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From: To: Subject: u is airs ewsBriefing ues ay, uy , 2020 Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2020 10:26:54 +0000 c Importan e: Normal Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. _FBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Administration Sending Additional Federal Agents To Portland. PROTESTS • FBI Arrests Homicide Suspect Through Operation LeGend. • Some Chicagoans Welcome Federal Investigators. • Authorities Brace For More Violent Protests Across The Country. • Mayors Appeal To Congress To Restrict Use Of Federal Agents. • Dozens Of Seattle Police Officers Injured During Weekend Violence. • Austin Police Release Man Who Fatally Shot Protester. • National Guard Officer: Protesters Cleared From Lafayette Square Without Provocation. • Cotton Criticized For Says Founding Fathers Viewed Slavery As "Necessary Evil." • Police Departments Withdraw From Security Agreements For Democratic Convention. • Illinois County Board Candidate Quits Over Tweet "Laughing" At Officer Getting Hit. • Black Soldiers Monument In Boston Under Scrutiny. • NYTimes Analysis: NFL Efforts To Combat Racism Undercut By Team Owners. • WTimes Analysis: Black Lives Matter Has "Leftist" Goal. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Georgia Man Sentenced For Planning White House Attack. • Arizona Woman Charged With Helping Al Qaeda To Appear In Court Next Week. • Sentencing Postponed For Man Who Supplied Guns To San Bernardino Shooter. • Changes Made To 9/11 Commemoration In New York Due To Pandemic. • Prosecutors Struggle To Resume Guantanamo Trials. • State Department Declares "Unwavering" Commitment To Seeking 'Justice For The Families' Of US Citizens Killed By ISIS. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Yates To Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee Next Week. • Jarrett: Christopher Steele's Secret Source For Anti-Trump Dossier Is Finally Exposed. • Carter Page Sues Yahoo, HuffPost Parent Company For "False And Defamatory" Articles. EFTA00150380 • Op-Ed: Biden May Want To Forget About The Russia Investigation. • Chinese Scientist Charged With Visa Fraud Ordered Held As Flight Risk. • Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Seeks Canadian Spy Agency Documents Linked To Canadian Arrest. • Spanish Court Hears Testimony On Whether Assange Was Spied On. • Lowenthal Says Intelligence Analysis Needs Course Change. • Pentagon Issues Contract Guidance On China Tech Ban. • IARPA Funds Study Showing Randomness Theory Could Hold Key To Internet Security. • Op-Ed: Russian Spying is Privatized and Competitive. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Maxwell Seeks To Seal Evidence. • FBI Investigating Washington State Murder. • Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Missing Iowa Child. • FBI Task Force Arrests Two In Connection To Colorado Party Shooting. • Continuing Coverage: California Police Arrest Parents In Connection To Disappearance Of Toddler. • Mississippi Man Charged With Threatening Federal Judge. • Georgia Man Sentenced Over Producing Child Pornography. • FBI Agents Investigating In Pennsylvania. • Connecticut Man Sentenced For Embezzling. • New Mexico Police Continuing To Investigate Disappearance Of Local. • Wisconsin Man Sentenced Over Child Enticement. • Former FBI Task Force Officer Facing Trial In Guam. • Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Pennsylvania Teenager. • Continuing Coverage: US Marshal Task Force Announces Arrests Of Juvenile Prison Escapees. • Michigan Man Sentenced Over Bank Robbery. • FBI Searching For Virginia Man. • Massachusetts Gang Member Ordered Held Without Bail. • Former Medical Doctor Pleads Guilty To Illegally Prescribing Oxycodone. • Notices Filed To Seize Properties In Connection With Marijuana Firm Raid Operation • Federal Prosecutors: Drug Offender Was Involved In Prison Smuggling Scheme. • Maryland Resident Facing Drug Charges. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • Ohio Candidate Went To FBI In March Over Householder, Dark Money. • Man Captured After Faking Own Death Over Fraudulent PPP Loans. • Former UCLA Soccer Coach Pleads Guilty To Taking College Admissions Bribes. • Visa, Mastercard Fined Wirecard For Questionable Transactions Over A Decade Ago. • US Charges Former Florida Tech CEO With Wire Fraud. • US Charges Trustify CEO With Defrauding Investors. • New York Man Charged With Defrauding Drug Maker. • Top Tech CEOs To Be Grilled On Antitrust Issues At House Hearing. • Under Armour Receives SEC Wells Notice Of Possible Enforcement Action. CYBER DIVISION • Garmin Says Cyberattack Made Its Software Unavailable. • Fund Administrator To Pimco, Others Saw Breach At Vendor. • House Spending Bill Details Funding For Cyber Defenses. • Cyberstalker Gets Four Years In Prison For "War" On Woman. • DOD Issues RFI With Goal Of Advancing Cybersecurity Technology. • CISA Says 62,000 QNAP NAS Devices Have Been Infected With The QSnatch Malware. EFTA00150381 • NDAA Would Create National Cyber Director Position In White House. LABORATORY • FBI Joins Probe Of Human Remains Found In Kentucky. • NIST Study Finds Pandemic Masks Thwarting Face Recognition Technology. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • US Launches Minnesota Office On Missing Indigenous Cases. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • Former Malaysian PM Convicted In First 1MDB Trial. • Operation Conducted By Honduran, Colombian Authorities Leads To Big Cocaine Seizure. • Bulletin: Cartel Likely Used Phones That Were Compromised By Law Enforcement. OTHER FBI NEWS • Senate GOP's COVID-19 Stimulus Proposal Includes $1.75B For New FBI Headquarters. • Barr To Defend Administration In Congressional Testimony. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Touts "Tremendous Success" In Development Of Coronavirus Vaccine. • O'Brien Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Is "Self-Isolating." • Commerce Department: Ross Hospitalization Was Not Related To Coronavirus. • Birx Advocates Mask-Wearing, Bar Closures In Tennessee Visit. • Azar Credits Mask-Wearing For "Plateauing" Of COVID Cases In Key States. • Report: 4,000 Federal Workers Seeking Disability Compensation For Contracting COVID-19 At Work. • Ten States Set Single-Day Records For New Infections. • Florida Reports Lowest Number Of New COVID Cases In Three Weeks. • DC Mayor's Quarantine Order Takes Effect. • Coronavirus Outbreak Could Endanger Baseball Season. • Cain Still Hospitalized For Coronavirus. • NYTimes Analysis: Expanding Data Set Helps Americans Make Sense Of Pandemic. • Some Patients With Coronavirus Suffer From Symptoms, Effects Months After Initial Infection. • Colleagues Say Doctor Responsible For Discredited Studies Has History Of Cutting Corners. • Republicans Say Border-Crossers Responsible For Rise In Coronavirus Cases. • DO) Reaches Settlement With Company That Discriminated Against Permanent US Residents. • Trump Lawyers File To Block Manhattan DA's Subpoena For President's Tax Records. • Senate GOP Relief Plan Would Cut Weekly Unemployment Aid To $200 Per Week. • Kudlow: "V-Shaped Recovery" Is "Very Much Intact." • Sen. Collins Joins Romney In Opposing Fed Nominee Shelton. • Trump Retweets Praise For Defense Bill He Has Threatened To Veto. • Politico Report: White House Aides Struggle To Revise List Of Potential SCOTUS Nominees. • Trump Says Twitter's "Trending" Tweet Listing Is Illegal. • Commerce Department Enlists FCC In "Tech Crackdown." • EPA IG Investigating Rollback Of Auto Emissions Standards. • Lewis Lies In State At Capitol; Trump Says He Will Not Pay Respects. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • Cases Surge Around World, Prompting Lockdowns And Travel Bans. • Navarro Says He Predicted China Would Create A Deadly Pandemic. • Iran Moves Mock Aircraft Carrier Into Strait Of Hormuz. • Israel Says It Fired On Hezbollah Fighters Who Crossed Over From Lebanon. • Taliban Executes Prison Guard As UN Releases Report On Violence Against Civilians. EFTA00150382 • China Takes Control Of US Consulate In Chengdu. • Russian Fighter Intercepts US Spy Plane Over Black Sea. • Experts Worry North Korea's Undelivered "Christmas Gift" Will Become An "October Surprise." • Ambassador To South Korea Shaves Off Controversial Mustache. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Administration Sending Additional Federal Agents To Portland. The Washington Post (7/27, Barrett, Miroff, Lang, Fahrenthold, 14.2M) reports the Administration is "sending more federal agents to Portland, Ore., as officials consider pushing back harder and farther against the growing crowds and nightly clashes with protesters, vandals and rioters." In order to "strengthen federal forces arrayed around the city's downtown courthouse, the U.S. Marshals Service decided last week to send 100 deputy U.S. Marshals to Portland." DHS is "also considering a plan to send an additional 50 U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to the city, but a final decision on the deployment has not been made." The CBS Evening NewsVI (7/27, story 7, 1:30, O'Donnell, 4.33M) similarly reported it "has learned the White House is not backing down, and more agents are on standby for cities like Portland and Seattle." Appearing on Fox Business (7/27, 1.73M), Acting CBP Commissioner Morgan said, "We need to separate two distinct things happening. One is the violence and anarchy against federal property. That's going to require one response. That's what you're seeing in Portland and Seattle. Versus the increased crime that's going on in Chicago and Kansas City and other states and cities. That's going to require special agents and other federal officers to work with state and locals, specifically to address violent crime. That's not what we're seeing in Portland. ... We're going to go wherever the threat tells us we need to go and keep in mind. ... This is serious and people need to separate peaceful protests from the criminal anarchy that's going on." On Fox News' Your World, Morgan similarly said, "This is not about peaceful protesters. This is about anarchists and criminals, who, every single night, or hijacking these peaceful protests with the intent to damage property and harm federal enforcement. That is a fact. Until we are united on that, this problem is not going to be solved." The AP (7/27, Balsamo, Flaccus), meanwhile, reports on the scene at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland. According to the AP, "To the protesters, the men inside the battened down courthouse are at best thoughtless political minions, at worst murderous henchmen. To the agents inside, the demonstrators that pack the downtown each night are violent anarchists, an angry sea of humanity bent on hurting - or even killing - federal agents doing their job." The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Gottfried, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) has a similar report headlined "In Portland And Other Protest Cities, Neither Left, Right Nor Center Is Happy." The New York Times (7/27, Conger, Fuller, Baker, 18.61M) reports that in recent weeks, protesters "have pointed laser beams, lobbed water bottles and trash bags and, in one case, according to the Portland Police Bureau, hurled an open pocketknife at the officers guarding the courthouse." According to the Times, the "nightly assault on the federal courthouse has been part of a much wider peaceful resistance - high school students, military veterans, off-duty lawyers, lines of mothers who call themselves the 'Wall of Moms' - that began assembling nearly two months ago." EFTA00150383 Trump Warns Those Caught Vandalizing Federal Property Will Be Prosecuted. President Trump tweeted, "Anarchists, Agitators or Protestors who vandalize or damage our Federal Courthouse in Portland, or any Federal Buildings in any of our Cities or States, will be prosecuted under our recently re-enacted Statues & Monuments Act. MINIMUM TEN YEARS IN PRISON. Don't do it! @DHSgov" Administration Sued For Use Of Tear Gas, Force In Portland. The Washington Post (7/27, Lang, 14.2M) reports protesters "who say they were tear gassed, shot at, pepper sprayed and assaulted outside the federal courthouse while peacefully demonstrating and rendering aid to others sued the Trump administration Monday for its use of force during nightly demonstrations in downtown Portland." A "group of five women and two organizations, including longtime Black Lives Matter protesters" and the Wall of Moms group filed a lawsuit "alleging that several agencies - the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Protective Service - have violated their constitutional rights of free speech, assembly and due process and against unreasonable seizures." Federal Officials Acknowledge Actions Have Contributed To Escalation. Oregon Public Broadcasting (7/27, Wilson, Levinson, 13K) reports on its website, "Federal officials are internally acknowledging they have contributed to the quick escalation between law enforcement and groups of protesters, which had dwindled to a couple hundred people or less earlier this month. 'Anytime you shoot someone in the face and beat them with a baton, it's going to be criticized,' said one federal law enforcement official. 'That's not a controversial statement:" One "federal law enforcement source" said of Donavan La Bella, who was "shot...in the head with a crowd control weapon" by US Marshals, "Crowds were very small and the incident with La Bella - that was a flare up point that the government tried to deescalate." Another said, "The van arrests that happened overnight on July 14 - after that, everything went to hell." Agent: Portland Protesters Shout Racial Slur At Black DHS Officers. The Washington Times (7/27, Dinan, 492K) reports that a "Homeland Security agent deployed to help quell the violence demonstrations in Portland says protesters shouted a racial epithet at a Black Federal Protective Service officer providing security at the courthouse, according to an account given to the Center for Immigration Studies." The unnamed agent is quoted as saying, "I'm seeing African American Federal Protective Service inspectors, twenty years' law enforcement officer, being called the N-word to their face for the first time in their careers." PROTESTS FBI Arrests Homicide Suspect Through Operation LeGend. The AP (7/27) reports from Kansas City, Missouri, "FBI agents in Kansas City as part of new controversial federal crime fighting effort assisted police in the arrest of a homicide suspect." Federal prosecutors "praised the apprehension of 44-year-old Joel Roseberry as 'good work' in a tweet Monday. He is jailed on $200,000 bond on charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and evidence tampering in the March 1 fatal shooting of 28-year-old Frederick Outley outside of a convenience store." The Kansas City (MO) Star (7/27, Nozicka, 549K) reports, "FBI agents in Kansas City as part of Operation LeGend assisted police in recently arresting a homicide suspect - the first known murder charge connected to the federal anti-crime initiative." FBI agents, "in the city as part of the surge in federal resources, assisted in locating and arresting" Roseberry, "who was charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the March 1 fatal shooting of Frederick Outley, 28." The Star adds, "Before Monday, the known criminal cases connected to Operation LeGend included a defendant charged with illegally possessing firearms and methamphetamine to distribute and another defendant, who was accused of shooting three people and was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm." EFTA00150384 NPR (7/27, 3.12M) reports, "The Trump administration has sent some 200 federal agents to Kansas City, Mo., as part of an initiative to quell violent crime. The rollout of the operation has been marred by misinformation, and some local activists say it's wrong-headed at best, but others applaud the added help from Washington, D.C., to fight a desperate homicide problem." According to NPR, "The operation here is fraught politically, but those involved say it's important to clarify what Operation LeGend is - and what it is not. 'This is not Portland,' says Tim Garrison, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. 'This has nothing to do with anybody's exercise of their rights to protest. We are simply here to address the unprecedented level of violence that is exemplified by the senseless and tragic killing of LeGend Taliferro." NPR adds, "Evidence supports Garrison's claim. No heavily armed, unidentifiable federal operatives have clashed with demonstrators during recent protests in Kansas City." Some Chicagoans Welcome Federal Investigators. Reuters (7/27) reports from Chicago, "Many Chicagoans vehemently oppose President Donald Trump's pledge to send federal officers to the third-largest U.S. city, after seeing camouflaged agents deployed in Portland club and tear-gas anti-racism protesters," but "in South and West Side neighborhoods hit hardest by a recent spike in gang violence, some Chicago residents welcomed the move and said federal agents may be able to help solve crimes. 'I appreciate it and I like it,' said Cedrick Easterling, a former gang member, who was shoveling garbage scattered in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood as part of his work clearing vacant lots. 'If you sit at that park, you will hear shots all over Englewood,' said Easterling, who was once shot himself, pointing south toward Ogden Park. Like most in Chicago, Easterling is not a fan of Trump, who won just 51 of the city's 2,069 precincts in the 2016 presidential election." Authorities Brace For More Violent Protests Across The Country. ABC World News TonightVI (7/27, story 8, 0:25, Muir, 7.11M) reported that protests around the country are "turning violent. Demonstrators squaring off with federal officers in Portland, Oregon. Local leaders say the federal presence is only fueling" the protests, which are "spreading to other cities." NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/27, story 8, 1:25, Holt, 6.32M) reported, "Authorities across the country are bracing for more protests [Monday night] after some demonstrations turned violent over the weekend." Mayors Appeal To Congress To Restrict Use Of Federal Agents. The AP (7/27) reports that "the mayors of six U.S. cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized federal agents to cities that don't want them, even as the Trump administration is considering sending more of them to Portland." The mayors of Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Washington wrote, "This administration's egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen." The Oregonian (7/27, Bailey, 1M) reports the mayors call "it 'unlawful and repugnant' for the President to be able to continue to deploy federal forces to cities without consulting local officials first and against objections." Dozens Of Seattle Police Officers Injured During Weekend Violence. The Washington Times (7/27, Richardson, 492K) reports the Seattle Police Department has said "that 59 officers were wounded in the Saturday night rioting after being struck by explosives, bottles and rocks." The Seattle Police Blotter "posted photos of officers with burns on their skin and other injuries and video of officers being hit by what appeared to be fireworks and small explosives as they worked crowd control." Austin Police Release Man Who Fatally Shot Protester. Fox News (7/27, Gearty, 27.59M) reports on its website that "a man who admitted to fatally shooting an armed Black Lives Matter protester in Austin on Saturday night was taken into EFTA00150385 custody and then released pending further investigation, the Texas city's police chief said." Chief Brian Manley told reporters the fatal shooting of Garrett Foster is "actively being investigated and ongoing in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office." National Guard Officer: Protesters Cleared From Lafayette Square Without Provocation. The AP (7/27, Knickmeyer) reports Army National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco, who was across from the White House on June 1, said the US Park Police "began the violent clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square last month without apparent provocation or adequate warning to demonstrators, immediately after" Attorney General Barr spoke with Park Police leaders. DeMarco's "account...challenges key aspects of the Trump administration's explanation for the clearing of the protest in front of the White House, just before President Donald Trump walked through the area to stage a photo event in front of a historic church." The CBS Evening NewsVi (7/27, story 4, 0:40, O'Donnell, 4.46M) said DeMarco will testify before Congress on Tuesday. The Washington Post (7/27, Jackman, Leonnig, 14.2M) says DeMarco's "statement...also casts doubt on the claims by acting Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan that violence by protesters spurred Park Police to clear the area at that time with unusually aggressive tactics." DeMarco said that "demonstrators were behaving peacefully" and that tear gas was deployed in an "excessive use of force." DeMarco's account "backs up law enforcement officials who told The Washington Post they believed the clearing operation would happen after the 7 p.m. curfew that night --- but it was dramatically accelerated after...Barr and others appeared in the park around 6 p.m." Politico (7/27, Cohen, 4.29M) reports that according to DeMarco's account, "Park Police said they would be clearing demonstrators out of Lafayette Square, along with Secret Service, in order to construct a perimeter fence around the White House. But the materials necessary to build the security barrier did not arrive until 9 p.m. and the barrier was not completed until later that night." Cotton Criticized For Says Founding Fathers Viewed Slavery As "Necessary Evil." Reuters (7/27, Morgan) reports Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Monday "came under pressure over published comments in which he said America's founders viewed slavery as a 'necessary evil." Cotton made the comments in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in which he said, "As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built, but the union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction." In response to the criticism, Cotton tweeted, "This is the definition of fake news. I said that *the Founders viewed slavery as a necessary evil*." Police Departments Withdraw From Security Agreements For Democratic Convention. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/27, Spicuzza, 632K) reports that "at least three Wisconsin police departments have withdrawn from agreements to send personnel to next month's Democratic National Convention, some of them citing orders to Milwaukee's police chief to cease the use of tear gas and pepper spray during demonstrations." The moves by police departments in Fond du Lac, Franklin and West Allis "cast doubt on a program to bring about 1,000 police officers from outside agencies to help shore up security for the event" next month. Illinois County Board Candidate Quits Over Tweet "Laughing" At Officer Getting Hit. The Chicago Tribune (7/27, McCoppin, 2.65M) reports that a Democratic candidate for the DuPage County board "withdrew from the race after apologizing for a tweet in which she said she laughed repeatedly at a video of a law enforcement officer getting hit in the face with a projectile." Hadiya Afzal tweeted, "ive been watching this on repeat for fifteen minutes and laughing every single time." The video shows "what appears to be an officer behind a barricade wall at a protest throw an object off-screen, and then recoil after getting hit in the face with a EFTA00150386 projectile." Afzal said in a statement Sunday, "My post was in poor taste and doesn't reflect the values I was raised with and hold dear." Black Soldiers Monument In Boston Under Scrutiny. The AP (7/27, Marcelo) reports that a bronze statue in downtown Boston memorializes Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, an all-Black regiment that fought during the Civil War, "can conjure mixed feelings as the nation takes another hard look at its monuments and memorials in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police." To some, the monument "should be moved to a museum because it casts Blacks as 'subservient' to whites." NYTimes Analysis: NFL Efforts To Combat Racism Undercut By Team Owners. The New York Times (7/27, Belson, 18.61M) reports the NFL has "taken strides to repair its image as being insensitive to issues facing women and people of color. But the league continues to be confronted by an uncomfortable reality: Its efforts can be undercut by reports of toxic behavior at the tops of its franchises." The "re-emergence of issues of discrimination involving two of the league's most prominent team owners" - Woody Johnson, the owner of the Jets, and Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Football Team, as it is now known - comes as "the nation confronts systemic racism in many of its institutions, including sports teams and leagues." The Times says the new allegations of "racism and sexism threaten to undercut the league's efforts to promote itself as having learned from past failings." WTimes Analysis: Black Lives Matter Has "Leftist" Goal. The Washington Times (7/27, Al, Scarborough, 492K) reports that "beyond Black Lives Matter's drive to eliminate police brutality is a far more extensive leftist ideology that would upend American economic and social life, according to an examination of BLM leaders' writings and interviews." According to the Times, "BLM leaders say they want capitalism abolished." The Washington Post (7/27, Natanson, 14.2M), meanwhile, reports that in the days following George Floyd's death, "the nation had erupted in protests that shattered cities and swept Americans, in what felt like every corner of the country, into an unprecedented reckoning with racism and police violence. Every corner except Rocky Mount, the seat of Franklin County in southern Virginia." The Post goes on to detail how a Black Lives Matter chapter was established in the county. COUNTER-TERRORISM Georgia Man Sentenced For Planning White House Attack. WXIA-TV Atlanta (7/27, Kleinpeter, 258K) reports from Forsyth County, Georgia, "Hasher Jallal Taheb, of Forsyth County faces a sentence of 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted destruction of government property by fire or explosive. The 23-year-old was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court. Taheb admitted, earlier this year, to planning an attack on the White House." Taheb "was arrested in 2018 and 2019 in Gwinnett County after the culmination of an undercover investigation revealed hand-drawn diagrams of the West Wing in the White House. A federal affidavit at the time suggested that Taheb plotted attacks on other Washington landmarks including the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. He also intended to travel overseas at the time and that his attacks were part of his desire to 'engage in "jihad".'" Arizona Woman Charged With Helping Al Qaeda To Appear In Court Next Week. KTVK-TV Phoenix (7/27, 302K) reports from Phoenix, Arizona, "The Chandler woman accused of trying to help Al Qaeda was supposed to appear in court today, but that appearance has been continued until next week. Jill Marie Jones, 35, is now scheduled to appear on Monday, Aug. 3." EFTA00150387 Jones "was arrested at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday, July 22, after allegedly being in communication with two undercover FBI agents, one of whom she believed to be a member of al Qaeda. According to the criminal complaint filed in court, Jones agreed to send money to purchase scopes for rifles that would be used to kill American soldiers. In May 2020, Jones gave the purported al Qaeda member a $500 prepaid Visa card, prosecutors say." Sentencing Postponed For Man Who Supplied Guns To San Bernardino Shooter. The San Bernardino (CA) Sun (7/27, De Atley, 129K) reports, "Enrique Marquez Jr.'s sentencing in federal court for supplying the guns used in the Dec. 15, 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino that killed 14 and wounded 22 has been postponed from Aug. 17 to Oct. 23." According to the Sun, "Defense attorney John N. Aquilina said in papers that the delay was needed to research and address 'significant and multiple issues' regarding briefs he anticipates filing in connection with Marquez's sentencing. The government has recommended 25 years in prison for Marquez, 28. He remains in custody." The Sun adds, "Federal authorities have said Marquez did not know about the Redlands couple's plans to open fire on Farook's co-workers with the San Bernardino County Division of Environmental Health at the Inland Regional Center during a holiday party and training session." Changes Made To 9/11 Commemoration In New York Due To Pandemic. ABC World News TonightVi (7/27, story 10, 0:15, Muir, 7.11M) reported "a major change" has been made to this year's 9/11 commemoration in New York. Because of precautions due to the pandemic, "this year's memorial will not include a live reading of the names by relatives of the victims. It will be recorded." Families will still be allowed to gather in the plaza for the ceremony. Prosecutors Struggle To Resume Guantanamo Trials. The New York Times (7/27, Rosenberg, 18.61M) reports the coronavirus pandemic is "forcing the military to consider creating a quarantine zone at the court compound to allow proceedings to continue in the case of the alleged 9/11 plotters." Military prosecutors struggling to "restart war crimes tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the midst of the pandemic are proposing to transform the crude court compound of tents and trailers into a quarantine zone." The plan would "airlift about 100 people from across the US to Guantanamo on Sept. 5 - everyone bound for the courtroom, except the defendants - and then isolate them for two weeks at the makeshift site called Camp Justice." Then the men "accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks would be brought from the prison to the courtroom to begin six weeks of hearings in the case, from September 21 to November 3, the height of hurricane season." State Department Declares "Unwavering" Commitment To Seeking Justice For The Families' Of US Citizens Killed By ISIS. The Washington Examiner (7/27, Dunleavy, 448K) reports the State Department "said it has an 'unwavering' commitment to bringing Islamic State fighters who killed US citizens to justice." The agency sent this message "as the families of the dead renew calls for captors, some of whom are being held in the Middle East, to be put on trial in the US." A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner, "Seeking the safe return of US citizens held hostage abroad and justice for the families of those murdered by their captors is a hallmark of this administration's policy. The Department of State's commitment to these goals is unwavering." Last week, the parents of ISIS victims Kayla Mueller, James Foley, Peter Kassig, and Steven Sotloff - all abducted and killed by members of ISIS - "penned a joint op-ed in the Washington Post urging the Trump Administration to take action." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE EFTA00150388 Yates To Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee Next Week. The Hill (7/27, Carney, 2.98M) reports Senate Judiciary Chairman Graham said in an interview with Fox News Radio Monday that former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates will testify before his panel on Aug, 5. Graham, who The Hill describes as "a close ally" of the President, "is investigating the origins of `Crossfire Hurricane,' the name of the FBI's investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign, and former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, which followed it." Jarrett: Christopher Steele's Secret Source For Anti-Trump Dossier Is Finally Exposed. In his column on the Fox News (7/26, 27.59M) website, Gregg Jarrett writes, "When the dossier was invented in 2016, the president of Brookings was Strobe Talbott, a long-time friend and ally of Hillary Clinton. Her campaign provided the cash for the phony document that was composed by ex-British spy Christopher Steele. Talbott helped fuel the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. But it was Danchenko who supplied Steele with most of the false stories contained in the dossier." He contends, "I haven't seen Talbott's retraction or apology since the Mueller report came out, nor do I expect one. He has a lot to answer for, including his own contacts with Steele. It just so happens that Talbott's brother-in-law is Clinton sycophant, Cody Shearer, who created what became known as the `second dossier.' Remarkably, it echoed several of the identical fantastic allegations as the original Steele-Danchenko dossier." He concludes, "Clinton's campaign didn't just commission the dossier, her allies contributed to its contents." Fox News (7/27, 27.59M) reports in a video that former DO) official Francey Hakes provides reaction and analysis on "the source's American roots raise questions on how the FBI renewed FISA warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page." Carter Page Sues Yahoo, HuffPost Parent Company For "False And Defamatory" Articles. Fox News (7/27, Flood, 27.59M) reports former Trump campaign aide Carter Page "is suing Yahoo parent company Oath Inc. over `false and defamatory statements,' claiming the outlet `portrayed him as a traitor to America' who illegally conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election." The suit "was filed Monday in Delaware Superior Court and accuses Oath's Yahoo News and HuffPost of publishing stories about Page `with actual knowledge of falsity or with a reckless disregard of truth or falsity' with a motive of generating clicks online and aligning with the political bias and aims of senior management." The lawsuit claims, "Page is an innocent individual whose entire way of life was shattered as a direct result of being defamed and falsely branded as a traitor to his country by the Defendant's media brands. He was allegedly secretly plotting with Russian leaders to sabotage the 2016 Presidential Election and give `aid and comfort' to Russian President Putin's efforts to `weaken' America." Op-Ed: Biden May Want To Forget About The Russia Investigation. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (7/27, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), Gerald Baker writes on malfeasance during the Obama Administration and efforts by Joe Biden to sidestep those issues during the presidential campaign. Baker highlights various events during the Obama Administration that suggest Biden was involved in meetings tied to the investigation of the Trump campaign. Chinese Scientist Charged With Visa Fraud Ordered Held As Flight Risk. The AP (7/27, Har) reports from San Francisco, "A Chinese scientist charged with visa fraud after authorities said she concealed her military ties to China in order to work in the U.S. made her first appearance Monday in federal court by video." Juan Tang, 37, "was appointed a federal public defender and U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes ordered Tang to remain in custody, saying she is a flight risk, while her attorney prepares an argument to allow her release on bail. The Justice Department last week announced charges against Tang and three other scientists EFTA00150389 living in the U.S., saying they lied about their status as members of China's People's Liberation Army. All were charged with visa fraud." The Sacramento (CA) Bee (7/27, Stanton, 567K) reports, "Tang allegedly lied about her ties to China's People's Liberation Army Air Force and the Chinese Communist Party, and after FBI agents questioned her at her Davis apartment she fled into hiding inside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The FBI subsequently took her into custody Thursday night and she was booked into the Main Jail last Friday. In a brief initial appearance conducted Monday via Zoom, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes ordered Tang to remain in custody at least until her federal defender can propose conditions that might allow her release." Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Seeks Canadian Spy Agency Documents Linked To Canadian Arrest. Reuters (7/27, Warburton) reports lawyers representing Huawei's Meng Wanzhou, "who is fighting against extradition to the US, argued in a Canadian court on Monday that redacted documents prepared by the Canadian spy agency relating to her December 2018 arrest should be released." The lawyers "said national security should not limit the release of the documents, parts of which were made public during ongoing court proceedings over whether Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer, should be extradited, court documents showed." Meng's lawyers have "asked for additional documents from the Canadian government pertaining to her arrest, hoping to support their claim that Canadian authorities committed abuses of process during her arrest." The lawyers are "pressing for a stay in Meng's extradition." The Globe and Mail (CAN) (7/27, Woo, 1.04M) reports that, "at a virtual hearing at Ottawa's Federal Court on Monday, Meng's lawyers argued that several documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, previously released under a disclosure order, were likely the subject of excessive redactions and overly broad claims of privilege." AFP (7/27) reports Scott Fenton, one of Meng's lawyers, "said on Monday his client had been questioned for three hours by Canadian customs agents at Vancouver airport without knowing what she was accused of, before being formally arrested." Bloomberg (7/27, Pearson, 4.73M) reports that, "in its latest filing, the defense suggests Meng's arrest was closely coordinated between the FBI and the Canadian agencies." The defense "said the FBI was likely monitoring Meng before she boarded her Cathay Pacific flight in Hong Kong because it was able to provide a description of what she was wearing to Canadian police." Spanish Court Hears Testimony On Whether Assange Was Spied On. The AP (7/27) reports Spain's National Court "heard testimony Monday in an investigation into whether a Spanish company was hired to spy on Julian Assange during the seven years the WikiLeaks founder spent in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London." The court is investigating "whether David Morales, a Spaniard, and his Undercover Global S.L. security agency invaded the privacy of Assange and his visitors at the embassy by secretly recording their meetings." According to court papers, the intelligence "that Morales' company collected is suspected of being handed over to third parties." Among those set to "face the court's questions Monday were prominent Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon, who is part of Assange's legal team; former Ecuadorean consul in London Fidel Narvaez; and Stella Morris, a legal adviser and Assange's partner, who revealed earlier this year that she had two children with him while he lived in the embassy." Lowenthal Says Intelligence Analysis Needs Course Change. SIGNAL Magazine (7/27, Ackerman) reports Mark Lowenthal, former assistant director of central intelligence for analysis and production "says legacy methods and arcane rules are hamstringing US intelligence analysis at a time when it should be innovating." He "said that, from training, which needs to shift emphasis to more basic skills, to collection and processing, which must branch into nontraditional areas, intelligence must make course corrections to solve EFTA00150390 inflexibility issues." Lowenthal, who teaches "an AFCEA PDC onsite course on US intelligence that is also available in a virtual format, states that training must change to compel the type of analysis necessary to meet the new threat picture." Recognizing that "analytic deficiencies existed after 9/11, Congress and the intelligence community created the DNI position." Along with this came "congressional requirements for what analysis should look like." However, Lowenthal "asserts that the attempt to bring about a community-wide basis largely has not succeeded." Analytic training is "still stovepiped by agency." Pentagon Issues Contract Guidance On China Tech Ban. Federal Computer Week (7/27, Williams, 263K) reports the Pentagon has "released guidance on how acquisition executives should implement the upcoming ban on contracting with companies that use telecommunications equipment made by Huawei and other China-based companies." In a 15-page memo "signed July 23, the Defense Department outlines what companies and contracting officers have to do once the government's ban goes into effect." Starting August 13, the government "won't be allowed to issue or extend contracts with companies that use certain video and telesurveillance technologies, services and equipment made by certain Chinese manufacturers, such as ZTE or Hikvision." Contracts, task and delivery orders, "including those for commercial-off-the-shelf items and delivery orders, issued after Aug. 13 must also include specified language invoking regulation for the ban. Existing indefinite delivery contracts will have to be modified, the memo states." IARPA Funds Study Showing Randomness Theory Could Hold Key To Internet Security. The Cornell Chronicle (NY) (7/27, Lefkowitz, 5K) reports Rafael Pass, professor of computer science at Cornell Tech, "is co-author of 'On One-Way Functions and Kolmogorov Complexity." He said, "The result is that a natural computational problem introduced in the 1960s in the Soviet Union characterizes the feasibility of basic cryptography - private-key encryption, digital signatures and authentication, for example." In the paper, Pass and doctoral student Yanyi Liu "showed that if computing time-bounded Kolmogorov Complexity is hard, then one-way functions exist." Although their finding "is theoretical, it has potential implications across cryptography, including internet security." The research was "funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and was based on research funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence." Op-Ed: Russian Spying is Privatized and Competitive. In an op-ed in Newsweek (7/27, 1.53M), Christo Grozev writes, "The Russia report published last week by the UK government proved what we had grown to suspect. Western intel — personified by the revered British spy services - were not being tight-lipped. ... No systematic, consistent post-mortem seems to have been conducted on Russian influence operations. The government's response to the Report's findings was blinkered and Trumpian. Even as it admitted no serious effort was put into establishing whether or not Russia intervened in the Brexit referendum, it stressed, defensively." He concludes, "Comprehending the complexity of this new reality is key to having an adequate response. ... The UK government's response to the Report is even more anachronistic. Even the errors it recognizes, and the forward-looking measures it commits to, amount to a 20th century solution to a 21st century problem." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Maxwell Seeks To Seal Evidence. EFTA00150391 The Telegraph (UK) (7/27, Ensor, 956K) reports, "Ghislaine Maxwell is trying to prevent nude photographs and 'sexualised video' evidence from being unsealed ahead of her trial, according to a new court appeal." According to the Telegraph, Maxwell's attorney "details the 'highly confidential' material in a proposed protective order filed at a Manhattan court on Monday, arguing it should be kept out of public view. 'The highly confidential information contains nude, partially-nude, or otherwise sexualised images, videos, or other depictions of individuals,' which Ms Maxwell does not wish to be 'disseminated, transmitted, or otherwise copies,' it reads." Maxwell "is being held in Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, without bail while awaiting trial for grooming underage girls for associate Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse. She has pleaded not guilty to all six charges on the indictment." The Daily Mail (UK). (7/27, Boswell, 5.27M) reports that Maxwell "ambushed prosecutors by asking for a gag order on witnesses in her criminal trial, court documents seen by DailyMail.com claim." Prosecutors "scrambled to file a letter to Judge Alison Nathan in response, claiming they had been negotiating with Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam's legal team 'as recently as 6p.m. last night' and were surprised by the gagging request. The British socialite's attorney wrote to Judge Nathan asking her to keep discovery materials from being published, but wanted permission to identify witnesses and Maxwell's alleged victims who have already come forward in the case." The New York Daily News (7/27, Brown, 2.52M) reports, "When the FBI raided Epstein's Upper East Side mansion last year, investigators found a stash of nude photographs of underage girls. Prosecutors and Maxwell's legal teams asked Judge Alison Nathan to resolve two disputes about the evidence. Maxwell's attorneys wanted any witnesses - including alleged victims - to not be allowed to use evidence for any purpose beyond prepping for her criminal trial." The Daily News adds, "Many of Maxwell's accusers have pending lawsuits against her, which could be impacted by new evidence revealed through the criminal case. Her attorneys also said they should be allowed to name victims involved in the criminal case who have already spoken out publicly about Epstein and Maxwell's alleged sex trafficking scheme." FBI Investigating Washington State Murder. The Yakima (WA) Herald-Republic (7/27, 88K) reports that the FBI "is investigating the shooting death of [Adam James Young)," who "was shot to death in Brownstown on July 13." The FBI "investigates homicides on the reservation that involve Native Americans." Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Missing Iowa Child. The Des Moines IA) Register (7/27, 404K) reports that the FBI is investigating the disappearance of Breasia Terrell, who "went missing on July 10 after spending the night with her half brother and his father, Henry Earl Dinkins, a registered sex offender." Davenport Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Ott "said detectives discovered new information that met the requirements set by the state for an Amber Alert to be issued, but declined to provide details." FBI Task Force Arrests Two In Connection To Colorado Party Shooting. KMGH-TV Denver (7/27, 168K) reports that the FBI-led Criminal Apprehension Team task force arrested last week Michael Walker and an unidentified minor in connection to the July 11 double shooting incident that "left one juvenile dead and another wounded." Continuing Coverage: California Police Arrest Parents In Connection To Disappearance Of Toddler. WJAX-TV Jacksonville, FL (7/27, Bonvillian, Desk, 44K) reports Sukhjinder Sran and Briseida Sran have been arrested in connection to the disappearance of their son, Thaddeus Sran, after Madera police found the burned remains of a child's body. The FBI has been supporting the investigation. EFTA00150392 Mississippi Man Charged With Threatening Federal Judge. The AP (7/27) reports that a federal grand jury "indicted [Bryant Lamont Harris) accused of threatening to harm a federal judge at a U.S. district courthouse in New Orleans." The criminal complaint "obtained by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate accused Harris of calling U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan's office in February and complaining 'angrily' to a staffer about the city's police department." The FBI New Orleans field office supported the investigation. Georgia Man Sentenced Over Producing Child Pornography. AllOnGeorgia (7/27) reports Richard Hunt Moore Jr, who was "arrested at a motel when a 14- year-old boy signaled that he was in danger," has "been sentenced to federal prison for production of child pornography." He "was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall to 264 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1 million." FBI agents "discovered child pornography on electronic devices in Moore's possession" prior to his arrest. FBI Agents Investigating In Pennsylvania. Levittown Now (PA) (7/27) reports that FBI agents "have been asking questions in the Levittown area." The FBI "is leading a charge to look into matters with ties to local governments and school districts in Bucks and Montgomery counties." Connecticut Man Sentenced For Embezzling. Zip06 (CT) (7/27) reports Michael Verzella "was sentenced July 20 by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing more than $240,000 from his non-profit employer and numerous individuals serviced by his employer." He plead guilty, and he "admitted that, between January 2012 and February 2018, he used his Chapel Haven credit card to purchase tickets for sporting and entertainment events that he attended with friends and family." New Mexico Police Continuing To Investigate Disappearance Of Local. The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News (7/27, 58K) reports about the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Steve Carey, who "was last seen July 8 in Las Cruces" in 2019. His car "was later found at the Baylor Canyon Trailhead by New Mexico State Police, but his bike and wallet were not found with the car." Wisconsin Man Sentenced Over Child Enticement. WAOW-TV Wausau, WI (7/27) reports Brian D. Wickersham, who abducted and assaulted an unidentfied minor, was "sentenced to 20 years in federal prison by Senior District Judge William C. Griesbach." The case "was investigated by the Brown County Sheriff's Office, the Brown County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Green Bay office of the F.B.I." Former FBI Task Force Officer Facing Trial In Guam. The Guam Daily Post (7/27, Nick Delgado I, Post) reports former FBI Task Force officer and former Guam police officer John Mantanona, who is "accused of tampering with the jury in a major federal drug case," is scheduled "back in court on Aug. 14 to find out when his trial will begin." Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Disappearance Of Pennsylvania Teenager. WPMT-TV Harrisburg, PA (7/27, 93K) reports that the FBI is continuing to investigate the disappearance of Linda Stoltzfoos, who "vanished over a month ago." While a suspect "has been arrested for her kidnapping," she "has not been found." EFTA00150393 Continuing Coverage: US Marshal Task Force Announces Arrests Of Juvenile Prison Escapees. MLive (MI) (7/27, 925K) reports that the US Marshal Service announced the successful arrests of Rashad E. Williams and Jabar Ali Taylor, who "fled through a hole that was cut in a perimeter fence at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County, Virginia on July 13." The FBI supported manhunt, which ended in Michigan. Michigan Man Sentenced Over Bank Robbery. WWJ-TV Detroit (7/27) reports U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge "announced that David Wilson Floyd, formerly of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 216 months' imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney. Floyd pled guilty in March 2020 to armed bank robbery and attempted bank robbery." The FBI "investigated and determined Floyd committed the September 9, 2019, armed bank robbery, the September 18, 2019, attempted bank robbery, as well as six additional robberies of convenience stores and gas stations in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan between June 2019 and September 2019." FBI Searching For Virginia Man. The Augusta (VA) Free Press (7/27) reports that the FBI "is requesting the public's help in locating LaShawn Robertson, who is wanted on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges." The arrest warrant "was issued for Robertson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News, on July 8, after Robertson was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm; distributing heroin or cocaine or cocaine base or methamphetamine, amphetamine, and oxycodone; and providing a firearm to a convicted felon." Massachusetts Gang Member Ordered Held Without Bail. The Attleboro (MA) Sun Chronicle (7/27, 15K) reports Boston NOB gang member Damian Cortez, whose apartment "was raided last month has waived his right to a detention hearing and will remain in jail until trial." He "faces federal sex trafficking and drug distribution charges for alleged incidents in Maine and Brockton." Former Medical Doctor Pleads Guilty To Illegally Prescribing Oxycodone. Newsday (NY) (7/27, 932K) reports Tameshwar Ammar, a former medical doctor "who practiced as an anesthesiologist" in the state of New York, has admitted that he illegally "prescribed oxycodone to two patients...in exchange for money and steroids." Newsday quotes "Acting Eastern District United States Attorney Seth DuCharme," who said Ammar's "guilty plea establishes that the defendant, who was a doctor, essentially acted as a drug dealer, spreading injury and addiction without regard for the consequences." DuCharme also said his office "and our partners at the DEA are working tirelessly to combat the opioid epidemic on Long Island and elsewhere, including by prosecuting medical professionals who betray their oath to do no harm." The Port Washington (NY) Patch (7/27, Hampton, 1.03M) and the Lindenhurst (NY) Patch (7/27, Korb, 1.03M) publish similar articles. Notices Filed To Seize Properties In Connection With Marijuana Firm Raid Operation The Bangor (ME) Daily News (7/27, Valigra, 198K) reports, "The US attorney's office in Maine has filed notices in federal court to seize 12 properties" in connection with a recent raid operation that targeted the marijuana distribution firm Narrow Gauge Distributors. The article highlights that the DEA and the FBI conducted the operation. Federal Prosecutors: Drug Offender Was Involved In Prison Smuggling Scheme. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (7/27, Ove, 616K) reports federal prosecutors have alleged that "Robert Korbe, a convicted cocaine dealer at the center of a drug investigation that resulted in EFTA00150394 the murder of an FBI agent in 2008, was directly involved in another scheme to smuggle drug- saturated greeting cards into the US prison where he is an inmate." The Post-Gazette highlights the DEA's involvement in the investigation of this case. Maryland Resident Facing Drug Charges. In online coverage, WTOP-FM Washington (7/27, 385K) reports Maryland resident Lamontae Montae Young, Sr., "is facing drug charges in connection with alleged large-scale cocaine and heroin distribution." The article adds, "The Frederick High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force" was involved with the investigation that led to those charges. The Frederick (MD) News- Post (7/27, Arias, 74K) and the WFMD-AM Frederick, MD (7/27, 1K) website also cover this story. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS Ohio Candidate Went To FBI In March Over Householder, Dark Money. WKRC-TV Cincinnati (7/27, Levy, 161K) reports from Union Township, Ohio, "A Republican candidate for Ohio's 66th House District went to the FBI last spring over concerns that Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was coordinating with dark money groups to influence the campaign." Nick Owens "said he was contacted by Householder in November 2018" and that Householder "brought up another house race that had happened that month during their meeting. `He told me how he saved the representative from defeat by dumping about $500,000 to prop up his campaign at the end,' Owens said." In 2019, Owens "learned he would not receive Householder's endorsement" and "was hit by a flood of dark money ads that questioned his support of GOP issues." In March, Owens "said he contacted the FBI and discussed his November 2018 meeting with Householder with FBI Agent Blane Wetzel," who "was in the middle of an investigation into Householder, four others and $60 million paid to a nonprofit controlled by Householder through an energy pass-through company." Man Captured After Faking Own Death Over Fraudulent PPP Loans. In continuing coverage, Alabama News Network (7/27) reports, "The U.S. Marshals Service says David Staveley, who also goes by Kurt Sanborn, was captured last week in Georgia," after he was "accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution for fraudulently seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars" in PPP loans. Prosecutors say he "sought nearly $440,000 in fraudulent loans for three restaurants." Boston (7/27, 586K) also reports. Former UCLA Soccer Coach Pleads Guilty To Taking College Admissions Bribes. NBC News (7/28, 6.14M) reports, "A former UCLA men's soccer coach on Monday admitted to accepting $200,000 in bribes as part of a college admissions cheating scheme, federal prosecutors said." Jorge Salcedo, 47, "who resigned from the University of California, Los Angeles in March 2019, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement. He was accused of accepting the bribes to help get two students admitted to UCLA as purported soccer recruits, which was part of a scheme orchestrated by William 'Rick' Singer." Visa, Mastercard Fined Wirecard For Questionable Transactions Over A Decade Ago. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Andriotis, Davies, Chung, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Visa and Mastercard each slapped Wirecard with fines exceeding $10 million more than a decade ago for suspicious transactions. Since at least 2015, Visa and Mastercard were concerned about issues including miscoded gambling transactions, stolen card purchases, and reversed transactions. EFTA00150395 US Charges Former Florida Tech CEO With Wire Fraud. The Jacksonville (a) Business Journal (7/27, Robinson, Subscription Publication, 830K) reports from Jacksonville, Florida, "Jason Cory, the ousted CEO of a company that was once awarded city and state incentives, has been indicted for wire fraud and has a warrant issued for his arrest, according to court records. Cory's attorney, Todd Foster, told the Business Journal on Monday that Cory will be surrendering voluntarily to the FBI and intends to plead not guilty." The Journal adds, "Cory founded and led SharedLabs, a company that grew rapidly by buying a number of IT, staffing and digital marketing firms. Cory's July 22 indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida accuses him of three counts of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction. The counts refer to three transfers of about $5,500 each and an $11,630 purchase of a gold Rolex watch using `criminally derived' funds." US Charges Trustify CEO With Defrauding Investors. Virginia Business Magazine (7/27, Foster, 80K) reports, "Daniel Boice, CEO and founder of Arlington-based tech startup Trustify Inc., was charged by federal prosecutors Monday with fraud and money laundering charges related to a scheme to defraud investors of $18.5 million. In a parallel action, the Securities and Exchange Commission also charged Trustify Inc. and Boice with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities law." VBM adds, "In an indictment unsealed Monday, Boice was charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud and two counts of money laundering. FBI officials and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia G. Zachary Terwiliger allege in the indictment that Boice fraudulently solicited $18.5 million from more than 90 investors in his company, which connected customers with private investigators, by falsely overstating Trustify's financial performance." Infosecurity Magazine (7/27, Coble) reports, "An indictment unsealed in federal court on July 24 alleges that Boice fraudulently solicited investments in Trustify from 2015. The 41-year- old resident of Alexandria, Virginia, allegedly lied about how much money the business was making in order to secure funds from multiple investors. The Department of Justice claims that via means that included overstating Trustify's financial performance, Boice fraudulently raised approximately $18.5m from over 90 investors. In total, Boice is accused of committing five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and two counts of money laundering." New York Man Charged With Defrauding Drug Maker. The Queens (NY) Chronicle (7/27, Russell, 157K) reports, "A Forest Hills man was indicted last Friday for defrauding a pharmaceutical manufacturer, the U.S. attorney Eastern District of New York announced." Arkadiy Khaimov, 37, "allegedly submitted approximately $6.9 million in fraudulent claims under a reimbursement program. As alleged in the indictment, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, referred to in the indictment as `John Doe Company 1,' established the co-pay program to reimburse pharmacies for dispensing a prescription medication." The Chronicle adds, "Between approximately February 2017 and July 2018, Khaimov and his co-conspirators submitted claims for approximately $6.9 million in reimbursements under the program, for medications the pharmacies operated never actually dispensed. 'It's utterly discouraging to see people capitalize on any initiative designed to contribute to the greater good, but when the crime is healthcare related, and manufacturers stand to lose millions, nobody wins in the long run,' said Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI New York Field Office William Sweeney Jr." Top Tech CEOs To Be Grilled On Antitrust Issues At House Hearing. The Washington Post (7/27, Al, Romm, 14.2M) reports members of Congress are "set to turn their attention to technology, channeling long-simmering frustrations with Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google into a high-profile hearing that some Democrats and Republicans hope will usher in sweeping changes throughout Silicon Valley." The Post says that on Wednesday, "the industry's four most powerful chief executives are set to...submit to a grilling from House EFTA00150396 lawmakers who have been probing the Web's most recognizable names to determine whether they have become too big and powerful." According to the Post, "The focus is antitrust, and the extent to which a quartet of digital behemoths - representing a nearly $5 trillion slice of the U.S. economy - has harmed competition, consumers and the country writ large." Under Armour Receives SEC Wells Notice Of Possible Enforcement Action. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Safdar, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports two Under Armour executives have received Wells notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission signaling that the company may be the target of an enforcement action by the regulator. Under Armour Executive Chairman Kevin Plank and CFO David Bergman received notices that they could face civil-enforcement action over the company's accounting practices in 2015 and 2016 and "pull forward" sales during those periods. CYBER DIVISION Garmin Says Cyberattack Made Its Software Unavailable. The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Choi, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Garmin announced it was targeted in a cyberattack that took its software offline for a number of days. The company stated no customer data appears to have been accessed or stolen. The company reported their systems are coming back online and should return to normal in coming days. The New York Post (7/27, Manskar, 4.57M) reports a gang of Russian hackers "may be behind the cyberattack that disabled Garmin's fitness-tracking services for several days." The attackers reportedly "crippled the smartwatch maker's Garmin Connect service last week with malicious software tied to Evil Corp., a Moscow-based hacker group run by alleged cybercriminal Maksim Yakubets." Evil Corp. runs the "WastedLocker ransomware responsible for the Garmin outage, which encrypts the target's files and demands a ransom to unlock them." Hackers have sought "as much as $10 million to release affected data, though companies can get around such an attack if they've backed up the files, according to the outlet." CNN (7/27, Effron, 83.16M) reports Sam Curry, chief security officer of cybersecurity company Cybereason, "said the ransomware attack on Garmin was 'crippling,' and called it 'the corporate equivalent of a heart attack." He said, "The longer Garmin is offline, the cost of recovery increases and could cost tens of millions of dollars more," Garmin, however, "said that it does not expect the blackout to have a material impact on its financial results." Also reporting on the story is U.S. News & World Report (7/27). Fund Administrator To Pimco, Others Saw Breach At Vendor. Bloomberg (7/27, Massa, McDonald, 4.73M) reports a fund administrator for Pacific Investment Management Co., Angelo Gordon & Co., Centerbridge Partners and other money managers "said a cyberattack at one of its key vendors exposed data." According to a statement from an SEI spokesperson, the attack involved data "on clients of SEI Investments Co." The spokesperson "said one of SEI Investments' vendors, M.J. Brunner Inc., was breached in a ransomware attack that occurred on May 17, and the root cause was not related to vulnerability of SEI's systems." The spokesperson said, "We take our clients' security very seriously, and we are working with Brunner, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and our impacted clients to understand the extent to which SEI's or our clients' data has been exposed." A representative for M.J. Brunner "said the firm is 'confident that we have contained the incident and there is no further risk to our network." The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Tokar, Rundle, Chung, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports the ransomware attack uncovered in May exposed the personal data of investors in about 100 of the fund administrator's clients. Angelo Gordon & Co., Graham Capital EFTA00150397 Management, Fortress Investment Group LLC, Centerbridge Partners and Pacific Investment Management Co. were cited as funds effected by the attack. House Spending Bill Details Funding For Cyber Defenses. Politico (7/27, Starks, 4.29M) reports in its Cybersecurity newsletter that the House this week "is set to consider a $1.4 trillion, seven-bill spending package (H.R. 7667) - although one of them, the DHS bill, is so controversial it might derail the whole shebang, what with constant border fights and disputes over the Trump Administration deploying federal officers to protests." The division-by-division summary "said the bill would provide nearly $12 million to create a Joint Cyber Center for National Cyber Defense, but doesn't say much about what it would do." The committee report "said it would `serve as a coordinating entity that will help the Department identify strategic priorities and synchronize cyber-related activities across the operational components." It also "spells out cyber-spending increases at CISA for specific purposes, such as ransomware against state and local governments, awareness campaigns, supply chain risks, vulnerability management and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center." Cyberstalker Gets Four Years In Prison For "War" On Woman. The AP (7/27, Kunzelman) reports that, "less than two months after their office romance ended, Ahmad Kazzelbach began tampering with the email and social media accounts of the Baltimore woman who broke up with him." He "changed her Instagram username to include the word `whore!" That was only the "start of a vicious cyberstalking campaign that would escalate steadily over the next year." Before FBI agents "arrested her ex-boyfriend, the woman was wrongfully arrested twice and spent four nights in jail based on a string of false police reports that he made." Kazzelbach "was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison for his online harassment of the woman, who is identified by her initials "J.K." in court records." US District Judge James Bredar "said Kazzelbach repeatedly lied to police and court officials to essentially `wage war' against his ex-girlfriend." DOD Issues RFI With Goal Of Advancing Cybersecurity Technology. FedScoop (7/27, Mitchell) reports that the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering "issued a request for information late last week, asking for help building out a roadmap of science and technology activities related to advances in cybersecurity over the next two-and-a-half decades in line with the 2018 National Defense Strategy." The solicitation "asks interested parties to help inform the Pentagon's future cybersecurity guideposts by sharing `their R&D projections, technical capabilities, and demonstrated experiences in cybersecurity and cyberspace operations,' the RFI says." Under the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act - not yet passed - the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering "will be required to submit annual reports on cyber S&T starting in fiscal 2021." CISA Says 62,000 QNAP NAS Devices Have Been Infected With The QSnatch Malware. ZDNet (7/27, Cimpanu, 299K) reports cyber-security agencies from the UK and the US "have published today a joint security alert about QSnatch, a strain of malware that has been infecting network-attached storage (NAS) devices from Taiwanese device maker QNAP." In alerts [1, 2] by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the two agencies "say that attacks with the QSnatch malware have been traced back to 2014, but attacks intensified over the last year when the number of reported infections grew from 7,000 devices in October 2019 to more than 62,000 in mid-June 2020." Of these, CISA and the NSCS "say that approximately 7,600 of the infected devices are located in the US, and around 3,900 in the UK." CISA and the NCSC "say that the two campaigns used different versions of the QSnatch malware (also tracked under the name of Derek)." EFTA00150398 NDAA Would Create National Cyber Director Position In White House. Federal News Network (7/27, Serbu, 220) reports in the DOD reporter's Notebook that the US "may have a new top cybersecurity position within the White House as Jim Langevin, chairman of the House Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, got an amendment to the House version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that will create a National Cyber Director within the executive office of the president." The position would serve "as the principal advisor to the president on cybersecurity strategy and policy." The role "would also consult with federal departments to develop the US national cyber strategy and supervise its implementation." Langevin "told Federal News Network that he pushed for the role because the Trump Administration got rid of the cybersecurity coordinator position on the National Security Council, and because cybersecurity needs a leadership position in the White House." LABORATORY FBI Joins Probe Of Human Remains Found In Kentucky. The Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader (7/27, 257K) reports, "The Nelson County sheriff's office called in federal agents on Friday to help retrieve possible human remains, leading some in the community to wonder if authorities had found Crystal Rogers, a Bardstown resident missing since 2015." The sheriff's office "said in a Facebook post Sunday that possible remains were recovered and sent to the FBI lab at Quantico, Va., for testing. Investigators wouldn't be able to say if the remains are connected to Rogers until they get results back. 'Out of respect for family members of multiple missing persons in these areas, we will not be commenting on this until we have more information from the lab,' representatives from the sheriff's office said." The Herald-Leader adds, "Nelson County law enforcement became aware of the possible human remains near the border of Nelson and Washington counties on Thursday, according to the sheriff's office. The FBI's Evidence Response Team was called in because the location of the potential remains was difficult to reach, according to the sheriff's office." WDRB-TV Louisville, KY (7/27, 179K) also reports. NIST Study Finds Pandemic Masks Thwarting Face Recognition Technology. The AP (7/27, O'Brien) reports a preliminary study "published by a US agency on Monday found that even the best commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50% when trying to identify masked faces." The mask problem is why "Apple earlier this year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID." It could also be "thwarting attempts by authorities to identify individual people at Black Lives Matter protests and other gatherings." The National Institute of Standards and Technology "says it is launching an investigation to better understand how facial recognition performs on covered faces." Its preliminary study "examined only those algorithms created before the pandemic, but its next step is to look at how accuracy could improve as commercial providers adapt their technology to an era when so many people are wearing masks." LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES US Launches Minnesota Office On Missing Indigenous Cases. The AP (7/27) reports from Minneapolis, "Ivanka Trump and Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt visited a Minneapolis suburb on Monday to open an office dedicated to investigating cold cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous peoples." The AP adds, "The new office in Bloomington is part of the Operation Lady Justice Task Force created via executive order by President Donald Trump in November to address violence against Native Americans, particularly women and girls, which advocates say are often overlooked by law enforcement across the EFTA00150399 country. The task force, co-chaired by Bernhardt and U.S. Attorney General William Barr, aims to develop protocols for law enforcement to respond to missing and slain Native American persons cases and to improve data and information collection." NBC News (7/27, Ortiz, 6.14M) reports, "Pledging to bring justice for Native American families afflicted by higher rates of violence, homicide and human trafficking, Ivanka Trump announced the opening Monday in Minnesota of the nation's first Indian Affairs task force office dedicated to solving cold cases of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives." Trump "joined Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to promote the office and the launches of six other task force locations next month in Rapid City, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; Nashville, Tennessee; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Phoenix; and Anchorage, Alaska. But Trump's arrival in Bloomington, a Twin Cities suburb, drew rebuke from Democratic lawmakers and dozens of protesters, including Native American women who remain skeptical of the Trump administration's commitment to resolving the root causes of violence against Indigenous women and providing adequate federal resources." The Rapid City (SD) Journal (7/27, Zionts, 106K) reports, "Rapid City is one of seven cities set to house a federal task force focused on solving cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people." President Trump "created the task force to 'reduce the staggering number of violent crimes committed against American Indians and Alaska Natives and close out hundreds of cold cases," Bernhardt said in a news release from the Department of Interior. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Former Malaysian PM Convicted In First 1MDB Trial. The AP (7/27, Ng) reports from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, "Former Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted Tuesday of crimes involving the multibillion-dollar looting of a Malaysian state investment fund that brought down his government in a shocking election ouster two years ago." The AP adds, "Najib was calm and stone-faced as he became the first Malaysian leader convicted. He has vowed to appeal the verdict that could bring many years in prison." The ruling in the "first of his five corruption trials came five months after Najib's Malay party returned to government as the biggest bloc in an alliance that took power from the reformist government that ousted Najib's in 2018. Analysts said the ruling would bolster the prosecution's case in Najib's other trials and would signal to the business community the Malaysia's legal system has strength in tackling international financial crimes. But others cautioned the ruling could be overturned and his political party remains in office." Reuters (7/28, Latiff) reports, "The case has been widely seen as a test for Malaysia's efforts to stamp out corruption and could have big political implications for the Southeast Asian nation. 'After considering all evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a resonable doubt,' Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali said." Najib "faced seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power for allegedly illegally receiving nearly $10 million from former 1MDB unit SRC International. He had pleaded not guilty." Reuters adds, "That's only a fraction of the money that Najib is alleged to have misappropriated from 1MDB. Prosecutors say more than $1 billion of 1MDB funds made its way into his personal accounts - over which he faces a total of 42 criminal charges." Operation Conducted By Honduran, Colombian Authorities Leads To Big Cocaine Seizure. AFP (7/27) reports a joint operation conducted by Colombian and Honduran authorities led to the recent seizure of 1,984 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat that was "intercepted...in the eastern department of Gracias a Dios." Three Hondurans who were allegedly found on the boat have been arrested, according to the AFP article, which highlights that the DEA and Colombian EFTA00150400 authorities "are working with Honduras to try to prevent drug smugglers from using Gracias a Dios as a launchpad to" transport cocaine from South America to the US. Bulletin: Cartel Likely Used Phones That Were Compromised By Law Enforcement. Vice (7/27, 2.11M) reports, "A bulletin written by the FBI for law enforcement" organizations "said that members of the Sinaloa drug cartel were likely using" an encrypted phone network that was compromised by law enforcement earlier this year. The bulletin "notes that traffickers from the Sinaloa transnational crime organization (TCO) were using Encrochat cryptophones as recently as October of last year, according to an unclassified case citation that was marked DEA sensitive and also law-enforcement sensitive by the FBI." OTHER FBI NEWS Senate GOP's COVID-19 Stimulus Proposal Includes $1.75B For New FBI Headquarters. The Washington Post (7/27, O'Connell, Kim, Werner, 14.2M) reports, "Under intense White House pressure, Senate Republicans agreed Monday to allocate $1.75 billion in their coronavirus relief bill towards the construction of a new D.C. headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." This reflects President Trump's "ongoing interest in building a new headquarters for the FBI downtown, rather than a secure campus in the suburbs that was envisioned before he took office." The article says while "the provision says the money would enable the bureau to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally,' the request did not appear to be related to the economic fallout of the pandemic, which lawmakers are rushing to address before expanded jobless aid expires later this week." The Hill (7/27, Bolton, 2.98M) reports, "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday accused President Trump of self-dealing in pressing Senate Republicans to include in their coronavirus relief proposal $1.75 billion to rebuild the FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington." The Hill adds, "Democrats suspect Trump is pressing for the money to rebuild the FBI headquarters in downtown D.C. so that it doesn't move out from its space on 9th Street and Pennsylvania and leave open a prime piece of real estate that could be occupied by a new hotel that would pose serious competition to the Trump International Hotel across the street. `They don't have money for food stamps but they have money for an FBI building just so that they can diminish competition for the president's hotel,' Pelosi said to reporters after meeting with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Monday evening." The Washington Times (7/27, Boyer, 492K) reports, "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who unveiled the roughly $1 trillion package on Monday, initially said he didn't believe the money for the FBI construction was in the legislation. Told that it was, the Kentucky Republican said the administration insisted on it. `You'll have to ask them why they insisted that be included,' he told reporters." The Times adds, "President Trump has expressed an interest in rebuilding the headquarters, which is located about a block from the Trump International Hotel. Earlier plans envisioned relocating the agency's headquarters outside Washington." CQ Roll Call (7/27, Lerman, 154K) reports, "Democrats have suggested that the president's interest in the Trump Hotel, also on Pennsylvania Avenue, may have influenced the decision to not redevelop the FBI site, potentially as a competing hotel. Top Senate Republicans were at pains to defend the provision in the coronavirus relief package, which the White House pushed for." CNN (7/27, Mattingly, Raju, Barrett, Kelly, 83.16M) reports, "McConnell initially indicated at a news conference Monday that he was not aware the FBI provision was in the bill but then moments later said the White House `insisted that be included: `I'm not sure that it is,' EFTA00150401 McConnell replied to a reporter when he was first asked why the money was in the Senate GOP proposal. An appropriations aide to McConnell then interjected and explained off camera to everyone in the room: `There's a limitation to honing specifically to Covid-related matters, so well get more information for you." McConnell "was then asked if it was possible an almost $2 billion could be in the measure without his knowledge, and he seemed to suggest he was aware. `Well, in regard to that proposal, obviously we had to have an agreement with the administration in order get started. And they will have to answer the question as to why they insisted on that!" Bloomberg (7/27, House, 4.73M) reports, "Plans to move the FBI from its current location about four blocks from the White House had been in the works since about 2012, but were scuttled after Trump took office. The president told reporters last week that other potential sites in nearby Maryland and Virginia were not preferable because `you have to be near the Justice Department' and 'there's nothing better than the site," but Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) "and other Democrats have accused Trump of trying to keep the bureau's headquarters at its current site because it occupies a significant chunk of real estate near the Trump International Hotel, and keeping it there would prevent other commercial development in the spot." Barr To Defend Administration In Congressional Testimony. The Washington Post (7/27, Zapotosky, Demirjian, 14.2M) reports Attorney General Barr "will tell the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that President Trump has not inappropriately intervened in Justice Department business - even though Barr has more than once moved in criminal cases to help the president's allies - and he will defend the administration's response to civil unrest in the country, according to a copy of his opening statement." Barr, according to the statement, "will take a defiant posture as he testifies before the panel for the first time since Democrats took control of it, alleging that they have attempted to 'discredit' him." Barr is quoted as saying in his opening statement, "From my experience, the President has played a role properly and traditionally played by Presidents." The New York Times (7/27, Savage, Fandos, 18.61M) says Tuesday's testimony "is expected to be a showdown over his interventions in the criminal cases of President Trump's allies and his role in deploying federal agents to confront protesters demanding racial justice in Washington and across the country." For Barr, the hearing "will offer the highest-profile platform to date to explain his rationale for the protest response and other issues, like voter fraud and the special counsel's Russia investigation." The Washington Times (7/27, Mordock, 492K) reports Barr is expected to "call on committee Democrats to condemn the violence." Barr will say, "To tacitly condone destruction and anarchy is to abandon the basic rule-of-law principles that should unite us even in a politically divisive time." OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS Trump Touts "Tremendous Success" In Development Of Coronavirus Vaccine. President Trump on Monday visited a Research Triangle Park company in North Carolina and touted progress toward treatments and a potential vaccine for COVID-19. The Raleigh News & Observer (7/27, Eanes, Murphy, Shaffer, 425K) quotes the President as saying at the beginning of his remarks at Fujifilm Diosynth in Morrisville, "We will achieve a victory over the virus by unleashing American scientific genius." Fujifilm Diosynth, the News & Observer notes, "is manufacturing a vaccine for the biotech company Novavax, which was awarded $1.6 billion from the federal government as part of an effort to speed up coronavirus vaccine development." Trump later told WRAL-TVVi Raleigh, NC (7/27, 170K) in an interview, "We're having tremendous success. That is why we are North Carolina today, because this is a great plant and great scientists and they are very close to having the vaccine. When that happens, we are EFTA00150402 going to distribute it in record time" and "if we can do that, that will be a great achievement. ... We are going to have a vaccine very soon, by the end of the year, maybe even a little sooner than that. That will be a great achievement. That would have been years ahead of schedule." Says Newsweek (7/27, Crisp, 1.53M), "If true, it would mark a significant achievement months ahead of schedule and give Trump potentially game-changing news as he faces his Democratic rival...in the November 3 election" - but "if Trump oversells, it could potentially sink his already struggling campaign." WNCN-TVVi Raleigh-Durham, NC (7/27, 17K) recounted that Trump "praised the hard work of people at this facility and ones just like it, all working toward creating a vaccine as part of the Administration's Operation Warp Speed. President Trump promised the United States would defeat the coronavirus in record time." Trump was shown saying, "We have shaved years off of the time it takes to develop a vaccine. In some cases, many years, and we have done it while maintaining the FDA gold standard for safety." WNCN added that Trump "said the hope is this strategy will cut down on people waiting for a dose of the vaccine." Trump also said, "We are mass-producing all of the most promising vaccine candidates in advance. so, that on the day one that it's approved, it will be available to the American people immediately. ... There has never been anything like this in terms of speed, nothing even close." WJZY-TVVi Charlotte, NC (7/27, 8K) said that North Carolina "is not just a major technology hub, but a crucial state for...Trump to try to hold in 2020," and WITN-TVVi Greenville, NC (7/27, 17K) that "the visit and the President's response to the pandemic was criticized by state Democrats...who say he could be doing more to fight this pandemic than he is." CNBC (7/27, Feuer, Kim, 3.62M) reports on its website that Trump also announced that "the US government has awarded Fujifilm a $265 million contract to expand the country's coronavirus vaccine manufacturing capacity." Trump said HFIS "awarded the contract to the Fujifilm Texas A&M Innovation Center in College Station, Texas." The Hill (7/27, Samuels, 2.98M) reports "the trip to North Carolina was brief - he spent roughly an hour inside the biotech facility in total — but remained closely on message." To the AP (7/27), Trump's "handling of the coronavirus pandemic put his political fate in grave jeopardy. Now he's hoping to get credit for his administration's aggressive push for a vaccine - and crossing his fingers that one gets approved before Election Day." The Washington Times (7/27, Howell, 492K) says that "battered by claims he fumbled the virus response," Trump also "rattled off his administration's push to build ventilators and replenish the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment, while distributing point-of-care testing machines to nursing homes." WXII-TV Winston-Salem, NC (7/27, Shrair, 109K) recounts that the President "also encouraged folks to social distance, wash your hands and wear a mask." All three major network newscasts covered the President's trip, highlighting the fact that he donned a mask - and not so much his optimistic message on vaccine development. Ben Tracy of the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/27, story 3, 1:20, O'Donnell, 4.46M) reported "Trump did wear a mask...during a visit to a biotech company in the key battleground state of North Carolina" which "is working on components for a coronavirus vaccine," and Peter Alexander of NBC Nightly NewsVI (7/27, story 4, 1:45, Holt, 6.32M) likewise remarked on Trump "for only the second time in public wearing a mask while touring a biotech center in North Carolina." Both CBS and NBC devoted most of their segment to coverage of National Security Adviser O'Brien testing positive for the virus. ABC World News TonightVi (7/27, story 3, 2:25, Muir, 7.11M) reported that in North Carolina, "the President did wear a mask, just the second time he has done so in public, as he visited a vaccine production facility." Trump was shown saying, "A second vaccine is likely to enter Phase 3 in a matter of days." However, added ABC, "the President also seemed to contradict health experts who say much of the country is dealing with an alarming spike in new infections, largely because the states reopened too quickly." Trump, on the other hand, "suggested some states are not opening quickly enough." Said Trump, "I really do believe a lot EFTA00150403 of the governors should be opening up states that they're not opening, and we will see what happens with them." Along those lines, Yahoo! News (7/27, Stableford, 12.82M) recounts "Trump continued to urge states to reopen their economies Monday despite the sharp increase in the number of Americans testing positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks." The New York Post (7/27, Bowden, 4.57M) similarly reports "Trump donned a mask," and that he "has embraced wearing masks in recent weeks, pulling it out of his pocket at the rebooted coronavirus briefings and calling it an act of patriotism after mocking...[Joe] Biden for wearing one in May." WWAY-TVVi Wilmington, NC (7/27, 10K) reported, meanwhile, that when he took questions from the media, Trump "was asked about the state's decision regarding the Republican National Convention and how the nomination night will be going ahead as planned." Trump was shown saying, "We are having a very major - I guess that would be the nomination night, so that is Monday, that will be Monday, they are going to be here and the rest we will do in a different form. We could have done it many different ways, but I think we did the right thing, and I'm really happy that we're going to be having a piece of it, at least , and a very important piece in North Carolina." Moderna Begins Final-Stage Testing Of Corona virus Vaccine Candidate. The AP (7/27, Neergaard, Hill, Noveck) reports that "the biggest test yet of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine got underway Monday with the first of some 30,000 Americans rolling up their sleeves to receive shots created by the US government as part of the all-out global race to stop the outbreak." The AP adds "final-stage testing of the vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., began with volunteers at numerous sites around the US given either a real dose or a dummy without being told which." Reuters (7/27, Maddipatla, O'Donnell) indicates that NIH Director Collins said in a release announcing the start of Moderna's Phase 3 trial, "Having a safe and effective vaccine distributed by the end of 2020 is a stretch goal, but it's the right goal for the American people." Reuters reports that the trial is "the first such late- stage study under the Trump administration's program to speed development of measures against the novel coronavirus, adding to hope that an effective vaccine will help end the pandemic." The Wall Street Journal (7/27, Loftus, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that NIH's Collins said on Monday, "Yes, we're going fast, but no, we are not going to compromise safety or efficacy." In its lead story, the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/27, lead story, 3:25, O'Donnell, 4.46M) referred to the trials as "a huge leap forward in the development of a vaccine," and showed Collins saying, "This is a very significant milestone. ... This is the first of several vaccines that are going to be coming along quite quickly. So people are going to be hearing a lot about this." ABC World News TonightVi (7/27, story 2, 1:15, Muir, 7.11M) showed Collins saying to the volunteers, "You're contributing to the kind of scientific advance that might ultimately save hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of lives." NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/27, lead story, 2:55, Holt, 6.32M) reported, meanwhile, that "there is growing reason to hope tonight that medicine can soon do what all those changes in human behavior seemingly can't: prevent COVID infections. ... What once seemed so far away may now be in sight as our current best defense from the virus, social distancing, seems to be crumbling against a wall of denial." CNBC (7/27, Lovelace, 3.62M) reports on its website that NIAID Director Fauci "said Monday he is 'not particularly concerned' about the safety risk of a potential coronavirus vaccine by Moderna, despite the fact that it uses new technology to fight the virus." According to CNBC, Moderna's vaccine candidate "uses messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA molecules, to provoke an immune response to fight the virus," and "while early studies show promise, mRNA technology has never been used to make a successful vaccine before." USA Today (7/27, Weintraub, 10.31M), the Washington Times (7/27, Neergaard, 492K), CQ Roll Call (7/27, Siddons, 154K) and New York Times (7/27, Grady, 18.61M), among other news outlets, also report the story. EFTA00150404 CNBC (7/27, Lovelace, Feuer, 3.62M) reports on its website, meanwhile, that Moderna shares "rose nearly 6% on Monday after the biotech company announced it received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government to support the development of its potential coronavirus vaccine." Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel indicated Monday that "the results from Moderna's late-stage trial could be released as soon as October." The AP (7/27, Neergaard, Hill) has more details of the vaccine candidate's Phase 3 trial. Pence Hails "Historic Day" Of "Hope" And "Promise" As He Visits Miami For Launch Of Vaccine Trial. The Miami Herald (7/27, Chang, Smiley, 1.09M) reports Vice President Pence "visited the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine on Monday to focus attention on one of the pandemic's few potential bright spots: the rapid development of a vaccine against the disease." The Herald adds that "noting the president's emphasis on speed, Pence said the federal government has positioned itself through public-private collaborations with drug makers to ramp up mass production of a vaccine at the first sign of its safety and effectiveness." The South Florida Sun Sentinel (7/27, Goodman, 545K) recounts that "the University of Miami is one of 89 sites in the country that will enroll volunteers for the 30,000-person study, which will look at the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine manufactured by Moderna." Said Pence, "This is a statement of confidence in the professionalism of the great healthcare team at the University of Miami. ... Today is a historic day. It's a day of hope, a day of promise." Navarro: No Other President Would Have Made As Much Progress On Vaccine. On Fox News' Fox & Friends (7/27, 831K), Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Navarro said the President "is shooting for January 2021 to have three million doses of vaccine. And here is the thing, this is the only President who really could have got this done and what's going to be effectively half or a third of the time that it usually takes. And the reason why [is] in the old days the way vaccines were developed it was a sequential process. ... President Trump said, 'No, we are not going to do it that way, what we will do simultaneous development of the whole process,' and be ready so that if that vaccine from Novavax or Pfizer is ready to go, we would have tremendous bandwidth to manufacture at scale." Global Alliance Says Vaccine Should Cost No More Than $40 Per Shot. Reuters (7/27, Kelland, Steenhuysen) reports that "coordinators of a global coronavirus vaccines funding scheme are looking at a wide range of potential prices for COVID-19 shots, with a reported $40 per dose price tag the 'highest number' in that range." Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI vaccine alliance, "which is co-leading the COVAX facility designed to ensure fair global access to COVID-19 shots, said the facility had no specific target price and would also seek to negotiate tiered pricing for richer and poorer countries." According to Reuters, COVAX is "co-led by GAVI, the World Health Organization and the CEPI Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and is designed to guarantee fast and equitable access globally to COVID-19 vaccines once they are developed." WPost Analysis: Advisers And Opponents Say Trump Has Failed To Show Leadership On Pandemic. The Washington Post (7/27, Parker, Rucker, 14.2M) says President Trump's advisers and those working to defeat him agree that the "best way for him to regain his political footing is to wrest control of the coronavirus." The Post says Trump's "allies and opponents agree he has failed at the one task that could help him achieve all of his goals - confronting the pandemic with a clear strategy and consistent leadership." The Post cites "people close to Trump," many of w