SUSPICIONS ABOUT TIKTOK’S LINK TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SPREAD ACROSS PARTY LINES

 Democratic leaders are recognizing the national security concerns about TikTok, long voiced by the Trump administration, as fears about the tech platform’s alleged data harvesting and algorithmic manipulation have hit the mainstream.

President Biden’s CIA director and the Democratic leaders of the House and the Senate Intelligence committees have acknowledged fresh concerns about the threat posed by TikTok.

And TikTok was banned from government smartphones in the recently passed $1.7 trillion government funding package, prompting the Democrat-run House Administration Committee to order all House members and staffers to delete the TikTok app from their government-issued devices.

Mr. Biden has not publicly decided whether to crack down on TikTok, as his administration has continued to study TikTok over national security concerns first raised by former President Donald Trump’s team.

CIA director William J. Burns, however, said in December that TikTok poses a grave national security risk for the U.S. government.

“It’s a genuine concern, I think, for the U.S. government in the sense that because the parent company of TikTok is a Chinese company, the Chinese government is able to insist upon extracting the private data of a lot of TikTok users in this country and also to shape the content of what goes on to TikTok, as well to suit the interests of the Chinese leadership,” Mr. Burns told PBS.

Data collected by TikTok and other Chinese companies goes straight to Beijing, said Keith Krach, former undersecretary of state in the Trump administration that pushed for cracking down on the platform.

“Members of the People’s Liberation Army are embedded in these companies,” Mr. Krach said in a statement. “Their goal is to export George Orwell’s version of ‘1984’ into the 21st century through applications like TikTok that are exploited for information gathering, surveillance and military AI applications.”

The TikTok ban in the year-end spending bill demonstrated the new bipartisan appeal of cracking down on the China-linked social media app. The ban was approved in the Senate by unanimous consent that required all 100 members to sign off on it. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, advocated for inserting it in the spending bill, according to reports.

In another bipartisan move, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Democrat, partnered with Rep. Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin Republican, in December to propose a bill blocking all transactions with TikTok and other tech platforms under Chinese influence.

TikTok, however, insists it is working to resolve national security concerns and has begun making changes to accommodate issues raised in discussions with the federal government.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in December her company wants politicians to push the Biden administration to close its review of TikTok. She said the proposed agreement under review should resolve all governmental concerns involving security.

“The agreement under review will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at both the federal and state level,” Ms. Oberwetter said in a statement. “These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies — plans that we are well underway in implementing — to further secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue to brief lawmakers on them.”

TikTok’s arguments have not persuaded Sen. Mark Warner, leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Virginia Democrat has expressed regret for not cracking down on the platform sooner, conceded that Mr. Trump was correct about the threat posed by TikTok, and has urged states to pursue bans of TikTok’s use on government devices.

This month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin joined GOP governors in states across the country enacting bans of TikTok from state government devices. Alabama, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Texas also implemented similar rules restricting TikTok in December. South Dakota took action in November.

Mr. Warner said he was glad to see Mr. Youngkin’s action.

“TikTok has the stamp of approval of the Chinese Communist Party and it poses a serious national security threat due to its data collection practices and its ability to reach and manipulate Americans,” Mr. Warner said in a statement. “I hope to see more states take action to keep our government technology out of the CCP’s reach.”

The states’ restrictions have caused other institutions to take a closer look at the platform, including in academia.

After Alabama ordered restrictions on TikTok from government networks and devices with limited exceptions in December, Auburn University reportedly began blocking TikTok on university Wi-Fi and warned employees against using it on school-issued devices.

The University of Oklahoma told students it will ban the use of TikTok by students and staff, after Gov. Kevin Stitt’s executive order banning TikTok on state devices.

https://keithkrach.com/article/suspicions-about-tiktoks-link-to-the-chinese-government-spread-across-party-lines/

White House Repeats Claim That Talking About The Border Makes It Insecure

 by Steve Watson via Summit News,

The Biden Administration signalled that it is picking up in 2023 where it left off last year, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeating a claim that anyone talking negatively about the security of the border is helping smugglers and cartels by spreading ‘misinformation’.

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre “Does anybody around here think that the southern border is secure?”

The Press Secretary claimed that “This is a president who has been working since day one to work on border security,” further claiming that Biden “has taken historic actions” to secure the southern border, without explaining what at all those actions are.

She also described the border problem as being worsened by “Republicans, as you know, who are doing political stunts.”

Doocy attempted to press for any details by asking “7,000 migrants crossing everyday illegally. Does the White House believe that the border is secure?” and “These things that you have done, are they working?”

Then, in order to close the topic off, Jean-Pierre this pearler…

“We have to be very careful … on how we talk about this because if we talk about it in way that is misinformation, then it helps the smugglers.”

It’s a tactic the Press Secretary now uses regularly.

If you talk about the border being insecure, you are helping the criminals and terrorists.

Video: Biden Press Secretary Says ‘You’re With The Smugglers If You Claim Border Is Open’

As we noted earlier this week, senior aides are on record stating that Biden despises seeing scenes of illegal immigrants flooding across the Southern border and regularly explodes into fits of rage in front of aides when shown the footage, complaining that no solutions are being implemented or even offered.

Claim: Angry Joe Biden Erupts Into Fits Of Rage At Scenes Of Overwhelmed Southern Border

Elsewhere during Tuesday’s press briefing, it was the usual complete denial of the reality that the administration has created:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/white-house-repeats-claim-talking-about-border-makes-it-insecure

Former GE employee sentenced for conspiring to steal trade secrets for China

 A former employee of General Electric (GE) was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets to benefit the People's Republic of China.

Xiaoqing Zheng, a 59-year-old resident of Niskayuna, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage in March 2022. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), he worked for GE Power in Schenectady, New York, from 2008 to 2018 as an engineer who specialized in turbine sealing technology.

Evidence presented at his jury trial showed that Zheng conspired with others who were based in China to steal GE's trade secrets related to the company's ground-based and aviation-based turbine technologies. The economic espionage was intended to benefit the People's Republic of China (PRC), including China-based companies and universities that research, develop and manufacture parts for turbines.

"This is a case of textbook economic espionage. Zheng exploited his position of trust, betrayed his employer and conspired with the government of China to steal innovative American technology," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the DOJ’s National Security Division. "The Justice Department will hold accountable those who threaten our national security by conniving to steal valuable trade secrets on behalf of a foreign power."

As part of Zheng's sentence, the federal judge required him to pay a $7,500 fine and serve one year of post-imprisonment supervised release.

According to FBI Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr., Zheng was a "Thousand Talents Plan member and willingly stole proprietary technology and sent it back to the PRC."

The Thousand Talents Plan is an initiative of the PRC government that recruits experts abroad with access to intellectual property, trade secrets and other sensitive information or advanced technologies that members provide to the Chinese government.

A GE spokesperson told Fox Business in a statement, "At GE, we aggressively protect and defend our intellectual property. The defendant stole our IP, and we are gratified by the verdict and the Judge's acknowledgment about the seriousness of this felony crime."

The Zheng case is one of many examples of the Chinese government's efforts to steal intellectual property from U.S. companies to benefit its industries – particularly its defense sector. 

In mid-November, a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison following a conviction on multiple charges related to economic espionage and trade secret theft targeting GE Aviation's advanced aircraft engine fans along with a French aviation company.

In remarks at the Hudson Institute in 2020 that underscored the breadth of China's espionage efforts, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, "We've now reached the point where the FBI is opening a new China-related counterintelligence case about every 10 hours. Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence cases currently underway across the country, almost half are related to China."

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/former-ge-employee-sentenced-conspiring-steal-trade-secrets-china

Biden planning visit to U.S.-Mexico border

 

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he intends to visit the U.S.-Mexico border during an upcoming trip, a move that would come after frequent Republican criticism that his administration has failed to secure the border.

"That's my intention," Biden, a Democrat, told reporters when asked about the border trip. "We're working out the details now."

Biden is scheduled to travel to Mexico City on Jan. 9 and 10 for the North American Leaders' Summit, where he will meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Biden, who took office in January 2021, has struggled operationally and politically with record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and migration is expected to be on the agenda at the meeting.

Republicans have criticized Biden for encouraging migrant crossings with lenient border security policies, while Biden officials say they are trying to create a more orderly and humane system.

U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, who is vying to become speaker of the House of Representatives as Republicans take control of the chamber this month, said in November that he had invited Biden to visit the southwest border with him.

McCarthy on Tuesday and Wednesday failed repeatedly to secure enough votes to become speaker, even following an endorsement by former President Donald Trump, one of the Republican Party's most influential figures.

Reuters reported last week that the Biden administration is planning to use pandemic-era restrictions to expel many Cuban, Nicaraguan and Haitian migrants caught at the southwest border back to Mexico, while simultaneously allowing some to enter the United States by air on humanitarian grounds.

A U.S. official told Reuters at the time that the plan had not been finalized and it was unclear whether it might be announced before the meeting in Mexico.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/currency/EURO-CANADIAN-DOLLAR-E-2358944/news/Biden-planning-visit-to-U-S-Mexico-border-42660230/

Biden says Bradley Fighting Vehicles are on the table for Ukraine

 U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine was being considered to help the that country fight Russia's invasion.

"Yes," Biden said when asked if the option was on the table.

The armored vehicle with a powerful gun has been used as a staple by the U.S. Army to carry troops around battlefields since the mid-1980s.

The Army has thousands of Bradleys, which could give the Ukrainians more firepower on the battlefield. Biden's move, however, is short of sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which the Ukrainians have been requesting.

It was not clear how many Bradleys are destined for Ukraine, but the United States is preparing another weapons aid package which could be announced in the coming days.

Late last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the U.S. Congress that the tens of billions of dollars of aid it had approved to help it combat a Russian invasion was not charity, but an investment in global security.

The United States has sent about $21.3 billion in security assistance to Kyiv as Europe's biggest land conflict since 1945 grinds on, killing tens of thousands.

The United States has increasingly sent more capable weapons to Ukraine. Initially, Raytheon Technologies Corp-made shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as well as Javelin anti-tank missiles, were used to beat back the Russian advance. Javelins are made by a Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon joint venture.

As the war progressed and Ukraine's needs changed, more complex weapons systems, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)d, were shipped to Kiyv.

Most recently, the United States pledged to send a Patriot missile system to repel Russian missile and drone attacks. Training and other logistics still need to be worked out. The Army is working to retire its Bradley fleet, and is working with industry to build a replacement as it seeks to modernize.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Biden-says-Bradley-Fighting-Vehicles-are-on-the-table-for-Ukraine--42660561/

Sotomayor felt 'shell-shocked' after U.S. Supreme Court's abortion decision

 

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday told legal educators she felt a "sense of despair" at the direction taken by the U.S. Supreme Court during its previous term, during which its conservative majority overturned the constitutional right to abortion.

Sotomayor, who has dissented in major cases including the abortion decision as the court's 6-3 conservative majority has become increasingly assertive, described herself as "shell-shocked" and "deeply sad" after that term ended in June.

"I did have a sense of despair about the direction my court was going," Sotomayor said, appearing by video feed before hundreds of law professors at the Association of American Law Schools' annual meeting in San Diego.

The court on June 24 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide after one day earlier delivering an important ruling expanding gun rights.

During her hourlong conversation with University of California, Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, Sotomayor did not mention by name the abortion ruling, called Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Nor did she discuss the May leak of a draft version of that decision before it was officially released the following month.

In the Dobbs ruling, the court voted 6-3 along ideological lines to uphold a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and 5-4 to overturn Roe.

Sotomayor said she would continue to "tilt at windmills" and write dissents even though the court has moved steadily to the right.

"It's not an option to fall into despair," Sotomayor said. "I have to get up and keep fighting."

The conservative justices have shown an increasing willingness to take on divisive issues and steer the court on a rightward path.

The court's current term, which began in October, could be just as consequential as its previous one. Potential rulings could end affirmative action policies used by colleges and universities to increase enrollment of Black and Hispanic students, hobble a federal law called the Voting Rights Act and make it easier for businesses to refuse service to LGBT people based on free-speech rights.

The addition of three justices appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump - Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 - gave the court its current conservative super-majority.

Sotomayor's comments come after months of public statements by justices indicating an ongoing debate over the direction and legitimacy of the court as an institution. Polls show that the court's public approval has reached record lows.

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan in September said that the court's legitimacy could be imperiled if Americans come to view its members as trying to impose personal preferences on society. In October, conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the Dobbs opinion, warned against questioning the court's integrity.

At Wednesday's conference, Chemerinsky noted that he had never before seen his law students so discouraged about the Supreme Court. Sotomayor responded that there is value in lawyers fighting for those who have been wronged even if they do not ultimately prevail.

Sotomayor, appointed to the court by Democratic former President Barack Obama in 2009, expressed optimism that the direction of the court will change in the future.

"It may take time but I believe we will get back on the right track," Sotomayor added.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Sotomayor-felt-shell-shocked-after-U-S-Supreme-Court-s-abortion-decision--42660645/

Fulcrum Business Update and 2023 Outlook

 FTX-6058 granted Fast Track Designation for sickle cell disease (SCD) from FDA in December 2022 ―

― Completed enrollment in 6 mg and 2 mg dose cohorts of the Phase 1b trial of FTX-6058 in SCD; enrollment ongoing in 12 mg dose cohort ―
― Additional FTX-6058 data from 6 mg cohort of ongoing Phase 1b trial show clinically relevant HbF increases of up to 9.5% ―
― Plan to complete enrollment in Phase 3 REACH trial of losmapimod in FSHD during 2H’23
― Fulcrum announces CEO transition; Robert J. Gould, Ph.D., former president and founding chief executive officer of Fulcrum has been appointed as interim CEO as Bryan Stuart departs to pursue other opportunities ―
― Presentation at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. PST/7:30 p.m. EST ―

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/fulcrum-therapeutics-provides-business-update-and-2023-outlook/