Disneyland when he had a character encounter in sign language.
Olive Crest, an organization that helps abused and at-risk children, posted footage online of the little boy approaching Pluto, Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse.
The, the Disney magic happened.
The organization said the boy’s sign language translator was standing just behind him, coaching Minnie and Mickey so they could greet the child in a way he would understand.
His reaction is priceless.
“Guys, this kid is the most incredible child I’ve ever met. He is mostly deaf, so the ASL translator is behind him, signing to the characters so they can copy her and communicate with the little guy,” the organization wrote. “He is not a big hugger, so that hug for Minnie is something special.”
Mickey and Minnie said “It’s nice to meet you” and “I love you,” according to Olive Crest.
KSEQ reports that the little boy is 2 and a half years old and from Chino, about 30 miles away from the Anaheim theme park. He has not been publicly named.
A similar moment happened recently at Walt Disney World in Florida, when a deaf toddler communicated in sign language with Mickey Mouse at a character meal.
(H/T Mashable)
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There are more than 500 days until the midterm election, but House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is already facing his second challenger.
Randy Bryce, a union ironworker, announced on Monday that he would seek the Democratic nomination to run against Ryan, and released a video emphasizing what has so far been the biggest issue of the year: health care.
The two-and-a-half-minute video featured Bryce’s mother, who described living with multiple sclerosis and the 20 drugs she must take to survive.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that there are thousands of people like her who don’t have what she has,” Bryce said in the video. “The system is extremely flawed.”
After discussing his family, his work and his local roots, Bryce issued a challenge to Ryan.
“Let’s trade places,” Bryce said. “Paul Ryan, you can come work the iron and I’ll go to D.C.”
According to a campaign news release, Bryce is a cancer survivor, community activist and Army veteran. He’s also run unsuccessfully twice for the state legislature, The Associated Press reported.
Republicans were quick to seize on that.
“The voters of Wisconsin have already rejected Randy Bryce multiple times,” the Republican Party of Wisconsin said in a statement cited by the Racine Journal Times. “Instead of fighting for hardworking Wisconsin families, Randy Bryce will say and do anything to get to Washington and defend his liberal special interest friends.”
Before he can face Ryan, however, Bryce will have to win the nomination. Last month, David Yankovich announced he would seek the Democratic nomination for the district. The 31-year-old Navy vet told the Kenosha News that he moved from Ohio to Wisconsin earlier this year just to challenge Ryan.
Whoever wins the primary in August 2018 will face Ryan two decades after he first won the seat. Ryan has easily won reelection ever since, last year taking 65 percent of the vote, per Ballotpedia.
The district hasn’t elected a Democrat to Congress since a 1993 special election.
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