Monday, October 11, 2021

In the United States on Saturday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) arrested a couple in West Virginia. Court documents released Sunday allege they tried to sell classified data to a foreign nation.

The Maryland couple, former U.S. Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana Toebbe, were both arrested and charged with violating the Atomic Energy Act. Mr. Toebbe worked on naval nuclear reactors and acoustic quieting. Ms. Toebbe is a teacher at the private Key School in their neighborhood in Annapolis, now on indefinite suspension according to the school.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in regards to the case, “The complaint charges a plot to transmit information relating to the design of our nuclear submarines to a foreign nation.” The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges the couple tried to sell this information to a foreign agent who was actually an FBI undercover agent.

Documents filed in federal court allege Mr. Toebbe arranged to sell restricted information to a foreign power identified only as “COUNTRY1” over several months via encrypted messages, and that he arranged “drops” of these data on SD cards in various locations in exchange for payments in cryptocurrency.

At the first of the drops in West Virginia, the DOJ alleges Mr. Toebbe hid an SD card in a peanut butter sandwich while Ms. Toebbe acted as a lookout. At the second of these in eastern Virginia, the DOJ charges that an SD card was placed in a chewing gum package. Federal officers arrested the couple at the third drop site, in West Virginia, on Saturday.

Both Mr. and Ms. Toebbe are set to appear in federal court tomorrow in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Republican State Senator Scott Brown has won the Massachusetts United States Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy in a major upset victory, becoming the first Republican that state has elected in 38 years. The state senator from Wrentham beat Massachusetts’s Attorney General, Martha Coakley, in a closely watched race that many believe may have a nationwide impact.

With higher than expected turnout — despite snow and rain blanketing much of the state — Brown won with 51.9% of the vote, as Coakley lagged behind closely with 47.1% of the vote in a state generally considered to be heavily Democratic. The race garnered national attention when Brown came from behind in opinion polls to take a last-minute lead, leaving Democrats scrambling. Meanwhile, Independent Libertarian Joseph L. Kennedy, who has no relation to the late Senator Kennedy, ran under the Liberty ticket on the ballot and only garnered one percent of the vote with 22,237 votes.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin predicted earlier in the day that turnout would be 40 to 55 percent. Galvin was quote as saying, “We’ve been in touch with many of our city and town clerks to monitor turnout. They uniformly tell us that turnout is brisk, that interest is strong.”

Galvin added, “We’re particularly seeing a high level of interest in some of the suburban communities. Traditionally cities tend to vote somewhat later. But we have seen a number of communities (with) lines, and people standing in lines, very patiently, in the snow.” His office sent out 105,000 absentee ballots.

Brown’s strongest vote came from the suburbs of Boston where independent voters, which make up a majority in Massachusetts, generally live.

Coakley’s strongest vote came from the cities, including the capital, Boston, where she won by a large margin, along with Massachusetts’ second and third largest cities, Worcester and Springfield. Other large cities that went for Coakley included New Bedford, Fall River, Brockton, Lynn, Salem, and Lawrence.

Wikinews reporter Patrick Mannion noted the turnout at his polling place in Lynn was small to moderate.

Brown has promised to be the 41st Republican senator that will end the Democrats’ filibuster proof supermajority and in a ironic twist of fate possibly end health-care reform of which his predecessor Ted Kennedy called “the cause of my life.”

Coakley called Brown shortly before the election was called for him to concede to him. She then went in front of supporters at Boston’s Sheraton Hotel saying, “Although our campaign ends tonight, we know that our mission continues and our work goes on.” Coakley continued, “I am heartbroken at the result and I know that you are also, but I know that you will get up together and continue this fight even with this result tonight.”

Coakley finished her speech with a slight crack in her voice by quoting Ted Kennedy’s famous line from the 1980 Democratic National Convention, “The work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on.”

Meanwhile, at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel, Brown gave his victory speech to supporters saying, “I’ll bet they can hear all this cheering down in Washington, D.C.” Brown continued, saying, “And I hope they’re paying close attention, because tonight the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken.”

Brown added, “This Senate seat belongs to no one person and no political party — and as I have said before, and you said loud and clear today, it is the people’s seat.” He continued, “The people, by their votes, have now filled the office themselves, and I am ready to go to Washington without delay.”

Brown was joined on stage by his wife, Gail Huff, a reporter for local television station WCVB-TV, and his two daughters Arianna and Ayla Brown. Ayla was previously a contestant on the reality singing show American Idol. Brown said, “I rely as always, on Gail’s love and support and that of our beautiful daughters.”

Brown jokingly added, “And just in case anyone who’s watching throughout the country they’re both available. No, no. No. Only kidding, only kidding. Only kidding, only kidding. Arianna… Arianna’s, definitely not available. But Ayla is. This is Arianna. This is Ayla. I can see I’m going to get in trouble when I get home.”

Brown closed by saying, “I’m Scott Brown. I’m from Wrentham. I drive a truck, and I am nobody’s senator but yours.”

President Barack Obama phoned both candidates Tuesday night, congratulating Brown on a well-run campaign and saying he is eager to work with him on the urgent problems facing Massachusetts voters and all Americans.

Coakley noted the President’s call in her concession speech saying, “He actually just called me before I came onstage to say that we can’t win them all, and he knows that better than any, as he told me. But he appreciates what I did and what you did, and he said to extend his heartfelt thanks to everyone who worked on the campaign.”

Brown’s response to the President’s call was, “Would you like me to drive the truck down to Washington so you can see it?” Brown was referring to his 2005 GMC Canyon pickup truck which became an icon of his campaign, which featured in commericals portraying him as an everyday, regular joe Massachusetts citizen. The pickup truck was mocked by President Obama when he made a campaign stop on Sunday to drum up support for the lagging Coakley.

This led Brown to quip, “I didn’t mind when President Obama came here and criticized me — that happens in campaigns. But when he criticized my truck, that’s where I draw the line.”

Senator-elect Brown will fill the remaining two years of Ted Kennedy’s term. Brown will replace Senator Paul Kirk, a longtime friend of Ted Kennedy who was holding the seat in the interim until the special election was concluded.

The last time Massachusetts elected a Republican was in 1972 when they re-elected Edward Brooke, the state’s first African-American senator, to a second term. Brooke first ran in 1966 and was elected then.

However, the seat that Ted Kennedy held, which is the Class 1 seat, was held by a Republican until 1952 when Henry Cabot Lodge lost his re-election bid to Ted’s older brother, John F. Kennedy, who would later become the 35th President of the United States. Ted Kennedy won the seat in a special election in 1962 against Lodge’s son, George C. Lodge. Kennedy held the seat for 46 years until dying of brain cancer in August 2009.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

At least 11 people died in Benghazi, Libya on Friday when about 1,000 protesters surrounded and set fire to an Italian consulate and burned Danish flags. The demonstration was in protest of Italian Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli, who had worn a T-shirt displaying the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons.

A Libyan government statement said, “eleven casualties, including dead, resulted from the clashes.” some of the casualties were police officers.

After wearing the T-shirt, Calderoli offered to resign.

On Saturday, Libya suspended its Interior Minister, Nasr al-Mabrouk. Libya said that “excessive use of force” was used in the riots the day before. The government also said that “all those involved in Friday’s riots and the officials responsible for them” should be investigated and referred to the courts. “We condemn the excessive use of force and the inappropriate way that went beyond the limits of carrying out the duties of the police.”

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

In February 2017, the Iranian Chess Federation announced two teenage chess players, Dorsa Derakhshani and her younger brother Borna Derakhshani, were banned from representing the national team. The federation announced their decision although Dorsa Derakhshani had previously decided and informed the chess federation she did not wish to play for Iran.

Dorsa Derakhshani is currently 21 years old and holds the International Master (IM) as well as Woman Grand Master (WGM) titles. Her brother, Borna, plays for the English Federation and holds the FIDE Master title.

Dorsa Derakhshani was banned since she did not wear a hijab, an Islamic headscarf, while competing at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival in January 2017. Under the laws of Islamic Republic of Iran, hijab is a mandatory dress code. Her brother Borna Deraskhsani was banned for playing against Israeli Grand Master (GM) Alexander Huzman at the same tournament. Iran does not recognise the existence of Israel, and previously, Irani athletes have avoided playing against Israeli athletes.

Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, the president of the country’s chess federation, explained the decision to ban the players saying, “As a first step, these two will be denied entry to all tournaments taking place in Iran and in the name of Iran, they will no longer be allowed the opportunity to be present on the national team.” ^{((fa))Farsi language: ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????.} He further stated, “Unfortunately, something that should not have happened has happened and our national interest is paramount and we have reported this position to the Ministry of Sports.” ^{((fa))Farsi language: ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????.}

IM Dorsa Derakhshani, who currently studies at Saint Louis University in the United States and plays for the United States Chess Federation, discussed her chess career, time in Iran and the 2017 controversy, and her life in Saint Louis with a Wikinews correspondent.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Microsoft‘s subscription-based MSN Explorer Internet browser left many of its users frozen out beginning on Friday of last week. Launching the application brought the user to a window stating that the software encountered a problem and had to be closed.

The Internet Explorer browser software bundled with the Windows operating system remains operable, along with other non-MSN software. Subscribers to MSN are still able to retrieve e-mail by accessing their Hotmail account. Telephone support wait times to resolve the connectivity problem with the browser exceeded 45 minutes on Sunday evening. Beginning on Saturday, callers were prompted that wait times were “unusually long due to high call volume”.

A query to on-line chat with technical support to resolve the issue was met with, “I sincerely apologize for the length of time that it took you to get to us. We have been swamped with sessions and I am just glad that you finally got me to help you out.”

The silent and automatic upgrade to the 9.5 version of MSN Explorer, from verson 9.0, is experiencing difficulties on some machines. Users can log on to support using their account at membercenter.msn.com, click the Support button on the left column of the page, and then select under Subscribed Services / Sign In the link “MSN Internet Access”. On-line chat, e-mail, and phone support is available there. Hint: on-line chat is probably the fastest support option.

The existing MSN Explorer software will need to be removed, some Windows registry folders may need to be removed, and the software completely re-downloaded and re-installed.

Dial-up accounts can expect the download to be 93 minutes, for broadband, 9 minutes.

Friday, March 10, 2023

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted 321-103 against a resolution that would require the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. Congressman Matt Gaetz introduced the concurrent resolution on March 1, directing the US President to remove all 900 US Armed Forces members from Syria.

The resolution had four co-sponsors—all Republicans. The resolution was drafted in response to the announcement of four US service members wounded in Syria during an operation that killed a senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader. Gaetz stated: “I do not believe what stands between a caliphate and not a caliphate are the 900 Americans who have been sent to this hellscape with no definition of victory.” On his official Congressional home page, Gaetz argued: “Congress has never authorized kinetic participation of US Armed Forces in Syria.” US military operations in Syria and their authorization by Congress is an ongoing debate within Congress.

Congressman Michael McCaul argued that withdrawing forces could lead to a resurgence of ISIS. “If we withdraw our troops from Syria now, we could see a resurgence of ISIS or another legal successor in a short time.” He also clarified what victory meant, “Withdraw of this legal authorized US troop deployment must be based on the total defeat of ISIS.” McCaul is the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 118th Congress.

Congressman Gregory Meeks said “This measure forces a premature end to our mission at a critical time for our efforts.” Meeks opposes an indefinite presence of US military forces in Syria, but sees Gaetz’s proposal as ending it too soon. On June 17, 2021 Meeks voted in favor of H.R.256, a bill meant to repeal part of the authorization being used for anti-ISIS operations in Syria. H.R.256 passed in Congress but was never passed by the Senate.

US military operations have been conducted in Syria since August 2014 as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Though Gaetz asserts there has been no authorization, the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 (AUMF) has been used by multiple US Presidents to justify the continued use of military force in Syria. The 2001 AUMF is the longest, continuously-used authorization of military force in US history. The 2001 AUMF was originally passed to authorize military action in response to the September 11 attacks. The 2002 AUMF was originally passed to authorize Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began the Iraq War. The Obama Administration maintained that Presidential authority to use force against the Islamic State was justified by both the 2001 AUMF and 2002 AUMF.

The President’s authority to militarily engage in anti-ISIS operations under the authority of both the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs is an ongoing debate in Congress. Efforts to address these concerns and enact new authorization for anti-ISIS operations began in the 113th Congress (2013 – 2015), according to a report prepared by the Congressional Research Service. Both the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force are still being used to justify Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, despite ongoing debate and attempts to repeal the authorization.

The House of Representatives voted to repeal the 2002 AUMF in June 2021, as part of H.R.256. Representative Meeks said at the time, “Repeal is crucial because the executive branch has a history of stretching the 2002 AUMF’s legal authority.” That bill passed the House of Representatives but was not passed by the Senate. On March 8, 2023 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-8 to approve a Senate bill (S.316) to repeal the 2002 AUMF as well as a 1991 AUMF. That bill has now been recommended by the committee for a vote by the full House or Senate. It must pass both before it can be sent to the President to sign into law or veto.

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Thursday, May 11, 2006

Angry fans of the AEK Athens football team damaged the ferry “Ierapetra” during the route from Heraklio, Crete, to the port of Rafina in Attica. About 700 AEK supporters boarded the ferry after the end of the Greek football cup final between Olympiacos and AEK which took place in Crete. The victory of Olympiacos over AEK, 3-0, angered the supporters of AEK, which is believed to be the catalyst for damage in both the stadium and the ship.

The Prosecutor ordered a preliminary inquiry into the incidents that took place onboard the Ierapetra. During the trip, a group of youths started breaking everything for no apparent reason. They caused extensive damage to the passenger lounges and the bars, while they responded to the crew’s pleas with cursing. A Greek police officer was injured in the leg by a flare, and a crewmember was also injured.

The owner of the ship, Dane Sea Line of Piraeus, estimates the cost of damage to the ship at €150,000.

The Greek media has accused the administration of Greek police and the Ministers of Public Order and Shipping of negligence in not doing more to prevent the events.